Upcycling
Gadget DIY: 5 easy solutions to common tech problems
Common tech problems have common not-so-techie ‘anybody can do it’ solutions. It’s just that not that many people know about them - or believe that they are able to fix tech. But our increasingly necessary array of gadgets don’t come cheap, and considering how much toll E-waste takes on our planet, it seems only natural that we find achievable solutions to common techie problems.
Spread the word, folks!
How to prevent scratches and cracks on your smartphone...
For most of us, the joy of a sleek and glossy new smartphone is but a fleeting moment, before the rough and tumble of everyday life produces a patchwork of scratches and cracks all over the front and back screen. Sigh. You may know putting a case on your smartphone is pretty good protection against this - but did you know these cases can be made from Sugru Mouldable Glue?
Create a phone shield with Sugru
Sugru is brilliant at preventing screen cracks because it sets strong. The method basically involves putting four protective edges around the phone - a detailed tutorial can be found here: how to make protective phone bumpers with Sugru. We still wouldn’t recommend dropping it, but it’s a certain help for life's clumsy moments.
Kid-proof your camera with Sugru
Stefan, a Sugru-er and devoted father, designed a great way to up the ante even further on this trick. Here is a camera that has been adorned with protective Sugru layers - in order to make it child-proof!
How to tidy and fix your charging cables...
Another eternally annoying problem: electrical cables. Especially long ones. What to do with them is the subjection of contention, and when they break and fray at the ends, it seems like all is lost. But no. Here are a few tips…
Keep your cables organised with Sugru
Leaving your long cables in a tangled mess is a great way to get them broken - and fast. Keep your cables organised by creating Sugru grips on any surface. A colourful addition to any desk or cabinet. Follow the tutorial: Organise your cables with Sugru grips to find out how to make them.
Protect cables with Sugru
Even if you’ve taken care, sometimes those annoying frays at the end of the charging cable just can’t be prevented. Follow the tutorial how to fix a broken charger with Sugru to find out how to do it.
How to prevent an overheating laptop
An overheating laptop can be damaging to the system, but that's nothing a few kitchen appliances can't fix...
Laptop fork-fan
This one’s so easy it’s hardly a trick - but it is an effective solution to a common techie problem. Overheating laptops can be cooled with two forks positioned and secured underneath the laptop, with the tips of the fork facing down, so as to keep a gap between the bottom of the laptop and the surface.
How to stop earphones from falling out...
Do your earbuds constantly fall out during workouts and walks and pretty much everywhere? Here's an inexpensive way to fix them instead of buying new ones!
Create ear-shaped moulds for earphones with Sugru
This guide offers a fantastic way to hack your earphones so that the buds take the shape of your ear and don’t fall out so much, which is pretty handy!
Repair headphones with Sugru
Moving on to another well known music-tech problem: headphone snappage. If you have a snapped pair of headphones lying around somewhere, you’ll know the struggle. Head over to the tutorial how to fix broken headphones to see how you can repair them with Sugru. (Hint: the end result looks a bit like this).
How to fix a loose charging port...
Over time, the micro-USB port that charges your phone can come loose, to the point where your charger might not even fit anymore. And that can eventually become an expensive problem. Sigh.
Toothpick method
Usually the loose charging port problem is caused by a buildup of dirt, but luckily all you really need is a thin, sharpened toothpick to get some of it out. After, the plug should stick in the socket and stay in place like it used to.
There you have it, these tips and tricks are a sure way to impress you techie (and resourceful) techie friends… or become THE resourceful techie friend! If want to become even more impressive, check out some other brilliant tech fixes and hacks here.
