How To Fix Emergency Calls Only On Your Phone

If your android phone has recently started to give the annoying “Emergency Calls Only” message then read on to find out how to fix it. This error seems to pop up on all sorts of phones. As it can be caused by a few different issues I recommend following the steps below (which are listed from simplest to more complex). Stop when the problem is solved.

FIX #1: Turn your phone off than back on

This step is pretty self-explanatory. Sometimes your phone will return to proper functioning after a simple power on-off which will allow the phone a fresh start.

FIX #2: Turn on Airplane Mode then turn it off

Most phones have a feature called “airplane mode” which disables all cell reception and broadcasts temporarily. You can find it in the settings on your phone or in the drop down menu by swiping from the top or bottom on newer iPhone and Android phones.

Turn on Airplane Mode. Wait ten seconds. Then turn it off to re-enable cell reception and broadcasts. This allows the phone to reconnect to the cell network if the current connection is broken in some way.

FIX #3: Power-Cycle the phone

  1. Turn the phone off.
  2. Remove the battery from the phone.
  3. Hold the power button down for twenty seconds.
  4. Put the battery back in.
  5. Power on the phone.

If your phone doesn’t have a removable battery simple skip this step.

FIX #4: Check your SIM Card

Your phone’s SIM card enables you to connect to your cellular service provider. If the SIM card is damaged or missing this can trigger the “emergency calls only” message. So first make sure that you have a SIM card installed in your phone (if your phone requires one, older non-smartphones do not).

If you have a SIM card then remove it and check for any obvious signs of damage. If it looks okay then put it back in and see if the problem has been solved. Sometimes just removing and then putting back in the SIM card fixes the problem.

If you do observe damage or debris on your SIM card then you’ll need a new one. If you notice damage/debris on the metal contacts on the card then you can try to clean them with an eraser (the type found on the back of a pencil) by gently rubbing at the contacts.

Finally if the rest of the fixes fail to solve your problem you may have to pay a visit to your cell provider in order to have them swap out the SIM card for a new one in order to determine if you have a faulty card.

FIX #5: Completely reset your phone

If the above fixes have failed to work then you’ll need to reset your phone back to factory settings. This will wipe your phone completely, all of your data. Before doing this step obviously backup everything that’s on your phone that you want to keep. Stuff like pictures, videos, music, notes, etc…

The actual process for resetting your phone varies by device. If you don’t know how to reset your phone then you can find instructions by googling “factory reset” followed by the model name and number of your phone.

 

I hope one of these fixes helped you! Please share your experience with this error in the comments below and if you have a different fix that may help others please share that in the comments as well.

 

How To Fix “This application is not supported” in Google Chrome

If you are trying to install a plugin in Chrome and run into a “Not Compatible” error message followed by “This application is not supported” then there is a quick and easy solution.

The full error message reads:

This application is not supported on this computer. Installation has been disabled. The following problems are detected: NPAPI plugin is required by this app.

This is because of something called NPAPI being disabled by Chrome for various reasons. Most of them good including security issues with NPAPI plugins. However if you absolutely must run an incompatible NPAPI plugin then here is how to do it.

  1. Close Chrome
  2. Right-Click on the Chrome icon
  3. Click Properties
  4. Go to the Compatibility Tab
  5. Check the box next to “Run this program in compatibility mode for:”
  6. In the drop-down menu select Windows 7
  7. Click Apply and then OK
  8. Start Chrome
  9. Download and install your plugin normally

And you’re done!

 

How To Fix Windows Error Code 43: Device Not Recognized

This error occurs when a device you have connected to your computer has failed in some way. Usually the solution is quite simple.

FIX #1: Unplug your USB Devices and Restart

  1. Disconnect ALL of your USB devices.
  2. Turn off your computer.
  3. If you’re on a laptop remove the battery and press the power button for ten seconds to remove excess power. If you’re on a desktop unplug it and press the power button for ten seconds.
  4. Wait a minute to be sure.
  5. Put the battery back in (laptop) or plug the computer back in (desktop). Boot it up.
  6. Plug each device in one by one making sure each one works after you plug it in.

If this doesn’t work simply move onto the next fix.

 

FIX #2: Uninstall/Reinstall the device

Sometimes the driver becomes corrupted and needs to be reinstalled. To do this you’ll go into the Device Manager and uninstall the device and then reinstall it.

