Unveiling Hidden Features: iPhone Volume Buttons, Orange Dot, and Blocking Pixel Phone Robocalls

Welcome to Tech Brewed, the podcast where we dive into the latest tech news and explore the fascinating world of creative technology topics. Get ready to sip on a refreshing blend of innovation and insights as we discuss everything from artificial intelligence to cutting-edge advancements in the tech industry. In today's episode, we'll cover iPhone volume button functions, the orange dot on iPhone screens, and blocking Pixel phone robocalls. Here's Greg Doig with your three tech tips in this episode. 

Transcript

     
Welcome to Tech Brewed, the podcast where we dive into the latest tech news and explore the fascinating world of creative technology topics. Get ready to sip on a refreshing blend of innovation and insights as we discuss everything from artificial intelligence to cutting-edge advancements in the tech industry. In today's episode, we'll cover iPhone volume button functions, the orange dot on iPhone screens, and blocking Pixel phone robocalls. Here's Greg Doig with your three tech tips in this episode.
If you own an iPhone, those volume buttons on your phone can do more than just turn volume up and down. Here are some of the hidden features of the volume buttons that you might not know. You can use them to call emergency services or access your medical ID by holding the side button and either volume button. Next, you can use them to power off your iPhone or disable Find My by holding the volume down button and the side button. Next, you can use them to take photos or record videos in the camera app by pressing the volume up or down button. Next, you can use them to snooze or dismiss your alarm by pressing the volume up or down button. You can use them to silence phone calls or mute Find My notifications by pressing the volume up or down button. Again, another one, you can use them to perform some app functions such as counting or scanning documents by pressing the volume up or down button if the app has that function programmed. And last, you can use them to force reboot your iPhone by pressing and holding the volume up and down buttons along with the side button. So now you know some additional features of those iPhone volume buttons.
When you see the orange dot appear on the upper right hand of your iPhone, that means that your phone's microphone is being used. You'll see it appear when you make a phone call or start a voice recording. This makes sense because you'll need your microphone for these functions. But what if you see it when you're not talking on the phone or sending a voice text? If you see the orange dot appear while you're browsing the internet or using an app, that's when you should be worried. That little orange dot indicates that something on your phone is accessing your microphone. That means that your conversations are being recorded and anything that you say around your phone is likely being sent to the cloud. Don't be surprised if you start seeing ads served to you based on your recent conversations. So when this happens, you might want to check to see which apps are open and close those that you aren't using and see if the orange dot disappears. And if not, just restart your phone.
Are you tired of getting spam calls on your Pixel phone? Do you want to know how to stop them for good? If you have a Pixel phone, you're in luck. We'll talk about the built-in features of the phone app to block spam calls and robocalls. The phone app on Pixel phones has a spam and call screen option that lets you automatically screen and decline unwanted calls. It works by using Google's spam database, which is constantly updated to identify and filter out spam calls. To enable this feature, you need to do two things. First, open the phone app and tap the three-dot menu in the top right corner. Then you're going to tap settings. Then you're going to tap spam and call screen. Then hit call screen and then spam. Here you need to select automatically screen and then select decline robocalls. Next, go back to spam and call screen settings page and tap possibly fake numbers. Again, choose the option for automatically screen and then decline robocalls. And that's it. Now your Pixel phone will automatically screen and decline any calls that are suspected to be spam or robocalls. You can also enable this feature for first-time callers if you want. So if you're a Pixel phone owner and you want to block robocalls, follow those steps.
In today's episode of Tech Brewed with Greg Doig, we explored the various functions of the iPhone volume buttons, the significance of the orange dot on iPhone screens, and effective ways to block robocalls on Pixel phones. Thanks for tuning in, and don't forget to subscribe for more tech insights.

Unveiling Hidden Features: iPhone Volume Buttons, Orange Dot, and Blocking Pixel Phone Robocalls