Galaxy Note 8 renders purport to show large dimensions, rear fingerprint sensor

Could this be the Galaxy Note 8?

Still a couple months out from seeing the Galaxy Note 8 for real, renders have surfaced purporting to show the next big phone from Samsung. These “leaked” renders, offered up by 91Mobiles and @onleaks, are actually constructed using factory CAD information — meaning they’re made after the fact to look like a complete phone, rather than the typical leaks we see of actual completed device renders from a company.

Based on their information, they’re expecting the Note 8 to look like a combination of the Note 7’s thicker body with even smaller bezels and the Galaxy S8+’s tall screen. The dual curved glass design, covering an expected 6.3-inch display, is complemented by more tightly curved corners and a metal frame. 91Mobiles claims the phone is 162.4 x 74.5 x 8.4 mm — roughly 5 mm taller and 1 mm wider than the Galaxy S8+.

If true, the fingerprint sensor would somehow be even worse than the Galaxy S8+

The biggest thing of note here is the dual camera and fingerprint sensor setup. Rumors have indicated the Note 8 will have a dual camera setup for some time now, but we haven’t seen how it will be done. The large camera pod shown here with dual lenses doesn’t look far off from the LG G6’s, although with the big caveat that it stands up considerably off the back of the phone. That apparently leaves the fingerprint sensor up on that same pod, which somehow seems even worse than the Galaxy S8+’s fingerprint sensor.

While much of the information unveiled here seems to line up with previous leaks and makes sense overall, I wouldn’t put too much weight behind the exact details of the renders themselves. Creating realistic renders off of size and spec information — or even CAD measurements — isn’t a sure-fire way to show off exactly how a phone will look. There are several curious details in the renders that leave plenty of room for the Note 8 to actually end up looking considerably different when it’s unveiled by Samsung.

What is an APN, and how do I change it?

Having the right mobile network settings makes a difference. Here’s how to change them if you need to!

Unlocked phones and alternative carriers are more popular now than ever before. Most every company makes an unlocked model or two that you can buy directly from their website or a retailer like Amazon with the necessary parts and software to use it on any GSM network around the world. And when you don’t have a phone that’s tied to a carrier through financing you’re free to try other carriers and see who offers what’s best for you.

Shifting things around and trying someone new for phone service is pretty simple and pain-free, but you might need to know how to set the APN on your phone. Let’s take a look at what an APN is and how you go about changing or adding one.

What is an APN?

The Access Point Name (APN) is the name for the settings your phone reads to set up a connection to the gateway between your carrier’s cellular network and the public Internet.

You carrier reads these settings, then makes sure to determine the correct IP address, connect to the correct secure gateway, and see if you need them to connect you to a private network like a VPN. All the heavy lifting is done on the carrier side, but we need to make sure the right settings are in place to get on the network we need, in the way we need to connect.

An APN has the network settings your phone needs to connect to your provider.

Depending on how your carrier’s network is structured, different settings are mandatory. The rest can be slightly altered to change some of the parameters, but for most of us, we will need to use the exact settings provided by our carrier.

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The good news is that most of the time, your phone has several “default” APN settings and one will work for phone calls automatically. Very handy if you need to call for help because unless you’re using one of the Big Four networks (AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon) nothing else will work correctly and you’ll need to add an APN yourself.

The bad news is that carriers can customize the software on any phone they sell, and that includes blocking the ability to change the APN. Even if your phone is unlocked. You might be able to find a workaround posted on the internet, but there is also a good chance that you’re just not going to be able to use any other network. We suggest buying your next phone from someone else.

How to change your APN

The first thing you’ll need to do is find the right APN settings for the network you want to use. You’ll be able to find these at the support pages at the carrier website. The settings will look like this example for Mint SIM:

• Name – Ultra
• APN – Wholesale
• Proxy – (leave blank)
• Port – 8080
• Username & Password – (leave blank)
• Server – (leave blank)
• MMSC – http://wholesale.mmsmvno.com/mms/wapenc
• MMS Proxy – (leave blank)
• MMS Port – (leave blank)
• MNC – 260
• Authentication Type – (leave blank)
• APN Type – default,supl,mms
• MCC – 310

These are the settings you’ll need to enter for a new APN that can use Mint SIM’s service for data and MMS. Now we just need to find where to enter it.

This is going to be different depending on who made your phone, but it’s always going to be in the Wireless & networks section of the settings. You’re looking for a setting for Access Point Names and it might be nested in another setting like Cellular Networks. That’s where you’ll find it on the Pixel or Moto Z, and it should be similar to your phone. Don’t worry, you can’t mess anything up by tapping the settings and looking inside. Just try not to make any changes while you’re looking.

Once you’ve found the “Access Point Names” section. Tap to open it.

