When it came to the traditional spinning hard drive, everyone pretty much knew what you meant when you wanted to get rid of all the drive’s data and encrypt the drive’s contents so that no one can detect its contents.  However, when it comes to SSDs(solid-state drives), traditional methods of erasing a drive such as repeatedly using data location overwrites often does little to affect the drive.

And sometimes when you overwrite the data on SSDs, there’s a big possibility that a portion of the overwritten data may still be accessible on the drive, which poses a security threat.

So, how is it possible to erase SSDs safely without compromising the function of the drive? Is it possible to permanently erase data and make it no longer accessible?

Review how the Disk Utilityfunction is a possible solution for erasing and protecting information by reading the article Disk Utility for macOS Sierra: Erase a volume using Disk Utility.

Let’s look at how to securely erase an SSD without damaging the drive.

SSD Architecture
Like we already stated, most people are aware of how to erase the traditional hard drive. These drives store data in a linear format, which makes it easy to clean up and erase them (since it’s easier to access the data to read and write it).  In short, you are getting rid of the volume and partition maps, so you can overwrite each data location according to a data pattern.

Because of how many times the data is written and the pattern used for wiping the traditional hard drive, the sanitation procedure complies with most government agency regulations (including the DOD).

Unlike traditional hard drives that have a linear pattern, SSDs have various storage combinations that make it harder to map out the layout of the drive. The multiple layers—called flashtranslation layer (or FTL)—help determine how the data is managed on the drive.

SSDs have more flash memory than they need. So, the excess memory becomes empty data blocks that are used when you rewrite the drive (as out-of-band sections).

Thanks to the various mapping layers of the drive and how the flash controller handles the distribution of memory on the drive, it makes it very difficult (almost impossible) to get rid of traces of all data ever written on the drive.

For example, when editing a document you have created, you would think the changes made to the document would erase the data that was replaced. Instead of the data blocks with the original data being rewritten with the new data, the original data is left untouched, and the new data is stored in available empty data blocks. The physical map of the drive is changed because the new edits create an update that point to the newly-filled data blocks.  Therefore, the original data blocks no longer in use will read as free space but are still filled with the original data. Also, these data blocks will remain accessible until the SSD’s garbage collection system takes care of it.

Because of the FTL architecture, it is impossible for a traditional hard drive erasefunction to get rid of all the data on an SSD since some data locations will not be accessible.

SSD Secure Erase
The designers of the solid-state drive realized there needs to be a simple way to clean an SSD thoroughly. The ATA command is one solution to this problem. The NVMe command was also a proposed solution for cleaning SSDs effectively.  Also, the designers proposed a Secure Erase Unit to clean SATA-based SSDs, and the Format NVM to clean PCIe-based SSDs.

There are two primary ways SSDs securely erase their data. For SSDs that use the encryption function that’s in the controller, the crypto-erase format is used that will allow changes to the internal encryption key, which will render the data unreadable. Another way to erase data securely on an SSD is to use the block erase format that will allow you to do a full media erase (even the FTL memory and out-of-banddata). There are also SSDs that can combine the use of crypto-erase and full media erase.

Unfortunately, SSD designers did not create software utility apps to support Format NVM or Secure Erase Unit natively on Mac computers.   Most Mac users will have to employ the use of a Linux-based SSD utility program(hopefully created by the SSD manufacturer) or a bootable Windows partitioning and formatting utility that will allow the Mac to run the Secure Erase function.

Since some companies that create SSDs don’t have utility programs that allow you to run the secure erase feature, you may have to opt for using a third-party utility app such as GPartedor PartedMagic.

The Encryption Option
As already stated, some SSDs have simplified securely erasing their data using the crypto-erase function which renders the data inaccessible.  They are often referred to as Self-Encrypting Drives (or SEDs).   Also, please be reminded of the various utility programs out there that can change or remove the encryption key.

FileVault is an awesome disk encryption system or encryption function feature in APFS utilized by Mac computers that securely cleanthe drive. If you did not set up the FileVault feature when you first set up your Mac, you can do so using the steps explained in the article:Use FileVault to encrypt the startup disk on your Mac.

Once the encryption feature is available, you can clean your drive with the Mac’s Disk Utility Erase function and erase the 256-bit encryption key on the drive. When the encryption key is deleted, all information that used to be available on the drive will no longer be accessible.

