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Extra / Unwanted Charges to your Phone Bill

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What Are These Extra Charges On My Bill?Free Retro Clipart Illustration Of A Worried Businessman Holding Large Bill Statement

 

This could mean anything! However what we are about to talk about are charges that do not involve going over allowances or usage abroad. What we are talking about are those charges to pay for things here and there, maybe you used your phone to buy an app on the Store or donated to charity via text.

What Services Can Be Charged to My Phone Bill?

 

You can use your mobile to pay for various items nowadays and these charges get added to your phone bill. This is how charity giving via text works as you donate through your mobile provider to your chosen charity. For example Children in Need text message donations. You will notice these donations added to your phone bill and automatically come out of your account. Subscription services like Spotify, Apple Music or BT Sport will charge you monthly on top of your standard phone bill if you choose to add your phone number as the billing platform. Many people find it easier to use their phone to pay for things as it’s not an instant charge, they only pay when their phone bill is charged to their bank.

How Do I Know What I’m Paying For?

 

On your phone bill, every month at the bottom you will see a section called “Third Party Services”. This only gets listed when you are using your phone bill to pay for services. In this section you will find an itemised account of what charges you have added onto your phone bill that month. Usually they have a name written next to them to make them easily identifiable but sometimes all you get is a number. Don’t worry, this number can be entered into the Phone-paid Services Authority website to find out what it is.

Most services you will enter also send a text message confirmation of billing. This means you will have written confirmation of services, like a receipt, even though your bill might not have come through from your network yet.

I Never Signed Up For This!

 

Recently we have noticed a high volume of people have been unknowingly subscribed into a weekly competition or quiz. This seems to usually occur from a prize draw offer where you text the company and they charge you for your entry. What is not so obvious is that some of these prize draws are weekly events and so you are being charged weekly even though you might of only wanted to enter once. It is key that whenever you think about using your mobile bill to pay for services, you know exactly what you are signing up for. The truth is most of us don’t check our bills, we just see the money leave the bank and complain that this month was higher or be happy that this month is a normal amount. This is why it is very important to check your bill as soon as you think you are being charged too much! Third party text services, like weekly competition draws or quizzes will send you a text every time you are about to be charged to bill. Some people assume that by blocking the number, they won’t receive the text and therefore will not be charged. This is not the case. You must follow proper procedure to stop these services, the most common Opt-Out method is by texting the word “STOP” to a phone number outlined in your initial confirmation text.

If you no longer have these texts then you can go to the Phone-Paid Services Authority who will advise the best way to resolve this subscription.

Can I Block This Service?

 

For our Small Business customers we are able to put a block on the ability to use your phone bill in this way. No matter what service, good or bad, you might want to charge to your phone bill, will be blocked by by the network and so this will protect your bill

 

The Reason You Need to Remember Your Apple ID Password

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Apple Security

 

The new Apple security update means that for those of us who have trouble remembering passwords, we will have more trouble.

When you first created your Apple ID, you were required to give them some personal details to ensure the account was yours in the event of any security issues.

Along with the usual “Recovery Email”, we were given the option to choose three Memorable Questions and Answers that would be used in the event of a Forgotten Password or Locked Account. This method worked really well and kept it simple for many customers. The issue Apple had with this method was it’s potential security risks. If you had chosen the standard three questions, e.g. City of Birth, First Job, First School, then anyone who had access to this knowledge, could also access your Apple account.

As an improved security measure, Apple introduced a way of verifying your identity with your mobile number. This way meant you would receive a text message to your verified phone number and enter the unique code to gain access to your account. This method is slightly more secure as most of us nowadays carry our phones everywhere.

At the same time, Apple implemented a way of verifying your identity through use of another device linked to your Apple ID. This ensured that only your account could verify access on another device. Verification in this way occurs every time you log into your Apple ID onto a new device. This is a lot more secure than the methods above as only a verified device can verify the new device, this needs not only both devices to be easily accessible but also that both have the correct Apple ID and password to be signed in.

appleid-verification-code-get-started-graphic

The downside to the new security enforced by Apple means that when you upgrade or change device, you must have access to your old one. For many of us, our old devices are no longer fully working, hence the reason for the new device in the first place. So long as you have access to your phone number and recovery email, this device verification can be bypassed.

