Articles by Jeramy Johnson

You snooze, you lose?

Update, Sep 10 (4:00 p.m. ET): Google Clock update reportedly offers fix

Update, Sep 6 (2:15 a.m. ET): Google confirms a fix is on the way

What you need to know

Many angry Android users are reporting issues with Google’s Clock app and alarms.
The bug is apparently affecting several different devices, including Pixel phones.
Customers are also reporting issues with Spotify’s integration with their alarms.

Android Central recently received a tip from a reader that many Android users have been experiencing issues with Google’s stock Clock app over the past week. The tipster pointed us to a r/GooglePixel thread on Reddit where the issue was being discussed, and also mentioned the spate of 1-star reviews that the app has been receiving lately on the Google Play store.

Angry app users have been complaining that their alarms in the Clock app are not going off as expected and that they are not receiving alarm notifications either. There have also been complain…

We’re here to show you how to sign up for Fitbit Premium so that you can make more sense out of all the health data and metrics your Fitbit devices collects. You can sign up on a monthly or annual basis, and you can even try it out for free for a limited (or extended) period of time. Excited to start? Great! Let’s jump into it.

Products used in this guide

A premium fitness program: Fitbit Premium ($80/year at Fitbit)
Versatile fitness smartwatch: Fitbit Charge 5 (From $292 at Amazon)

What is Fitbit Premium?

Fitbit Premium offers several additional insights and services that build off the vast amount of personal data collected by your Fitbit tracker. Much of this data is yours to access and act upon as you see fit without an additional cost, but the added analysis and guided workouts, meditations, and health plans are a paid feature. If you’re interested in a more detailed breakdown of the program and its features, check out our earlier review.

Now that you know what is inc…

Is it time to call the exterminator?

What you need to know

This weekend, we polled our readers to see if they’ve been experiencing any of the recently reported Android bugs.
Over 50% reported that they’d had no unusual problems or glitches.
However, nearly 45% said that they had been having bug problems.

Over the holiday weekend, we asked our readers if they’d been experiencing any problems, issues, or bugs with their version of Android; be that the beta of Android 12 or whatever their Android phone happens to be running right now. Some of these included an issue with RCS messages not sending properly, while others included a strange alarm clock bug.

54.7% of our readers said that they hadn’t noticed anything wrong on their phones or in their apps, which is a plurality of the respondents. However, nearly as many readers reported bug issues of some sort or another. Over 11% said they’d been having issues with the recent RCS bug, while 7% had experienced a problem with the alarm …

If you’re looking for the best smart speaker but don’t know where to start, fear not! We’ve lined up a list of the best smart speakers in various categories to help you decide which one to add to your home. Our best overall choice is the Sonos One (Gen 2) due to its price, performance, and interoperability with multiple platforms.

What are the best smart speakers?

When we talk about the best smart speakers, many minds jump to the Alexa and Amazon’s Echo devices. The voice assistant’s name has practically become synonymous with the category, and yet Amazon wasn’t the first player in this space. Its speakers are also not necessarily the best for every consumer.

Our top pick for the best smart speaker comes from one of, if not the category pioneer — Sonos, and it’s the Sonos One (Gen 2). It’s the perfect size to set on an end table, desk, or bookshelf and can be paired with dozens of other Sonos devices as part of a larger speaker ecosystem. It has a vibrant, room-filling sound for …

You snooze, you lose?

Update, Sep 6 (2:15 a.m. ET): Google confirms a fix is on the way

What you need to know

Many angry Android users are reporting issues with Google’s Clock app and alarms.
The bug is apparently affecting several different devices, including Pixel phones.
Customers are also reporting issues with Spotify’s integration with their alarms.

Android Central recently received a tip from a reader that many Android users have been experiencing issues with Google’s stock Clock app over the past week. The tipster pointed us to a r/GooglePixel thread on Reddit where the issue was being discussed, and also mentioned the spate of 1-star reviews that the app has been receiving lately on the Google Play store.

Angry app users have been complaining that their alarms in the Clock app are not going off as expected and that they are not receiving alarm notifications either. There have also been complaints that alarms are no longer working with Spotify playlists, and some user…

Is this move a case of cutting off its nose to spite its face?

