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🎉 Turn it up, Los Angeles! My show just landed on KEIB AM 1150, and we kick things off TODAY from noon to 3 p.m. The signal is huge: Ventura County, all of LA, down past Orange County and inland. Details here. That makes over 510 stations carrying my shows, and I’d love for you to be listening on the newest one. Be sure to drop a line and say thank you to the station for carrying my show. |
Welcome to your Saturday, friend. Today, the gadgets are on trial. The defendant: one innocent-looking device. The charge: “broken.” The evidence? Frustration and one person who confidently pressed the wrong button for seven minutes, then gave up. The Supreme Court of Retail Returns is in session. |
🔧 What percent of electronics returned to stores as “defective” actually have nothing wrong with them? A) 12%, B) 34%, C) 68% or D) Zero, people always check first? Lock in your answer, the verdict’s waiting at the end of the bench. |
🛡️ Don’t browse naked this summer: If you got a new laptop or are revamping an old one, don’t skip this important step. Hackers use AI to write code that slips past free and older antivirus software. You need a layer of protection that moves faster than they do. Webroot scans in seconds, blocks real-time threats and won’t slow down your computer. My readers get 62% off Webroot Essentials today.* |
🎁 New from me, starting today: A second Saturday email, arriving right behind this one. It’s my asked-for weekly show drop, the best of the radio show and podcast in one quick read. This week, Guy Kawasaki, the original Apple evangelist, tells me where AI is really headed. And somebody built a drone to scoop dog poop. Nothing to do, it just shows up. Enjoy. — Kim |
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TODAY’S DEEP DIVE |
Trade secrets |
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Image: ChatGPT/Kim Komando |
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🤯 WOW! Tech pros know the broken phone usually isn’t broken and the dead TV usually isn’t dead. Today, five of their trade secrets. Free. |
The Short Version: Drain the TV, toothpick the phone port, lie to your bank (nicely), pull your car’s own diagnosis, hand it to AI and make chatbots interview you first. |
📖 Read time: 2.5 minutes |
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Every trade has secrets. The repair counter has five they’d rather I didn’t print, each one a service call you’ll never book. |
1. A TV’s resurrection ritual |
TV won’t turn on? Before a tech touches a screwdriver, unplug it from the wall, hold the power button on the set (not the remote) for 30 seconds, plug it back in. That capacitor drain revives a shocking share of “dead” TVs. Samsung, LG and others bury this fix in their support pages. Now, you know it. |
Put down the Windex. Ammonia eats screen coatings. Dry microfiber clothes only, here’s a 24-pack for $10. |
2. A phone’s 90-second miracle |
“My phone won’t charge” is the top walk-in, and most need zero parts. The port is packed with pocket lint, compressed tighter every plug-in. Techs fish it out with a toothpick while the customer’s jaw drops. |
Their way: Power off, wood or plastic (never metal), gentle scrapes along the walls. You’ll be horrified and delighted by what comes out. |
3. A security pro’s lie |
Ask a cybersecurity expert their mother’s maiden name, and their bank thinks it’s “Battleship.” Your real maiden name? One ancestry site away. Google says attackers guess your “favorite food” on the first try 19.7% of the time. Spoiler: pizza. |
The pro move: a random fake answer stored in your password manager. Lie, but lie uniquely. |
4. A mechanic’s $20 head start |
Check engine light? The mechanic’s first move is to pull a code from the OBD-II port under your dash. Every car sold in America since 1996 has one. Need a scanner? This bestseller is 25% off, $30. |
Then hand the info to AI: “My 2016 Honda CR-V shows code P0455. Explain it in plain English, list causes cheapest to priciest, is it safe to drive and what’s a fair repair price?” |
Average check engine repair is $403. Most common cheap culprit is a loose gas cap. Really. |
5. Your AI opening move |
The people who build AI for a living never take the first answer. Before letting it respond, they type one line: “Ask me five questions that would improve your answer.” |
Here’s why. Given a vague request, a chatbot won’t admit it’s confused. It fills the blanks with average assumptions and hands you a generic answer with total confidence. Those five questions pull your real situation onto the page. Ask for a complaint letter, get a form letter. Answer the questions first, get yours. |
I tried to fix my broken TV, but it just gave me static. |
🎯 Send this to someone who is the family “tech person,” or keeps the family tech person on speed dial. |
📱 Text-worthy: Repair counter secrets: Hold the TV power button 30 sec unplugged (revives “dead” TVs), toothpick the lint out of a phone that won’t charge, and a $30 scanner + AI decode your check engine light before the mechanic does. |
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WEB WATERCOOLER |