Unfortunately, if for some reason your Recovery phone number is not your own, but maybe a friend’s or relatives who helped create your account, you must have access to this. If you changed numbers after creating the account or cannot remember the number you put down, there is no way to change this. Apple will not help you. For those that have a recovery phone number linked to the account, the option to use your original three security questions seems to have gone out the window.

At Amixan we try as hard as possible to get your new phone up and running in store. Whenever someone agrees to a new Apple device we do ask that you have your password at the ready. If you have forgotten your password, we will attempt to help you recover your account and reset it. We can only do this provided that you have access to your Recovery email, phone number or other device.

The aim of this article is not to scare or discourage you from having an Apple ID, just to help you realise the importance of keeping your password safe, secure and memorable. All these changes have been made by Apple to help keep your personal details safe, which given that many people now store bank cards on their iPhone, this is very important. The only way to avoid the second device verification is to not agree to “Two-Step Verification” if you have already activated this, you should be able to disable it through Manage Apple ID on the Apple Website.

If you need any help or have any questions about the above then please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Erasing your old phone – iPhones

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How to Erase your old phone

 

So, I’m sure we have all been here at some point. Wanting to hand over our old phone to someone else, whether it is a family member or selling to someone via eBay or similar. The main concern with this is, How can I make sure all my data is gone before I hand it over?

On any phone, be it Android, Windows or IOS, it is always good practice to remove any accounts before attempting to reset the phone. This is particularly important on iPhones as failure to remove your iCloud account can result in your email still being linked to the device even after erasing.

For your ease we are going to just go over the method of removing accounts from these devices.

We will do this over several posts so stay tuned.

 

Starting with iPhones,

The two main accounts that have to be removed from an iPhone before you pass it on are your iCloud account and your iTunes account. These are listed in the Settings section of your iPhone.

If you scroll down your Settings list until you find the iCloud section, if you go into this section then scroll towards the bottom. You should see a “Remove Account” button. It may ask you for your iCloud password before you can remove it but once entered the account should be gone from the iPhone.

Once this is done you will want to do the same for your iTunes account. To do this you need to go back to the setting section and just below where you found iCloud, there should be an iTunes section. Once you have found this you should see an iTunes account name at the top of the screen. Select this account and it will pop up asking what you would like to do with it. In this instance we would like to remove it so we choose “Sign Out”.

Once this is done, your iPhone will not be logged into any accounts.

The next step is to erase the iPhone. To do this we need to go back to the Settings list.

This time we want to go into “General” and then scroll right to the bottom of that list.

At the bottom it should say “Reset” click on this and you get to a small menu.

We want to click on “Erase all content and Settings” it will then confirm this is what you would like to do, once you click “Erase” then the phone will delete all personal data.

With this, your iPhone is erased.

Royston Open Secrets – What a Day!

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Royston Open Secrets Success

ROS tony

It was a marvellous day up at the Royston Heath and the event was in full swing, people everywhere enjoying the festivities and enjoying the sunshine. There was a variety of exciting things to do and shows for those who wanted to join in or watch.

Segways, Dog Shows, Car Shows, whatever your interests there was something there for you. So many people came that by mid afternoon even the Heath was starting to get crowded!

Our M-Viron stall had a fun, huge game of Ker-plunk where children and adults alike had to pull out giant sticks to make sure that none of the balls fell, if they succeeded in doing that then they were entered into a prize draw. By the end of the event we had a large bag full of entrants.

From this bag of entrants we drew 10 lucky winners who each got to choose a colourful wired headset from our shop on the high street.

It was such a wonderful day and we just want to say a great big Thank You to everyone that came and took part. We hope you all had as good a day as we did!

 

Apple’s iPhone SE

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Welcome the iPhone SE

 

When Apple announced their new handset, the main question on everyone’s mind was, What is it?

Many people were annoyed at the new size of the iPhone 6 range but to get an iPhone 5s meant you missed out on all the new features that Apple have started rolling out across their devices.
For these people, Apple introduce us to the iPhone SE.

The SE is the same size as the iPhone 5 but it has updated internal structure that makes it run just like the 6s. With better battery life, clearer screen, faster actions and the benefit of fitting comfortably in one hand, the iPhone SE is definitely a smart phone to have.

Those of you that have an iPhone in the 5 series already will find this handset a great improvement.
With an astonishing 12mp camera that can record videos in 4K, the iPhone SE is the only device you’ll need when sightseeing. The SE also boasts a HD front facing camera for Facetime and selfies. This front camera uses the retina display of the iPhone as flash meaning you can get brilliant photos, no matter the time of day!

