WEBVTT - WiFi Tips & More:  Geoffrey Fowler Talks To A&G.

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<v Speaker 1>Now, also from the Washington Boast on the Tech days

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<v Speaker 1>of Chris miss my true love gave to me better

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<v Speaker 1>Wi Fi. We're big fans of Jeff Fowler. The guy

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<v Speaker 1>writes about tech stuff for the Washington Post, and that's

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<v Speaker 1>his title of his article today, Jeff, Welcome to the

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<v Speaker 1>Armstrong and Getty Show.

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<v Speaker 2>How you doing pretty good?

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<v Speaker 3>Thank you for singing me?

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<v Speaker 2>Sure? So are you?

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<v Speaker 1>Are you done with your shopping? You got everybody purchased

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<v Speaker 1>for uh?

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<v Speaker 3>Pretty much?

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah?

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<v Speaker 3>I'm a solid do it on Thanksgiving and take advantage

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<v Speaker 3>of all of the discounts. I actually track prices over

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<v Speaker 3>the year because I'm a big nerd.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, good for you.

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<v Speaker 1>I wish I was like I wait to the last

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<v Speaker 1>minute and then popular stuff is sold out on a

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<v Speaker 1>have to find the last one that's into luth Minnesota

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<v Speaker 1>and pay extra to ship it clear across the country.

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<v Speaker 1>That's the way I do my shopping. So this whole

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<v Speaker 1>Wi Fi thing tell us what we can do? It

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<v Speaker 1>sounds really interesting. I actually read the article.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, so here's here's the deal. We were sitting around

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<v Speaker 3>at the Post thinking like, okay, so what actually happens

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<v Speaker 3>with people's technology over the holidays and we realized, you're

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<v Speaker 3>stuck at home with your mom, your dad, your grandma,

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<v Speaker 3>your uncle, whatever, and it turns out probably they have

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<v Speaker 3>terrible technology going on in their house. They have a

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<v Speaker 3>lot of things that super annoy you or maybe even

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<v Speaker 3>make your life a little bit worse when you have

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<v Speaker 3>to hang out with them. So we wanted to give

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<v Speaker 3>some folks some like ideas of like, okay, what's like

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<v Speaker 3>some really simple things you could do when you're stuck

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<v Speaker 3>home with them to help them. And number one on

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<v Speaker 3>the list is fixing the bad Wi Fi in the house.

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<v Speaker 3>You know, we've all seen it, like the Netflix stutters out,

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<v Speaker 3>you have to stay in one room or go to

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<v Speaker 3>one corner. It's like America's number one tech problem. And

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<v Speaker 3>it turns out there's actually a super easy solution for it.

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<v Speaker 3>You got to just take that really ugly router box,

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<v Speaker 3>the thing that's all the blinking lights that might look

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<v Speaker 3>like it's an alien spaceship, and you got to move

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<v Speaker 3>it out into the open because a lot of people

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<v Speaker 3>think that that thing is somehow like magic and so

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<v Speaker 3>that they just you know, it can like work from wherever,

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<v Speaker 3>and it can't. It actually has to be out in

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<v Speaker 3>the open. For all those radio waves to make it around.

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<v Speaker 2>Okay, interesting, So a couple things on that.

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<v Speaker 1>It clearly travels through some stuff, because like I have

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<v Speaker 1>my router box in the bedroom and I get you know,

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<v Speaker 1>good service out in the living room. So it's going

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<v Speaker 1>through the walls and the doors. Does that just slow

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<v Speaker 1>down the signal or is it certain kind like it

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<v Speaker 1>can't go through metal?

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<v Speaker 2>Tell me more about them.

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<v Speaker 3>So the official nerdy word for what we're talking about

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<v Speaker 3>is attenuate the signal. And so yes, it still can

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<v Speaker 3>go through, but it's less strong. It can't reach as

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<v Speaker 3>far through certain kinds of materials. So you named you

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<v Speaker 3>named a big one metal. And here's the thing. It's

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<v Speaker 3>not just like just like any metal that is the problem.

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<v Speaker 3>Even things like wire mesh, like the chicken wire that's

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<v Speaker 3>like built inside a lot of people's plast master.

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<v Speaker 2>Right, I have a cock fighting ring in my and

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<v Speaker 2>so I get a lot of chicken wire.

