Samsung Wallet now supports Digital Keys for select Audi vehicles. The luxury car manufacturer joins the growing list of car brands (BMW, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, and Subaru) with a Digital Key for Samsung devices.

Powered by advanced Ultra-Wideband (UWB) and Near-Field Communication (NFC) technology, the Digital Key will allow Audi owners to start their cars, lock/unlock doors, and open the trunk from their Galaxy smartphone. The key also works when the user’s phone shuts down or runs out of battery.

The Samsung Wallet app hosts several features that provide convenience and protect the key from unauthorized access. “Passive entry,” for instance, is a hands-free feature that lets drivers lock, unlock, and start their vehicles without taking their phones out of their pockets.

With Passive entry, the Digital Key locks the doors when the driver exits the vehicle and unlocks them upon approach. There’s also identity verification and remote lock. If an Audi car owner loses their Samsung phone, they can delete or suspend their Digital Key through Samsung’s Find My Mobile service.

Although a Digital Key can only have one primary user/device, car owners can share their keys with anyone using compatible Samsung devices. Using or sharing the Digital Key requires a UWB-compatible Samsung phone from the Galaxy S, Galaxy Z, or the now-discontinued Galaxy Note series. Compatible devices must also run at least Android 13 or higher versions.

The Audi Digital Key rollout starts this November for users in the following European countries: Spain, France, Italy, Sweden, Finland, Switzerland, Norway, Denmark, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Additionally, Digital Key support starts with the Audi A5 series, A6 e-tron series, and Q6 e-tron series.

Samsung says it’ll align the global rollout of the Digital Key with Audi’s launch schedule for its forthcoming vehicles. Learn more about using the Samsung Wallet Digital Key on the Samsung Support website.

The post Samsung Announces Digital Key for Audi Vehicles first appeared on Online Tech Tips.

X (formerly Twitter) is testing a free tier of Grok, its humorous AI search assistant, for non-paying users. Grok is available to Premium and Premimum+ subscribers in the social media app. However, several users in New Zealand report receiving notifications to “Try Grok for free.”

Like other AI chatbots (ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, etc.), Grok’s free tier has usage limits. An X user shared that Grok’s free tier allows ten “Grok 2” and 20 “Grok 2 mini” questions every two hours.

That totals 120 and 240 daily questions for Grok 2 and Grok 2 mini, respectively. Additionally, non-paying Grok users are limited to three image analyses daily. It’s currently unclear if the image analysis limit applies to Grok 2, Grok 2 mini, or both.

As gathered from several non-official sources, Grok’s free tier has several eligibility requirements. First, only X accounts older than seven days can use the chatbot for free. Also, eligible users must have a valid phone number linked to their accounts. We expect X to provide more eligibility and usage information when it extends the free tier to more countries/regions.

Grok is one of the few AI chatbots that are only available to paid subscribers. Opening Premium features to non-paying X users will likely increase Grok’s adoption and market share in the AI assistant ecosystem. Grok is accessible via x.com and the X app for iOS and Android. Maybe someday, the AI assistant will be available to people outside the platform without an X account.

In unrelated news, Grok will reportedly be getting a logo refresh. The current logo is a forward slash that originates from the X logo. The screenshot above shows a new logo on the X website’s navigation bar, which some users say resembles a pig’s snout.

The post X is Rolling Out a Free Tier of Its Grok AI Chatbot first appeared on Online Tech Tips.

Announced back in April, Google is finally rolling out Vids—its video creation tool—to the Workspace ecosystem. With Google Vids, Workspace users can create videos from scratch or using pre-existing templates. You can use Vids to record voiceovers and videos of yourself or your screen (or both, simultaneously). Vids also has an AI-powered “Help me create” feature that uses Gemini, Google’s AI model, to help users create videos.

All that’s required is providing Vids a written prompt with as much information/content as possible and attaching relevant documents. For instance, you could instruct Gemini to create a pitch video using information from a business plan document in Google Docs.

Using your prompt, Gemini can create a storyboard, suggest scenes, and generate scripts for video and audio voiceovers. The generated video will contain stock media (videos, images, music, sound effects, stickers, or GIFs) and AI-generated images. You can swap the content of the Gemini-generated Vids with your preferred media.

Google says users can create videos in their local languages, but some features (Templates, “Help me create,” etc.) are currently available in English.

Although only users with access to Workspace Labs can create videos on Google Vids, anyone with a Google account can view and collaborate on a video. Additionally, creating and editing videos in Google Vids is only available on desktops via compatible web browsers. Users with mobile devices can only view content made in Google Vids. Google recommends the latest Chrome, Firefox, or Microsoft Edge versions—some features don’t work in Safari.

Videos created in Google Vids cannot be longer than 10 minutes. Google says the time limit is to maximize viewer engagement. Also, you can only create horizontal videos because, according to Google, Vids is currently optimized for desktop use. Hence, Vids may not be the best platform for creating videos for mobile audiences. Visit the Google Vids Help Center for more information and tutorials on using the video creation app.