The 4 inch design of the iPhone SE makes it perfectly suited to fit in your hand. This means you don’t need to overreach your thumbs to get full use of the screen. Another handy feature of being small, it fits in a lot more pockets.

Following on from the iPhone 6 series, the SE also has the Apple Pay feature. This means you can use your phone as a contactless form of payment instead of carrying around your bank card. The ability to leave your physical bank cards at home makes Apple Pay a lot more secure and you can keep your personal information private.
To learn more about Apple Pay please go to http://www.apple.com/uk/apple-pay/?&cid=wwa-uk-kwg-features

The SE has the same processing power as the 6s, that is 2x faster than the 5s so you won’t be found waiting for your apps to load. As well as being speedy at opening and navigating your apps, this little iPhone has 3x the graphics power so all those gamers or video editors will be stunned at the new and improved visual quality of the SE.

Unfortunately in Apple’s efforts to keep the cost of the SE low they have had to sacrifice adding their 3D Touch technology to the SE’s smaller screen. This means that the 6s and 6s plus are still the only phones on the market with this remarkable screen feature.

All in all, the iPhone SE is a neat little phone which does exactly what it says on the box. Its small form factor makes it very popular for those who resisted getting the 6S. If you are one of those people that held off getting a new phone because they were all getting bigger, this is the phone for you.

Pop in store to ask about the iPhone SE

Happy Easter and Here’s to Spring!

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Happy Easter everyone, this is the perfect time of the year to head outside and enjoy the coming weather.

With Springtime fast approaching, we thought it was about time to speak a bit more about ourselves and what we are interested in. This month we became Investors in Wildlife for the Essex Wildlife Trust. This lets us have access to some of the most beautiful preservation sites in Essex. The Wildlife Trust helps preserve and protect many flowers, insects and small animals that keep our countryside healthy and growing.

Essex Wildlife Trust is the largest conservation charity in the county and one of the 47 county wildlife trusts that work together throughout the British Isles as The Wildlife Trusts. The Trust has been protecting Essex for wildlife and people since 1959. The natural environment is no different from your business environment. It needs management, care, expertise, effort.

You may have noticed the weather slowly improving and the sun shining. When it is a lovely day outside, it’s a shame to spend it indoors. Taking a walk through the colourful countryside and fresh air is a great feeling. With our sponsorship of Essex Wildlife Trust, we will be spending a lot more time getting to know the nearby conservation sites.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Sponsorship Certificate Presentation

Essex Wildlife Trust has more than 34,000 members, manages and protects over 8,200 acres of land on 87 nature reserves, 2 nature parks and runs 10 visitor centres. The aim of Essex Wildlife Trust is to Protect Wildlife for the Future and for the people of Essex. 

What Essex Wildlife Trust Does – The Facts

Conserving Protecting Enhancing Educating Engaging

  • Protects Wildlife for the Future across Essex
  • Manages and enhances 87 nature reserves and 2 nature parks for wildlife and people – offers conservation advice across the county
  • Educates 58,000 children and adults across Essex each year
  • Engages 314,000 people through visitor centres and events each year
  • Works with partner organisations across the county to achieve conservaiton aims
  • Works with MP’s, councillors and industry to protect wildlife
  • Conserves important wildlife areas so that people can enjoy them
  • Has developed the Living Landscape vision for Essex, which is now being implemented
  • Works with developers and industry to influence their work
  • Is working on the Local Area Agreement on two specific conservation aims
  • Responds to planning applications
  • Manages nine visitor centres, often introducing people to their wildlife
  • Monitors and records certain species
  • Ensures that habitats and species at risk are protected

We think the work which the Trust does is very important, this is why we have decided to support their efforts this spring and wish for any of you who enjoy the outdoors to go visit the nearest nature site and just enjoy the scenery.

Anti-Virus, Do I Need It?

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Does my phone need Anti-Virus protection?

 

This is a subject of much debate between phone users. No matter which phone we have, the desire to keep our data protected is on everyone’s mind. Many people nowadays store lots of personal details on their mobile phones and even use them for banking. This means that if anyone did manage to infiltrate your phone, all of your data could be copied.

A lot of users simply put a lock on the phone, like a pin number or a password, so that other people would not be able to gain access to the phones apps without first knowing the lock code. This is great if the phone is picked up in person but does nothing to protect from downloaded attackers. Just like a computer, your phone and mobile devices can be susceptible to viruses and hackers. Unfortunately there is no guarantee that this will never happen to your device. All you can do is try to protect your devices so that the chances of this happen are very slim.

