JOIN USQ: My iPhone turns itself off when I’m in the middle of using it. Is this a battery issue?
If you have an iPhone 6s model, you may be experiencing the technical issue that caused Apple to announce a battery-replacement programme last month. The battery defect is not as serious as the problems with Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 phones last year, and a note on Apple’s site states, “This is not a safety issue and only affects devices within a limited serial number range that were manufactured between September and October 2015.”
If you suspect your phone might be one of the affected models, go to Apple’s site and search for the page titled ‘iPhone 6s Program for Unexpected Shutdown Issues.’ Once there, you can type in your iPhone’s serial number to see if the device qualifies for a free battery replacement.
If your phone is eligible, you can have the work done at one of Apple’s retail stores, at an authorised Apple service provider or through Apple’s mail-in repair facility. If you have a different iPhone model (or an iPhone 6s unaffected by the battery problem), the unexpected shutdowns could be caused by a number of things. Make sure your phone is updated with the latest version of the iOS software by opening the Settings app and tapping Software Update — or by connecting the phone to the computer and letting iTunes check for you. Update your apps as well.
The condition of the iPhone’s lithium-ion battery could also be the culprit. Batteries do wear out after a period of regular use and recharging, and the power cell in an older model may just need to be replaced. Apple charges $79 for a battery swap but can also diagnose different power issues (as can other repair shops) if the battery is fine. The weather may also be a factor: Using the iPhone in extremely cold weather can temporarily decrease its battery life.
Q: I sometimes flip through and realise I have tons of tabs open in my Android tablet browser. Is there a way to close all of these at once instead of having to tap them off one by one?
The procedure for closing all open Chrome browser tabs has changed over the years, but on most recent Android tablets, press down on the ‘x’ on the end of any open tab. Leave your finger on the tab until the Close All Tabs option appears on the screen and then select that option to shut down all of the open pages.
Although Google’s instructions for closing all tabs in the iPad version of the Chrome browser entail manually tapping each one closed, the iPhone edition has a quicker solution. In Chrome on an iPhone (or an Android handset), go to the top of the browser window and tap the small square with the number in the middle, which indicates the number of open tabs.
On the next screen, tap the menu button in the upper-right corner and choose Close All Tabs. Apple’s own Safari browser for iOS 10 lets you close all the open page tabs in the same way for the iPad or the iPhone (and the iPod Touch). Just tap the Tabs icon — which looks like two overlapping squares; it lives at the top of the iPad screen or in the bottom-right corner for the iPhone version. When the device displays thumbnail versions of all your open tabs, press and hold the Done button in the corner until you see a menu with the option to close all open tabs. Microsoft’s touch-screen browsers have a similar shortcut when you press and hold the ‘x’ on an open tab.
In both Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer on a Windows 10 tablet, you should get a drop-down menu with the option to close the other tabs.