The post Google Launches Vids, an AI Video Tool for Workspace Users first appeared on Online Tech Tips.

Terracotta is the most visually versatile material in Minecraft. It is strong like stone blocks and can be dyed and glazed into several colors and different patterns, making it an aesthetic building block.

In this guide, we will cover how to make terracotta, how to find terracotta, how to dye it or give it patterns, and how to use it, especially glazed terracotta that requires some care.

What Is Terracotta in Minecraft?

Terracotta is a type of building block in Minecraft that can both be found and crafted from other materials (clay blocks). It is an excellent material for any construction project with similar durability to a stone block (and the same blast resistance, too).

The main draw of using terracotta is its visual range – a terracotta block can have 16 different colors, giving you more control over the look of your structures than you get with most building blocks. Once smelted, it has various patterns for an even more decorative appearance, making it the most visually versatile block in the game.

Required Materials for Terracotta

Terracotta is in the weird position of being a material you can find naturally by mining and a material you can craft with the right ingredients. The materials to make terracotta are common – all you need is a clay block (or clay balls) and fuel to smelt it.

Clay is very easy to obtain, generating naturally around sources of water. Caves with ponds, the bottom of rivers and lakes, and even ocean beds or swamps are very abundant sources of clay blocks. You don’t need to break any bedrock; clay is usually found in shallow depths.

You don’t need any specific tools to mine a clay block either – while shovels are the fastest, any tool can break clay blocks. Once you have the clay, you can put it in a furnace with some fuel to turn it into terracotta. Any fuel would do; it’s only to keep the furnace burning.

How to Make Terracotta in Minecraft?

Perhaps the easiest way to acquire some terracotta is to craft it, as clay is its base ingredient and is much easier to obtain.
Like in real life, terracotta is made by baking a clay block, which in Minecraft means smelting it. Take a block of clay and smelt it in the furnace using any ore to obtain a terracotta block. Remember that smelting clay balls turns them into bricks instead, so make sure to combine your clay balls back into a block if you want terracotta. Four clay balls can be crafted into a single clay block.

Of course, this method is very fuel-intensive, so it is not preferred early in the game if you need terracotta building blocks on a large scale unless you have reached a point where you are swimming in fuel and furnaces.

How to Get Terracotta in Minecraft?

Terracotta is one of the rare materials in the game that can be found naturally, traded, and even crafted from other materials. As such, there are multiple sources for getting Terracotta in Minecraft.

Trading with villagers is often a good way to get hard-to-find materials by giving up your surplus gemstones. This is especially useful for obtaining terracotta as the villagers can have a color that you might not be able to find yourself.

Terracotta is on the cheaper side (if emeralds can be considered cheap), costing only one emerald per block. However, only expert stonemasons sell these, so you should look around a little.

Where to Find Terracotta in Minecraft?

Terracotta is generated naturally in badland biomes, so you can quickly rack up a stack of its blocks by mining there. The color ranges between the red and yellow hues, with some uncolored and grey blocks also mixed in.

Apart from mining them naturally, terracotta building blocks may also be found in certain village houses, specifically mason houses in deserts and occasionally savannah villages. While these sport the same colors found in the badlands, you can get some rare blue Terracotta blocks in underwater ruins and other colors in the trail ruins.

The occasional blue block is also found in desert pyramids, but mostly, you will get red-yellowish blocks there. They are still a good source if you haven’t yet found a badland biome.

How to Use Terracotta in Minecraft?

Once you are past the early stages of setting up your first ramshackle shelters in Minecraft, you will reach a stage when you want to start making structures that look appealing. And the main thing you need for that are colored building blocks.

Since you can’t paint stone blocks, Terracotta is the best option. Terracotta can be dyed in sixteen colors (many are also naturally found), giving you access to smooth, solid color blocks for your building projects. Concrete is an even better-colored building block, but that’s a bit harder to get early on, and it lacks the glazed versions of terracotta.

Buildings aside, glazed terracotta blocks make for great interior decoration. Each colored terracotta block has its version of glazed terracotta, obtained by smelting the block in the furnace.

While terracotta does not interact with redstone, combining redstone doors with glazed terracotta walls can create an interesting look.

How to Make Terracotta Blocks of Different Colors

We have seen how to obtain terracotta, but finding a specific color of terracotta from natural sources is tricky. It would be much better if you could change the colors of the terracotta blocks you already have.

And you can. The crafting table in Minecraft lets you dye terracotta into any color you want, using one unit of the respective dye to color eight blocks at once. This means it is a very efficient recipe, and you don’t need that much dye to make it work.

Remember, however, that you can only dye a terracotta block once; a dyed terracotta block cannot be dyed again. This restriction applies to colored terracotta you may find as well. It can be smelted to yield a glazed terracotta block, but more on that in the next section.

How to Add Patterns to Terracotta?

Okay, so you can use the crafting table to dye your terracotta blocks, but that just gives them a solid block of color. What if you want the blocks to have fancy patterns?
You can do that too! For this, you must smelt a dyed terracotta block with any fuel in the furnace. The result would be a patterned terracotta block, with the actual look and pattern depending on the color you started with.

