Laptopnet.
The guide library

Find your next step.

Browse a topic or search for the device, setting or task on your mind.

A person reviewing printed text on a clipboard beside a laptop
Windows & apps

How to check an AI-generated summary against the source

A summary can be fluent while getting the source's main point wrong. Check the claims that matter, the conditions attached to them and the material that was left out before relying on an AI-generated account of a document.

Read the guide
A laptop displaying a photograph in image-editing software
Windows & apps

Exporting a project before a software subscription ends

A finished export and an editable project serve different purposes. Before a software subscription ends, preserve both where you need them, along with the source material that makes the project possible to reopen safely later.

Read the guide
A hand browsing a grid of photos on a phone beside a laptop
Phones & tablets

Your phone is full: find the space before deleting photos

The camera refuses to record, an update will not install, and deleting a few screenshots barely changes the storage bar. Before sacrificing your photo library, find out what is taking the space. A downloaded series or an app's saved files may offer a much easier starting point.

Read the guide
Close view of the cameras on the back of a phone
Phones & tablets

Choosing a phone for the camera you will actually use

A phone camera can be excellent at a task you rarely do. Before paying for more lenses or a larger resolution number, look through your own pictures. The photographs you keep—and the ones you miss—are a useful starting point for choosing the next camera.

Read the guide
A phone connected to a portable battery with an orange cable
Phones & tablets

What a phone battery percentage does not tell you

Two phones can both show 80 percent and have very different afternoons ahead of them. The number describes the remaining charge as the phone estimates it. It does not tell you the battery's original size, its present condition, or how hard the next task will make it work.

Read the guide
A charging cable beside a phone's charging port
Phones & tablets

A replacement charging cable needs more than the right plug

The connector fits, but charging is slower than before—or the computer cannot see the phone at all. Replacement cables are easy to buy by appearance and harder to match by function. A little attention to power, data, and the shape of the plug saves a second purchase.

Read the guide
A tablet with an attached keyboard on a wooden table
Phones & tablets

When a tablet can replace your laptop—and when it cannot

A tablet can be a lighter computer to carry, but the keyboard accessory does not make every laptop task disappear. The useful question is whether your complete routine works on it, including the dull parts: uploading a file, correcting a spreadsheet, printing a form, and joining a call.

Read the guide
Hands typing on a tablet keyboard cover
Phones & tablets

Choosing a tablet keyboard for longer writing sessions

A tablet keyboard may look spacious in a product photo and still make every apostrophe a small search. For longer writing, the important details are the layout, the support behind the screen, and how easily you can move between typing and touching the display.

Read the guide
A tablet and stylus on a white surface
Phones & tablets

A stylus is only useful if the tablet supports it

A stylus can be a simple substitute for a finger or a precise drawing tool with pressure and tilt support. Those are very different purchases. Start with the tablet's exact model number, then work outward to the pen and the software you want to use.

Read the guide
A phone displaying photos beside a laptop on a desk
Phones & tablets

Moving photos from a phone to a computer

Moving a few pictures is easy to improvise. Moving several years of photographs deserves a more deliberate approach. Keep the originals on the phone while you make a copy, check that the computer can open it, and decide how the next transfer will avoid creating a second pile of duplicates.

Read the guide