Category Archives: tips & tricks

tip : use 3-finger swipe on your iPhone speed things up

Posted on by
Reply

Question :

A friend told me I could speed up my interaction with my iPhone by doing things like swiping with multiple fingers at the same time…

How do I do that ?

Answer :

The 2-finger gestures that you can use on your iPhone :

  • the basics : put 2 fingers on the screen next to each other, then spread them (‘pinch’ gesture) to zoom in on a picture or map
  • the basics : put 2 fingers on the screen apart of each other, then bring them together (‘reverse pinch’ gesture) to zoom out on a picture or map
  • the extras : when the onscreen keyboard is shown, long-press the spacebar (with one finger) to get a cursor that you can move though the text (‘trackpad-mode’), then add a second finger and with 2 fingers you can now select parts of the text
  • the extras : when in a list (like in Mail.app or Notes.app) use 2 fingers to tap one item, then drag down (or up) to select multiple items together – if needed you can still deselect individual items using only one finger

The 3-finger gestures that you can use on your iPhone :

  • the basics : put 3 fingers on the screen and swipe to the left to undo any action you just did
  • the basics : put 3 fingers on the screen and swipe to the right to redo anything (especially if you just did an undo action)
  • the extras : after having selected a text, put 3 fingers on the screen and spread them (‘reverse pinch’ gesture) to copy the selected text
  • the extras : after having copied some text (when it’s in the invisible clipboard), put 3 spread-out fingers on the screen and move them together (‘pinch’ gesture) to paste the text into your document
  • the extras : when in any text app, tap 3 fingers on the screen to bring up a menu that enables you to copy & paste

that’s just a few of the very handy gestures that you can use… enjoy 😉

fixed : LandRover navigation update gone wrong, navigation maps gone

Posted on by
Reply

Question :

I tried upgrading the HERE maps on the navigation system in my LandRover Discovery Sport P300e using a USB-stick as per the directions given by HERE and LandRover, but after 3 attempts that failed for no clear reason, when I retried yet another time, the update crashed while it was about halfway and now… there is no map left in the system to use for the navigation… nothing… the navigation is completely blind…

What can I do to solve this ?

Answer :

There are several reasons why this problem might have occurred. Your LandRover will probably show a warning message advising you to go to a LandRover garage and get this fixed, but you can also give it a try yourself first, just make sure you include all of these additional instructions in your next attempt :

  • start off by using a USB-stick with no previous navigation files on it – if you do not have a brand new USB-stick of 32GB at hand, you can also try using the current one : no need to format it, just open it in the Finder (on macOS), then inside the folder named “HereV1”, select all files (press the CMD-A key combo) drag them to the Bin and empty the Bin
  • goto the landrover.here.com website, login using your account name and pasword, goto “Maps & Services”, click the “Get Latest Update” button of the map you want to install and in the next page that opens, start by downloading and installing the latest version of the MapDownloader-app before you proceed to downloading the desired map itself ; just finish making the USB-installer as usual
  • now, before you enter your P300e hybrid LandRover to start the update, make sure to unplug the electrical charger cable before you start your car (so the engine will stay running during the entire update process that may take up to 30 or even 45 minutes to complete – if your electrical charger would be plugged in, your engine won’t start and your car will definitely go into sleep mode before the navigation update is finished ; if you like you can take a drive during the map update, just remember you are not able to see any maps on your screen during the update – you might be able to use navigation though Apple CarPlay in the mean time – and you have to keep the engine running until the update is complete, so you cannot leave the car until done)
  • when starting the navigation update in your car, wait with plugging in the USB-installer until the car’s system asks you to do so and make sure you use a different USB-port than you did before

…then proceed as per the onscreen instructions and sit back and relax

…if you do so, the update process may appear to be a little slow, but it will succeed in about 30 minutes. (and if it doesn’t just try again – and if it still fails after a few attempts, the problem is not ‘just an upgrade’ so you will still have to contact a LandRover garage to get it fixed)

That’s it !

enjoy 😉

fixed : Green Screen button not showing in iMovie 10

Posted on by
Reply

Question :

I have made a video recording of myself in front of a green screen, and now I want to make the green transparent and put a video behind it in iMovie. I have iMovie 10.3.5 and the option for Green Screen should be in there, but when I import the video into iMovie and select it, there should be a Green Screen button at the left of the editing buttons above the clip preview, but the button just isn’t there, it isn’t greyed out or something, it just isn’t showing up… I searched in iMovie menus to find an option to switch the Green Screen button on, but there isn’t any…

What am I doing wrong ?

