If you typically work on a laptop, adding a second monitor can make you more productive. I’ve been testing out supplemental monitors for my work life and I’m obsessed with finding a great quality 4K monitor for a reasonable price. Of course, Apple and Samsung offer beautiful and super fancy monitors to expand your set up, but they cost as much as your mortgage. So can you find solid quality and still get away with a decent deal from a less popular brand?

KOORUI is one of those budget brands worth considering since it offers a  4K 27-inch monitor for about $225US. In this review I’ll try the monitor out here in my home office see what the screen quality is like for both written work and video editing. I’ll check out any special features it offers and wrap things up with the pros and the cons and let you know if I think I can recommend this monitor to you.

Set up & Assembly

The monitor arrives in three pieces; the stand is made up of two parts, and simply slides together. Then the stand should slip into a slot in the back of the monitor. When I assembled mine it looked and felt like I had it correct, but when I set it on my desk, the monitor detached from the stand and fell to the floor. The result was a review-ending shattered screen.

Now, I’m more than willing to take the blame for potentially improperly assembling the stand or not locking it correctly into place. But since I’ve reviewed probably about 25 different monitors in the last couple of years and this is the first time the stand has not engaged properly with the display panel, I’m not entirely convinced it’s me.

I’m not going to deduct any points for this; instead I’ll use it as a warning for you. If you are assembling this monitor be very very careful that it’s done correctly and carefully. Also, anytime you lift the monitor up the bottom of the stand may detach from the arm; just be sure you’ve got both hands on the precious part; the screen.

Since I bought my monitor from Amazon, I filed a complaint with the company and was able to get a replacement.

Design

The KOORUI 4K 27-inch monitor has a sleek look with thin 8mm bezels on each side except for the bottom bezel which has a chubbier rail. For the asking price, definitely nothing to complain about there because you can buy two or three of them and place the next to each other for a near seamless ultrawide experience!

Worth noting is that the stand is on the basic side as you cannot adjust the height, tilt or angle. If you want to break free from that limitation, you can buy a monitor arm that supports VESA 100mm and mount it that way.

Connectivity

On the ports side, KOORUI offers two HDMI 2.0 ports and a standard-sized DisplayPort. There’s also an aux jack for connecting wired headphones or desktop aux speakers, since the monitor does not offer built in speakers (or of course get audio via our laptop if you’re going that route).

Display Panel

One of the key strengths of this budget 4K display is the fact that it is an IPS one. IPS or In-Plane Switching panels generally offer a good viewing experience for both work and gaming. The display has wide viewing angles with good color accuracy and decent visibility during daytime.

For this KOORUI display specifically, you get 99% sRGB coverage and 90% DCI-P3 color gamut coverage making this a good budget monitor for hobby designers and casual Photoshop users, but maybe not something for professional work. Blacks are quite deep with its 20000000:1 contrast ratio so movie watching should be fine as long as you aren’t spoiled with OLED and Mini-LED TVs.

The KOORUI 4K 27-inch monitor also supports HDR10 which can widen the monitor’s color gamut for more vivid colors, but don’t expect too much here as HDR10 is the most basic tier of the technology. You won’t be able to take advantage of Dolby Vision content and you won’t get those blistering high brightness levels HDR600 and higher-end monitors offer.

The real selling point of this KOORUI monitor it its 4K resolution which means more pixels for better detailed media and extra screen real estate to work with.

My tests

I use this monitor as a supplemental work monitor connected to my Apple MacBook Pro. I do a pretty even split of working with documents, spreadsheets, as well as more visual work like photo and video editing. I actually found this monitor was pretty crisp, clear, and colorful. It was easy to read text off the screen, and I found the colour in my videos to be fairly true to life.

In order to maximize the screen real estate of a 4K monitor, you must configure your display scaling to 100% which, when factoring in the 27-inch screen size, gives you 163 DPI or dots per inch. While you can view more than 90 rows on a maximized Excel spreadsheet, the text and overall user interface will be too small even if you are sitting close to the screen. 150% scaling is the sweet spot giving you an effective screen resolution of 2560×1440. If that confuses you, think of this product as a 27-inch 1440p monitor with finer text which helps a great deal if you do a lot of reading. Watching 4K movies on this monitor is a nice extra treat, but you may have difficulty noticing any improvements over standard 1080p video given its screen size.

Viability as a Gaming Monitor

While I’m not a gamer and did not test this monitors gaming ability out, I asked writer John Ruiz to dig in on this. Here’s what he found:

With the most expensive gaming monitors pushing insanely high 540 Hz refresh rates, many gamers already consider 144 Hz and 165 Hz monitors as “budget” which puts the KOORUI 4K 27-inch monitor at a slight disadvantage because if you upgrade your computer and suddenly want a higher refresh rate, you need to replace the monitor.

But that doesn’t mean that the KOORUI 4K 27-inch monitor shouldn’t exist because it targets a very specific audience, and it isn’t just gamers. If you are a gamer and you enjoy first-person shooters, you should gravitate towards a 1440p high-refresh rate monitor even if you think your computer can’t handle it because at least you futureproofed that component. The HP X27Q is a perfect example as it is one of the best 1440p 27-inch 165 Hz monitors under $200. But if you do more work than gaming, the KOORUI monitor makes a lot more sense and should be in your shortlist if you have a tight budget.

PC master race folks will scoff at the idea of a 4K 60 Hz gaming monitor, but I say don’t listen to them because a lot of games look gorgeous at 4K even at 60 Hz and you don’t need a super powerful computer to enjoy those experiences. I’m talking about all those indie games and platformers. Planet of Lana, for instance, is a beautiful indie title that shines at 4K. Steam offers a huge library of games with low system requirements even at 4K and still play smooth at 60 Hz.

One might also argue to buy a cheap 4K HDR TV instead which might give you a larger screen for a reasonable price. But if you plan on gaming or video conferencing, the KOORUI 4K 27-inch is still the better buy because of the OverDrive response time feature which reduces ghosting and blurring.