If you still feel the need to take a further step (like to deter forensic recovery methods), you can do a flash memory reset.

One More Thing
If your SSD has built-in encryption features, you can physically destroy the drive’s controller to prevent the ability to recover the data. Since the flash memory chips encrypt data, the destruction of the controller renders them inoperable. However, if you want an extra layer of protection, you can destroy the flash memory chips also by drilling a few holes in them.

Wrap Up
As stated earlier, the problem with erasing SSDs comes from trying to treat them like traditional hard drives. You can’t just overwrite the data multiple times because it does not work on an SSD. Therefore, you have to do a little more than just overwrite the data. The best option is to use encryption features on your Mac when you first set it up.

You can’t go wrong using the encryption features with an SSD. Fortunately, most SSDs have their own encryption tools to make cleaning your drive a simple process. However, even users who have SSDs that are SEDs can benefit from the Mac’sencryption system because it gives them another layer of control over how their data is stored and removed.

If you’re wondering why your laptop keeps dying, hopefully,the following information will help you decide to finally get that MacBook battery replaced.

You’ve had your MacBook for years, so you should not be surprised that it’s now hardly keeping a charge like it used to do.

It’s kind of frustrating trying to see how long your charge will last before your MacBook goes completely dead. After all, no one wants to find a dead laptop when they are expecting to do some work on it. Knowing what to expect from your current battery’s performance can make life a lot easier when trying to determine how much time you have before the battery goes dead.

Checking Your MacBook’s Battery Condition

To find out about your battery’s performance, you can go to the menu bar and select the battery icon. One of four battery states will be displayed:

1. Service Battery:The battery isn’t performing properly, and your MacBook needs to be taken to an authorized Apple store or computer repair store to be serviced. However, you can still work on your MacBook until you go get it serviced because the problem should not affect other parts of your computer.
2. Replace Soon:The battery is performing at its best, but the battery is not holding a charge likeit used to when you first got it.  You can still use your computer until you get ready to get the battery replaced.
3. Replace Now:The battery is performing at its best, but the battery has a highly noticeable decrease in performance when it comes to holding a charge. However, you can still use your computer until you get ready to get the battery replaced.
4. Normal:The battery is performing at its best.

Regardless of the condition, you still have some time to use the battery before deciding on getting a new one or a new MacBook.

Determining Your Battery Cycle Count

Although battery cycles may vary for various types of MacBooks, most are able to endure at least 1,000 cycles. A cycle count is made when you fully recharge a battery after the battery has run down completely. That means, you can drain your battery over halfway (about 60%) one day and recharge it, and it won’t count as a full cycle until the battery has done a complete depletion before recharging it.

When your battery has done 1000 cycles, your battery can function at a capacity as high as 80%.  Your battery can endure more than 1000 cycles but expect your battery to work at a much-diminished capacity. If you want to check your present cycle count, you can always go to the System Report tool to find out how many cycles your battery has completed.

When you press the Alt key and select the Apple icon (in the upper-left corner), you will see the System Report option. Click on System Report and click the Power option from the left panel. You should then see the term “Cycle Count” in the Battery Information Section under the “Health Information” section.

Replacing Your MacBook’s Battery

Those needing to have their battery replaced need to take their MacBook to an authorized Apple Store or computer store with authorized personnel to have their battery replaced. If you go to an authorised Apple Store, you can expect to pay between $189 and $500 to have your battery replaced. Alternatively, you can do it yourself with a new battery from NewerTech for as low as $124.99 – as well as being cheaper, this option also allows you to replace old batteries in machines for which Apple will no longer provide service.

If you chose to purchase the AppleCare Protection Plan, then the process of replacing your battery becomes a whole lot easier if your MacBook’s warranty has not expired. If you’re still covered under warranty, you can get the whole MacBook replaced instead of buying a battery.

Apple is one of the leading giants in technology industry, so any news about the company will spread like a bushfire. Before 2017 ended, news about deliberate slowing down of older iPhone models’ performance broke, inviting media coverage and a lot of speculations and even misinformation. If you are an iPhone user yourself who owns an older iPhone model (6, 6s, 6s Plus), you may have experienced a difference. You may have noticed how some of the apps on your phones take longer to load. The speaker volume is considerably less loud than it was originally.