Last week I came across an intriguing article by Michael Simon over at MacWorld which speculated that Fitbit could be alienating or even abandoning its base of iOS customers with the release of the next premium smartwatch.

It might seem strange that I, as an Android user, would care all that much much about this possibility. However, as someone who has many friends and family that use Fitbits with their iPhones, the idea that they might not be able to do so in the future did pique my interest. Just within my own circle, I can easily envision lots of unhappy Fitbit fans if Google were to decide to ignore iOS for its smartwatches and trackers in the future.

To be clear, the idea that Google and Fitbit would abandon their iOS users is speculation at this point.

Now I want to be clear that, as of yet, there is no evidence that Google/Fitbit plans to abandon their iOS user base. It’s pure conjecture at this point, thou…

You snooze, you lose?

What you need to know

Many angry Android users are reporting issues with Google’s Clock app and alarms.
The bug is apparently affecting several different devices, including Pixel phones.
Customers are also reporting issues with Spotify’s integration with their alarms.

Android Central recently received a tip from a reader that many Android users have been experiencing issues with Google’s stock Clock app over the past week. The tipster pointed us to a r/GooglePixel thread on Reddit where the issue was being discussed, and also mentioned the spate of 1-star reviews that the app has been receiving lately on the Google Play store.

Angry app users have been complaining that their alarms in the Clock app are not going off as expected and that they are not receiving alarm notifications either. There have also been complaints that alarms are no longer working with Spotify playlists, and some users have even speculated that the Spotify integration might be the ca…

While it may feel weird or disingenuous to “return” an e-book and ask for a refund (particularly after you’ve read some, or all, of it), it is totally legitimate and easy to do. Alternatively, you might have accidentally purchased a Kindle book and need to get your money back. Regardless of the reason, the process to request a refund is quick and straightforward and only takes a few taps or clicks once you’ve logged into your Amazon account. Next, we’ll show you how to get a refund on an Amazon Kindle book purchase.

How to get a refund for a Kindle book purchase from your Kindle device

From the Kindle home screen, tap on a book you want to purchase.
Tap on the Buy button.
Once the purchase has been confirmed, you’ll see the option to cancel the order. Tap on the Cancel Order link.

The download will be stopped or removed, and a refund will be added to your account.

It’s worth noting that you can only cancel an order from a Kindle device immediately after you purchased it. If…

In just a few short years, the Amazon Echo has gone from a random speaker nobody knew what to do with to a staple in the consumer tech space. Amazon’s evolved the Echo and Alexa (the AI that powers it) over those years, and one of the most powerful additions so far is a feature called “Alexa Routines.” Routines can condense complex commands and multi-step operations to a simple command. So without further ado, here’s how to set up Routines with Alexa on your Amazon Echo.

Products used in this guide

Best intro device for Alexa: Amazon Echo Dot (4th Gen)
Control and configure Alexa: Amazon Alexa app

How to set up Routines in the Alexa app

You can make Routines as simple or complex as you’d like, and to help you get started, we’ve got a few tips to make the process as easy as can be. First, let’s make a Routine that’s activated by voice command:

Launch the Alexa app on your phone or tablet.
Tap the More icon (three lines) in the bottom right corner of the screen.
Tap Routines.
T…

True wireless earbuds are better than ever. They’re getting smaller, as are their cases, and they’ve picked up ever-helpful features like active noise reduction or cancellation, hands-free assistant access, wireless charging, and more. But as useful as these earbuds may be, it can sometimes be a challenge to get them to pair quickly and correctly with your smartphone. Thankfully, the Samsung Galaxy Buds lineup is some of the easiest true wireless earbuds to set up and use, and not just for those who have a Samsung Galaxy phone. We’ll walk you through how to pair a set of Samsung Galaxy buds with your Android device.

How to pair your Samsung Galaxy Buds to your Samsung phone

Make sure that your phone’s Bluetooth is enabled.
Open the lid to your new Galaxy Buds.
A pop-up should show up on your Galaxy phone display. Tap Connect.
Follow the on-screen prompts to connect your Galaxy Buds to your Samsung phone. Start by touching and holding both earbuds in their case for three seconds un…