Overall review

KOORUI 4K Monitor 27-inch offers terrific value for the sub-$200 price and will treat your eyes well if you plan on doing work or Web browsing —or even some gaming on the side. If you never used a 27-inch 4K monitor before, you will likely be very happy with the purchase after setting it up.

On the pro side the monitor is relatively slim with a wide screen and narrow bezels putting the focus on your work. The clarity and 4K resolution make it really easy on the eyes for pretty much any work task. It’s got most of the ports and connections you’ll need for your work life and with a VESA mount you can safely connect it to a monitor arm.

On the con side, I’m not a fan of the stand that it comes with at all; I’m convinced it’s an inferior design that allowed my monitor to come crashing to the floor. And I do tend to walk on eggshells around it ever since. Plus the fact the stand essentially doesn’t move or adjust at all may create some limitations or problems with your set up. Some folks may be annoyed at the lack of built-in speakers, but I find most monitor speakers to be substandard anyway so this is not a huge downside for me personally.

If you are worried about KOORUI as a brand, the company does back its monitor with a generous 3-year warranty making this a much safer pick than some other lesser-known brands.
In short, if you don’t have the extreme needs of a graphic designer or filmmaker, this is a fine supplemental monitor for work purposes. It also seems like it checks a lot of the boxes for gamers on a budget too. I can definitely recommend the Koorui 4K monitor for your home.

Also Read:

1. Samsung 32-inch 4K UHD Monitor Review
2. Huawei MateView 4K monitor review
3. Review: Samsung UJ59 4K monitor – a surprising win at a budget price!
4. Review: ViewSonic 32-inch 4K monitor, Model VX3276-4K-MHD

**A note about Affiliate Links: TechGadgetsCanada & TechGadgetsInternational is supported by our readers. Occasionally I will include affiliate links in my reviews. I do this partly for convenience of the reader (since I’ll almost always include a link to the company website or similar anyway) in case you want to read more or purchase, but I also may get a small commission from the click, which helps me keep the blog running. If you choose to use this link I thank you greatly for supporting the blog. There’s no obligation or cost to you for using these links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

The post Koorui 4K monitor review appeared first on TechGadgetsCanada.com.

Let us take you through the process of pairing a Roku remote and show you how you can troubleshoot other problems that you might experience with your Roku remote or device. Let’s get started.

How to pair a Roku remote?

Pairing a Roku remote isn’t as difficult as one might think. Here is a breakdown for the quick pairing of the remote. 

• Switch on your Roku streaming device. Usually, the device just needs to be plugged in, so do the needful. 

• Check the remote for batteries. If the remote does not have batteries, insert a fresh pair, but don’t close the battery cover. Leave it open because this is where Roku has decided to put the notification LED and the pairing button for some reason. We admit it’s not the most intuitive placement. 

• On the bottom of the compartment, just below the batteries, locate the notification LED and the pairing button. 

• With the Roku device on display, press and hold this button down for several seconds. This should prompt the device to display ‘Pairing remote.’ 

• After a couple of seconds, the remote will have paired with the Roku device, and is ready to be used. 

However, Roku remotes use Bluetooth technology, which, despite its cutting-edge configuration, has some lag and often comes up short in connecting almost seamlessly. Should you experience some issues with your attempt to connect the Roku remote to the device, the process itself can be switched, meaning that you can use the Roku device to connect to the remote. Let us take you through the process of doing that. 

Pairing a Roku device to the remote 

If you want to use your Roku device to connect to the remote, you can do so as well. Here’s how:

• Start by turning on your device and waiting for the home screen to load up. 

• Once at the home screen, select Settings. 

• In Settings, navigate to Remotes and devices. 

• Within Remotes and devices, look for the option Set up a new device and choose Remote. 

• Once the device is in pairing mode, slide down the cover from the remote and press the Pair button on the back of the Roku remote for a couple of seconds as the light starts blinking. 

• After the passage of a couple of seconds, the remote will have paired with the device, ready to be used. 

Let’s look at some other scenarios for pairing and understand how a remote without a pairing button, as some Roku remotes come, can be connected to the device. 

Connecting a Roku remote without a pairing button

Some Roku models, including some within the previous generations, do not have a pairing button, not even in the unusual space on the back of the remote, under the battery cover. These remotes usually have IR or infrared blasters to transmit instructions or connect directly to the device itself. In case you have such a remote, you can still connect it to your Roku device. Let’s look at how. 

• Start by locating the Home button on the Roku remote (denoted by a house-like structure) and the Back button (denoted by a backward arrow).

• Press these two buttons simultaneously.

• A light on the top of the remote will start blinking. This is your clue that the Roku remote is now in Pairing mode. 

• A popup will be displayed on the TV, alerting you that the remote is being paired. Once completed, the remote will be ready for use with the device. 

If your Roku remote still does not connect or refuses to pair, it might be time to reset it. Given the operation of the remote, here is a quick guide on how you can reset your Roku remote. 

How to reset your Roku remote 

In order to reset your Roku remote, here are the steps that need to be followed. 

• Start by taking out the batteries from your Roku remote. 
• Turn on your Roku device and get it to the home screen. 
• Once on the home screen, put your batteries in the remote and press and hold the pairing button on the back of the remote. 
• The notification LED on the remote will start blinking green and will progressively flash faster. 
• Once the blinks flash rapidly, release the button. 
• This causes the remote to restart and automatically connect to the Roku device. 

Should you still experience issues connecting to the Roku device after the remote has been reset, you can generally continue pairing it using the first method enumerated beforehand.

The bottom line

Roku is a popular service worldwide, and North America, including USA and Canada, comes in as some of the biggest consumers for Roku devices. Giving you access to a host of streaming services and subscriptions to view content, Roku is undoubtedly handy and beats other devices in terms of content and convenience. However, it’s normal for Bluetooth-powered devices to start acting out sometimes, but there’s nothing a quick hack won’t fix. Simply follow the above-mentioned steps, and you will be back on track for movie night in no time at all. 

