This week's reader questions... (and answers)
Hope you’re having an excellent holiday season!
I’m trying not to rush things in an attempt to savor it all before the start of a new year.
Here’s what you asked me this week. Enjoy!
Printing Texts
Karen in Stockton, CA asks…
Hi Rich, I have a Samsung S21 and I need to print out some text messages. What’s the easiest way to do that?
There are a few options for this. The easiest is to take a screenshot and just print that out. Of course, that only works for a message or two. Anything beyond that might get a bit complicated.
If you want something clearer and more organized, use the Android app called SMS Backup & Restore. This app lets you export your texts to a file you can open on your computer and print out that way. It’s also a great way to back up your messages for safekeeping (hence the name!).
On iPhone, you can use an app called iMazing or AltTunes to export, print and save texts.
Switching Carriers
D in Arizona writes…
Hi Rich, I’ve been with Verizon for about 20 years, but lately we’ve been getting hit with data overage charges when traveling out of state. We have unlimited talk and text, but limited data, and those extra charges add up fast. I’m starting to look at alternatives like Pure Talk, Consumer Cellular, and Boost Mobile since we’ve been Dish customers for a long time.
Boost is offering a $15 per line per month plan with unlimited talk, text, and data, which sounds almost too good to be true. I’m trying to figure out the smartest way to switch.
My advice for switching phone carriers is this: make sure it has a good signal where you work and live. You can verify this by asking friends who might already have the service. In the case of Boost Mobile (owned by Dish), they are building their own network in addition to what AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile offer in terms of towers. Since it’s so new, it might be tough to find friends who already have it.
If you can still get that $15 plan, that’s a great deal for unlimited talk, text, and data. Keep in mind you will have to pay extra for features like hotspot and international roaming. Also, even though these plans are labeled unlimited, they usually slow down your speeds after a certain amount of usage in any given month.
With all that said, I would also consider looking at Visible, a proven discount carrier that runs on the Verizon network (and is owned by Verizon). Their plans are $25-$45 a month for unlimited everything, including hotspot. They also have discounts that make them even cheaper, and they are one of the few low-cost carriers that support the Apple Watch cellular (included on their $45 monthly plan).
Fax Without Landline
William in Battle Creek, MI asks…
Hi Rich! I love the show and I still rely on a landline mainly to send and receive faxes. I’d love to port that number to a cell phone or something mobile that could work with my fax scanner. Sometimes I can fax to my computer and email it, but other times I need to send a fax directly back to another fax number. Any tricks to make this easier without keeping a traditional landline?
Thanks for the kind words, and I appreciate you listening! If you want to keep using your existing fax machine, you can port your landline to a service like Ooma. It uses your high-speed internet connection to create a phone line that mimics a traditional landline. You typically only need to pay a one-time fee for hardware ($100) and monthly taxes and fees (around $10), which should be cheaper than what you’re currently paying for a landline.
If you’re open to ditching the fax machine, you can use an online fax service like eFax, Fax.Plus or Dropbox Fax. You can scan the document with your phone and send it to a real fax number using these services. Most of these services let you send a few pages for free.
Sponsored: Remove Personal Data
Everyone always asks me…
How do I get my personal data off the internet?
The answer? Try Incogni.
Incogni is a data removal service that crawls hundreds of people-finder sites and sends takedown requests on your behalf.
They cover a wide range of data brokers — and like I always say, it’s a game of whack-a-mole: remove one profile and another pops up. The benefit of Incogni is that it works in the background, continuously clearing your information from databases. You can log in anytime to your personal dashboard to see progress.
In my case, Incogni has sent 425 requests, completed 404, and has 21 still in progress. There’s even an activity feed showing the latest successful removals.
A newer feature lets you submit a custom takedown request. Just paste the link to your information from a site they don’t already cover and they’ll try to get it removed. You can check back in to your dashboard to see the progress they’re making.
Bottom line: keep your personal safety a priority. Don’t leave your address, workplace, or personal connections out in the open.
Protect yourself now with Incogni: Use code RICHONTECH (all caps) at checkout to save.
iCloud Family Sharing
Yvonne in Lake Forest, CA asks…
Hi Rich, thank you for everything you do to help so many of us navigate this techy world.
I’m paying for the 2 TB iCloud plan at $9.99 a month because I have a lot of photos. My husband is on the 99-cent plan and it’s full. I want to add him to my plan and cancel his.
