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Reply with a Message When You Can’t Answer the Phone
It happens to all of us at some point or another; we’re unable to answer the phone because we’re busy, or perhaps we just don’t want to speak to a certain someone. If you don’t want them to leave a voicemail, the iPhone offers a handy alternative; responding to the call with a text message. To do this, just tap on the ‘Message’ icon that appears above the ‘Slide to Answer’ slider, and then choose either one of the default replies, or customise your own. You can also permanently create a custom reply that will pop up as a default one in the future by going on Settings > Phone > Respond with Text. 



Create Custom Vibrations
Most people know that you can give your contacts custom ringtones in order to recognise quickly who’s calling, but what about custom vibrations when you need to be slightly more discreet. It’s a very handy tool when you’re in a situation that needs you to be quiet, as you can tell who is calling you without disturbing anyone, or even taking it out of your pocket. To do this, open ‘Phone’ or ‘Contacts’, select a contact and tap on the ‘Edit’ in the top right-hand corner. Scroll down to find the ‘Ringtone’ and ‘Vibration’ fields; tap the ‘Vibration’ field and you’ll see some standard, pre-made vibration patterns to choose from. Below this is the option to ‘Create New Vibration’; click on this and you can make a unique pattern.



Do Not Disturb Mode
This feature is very useful, especially if you’re getting to sleep or trying to do some work, and don’t want to be distracted by your phone. To activate ‘Do Not Disturb’ mode, go to Settings > Do Not Disturb > Switch ‘Manual’ on. When this is switched on, calls and alerts will be silenced and a moon icon will appear in the status bar. If you’re worried about missing calls from certain people, you can set up various exceptions. Firstly, make sure ‘Repeated Calls’ is switched on, so that a second call from the same person within three minutes will not be silenced. You can then tap ‘Allow Calls From’ and choose your Favourites, so that you will always receive calls from anyone in this group.



Calculator Quick-Delete
Many people who have an iPhone often make use of the calculator, so this time-saving trick might just help you next time you’re on the app. The calculator app doesn’t have a delete button, which can be extremely frustrating when you’re doing a sum and make a mistake on one of the numbers. You don’t want to start all over again, of course, so what can you do? Well, just swipe (either left or right) across the number in the black area at the top, and for every swipe, you’ll get rid of a digit off the end. 



Stop Music with a Timer
It’s always nice to fall asleep to some peaceful music, but the downside is you either have to turn it off yourself before you actually go to sleep (which makes the whole idea of it a bit pointless), or let it play all night. If you use the hidden ‘Stop Playing’ timer, you can choose an amount of time for the music to play for as you fall into dreamland. To create a timer, go to the ‘Clock’ app, click on ‘Timer’ in the bottom right-hand corner, and choose how long you want the timer to last for. Then, tap on ‘When Timer Ends’, scroll down to the bottom, and select ‘Stop Playing’. Start the timer and then play your music from the ‘Music’ app; when the timer ends, the music will automatically stop. 



*The information in this blog is designed to provide helpful information on the subjects discussed. Please seek a professional for expert advice as we can not be held responsible for any damages or negative consequences upon following this information.

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Can the smartphone get any smarter?

Row.co.uk Blog

Can the smartphone get any smarter?

Fiction has always enabled its creators to use amazing technology to enhance plotlines that wow us on screen and make the pages of books come alive. Think The Matrix, Mission Impossible…we could go on.

That is to say, as long as the technology seems plausible within the limits of our imagination, we won’t get too hung up on the reality of it not actually working in practice. And as long as the movie budget is big enough to include convincing CGI, then we’ll swallow anything that’s thrown at us if it makes for engaging content.

Fact not fiction
However, back in the real world, consumers expect technology to actually work. Well, it’s not too much to ask when you’re forking out a pretty penny for a smartphone is it? Therefore developers have to do more than just come up with exciting concepts. They have to take it one step further and deliver reliable, working technology. Okay so that’s simplifying the process somewhat, but for the purposes of this blog, you know what we mean.

Bite-sized technology
As well as the built-in apps your phone already contains, there are all sorts on the market to expand the use of your smartphone. These apps offer access to a huge range of services, from downloading music and films, online banking, payments and shopping, to booking restaurants and hair appointments. Again, we could go on, but you know the drill.

