How to Add a Password to Your Kindle

How to Set a Kindle PIN

On the Home Screen, tap the three little dots in the top-right corner.

tap the kindle menu button

Next, tap “Settings” in the menu that pops up.

tap the kindle settings button

Then, tap “Device Options.”

Select the kindle device options

From the options, choose “Device Passcode.”

Choose the device passcode option

Enter a passcode between 1 and 12 digits long, enter it again to confirm it, and then tap “OK.”

setting a kindle passcode

Now, when you unlock your Kindle, you’ll be prompted to enter your passcode.

kindle passcode prompt

How to Turn Off or Change a Kindle Passcode

Go to Settings > Device Options > Device Passcode.

Kindle turn off and change passcode options

To stop using a passcode, tap “Turn Off Passcode,” enter your passcode, and then tap “OK.” To change your passcode, tap “Change Passcode,” enter your current passcode, tap “OK,” and then enter and confirm a new passcode.

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How to Connect an Xbox Wireless Controller with an Android Phone

How to Pair an Xbox Controller with Android

The process of connecting this Xbox controller with Android is similar to connecting any other Bluetooth accessory. First, you need to open “Settings” on your Android phone. If you’re not sure where to find it, you can swipe down twice on the home screen of your Android phone to open Quick Settings. Now, tap the gear icon in the bottom-right corner of the Quick Settings panel on Android.

In Android Settings, select “Connected Devices” to open Bluetooth pairing preferences.

To navigate to Bluetooth pairing options, you can select "Connected Devices" in Settings on Android.

On the Connected Devices page in Settings on your Android phone, tap “Pair New Device.”

In the "Connected Devices" page in Android Settings, tap "Pair New Device" to put your phone in pairing mode.

This is the time to put your Xbox Wireless Controller in pairing mode. Press and hold the pairing button on the controller until the Xbox button starts blinking rapidly.

Xbox Series Controller Pairing Button
Tim Brookes

The pairing button is located at the top of the controller, between the LB button and the USB Type-C charging port. We’re now ready to connect the Xbox controller with your Android phone. On the “Pair New Device” page in Settings on your Android phone, tap “Xbox Wireless Controller.” The controller’s name will appear under the “Available Devices” section on the “Pair New Device” page.

On the "Pair New Device" page in Settings on your Android phone, tap "Xbox Wireless Controller."

That’s it! Your Xbox controller is now connected to your Android phone. You can fire up any game that supports controllers and play it to your heart’s content. Just be mindful that some games don’t support controller input in the menus, but they do let you use your Xbox controller in-game.

The Xbox Wireless Controller showing up under "Connected Devices" in Android Settings.

This means that you might not always be able to navigate the mode selection or game preferences pages using the Xbox controller. However, the gameplay isn’t affected by this limitation.

If you also have an Xbox Series X|S, you’ll be glad to know that you can sync the Xbox Wireless Controller with two devices at once. Yes, you can pair the controller to both the console and your phone and quickly switch between the two devices.

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How Windows 11’s New “Quick Settings” Menu Works

When using your PC, you’ll sometimes need to quickly change a setting, but you probably don’t want to dig through menus or the full Windows Settings app to change them. In that case, Quick Settings in Windows 11 is exactly what you need. We loaded up Windows 11 Insider Preview to take an early look.

To access the Quick Settings menu in Windows 11, all you need to do is click a set of status icons (Wi-Fi, speaker, and battery in our example) in the lower-right corner of the screen. It’s located just to the left of the date and time in the taskbar. Or, you can press Windows+A on the keyboard (which is the Action Center shortcut in Windows 10).

Click the area to the left of the clock in the taskbar to bring up the Quick Settings menu.

Once you click it, a small menu with rounded corners will pop up instantly. It includes buttons that let you quickly connect or disconnect Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, a button for Airplane mode, Battery Saver, Focus Assist, Accessibility, and Night Light (which changes the color temperature of the screen) by default.