The patterns are tiled – placing multiple glazed terracotta blocks of the same pattern in a grid creates larger repeating patterns. This makes it perfect for designer floors, ceilings, or even walls if you like that look.

Every type of glazed terracotta block creates this unique corner pattern when placed in a 2×2 grid, but orientation can be crucial. For instance, blue-glazed terracotta can create this.

Experiment with the other glazed terracotta blocks to find all the patterns and decide on your favorite!

Conclusion

Terracotta is the ideal building material in the game, capable of being dyed in several colors and glazed into interesting patterns. Sure, it is not as common as stone, but since there are multiple ways of obtaining terracotta, you will probably not have much trouble past the early game.

Start by searching the badlands biome to find terracotta directly. Otherwise, trade with villagers (assuming you have the emeralds), or just craft them from clay blocks that are much easier to get.

With sixteen different colors and the same number of glazed variants, you have a whopping thirty-two types of terracotta blocks to choose from. Do you see all those ambitious Minecraft projects? They are all dependent on the terracotta block’s visual range. Mine or craft some terracotta yourself to get started with your creative constructions!

The post How to Make Terracotta in Minecraft first appeared on Online Tech Tips.

Whether you’re streaming your favorite show, working from home, or participating in an online class, a reliable internet connection is essential. Your router delivers that connection to all your wireless devices. This article shows why (and how) to restart your WiFi router to ensure optimal performance.

Why Rebooting Your Router is Important

WiFi routers are critical in managing and directing internet traffic in your network. They connect multiple devices, manage data flow, and ensure smooth communication between your devices and the internet. However, routers can experience issues that affect performance.

Common problems you can resolve by rebooting your router include:

1. Slow internet speeds
   
2. Connectivity issues
   
3. Network congestion
   

Rebooting the router may resolve these issues by:

• Clearing the cache: Frees up memory and removes outdated information.
  
• Refreshing the firmware: Ensures that old firmware issues or corrupted processes are resolved.
  
• Releasing and renewing memory: Helps resolve memory leaks and other memory-related problems.
  
• Cooling down the hardware: Provides a break for the router, reducing the risk of overheating.
  
• Reorganizing the routing table: Improves the efficiency of data packet routing.
  
• Resetting DNS settings: Clears any problematic DNS entries.
  

Are slow internet speeds still a problem? Try restarting your phone or whatever device you’re using. This also can clear the cache and reset DNS settings.

Steps to Reboot Your WiFi Router

Rebooting your router is a straightforward process that involves power cycling. A hard reboot shuts down all processes and removes power from the router, whereas a soft reboot may not completely turn off power to the internal circuits. It may keep certain things running while it restarts processes and services. The two are close enough for most situations.

Here’s how you can do a hard reboot:

1. Locate your router: Find your WiFi router, which is typically connected to a power outlet and a modem. Often, the modem and WiFi router are the same device.
   
2. Unplug the router: This will cause your devices to disconnect from the Internet. Disconnect the power cable from the router. If your router has a power button, you can use that instead. Do NOT use the Reset. That will remove all the router settings and may keep you disconnected from the Internet until you can re-enter the settings.
   
3. Wait for 30 seconds: This allows the router to power down and clear its memory.
   
4. Plug the router back in: Reconnect the power cable to the router or turn it back on using the power button.
   
5. Wait for the router to reboot: This can take a few minutes. The router will go through its startup sequence and reconnect to the internet.
   

A soft reboot is similar, except you only push the power button (or sometimes a separate reset button), wait 30 seconds, and then push the power button to turn it on again.

By following these steps, you should see an improvement in your network’s performance.

Router Restart vs. Router Reset

We mentioned the router reset earlier. You need to know the difference between restarting and resetting your router:

• Restarting (or rebooting): This involves power cycling the router. It does not change any of your settings or configurations.
  
• Resetting: This restores the router to its factory default settings, erasing all custom configurations, such as your WiFi name and password.
  

Restarting is a quick fix for temporary issues, while resetting is a last resort for persistent problems. Before resetting your router, ensure you have all the necessary information to reconfigure it. Fortunately, resetting a router requires a paperclip to be stuck in the reset hole and held for at least 10 seconds. It’s not something you can do accidentally.

How Often Should You Reboot Your Router?

General recommendations suggest rebooting your router at least once a month to maintain performance. However, factors such as heavy internet usage, multiple connected devices, or frequent connection drops may necessitate more frequent reboots. Some manufacturers may provide specific guidelines, so it’s worth checking your router’s manual. Some routers even can schedule reboots.

Rebooting Your Router from a PC or Mobile Device

Modern routers often come with the ability to be rebooted remotely via a web browser or mobile app. Here’s how you can do it:

Using a Web Browser

1. Open your web browser and enter the router’s IP address (usually 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1).
   
2. Log in to the admin panel using your username and password.
   
3. Navigate to the reboot option, usually found in the settings or maintenance section.
   
4. Select Reboot and confirm the action.
   

Using a Mobile App

1. Download the manufacturer’s app (such as Netgear, TP-Link, or Linksys).
   
2. Log in to your account and access the router settings.
   
3. Find the reboot option and select it to restart your router remotely.
   

Phone apps are convenient, especially if your router is not easily accessible. You don’t have to know the IP address of your router.

