Apple’s iMessage Bug can render your iPhone, Apple Watch and more inoperable – Apple Support Dialogue plus workaround solution

May 27, 2015Apple, Tech NewsApple iMessage bug, Apple Support transcript, workaroundsGavin Fabiani-Laymond

Whenever you read about bugs or issues hitting devices, I remain fairly sceptical that it is an isolated incident. But when somebody you know can’t use their iPhone, Apple Watch and more because they received an iMessage then it time to take notice.

Below is the transcript from their call to Apple Support, with just the names changed to protect the my friend’s privacy.

Apple – Thanks for contacting AppleCare chat support. My name is Martha. How can I help you?

Wilson – Hello I have received a message from a spam number containing characters that activate a bug in iMessage. Every time I go to open iMessage it force closes. This has affected my iPhone and my iPod Touch. It came through to the Watch but that is ok. Do you have a solution as I would rather not reset my phone and iPod?

Apple – Martha – Thanks for chatting in, Wilson! Not to worry, this is actually an issue Apple is aware of. We are working to solve it and have some preliminary troubleshooting we could do if you would like to try it. I know its important to get your Messages working.

Wilson – Please

Apple – Did you receive the text from one specific person?

Wilson – Yes but I don’t recognise the number so think it is spam

Apple – Let’s go into your photos app and pick a random photo. It can be anything even a blurry one.

Wilson – I don’t know the number as I deleted it off my mac. I think I know what you are going to suggest. I will check my other mac see if it is on there still. It crashes my Apple Watch as well by the way.

Apple – It will do that to any device. Right now, we need to work on the phone, that’s the one we can fix. The others Apple is working diligently on, assured to come up with a solution in the next few days. Thank you for your patience!

Wilson – Ok so what do I do now?

Apple – The solution that has been working for customers is going to a backup before that message got to your phone or doing a restore and then adding your iCloud backup later on.

Wilson – But that is a long process to get the iPhone working.

Apple – I agree it can take a few hours, Wilson, that is the only proven solution as the matter is recent and is still being worked on.

Wilson – I got the number off the mac upstairs and did the photo trick. Have my devices been compromised? Is this a security issue? What is the solution for the watch as this crashes too?

Apple – This is not a security issue, Wilson. You didn’t download anything nor does it have any access to your personal information. It’s merely a message that affects the app itself. The Watch solution is still being worked on. You could try the photo solution at this time.

Wilson – can’t do that from the watch, so I’m going to have a watch that does not forward messages

Apple – Not for long, Wilson. The Watch has recently come out so they are already hard at work on the solution for it. Rest assured, you will have it back up and working in no time. I will even send you a case number if you want to chat back in and inquire about it.

Wilson – but even a day is a bit of a long time isn’t it to be honest

Apple – I understand, I know you spent a lot of money to get it! If this was a simple solution, I could troubleshoot it. There are times when issues like this emerge where we just have to let the solution be worked on lest it cause more of an issue.

Wilson – I have just found a solution for the watch do you want to know it to help others?

Apple – Any information you find online would be a great help! I know people are working fervently to get it solved so any input would be appreciated.

Wilson – create a contact on the phone with the number the message is from. Add that as a favourite in the watch app on the phone, go to the watch select favourites and send a text to that number from the watch, then go back into messages and that should be at the top of the list able to delete now

Apple – That’s a really good troubleshoot! Essentially it is doing what we did by sending the photo to the number which seems to be fixing the issue.

Wilson – my only issue with these solutions and something I feel Apple should be concerned with that the solution you suggest involves sending a reply to the number. If i was a spammer or wanted to collect a nice list of iPhone owners and iMessage numbers then I would have a lovely list of people who messaged me beck. Now thats a security concern. I would appreciate a call from someone to discuss this

So a simple text message can cause a lot of grief. Have you been affected by this issue?

Leave a comment

Honor 4X – review

May 27, 2015Android, Reviews, Tech NewsHonor 4X, ReviewGavin Fabiani-Laymond

Welcome to my review of the Honor 4X. Before you start reading my review, just take note of the price of this handset. It is on sale at Amazon for £144.99. For that, you get an awful lot of bang for your buck.