You should see a list with at least one APN on it. If things aren’t working with the current APN, you need to add another. Don’t modify or delete the one you see, instead make a new one and we can choose it when we’re done. At the top of the page, (or possibly in a menu, if your phone has a menu button) press the plus sign to bring up the “Edit access point” screen.

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This is where you will enter the settings you got from your carrier’s website. Two very important things here:

Not every setting in the “Edit access point” screen will need to be filled in. Only fill in the items your carrier provides, and leave the rest as-is.
Be sure to type in everything exactly as provided by your carrier. For example, default,supl,hipri is different than default, supl, hipri because of the white space between items. Your carrier’s system is set up to read an expected set of values, and any changes — no matter how minor — can and will break things.

Once you have the settings provided by your carrier entered, you need to save the APN. You do that by pressing the three dots in the upper right (or the menu key if your phone has one) and selecting the “Save” option.

Once your APN information is saved, go back one screen to the list we saw earlier. On this screen, tap the new APN settings you just entered to make them active. Your phone will lose its data connection for a little while as it connects to the new network using the new network settings. If you can’t get a connection after a few minutes, you might need to restart your phone.

On rare occasions, your provider may have two APNs that need entering. This is because they use a separate gateway for MMS or other data that’s separate from your data plan. If this is the case, you’ll find a full explanation of both APN settings on your carrier’s support site. Most times, one APN is all you need, though.

And that’s it! Now your phone should work for calls, SMS, MMS and data. Now be sure to set up any Data Saver or warning settings your phone might have to monitor how much data you use and if you are getting close to your allotment.

Updated June 2017: We made sure to have up-to-date information and changes for the latest phones.

2 billion people use Facebook every month, despite its consistently subpar Android app

Facebook has reached a new milestone.

2 billion people now use Facebook every month, which is an incredible feat for a single platform to reach. On average, 800 million people “like” something on Facebook every single day. Surprisingly, over 1 billion people are using Facebook Groups every month. Those are just absolutely bonkers numbers to think about.

From the perspective of those who use Facebook on Android to be part of that 2 billion group, it’s extra impressive because the Facebook Android app continues to be a pain. Between its huge size, regular battery draining updates, constant changing of settings and updates outside of Google Play there are plenty of frustrations that have pushed people to uninstall the Facebook app.

But despite that, Facebook’s growth continues — and it’s not unfathomable that we could be seeing it reach 2.5 billion or even 3 billion monthly users in the future. That’s growth that any company would love to have in its sights.

You can now sign up for Project Fi with G Suite accounts

One less restriction to joining Project Fi.

Project Fi has made a small, but important, change to the way it operates, opening up the service to those who use paid G Suite accounts rather than just consumer-grade Google accounts. Now businesses or families who have opted to pay for G Suite accounts and use a custom domain can get in on Project Fi rather than create a second account just for their Fi service.

Project Fi is now compatible with @gsuite accounts (you@yourdomain.com). 🙌 Learn more about enabling here → https://t.co/2Brq8UL8cl pic.twitter.com/KcLsxD1l9C

— Project Fi (@projectfi) June 27, 2017

Now this still creates a hassle if you chose to use Fi on a secondary account to start and now have to switch it over, but going forward this is at least one more restriction dropped in a long list of issues where G Suite isn’t up to speed with the capabilities of a free Google account. Combine the new G Suite compatibility with Project Fi’s group plans, and you could see this being a good option for people who want to use Project Fi for a business phone line.

If you’re not the administrator of your G Suite account, you’ll need to have the admin turn on Project Fi access manually — it isn’t turned on by default.

Google Project Fi

• What is Project Fi?
• Get the latest Project Fi news
• Discuss Project Fi in our forums
• Phones: Google Pixel | Nexus 6P | Nexus 5X | Nexus 6
• Sign up for Project Fi

Pinterest enables two-factor authentication for all users

It seems as though online security is at the top of everyone’s priority list these days, and now Pinterest is stepping up to the plate. The social network is introducing a slate of new features aimed at protecting users’ accounts.

The most important of these is the rollout of two-factor authentication to all users. You can receive codes via text message or through an authentication app such as Google Authenticator. You can enable 2FA through the Security page on Account Settings after it’s available to you.

Pinterest is also upgrading the Security section by listing all the devices currently logged into your account. If you see a device you don’t recognize, you can remove it from this page. Finally, the service is also emailing users when they log in from a new device.

It’s surprising it’s taken Pinterest so long to enable such basic security options, but it’s also questionable how useful they’ll be. These days, most people use just a few logins — such as Google or Facebook — to set up accounts on multiple sites. Still, it’s nice to see that more social networks are taking online security seriously.

Source: Pinterest