Considerations When Rebooting Your Router

When rebooting your router, keep the following in mind:

• Save your work: Rebooting will temporarily disconnect your internet, so ensure any online work is saved.
  
• Check cable connections: Ensure all cables are securely connected to prevent physical damage or loose connections. Follow each cable to both ends and ensure they’re firmly seated.
  
• Understand the process: Know the difference between rebooting and resetting to avoid unintentional changes to your settings.
  

Conclusion

Regularly rebooting your WiFi router is a simple yet effective way to maintain a stable and efficient network. Following the steps outlined in this article, you can resolve common connectivity issues and ensure your internet performs at its best. If you encounter persistent problems, consider seeking professional assistance. Often, your internet service provider’s help desk can provide assistance, especially if it’s a router/modem device they’ve provided.

The post How to Reboot a WiFi Router first appeared on Online Tech Tips.

Snapchat is a social media platform designed to build social connections. It allows you to message your friends and family with text, videos, and photos.

Building up your network by adding new friends is the best way to get the most out of Snapchat. An excellent way to do this is by looking into your Snapchat mutual friends and adding friends missing from your list. You can never have too many friends, right?

In this article, we’ll explain what mutual friends are and how to add them to your Snapchat account. If you want to know how to see mutual friends on Snapchat, follow the step-by-step guide below.

What Are “Mutual Friends” on Snapchat?

Mutual friends on Snapchat are people both you and another user have on your friend lists. They’re the common contacts you share with someone else on the app. Snapchat figures out mutual friends by looking at your friend list and comparing it to other users’ lists. When it finds matches, those become your mutual friends.

Mutual friends can help you find new people to connect with on Snapchat. They’re like a bridge between you and potential new friends. It’s easier to trust someone when you know you have friends in common. You might spot familiar faces in your friend’s stories or group chats.

Is It Possible to View Mutual Friends on Snapchat?

Snapchat doesn’t let you see a complete list of mutual friends—you can only view an approximate count of shared connections. This keeps user privacy intact.

You can look for possible mutual friends on the Add Friends page. If a user appears here with a ‘mutual friends’ count below the name and username, it’s a sign that one of your friends has that user added.

However, Snapchat’s focus on privacy means you’ll never see a complete list of mutual friends or be able to link them to a specific friend you have added. The app only gives you hints about shared connections without revealing specifics.

How to See Mutual Friends on Snapchat

Snapchat doesn’t show a complete list of mutual friends, but you can still get an idea of shared connections from the Add friends menu. To find mutual friends on Snapchat, follow these steps.

1. Open the Snapchat app.
   
2. Tap Add friends in the top right corner.
   

3. Look through the Quick Add section and check for usernames with X+ mutual friends next to them. These are users with the same mutual friends as yourself. If you’re in a shared group chat, these users will be with the message In X+ groups with me instead.
   
4. To add a mutual friend on Snapchat, tap the Add button next to their name.

You can also find mutual Snapchat friends when adding contacts from your phone. Snapchat will show which of your contacts are already on the app and allow you to add these potential connections to your friends list.

Remember, Snapchat keeps exact friend lists private. You won’t see the names of mutual friends, just a general count. This helps protect user privacy while still letting you find potential new connections.

How to See Approximate Mutual Friends Count on Snapchat

As explained, finding an exact number of mutual friends is impossible. You can’t look at another user’s friends list to identify any matching friends you might have.

The only way to get a rough idea is to use the Add friends menu and pick out friends labeled with mutual friends.

To see the approximate mutual friend count, follow these steps.

1. Open the Snapchat app.
   
2. Tap Add friends in the top right corner.

3. In the Quick Add area, check for usernames with the X+ mutual friends label.

The count isn’t exact—it only gives you a general idea of the number of mutual connections you have with that other user. A higher number means you’re more likely to know that person, but you won’t know who exactly has them added (although you might be able to guess).

You can use this information to decide if you want to add someone. It’s a quick way to find people in your Snapchat social circle.

How to Connect with Known People on Snapchat

Want to add some friends that you are guaranteed to know? You could share your contacts with Snapchat. Snapchat will then check the phone numbers for your contacts and see if any of them have a Snapchat user account.

To add new Snapchat contacts from your phone, follow these steps.

1. Open the Snapchat app.
   
2. Select Add friends.

3. Tap All Contacts and allow Snapchat to access your contacts.

4. Once your contacts are uploaded, tap Add next to any names you want to add to send a new friend request.

You can also search for friends by username or name. Just type it in the search bar at the top of the screen. As long as you haven’t blocked that user on Snapchat (or they’ve blocked you), they’ll appear in the search for you to add.

Is Quick Add Based on Mutual Friends on Snapchat?

The Quick Add section in Snapchat’s Add Friends menu uses mutual friends as one factor to suggest new connections. The feature looks at your existing friends and suggests people they know.

