The secrets to a more positive tech experience may be easier than you think. Never lose a charge, break a phone cord, or struggle with your streaming experience again with just a few quick tips from your friends here at Pitt IT.

Get a metal phone charging cord for durability.

You settle into bed after a long day and plug in your phone to charge overnight, just to realize your cord is broken and your device isn’t getting any juice. Ugh. Whether you have a pet that loves chewing cords or you just really put your cables through the ringer, a metal charging cord may be just the thing. It is super durable, doesn’t get tangled easily, is tiny teeth resistant, and has a flavor most critters don’t like.

Need an immediate and free solution for a cord that’s fraying, cracking, or weakening? Unscrew a ballpoint pen, take out the spring, and wrap it around the cord where needed!

Use portable chargers for safe charging anywhere, anytime.

Our lives have become dependent on our phones, from making payments and getting directions, to  communicating via text and checking email. So it’s vital that it stays charged. But plugging your phone into a public-use outlet — assuming you can find one — is not always safe and can be pretty inconvenient. A battery-operated portable charger can be the difference between the worst day ever and a great one. You can use it on the go, while outside or on a bus, or anywhere you happen to be.

If you’re caught without a charger and your battery is low, extend the time you have left: dim the screen, reduce notifications, shorten the time before it goes into sleep mode, turn off animated wallpaper or power hungry apps, and turn off location settings.

Smoothly stream video.

Streaming is part of our everyday lives, from Netflix and YouTube, to attending meetings while you’re on the go. Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, Disney+, etc. could save you from a pretty boring road trip. Make sure you have the mobile apps for all the services you currently subscribe to — they generally work better than connecting via a browser. Don’t forget the meeting apps, like Teams and Zoom.

But all these streaming services are only as good as the connection you can maintain while using them.
To avoid a lagging, pixelated mess, boost your streaming performance with these tips:

1. Kick off other devices competing for the Wi-Fi in your location and move closer to the router (or move the router closer to you).
2. Stream at the lowest resolution that your content looks good on (e.g., HD vs. 4K).
3. Preselect some content you’ll want to view while traveling and download it to your device.
4. Clear your cache and turn off all other apps on the device to free up your device’s resources.

Meet privately while in public.

With Teams and Zoom, you can meet from your house, a coffee shop, the car, or anyplace you happen to be. Unfortunately, the results can be noisy or unprofessional. But there are ways to maintain good audio and video quality while meeting in public.

Teams and Zoom both have built-in noise cancelling. The default setting is medium suppression, but if you’re in a very noisy spot, you’ll want to boost it to the highest setting. In Teams, before you start the meeting, go to Settings > Devices > Noise cancellation. From Zoom, log into your account and then go to Settings > Audio > Audio Profile - Zoom optimized audio to see the different levels of Background Noise Suppression.

If you need a dedicated microphone but don’t have one, you can plug a set of earbuds into the mic jack. Then, hold the ear bud near your mouth when you talk. Use a background image and keep your back to a wall. That way, people won’t see all the activity passing by you.

When you’re driving, be sure to set up and connect to the meeting before you start driving or pull over to start the meeting. Listening to a webcast is one thing, but reconsider attending a meeting while driving if you’re expected to be an active participant.

Know your YouTube keyboard shortcuts

YouTube is a great app, from doing research and viewing how-to videos, to fun content from your favorite creators. It is the #1 video streaming service online, but most people don’t know that there are some crazy helpful keyboard shortcuts. Here are our favorites:

• Press K or the spacebar to pause (or play) the video
• Press J to rewind 10 seconds, or L to fast-forward 10 seconds
• Home takes you to the start of the video
• F puts you into full-screen
• M mutes the sound, while the up/down arrows adjust the volume

Unplug your devices once in a while

It seems counterintuitive to include unplugging as a tech hack, but it matters. Don’t keep your smart watch, laptop, tablet, phone, etc. plugged in for extended periods of time. Doing this can wear the battery out and shorten the overall battery life. Powering down also prompts your device to delete temporary files and perform needed system updates.

Logging off can also benefit your personal wellbeing. Unplug an hour before going to bed to help you fall and stay asleep. Reducing social media use is also linked to higher self-esteem and better mood.

Tech Life … Hacked!

The world of tech can be a complicated place, but with these tips, you can make it easy, productive, and fun! There’s no time like the present to use your tech favorites to the best of your … and their … abilities!