Tech Gadgets Canada: your place for honest, relatable reviews!

For reviews that not only make sense but give you an honest overview of what devices and appliances you need for your home, Tech Gadgets Canada (TGC) is here! Follow TGC along, as our reviews give you all that you need, from coffeemakers and vacuum cleaners to the latest Apple and Samsung devices. Whether they are a big waste of money (like the Apple Vision Pro) or the handiest little devices you can get for your home, TGC is always here for your tech fix. 

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Netflix has done a pretty good job at making it easy to log into your account on a smart TV with the QR code and mobile device input. But, one thing that they weren’t exactly successful at is making logging out as intuitive. The streaming giant seemingly buried this function amidst the sea of binge-able shows in order to encourage people to watch more. So, if you’re still struggling to locate that elusive ‘Log Out’ button, find comfort in knowing that you’re not alone. Here’s a quick guide on how to log out of Netflix on a TV.

Why You Need to Log Out from Time to Time

Whether you’re watching on a borrowed TV in an Airbnb, passing on your old TV to a new owner, or just need to troubleshoot your account, there are plenty of reasons to log out of your Netflix account from time to time.

Point is, folks, life throws plenty of scenarios our way where we simply need to cut ties with our Netflix account – if only for a moment. And that’s okay!

Step-by-Step Guide

To keep things simple and digestible, we need to figure out which system you’re working with. These steps will differ slightly depending on which one you’re using.

Google TVs (Samsung, LG, Sony,etc)

With up to 59% market share, Google TVs make up most of the connected TVs in the world. If you’re one of them, then you’re in luck because it’s relatively easier to log out of your Netflix on these types of smart TVs.

• Fire up the Netflix app
• Go to your the Netflix Home screen, where all those juicy recommendations are
• Open up the sidebar by scrolling to the leftmost side of the screen
• Scroll all the way down to ‘Notifications’ and navigate to the ‘Get Help’ button right across it on the bottom right of the screen
• Scroll all the way down to the bottom of where it says ‘Sign Out’ and you’re all logged out of your Netflix account on your TV.

Apple TV

If you’re immersed in the Apple ecosystem then you’re probably using an Apple TV streaming device. If that’s the case then here’s how to log out of your Netflix.

• Open up your Netflix app
• Press the ‘Menu’ button on your Apple TV remote
• Scroll to the right until you find the ‘Settings’ and click on it
• Select ‘Sign Out’

Common Mistakes To Avoid

Just a little heads up, there are a few minor issues you might run into when logging out of Netflix on your smart TV. Here’s the scoop on the most common ones.

Getting lost in the profile switch screen: One design flaw in the Netflix app on Google TVs is that the profile selection screen at the top of the side bar seems to be the perfect place to put the ‘Sign Out’ option. But don’t be fooled, that section is for switching profiles.

Not confirming the sign out: Sometimes, especially in a rush, users forget to confirm the sign out after selecting the ‘Sign Out’ option. Make sure to follow through until you get a confirmation that you’ve been logged out.

Netflix bafflingly decided to make logging out of your account on a smart TV a bit more challenging than it has to, especially for the non-tech inclined. But hopefully, with a little help from us, you’re already logged out of your account by now.

**A note about Affiliate Links: TechGadgetsCanada & TechGadgetsInternational is supported by our readers. Occasionally I will include affiliate links in my reviews. I do this partly for convenience of the reader (since I’ll almost always include a link to the company website or similar anyway) in case you want to read more or purchase, but I also may get a small commission from the click, which helps me keep the blog running. If you choose to use this link I thank you greatly for supporting the blog. There’s no obligation or cost to you for using these links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

The post How to Log Out of Netflix on Your TV appeared first on TechGadgetsCanada.com.

Breaking into the crowded wireless earbuds marketplace is quite difficult when big brands like Bose, Jabra, Apple and JBL fill it with pretty awesome products. If you don’t have the brand power, the most practical thing to do is to offer something with comparable features, but at a way lower price. That’s just one of the strategies that EarFun is using to take on the competition with the EarFun AirPro 3. Selling for about $80 USD

EarFun AirPro 2 vs EarFun AirPro 3

EarFun still sells the AirPro 3’s predecessor for $10 less. I recommend skipping that because the AirPro 3 is the first in the AirPro lineup to feature a Qualcomm QCC3071 SoC (system-on-chip) with aptX adaptive Audio Tech. Qualcomm designed this chip specifically for wireless earbud products and EarFun claims to be the first to implement it. The chip features a special Bluetooth technology called LE Audio which dramatically reduces the latency to allow higher quality streams to be shared with devices that support LE Audio.

Watch my full hands-on review of EarFun AirPro 3 earbuds

The EarFun AirPro 3 also boasts a longer 9-hour battery life with noise cancelling disabled or 7 hours with the feature turned on. This is impressive as EarFun didn’t add any extra weight on the earbuds themselves. A fully charged charging case can also boost the total runtime to 45 hours and it features fast charging as well.

What’s in the Box?

What you’ll find in every EarFun AirPro 3 box is mostly what you’d expect – the wireless earbuds and its charging case along with a user manual and a USB-C charging cable. Despite its sub-$100 price tag, the AirPro 3 impressively includes four sizes of ear tips (one on the buds; three in the box) rather than the usual trio found in many mainstream competitors so you are more likely to fit a pair that perfectly fits in your ears.

The design of the EarFun AirPro 3 is a bit uninspiring, though it does evoke Apple AirPods so you can sort of see where EarFun is going with its product name. However, it is nice to see EarFun adding IPX5 Sweat and Water Resistance to the earbuds which is something you don’t typically see on a pair of earbuds at this price range.

Fit & feel

Pulling the EarFun AirPro 3 out of the charging case I’m struck by how substantial they feel; they feel solid and sleek, not chap in any way. I put them in my ears and was immediately rewarded with a snug but very comfortable fit.