The build is a plastic type fit and finish with a removable back. The white rear back cover is slightly patterned to aide with grip.

On the back you can also see the 13mp rear camera with flash. The front camera is 5mp. Sony sensors too.

The bottom edge reveals the mic, micro usb port and loudspeaker grill.

And now with the back cover off. This is where the hardware differs from other dual sim phones, even from Honor’s other offerings. With the cover off, you can see it has dual LTE sims and another slot for a micro SD card. This card only works up to 32gb. I tried one of my 64gb cards and it didn’t work. The phone wanted to format card, and as I had loads of photos and music stored on it, I decided to remove it.

All in all, its a well built piece of hardware despite being made of plastic.

Home Screen and Emotion UI

If you have seen the Honor 6 or Honor 6+, then the Emotion UI will be a familiar face.

The Honor 4X has a slightly lighter version, probably due to its internal storage at 8gb.

You also get the choice of a few themes, but none of these are that exciting. If you search on the web, there are plenty other themes available.

However, add your own wallpaper, and the icons do look a little more appealing.

The screen is a real standout part of this package. It is a large 5.5 inch IPS display with a 75% screen to body ratio. And the display is good. A 720p panel never looked so lovely. Just shows how far technology has moved forward.

Phone Essentials

First let us take a look at the specifications –

– Screen – 5.5 inch, 1280 x 720, IPS, 75% screen to body ratio, 5mm frame

– Price – £144.99 on Amazon UK

– Android v4.4.2 with planned lollipop update, with Emotion v3

– Processor – Kirin 620 Octa Core 1.2ghz 64bit A53 Processor

– LTE – 4G LTE-FDD, Bands 3, 7, 8 and 20

– Camera – Sony BSI CMOS rear 13mp, front facing 5mp

– Battery – 3,000maH, 72 hours standby, 48 hours talk time

– Memory – 2gb ram plus 8gb rom, micro sd cards up to 32gb

– Dual LTE sims

– Size – 152.9mm x 77.2mm x 8.65mm, Weight 170g

– Colours – White or Black

– Box contents – phone and charger

In terms of performance the AnTuTu score kicked in at 27,700 yet in day to day usage it never felt slow. Due to the 8gb of storage this will never be a hardcore gaming device, although I did install a few of my favourite games. This does have a 64 bit processor which might be the reason it is fairly smooth in day to day operation.

The one weakness and probably the only weakness of this phone is the 8gb storage. Once Google apps have updated, and you have added a few apps of your own, as you can see, I only had 2.32gb free. If you get this phone, you will probably need to invest in a 32gb micro sd card.

As a phone, once again Honor provides a handset with good radios, cellular, wifi and bluetooth. Like the Honor 6+ I recently reviewed, the signal strength of the Honor 4X was above that of many of my other handsets.

I have been testing the battery life on this phone and it is relatively simple to knock out 2 days. With a 720p screen and a 3,000mAH battery this is not a surprise really.

Camera

The Honor 4X is fitted with a 13mp rear and 5mp front camera.

The interface is a familiar Honor camera app affair minus with many options. If you owned this phone, you would not need to buy another camera app.

Options include voice activation to take a photo, and even the ability to adjust the focus and metering points independently. I did not expect that!

There are a number of additional photo modes, from HDR and panorama. Burst takes a max of 10 photos in a sequence.

As you can see above, the camera app includes a wealth of options to fine tune your images.

Gallery App

After you have snapped some photos, they all appear in the Gallery app.

You also have a list view which reveals the other folders with photos.

Sample shots

So what is the verdict on the camera quality. Have a view of some photos I took with the camera below.

I was trying to get a macro or close up shot, on the photo above and below and as you can see it is slightly over exposed. In normal bright light the camera photos were much better.

It seemed to slightly over expose the church and war memorial too.