There’s also a volume slider and a screen brightness slider, a small battery charge indicator (on applicable devices), and a quick link to Windows Settings (a small gear).

The Windows 11 Quick Setup Menu

For menu items like Accessibility that have secondary options, if you click their main button, the Quick Settings menu will change to include the new options. A back button in the upper-left corner will take you back to the regular Quick Settings display.

Accessibility options in the Windows 11 Quick Settings menu.

To change the contents of the Quick Settings menu, you click a small pencil icon in the lower-right corner of the menu itself.

After you click the pencil icon, the icons in the menu will turn gray, and you can remove elements from the menu by clicking small “unpin” icons (that look like a crossed-out pushpin).

Editing the Quick Settings menu in Windows 11.

You can also click an “Add” button to add new Quick Settings controls from a pop-up list. At the moment, these include “Connect,” (which controls streaming to Miracast devices) “Keyboard Layout,” “Mobile Hotspot,” “Nearby Sharing,” “Project,” and “Rotation Lock.”

Adding items to the Windows 11 Quick Settings menu.

If you add all of them, the Quick Settings menu will expand vertically to fit the new buttons.

With more items added to the Windows 11 Quick Settings menu, the menu expands vertically.

To close the Quick Settings menu, you click outside of the menu area on the screen or press Escape. Toggling the menu by clicking the Quick Settings button area in the taskbar doesn’t work consistently, but this might be a bug in the Windows 11 Insider Preview we’re using here. Still, things look good so far, and Quick Settings will likely continue to improve over time as Windows 11 gets closer to its eventual release.

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How to Use FaceTime for Android

To use FaceTime on Android,  you’ll need a supported browser (such as Google Chrome) and a friend or family member with an iOS, iPadOS, or macOS device. iPhone and iPad users running iOS 15, iPadOS 15, or higher can open the FaceTime app and select “Create Link.”

Tap the "Create Link" button in the iPhone and iPad FaceTime app.

And then they can share the link with you however they want.

Share the link however you like.

On Mac, as long as they’re running macOS 12 Monterey or newer, they can find find the “Create Link” button at the top of the FaceTime app.

Click the "Create Link" button in FaceTime on Mac

Next, they can share the FaceTime link with you using any messaging platform.

Choose how you would like to share the FaceTime link on your Mac

This is where Android devices enter the situation. You will receive a link to facetime.apple.com that looks something like this:

FaceTime for web link.

Open the link in Google Chrome on your Android phone or tablet. At the time of writing in July 2021, Chrome is the only supported Android browser. Enter your name in the box and tap “Continue.”

Enter your name and tap "Continue."

Next, select “Join” from the floating toolbar at the top.

Tap the "Join" button.

The person with an iPhone, iPad, or Mac that sent you the link will need to accept your request to join. Once you’re in, you’ll have the typical video conference controls at the top of the screen. These include making the video full-screen, muting your microphone, showing or hiding your video, flipping the camera, and more.

FaceTime video controls including Fullscreen, Mute, Show/Hide Video, Flip Camera, and More.

Now you’re in a basic version of a FaceTime call on your Android device! When you’re done, simply tap the screen to bring up the toolbar again and select “Leave.”

Tap the "Leave" button to hang up the video call.

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How to Measure Your Heart Rate with a Samsung Galaxy Watch

Samsung Galaxy smartwatches are great productivity companions, but they’re also good for fitness tracking. One useful feature is heart rate monitoring. We’ll show you how to measure your heart rate manually or automatically with a Samsung Galaxy Watch.

Heart rate sensors have been included in Samsung smartwatches since the Gear 2, which was released in 2014. Any modern Samsung Gear or Galaxy smartwatch will have the ability to measure your heart rate. It’s important to note, however, that smartwatches are not medical instruments and should not be used for a diagnosis. There are two methods in which you can measure your heart rate with a Samsung Galaxy Watch. You can manually check at any time or have the watch automatically measure throughout the day. During workouts, the watch will measure your heart rate more frequently as well.

