Casey changed her Apple ID password because she thought she was getting hacked and people were using her data to watch YouTube. Apple said that she wasn't, though she says she hasn't been using her data and it's almost entirely used up for the month. Jason says that her Apple ID shouldn't have an impact on YouTube, so he's skeptical about whether it's connected to her Apple ID. More likely it's preferences for YouTube.
Rob's daughter has an iPhone 7 and she needs more battery life to get her through the day. Jason says that a case that has an extended battery built in is a good option. What does MFI mean? Jason says that MFI stands for Made for iPhone — certified products that work with the iPhone. Mophie is a very popular brand, and their Juice Pack Air is their current model. It would make the phone heavier and bigger, but it will work.
Jason wants to know when Apple is just going to call the iPhone the iPhone. He thinks that the iPhone 8 is the tenth anniversary iPhone, and it would be a good time to do that. Jason agrees, and says that sooner or later they'll have to do that. They did it for the iPad.
Nancy wants to know what the new iPhone will be like and when it will be out. Leo says the iPhone 7s is what is due. It's also the 10th anniversary for the iPhone, so Leo suspects that there will be three new iPhones including the iPhone 7s, iPhone 7s Plus, and then a higher end iPhone which have an edge to edge screen. It will also likely be more expensive.
Barry wants to know if he has to update his iPhone's OS. He's worried the update could brick his phone. Leo says that's always possible with updates, but the benefit of having the latest OS outweighs the slight risk that it could hurt the phone. He should always update because there are security patches and critical updates that are a must. Sometimes there's a bad update, but it's really rare, especially in the iPhone. There's new features in iOS 10 that make the phone run smoother as well.
Andy has an iPhone SE and he noticed that he can text phones from his PC using the email address provided by the carrier. Another option is to use a texting app that has a desktop app as well. Options include WhatsApp and Telegram, but he'd only be able to use it with people who use those apps. Facebook Messenger is an idea though. It works in the browser as well as mobile device.
Mary wants to make youtube videos and create a cookbook. Leo says there's a great cookbook menu system called Paprika, which not only allows you to create a cookbook, but you can surf recipes and save them to it. It's brilliant.
Ed gave a friend his old iPhone and it's stopped working. He suspects it may be the battery. Can he get a replacement? Leo says yes! Apple can replace the battery, and it's about $99. Third party shops could also do it. It requires a good toolset and it will void any warranty the phone has left, though.
Image By Kzar (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Barney travels a lot. When he gets to a hotel, he has trouble connecting to the local Wi-Fi network. It doesn't always work. Leo says that mobile devices use a system called "captive portal," where it goes to a middle man (usually the hardware company) and then connects in order to agree to the terms and conditions. It can take up to a few minutes for that to happen too, depending on the traffic. Most are impatient and give up. It really comes down to sitting and waiting. Barney can also try going to the Safari app and typing in "captive.apple.com," which may trigger it.
Gina's iPhone 6 is having problems connecting to the internet via Wi-Fi. Leo says to make sure she can't get on anyone else's Wi-Fi. If that's not the case, then there is clearly something wrong with the phone or its Wi-Fi settings. It's possible that the settings are preventing it from connecting, but it's also likely the hardware has failed. The only real people who can solve a hardware issue are Geniuses at the Apple Store. Gina should set up an appointment and have the Genius take a look at it.