There are lower frame rates when you scroll down, accompanied by gradual frame rate reductions in some applications. Background refresh of some apps might also require reloading once you launch.

It can be frustrating and worrying. Why is it happening? Do you need a new phone? Should you upgrade to the newer models?

It is not a surprise when the bulk of the blame falls on Apple itself. Conspiracy theories abound. Unfounded claims and accusations also surfaced. In fact, Apple’s admission of slowing down older iPhones’ performance resulted in at least eight separate class-action lawsuits filed in the US.

Apple even apologized. Many came to the conclusion that the tech giant deliberately did it in order to encourage users to upgrade to the newer models of iPhone.

But is it all there is to it? Did Apple do it on purpose, and was it for the reason many insisted?

It pays to sift through the misinformation before jumping to conclusions. Read this infographic to know about why your iPhone is slowing down and what you can do about it.

If you’re at all like me, you probably have a bunch of old flash drives lying around – stuffed into junk drawers, hidden in a purse, stashed away in the car, spread throughout kids’ schoolbags… sound familiar?

If this is the case, read on for some interesting tips for how to get some more use out of them.

Of course, all of the usual uses for flash drives apply – they’re great for easily transferring data between computers, temporary backup locations, sending secure electronic documents via post, storing the kids’ homework, etc. – but chances are you already know about those (those uses are why we end up with so many of these devices in the first place!). In this article, we want to show you some more interesting uses of which you might not be aware.

Join a Bunch of Flash Drives Together as a RAID0 Array

The basic idea is this: join a bunch of flash drives together to make one large volume which, due to the system being able to split data across the multiple drives, will have much faster read and write speeds than any individual flash drive. If you have ever used an external RAID storage device, the idea is the same.

To set up a RAID0 system using flash drives, it’s best if you have a powered USB hub – something like the Anker 10 Port Hub would suit. Once you have the hub, connect your flash drives it.

Once they’re all connected, you can use Apple’s RAID Assistant software (built into all recent versions of macOS) – or 3^rd party software like SoftRAID or SoftRAID Lite – select all the flash drives that show up, and create a ‘Striped (RAID 0)’ volume.

(Apple’s RAID Assistant, built into macOS)

As a note on storage size, a RAID setup will treat all of the connected flash drives as if they have the capacity of the smallest drive – if you have one 16GB drive and three 128GB drives, the RAID array will treat all the drives like they are 16GB drives (the size of the smallest single drive), giving you a total of 64GB for the entire RAID0 volume, even though the sum of all the drives is much greater.

Once you have done all of that, you will have a RAID0 array striped across the various flash drives.

Some things to note:

• Because data is striped across all of the drives, read and write speeds will be faster than any individual drive – this can be useful if you are using this setup as a scratch editing drive for video, for example.
• The faster the speeds of the individual flash drives, the faster the overall array will be – speeds of USB3 flash drives vary widely with the fastest drives being around 200 MB/s, and ‘normal’ drives seeing around 25 MB/s write, and less than 100MB/S read.
• The more flash drives you use, the faster the overall array will be – because the data is striped, the more parallel reads or writes you can do at once (ie. the more drives connected), the faster it will be.
• All of the included flash drives will need to be present for the data on the volume to be readable. This adds a level of security to anything on the disk – if one of the drives isn’t present, the data is inaccessible. If you want a way to store sensitive data, or if you’re a spy, this might be useful.
• On the flipside of the above point, if you lose any one of the flash drives, or if one of them fails, you will lose all the data on the volume. If this could cause a problem – especially if you’re using it for video or audio production – be sure to have backups!

Using a Flash Drive as a Two-Factor Key

If you have ever been sent a text message by your bank, or some other service, to confirm that you are really you, you have used two-factor authentication.

While more secure than just a password alone, SMS messages sent to your phone are relatively easily spoofed (faked), and not a particularly secure form of two-factor authentication. A more secure form is one that relies on your having a physical device in your possession – this sort of thing can be achieved via an app on your smartphone or – surprise – by using an old flash drive.

The easiest way to do this is using a 3^rd party app, like RohOS to convert your ordinary flash drive into a hardware token as part of a two factor system.