More at your fingertips
Even the NHS and GP surgeries are embracing mobile technology to streamline their services to benefit the user. We can now book appointments and order repeat prescriptions via apps. That certainly suits our busy lifestyles and eliminates the need to do battle with a receptionist in order to see a doctor.

Coming to a smartphone near you?
The Seoul National University Bundang Hospital in South Korea already offers more to its patients in the form of the Patient Guide app. Rolled out last year, the app aims to improve its patients’ hospital experience with a hospital navigation guide and a personalised entertainment system accessible during their stay. It also delivers information on healthcare costs, waiting times and appointments.

Who knows what else is in the pipeline, but as consumers, if it enhances our user-experience we’ll be keen to grab it with both hands. Okay maybe just the one, we’ll be holding our smartphone in the other.

Protect your personal information
It’s great that we can access this technology via our smartphones to simplify otherwise time-consuming tasks. However, on the downside, our personal information is being shared every time we use an app to make life easier or have some fun.

Our reliance on mobile phones and apps to organise our lives may go some way to explaining our total dependence on them. And why we feel so lost without our smartphones. This makes it more important than ever to protect them with mobile phone insurance.

The thought of buying phone insurance may insight yawns, but it’s a necessity to protect what you hold dear. Whether that’s just your must-have smartphone or the data it contains, it definitely makes sense to insure it. And with phone insurance available from as little as £1.49 a day, it’s a small price to pay for peace of mind, don’t you think?

*The information in this blog is designed to provide helpful information on the subjects discussed. Please seek a professional for expert advice as we can not be held responsible for any damages or negative consequences upon following this information.

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What is Classed as a Home Emergency?

Row.co.uk Blog

What is Classed as a Home Emergency?

When something goes wrong in your home, we all naturally treat it as a high priority and seek a solution as quickly as possible. But for insurance purposes, when does a problem become a crisis? Which is as much as to say - when can we make a claim under home emergency cover?


Let’s start by considering the differences between the main types of insurance policy you can get for your home. Buildings insurance protects you for damage to the actual structure of your home. So if you had roof tiles blown off in high winds, or a burst pipe upstairs which led to flood damaged to a ceiling, you could claim for repairs on your buildings insurance.


Home contents insurance, on the other hand, covers you for the possessions you have in the property, including free-standing appliances and furniture. The purpose of home contents insurance is to protect you from catastrophic losses arising from things like fire, flood and theft. The focus is on covering the replacement value of your possessions.


What neither home contents or buildings insurance cover is the cost of urgent repairs - the sort of things that you need to get fixed asap to prevent further damage or loss. This is where a home emergency policy come in.

Claiming on home emergency cover

So how does home emergency insurance work, and what does it protect you for? Home emergency cover can be seen as a two-in-one service, providing both financial protection and emergency call-outs and repairs. When you sign up for home emergency insurance, you will be given a 24-hour hotline number to call whenever you face a crisis situation in your home.


Calling the hotline will trigger a rapid response service for someone to come and sort out your problem, all paid for under the terms of your insurance.


In terms of the sort of things home emergency cover protects you for, it is more or less anything that cannot wait to be fixed. So, for example, if your boiler breaks down leaving you without hot water and heating, a pipe bursts after a deep freeze or you have severe leaks caused by plumbing problems.


Similarly, broken windows and damaged roofs can be counted as urgent repairs if there is a need to secure your home or a risk of flooding or water damage. You can also make claims on home emergency cover if your home security is compromised by doors or locks being broken, or if you are locked out of your home and need to replace locks to get in.


Other situations where home emergency insurance can be used include pest control, such an infestations of fleas, wasps, mice and so on where a rapid solution is required for your health and comfort. Also, any outages to your electricity, gas or water supply can be claimed as emergency circumstances, on the grounds that they deprive you of sources of heat, light and the ability to cook.


Click here to find out more about home emergency insurance offered by Row.co.uk, or why not get an instant quote today.  

*The information in this blog is designed to provide helpful information on the subjects discussed. Please seek a professional for expert advice as we can not be held responsible for any damages or negative consequences upon following this information.

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