📲 His, hers, ours: Call me crazy, but things like erectile dysfunction should be between you, your doctor and your pharmacy, not Facebook’s ad network. The FTC says Hims & Hers quietly sent people’s sensitive website activity to Meta, Snap and other ad companies through hidden trackers. The federal watchdog also accused the company of misleading privacy promises, deceptive billing and difficult cancellations. Hims & Hers says customers have data choices and it’ll defend itself. The old “but we mentioned something about it in our privacy policy!” defense. |
Pocket change empire: You can’t imagine how much those “your storage is full” messages add up. Apple posted its biggest June quarter ever, $109.4 billion in three months. Services (iCloud storage, Apple Music, Apple TV and App Store subscriptions) pulled in $30.7 billion. That’s about $338 million a day, most of it small monthly charges nobody remembers approving. Tonight, open Settings, tap your name, then Subscriptions, and kill whatever you don’t use. Two taps, stop the bleed. |
💲 How much are you paying a month for your phone? Maybe you’re like me and you never really check your bill. It’s on autopay. Shocker. I bet you’re paying more than you think. I was. If you’re over 50, get an unlimited line for only $35. Get an additional $50 off when you switch today using my link. It’s definitely worth looking at now while you’re thinking about it. Ralph, a reader, told me he’s saving $75/month or $900/year.* |
Retro fridge fire: Just when you thought that vintage-looking fridge looked cute. Galanz is recalling its retro-style refrigerators, the cute pastel ones all over social media, because internal electrical parts can short out and ignite. The CPSC counted 34 fires, and a local fire department report tied one of them to a death. Don’t wait on this one: Unplug it, stop using it and call Galanz for a free in-home repair by a qualified technician. |
📄 Read the prompt: I barely proofread my texts before hitting send, but even this is a little much. A New Brunswick lawmaker, Bill Oliver, was talking about public confidence when he suddenly delivered, “Here’s a more natural, flowing version,” like ChatGPT stole the microphone. He never noticed the instructions sitting inside his script. The clip went viral, and Oliver apologized, saying AI can’t replace personal judgment. Reading skills? 10. Critical thinking skills? Need work. |
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DEVICE ADVICE |
⚡️ 3-second tech genius: Your fridge might run up your August electric bill. Grab a dollar bill, close it in the door, then tug. Feel resistance? Good seal. If it slides right out, you found the leak. Test four or five spots around the whole door. Wipe the gasket and the frame with warm soapy water and try again. Still loose, the seal needs replacing. Cold air is expensive air. |
🔐 A credit freeze is so 1990s: It won’t stop someone from opening bank accounts, filing fake tax returns or using your info in data breaches. You need real protection that monitors the dark web, leaks and identity threats a freeze can’t touch. I used to have LifeLock, but it got so expensive. That’s why I switched and got more protection for less money. Here’s what I use, and now, get 66% off with my exclusive link.* |
🚗 Backseat scroll fix: Reading in a moving car turns your stomach because your eyes see a still screen while your inner ear feels every curve. Apple built a fix nobody knows about. On iPhone, go to Settings > Accessibility > Motion > Vehicle Motion Cues and pick Automatic. Little dots appear at the screen edges and drift with the car’s movement, so your brain stops arguing with itself. Road trip season, saved. |
✈️ The fare that follows you: Check a flight three times and watch the price creep up? Airlines deny targeting you personally, but they absolutely use your browsing behavior and loyalty profile. Search in a private window, then compare in Google Flights, which shows whether today’s fare is low, typical or high for that route. Set a price alert and let it watch for you. Never buy on the third refresh. |
👆 YouTube’s secret controls: Everybody taps the tiny buttons. Skip them. Double-tap the right or left side of the video to jump forward or back 10 seconds. Press and hold to jump to 2x speed, release to drop back. Pinch outward to fill the screen, swipe down for the mini player. On iPhone, swipe up to your home screen and the video keeps playing in a floating window. Your thumb got promoted. |
📷 Camjacking is real: Hackers do hijack laptop webcams, record quietly and use the footage for blackmail. Antivirus is step one. Step two costs about 7 bucks: a sliding webcam cover that you close whenever you’re not on a call. Tape works, too, if you don’t mind the look. On Mac, the green light means the camera is live, so if it glows when you’re not on a call, investigate. Pajama cameos, canceled. |
📻 Listen up! My national radio show is airing all weekend across the USA. With over 510 stations strong, find your closest one by using our super-duper station locator map, or listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart or watch the entire show on YouTube. I’m wherever you are. |
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KIM’S DAILY DEALS |
As an Amazon Associate, some links pay us a commission at no extra cost to you. Keeps this newsletter free. Thank you. |
🔍 Tracking made kid-proof |
Smart ways to keep tabs on the little ones. |