In short, once set up, as well as knowing your password, you will also need the flash drive present to prove that you are you – this could be set up for your internet banking login, Google account, etc. Rather than needing your phone to receive an insecure text message, you would need the physical drive – this is a lot more secure, as it can’t be electronically spoofed by someone without the drive!

The intimate details explaining how to create two-factor keys for your Mac are a bit more complicated than can be explained here – if you’re interested, I recommend checking out the documentation at RohOS.

Use a Flash Drive as a Portable, Bootable macOS System Disk

If you have any flash drives around that are at least 16GB in size (although more is more, despite the saying) you could set up one as portable version of a Mac. Then, you could plug the flash drive into a Mac, start up holding down the ‘option’ key to boot from the flash drive, and instantly be accessing your own installation of macOS running on the flash drive, perhaps with some essential apps installed.

Some good apps for this use are:

• Could storage apps, like DropBox, or Google Drive – to give you an easy way to get your files onto the system
• 1Password – to give you access to all your passwords
• Disk utilities, like DiskWarrior, DiskDrill, or similar – for troubleshooting failed drives
• Backup utilities, like Carbon Copy Cloner, or SuperDuper! – for cloning drives
• System utilities, like Onyx, or TinkerTool
• A copy of the macOS installer – for restoring the Mac to new
• Word processing or other office apps

Once you have the flash drive connected and formatted, getting a system like this set up is fairly simple.

First, download a copy of the macOS installer from the macOS store and run it. When you get to the installation location screen, choose your flash drive, rather than Macintosh HD.

(Install a version of macOS onto your flash drive directly from the macOS Installer)

Once the installation is complete, you will be able to boot from the flash drive. Then, you can set it up however you like, with whatever apps you need – be aware that all of the Apple apps (Safari, Mail, etc.) will already be installed, so space might be a bit tight. You could always use some of the tips in our National Clean Out Your Computer Day post to help find some files you can get rid of. Having this bootable flash drive can be invaluable for troubleshooting if anything ever goes wrong with your Mac – a great use of a spare flash drive!

Use a Spare Flash Drive to Create a macOS Recovery Partition

This tip is similar to the above, but more suited to flash drives, as it doesn’t need as much space. The result will be a portable copy of the macOS Recovery Partition in your pocket which you can use to reinstall macOS on a computer, utilise Disk Utility, get back data from a Time Machine backup, access Terminal, and even get onto Safari on a completely dead Mac.

To set this up, first use Disk Utility to make a new partition on your flash drive – ideally about 1GB, with the format settings: Mac OS Extended (Journaled); and, GUID partition scheme.

Once that’s done, you will need to copy the Recovery Partition from your Mac to the flash drive.

If you’re using an earlier version of macOS (El Capitan or earlier), you will need to get Apple’s Recovery Disk Assistant.

If you’re using Sierra or later, you’ll need a cloning utility like Carbon Copy Cloner (CCC) – I recommend this app, because they even have specific instructions to help you through the process. If you’re using CCC 4, use these instructions. If you’re using CCC 5, the instructions are here.

(Carbon Copy Cloner – a tool for cloning your Recovery Partition to a flash drive)

Create a Portable Linux Boot Disk

The last suggestion here is another variation on a theme – you can create your own portable computer running a version of Linux, like Ubuntu, which allows you to be up and running  pretty much anywhere. Ubuntu is a good one to try, because it will run natively on your Mac, without any mucking around.

(Completely change your Mac, and try something new, by running Ubuntu Linux from a flash drive)

Hopefully the idea is interesting enough to you that you will be willing to read further on it – the steps are a bit too involved to go into here. Fortunately, the instructions are well laid out in the Ubuntu documentation – you can find them here: Create a Bootable USB Stick on macOS.

We hope you found something useful that you can do with your spare flash drives – more useful than having them sit in a drawer, anyway. Have any other ideas that we missed? Let us know!

Apple was the first company to bring the graphical user interface and mouse to the masses with the original Mac, and today it’s rare to find any sort of personal computer without a pointing device. There’s only one problem with that; every time you have to take your hands off of the keyboard to click a mouse, tap a screen or swipe a touchpad, you’re interrupting your typing. Here are 15 macOS keyboard shortcuts that can help keep your hands on the keyboard and improve your productivity.

