Why buy new when there are so many bargains out there? I've seen more demand lately for refurbished or used computers, phones and technology in general. We've just "upgraded" our TV, to a Philips 32" (from a LG 26"). I can't bring myself to buy a new super thin set for a few reasons: 1). The sound is awful on them (yes I know I can buy a sound bar but that's more kit and clutter) 2). They aren't built as nicely in my opinion 3). Most are smart but I'd rather add my own "smarts" with a Roku, YouView or Apple TV box. When the smarts are out of date, I can simply buy a new box and keep the telly. I paid £55 for the TV (new was £999) from a retired couple, it was their 2nd TV set and used about 5 times, it looks brand new and the picture quality is amazing: http://www.trustedreviews.com/reviews/philips-32pfl9604-32in-lcd-tv So my point is that you can get great bargains second hand and sometimes they are better quality goods than are available now. I've had a strong demand lately for phones and laptops, especially Apple MacBooks and iPhones. It seems they are popular birthday presents. Currently, I have the following if you're looking: MacBook Air 13" (2013) MacBook Pro 13" (2013 Retina) MacBook Pro 13" (2012) coming iPhone 6 64GB space grey iPhone 6S 64GB silver (coming) iPhone 6S 16GB rose gold (coming) Samsung Galaxy Note 32GB white Sony Xperia Z3+ 32GB (waterproof!) black Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge 32GB black onyx Samsung Galaxy S4 16GB white Samsung Galaxy S4 mini black (perfect for small hands) Lenovo X100e 11.6" laptop with a solid state drive (nice and fast) Dell Inspiron One 19" all-in-one computer (great for the kitchen or a home work computer, built-in DVD drive which is handy) Apple iPad series 1 (a collectors item!) You can save literally hundreds compared to buying new or going on contract. Get in touch if you need advice on what to buy, hopefully I can save you a few £s.

Does anyone really need a super high-end phone that costs hundreds or even £1000? My phone does everything I need it to and there are still features I don't use. I'm using my friend's old, well worn iPhone 5 which seems to have spent its life in a pocket full of keys or maybe a barrel full of barbed wire by the looks of it! Here's the thing, the phone works flawlessly, the battery lasts all day (this phone could be anywhere from 4 years old at its youngest but likely over 5). The back lower glass is cracked - I've used my blue tickitape to repair it which saves my pockets from damage and dust getting into the phone, plus it adds a dash of style (okay maybe not on that latter statement). I've recently wiped and re-loaded the phone, it's much faster now, still takes great photos too. I run my business with this phone (and a MacBook Pro 2010) so it needs to be reliable. It doesn't have portrait mode, animojis, a dual lens camera, it's not rose gold or matt black, heck, it doesn't even have the latest IOS (it's stuck on 10). I paid £50 for this phone a couple of years ago and it refuses to die. As long as that's the case and I can use Facebook Pages, Messenger, iMessage, and even make texts and phone calls then I'm keeping it in my pocket and not upgrading until it's on its last legs. I'm hoping that one day device manufacturers will keep things running for longer by using a lighter operating system and stripping out features. The developer community is certainly coming up with creative uses for older phones, check out this iPhone 4 turned into a simple handset, wouldn't this be great for kids or older relatives? https://lifehacker.com/how-to-turn-your-old-iphone-into-a-cute-minimalistic-fe-1822375239 One of my customers recently commented she'd rather her child carried a Nokia 3310 because that's all they'd need to keep in touch but that it's not feasible these days: https://www.nokia.com/en_gb/phones/nokia-3310 If you have an old phone in your drawer, dig it out and have a play, you might yet find a use for it or, perish the thought, start using it again!