There are applications available for your device which will offer extra protection. You may even get the same manufacturer as the anti-Virus you have on your computer. These applications will scan you phone and help you manage it better. They offer back up services, remote wiping of your phone and even location services to help find a lost phone.

Although this is all true, what the anti-Virus companies don’t say is that you might not need their app in the first place. The thing is, the services that these anti-Virus programs offer are already included in a lot of phone systems. All of the latest Android, Windows or Apple devices have the ability to back up, remotely wipe and locate your device. With the latest Android System, Marshmallow, they have even included more security to protect against unwanted software. Apple and Windows devices also have built in protection but they also have a protected application store. Both the App Store and the Windows Store only have applications that have been approved by Apple or Microsoft. The Google Play Store does not do this pre-approval but instead learn by the feedback from users. This means that you can potentially download a harmful app before Google has found out about it.

There is a huge market for anti-virus apps so there is a lot to choose from, this also means that you need to be able to choose the right one for you and not an imitation that could itself be letting viruses in. This link shows the best rated anti-virus protection for android mobiles, if you are considering protecting your device, make sure you have one of these tried and tested apps.

http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/test-centre/security/best-android-antivirus-tested-2015-uk-may-3355021/

So, the big question is, do you need anti-virus on your phone? The Answer is simple, No. You do not NEED anti-virus however it can be very useful in keeping your phone safe. If you are in any doubt then get protection. If anyone borrows your phone regularly or you received it second hand then it is always better to be safe than sorry.

If you use the internet browser on your phone frequently then it might be best to get some form of protection as not all websites are secure. Be mindful of which sites you are visiting and try to avoiding downloading files unless you know where you are getting them from. The most common form of viruses gain access by pretending to be an advert and then activating when you click to learn more. The easiest way to avoid these is to know what your phone looks like in use and to understand where these adverts get placed. If you need advice on this then by all means pop in store.

You are probably wondering if we here at M-Viron have anti-virus protection on our phones, well keep reading and you will find out.

Personally I have never placed any anti-Virus or protection application on any of my mobile devices. This is not because I don’t believe that this could happen or that there are people out there who would want to access my personal data. This is simply because I do not do as much on my phone as I do on my computer. I only download apps that are produced by companies that I have heard of and I make sure to read the comments from other users first. If it sounds too good to be true then it probably is in the case of most apps.

Tony has not put anti-virus on his phone because he does not keep personal data on his phone. He only uses it for calls and texts so only keeps contacts on his phone. These contacts are secured on his google account so if anything happens to his phone, he can stay safe knowing that if he resets the phone he hasn’t lost any data. He also does not download apps that use personal data, like banking apps.

We hope this article has helped you in some way. If you have any more questions, please feel free to pop in store or give us a call. We are always happy to help.

My Battery Keeps Dying!

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Battery Life – Why does my phone keep dying?

 

Do you often find your phone out of charge? Does your battery run flat sooner that it should? Battery life is an important asset on many smart phones and yet everyone seems to complain about it. If you have found your phone’s battery life to die a lot sooner than expected, then have a read of our solutions. If they work for you then your phone will live longer, if not then you might need to purchase a new battery.

In this article we will cover all aspects of your battery life, even try and teach you a few things about batteries through the ages. This should shed some light on why your phone battery isn’t lasting as long as you hope. There are many ways to assist your phone and keep your battery at its best. The sad thing is that you can’t learn any of this from the manufacturer. So whether your battery has already started to lose life or if you just want to be proactive with your new phone, following the advice in this article should help you.

 

Battery Deterioration

 

Sadly, the most common battery fault is the one that is unfixable. This is battery age. As your battery gets older it will deteriorate which is why you often find that by the end of your contracted two years, your battery barely survives half a day. Although this issue is unavoidable, it is manageable. There are many apps that can help monitor your battery life for you. These will let you know when you are using your battery excessively so you can change how you use your phone at the times you need to conserve battery life.

Some batteries visibly expand when they have reached the end of their lifespan. When this happens you need to change your battery as soon as possible. There is a high chance of expanded batteries exploding and damaging not just your phone but also yourself if the phone is in active use at the time. At the point, batteries can be very dangerous which is why you should always check for expansion if your battery life suddenly drops. For those that cannot see their batteries, if your screen starts to flex out of the casing then this is a sure sign that your battery is expanding internally. You must get this changed by a qualified technician ASAP.