Using EarFun AirPro 3

Pairing the EarFun AirPro 3 with your device is very straightforward as the QCC3071 chip supports Google Fast Pair. The earbuds support multi-device connectivity and EarFun offers a companion mobile app called EarFun Audio which lets you customize equalizer settings, apply firmware updates, and access guides.

EarFun equipped each earbud with touch sensitive controls which can activate several functions depending on the tapping pattern you follow. A single tap on the left or right earbud decreases or increases the volume respectively. Triple tapping that particular earbud will go to the previous or next track. To answer or end a call, you can double tap either earbud. For rejecting calls, you must tap and hold either earbud for 2 seconds. If you don’t have any incoming calls, this tap and hold gesture will either activate the voice assistant or toggle the noise cancelling depending on the earbud you perform it on.

The tap controls are mostly responsive although I will say remembering the tap sequence will take some doing and now and then I had to repeat my commands.

Key Features

Active Noise Cancelling

Like the previous model, EarFun’s QuietSmart 2.0 Hybrid Active Noise Cancellation is baked into the AirPro 3. The technology is nowhere near as sophisticated as what you’d get with a pair of flagship Apple or Sony earbuds but the noise reductions are actually pretty good for focusing. There are three settings; Ambient Mode, Normal and Noise Cancelling. Ambient lets you hear pretty much everythign around you and worked well; I could even hear a low fan running with Ambient mode on. Normal mutes the lower sounds in particular, and noise cancellation gives you a pretty solid cone of silence. It’s not perfect and there are better noise cancelling earbuds out there but for the price, I’m actually rather impressed.

Audio specs

EarFun clearly wanted to minimize the bottlenecks of the Qualcomm QCC3071 chip so it outfitted the earbuds with custom 11mm Wool Composite drivers which boast decent high-frequency range, increased clarity, and boomy bass. Audiophiles will still notice the audio quality differences when pitted against flagship products from premium brands, but for its aggressive pricing, this is as good as $80 gets.

The QCC3071 comes with aptX Voice technology too so the AirPro 3 matches that with an enhanced 6-mic array. Combined with Qualcomm’s cVc or Clear Voice Capture technology, the AirPro 3 is well-equipped to suppress noise and transmit clearer vocals.

Connect to other devices

It’s possible to get connected to two different Bluetooth devices simultaneously. There’s a bit of a back-and-forth process the first time but after that it should pair to both simultaneously as it did for me. Essentially, you’ll pair with your first device and stay connected then put the earbuds back in there charging case and hold the button for three seconds to put it back into pairing mode. Then you’ll search on your second device is Bluetooth menu to find the earbuds. Connect on the second device then return to the first device and re-initiate the connection.

Doing this allowed me to switch seamlessly between my MacBook Pro and my iPhone 15 easily.

Sound Quality

I have to say I wasn’t expecting much in the way of sound quality but the EarFun AirPro 3 sound pretty good. There is a noticeable if slight lean towards the treble side so they can sound thin on some music, particularly if the volume is low, but this is subtle. The bass first hit me as raspier, not resonant, but I picked through a bunch more bass-heavy tracks (Headsprung by LL Cool J, C-Walk by Kurupt, West Coast from M1) and found a lot more boom and bounce.

I listened to a variety of sound from podcasts and music to zoom calls and the phone and found the sound was great all across the board.

Battery Life

When it comes to battery life you are actually getting quite a bit; you’ll have 9 hours of battery life in the buds with a further 36 hours (4 more charges) in the charging case totalling 45 hours.

• Recharging time runs from one hour up to 3.5:
• 1 hour(for earbuds);
• 2hours(for charging case via USB-C);
• 3.5 hours(for charging case via wireless charger)

Overall Review: EarFun AirPro 3

Overall I was surprised and impressed by the EarFun AirPro 3. This is a solid earbuds package with great sound quality and useful features. They are easy to set up, easy to pair even to multiple devices simultaneously. They sound great across all audio spectrums and the three levels of noise cancellation is a nice bonus that performs admirably.

For $80 USD, the EarFun AirPro 3 is quite the steal if you can forgive the generic design and finicky touch controls. If you don’t have super high expectations with noise cancellation, you should be happy with the overall listening experience and battery life the AirPro 3 provides and with its previous track record of other EarFun devices, it looks like this budget brand is here to stay!

In short, I can definitely recommend EarFun AirPro 3 if you’re tired of being on the big tech hamster wheel.

Also read:

1. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds Review
2. Jabra Elite 3 truly wireless headphones review
3. The Best Wireless Earbuds Buying Guide: how to choose, plus our top recommendations

**A note about Affiliate Links: TechGadgetsCanada & TechGadgetsInternational is supported by our readers. Occasionally I will include affiliate links in my reviews. I do this partly for convenience of the reader (since I’ll almost always include a link to the company website or similar anyway) in case you want to read more or purchase, but I also may get a small commission from the click, which helps me keep the blog running. If you choose to use this link I thank you greatly for supporting the blog. There’s no obligation or cost to you for using these links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

The post EarFun AirPro 3 earbuds hands-on review appeared first on TechGadgetsCanada.com.

How do I make a slideshow on my Samsung Frame TV?

1. First up: You’ll need to have the Samsung Smart Things app and an account, which you likely got when you first set up your Frame TV.
2. Select the Frame TV in the app. You should see a tile labeled Art Mode.
3. You can set up which art you’d like to see in a few ways; the first is to choose some Favourites first. You can browse the Samsung art store to see what’s there, then make a photos or image a Favourite by tapping the heart on any piece of art; this will save your Favourites to your own special folder.
4. Alternately, you can choose a Samsung curation such as Global Top 20, or an artist, or a genre. Tap on any of the curations or groups. Once there you’ll see a tag near the top right corner that says Display All. If you tap it, the Frame TV will begin cycling through all selections in that group or curation. You can stop it by going back into the app and tapping stop, or just choosing another single artwork.
5. Once you’ve selected Display All you can adjust how long each piece will show for, and if you want the app to shuffle the artworks too. Look for the small clock icon next to the Stop button and tap on it (yes it’s tiny and fiddly). You can then choose how long to display each piece for; from 3 minutes to 15 minutes, an hour, 12 hours, a full day or up to 7 days. You can also toggle the Shuffle button on or off to keep things interesting.

