Welcome to Crowd Computing - Where community questions fuel collective learning

At MY Tech Clinic, we believe no tech question is too small—and that asking questions helps everyone grow. Every month, neighbors from all walks of life join our free clinics to get hands-on support with their phones, tablets, apps, and more.

Crowd Computing is our way of sharing that collective wisdom. After each clinic, we gather the most common questions and helpful discoveries, and then organize them into an easy-to-read FAQ.

Whether you’re curious about how to use email, explore new apps, or just make your device feel less frustrating, you’re not alone. Chances are, someone at the clinic asked the same thing.

Crowd Computing: April 2025

This month’s tech clinic brought in familiar faces and first-time visitors alike. From app glitches to Excel mysteries, our attendees had no shortage of great questions—and our volunteers were ready to dive in. Here’s what came up, what we learned together, and what you might find helpful too.

Online security questions

Q: My bank doesn’t use passkeys—should I be worried?

A: Passkeys are still a relatively new technology, so not all banks have implemented them yet. That doesn’t mean they’re unsafe or unpopular—it just means adoption is taking time. In the meantime, two-factor authentication (TFA) remains a reliable security measure for banking and sensitive accounts.

Q: I'm concerned about a potentially fraudulent app on my phone -- what should I do?

A: the patron wasn't successful in cancelling the app service on her phone, but she was able to get PayPal to block the payment from the app. Now she keeps getting emails from them, but she was not comfortable unsubscribing on their website. So I told her since she already blocked their payment, she should just block their emails and sender, so I showed her how to do that.

Email Help

Q: Outlook isn’t syncing my email with my phone, iPad and laptop —what can I do?

A: We helped attendees double-check email server settings and walked through how to connect Outlook to their existing Gmail or Yahoo accounts. Sometimes uninstalling and reinstalling does the trick.

Q: Why haven't I received emails from my Yahoo account recently?

A: It appeared as though Yahoo.com wanted her to find out about the option to use two-step verification when accessing her email. We figured out how to do that. After this, she was able to see all her recent emails.

Q: How can I delete emails or contacts on my devices?

A: Many users were frustrated with overflowing inboxes. We showed users how to delete emails on iPad by moving them to Trash, and ensure permanent deletion from the iPad. We showed a users that she can go to the Contacts app within her Google account to delete contacts there. We deleted all the promotional emails which were over 25,000 and 15,000 in two Gmail accounts for a user, and showed her how to unsubscribe from marketing emails by so that they won't receive them again. .

Windows and Office questions

Q: Is my computer running slower because of startup apps?

A: A visitor came in with an Asus laptop running Windows 11 and noticed sluggish performance. We explored startup apps that might be slowing it down and looked at optimization options, including reducing background processes.

Q: How can I view two screens side by side?

A: We showed the patron how to set up two split screens by simply dragging one to the left and selecting another on the right. This way the user could compare documents or emails side-by-side.

Q: Can I freeze the top row in Excel?

A: Yes! Use the “View” tab in Excel and choose “Freeze Panes.” This keeps headers in place as you scroll—a great trick for organizing long spreadsheets.

AI Curiosity Corner

Q: how to use different AI apps? Notebook LM; ChatGPT, and Canva

A: A patron explored previous Notebook LM podcast she created and now you can interject and correct the podcasters so we walked through that. additionally we installed ChatGPT onto her iPad, as well as Canva so that she can create her presentation for an upcoming event.

Q: Why can't I install ChatGPT on my iPad?

A: A patron would like to install ChatGPT on her iPad. We found out that the app needed iOS version 17 or higher to install. She had iOS version 16. Then, we noticed that the new iOS 18, that was available, was not able to be upgraded on her iPad due to needing 7 GB of space, even though her storage showed that she had at least 8GB. Sometimes hardware and operating system version determine the apps that can run on the device.

Connectivity & Mobile App Issues

Q: How do I connect my iPhone hotspot to my laptop and use Bluetooth speakers?

A: We walked through how to enable the hotspot on an iPhone, then demonstrated how to connect it to a laptop. For Bluetooth speakers, we showed how to pair them, ensuring they’re discoverable and properly linked to the laptop for seamless audio playback.

Q: How do I close apps or clean up my Android phone?

A: You can swipe away background apps from the overview screen or use your device’s settings to manage memory. Google Assistant can also help with voice commands if typing is tricky.

Q: How do I add a new number to my WhatsApp contacts?

A: We guided users through updating WhatsApp, making calls, and sending messages. Adding a new contact is easy—simply enter the number into your phone's contacts, open WhatsApp, and refresh your contact list.

Thanks to our wonderful attendees and volunteers who made April’s clinic a success.

Got a question for next month’s clinic? Come by and let’s figure it out together. Our next clinic is on 5/31/2025. Sign up here!