Battery

An Example of an Expanded Battery Next to a Fresh Battery

Overheating

 

If your phone gets hot it can lead to faster battery deterioration. No matter why your phone is overheating, you can find your battery will not respond well to the heat. Phones will generally get warm with slight overuse, this can be leaving applications running in full or having it constantly searching for services. Hopefully the only time your phone gets warm will be the initial set up, this is because it hasn’t installed all the settings it needs to run smoothly yet. Also if you are taking information from a previous handset then it can get warm while having the communication channels open constantly. This is normal so don’t panic if your phone is warm after you have just set it up.

Your phone should not get hot with everyday usage. Your phone should not become too hot for you to hold or use. If this is the case, then usually it means that there is a process running on the phone that hasn’t stopped. This is quickly remedied with a battery pull. For those who cannot remove the battery, you can switch the phone off and leave it for a few minutes to cool before restarting. This is just a quick fix and if the problem persists then you have to think about what could be causing this overheating. You can get apps from the various stores, which can “kill” hidden processes so that if this does happen constantly, you can see what is causing it and end it before your phone gets too hot.

 

App Management

 

The easiest way to extend battery life is through app management. This can be as simple as closing your apps after you have finished using them or you can get new apps to help push your battery further by limiting the battery used by other apps. In other words, these apps optimise your phone to use the least amount of battery. If you find your phone’s battery dying frequently try one of these first to see if it’s simply your phone using excess battery.

App Killers are a great way of not only preventing your phone from getting hot but also to manage your battery life. They keep your phone in check and make sure that nothing stays running in the background that shouldn’t be. This means your phone will stay running cool and smoothly for as long as you have it. This form of app management is slightly more extreme than optimising as it will actively make sure that no apps are running in the background which means if you close an app, you will have to open it again rather than resume from where you left it.

Samsung have a built in feature which helps manage your phone if it is running low on battery. It is called Ultra Power Saving Mode. This feature turns off all extra services and turns the phone into black and white. It also limits app access so you can only do the bare essentials so you cannot use extra battery power.

Ultra Power Saving Mode - Galaxy S7

Ultra Power Saving Mode – Galaxy S7

Extra Features That Drain Your Battery

 

It’s not only apps that drain your battery life. There are lots of features on modern day phones that can leech your battery without you realising. Some of these features are enabled from the moment you switch on your phone like NFC. Most people don’t use NFC in their everyday lives so to have this enabled all the time is just a waste of battery. Another feature often enabled is Location or GPS, this is great if you use your phone as a sat nav but again, it likes to eat your battery. Most phones have a quick access menu that let you find these features and turn them off easily. If your phone doesn’t have this, then you can find all of these in the Settings menu. Bluetooth is another one that likes to drain battery, if you use Bluetooth a lot then it is better to leave it on but if you only use it sparingly then it is best to switch it off between use.

There are more that are there to simply damage your battery life if you don’t use them constantly. These are; Wi-Fi, Sync, Screen Rotation, Always on Screen and More. When you get a new phone be sure to check which features you will be using and which should stay switched off. The other main cause of battery loss is your screen. Nowadays most smartphones are offering HD displays of varying sizes, each manufacturer stating that theirs is the best. What they don’t mention is that the bigger the screen, the more battery it takes to power it. It’s not only size that is a factor either, your screen brightness plays a huge part in battery life. If you are watching movies on your phone, it’s not the fact that it’s playing a video but more the fact that the screen is on constantly that drains your battery. The best remedy for this is to simply turn your screen brightness down. “Live Wallpapers” are another feature best left switched off. This feature lets you have a moving background image on your phone which looks great however it doesn’t do your battery any favours. Keeping a moving image active on your screen and loading applications and keeping your screen bright will drain your battery in no time. Remember, if you do not use it, don’t have it switched on.

 

Battery Replacement

 

Here’s the bottom line. If none of the above helped, then you most likely need a new battery. Those of you with a removable battery, it is easy enough to purchase a new one and just swap it out. If you have an iPhone or a handset with a non-removable battery, then it is slightly more difficult. You can have your battery replaced but this has to be done by a qualified technician and you will most likely have to give your phone over to them for 2-3 days. This time frame can be difficult for those that use their phone constantly or for business but trust us when we say, it is very much worth it. To be able to use your phone the way it should be used is a great feeling.