  1. Open Device Manager in the Control Panel (you can search for “Device Manager” in the Start Menu or Start Screen.
  2. Find the device causing the problem. For example if the device is an external hard drive then go to “Disk Drives” and find the specific drive.
  3. Right-Click on the device and click Uninstall.
  4. Once the uninstallation process completes unplug the hard device.
  5. Restart your computer.
  6. Plug the device back in.

FIX #3: Run Windows Update

  1. Run Windows Update and install all the updates. Make sure you check for updated drivers as well as the critical updates.
  2. Restart the computer and try the device again.

FIX #4: Install Hotfixes

  1. If on Windows 7 install: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/976972
  2. If on Windows 7 install: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/974476

 

 

How To Fix Windows Error 80092004

A lot of users have encountered Windows Update error 80092004 recently. Fortunately there are several fixes. Here are the simple solutions.

FIX #1: Run the Windows Update Troubleshooter

This is a very good tool from Microsoft that manages to resolve most issues. You can find it here: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/troubleshoot-problems-installing-updates#1TC=windows-7

FIX #2: Set Internet Explorer As the Default Browser

If you’re using something like Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox as your browser then try to set Internet Explorer temporarily as your default browser (just open IE and it should ask if you wish to make it the default). Restart your computer then run Windows Update again.

Then you can put your favourite browser back as the default.

 

 

How To Fix “This Webpage Has a Redirect Loop”

A few weeks ago I was having a problem getting into my gmail account. Every time I tried to open my gmail I received an error message saying “This Webpage Has a Redirect Loop” followed by Error 310 (net::ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS). Fortunately the solution was extremely simple.

Follow these instructions and you’ll be up and running in no time.

Screen Shot 2015-04-25 at 7.13.41 PM

First click on the Customization icon in Google Chrome. It’s in the top left of the browser and looks like three horizontal lines. Then in the drop-down menu that appears select Settings.

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Scroll down to the bottom and click on Show advanced settings… in order to reveal more options.

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Scroll down to the Privacy section and then click on the Content settings… button.

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Under Cookies click on the All cookies and site data… button.

Screen Shot 2015-04-25 at 7.15.09 PM

Finally Click on the Remove all button to delete all of your cookies.

Now close Google Chrome completely and then restart it. Try to open gmail or whatever other website you were trying to open before. It should now work!

 

What are the Miscellaneous Caches in CCleaner?

If you’ve been using CCleaner you’ve probably wondered what “Miscellaneous Caches” are. Well wonder no more, the answer is quite simple.

caches

The CCleaner software is used to delete unwanted junk from your computer in order to free up space. Some people believe that cleaning up the junk on their computer also speeds up the machine but in reality that only happens if you’re right on the verge of running out of space entirely and your computer has no place to store something called a “swap file”. If you have plenty of space then using CCleaner can instead cause performance slowdowns as your computer is forced to re-download and re-create and re-index all those temp files you’ve just deleted.

Most options in CCleaner are straightforward but there is one option right at the bottom that comes with no explanation but offers to delete sometimes gigabytes of data! So what exactly does it do?

Well to put it simply: it does exactly what is says it does. It does a scan of your computer system and finds “caches” and then deletes them. Software programs create “caches” of data in order to store temporary information about your use of their programs. What can happen is a gradual buildup of these caches as programs keep creating new caches while not deleting the old ones. Soon enough you have thousands and thousands of unnecessary files on your hard drive taking up space.

So is it safe to include Miscellaneous Caches in your CCleaner routine? Probably. Not only has the CCleaner development team vetted carefully what files its product deletes but you can see for yourself what is going to be deleted by double-clicking on “Miscellaneous – Caches” after you run an analysis. Most of the files appear to be from the “/Library/Caches” section of your hard drive.

Now be aware that programs on your computer are creating these files for a reason. By deleting them you may cause slower performance or even weird behaviour. So your best bet is not to delete them unless you absolutely need the space.

 

Goodbye Future Shop

Today it was announced quite out of the blue that all Future Shop stores are immediately closing across the country. As late as last night there wasn’t any hint that this was in the works and everyone is surprised, even the poor employees who are now out of a job.