That’s how to adjust your Frame TV to display new and different artworks easily—whether your personal favourites or a choice curation from art experts across the globe.

How to add my photos to Frame TV?

There are all kinds of other cool things you are framed TV will do. Did you know you can use a feature called Multi-view to mirror your smart phone screen while you’re watching a television show? You can also easily add your own photos to the Samsung Frame TV as well.

The Samsung Frame TV is available from Amazon and Walmart.

The post How to create an art slideshow on Samsung The Frame TV appeared first on TechGadgetsCanada.com.

Read our step-by-step guide to connect Alexa to your Wi-Fi network and streamline your home experience.

Have you ever looked at your Alexa device and wondered why it isn’t following your commands? The reason might be as simple as a lost internet connection. What if you’ve changed your Wi-Fi network or relocated to a new location with a different network, and Alexa has gone silent?

Isn’t it frustrating?

Let’s solve the problem of connecting Alexa to the Internet so simply that you’ll wonder why you ever bothered. No technical language, no complicated procedures—just a simple, no-hassle guide to keeping your Alexa device as connected as you are.

The Alexa app or the Amazon Alexa website can connect your Alexa device to Wi-Fi.

• You can also change your Wi-Fi source using the Alexa app.
• Use Firefox, Safari, or Edge to connect your Alexa to Wi-Fi from the webpage.

Stick around for the definitive answer to your Alexa connection questions!

How do you Connect Alexa to the Internet Via an App?

Follow these simple steps to connect Alexa to Wi-Fi via the app:

Open the Alexa App: If you haven’t already, get it from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.

Tap Devices: This option is located at the bottom of your screen.

Choose Echo & Alexa: Located in the upper-left corner of your screen.

Select Your Device: Select the Alexa device to connect to a new Wi-Fi network. If it isn’t visible, check All Devices or think about resetting it.

Tap Status to display the current Wi-Fi network to which your device is connected.

Under Wireless, tap Change: Located next to Wi-Fi Network.

Choose a Wi-Fi Network: Select “Join another Wi-Fi network” from the options for more freedom.

By following these simple steps via the app, you’ll have your Alexa connected to the Internet and ready to answer your every order. But what if you like the Alexa website from Amazon?

Read our next section, where we will go through the processes on your browser.

Problems with connectivity? Not with this expert advice on your side.

How Do You Connect Alexa to the Internet Without an App?

Set up your browser to use Firefox, Safari, or Edge. However, Chrome, unfortunately, won’t work.

Go to alexa.amazon.com. Log in to your account with your browser.

Navigate to Settings, which is located on the left sidebar.

Choose Set Up a New Device: Start the connecting process under Devices.

Select Your Device: Select the Alexa device you wish to connect to.

Turn on your device and check that the ring light is orange.

Choose the Amazon-XXX Network: Select a Wi-Fi network with this identifier.

Continue by clicking here.

Select Your Network: Select the Wi-Fi network to connect to and enter the password.

With these simple steps, you can use Alexa without needing an app. 

Is Alexa not Connecting to WIFI? What to Do?

Let’s look into why your virtual assistant isn’t connecting to the Internet. Here’s a step-by-step procedure for dealing with connection issues:

Check Wi-Fi

• Open the Alexa App on your smartphone.
• At the bottom, choose Devices.
• Select Echo & Alexa, followed by your device.
• To confirm and enter the proper password, tap Change next to your Wi-Fi network.

Check Your Internet Connection

• If Wi-Fi is secured, ensure your internet connection is running.
• Check your device’s signal strength before attempting to browse.
• If your internet connection goes down, contact your internet service provider.

Changing the Wi-Fi Band

• Switch between 2.4 and 5 GHz on dual-band routers for the best signal.
• In the Alexa App, go to Devices.
• Select Echo & Alexa, followed by your device.
• To change the band, go to Settings, then Change next to Wi-Fi.

Reboot the Alexa device

• A fresh start may work wonders.
• Unplug your device, then wait 10 seconds before reconnecting to Wi-Fi.

Optimize Device Positioning

• Ensure that Alexa is at most 30 feet from your router.
• Remove physical impediments and reduce electrical interference.

Restart Both Manually

• Unplug the modem or router.
• Wait 30 seconds before reconnecting.
• Unplug Alexa for 3 seconds at the same time.

Router Software Upgrade

• Check your router’s manual or website for the most recent software update.

Factory Reset Alexa

If everything else fails, factory reset your Alexa device.

By following these simple steps, you’ll be able to solve any connectivity issues and guarantee that Alexa stays the dependable virtual assistant you rely on.

Alexa is Ready to Help You!

From app installation to browser connectivity, ensure your virtual assistant is always connected to your Wi-Fi.

As you begin your journey with Alexa, know that help is coming if any connectivity issues emerge.

Now that you’ve learned how to create and maintain a solid connection easily, it’s time to utilize the power of your Alexa device.

Manage your home smartly, play your favorite music, or answer questions.

So, Alexa users, what is your favorite command to use regularly? Share your insights in the comments.

The post How to connect Alexa to the Internet: Quick and Easy Guide appeared first on TechGadgetsCanada.com.

Numerous speaker brands compete for the press release spotlight several times every year, but Sonos isn’t one of them. Known for its premium line of speakers, Sonos likes to launch products that can last multiple years, which is why you usually have to wait a while for a successor. The first-gen Sonos Move is a good example as it launched back in 2019 as the company’s first-ever “portable” speaker and it had a hefty $399 USD price tag to boot. Paying a heavy price for a rather heavy speaker wasn’t convincing enough for some buyers despite its impressive audio quality. Now the Sonos Move 2 is here and it’s still heavy and commanding an even higher $449US/$559CAD price. Did Sonos make the right move? In this review I’ll test out the new Sonos Move 2, see what’s new and different, how it sounds, and if overall I think it’s a good speaker for you.