Note that we’re not going to detail the standard copy, cut and paste keyboard shortcuts — ⌘ + C, ⌘ + X, and ⌘ + V — under the assumption that most people already know how to use these.

1) Spotlight Search: Command ( ⌘ ) + space bar

This is the quickest way to bring up the Spotlight search bar on your Mac (see screenshot below). When it appears, start typing the name of a Mac app and it will attempt to auto-complete. Once the app name is in the Spotlight search bar, press Return to launch it.

(The Spotlight search bar.)

2) Close Window: Command ( ⌘ ) + W

While in an open app window or document, typing ⌘ + W closes that window. This is useful in most Mac apps, and can be used to close an open document without quitting the app completely. While using Safari, this command key combo closes the tab you’re currently viewing.

3) Hide or Show the Dock: Command ( ⌘ ) + Option + D

Sometimes it’s handy to hide the Dock, particularly when you’re using a MacBook with its smaller screen real estate. Try doing this with the traditional method of launching System Preferences, clicking on Dock and selecting “Automatically hide and show the Dock”, and you’ve wasted precious seconds. Instead, just type ⌘ + Option + D and watch the Dock disappear (or reappear if you had hidden it previously).

4) Open iCloud Drive from the Finder: Command ( ⌘ ) + Shift + I

Want to browse your iCloud Drive without having to click on the Finder icon in the Dock, opening a Finder window, then clicking on the iCloud Drive icon? While the Finder is active (Finder is listed in the Mac’s menu bar), type ⌘ + Shift + I and a Finder window opens with a view right into iCloud Drive.

5) Empty Trash with no confirmation: Command ( ⌘ ) + Shift + Option + Delete

Does the Trash can overflowing with crumpled paper tweak your OCD tendencies? Instead of clicking on the Trash can, holding down the mouse button, and selecting Empty Trash — and then responding to the confirmation window (see screenshot below) — here’s a quick way to send everything to the dump. Just type ⌘ + Shift + Option + Delete while the Finder is active and you can empty the trash.

6) Zoom in or out of a Safari window: Command ( ⌘ ) + Plus Sign ( + ) or Command ( ⌘ ) + Minus Sign ( – )

Ever been to a website that uses really small type? Zoom in on it by pressing ⌘+ (see screenshot below), or zoom out again by using ⌘-.

(Zoomed in all the way on the Apple Home Page.)

7) Force Quit an application: Command ( ⌘ ) + Option + Esc

Every once in a while you may get an app that shows the old “beach ball” and is not responding. Rather than mousing over to the Apple menu to pull up Force Quit, just type ⌘ + Option + Esc and the Force Quit dialog appears. Use the arrow keys on your keyboard to scroll up and down the list until you’ve highlighted the misbehaving app, then press the return key.

8) Get details on any word: Command ( ⌘ ) + Control + D

You’d be surprised how helpful this shortcut is, particularly if you are a writer. In macOS X High Sierra, hover your cursor over a word (sorry, but you will need to use your mouse for this…), then type ⌘ + Control + D. This brings up a floating window that usually displays the dictionary definition of the word, but also includes tabs for Siri search results, and items in the iTunes Store or videos on the web that may be related to the word (see screenshot below).

(Press Command + Control + D over while hovering over any word to get details.)

9) Finder QuickView: Space bar

It always surprises me how many Mac users are unaware of QuickView in the macOS Finder. Select an item in the Finder by clicking on it, then press the space bar. Regardless of the type of file, QuickView displays it in detail in a window without launching an app. For an image file, it displays the image and offers to open it in Preview, while something created in a particular application (a Pages document, for example) displays the preview and provides a button for opening it in that app.

10) Jumping / selecting words while working with text: Option / Cmd / Shift + Arrow keys

While working in any text editor or word processing application, hold down the Option key and press a left/right arrow key to jump one word left/right. Option and the up arrow key takes you to the beginning of the paragraph, while Option and the down arrow takes you to the end of the paragraph.

In any line, hold Command ( ⌘ ) and press the left or right arrow key to go to the beginning or end of that line of text. ⌘ + up arrow takes the cursor to the top of the document; ⌘ + down arrow takes it all the way to the end of the document.

Finally, to select words without using your mouse or trackpad, hold down the shift key while using one of the Option or Command + arrow key shortcuts described here.