For those outside of Canada Future Shop is almost identical to Best Buy- in fact it is owned by Best Buy. The electronics chain sold everything from computers to televisions to movies, and even washers and dryers. They also had Best Buy style extended warranties and a computer and television servicing team akin to the Geek Squad called ConnectPro.

connectprofolder

In hindsight the end of Future Shop should have been obvious. Many of the stores were located across the street from a Best Buy making it a questionable practice for Best Buy to keep both its own store and a Future Shop open in the same location. But Future Shop was more known than Best Buy in Canada so Best Buy decided a slow introduction in order to build the brand while still operating the popular Future Shop stores was the best strategy.

Half of Future Shops will be closed permanently and the other half will be converted to new Best Buys.

I used to work at Future Shop many years ago. I was a computer repair technician there. It was a very fun place to work. The employees were great and the work was interesting. It is sad to see this piece of my past dying away.

It is unfortunate that Future Shop decided to terminate all of their employees without any warning whatsoever. One day these employees had a job and the next they were out of job and on the street. Best Buy spokespeople claim they will take care of their employees but surprise terminations don’t seem very caring to me. If this large corporation actually cared about its people then it would have announced the closures a month or so in advance and given its employees time to find a new job.

I’m hearing that employees will receive severance but people on twitter are reporting the severance will be very little. One woman writes that her daughter will just receive one week of severance.

Not cool Best Buy.

So adios Future Shop. I enjoyed checking out your product displays and I had a great time working there years ago. Unfortunately brick and mortar stores selling easily shippable products like laptops or streamable products like movies are doomed to be a thing of the past. Enjoy the ones that remain for as long as they do.

 

How To Change Your IP Address On Rogers

If you need to change your IP address on Rogers Internet this is how to do it.

You’ve probably discovered that it is difficult to find information on how to change your IP Address. For whatever reason Rogers doesn’t provide customers with an easy method to request a new IP. Customers are usually left to wait months and months for the central Rogers DHCP server (that hands out IP Addresses) to finally complete its cycle and grant a new address automatically.

Fortunately there is an easy way to change your IP.

The new Rogers modems that include both a modem and a router have two modes: router and bridged. Router mode will allow the modem to act as both a modem and a router (to send a wireless signal for instance). Bridged mode will restrict the modem to acting as just a modem (a device for connecting to the internet). It won’t send out a wireless signal and it won’t allow you to connect more than one computer through ethernet to the modem directly (you’ll need a separate router to do that).

To get a new IP address you need to go to your router’s administration settings page and change it from router mode to bridged mode. This forces the modem to request a new IP Address from Rogers.

The bad news? In bridged mode you won’t have WiFi or any of the normal router functions. This means you will need to buy a separate router in order to get those features back. Let’s be clear: By doing this you will lose your WiFi if you don’t have a separate WiFi router.

How To Get A New IP Address

  1. Go to your modem configuration page by entering 192.168.0.1 in your browser address bar
  2. Click on the Administration tab
  3. Next to Working Mode change the setting to Bridged Only
  4. Click Save Settings at the bottom of the page

Allow for about three minutes in order for the modem to reset and get its bearings. Then you’ll have a new IP Address!

Note: depending on your specific device the instructions might differ slightly. If you don’t have a modem/router combo device then you don’t have the bridged mode option.

To reverse back to Router Mode you will need to reset the modem by pressing the reset button on the back for fifteen seconds. However if you reset back to Router Mode you will likely get back the same IP Address you had before.

 

How To Fix: Chromebook Automatically Clicking By Itself

If you have a chromebook that seems to be clicking on links and buttons by itself without waiting for you to actually press down on the touchpad then here is your simple solution:

  1. Go to Settings
  2. Click on Advanced Settings
  3. Scroll down to the Accessibility section
  4. Make sure that the box next to “Automatically click when the mouse pointer stops” is Unchecked

 

 

How To Sort Videos in Youtube App

Sorting videos by upload date, resolution, views, and other attributes is important when browsing videos in the Youtube App on Android or iPhone. Here’s how to easily sort video playlists or search results in the Youtube App:

How To Sort By Date, Duration, and Resolution

To sort by these options all you have to do is click on the little “Filter By” icon in the top right of the app in any search results page. It will look like this:

media-20150308

Sorting with these options is simple. For example you can tap the checkbox next to HD if you just want to see videos in HD.

How To Sort By Views or Comments

Unfortunately at this time there doesn’t seem to be a way to sort by views or number of comments. However I will update this section when I find a way so check back regularly.