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<v Speaker 3>Well, a lot of people not have it. And I

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<v Speaker 3>had this in my house in the stucco walls they

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<v Speaker 3>put that stuff. It turns out that that happens to

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<v Speaker 3>be the exact gauge that messes with Wi Fi other

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<v Speaker 3>things that mess with it, fish tanks, giant things of water.

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<v Speaker 3>Also microwaves. If you ever turned on a microwave near

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<v Speaker 3>near your WiFi router, like the whole thing cuts out

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<v Speaker 3>because it uses the same the same radio wavelength, so

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<v Speaker 3>it kind of it gets in the way. Certainly. The

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<v Speaker 3>point is lots of things can mess up Wi Fi waves,

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<v Speaker 3>including just like putting it inside a shelf or behind

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<v Speaker 3>the TV. That's a big piece of metal.

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<v Speaker 2>So the idea is take.

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<v Speaker 3>That thing, move it out into the open, and let

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<v Speaker 3>it really do it. It's it's business, and you're just

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<v Speaker 3>going to immediately get a lot better WiFi.

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<v Speaker 2>Well that's interesting.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, I won't mention the three lettered company that

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<v Speaker 1>I have mine with, but they're the ones that wired

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<v Speaker 1>this thing up and put a tiny short cord on

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<v Speaker 1>it so it's right behind the dresser in the bedroom.

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<v Speaker 2>Why don't they tell you that. I would think they'd

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<v Speaker 2>want you to get better.

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<v Speaker 3>Service because these there's a reason these are the East

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<v Speaker 3>favored companies in the United States of America. They're not

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<v Speaker 3>really focused on customer service. They're just focused on trying

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<v Speaker 3>to raise your prices every year by tricking you into

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<v Speaker 3>having to go negotiate with them again.

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<v Speaker 2>To get the movies.

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<v Speaker 1>So one more thing on this. Does it matter whether

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<v Speaker 1>it's down on the ground or a pies up high better?

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<v Speaker 3>It should be kind of as close as possible to

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<v Speaker 3>the middle of your space. So if you have like

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<v Speaker 3>a two story house, Pies is probably a little bit

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<v Speaker 3>better if you're on the lower floor. Other than that,

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<v Speaker 3>just just a clear open space is what its. Think

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<v Speaker 3>of it a little bit like a light bulb, right

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<v Speaker 3>where would you put a light bulb if you wanted

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<v Speaker 3>to like maximize the amount of space that would.

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<v Speaker 2>Would get the light.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, it was it was insulting, but true your

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<v Speaker 1>your comment of people who think it just has this

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<v Speaker 1>magical ability to go through anything.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, because that's what I've done.

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<v Speaker 1>I've got it tucked behind the dresser in the corner

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<v Speaker 1>of the house.

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<v Speaker 2>Down load. No wonder my wife. I's so crappy.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, it's but it's an easy fix. And look, if

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<v Speaker 3>the cable's really short, just go buy a little coaxs cable,

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<v Speaker 3>you know, ten bucks, stretch it out.

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<v Speaker 2>You're good to go. Yeah, Oh what else can we do.

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<v Speaker 3>On Wi Fi? Are other things while you're seck texting

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<v Speaker 3>where you stack with the.

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<v Speaker 2>Family, whatever you want to talk about, I don't care.

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<v Speaker 3>Okay, all right, So here's another one. This one's a

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<v Speaker 3>little bit more of a downer, but I swear you'll

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<v Speaker 3>thank me. There's this thing called legacy contacts that are

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<v Speaker 3>built into your phone, your Gmail, your Facebook, all that

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<v Speaker 3>stuff you use. You got to set those up so

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<v Speaker 3>if you're with elderly relatives, you're with your own kids, whoever,

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<v Speaker 3>when take a minute, you got to just tap into

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<v Speaker 3>the settings and choose them and turn it on. Here's why,

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<v Speaker 3>when somebody passes away, you got to have access to

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<v Speaker 3>their digital life now right, that's where That's how you

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<v Speaker 3>get to their bank account, that's how you get to

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<v Speaker 3>their emails, you get to all this sort of stuff.

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<v Speaker 3>And if you don't have access to it, oftentimes these

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<v Speaker 3>companies won't give it to you because it's a privacy violation.

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<v Speaker 3>So they made these things called legacy contacts. iPhones have them,

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<v Speaker 3>Google has them. You name them and you can go

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<v Speaker 3>in pick a person.

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<v Speaker 1>Just set it up.