You’ll see names, usernames, and the number of mutual friends you share. The list also includes users you may have interacted with in group chats or added to your phone contacts after syncing them with Snapchat.

This makes it easier to find people you might want to add. To use the Quick Add tool, follow these steps.

1. Open Snapchat and tap your profile icon.
   
2. Tap the Add Friends button.

3. In the Quick Add section, look through the list of names and usernames.
   
4. Tap Add to add any of the suggestions.

The Quick Add section will update regularly with new users, so check it often to discover more potential friends.

Conclusion

As we’ve explained, looking through a list of your friend’s friends is impossible, but Snapchat has a fairly robust system for pointing out mutual friends and recommending them to you as a new connection.

Remember that the Quick Add tool is best used when you sync your contacts, although this comes with privacy concerns. If you’re worried, you can remove your synced contacts list from Snapchat via the Settings menu later. You can also remove any friends you’ve previously added from your Snapchat friend list at any time.

Of course, don’t forget the obvious way to add a friend on Snapchat—ask them directly for their username and add them manually. It might be time-consuming, but at least you’ll be guaranteed to be adding a friend you know!

The post How to See Mutual Friends On Snapchat first appeared on Online Tech Tips.

WhatsApp’s latest feature, Custom Lists, permits the creation of custom categories for chat filtering. Previously, WhatsApp had only three chat filters: Unread, Favorites, and Groups. These filters were uneditable, so users could only filter conversations by preassigned categories.

With Custom List, WhatsApp users can create new categories and sort chats using custom filters. For instance, you can create a “Work” custom list for work-only chats or groups. That allows you to quickly sort and find conversations with your coworkers at the tap of a button. If you’re using WhatsApp Business, creating dedicated lists for “Enquiries,” “Suppliers,” or “Refunds” helps you better organize conversations.

The WhatsApp filter bar (below the search box) will now carry a plus (+) icon. Tapping the icon creates a new custom list synchronized across your devices. Custom lists can have alphabets, numbers, symbols, or emojis in their titles.

You can rename or delete a list by long-pressing it (in the filter tab) and choosing List name or Delete list, respectively. You’ll find more management options for custom lists in the WhatsApp Settings menu (Menu > Settings > Lists). Say you want to reorder your custom lists on the filter tab; you can only do so from the Lists settings menu.

WhatsApp allows a maximum of 20 custom lists per user/account. According to WABetaInfo, WhatsApp added the upper limit to prevent the app’s interface from “becoming cluttered with too many filters.”

Custom Lists are private, which means only you can see and manage your custom list. The feature joins the slew of new additions (Story Mentions, Cloud-Based Contacts, etc.) to the instant messaging platform. According to WhatsApp, custom lists will be available to all users in the coming weeks. The feature will likely roll out with an app update, so ensure WhatsApp is up-to-date on your device.

The post WhatsApp Introduces “Custom Lists” for Better Chat Filtering first appeared on Online Tech Tips.

OpenAI is incorporating web search functionality into ChatGPT to help users find better answers from relevant, trustworthy, and high-quality sources. The company calls it “SearchGPT” and notes that it’ll refine how ChatGPT users engage information while helping content owners reach a wider audience.

With SearchGPT, the AI chatbot will search the web depending on the user’s query or question. Users can also manually perform a web search by selecting the new “web search icon” below the text box. Like Microsoft’s Copilot, ChatGPT will cite referenced web sources at the button of its responses.

Selecting the “Sources” button will open a citation sidebar showing exactly where the chatbot’s responses came from. The sidebar will include links to the web sources (blog posts, news articles, forums, etc.) and their publication dates.

ChatGPT search uses content provided by its publishing partners, third-party search providers, and websites that allow OpenAI’s OAI-Searchbot crawlers. SearchGPT is available on desktop (via chatgpt.com) and the ChatGPT app for Android, iPhone, and iPad.

OpenAI intends to improve ChatGPT search, especially for shopping and travel. In addition to web search integration, ChatGPT will display visual (images and videos) results for weather, maps, news, sports, and stocks-related queries. According to OpenAI, these visual results will give users a richer understanding of responses to their queries.

SearchGPT first debuted as a temporary prototype about three months ago. The web search functionality is now live for ChatGPT Plus and Team users, as well as people who signed up for the SearchGPT waitlist. The feature will roll out to users on Enterprise and Education “in the next few weeks,” while Free plans will get access “over the coming months.”

OpenAI mentions that unregistered or logged-out users will also have access to ChatGPT’s new web search experience in the future. However, for now, only registered users (particularly paid subscribers) get priority access.

The post OpenAI Launches ChatGPT Search to Battle Google and Bing Search first appeared on Online Tech Tips.

WhatsApp is introducing a new way for users to save and manage contacts on their devices. The instant messaging platform now lets users create a cloud-based contact list different from their device’s phonebook.

Adding a contact on WhatsApp requires scanning the person’s QR code or saving their phone number to your device. The new feature allows you to add WhatsApp contacts without saving their phone number to your device.