What is Sonos Move 2?

The Sonos Move 2 is a pretty large but portable speaker offering both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. Most of the speakers in the Sonos lineup only support Wi-Fi making the Move 2 one of the few options to consider if you really need to use it away from Wi-Fi.

Just keep the 6.61-pound weight in mind because this is likely a speaker you may only want to move around in the house or out to the yard which could be a good thing if you can’t put a Sonos Era 100 or 300 in every room. Under its dust and water-resistant housing lies some sophisticated speaker tech. It even has Amazon Alexa and/or Google Assistant functionality baked in.

The speaker is IP56 rated against water and dirt getting inside; which is generally pretty reliable (IP56 means protection from harmful deposits of dust and protection from heavy seas or strong jets of water from all directions).

Just like the original Move, there are touch controls on the top, a good sized inset handle at the back, and the Move 2 is drop-resistant.

What has improved over Sonos Move Gen 1?

Although the Sonos Move 2 looks similar to its predecessor, the company really took its time making quite a few improvements and changes.

• Stereo playback
• Longer battery life (twice as long)
• Bluetooth 5.0
• Line-in
• Powerbank support
• Smarter touch controls
• Higher price

For starters, Sonos Move 2 supports stereo playback and even with its tall profile, I noticed the stereo separation and extra audio detail when playing back music.

The Move 2 also comes with larger battery along with some power efficiency improvements allowing the speaker to continuously play back audio all day (as in 24 hours). That is double the battery life of the older model (just 11 hours of battery on original Move) and it really opens a use case for using the speaker outdoors. In fact, the Sonos Move 2 sounds really good as an indoor or outdoor speaker.

Bluetooth 5.0 finally hits the Sonos Move 2 which gives the speaker the ability to stream Bluetooth audio to other Sonos Bluetooth speakers like the Sonos Era 100 and 300. If you decide to get a pair of Sonos Move 2 speakers, you may also pair them to form a set-up with real stereo separation.

The USB-C port found on the back of the Sonos Move 2 charging base remains the lone option for a physical connection, but it comes with some extra improvements. The port supports the $19 USD Sonos Line-In Adapter allowing older devices such as turntables to plug into the speaker. It might not sound like a huge feature but that single physical connection serves as an entry point to the entire Sonos speaker system thanks to the Wi-Fi connectivity. If you have the Sonos Combo Adapter, you can connect the speaker to your router via Ethernet cable which is good if you plan on playing back lossless music.

The USB-C port can also now charge other devices effectively making the Sonos Move 2 a pretty massive powerbank.

The touch controls on the Move 2 have also been improved (slightly) with a grooved volume slider now resting across the top of the speaker.

What’s in the Box?

There’s only two things in the box: The Sonos Move 2 speaker is your main component and it comes with a narrow, ring-shaped charging base and a 6-foot USB-C to C cable. The inclusion of a 45-watt power adapter with power delivery support is a nice bonus. The rear of the speaker features a power button, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi toggle switch and Bluetooth pairing button. You can find the playback controls on top.

Set up

I was dreading setting up my Sonos speakers because pretty much every time I have reviewed a speaker made by Sonos, it’s been an hours long ordeal of error messages and false starts. I was hoping that since it’s been a few years since my last Sonos speaker review that things would have greatly improved. I was a little disheartened to find that’s not the case.

For starters it’s not intuitive how to set up your product. If you don’t get a pop-up notification on the main screen, you need to go into Settings, System and choose Add Product.

There’s also no good way to manage your products on the app in one place. Sonos likes to organize them by room, and you can’t simply view all of your speakers at once anywhere in the app except in the system settings. I would love to be able to quickly group them or tap on a single speaker to make adjustments, but I just can’t see how it’s possible in the Sonos app (though you can access groupings if you use Sonos speakers with Apple AirPlay).

I kept getting error messages from the app so I decided to delete and reinstall it. Unfortunately that didn’t help and I continued to get random and unexplainable app error messages.

When the Era 300 speaker wouldn’t connect I decided to move on and set up the Sonos Move 2. Fortunately that speaker seemed to work perfectly and it was set up in just a moment or two.

I hit a snag though when I opted to enable the TruePlay tuning. Despite getting the pop up and being encouraged to set it up, when I would click the button to enable TruePlay, nothing would happen. Growing frustrated with that I gave up and decided to do some thing else.

A day or two later, I decided to retry the Era 300. Fortunately this time it worked Finally I was able to see all my speakers in the app at the same time. I tried playing music to the Era 300 first was rewarded with crystal clear audio. I then gradually added my Sonos Beam and the Move 2 and finally, more than an hour after I started set up, I was able to listen to music on all my speakers at once.

It’s hard to say if the problems I have experienced over the years are due to my homes Wi-Fi system or to a bug within the Sonos app; and since every other smart home device I’ve set up seems to operate on my network easily, I’m leaning towards pointing the finger at Sonos here.

The bottom line, in my experience it will take you anywhere from an hour to a couple of hours to get your system online. Make sure you set up enough time to deal with it and you absolutely have to be persistent.

Sound quality

It’s a good thing there’s quite a rich reward following the gruelling setup process. Right from the first notes out of each speaker, it’s clear to see the sound quality is outstanding. I think this is why Sonos continues to dominate the market; because each of its speakers sound light-years better than its competition. And if you’ve been using smaller portable Bluetooth speakers for your home audio, switching to Sonos will be like the first time you see the difference in HD an 4K resolution TV: mind-blowing.

Sonos Move 2 is easily the sweetest-sounding portable speaker you’ll ever find. The delicacy of sound it brings into the home is bar-none. With clear, sharp highs, a wide mid-range and resonant bass, every not that comes from Move 2 is a gift. True play tuning also purport to fine-tune the sound to your specific space; in my experience I don’t personally notice a difference with this feature on or off, but if others out there do, I’d love to hear more about it. Even so, I am not going to knock on this feature too hard since in my opinion it’s just not necessary because the Move 2 sounds gorgeous no matter where I brought it in my home or yard.
The speaker is able to fill a room or outdoor space also; it gets plenty loud and you can easily control the volume level using the aforementioned Touch Bar on the speaker, using your phone, or the Sonos app, as well as voice control.