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<v Speaker 3>Takes a minute. You don't have to talk too much

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<v Speaker 3>about death with your lot one, but just enough to

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<v Speaker 3>get it set up and you'll you'll you'll thank me

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<v Speaker 3>later because it will come up at some point.

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<v Speaker 1>So you say to Grandma, you have been looking so good?

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<v Speaker 1>Can I see your phone? Is that the way you

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<v Speaker 1>want to approach you?

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<v Speaker 3>Maybe not, Maybe that's not the Christmas message. But the

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<v Speaker 3>way I to my parents is as I said, Hey,

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<v Speaker 3>there's a thing on your phone that will help me

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<v Speaker 3>help you if we ever need it.

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<v Speaker 2>Where do you find Where do you find that?

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<v Speaker 3>It's under settings? You can just if you're using an iPhone,

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<v Speaker 3>for example, you can go to you can just go

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<v Speaker 3>to settings and pull down a little search button a

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<v Speaker 3>type of legacy okay, and.

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<v Speaker 2>It'll pop up.

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<v Speaker 3>And we're gonna actually you have a whole story on

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<v Speaker 3>this coming out in the post tomorrow, so we'll have

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<v Speaker 3>all the step by step instructions part of our extended

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<v Speaker 3>Tech Days of Christmas. Uh special. So yeah, do this one.

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<v Speaker 3>Trust me, you'll you'll it's like we're to think about now,

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<v Speaker 3>but when you need it, you'll really be glad you

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<v Speaker 3>had it. Yeah.

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<v Speaker 1>I just looked on a my iPhone. Is that man,

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<v Speaker 1>that was worth the price of admission right there? That's

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<v Speaker 1>a good one because I had somebody deal with that

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<v Speaker 1>recently and it was a nightmare.

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<v Speaker 3>Oh yeah, I mean anybody. We've all had someone, we've

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<v Speaker 3>all lost someone in our lives who is important. And

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<v Speaker 3>you know that the digital life is just key to

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<v Speaker 3>all the stuff you have to do after they're gone.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, okay, so before Grandpa checks off skydiving on the

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<v Speaker 1>bucket list, maybe go into his iPhone and get that

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<v Speaker 1>taken care of.

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<v Speaker 2>What else, one more thing, one more thing?

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<v Speaker 1>You know what?

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<v Speaker 3>Here's here's another one that's much more upbeat.

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<v Speaker 2>Clean the damn camera on your.

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<v Speaker 3>Family member's phones. Like I don't know, like do people

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<v Speaker 3>have crisco on their fingers? I don't know what's going on.

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<v Speaker 3>But if you look at the camera on the back

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<v Speaker 3>of the phone, the thing is covered in like crud.

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<v Speaker 3>And guess what. Cameras also are not magic and they

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<v Speaker 3>cannot work as the lens is covered in crud. So

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<v Speaker 3>just get a little micro five or anything you'd used

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<v Speaker 3>to clean your glasses and wipe it off, and all

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<v Speaker 3>of a sudden, the pictures will look so much better.

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<v Speaker 3>You don't need to buy a new camera, You just

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<v Speaker 3>need to clean your phone.

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<v Speaker 2>Awesome, Hey, what phone do you use right now?

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<v Speaker 3>I'm talking to you from an iPhone fifteen? But I'm

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<v Speaker 3>the kind of guy who keeps multiple phones around, So

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<v Speaker 3>I also have also have one of those fancy Samsung

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<v Speaker 3>folding ones.

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<v Speaker 1>Did you upgrade to the fifteen because you need to

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<v Speaker 1>write about it and talk about it, or because you

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<v Speaker 1>thought it was worth it?

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<v Speaker 3>Not because I thought it was worth it. I'm a

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<v Speaker 3>little bit of a strange case, right because I do

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<v Speaker 3>have to use this stuff to write about it. So

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<v Speaker 3>I upgraded because AT and T gave me an incredible

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<v Speaker 3>deal this year. In particular, the carriers were all pretty

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<v Speaker 3>desperate to people locked in, and so they gave people

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<v Speaker 3>tons and tons and tons of money if they agreed

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<v Speaker 3>to stick around. So I was like, sure, AT ANDT,

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<v Speaker 3>you can pay for my phone.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I noticed that too. Yeah, I like the idea

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<v Speaker 2>of titanium.

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<v Speaker 1>Anyway, you are fantastic, GARU really appreciate coming on, and

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<v Speaker 1>I hope your whole holiday season is fantastic.

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<v Speaker 3>Armstrong and Getty