11) Open Desktop Folder: Command ( ⌘ ) + Shift + D

Need to look into your desktop folder to see what all you have on your Mac desktop? With the Finder active, press ⌘ + Shift + D to open the Desktop folder.

12) Open Documents Folder: Command ( ⌘ ) + Shift + O

In the Finder, pressing ⌘ + Shift + O opens the Documents folder (see screenshot below):

(Get a quick view of the Documents folder with ⌘ + Shift + O.)

13) Open Utilities: Command ( ⌘ ) + Shift + U

Need to call up Disk Utility, Activity Monitor, Keychain Access, Terminal or any of the other useful utilities in the Applications > Utilities folder? Open that folder in the Finder with ⌘ + Shift + U.

14) Switch through apps without using a mouse/trackpad: Command ( ⌘ ) + Tab

This is one of the most useful keyboard shortcuts if you need to quickly switch to one app while in another. Press ⌘ + Tab to bring up the Application Switcher (see screenshot below), which shows all currently apps currently open on the Mac. Pressing the Tab key repeatedly while holding down the ⌘ key moves through the apps one by one; ⌘ + Shift + Tab moves through the Application Switcher in the opposite direction.

15) Select All: Command ( ⌘ ) + A

This is a huge timesaver if you need to select all of the text, images, or files and folders in any window, as ⌘ + A selects everything. That’s how it’s possible to take this entire post (written in a text editor), select and copy it, and then paste it into the blog editor.

Author: Steve Sande – OWC

Apple’s intelligent assistant — Siri — received a bit of an update during the recent upgrade from macOS 10.12 Sierra to macOS 10.13 High Sierra. While the improvements aren’t earth-shattering, they do make using Siri on the Mac more enjoyable and productive. Here are the major changes that we’ve found in Siri while using macOS High Sierra.

More Natural-Sounding Voices
When you’re having a conversation with a virtual assistant in your Mac, it’s nice to have that assistant sound like a human assistant. Apple worked on making the voices for Siri much more expressive, with a faster cadence of responses as well.

The default voice for Siri — American (Female) — is probably the best and most realistic voice, although the male voice is also better than before. The biggest change is that Siri is now able to change intonation and emphasis based on what it is saying.

Type To Siri
Sometimes it’s inconvenient to talk to Siri, like when you’re in a meeting or doing research in a library. Fortunately, Siri in macOS High Sierra will now accept typed questions.

When Type to Siri is activated, you are no longer able to talk to Siri until you deactivate the feature. To activate Type to Siri, launch System Preferences on your Mac, click the Accessibility button, and then check the “Enable Type to Siri” box (see screenshot below).

When enabled, the Siri input window (which appears in the upper right side of the Mac screen) now shows a flashing cursor in front of the words “Type to Siri” (see screenshot below).

(How Siri responds when Type to Siri is enabled.)

Siri still responds verbally, so your attempts at being quiet will be for naught unless you have your Mac’s sound output set to go to a headset or AirPods. One other thing to remember: when activated from a headset, Siri will continue to beep and listen for voice input.

Siri: Your Automated DJ
Siri has been designed in High Sierra to work better with your music, especially if you are a subscriber to Apple Music. As you listen to Apple Music, Siri learns your preferences and will offer recommendations. For example, you can say “Play something mellow” or “Play more songs like this one” and Siri responds accordingly.

Siri can also play Apple Music stations, so a command like “Play my 70s station” will give you a never-ending string of hits from groups like Pink Floyd, The Allman Brothers Band, The Who and Led Zeppelin.

To help Siri get a feel for the songs or groups you like the most from Apple Music, just click the Siri button in the Dock or menu bar, and say “I like this song”.

From OWC Blog – Author: Steve Sande

Citing a risk of electrical shock, Apple has issued a voluntary recall on AC wall plug adapters designed for use in Continental Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Korea, Argentina and Brazil. Apple said today that the adapters may break and create a risk of electrical shock.

According to Apple, the adapters in question were shipped from 2003 to 2015 with Mac and certain iOS devices, and were also included in the Apple World Travel Adapter Kit.

If you suspect you may have bought one of these adapters, you can follow the instructions at Apple’s website to confirm whether yours is one of the affected models and also find out how to exchange it for a new and safer one.

