Newsletter Archives

• When is a good time to replace?

  Posted on January 24, 2025 at 03:00 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  My sister has a guideline — never replace a device before you’ve paid it off. The phone companies will gladly let you trade in your phone for a new phone even if you haven’t fully paid off the old phone. But when should you replace a device?

  There are a few hard and fast rules:

  1. When the vendor stops supporting it or giving you updates, it’s time to seriously consider replacing it. Devices are app-driven and thus app vendors are bound by the restrictions the phone and device vendors put in place. Often older apps will no longer work. Not just unsupported, but flat out won’t work.
  2. When the device’s storage space is getting too full. If an iPhone’s free space gets too tight, updates won’t install. Patching devices that don’t have enough free space is a real hassle (ask me how I know).
  3. When the device can no longer hold a charge. For this you can opt for third-party solutions, available at local firms in the battery business.
  4. When it won’t support the application you are trying to download. This is typically related to number 1.

  For me, the most common reason is power. Batteries tend to go bad before the support for the operating system lapses.

  Apple Batteries, Patch Lady Posts, Phones, Support, updates

• Defibrillate your “dead” laptop

  Posted on December 19, 2022 at 02:43 CST by Ben Myers • Comment in the Forums

  HARDWARE

  

  By Ben Myers

  I confess: I do not have a defibrillator to use on a laptop.

  Beginning with Windows 7, a laptop in sleep mode can become unresponsive and completely inoperative. In the repair business, we call this “dead.” Ultimately, it’s about managing your laptop’s battery.

  On the average, a seemingly dead laptop lands in my hands every couple of months. That is not often enough to be classified as a major problem by Microsoft, but it is still very real.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.51.0, 2022-12-19).

  Hardware Batteries, CMOS, Laptops, Newsletters, Sleep Mode

• Bulging batteries in Surface laptops are a growing issue

  Posted on November 15, 2021 at 02:44 CST by B. Livingston • Comment in the Forums

  PUBLIC DEFENDER

  

  By Brian Livingston

  More and more users of Microsoft Surface 2-in-1 laptop computers are reporting a bent and battered screen that’s been curved by a dangerously bulging battery that protrudes from its frame.

  This was first covered in an AskWoody post on December 5, 2019. At that time, the post linked to 10 forum threads at Microsoft Answers, Reddit, and elsewhere. The forums contained dozens of stories describing similar-sounding problems.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.44.0 (2021-11-15).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Public Defender AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Batteries, bulging battery, Microsoft, Public Defender, Surface

• Revolutionary battery tech changes the way we charge

  Posted on August 2, 2021 at 02:43 CDT by B. Livingston • Comment in the Forums

  PUBLIC DEFENDER

  

  By Brian Livingston

  The dream of renewable-energy advocates everywhere may finally have been realized. The goal is a battery technology that stores solar and wind energy and releases it for days on end. Now, a new tech allows companies to meet demand at peak times with no need to fire up any spare fossil-fuel generators.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.29.0 (2021-08-02).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Public Defender AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Batteries, Public Defender

• New smartphone? Great! Now don’t charge it past 80%

  Posted on April 12, 2021 at 01:06 CDT by B. Livingston • Comment in the Forums

  PUBLIC DEFENDER

  

  By Brian Livingston

  Sales of new smartphones are skyrocketing — Samsung’s new S21 line sold three times as many units in the US in March 2021 as last year’s S20 series did in the same period, according to SamMobile — but few people are learning from the manufacturers about these phones’ dirty little secret.

  That’s the fact that charging these devices’ lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries to a full 100% wears out a great deal of your battery’s capacity within a year or two. This has been written about before. But in this story, I’ll show you how to triple the usable life of your gadgets’ batteries — either on your own or using a simple app.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.13.0 (2021-04-12).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Public Defender AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Batteries, Battery charging, Public Defender

• Batteries so powerful they do everything but fly

  Posted on February 15, 2021 at 01:10 CST by B. Livingston • Comment in the Forums

  PUBLIC DEFENDER

  Batteries so powerful they do everything but fly

  By Brian Livingston

  There are times when I’m power-mad — I just want the biggest battery available to power my laptop, my phone, and heck, maybe a cup warmer for my coffee, too.

  I’m not going to drag around a cart with a propane generator just so I can compute. Fortunately, power banks that can double or triple the life of a laptop are now affordable and light enough to carry around in a shoulder bag or backpack.

  But what about airplanes?

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.6.0 (2021-02-15).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Public Defender AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Batteries, Power, Public Defender, Travel