Answer :

Yes, it would have been better if Apple had included the button permanently in the row of editing buttons above the clip preview, then it could have been greyed out and instructions of what to do could be shown when you would try to click it.

So… yes… there is a modus operandi that isn’t obvious to everyone, but causes the Green Screen / Blue Screen button (the icon depicts ‘two overlaying squares’ and appears on the left of the row of editing buttons above the clip preview) to stay invisible :

the green screen video should always be an additional layer, but not the main layer !

so, do this to fix this problem and get the Green Screen / Blue Screen button to appear :

  • open iMovie
  • create a new Project
  • in the new project’s time line, import the video (or picture) that you want to show in the background first (so make the background video/picture the main clip in the time line)
  • then import the green screen video on top of the main (background) clip (so drag it in the row / layer above the main clip in the time line)
  • then select the green screen video in the time line (a yellow outline will appear around the clip) ; now the Green Screen / Blue Screen button will show up in the row of editing buttons above the clip preview on the upper right section of the screen
  • then click the Green Screen / Blue Screen button ; now the options needed to make the cut-out of the green screen will appear

That’s it !

enjoy 😉

fixed : Smart Thermostat is too large for the space I have next to my radiator

Posted on by
Reply

Question :

I want to install Smart Thermostats on all my radiators, but some of our radiators are in a cove where I a regular smart Thermostat won’t fit because it’s too bulky. There just isn’t enough space to screw the Smart Thermostat onto the radiator valve, there’s only 78mm of space.

What options do I have ?

 

Answer :

Most Smart Thermostats are bulky because you need to install 2 AA penlite batteries inside the Smart Thermostat. The TP-Link KE-100 Kasa Smart Thermostat is 88mm in length and even the Tado Smart Thermostat is 80mm in length. So, even if your radiator valve is M30x1.5 the space you have is too small… so, you only have 2 options :

(1) the Fibaro “The Heat Controller” FGT-001 which is only 75mm in length, because it isn’t powered by AA penlite batteries, but by a built-in rechargeable battery that can be charged through a mini-USB cable

Note #1 : the Fibaro FGT-001 comes in 2 versions : an Apple HomeKit-compatible version and a non-HomeKit-compatible Z-Wave version that is compatible with Google Home and Amazon Alexa

Note #2 : the Fibaro FGT-001 (HomeKit version) is rather easy to install and program, but the Fibaro FGT-001 (Z-Wave version) is slightly more difficult to install end harder to program, and you will also need a Z-Wave Hub (a.k.a. “Z-Wave Controller”) but it’s extremely programmable

(2) use a perpendicular M30x1.5 angle adapter to get your Smart Thermostat pointing in a more convenient direction, like this one :

Oventrop Angle Adapter for M30x1.5 radiator valves

That’s it – you choose 😉

enjoy !

fixed : adapter for Smart Thermostat on slightly smaller Comap radiator valve

Posted on by
Reply

Question :

I want to install Smart Thermostat knobs onto my radiators, and on most of my radiator valves I succeed without problems, even without adapters, but on some the thread just won’t fit, even with the adapters that are included with the Smart Thermostat. These radiator valves seem to have a slightly smaller thread and the original head is branded “Comap”. Still, I can’t find adapters for “Comap” anywhere…

Which adapter do I need ?