As you can see the lighting conditions were far from ideal, being overcast but with a white glare as the sun was trying to emerge, but didn’t.

My view on the photo quality is that it takes average to slightly better photos when lighting improves. For a budget phone it comes with a comprehensive camera app and produces shots that are above average for its price point. As a reference point, the Honor 6+ which is twice the cost of the Honor 4X takes superior photos. However, if all these photos end up being shared on social media, nobody would know any different and I have proved this point several times over the last week or so.

Sound Quality and FM Radio

A FM radio is included and the Honor 4X locks station really fast. RDS is not included. USB Audio is not included. Music playback via the loudspeaker pumps out a loud sound at around 87db. It is also handy that it is positioned on the bottom edge. Music playback via headphones is just average. DTS is included and I would recommend keeping this on.

Settings

This being a Honor phone, Emotion UI v3 is installed and the wealth of settings and options is impressive.

Plenty of options in the notifications panel, but the settings icon to jump to the main settings app is missing.

As this is a dual LTE sim, sim management is provided for your 2 sims.

And below are a few screen shots from the settings menu, before I get to my final thoughts.

You will notice gesture support and motions is provided with this phone.

Final Thoughts

Honor have produced a very reasonably priced budget dual LTE sim smartphone. The screen is lovely. The cellular radios are excellent. 8gb of storage is a bit low and in my opinion something to be aware. I would recommend installing a 32 gb micro SD card.

To find out more on the Honor 4X click here – Honor 4X deal and info at Amazon UK

LG G4 – Shoot like a Pro in Manual Mode – some tips and examples

May 26, 2015Android, Reviews, Tech NewsLG G4, samples, shoot like a pro, tipsGavin Fabiani-Laymond

Above shot Burrator Reservoir, auto mode on the LG G4.

But what about taking a pic of the waterfall at Burrator Reservoir? Well, using the LG G4 manual mode and a longer exposure, you can get these types of shots.

This was shot with a shutter speed of 1/8s.

And let’s crop in a bit further.

Again, shutter speed at 1/8s.

Now the only difficulty with these photos was the time of day I took these and the fact it was a very sunny bright day. To capture these shots with the sun in full swing, you need to trick the G4 camera and cover the lens with a ND filter. You will also need a tripod and something to attach the G4 to the tripod. I use the ShoulderPod S1 – All In One Smartphone Photography Grip & Stand

If you click on the Shoulderpod S1 text it takes you to Amazon so you can read more about this phone mount. It is the best smartphone mount I have used for my iphone, Note 4, G4 and all other phones. I mentioned you will need a Neutral Density Filter (ND). These are not readily available for smartphones, so one has to be a little creative. I used the filter that I had for my DSLR and carefully covered it across the back of the rear camera. In an ideal world, this should be secured properly.

And now with the above items, you will be able to take shots like a pro!

Why do phone manufacturers ruin the new purchase experience?

May 26, 2015Tech Newswhy do phone manufacturers ruin the new phone experienceGavin Fabiani-Laymond

A rant.

Every time a new phone is released, manufacturers start to play games over supply and demand. Deals get struck over which option gets sold to a certain network or retailer. These are often called exclusives.

No phone company is exempt to this practise.

Apple – I am not aware in my lifetime of any Apple product launch where prior to launch supply is rumoured to be constrained. In the USA, sim free unlocked iPhones are not made available until months after its release. I hope the UK does not end up this way.

Xiaomi / OnePlus and similar – these companies use “a sale for a limited period technique”, often just a few hours to force you to buy while you can. OnePlus used an invite system to control supply and demand and in the process made many people angry.

Samsung UK – restricted supply of its S6 and S6 Edge. At launch, Samsung only sold the 32gb versions and then slowly released a few of the other styles. However, the green 128gb S6 Edge is still not available on the Samsung UK website, yet head over to Samsung Germany and its available. Samsung also restricted supply to third party online retailers including small and larger companies like Amazon and Clove Technology.