Manually Check Your Heart Rate

To manually check your current heart rate using your Galaxy Watch, we’ll start by pressing the physical Power Button on the watch to open the Apps panel. Select “Samsung Health” from the list.

select samsung health from app list

Scroll down in the Health app and select the heart rate section.

select heart rate

Simply tap the “Measure” button to begin measuring your heart rate now.

tap the measure button

A circle around the edge of the screen will indicate the progress.

heart rate tracking in progress

Once it’s complete, you’ll see a little report about how this measurement compares to previous ones. You can tap “Tag” to add a note.

heart rate report

Automatic Heart Rate Tracking

Automatic heart rate tracking on your Samsung Galaxy Watch is very useful because you never have to think about it.To get started, press the physical Power Button on the watch to open the Apps list and select “Samsung Health.”

select samsung health from app list

Scroll down to the heart rate section and tap it.

select heart rate

On the heart rate screen, scroll down and select the gear icon to open Settings.

open the heart rate settings

There are three options on this screen:

  • Measure continuously: Measures your heart rate continuously.
  • Every 10 mins while still: Measures your heart rate every 10 minutes when you’re not working out.
  • Manual measurement only: Will never measure your heart rate automatically.

Choose one of the options to proceed. Keep in mind that continuous heart rate tracking will have a bigger impact on battery life than the every 10 minutes option.

choose an automatic option

That’s it! You can check your heart rate history by visiting the Samsung Health app. The app will show your heart rate measurements on a graph for the week.

heart rate graphs

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How to Automatically Change Google Chrome’s New Tab Background

Given how often we open new tabs in Google Chrome, it’s easy to get bored of any single background image. Luckily, Chrome allows you to automatically switch the new tab page’s wallpaper every day. Here’s how to set it up. First, launch the Google Chrome browser on your Windows 10, Mac, Chrome OS, or Linux computer. Then, open a new tab and click the “Customize” button in the bottom-right corner.

Click "Customize" to customize Google Chrome's new tab page.

In the pop-up that appears, make sure that you’re in the “Background” section.

Click "Background" in the sidebar of the pop-up window.

On the “Background” page, you’ll find a number of preset collections of backdrops, such as “Textures,” “Landscapes,” “Art,” and “Earth.” Google Chrome can automatically apply a new wallpaper from any one of these collections every day on your new tab page. So, let’s say that you want Google Chrome to display a new wallpaper from the “Earth” collection on your new tab page. To do this, first, click the collection’s thumbnail in the grid.

Viewing background wallpaper collections on Google Chrome.

On the next page, Google Chrome will list all of the collection’s wallpapers. Turn on the “Refresh Daily” switch in the top-right corner of the pop-up window.

Turn on "Refresh Daily" to automatically change Google Chrome new tab wallpaper.

Click the “Done” option to save your preferences.

Click "Done."

After that, the new tab page on your Google Chrome browser will show a fresh backdrop from the “Earth” collection (or whichever collection you chose) every day. If you really enjoy one of the background images, you can see the name of the current background’s creator and its source in the bottom-left corner of the new tab page.

Check details of Google Chrome's new tab background by clicking the source link in the lower-left corner of the new tab page.

Similarly, there are plenty of other ways that you can customize Google Chrome to your liking. You can edit more elements of the new tab page itself or even create your own browser theme in a matter of minutes.

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How to Use and Edit Autofill for Forms in Firefox

Enable Autofill in Firefox

To use the autofill feature in Firefox, you must first enable it. And luckily, you can enable it for addresses and credit cards separately. This is convenient if you prefer not to use it for one or the other.

  • To begin, open Firefox and click the Application Menu icon (three lines) on the top right. On Windows, pick “Options,” and on macOS, pick “Preferences.”