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📍 Pick your finder: Apple AirTag (7% off, $27) & Tile tracker (20% off, $20) |
That stomach-drop moment when you can’t spot your kid? A tiny tracker saves you the panic. Apple’s AirTag pairs in one tap and now reaches up to 1.5 times farther. Android family? Tile does the same job. |
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Image: Apple/Life360 |
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👟 Sole searching: Skechers hid an AirTag pocket inside kids’ sneakers (15% off, $42). Genius. Kiddos lose backpacks, not their feet. |
Hidden underfoot: No new kicks needed? These shoe insoles (10% off, $13) have a cutout for an AirTag. Slip them into a pair they already love. |
⌚ Band together: Waterproof AirTag bracelets (9% off, $10, two-pack) look like watchbands, but tuck the tracker out of sight. Pick from seven colors. |
Hook it up: Now for you, clip some AirTag holders (18% off, $7, four-pack) to key chains, luggage, bags or anything else that likes to wander. |
✅ More where that came from: Shop all my favorite picks on my Amazon storefront. → |
Prices and deals were accurate at the time of publication. |
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WHAT THE TECH? |
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Image: @DataChaz via X |
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🎭 Exit, stage fall |
We’ve all bombed a presentation. But most of us don’t do it face-first in front of hundreds of people. |
A humanoid robot confidently walked onstage during Qualcomm’s presentation, handed over a device, turned toward the audience and basically imploded. Talk about stage fright. |
Three employees rushed in, covered it with a blanket like a crime scene corpse, then hastily hauled the mechanical casualty offstage. If these are the bots we should be worried about, I like our odds. |
Watch the whole spectacle unfold here. Somewhere in Qualcomm’s office, a very expensive machine is getting the “we need to talk” meeting. |
Share this now: |
Email | Facebook | LinkedIn | X |
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LOGGING OUT … |
🎓 What you learned today: A “dead” TV may need a 30-second reset, Hims & Hers in hot water over sensitive health data, Apple’s tiny monthly charges add up to a $338 million-a-day services machine, a recalled retro fridge is cute until the fire department gets involved, and Qualcomm’s demo robot gave the audience a live lesson in gravity. Not bad for one email. If someone you love has dementia, tomorrow could be one of the most hopeful things you’ll read. The songs they loved from youth may still reach them, even when words don’t. |
🔧 The answer: C) 68%. More than two-thirds of electronics returned to stores as “defective” are working exactly as designed. The gadget got blamed for a crime it didn’t commit. And get this. Most of those give-ups happen during unboxing or first use. Not a bad chip, not a dead board. A setup screen somebody didn’t feel like reading. Turns out most returns needed a little more commitment. |
🛡️ Your antivirus might be asleep at the wheel: Modern hackers don’t merely crash your PC. They install silent software to watch you type. Old antivirus misses this. I use Webroot because it is cloud-based and lightning fast. I don’t put my name on junk, and this is the protection I rely on. Don’t browse unprotected. Get my exclusive 62% off deal now.* |
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🐾 Nobody has ever walked in the door to a dog who was too busy to be thrilled. I love that for me, and you. — Kim |
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Kim Komando • Komando.com • 510+ radio stations • Trusted by millions daily |
🏆 THE KIM CHALLENGE: Forward this to ONE person who needs to hear it today. Pick the person who popped into your head while reading. You know who it is. |
Have questions? Ask me here. |
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Send your unique link below to friends and family. |
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They get tech-smart. You get prizes. Win-win. The more referrals, the more prizes. (Yes, even a meet and greet with me. I’d love that!) |
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🎉 Keep it going! You got this! — Kim |
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HOW’D WE DO?What did you think of today’s issue?
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Photo credit(s): ChatGPT/Kim Komando, Apple, Life360, @DataChaz via X |
Companies and products denoted by an asterisk (*) within this publication are paid sponsors or advertisements. As an Amazon Associate, the publisher earns from qualifying purchases. Statements regarding products denoted by a double asterisk (**) have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration; such products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. This newsletter is provided for informational and entertainment purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, medical, or professional advice of any kind. Readers should consult with a qualified professional before making any decisions based on this content. The publisher disclaims all liability for any loss, damage, or injury resulting from the use of or reliance on the information contained herein. |
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