LG – The LG G4 is officially released on the 28th May 2015. It comes in all different finishes yet as it stands today in the UK, Carphone Warehouse has got the exclusive on the black leather G4 but will only sell it sim free. Other networks have exclusives on different finishes. In the USA, deals are being offered which include a 32gb micro SD card, a spare battery and battery charger.

Network Stores – Example – the Honor 6+ was a network exclusive at launch with Three UK. It was made available at launch on pay as you go for £299 plus a top up. Yet, as usual the stores tried initially to refuse to sell the phone this way, or force it on a contract. What should be a swift walk in walk out ends up being a drawn out affair with firm words being uttered to store staff. This situation is not exclusive to Three UK. If the phone is advertised on a networks website as available on pay as you go, then it should also be available in a store on the same basis.

I could go on.

Surely, phone manufacturers should make it as easy, quick and as friendly as possible for their ultimate customer, the consumer, to purchase the phone where, when and how they want. Instead, phone manufacturers sell direct to the networks or major distributors and treat those as the customer, meaning the real consumer can often get a poor buying experience or even worse be sold the wrong contract or not be able to purchase the phone in the finish/configuration of their dreams.

It’s time for change!

LG G4 – Some photos from today

May 25, 2015Android, Reviews, Tech Newscamera shots, LG G4, ReviewGavin Fabiani-Laymond

Just a few photos taken with the LG G4 today.

The Red Box

Ghostly sightings at Princetown

Spring flowers

1908 Drinking Fountain in Princetown

LG G4 – The Review updated plus All 15 Posts – Updated

May 25, 2015Android, Reviews, Tech News13 part, 4K, camera shots, First Impressions, hands on, LG G4, ReviewGavin Fabiani-Laymond

Since my review of the LG G4, I have included several other posts. All the links are noted below. I have also included a link to the special LG G4 Flickr album set. Once thing I have noticed with the G4 is its overnight battery strength which has been consistent. Generally on a 6 hours period overnight the battery drops from 100% to 98%, just a mere 2%. Its screen on time for a charge is 4 to 4.5 hours.

Anyway here are all the links to all the posts. The action shots are a must view post. Using burst mode I was able to snap some amazing motion shots. Also worth noting is the burst mode shots were 7.9mb in file size over 3 times the size of a burst shot from the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge.

LG G4 – Photos from Today – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/05/25/lg-g4-some-photos-from-today/

Shooting in difficult conditions – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/05/24/lg-g4-shooting-in-difficult-conditions/

More Thoughts on the G4’s F/1.8 Camera – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/05/21/lg-g4-more-thoughts-on-that-f1-8-camera/

LG G4 – Shoot like a Pro – Some tips and examples

LG G4 – More Camera Samples – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/05/21/lg-g4-more-camera-samples/

LG G4 – Incredible action shots – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/05/19/lg-g4-camera-action-shots-wow/

LG G4 – The Review – updated – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/05/17/lg-g4-the-review/

Happy Families – Life on Dartmoor – View the photo featured by Flickr in Explore – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/05/17/taken-by-the-lg-g4-happy-families-life-on-dartmoor-and-now-featured-by-flickr/

LG G4 – Colour Spectrum Shots – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/05/16/lg-g4-colour-spectrum-sensor-camera-shots/

LG G4 – More camera shots – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/05/16/lg-g4-more-camera-shots-2/

LG G4 – Manual Mode at Night – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/05/15/lg-g4-manual-mode-camera-shots-at-night/

LG G4 – First looks at the camera – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/05/15/lg-g4-first-looks-at-the-camera/

LG G4 – The arrival – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/05/15/lg-g4-its-arrived/

LG G4 – Launch Report with First Impressions and Specific Testing – Video and Photos too – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/04/28/my-hands-on-with-the-lg-g4-plus-first-impressions/

Link to my LG G4 Flickr Album set with around 30 photos from the LG G4 – https://www.flickr.com/photos/gavinfabl100/sets/72157652876197995

LG G4 – Shooting in difficult conditions

May 24, 2015Android, Reviews, Tech Newscamera shooting in difficult conditions, LG G4Gavin Fabiani-Laymond

Every time I take photos on the LG G4, I am simply amazed at the quality of the camera shots. The shot below was taken about over an hour ago, in crazy thick fog and rain.