Click Applications Menu, Preferences in Firefox on Mac

  • Select “Privacy & Security” on the left of the Settings screen and scroll down to the Forms and Autofill section on the right.

Select Privacy and Security and go to Forms and Autofill

  • Check the box(es) for the autofill options that you want to use. You can pick “Autofill Addresses,” “Autofill Credit Cards,” or both.

Enable Autofill settings in Firefox

Add Autofill Details
  • You can add information to the autofill area in Firefox to speed up form-filling in the future. Go back to the same spot where you enabled the feature in Privacy & Security > Forms and Autofill.

Autofill for Addresses and Cards

Add Addresses

To add an address, phone number, or email address, click “Saved Addresses,” and then hit “Add.”

Click Add for an address

  • You can enter as little or as much information as you like. This is convenient if you only want to save your name or an email address, for instance.
  • Click “Save,” and the details will display in your list of Saved Addresses.

Add a new autofill address

Add Credit Cards

Many people don’t feel comfortable saving payment information for use with autofill. But if this is something you’d like to do, it’s just as easy as saving the address details.

  • Click “Saved Credit Cards,” and then hit “Add.”

Click Add for a credit card

  • Enter the details for your credit card and click “Save.” The card will then display in your list of Saved Credit Cards.

Add a new autofill credit card

There is a useful setting to require authentication for automatically filling credit card details. The feature is available on both Windows and macOS. By checking the box to require authentication, you’ll be prompted to enter your computer password to use the autofill option for your credit card.

Check the box to authenticate autofill for credit cards

The authentication setting is optional. But if you’d like that added security, it’s a good idea to enable it.

If you have a change of address or new expiration date for a credit card, you can easily edit your saved autofill items. Head back to Privacy & Security > Forms and Autofill and choose either “Saved Addresses” or “Saved Credit Cards.”

  • To edit an item, select it in the list and click “Edit.” Make your changes and click “Save.”

Edit a saved address

  • To delete an item, select it in the list and click “Remove.” You will not be asked to confirm this action, so be sure that you really want to delete the item before clicking the Remove button.

Remove a saved address

Once you have the details saved to your Firefox autofill settings, you should be prompted to use them when filling out your next form.

When you begin typing in a form field, you’ll see the autofill options appear in a small box. Select the item that you want to use, and the remainder of the fields will populate with the details you’ve saved.

Use autofill in Firefox

Keep in mind that you may come across a form here and there and find autofill not working. Mozilla states that certain types of websites (such as financial ones) will not use autofill.

If you’re also a Safari user on your computer or mobile device, you can use, disable, or edit autofill in Safari as well.

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How to Get an Always-on-Top Calculator in PC Games on Windows 10

Try Windows 10’s Built-in Calculator

Windows 10’s built-in calculator has an always-on-top mode, too. It can stay always on top of whatever desktop apps you’re using. We’re covering another cool trick in this article: Using the Xbox Game Bar’s little-known widgets to get a calculator that can stay always on top anywhere in Windows, including inside PC games.

How to Get an Xbox Game Bar Calculator Widget

Widgets are one of the Xbox Game Bar‘s many handy features. They give you quick access to “widgets” on top of your current activity. With a simple keyboard shortcut, you can bring up a calculator and even pin it to stay on top. Microsoft added widgets to the Game Bar in Windows 10’s May 2019 update. You’ll need that version or newer if you want to use the calculator widget.