I was able to connect my Sonos app to both Google and Alexa and ??

What Else Makes Sonos Move 2 Unique?

The Sonos Move 2 is one of the few portable speakers featuring a user-replaceable battery. You do need to buy a special Sonos Move replacement battery kit which comes with a spare battery but it’s a great feature to have since you can charge other devices using its large 44Wh battery.

You can also treat the Move 2 as a smart speaker thanks to the built-in mic and you can either choose Amazon Alexa or Sonos Voice Control as your smart assistant. The built-in microphone also works with the Sonos Trueplay feature which helps tweak the sound settings based on the room’s characteristics.

Overall review: Sonos Move 2

Overall, the improvements in the Sonos Move 2 do make it a better choice and a worthy upgrade from the original Move, particularly if you do like to use your Move off its charging base.

Let’s recap…

On the pro side, you’ve got more than double the battery life when using your speaker outdoors or on the road. The sound quality remains outstanding, and the speaker can integrate into your larger smart home. It’s also got optional voice control by linking to Google or Alexa. Stereo playback will be a huge deal for some music lovers, and the option to use your speaker as a recharging device is handy if you are camping or tailgating.

So what are the downsides? The speaker remains extremely weighty; much heavier than a portable speaker deserves to be. With that said, the carrying handle does make lugging easier. I still experience massive troubles during set up and find the app can be buggy. But if you can live with a longer than average set up and the occasional glitch within the app, I can absolutely recommend the Sonos Move 2.

With Sonos still selling the Sonos Move Gen 1 at the time of writing, the lower asking price might be tempting especially if you plan on buying two of them. But even with the $50 price increase, the big improvements of the Move 2 simply make it the better long-term choice. The stereo quality is stellar considering the speaker’s size. If you are in the market for a big, portable speaker with good battery life, get this one. It could serve as your first step towards an all-Sonos speaker setup which is a costly investment but totally worthwhile.

Also Read:

1. Sonos Era 100 and Era 300 review: worth the money?
2. Review: Sonos Beam Gen 1 compact sound bar
3. Sonos Beam Gen 2 review

Sonos Move 2 sells for $449US/$559CAD and you can get it from Amazon, Walmart and Best Buy.

**A note about Affiliate Links: TechGadgetsCanada & TechGadgetsInternational is supported by our readers. Occasionally I will include affiliate links in my reviews. I do this partly for convenience of the reader (since I’ll almost always include a link to the company website or similar anyway) in case you want to read more or purchase, but I also may get a small commission from the click, which helps me keep the blog running. If you choose to use this link I thank you greatly for supporting the blog. There’s no obligation or cost to you for using these links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

The post Sonos Move 2 review appeared first on TechGadgetsCanada.com.

How to Set Up a Sonos Speaker

Getting your very first Sonos speaker is the first major step towards enrooting yourself into the wonderful world of the Sonos multi-room ecosystem. Sonos may not play very nice with other non-Sonos speakers in your house but you’ll be treated with class-leading audio quality in a small footprint with solid integration with various online streaming services. With each Sonos speaker focusing on multi-room playback and Internet streaming, setting up a Sonos speaker is a bit different than setting up a typical one. Let’s go through the process!

Setting Up Your First Sonos Speaker

You cannot use any Sonos product without first connecting it to your home network. To get started, position your speaker in an area within your router’s wireless coverage and power it on. Grab your iOS or Android mobile device and download and launch the official Sonos app.

What you’ll see next depends on the current version of the Sonos app as the company may make changes to it. As of version 15.9, which is the latest app version at the time of writing, read and accept the terms of agreement and tap “Set up a new system.” Then enter your email address and set a secure password. Tap “Create account” and enter your name to create the account. Verify your email address to finish creating your Sonos account. Tap “Continue” and grant any app permissions Sonos requests to help the app find your speaker. This should take you to the “Settings” section of the app where it should automatically look for your speaker.

If the app doesn’t do it, tap the “Select your product” panel to force the app to look for your speaker. Your speaker should react with a chime and you should see a flashing green status light on it. From there, follow the rest of the in-app instructions to put the speaker in the network which in turn ties the speaker to your Sonos account. You may also have to wait for the app to download any important updates to the speaker before you can use it.

Depending on the Sonos speaker you’re setting up, the Sonos app may offer you to use the Trueplay Tuning feature to optimize the speaker settings according to where you placed it in the room. Let the app do its magic and you can start having fun with your speaker without worrying about the EQ settings.

Pairing with Another Speaker for Stereo

If you have a second speaker identical to the first one you set up, you may also use the Sonos app to pair both speakers together forming left and right channels for a more immersive soundstage. Sonos provides a surround sound option as well if you are setting up the speakers with a sound bar.

For stereo pairing, tap the “Gear” icon on the bottom right of the Sonos app to go back to the Settings section. Position the second speaker and plug it in as usual and repeat the same process in adding the first speaker via the Sonos app. Make sure you assign the new speaker to a separate room. Go back to the “Settings” section, tap “System,” and pick any speaker. Tap “Set Up Stereo Pair” and follow the in-app directions.

Changing Wi-Fi Networks

Your Sonos setup should stay connected with your network as long as you never change your Wi-Fi network’s password, SSID, or the entire router. If your Sonos device cannot connect to the wireless network, you may connect the speakers to another Wi-Fi network by launching the app which should prompt you and walk you through the process.

If you don’t see that prompt or you wish to disconnect from the existing Wi-Fi network and join another, go to “Settings” followed by “System,” and then “Network.” Finally, tap “Wireless Setup” and follow the instructions. If the app has trouble adding your speakers, try restarting them and repeat the procedure.