Users can toggle the new “Sync contact to phone” option on the contact creation/addition screen to save contacts exclusively to WhatsApp or locally on their devices.

Contacts saved to WhatsApp are securely encrypted and saved within the platform using WhatsApp’s new Identify Proof Linked Storage (IPLS) technology. In the event of device change or loss, WhatsApp automatically restores your contact list to your new device.  

Additionally, users can access and manage WhatsApp-exclusive contacts across linked devices like WhatsApp Web and desktop apps.

According to WhatsApp, separating personal and business contacts on the same device would be a good use case for a WhatsApp-exclusive contact list. For instance, you can save personal contacts on your phone while business contacts stay on WhatsApp.

WhatsApp says the new feature is a strategic piece of a larger puzzle. Saving contacts to WhatsApp feeds into the company’s long-term plan of letting users save and manage contacts by username—just like Telegram. With usernames, WhatsApp intends to increase privacy by eliminating the need to reveal or share phone numbers.

The new contact syncing option will be available to all WhatsApp users globally in the coming weeks. While you await the feature, ensure you have the latest WhatsApp version installed on your mobile device and computer. Likewise, update your web browser if you use WhatsApp Web.

Check out WhatsApp’s official announcement to learn more about the new approach to contact management.

The post WhatsApp Launches Cloud-Based Contact Managment Feature first appeared on Online Tech Tips.

After several months of development, Samsung is releasing the stable version of the Wear OS 5-based One UI 6 Watch. The update is already rolling out to One UI Watch Beta program participants, while users who weren’t Beta testers will receive it in the coming weeks.

According to the release note (shared by some Reddit users), Samsung will no longer release any Beta version of the One UI 6 Watch. Samsung also urges Beta participants to install the stable version as it’s terminating support for Beta builds. The One UI 6 Watch is 136.33 MB and includes the October 1 security patch.

One UI 6 Watch brings new Samsung Health functionalities, Galaxy AI-powered sleep analysis, improved navigation/gesture controls, more power-saving options, upgraded system font, and other exciting features to compatible Galaxy Watches.

Samsung’s newest flagship watches—the Galaxy Watch 7 and Watch Ultra—launched with One UI 6 Watch out-of-the-box. Devices eligible for this update include the Galaxy Watch 6, Watch 6 Classic, Watch 5, Watch 5 Pro, Watch 4, Watch 4 Classic, and Watch FE.

One UI 6 Watch Beta program was exclusive to the United States and Korea. Hence, we expect the update to be available in these markets in the first weeks before rolling out to other regions. You should get a notification to install One UI 6 Watch when it becomes available for your device or region. Alternatively, check for the update manually—see Samsung’s tutorial on updating Galaxy Watches.

The post Samsung Releases Stable One UI 6 Watch Update first appeared on Online Tech Tips.

Months ago, Google introduced “Listen to this page” mode in Chrome (for Android) as an experimental flag. The accessibility feature reads texts from websites in over 25 languages, allowing users to customize playback speed and voice. “Listen to this page” is now rolling out globally with even newer functionalities.

Minimizing the browser to use other apps paused the text-to-speech audio playback. Google’s latest update to the browser adds background playback to the feature, which fixes this shortcoming.

“Listen to this page” will continue audio playback on your device when you minimize Chrome or switch to another app. When minimized, Chrome displays a media player in your device’s notification panel.

The media player displays the page headline, website name, and basic controls to fast-forward, rewind, and pause/resume playback. The in-app mini-player has a progress indicator and more controls for adjusting speed, voice, and language.

Tap the More icon in the top-right corner and select Listen to this page to use the text-to-speech feature.

When you turn on the “Listen to this page,” the mini-player appears at the bottom of the webpage. Interestingly, the mini-player stays docked to the bottom of the browser even when you switch to other tabs.

The feature has ten voice options and eight playback speeds (0.5x – 4x). You can also configure “Listen to this page” to highlight text and auto-scroll the webpage as it reads the content.

“Listen to this page” is available in the latest Google Chrome version in the Google Play Store. However, Google says the text-to-speed functionality doesn’t yet work on all websites. So, you may not find “Listen to this page” in Chrome’s menu for some websites.

If the feature doesn’t work for all websites, update Chrome (and your device) to the latest version and check again. Check out this Google Help Center page to learn more about “Listen to this page mode” in Chrome.

The post Chrome for Android Gets “Listen to this page” Mode (with Background Playback) first appeared on Online Tech Tips.

Every year, YouTube releases a major update introducing new features to the video-sharing platform. According to YouTube, this year’s update comes with over two dozen features and improvements directly informed by users’ feedback. These features include visual improvements and functional enhancements to the YouTube app for mobile, web, and TV.

First on the list is Sleep Timer. Previously restricted to Premium members, Sleep Timer is now available for all YouTube users. Anyone can now set YouTube to automatically pause videos on their mobile device after a specified duration. The preset Sleep Timer options are 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, 45 minutes, and 1 hour. There’s also an “End of video” option that runs the timer for the full length of the video.