The Calculator widget is not included by default, so we’ll have to download it from the Widget Store before we can use it. To bring up the Game Bar, press Windows + G. Alternatively, you can click “Xbox Game Bar” in the Start Menu. (If it doesn’t appear, head to Settings > Gaming > Xbox Game Bar, ensure the Game Bar is “On,” and check if you’ve changed the keyboard shortcut that opens the Game Bar.)

open Xbox Game Bar

In the “Game Bar” toolbar, click the “Widget” menu icon at the left side of the bar.

select the widget menu icon

From the drop-down list, select “Widget Store” at the bottom.

select widget store from the menu

Scroll through the available widgets and select “Game Bar Calculator” by Mark Lierman. Click “Install” on the information page.

install the calculator from the widget store

Once it’s installed, you’ll see “Calculator” in the widget menu. Simply click it to open the widget. You can “star” it to put the shortcut in the toolbar as well.

select the calculator from the menu

The widget can be dragged around the screen and it will stay in that spot whenever you bring up the Game Bar overlay.

drag the widget around

How to Make the Calculator Always-on-Top

These widgets can also be “pinned” to stay always-on-top of whatever you’re doing, even when the Game Bar disappears. To do this, press Windows + G or launch “Xbox Game Bar” from the Start Menu. Once again, open the calculator widget.

open the calculator widget

Now click the pin icon in the top bar of the calculator widget.

click the pin icon

The calculator won’t disappear with the rest of the Game Bar. Keep in mind that you can only move it around when the Game Bar overlay is open.

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How to Fix Your Keyboard Typing Numbers Instead of Letters

With Num Lock turned on, the numeric keypad on a desktop PC works like an adding machine keypad with numbers and symbols (such as *, /, and +) that represent mathematical operations. With Num Lock turned off, the keypad registers as cursor keys (like up and down arrow) and some editing keys (such as Home and Insert).

What’s Different About Num Lock on a Laptop?

Most laptops don’t have dedicated numeric keypads, so Num Lock works differently on them. Instead of changing cursor keys into numbers, it converts a section of the QWERTY letters on the keyboard into a virtual numeric keypad. Here is an example a keyboard made by Acer for a Windows 10 laptop. When you press the Num Lock key (seen here highlit in a red rectangle), 15 of the keys switch modes into a simulated numeric keypad. When you push them, they register as the symbol highlit in the red circle.

Example of num lock keys on a laptop keyboard

Your laptop will most likely look different than this, but many manufacturers use some variation of using keys on the right side of the keyboard as a numeric keypad with Num Lock. As a result, if you hit the Num Lock key by accident on a laptop, you might have a problem that looks like this.

Example of num lock accidentaly turned on with a laptop

In this case, you’re typing numbers instead of letters because the Num Lock key is turned on. Here’s how to turn it off.

How to Turn Off Num Lock on a Laptop
  • The first step to turning off Num Lock is to find the Num Lock key on your laptop’s keyboard. Its location can vary wildly by laptop manufacturer, but it is usually located in the upper-right corner of the keyboard.
  • Look for a small key that says some variation of “Num Lock,” “NumLk,” or even a small lock symbol with a number 1 inside.

For example, here is the Num Lock key’s location on an Acer laptop.

An example laptop numlock key

In this case, the Num Lock key doubles as the F12 key, and it defaults to being Num Lock. Some laptops may require you to hold down a Function key (commonly labeled “Fn”) while pushing Num Lock to toggle it on or off.

Also, some laptop keyboards may have an indicator light showing whether Num Lock is turned on or off. For example, this YouTube video shows the location of the Num Lock key and its indicator light on a Sony VAIO notebook keyboard.

Your laptop will vary. If you have trouble locating your Num Lock key, try searching for a combination of your manufacturer name + “laptop” + “numlock key location” on Google, and you might find a websites with instructions specific to your laptop. For example, Google “lenovo laptop numlock key location,” and you will find information about the Num Lock key on various ThinkPad laptops.

Preventing Future Num Lock Accidents

Now that you know about the Num Lock key, you can easily turn it off if you ever accidentally find yourself typing numbers again. If you’d like to receive an audible alert when you push the Num Lock key, follow this guide to make your computer play a sound when you type the Num Lock key, so you’ll know if you pressed it by accident. There’s also a way to see a notification in your Task Bar if you turn on Num Lock.

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