Using Dolby Atmos with Sonos

Some Sonos products like the Sonos Arc, Beam Gen 2, and Era 300 have the Dolby Atmos spatial audio technology baked in which means you may use them individually or as a group to play back supported tracks with extra depth. This feature works right out of the box and the Sonos app has it on by default so go look for a Dolby Atmos or spatial audio playlist in your favorite streaming service and treat your ears to a chill surround sound experience. If you think the option is off, go back to “System” in the “Settings” panel, select the Atmos-supported product and ensure that the “Spatial Music” setting under “Sound” is switched on.

If you have a Sonos soundbar and a pair of Sonos Era 300’s you can have the speaker group act as a unified surround sound setup for an even better Dolby Atmos experience. To set this up, make sure you have the Era 300 speakers in a stereo pair. Then go to the “System” section in Settings and tap your Sonos home theater room under “Products.” Follow the instructions from there and you’re good to go!

Setting your Sonos system can take a bit of work depending on how many speakers you have. But as soon as the app fully recognizes each speaker and you made the necessary configurations, you should have no trouble streaming music to your speakers and enjoying the stellar audio quality these speakers bring.

Shop Sonos Beam Gen 2, Sonos Move 2, Era 300 , or Sonos Roam.

You can also get the Sonos Ultimate Immersive Set from Walmart.

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**A note about Affiliate Links: TechGadgetsCanada & TechGadgetsInternational is supported by our readers. Occasionally I will include affiliate links in my reviews. I do this partly for convenience of the reader (since I’ll almost always include a link to the company website or similar anyway) in case you want to read more or purchase, but I also may get a small commission from the click, which helps me keep the blog running. If you choose to use this link I thank you greatly for supporting the blog. There’s no obligation or cost to you for using these links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

The post How to set up Sonos appeared first on TechGadgetsCanada.com.

How to stop TV turning on randomly

Over the last several weeks I’ve been experiencing a problem where my Frame TV randomly turns on at all hours of the day and night. In several cases it has turned on in the middle of the night and blared Samsung’s streaming TV channel until someone gets up and shuts it off. This is not only annoying but can be kind of frightening especially if it sounds like someone is talking in your living room while you’re sleeping. Doing some research about this problem I found many others are having the opposite problem where the Frame TV is randomly shutting off when they don’t want it to.

How to stop Frame TV turning off by itself

To stop your frame TV turning off by itself Samsung suggests several potential fixes, which are covered here.

One of the first things I did for my random-on problem was check the settings; a Samsung Frame TV has a few settings that will allow it to shut off and conserve power if no movement is detected in the room, then it can spark up art mode as you enter. While I had not adjusted any of these settings, I figured maybe a recent firmware update had done something to tweak them.

Check Art Mode Motion detection settings

To adjust the motion settings for Samsung Frame TV art mode, you need to access the settings while in art mode. While one of your art pieces is displayed, push the home button. Scroll all the way to the bottom past all of the art options and choices and look at the very bottom for something called “Art Mode Options”. If you access the settings menu from the left-hand side column, it appears you cannot get to this setting correctly, so watch out.

The first option on screen should be “sleep options”. You can choose how quickly after the television stops detecting movement in the room that it will power off; the range goes from about five minutes to several hours. You can also adjust the motion detector sensitivity among low medium and high.

Finding those settings just as I left them, initially I couldn’t figure out what could possibly be causing the TV to randomly turn on.

Temporary fix

Until I could track down the cause of this I needed to come up with a fix. After every time I used the Frame TV, instead of simply putting it into art mode, I would be sure and change the last input used, which is found in the main television menu. By switching my input to my Sonos sound bar, at least when the television would come on it wouldn’t blare the last channels watched or default to Samsung’s streaming service. This was actually a convenient fix while I troubleshooted the larger problem.

How to disable Samsung Frame TV Smart Home Hub channel from turning on

It wasn’t until later I found there’s a setting that can actually disable Samsung’s streaming channel from coming on every time you power on.

Go to Settings> All Settings> General and Privacy>Start Screen Option. Just toggle the ‘Start with Samsung Smart Hub Home’ option off.

How to fix Samsung Frame TV

The cause of your television randomly turning on or off when it’s not supposed to is likely a software glitch. It may have happened as the result of a firmware update, or perhaps your TV just needs a break.
Either way a factory reset will likely solve your problems. Worth pointing out is that factory resetting your Frame TV will likely mean you need to login again to all of your streaming services. But if you already have a Samsung Smart Things account, you should be able to use that to re-install your TV’s settings to the last SmartThings backup. If you don’t have a back up, just make sure to keep your streaming passwords handy.

How to factory reset Samsung Frame TV

To do a factory reset of your Frame TV go to Settings>All Settings and look for General and privacy. The last option is Reset.

Once you select reset you will have to input a pin number to confirm you’d like to go ahead. If you have not chosen a specific pin for your device, Samsung will offer you the default pin number on screen which is 0000. Type in the pin number and the television will reset. The process will likely take several minutes and when it starts up again you will have to set the television up from scratch again. Fortunately this takes just a few minutes and involves reconnecting to your homes Wi-Fi and downloading the cloud back up from Samsung SmartThings if you’ve enabled that option.

After I factory reset my television, the problem of the Frame TV randomly turning on by itself was completely eliminated.

If you’ve been experiencing any problems with your Samsung frame TV, tell me about it in the comments and then let me know what you did to fix it. If you’re looking to learn more about your Frame TV, you can check out my blogs about how to add your own photos to Art mode or how to use the really cool Multiview settings… Right now.

The Samsung Frame TV is available from Amazon and Walmart

**A note about Affiliate Links: TechGadgetsCanada & TechGadgetsInternational is supported by our readers. Occasionally I will include affiliate links in my reviews. I do this partly for convenience of the reader (since I’ll almost always include a link to the company website or similar anyway) in case you want to read more or purchase, but I also may get a small commission from the click, which helps me keep the blog running. If you choose to use this link I thank you greatly for supporting the blog. There’s no obligation or cost to you for using these links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

The post How to fix Samsung Frame TV randomly turning on appeared first on TechGadgetsCanada.com.