I’m currently using the Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max running on iOS 18.1. For some crazy reason, Siri only seems to respond when I ask it to make a call or send a text about 60% of the time. Yes, even I experience this frustration, and I have been helping people with their tech issues for many years.

That’s why I’ve taken my irritation and turned it into some straightforward tips to help make your tech life less frustrating.

Starting with Alexa: Amazon Echo devices tend to repeat back what you say, but you can change that default behavior quite easily. Just open your Alexa app, go to More > Settings > Voice Responses, and enable Brief Mode. Simple and straightforward!

Prevent apps from asking for ratings: Tired of being prompted to rate an app? If you’re using an iPhone, go to Settings > App Store and switch off In-App Ratings and Reviews. Unfortunately, there’s no similar solution for Android. Hey, Google, can you sort this out?

Managing numerous tabs: If you find yourself with many open tabs, there’s a quicker way to switch between them. Press Ctrl + 1, 2, 3, etc., to jump to that specific tab. If you’re on a Mac, use Command + a number. To scroll through tabs, use Ctrl + Tab on Windows or Cmd + Tab on Mac.

What’s that noise? It can be quite annoying when music starts playing from a random browser tab. Most browsers make it easy to mute this noise now. In Chrome, for example, just right-click on the tab and select Mute site.

Quickly find your photos: If you sent someone a picture but can’t seem to locate it, there’s an easy way to find it. On iPhone, open Messages, tap the conversation, and then the person’s profile photo or group name. Scroll down to Photos > See All. For Android, just open Messages and hit the search bar at the top.

Get autocorrect under control: This frustration is one reason I often use voice texting. Autocorrect can change the words you intend to type. To prevent this, you can add custom words that won’t be altered. For Android, go to Settings, then System > Keyboard Personal dictionary. On iOS, you’ll find it under Settings > General > Keyboard Text Replacement.

Out of black ink? You can alter the color to #010101; it will appear black but is actually 99% gray. Along with that, reduce the font size and choose Courier New or Garamond fonts, as they use the least ink. A bonus tip: if the document is for personal use, look for the draft mode option in your settings.

Tidy up in 30 seconds: If your phone’s home screen is cluttered, create folders! Just drag one app over another to form a new folder. I like to categorize them, creating folders for social media, shopping, etc.

Reverse any significant changes: Have you ever worked for hours only to have your work disappear suddenly? Simply click “Undo,” and it should return. Use Ctrl + Z on Windows or Cmd + Z on a Mac. There it is!

Manage desktop alerts: Too many notifications can be overwhelming when trying to concentrate. To disable them on Windows, navigate to Settings > System > Notifications. For macOS, head to System Preferences > Notifications.

Silence your phone: You can quickly mute incoming calls by pressing the side button or either volume button once. Very convenient.