Another exciting improvement to the YouTube mobile app is the revamped mini-player. What used to be fixed to a horizontal bar at the bottom of the app is now a resizable and movable floating window. The new mini-player has more playback controls, and users can resize it using tap or pinch gestures.

Collaborative playlisting is another fresh introduction. The feature allows users to jointly create, share, and manage a YouTube playlist. Playlist collaboration is available in the mobile app but roll out to TVs at a later date.

The YouTube app for TV is also getting “pops of pink” to make content more dynamic and cinematic. Additionally, the new update will make channel pages more immersive in the YouTube app for TV. A creator’s page will now automatically play teaser videos in the background when users visit or explore their channel.

Thumbnail customization (for playlists) is another highlight feature in the update. Users now have access to tools for creating custom YouTube playlist thumbnails. These tools allow users to edit existing pictures/images (using texts, stickers, and filters) or create new thumbnails from scratch using generative AI.

Other features in this update include fine-tunable playback speeds and milestone badges (for YouTube and YouTube Music). Although the update is rolling out starting today, some features won’t be available until later in the year. Check out YouTube’s official announcement to learn more about all new features coming to YouTube.

The post YouTube Announces Over Two Dozen Features in New Update first appeared on Online Tech Tips.

“Documents tab” is now live in Google Docs, months after Google’s April announcement. The feature allows users to organize lengthy documents, making navigation and collaboration much easier. 

Located on the left panel of the web editor, the tabs panel opens automatically for new documents and documents with two or more tabs. For existing documents, you can access the tab panel by selecting the “Tabs & outline” icon in the top-left corner. 

You can create up to three “subtabs” within a tab and share links to specific tabs within a document. Tabs and subtabs can also be deleted, duplicated, renamed, and assigned an emoji icon. Additionally, Google lets users move subtabs by dragging them from one (parent) tab to another.

Documents tabs are available in the Google Docs mobile app and web editor. While you can view and navigate between tabs on mobile, only the Google Docs web editor supports tab creation.

The document tabs feature is a long-overdue addition to Google Docs. It’s like having multiple worksheets in a Google Sheets document. We anticipate further advancements to the feature, like the ability to hide, lock, or password-protect tabs.

Anyone with a personal Google account can use tabs in Google Docs. The feature is also available to all Google Workspace customers and individual subscribers. However, Google says document tabs might take up to 15 days to roll out to some users. Refer to the Google Docs Editor resource for step-by-step instructions on using document tabs.

The post “Document Tabs” in Google Docs Will Help You Better Organize Information first appeared on Online Tech Tips.

There’s nothing more frustrating than trying to make a call on your Android device and having it fail. There are many reasons why your phone might not allow you to make calls on Android—some are out of your hands. For the most part, however, you can usually troubleshoot and fix calling problems on your device yourself.

In this article, you’ll find practical solutions and tips to resolve call issues on your Android device. I’ll cover a range of troubleshooting steps, from checking for software updates to resetting network settings to help you regain full use of your phone.

Why Is My Phone Not Allowing Me to Make Android Calls?

There are many reasons why your Android phone might not allow you to make or receive calls. For the most part, however, they’ll boil down to these core issues:

• Network issues: A good start is to check for network outages or issues with your mobile service provider. Sometimes, network congestion or maintenance can affect your ability to make calls, especially if it’s localized to your particular area.
  
• SIM card problems: If you’ve put your phone through some damage (or even just a quick rain shower), your SIM card might be in trouble. Water, fluff, or just a misaligned SIM card after removing and reinserting it could stop you from making calls.
  
• Software issues: Android is a pretty stable system, but that doesn’t mean the apps you’re running on your phone are stable. A bad third-party app could block your calls, as could out-of-date device firmware or incorrect carrier settings.
  
• Signal strength: You may need to move to make a call in many cases. Weak signal strength or network coverage can affect your call quality or stop you from making calls. Wi-Fi calling might be a fix if your carrier supports it, but you’ll need to make sure you’re connected to Wi-Fi for this to work.
  

Tips To Resolve Issues With Phone Calls On Your Phone

The Android ecosystem doesn’t use a standard interface, but the steps you can try to resolve calling issues on your Android phone are roughly the same, no matter the device you’re using. You can follow these steps to resolve the calling issues you’re having.

Restart Your Phone

Can’t make phone calls? Before you try anything else, switch your Android phone off and on again. A restart is a good way to fix any temporary glitches your phone might have, especially if it’s been running without a restart for a long time.

Don’t underestimate this old IT trick. A restart will clear out your device’s active memory and will force your device to reconnect to your mobile network.

Disable Airplane Mode

If you’ve accidentally switched airplane mode on for your Android device, you won’t be able to make a call. You’ll be able to tell if this is the case because you’ll see a plane symbol appear in the upper right corner of your Android display.

This is a quick and easy fix to resolve if this happens. Swipe down the top of your screen to access your device’s quick settings panel, look for the airplane mode icon, and then tap it to switch it off. You can also find it in your phone’s settings menu.