Answer :

Most Smart Thermostats can be screwed onto any M30x1.5 radiator valve (which is sort-of the standard these days) and most Smart Thermostats come with some adapters (usually for RA, RAV and RAVL valves) but the “Comap” head you are talking about is a M28x1.5 (usually referred to as a “Heart” (or “Herz” in German) valve.

So all you need to do is find the right adapter. For your “Comap” valve that is a M28x1.5-to-M30x1.5 adapter. All Tado Smart Thermostats do have this adapter included, but if your Smart Thermostat is from a different brand, you will need an adapter like this one :

Heimeier / Herz adapter (buy it on Amazon)

That’s it !

enjoy 😉

fixed : 70mai Dash Cam only records one segment then stops

Posted on by
Reply

Question :

I have a 70mai Dash Cam Pro+ A800 with the RC06 Rear Cam which works great, but I happened to notice that it only records the 1st minute of every time I drive my car after starting. So, in the 70mai.app, when I go into the album, I can see recordings from both the Dash Cam and the Rear Cam, and I can see all types of recordings, like parking and emergency recordings, but of every regular journey only the first minute is recorded. So for some reason loop recording is not working as intended.

What is wrong and how can I fix it ?

Answer :

As it turns out, not every microSD card that meets the official requirements (a microSD SDXC U3 card of Class 10 or above with at least 32GB) works with the 70mai Dash Cam Pro+ A800/A800S 4K UltraHD (with RC06 Rear Cam).

The only microSD card that is sure to work as intended with this Dash Cam is the Samsung EVO Plus SDXC U3 Class 10 A2 130MB/s of at least 32GB, so we recommend something like this :

Samsung EVO Plus SDXC U3 Class 10 A2 130MB/s 128GB

Just replace your current microSD card with one of the above mentioned Samsung EVO Plus microSD cards, have the Dash Cam format it and you’re good to go !

enjoy 😉

fixed : problems installing Fibaro Z-Wave Smart Thermostat and Room Sensor

Posted on by
Reply

Question :

I have chosen to install the Fibaro “The Heat Controller” in my home, and even though I have the Fibaro Z-Wave Home Center 3 Lite controller/hub already installed, I can’t get The Heat Controller (Z-Wave version) Smart Thermostat to connect to it. Whenever I try to connect from the Fibaro Yubii.app it can’t find the Smart Thermostat.

How do I set up the connection ?

Answer :

To install a Fibaro “The Heat Controller” (Z-Wave version) FGT-001 Smart Thermostat (that also comes in a Starter Pack combo teamed with the Fibaro FGBRS-001 Room Sensor), do this :

  • make sure you have the Yubii.app installed on your iPhone
  • make sure you have a ‘Z-Wave controller’ (a Z-Wave protocol hub/bridge device) set up, the most basic one that Fibaro offers is the Home Center 3 Lite
  • to prevent connection problems temporarily unmount/unscrew the Smart Thermostat from the radiator and make sure you have the Smart Thermostat near your Z-Wave bridge
  • >> if theSmart Thermostat is completely new, you will need to charge it first ; so plug in a micro-USB cable and power that using any USB (phone) charger, USB battery pack or USB wall outlet ; if the Smart Thermostat is fully charged it’s LED ring will flash in green
  • then, in the setting of your wireless router, make sure the WiFi is (temporarily) set to “2.4GHz only”
  • then, open the Yubii.app
  • in the Yubii.app on the main page, click the More button (bottom right)
  • in the MENU page that opens, click Add Devices
  • in the Z-Wave page that opens, wait until there is only one huge “Z-Wave protocol” button, then click on it
  • in the Add Device page that opens, click the blue Start button (bottom right)
  • on the next page, you will see a countdown circle of 60 seconds (so you now have 60 seconds to add the Smart Thermostat)
  • now, on the Smart Thermostat, long-press the small bubble button (so, press it for at least 1 second)
  • the LED ring on the Smart Thermostat should now light up (in blue)
    • >> if not, try again
  • if the LED ring is blue, triple press the small bubble button (so, press it for 3 times in a row)
  • the LED ring on the Smart Thermostat should now start blinking (in white)
  • >> if it does not, triple press the small bubble button again (and again, and again) with 1 second pauses until the LED ring starts blinking (in white)
  • >> if the circular countdown timer in the Yubii.app reaches 0 seconds before you get the LED ring blinking (on the Smart Thermostat) just try again
  • when the Smart Thermostat is recognised, just wait for the connection process to finish
  • when the connection has been established, the LED ring on the Smart Thermostat will change to let you know it was successful
  • >> if it was not, just try again
  • basically you’re ready now, so you can screw the Smart Thermostat back onto the radiator and start setting the scenes (operation programs) for the Smart Thermostat
  • do not forget to switch your WiFi setting back to “2.4 & 5GHz”
  • >> note #1 : in the Yubii.app you can only select scenes that you have already programmed ; all new scenes need to be programmed on the ‘Z-Wave controller’ first ( using the local web interface that you need to access from your browser ; if you have a Fibaro Home Center, access it by going to https://find.fibaro.com )
  • >> note # 2 : if screwing the Smart Thermostat back onto the radiator is difficult, turn the head knob of the Smart Thermostat until the LED ring flashes in red and you hear it buzzing (that will take the pressure of the valve inside the thermostat knob)