There is no excuse to stop learning just because the week is about end. After all, learning about the Apple devices you like the most is always fun!

Today, we are going to put the spotlight on Messages, the very popular iOS app. Used in order to receive SMS, MMS, and iMessage files, the app is one of the most interesting iOS apps available at the moment. Capable of keeping us in contact with our loved ones on a constant basis, this app truly rocks.

Given below are some important tips that will help you use Messages in a whole new and fun way:

1. Send any voice message

It may seem like typing a text message on your iPhone or dictating something to Siri is as easy as it gets, but there is something even easier: sending voice messages.

To start recording a message, simply launch your Messages app and put the recipient’s name. Note that it is important for a recipient to have iMessages compatibility in order to receive your messages. Whether a person can receive iMessages or not can be understood by checking the color of that person’s name. If the person can receive iMessages, his or her name will appear blue. Otherwise, it will appear green.

A small button resembling ‘Microphone’ toward the right corner of the edit field of iMessage will help you record your message. To record something, simply press and hold the button. During the recording phase of your message, the screen of your device will show visual speech representation.

You continue recording your voice message as long as you keep your finger on the ‘Microphone’ symbol.

You lift your finger and this is what happens:

If you want to hear your recording, choose the ‘Play’ button. If you want to remove the recording, pick ‘X’, instead. The ‘Up’ arrow is useful if you want to send it.

In case you like to do things quickly, you can even slide your recording finger directly up after recording your message. That way, your message is recorded and sent in one go!

2. Send a video message within seconds

If you are on a vacation and you shoot a mesmerizing video, you do not need to edit your video and then fit it inside an email to share it with your friends. If you choose to, you can send it to your friends with just a single tap!

Toward the left part of the edit field of the app, one camera button can be found. You have to use that when recording a video message. Generally, the button takes care of the purpose of attaching pictures to a message, but it can be used to capture videos, as well. When you tap the button and hold it for a while, you will find that a semicircle appears on the screen.

Your device’s background starts showcasing whatever scene your camera is pointed at. After that, it is just a matter of tapping on the red button you see to begin recording a video. If you want to stop a recording, you can tap the same button once more.

You can even take stills to complement your video. For the purpose, tapping the button with camera icon is enough.

If you want to switch from FaceTime or front camera to iSight or rear camera, and vice versa, you can do that by using the small camera button which can be found toward the upper right corner.

Checking your video clip before finally sending it is possible, too. Once you are done recording a video, the ‘Record’ button transforms into ‘Play’ to allow you to do exactly that. To send your video, locate the button resembling up arrow, and tap it.

3. View when a message was sent or received in time stamp mode.

The Messages app keeps track of the time when a message is sent, or received. However, at first glance, that may not seem obvious, as it hides the time-stamp in order to keep the appearance free of clutter. If you want to see when a message came in, you can just swipe toward your left and have the time-stamp appear in all its glory. Once you lift your finger after swiping, the time-stamp will disappear automatically.

4. Let Siri say it all

If you get a quite lengthy message from your buddy or boss, and you have no desire to read it yourself, you can simply ask Siri to read the same for you.

Locate the message and double tap on it. Once that is done, a menu will appear containing the options ‘Speak’ and ‘Copy’. Select ‘Speak’ to hear Siri read your message. In this case, Siri will even speak misspellings pretty well.

Note, however, that you must allow the feature beforehand. In order to do that, Go to ‘Accessibility’ under ‘General’ settings and tap the ‘Speech’ option.

5. Get your message sent using Siri

Even at times when you do not have the convenience of typing a message for someone, you can still get your message through using Siri. Just use the microphone of your phone to record your voice message, and send it. In case you want to send a video message, the camera will be of assistance.

This feature is especially helpful for keeping in touch with people via message when you are driving. To enable the feature, take your iOS device, go to ‘Siri’ under ‘General’ settings, and allow the ‘Hey Siri’ feature.

You can send many different messages with the help of Siri. One example of what you can dictate is “Hey Siri, tell Janet I’m on my way home.”

Whatever message you choose to send, Siri will present to you a screen containing your message in every case. However, be sure to avoid looking at the same in case you are driving your car. Siri will also ask you whether you would like to send your message, or not. To allow, say ‘Send it’, or ‘Yes’.

