by Charles Miller

In two earlier columns, I wrote some things that prompted two of my much-appreciated volunteer proofreaders to ask for some clarifications of what I meant. The queries deserved more of a response than was easy to include in those earlier columns, and so I will try to clarify things this week.

For the first question, I was asked to elaborate on what I had written; "Most portable devices now have non-removable batteries, meaning the device can never be completely turned off." To explain this I have to take a long trip.

I am sure I am not the only one who has had an experience similar to mine. Settled into my airline seat, the flight attendants dimmed the lights, and I along with a hundred others drifted off to sleep. Then halfway across the Atlantic Ocean I was rudely awakened by a loud "BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!" followed by several fellow passengers grumbling, and a voice wailing "But I turned the phone off!" That person did not realize their smart phone with its alarm clock app is an example of modern electronics that cannot be turned off.

The situation I just described—where a phone that is thought to be turned off still turns itself on when it is time to sound an alarm—is actually a known feature in many smart phones. When the phone is turned off, the alarm clock app can use a special low-power mode or sometimes a hardware timer that triggers the device to switch itself back on at a scheduled time.

Inquiring minds might want to know if the alarm clock app can turn their smart phone back on, then what other apps are still running while the phone is allegedly off. The answer is "not many." Other smart phone functions, such as the cellular radio and GPS, require significant amounts of battery power to function. When the phone is powered off, the cellular radio and GPS receiver cannot operate, so a smart phone does not have the ability to wake itself up when someone calls, or to wake up when you arrive at a specific location.

The second question I was asked was to explain what I meant when I wrote "…after several failed attempts to install updates, most Operating Systems will give up trying to install that update" (until next month).

Microsoft’s Windows Update will retry failed updates automatically, either during routine update cycles or when manually checking for updates. There is not known to be any fixed limit for the number of retries your computer will try, but if an update repeatedly fails, Windows may display error messages and prompt users to address the problem, such as by troubleshooting or resetting update components. Sometimes Windows will roll back failed installs after several unsuccessful attempts. This all gets reported to Microsoft, and the company is known to fix problematic updates and push them out again next month or to withdraw them. Generally not recommended is that users can "hide" specific updates to prevent installation attempts.

While Apple does not follow exactly the same protocol as Windows with regard to automatic updates, there are similarities in the overall approach. If an Apple update to your Mac, iPhone, or iPad fails, it will usually try again, but not until the next regular update interval, whatever it may be. Apple product users may defer, block, or control update installations more granularly compared to Windows.

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Charles Miller is a freelance computer consultant with decades of IT experience and a Texan with a lifetime love for Mexico. The opinions expressed are his own. He may be contacted at 415-101-8528 or email FAQ8 (at) SMAguru.com.

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