What exactly happens when I tap “Share with Family” in iCloud settings? Will our photos and files stay separate? Does it automatically stop the 99-cent plan from charging us, or does he need to cancel it himself?
Hi Yvonne, I’m glad you’re getting your digital life in order and consolidating those subscriptions! Family Sharing allows each person to keep their own photos, files, and backups separate—it just pulls from the same storage allocation. Nothing gets mixed unless you choose to share something.
According to this Apple Support page, once the other person accepts your family plan invitation for shared storage, their plan will be canceled.
I would check under Settings > iCloud > Subscriptions a few weeks after the switch to make sure he’s no longer getting charged for his cloud storage.
Photo Fixes & Translation
Michelle in Huntington Beach, CA writes…
Hi Rich, love the show and the newsletter.
My wedding photos from 30 years ago have a yellow-orange tint because the photographer turned off the flash. Are there any programs or scanners that can help fix that?
Thanks so much.
Hi Michelle! You can go bananas over this… Google’s Nano Banana!
It’s just a silly name for their highly advanced AI image editing tool. Not only can it generate images from scratch, but it can also edit existing images. It’s one of the few AI image editors right now that can keep the original image intact while applying edits. Most others have to redraw the entire thing each time.
All that to say, you can scan these old images using a traditional scanner or your phone (apps like PhotoMyne and PhotoScan), then feed them into Google Gemini and ask to restore and color correct them. You might be surprised at the results.
Go to gemini.google.com, upload the photo, and type in “restore and color correct this” to see what happens.
Free Word Processor
Ray and Roxie in Westlake Village, CA
Hi Rich, is there a free word processing program we can use to write letters and stories? Everything we’ve seen seems to require a fee.
We enjoy your newsletter, but mostly your live broadcasts on Channel 5. We’re both 94, and you’re our go-to source for keeping up with high tech. You’re a plain talker and we really appreciate the information.
Thanks, you two! I recommend using Google Docs for your word processing. It’s free and works in any web browser - no downloads needed. Plus, it can check spelling and grammar, and even help you write with AI. I’ve been using it for a long time, and I haven’t missed any features. It also automatically saves your work to the cloud, so no floppy disks to worry about.
The other option is a free, open-source word processing program from LibreOffice. This is something you would download and install on your computer like a traditional application.
VPN Confusion
Ann in Salt Lake City says…
I recently signed up for a VPN to protect my online financial accounts. I mostly use my iPhone, but I wanted to extend it to other devices too and couldn’t quite figure that out.
The bigger issue is that once I installed it on my phone, I couldn’t access the internet at all. Messages still work, but websites won’t load. I found a setting to turn the VPN off on my home network, and that fixes it, but then I’m wondering what the point of the VPN is. I’m pretty confused about how all of this works and could really use some help.
Thanks so much. I love the newsletter.
Hi Ann. Here are my thoughts on VPNs - you really don’t need them for banking if you’re using your home WiFi or a cellular connection. Both are usually very secure. I do recommend using a VPN for sensitive logins on a public WiFi network, or simply switch to your mobile hotspot while doing your banking.
However, there are many aspects of VPNs I like, such as less tracking and the ability to protect you from malicious ads and websites.
That said, VPNs can sometimes cause websites to break or not load properly. So, if you notice this happening, try turning it off to see if the issue resolves.
And you can definitely use your VPN on various devices - just visit their download page to get the app for your phones, tablets, and computers.
One more tip - I love using a VPN during international travel since I can set it to connect to a server in the US and keep my connection familiar (e.g., no loading foreign language versions of websites), no matter where I go.
No Face ID
Lisa writes…
Hi Rich, after the latest update my iPhone keeps asking me to set up Face ID. I do not want to use Face ID at all and never plan to. How do I stop these prompts?
Thanks for your help.
You’re right. After a big software update, you might notice some settings have changed or new notifications that bother you to turn on important features.
Personally, I think Face ID is a big convenience, and keep in mind your facial recognition data never leaves the iPhone and it’s encrypted so no one can tap into it.
If you’re still weary, you can go to Settings > Face ID & Passcode. Turn off all the toggles under “Use Face ID for” and that should take care of it. If you set up Face ID and want all of it cleared from your phone, choose the option to “Reset Face ID.”
Just don’t forget your passcode.
That’s it for this time around. Got a question for me? Submit it here.
Until next time, have a great day and Happy Holidays!
Rich