Tech News and Commentary

Dave and the team discuss a Apple's appeal before the Supreme Court, Microsoft and Apple's worths, Amazon's data breach, Elon Musk's new warning, 4K TV shipments, an online cemetery for Google services, Lowes exiting the smarhome market, and more.

Ken in Brandon, Mississippi listens on SuperTalk Mississippi and asked: "Should I be concerned when I download an app, and it says in order to use the app, I have to give them access to my photos, or my contacts? It just seems suspicious to me. "

 

Unless those apps have a legitimate reason to need access to your photos or contacts, then yes, you probably should be.

Mobile operating systems try to keep your data safe by requiring explicit permission to access different sets of your data. For example, a VoIP app would have a reason to need access to your contacts and your microphone, but probably not your photos. A camera app would have a reason to need to access your photos, but probably not your contacts.

If you, for example, downloaded a car racing game and it asked you for access to your contacts, it’d be a good idea to wonder why. Plenty of companies will pay for private data of different kinds, so trying to take more information than you realize you’re giving away is a practice that has been common and profitable for malicious actors for the last few years.

We should point out that if you don’t agree to give the app access to the data it’s requesting the operating system won’t grant it.

The app itself may decide to stop working unless you give the permissions it’s after, but they will not be granted without your say so.

Penny in Windsor, Ontario listens on AM800 CKLW “The Information Station” and asked: "I have a Samsung 6 and for the life of me, I can't get it to charge past 76%. Used to go all the way to 100. It's not that old. I've looked on Google and I can't find any information. I've tried different cords and nothing seems to work. Wondering if you guys had any idea what would be causing that."

 

Penny, that doesn’t sound like a cord problem, that sounds like a battery problem.

If by Samsung 6 you meant you have an S6 then it’s a phone that came out in 2015, that would give it plenty of time to reach enough charge cycles for the battery to start losing capacity. Batteries measure their lifespans in charge cycles. There’s an expected number of charge cycles before the chemicals in the battery stop being able to hold as much of a charge.

You could try to recalibrate the phone by running it on battery until it turns off and charging it back to full a number of times, but batteries haven’t needed that kind of calibration in a long time.

Your best bet for fixing this issue to replace the battery itself. Unfortunately, the S6’s battery is not meant to be user replaceable, so you probably want to take it somewhere to get it replaced. Samsung will do for about $45, Best Buy will probably charge you around $90.

Not too long ago, we would’ve told you to not even bother and just replace the phone instead - but since manufacturers have taken to charging close to $1000 for new phones, repairs like battery swaps have become better options.

If nothing else, extending the life of the phone may give you some time to put together those crazy amounts of money that you’ll need to buy a new phone in the future.

 

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