Check Your Network Settings

Bad carrier settings will prevent you from connecting to your network provider and might cause a drop in calls. Using the wrong network type (such as 3G in a 4G-enabled area) can also prevent you from using your phone properly.

You can check if you’re using the correct settings via your device’s network settings menu. Follow these steps to check this for yourself. These steps have been written with a Samsung Galaxy in mind but should be similar to those on other Android devices.

1. Go to Settings on your device.
   
2. Tap Connections or Network & Internet. If you don’t see either, look for options related to your mobile network.

3. Select Mobile networks.

4. Confirm that your preferred network type (4G or 5G) is enabled in the Network mode menu.
   
5. Ensure that the correct mobile network and any network settings are correct and selected in the Network operators and Access Point Names menus.

6. Wait for any changes to activate. If they don’t, restart your phone to force the changes.
   

Check for Device Updates

Your Android phone should receive regular updates to help fix bugs and improve functionality and security. If you’ve not checked for or installed any Android updates recently, it’s a good idea to do this next.

1. To start, open the Settings app.
   
2. Look for the relevant Software Update menu. This might have its own option or be located in a sub-menu such as General.

3. Tap the Download and install option to install any available updates on your device.

Remove, Clean, and Reinsert Your SIM Card

Unless you’re using an e-SIM, you must ensure that your physical SIM card is in full working order. A dirty or poorly installed SIM card will prevent you from making calls. To resolve these issues, switch your phone off, remove your SIM card, give it a quick clean, and then reinsert it.

You’ll need to check for specific instructions on how to remove your device’s SIM card, but you’ll usually need a SIM ejector tool to eject the SIM card first. If you do this, clean the SIM card with a dry cloth and rubbing alcohol (if you have some handy), then reinsert it into the device.

Remove Any Third-Party Party Apps Impacting Calls

Finding third-party apps that might impact your ability to call out on your Android device is rare but not impossible. If you’re using apps that impact your mobile network usage, such as forcing you to use a specific network type, these apps might block your calls.

The same applies to parental control apps on your device and third-party call apps. You’ll need to look through your apps list and determine if there are any apps that are likely culprits. If you spot any, you can remove them using these steps.

1. Open the Settings app.
   
2. Tap the Apps or Applications menu.

3. Locate the app that might be blocking your calls.
   
4. Tap Force Stop to stop it from working temporarily. You can use this to see if it restores your call functionality.
   
5. If it does, tap Uninstall or Remove to remove it from your device, then follow any additional on-screen instructions to complete the process.

Perform a Factory Reset

If all else fails, it might be worth performing a factory reset. A factory reset will restore your device to its default configuration, wiping away any apps or settings that might be secretly affecting your ability to call. It’ll also reset your device’s network settings.

This step should be a last resort because it will remove data from your phone (unless you choose a less invasive reset method).

To perform a factory reset, follow these steps:

1. Back up any important data on your phone first.
   
2. Open the Settings app.
   
3. Look for the reset options in the General management or System menus.

4. Tap Reset.

5. Choose the Factory data reset option and follow the on-screen prompts to confirm the process.

6. Your device will restart while your device resets. This may take some time to complete.
   
7. Once the reset is complete, your device will restart, and you’ll need to set it up again. Try a call to see if the problems are resolved.
   

Managing Call Issues on Android

There isn’t always an obvious cause behind calling issues on an Android smartphone. If your phone isn’t allowing you to make calls on Android, you can follow the steps I’ve outlined above to help you fix the problem.

These fixes are a good start, but if you still have issues, you should contact your carrier or device manufacturer for further support. If your device is still under warranty, you can request a repair in case of hardware failure.

The post Why Is My Phone Not Allowing Me to Make Calls Android? first appeared on Online Tech Tips.

Spotify’s Offline Backup feature has been in the testing phase for months. The streaming service provider is now rolling out Offline Backup to Premium subscribers using the Spotify Android and iOS app. The feature will also be available on Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

Spotify designed Offline Backup to keep the music playing, especially when users lose an internet connection. The feature automatically compiles your queued and recently streamed tracks into an “Offline Backup” playlist in the Spotify mobile app.

Offline Backup doesn’t use any extra data or storage space. That’s because tracks in the playlist already exist on users’ devices as cached data. Say your phone loses internet connectivity while hiking. There are songs in the Spotify “Downloaded” playlist, but you want to listen to something new and different. Offline Backup provides an offline listening alternative.

Unlike Offline Mode, which entails manually downloading songs for internet-free listening, Offline Backup automatically collates songs in your device’s cache and makes them available for offline listening.

To use Offline Backup, you must enable Offline Listening and have listened to more than five songs with an internet connection. An “Offline Backup” card will appear on the “Home” feed when your device is offline. You can add Offline Backup to your library, just like Daylist and other auto-generated playlists. Additionally, Spotify lets you sort the playlist and filter songs by mood, genre, artist, and other options.

Per Spotify, Offline Backup will roll out to Premium users globally this week. Update Spotify to the latest version on your Android and iOS device and wait until it’s available in your region.

The post Spotify Rolls Out “Offline Backup” to Premium Users first appeared on Online Tech Tips.