If you also want to connect the Fibaro “Temperature Sensor” FGBRS-001 Room Sensor (if you already have the Smart Thermostat installed) do this :

  • make sure you have the Yubii.app installed on your iPhone
  • make sure you have a ‘Z-Wave controller’ (a Z-Wave protocol hub/bridge device) set up, the most basic one that Fibaro offers is the Home Center 3 Lite
  • to prevent connection problems temporarily unmount/unscrew the Smart Thermostat (the one that you want to integrate the Room Sensor with) from the radiator and make sure you have the Smart Thermostat near your Z-Wave bridge
  • then, in the setting of your wireless router, make sure the WiFi is (temporarily) set to “2.4GHz only”
  • now, take out the plastic battery initiation strap from the Room Sensor (if it’s still there)
  • >> if there is no strap, the Room Sensor may have been used before and/or the the battery may be dead so the next installation steps will not work until you resolve this
  • >> if the battery is dead, use a coin to twist open the battery compartment and replace the battery first ( you will need a 3.0V CR2032 battery cell )
  • >> if the Room Sensor has been used before, it might still be connected/paired to other Smart Thermostats so you will need to reset it first, so use the F-marked pin to long press (press and hold) the button inside the hole for at least 2 seconds ; if the LED light on the Room Sensor blinks 3 times, the unpairing has succeeded (just try again if unsuccessful)
  • to continue the installation, open the Yubii.app
  • in the Yubii.app on the main page, click the More button (bottom right)
  • in the MENU page that opens, click Add Devices
  • in the Z-Wave page that opens, wait until there is only one huge Z-Wave button, then click on it
  • in the Add Device page that opens, click the blue Start button (bottom right)
  • on the next page, you will see a countdown circle of 60 seconds (so you now have 60 seconds to add the Room Sensor)
  • now, on the Smart Thermostat, press the small bubble button (so, press it once) for at least 1 second
  • the LED ring on the Smart Thermostat should now start blinking (in blue)
  • if not, just try pressing the small bubble button again
  • while the LED ring on the Smart Thermostat is blinking, use the F-marked pin that came with the Room Sensor to press the click button inside the small hole on the back of the Room Sensor
  • clicking the Room Sensor’s button is successful if a small light on the back of the Room Sensor lights up
  • if not, try pressing the click button inside the small hole again
  • Now, the LED ring on the Smart Thermostat should blink 5 times (in green) to indicate that the connection was successful 
  • if not, try pressing the click button inside the small hole again
  • if the countdown circle in the Yubii.app hits 0 seconds before you have the connection set up, just try again
  • That’s it
  • Do not forget to set your WiFi back to “2.4 & 5GHz”

enjoy !