In case you want to cancel sending the same, you can simply say ‘Cancel’. You can even review your message if you want to, by giving the command ‘Review the message’ to Siri. When you ask Siri to review your message, your message will be read back by the app, followed by seeking your confirmation to send the same.

If, after hearing your message, you do not want to send it you can simply change your message by asking Siri to ‘Change it’.

Even though it seems like cellular signal is available pretty much everywhere on the planet these days, sometimes there are still places where cellular signal does not reach. You may find your phone without signal in the middle of Australian Alps when you are climbing a mountain, for instance, or in the outback when you are riding a bike in the countryside!

Fortunately, to help you deal with those times when you just cannot get phone reception no matter how hard you look, Google Maps gives you the feature to save any map for offline use.

Of course, when you are offline you will not be able to get directions or do any other fancy stuff, but still, having a good map can save you from getting lost.

If you have never used the offline map feature before, the following steps will guide you:

Step 1:

Turn on your Wi-Fi or cellular data in a place where signal is available, like your hotel or house, and launch your Google Maps. Make sure that you sign into your Google Account before using the app.

Step 2:

Search the map of your destination by either speaking its name or by typing the same inside the search box.

Step 3:

Look for the location name toward the lower part of the phone screen, and tap it. A screen containing data about weather and certain facts will appear.

Step 4:

Locate three dots toward the upper right corner of the screen and tap the dots (see the arrow in the screenshot above).

Step 5:

Click on ‘Save Offline Map’ option from the list of options you get. The app will ask you whether you want to save your map. To go ahead, perform a bit of zoom in and zoom out in order to adjust the total area you wish to save. Once you are satisfied with the area, click the ‘Download’ button, which can be found toward the bottom left corner. Then, save your map using a name that you can remember easily.

Step 6:

To make sure that your saved maps have fresh information, you may want to update your maps on a monthly basis. That is because 30 days is the default period for which Google Maps are considered as up to date. To open any of your saved maps later, click the ‘Hamburger’ button after launching your Google Maps app. The ‘Hamburger’ button can be found toward the left of the search box.

Step 7:

Select ‘Your Places’ from the menu you get. You will see a list of all the maps you have saved lately to use offline. Locate whichever map you wish to view and tap on it to expand.

Even though you cannot get directions or search for anything specific when dealing with your offline maps, you can still get a lot of information, including points of interest. You can locate a great restaurant, for instance, even when there is absolutely zero cellular reception in the area.

In case you use a limited data pack on your iPhone, offline maps will help you save some of your precious megabytes. On the other hand, in case your phone does not have much space left, you will reduce its space further by saving maps to use offline.

1. First, you will need to log into your user account.
https://www.macfixit.com.au/customer/account/login/

If you placed your order as a guest, you’ll need to follow the link below in order to create an account.
https://www.macfixit.com.au/index.php/GuestAccount/Front/AccountForm

2. Once you have reached the user dashboard, you will need to click on the product return link on the left hand side of the screen.

3. From this section you will be able to see your returns history and request a new product return. You can do this by clicking on the grey button that we’ve highlighted on the screenshot below.

4. Select the order that the item that you wish to return belongs to.

5. Once you’ve reached this area, you will find two information fields. Please check that the personal details in the “main information” box are correct. In the “products” box you will need to specify how many units you wish to return, the reason for returning them, and a quick description of the issue that you’ve encountered.

6. Click on the “Submit request” button.

7. Once this is done, a member of our staff will get back to you to confirm that you’re eligible for the return. You will also receive an email asking you to log back into your account to print the appropriate documents.

Please note: we try to review all return requests within 48 hours. If you haven’t heard back from us after a week, please login to your account to check the status of your return. Alternatively you’re more than welcome to contact our support team at helpdesk@macfixit.com.au.

8. Once the status of your return has switched to “product return accepted”, please click on the “view” link on the right hand side.

9. Click on the “Print Product Return Form” button.

10. Please read the terms and conditions carefully, tick the “I Agree” box, and then the “Submit” button to print the documentation.

11. Pack your item safely with the relevant paperwork, and ship it to:

Return Department
Macfixit Australia
PO Box 2244
Footscray
Victoria 3011

Please keep in mind that all returns must be sent out within the RMA validity period.

As always, please let us know if you have any issues doing this and we’ll be more than happy to give you a hand!