First the original shot. Just look at how green the grass is and how in focus the Princetown sign has been processed.

And using VSCOcam and preset B1 to convert to black and white, you end up with a lovely moody shot.

What’s the point of Samsung Galaxy S6 Themes – themes omit features

May 24, 2015Android, Tech Newsmissing features, pointless, Samsung Galaxy S6 themesGavin Fabiani-Laymond

I was just changing themes around with my Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge and noticed when you apply any theme it kills off features.

Here’s the default theme. Screen shot below.

And now the BMW theme used as an example. Any theme could be used.

Can you spot the differences ?

So far I can spot the default theme clock and calendar icons are actually active icons displaying the time and date.

Lets hope the themes get updated to provide this extra functionality.

Oppo PM-3 vs Oppo PM-2 Headphones – Decisions

May 24, 2015Headphone, Reviews, Tech Newscomparisons, Oppo PM-2 Headphones, Oppo PM-3 Headphones, ReviewsGavin Fabiani-Laymond

On the left we have the Oppo PM-3 and on the right the Oppo PM-2 headphones.

I’m currently undertaking a comparison with these 2 amazing headphones. Whilst they share many technological firsts and both sound amazing, they are also different in their sound styles and price points. The PM-2’s are double the cost of the PM-3’s and offer an open back construction for the ultimate sound performance. The PM-3’s are closed back to keep your music private to yourself.

A more detailed post will be upcoming in a few weeks with my comparison findings.

In the meantime you can read my individual reviews on each.

Oppo PM-3 Headphone review – click here.

Oppo PM-2 Headphone review – click here.

The Mountain Climb of a Lifetime

May 24, 2015Tech NewsJustGiving, Justine Laymond, mountain climb of a lifetime, my sisterGavin Fabiani-Laymond

This is about my sister, Justine. She is about to attempt her hardest mental and physical challenging experience following her life as a double lung transplantee. This is no easy task even for a fit person. For Justine, she has hard to undergo a special training regime. This is made even harder as she still gets breathless and has other symptoms post transplant.

To find out more click here – https://www.justgiving.com/JUSTINE-LAYMOND5

This is her story –

“Raising money for To Transplant and Beyond.Cotopaxi Climb in Memory of our Donors.

Post transplant climb to highlight Organ Donation for To Transplant and Beyond because of new technologies like the Organ Care System

£1,030.85 Raised

£2,000.00 Target Required.

Story

After surviving one of the world’s rarest diseases, Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM), enduring 15 lung collapses, 3 weeks in a coma. A further 2 months conscious on life support unable to eat,drink,communicate, or walk. Then having to learn how to walk again with a zimmaframe. Living for 6 months at Harefield Hospital, my life was saved after waiting 16 months for a double lung transplant July 9th 2006.
I was no longer wheelchair dependant or relying on oxygen 24 hours a day.

I have been selected to be part of a heart /lung transplant team to climb an active volcano, Cotopaxi in Ecuador that stands at 5897m. It will be with a film crew as we embark to make history of a never before venture. The trip will be to raise awareness of Organ Donation. This climb will challenge me with its height, altitude and its temperature as well as being mentally challenging.

I am raising funds to help for specialist clothing/kit, travel for both Scotland (training) and Ecuador.

If I reach my target, excess monies will be used for the Royal Brompton & Harefield Hospital Charity to go towards an Organ Care System. This will reduce deterioration of heart and lungs during transportation , meaning increased chances of a successful transplantation and fewer post operative complications. It also extends the transplantation window from the existing 3 hour limit to 8 hours therefore having the ability to save more lives as well as providing other significant medical benefits

Many thanks for your support. Every penny helps. Much love. Justine xx

For me info and to help with a small donation click here – https://www.justgiving.com/JUSTINE-LAYMOND5

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