So, my followers, regular readers and friends will know I'll try to fix anything. The cold weather put the nail in the coffin for our VW Touran battery. Since the car has stop / start for fuel efficiency, the battery costs £146 and up (a special stronger type is required). Ouch! And, this doesn't include fitting. So, I figured I could get a cheaper replacement. I Popped onto eBay and purchased one for £77 from a battery specialist. How hard can it be to fit right? Well, as is the case with so many items these days, they are not designed with end-user servicing in mind. I thought naively that I could undo a couple of terminal bolts, one retaining bolt and pop the old battery out and a new one in. Not so fast! The retaining bolt is obscured by the air box assembly and associated plumbing. I had to remove the air intake, air box, mass air flow sensor cable, breather hose and also move a coolant pipe out of the way. One clamp needs special pliers to remove or you risk losing some skin. 90 minutes later and it was in. My point is that manufacturers should make consumable items easier to replace, why should I have to take it to a dealer and pay £300 to replace the battery?! I'll continue fixing mechanical/electrical things in order to extend their useful life. It's my quest to help reduce waste and keep running costs down whether it's a phone, computer, tumble dryer or other fixable item. If you have a broken something, always do some research to see if others have fixed it economically. You might be surprised at how much you can save.

I'm doing another SSD (solid state drive) upgrade on a Mac to speed it up (huge difference!) The design of the iMac pulls air into the chassis to cool things but also draws in loads of dust! It's a good time to clean the inside when I'm changing the drive. If you'd like to breathe new life into a computer, chances are a SSD drive will make a huge difference and will cost less than a new machine. Get in touch if you have a slow Mac or PC and I'll give you an idea of what can be done to restore or improve performance.

Setting up Fine Tuned Tech has been a great experience and thanks to my customers it's been a success so far. It's also achieved an important aim - to get a better life and family balance. One of the main drivers to this success though has been my wife's support, I was given time and space to start up as well as Charlotte Tonkin quietly helping me whilst I get all of the kudos! Well, now it's her turn, Charlie has been providing birth preparation courses for a few years and is now ramping up to provide more sessions for Mums and Dads to be. More info on the next course: https://www.thegoodbirthpractice.co.uk/classes-1

This is not the prettiest repair I've done by any stretch but it works and saved a lot of expense. The charge port was pushed in and broken, the challenge being that the new charge port had nothing to attach to because the thin plastics on the top of laptop keyboard broke off completely. So, I cut up a Debenhams refund card (just the right kind of slightly flexible plastic) and attached that to the chassis which to make things harder happened to be curved. Yes, I could have used black tape but I didn't have any at hand, plus I think the blue looks quite fetching besides, I know it's sticky (it's called tickitape). I've had the roll for 10 years and fixed all sorts of stuff with it.

I love it when I get to fix something a bit different, I've fixed Playstations before but not the top of the line Sony PS4 Pro. It was quite a challenge because Sony decided that in order to service the blu ray drive you need to take the whole thing apart. So, as I didn't have another PS4 Pro to test the drive with, I had to tear down the machine 3 times and put it all back together. I wish they would make these more serviceable, the optical drive is a mechanical part so is prone to failure, also Sony has had issues in the past with their drives not ejecting discs and so on. To make things even more challenging, it seems a replacement drive is not available yet so there was no choice but to repair the malfunctioning drive. But, it's all fixed now and my customer was so grateful - that's the part I enjoy the most about what I do, people are so pleased when they get their stuff back working again. It's a nice feeling and glad I can bring a little joy to my customers in the gloom of January.

Happy New Year All! If you're in need of a phone I have a few great condition phones available, from left to right: Galaxy S4 Mini 8GB black mist unlocked £85 (great for small hands but still powerful) Galaxy S4 white frost 16GB £90 - hugely underrated previous top-of-the range Galaxy smart phone, packed with features Galaxy Note 3 unlocked huge 32GB storage with stylus (you can write on the screen!) Simply amazing screen £150 iPhone 6s Plus 128GB o2 but being unlocked £350 (comes with box, charging plug and new genuine Apple lightening cable)

Saying technology has moved on a lot in the last 20 years wound be an understatement though there's still room for old tech. You can keep your streaming, MP3 downloads and iPod touches, when it comes to richness, warmth and enjoyment of sound nothing comes close to vinyl. I don't know how or why but it just sounds better. And with that, I wish you all a Merry Christmas and would like to thank everyone who brought me their gadgets to repair and rejuvenate. I'll be open between Christmas and New Year (by appointment) in case you need an emergency fix!

Well, after many hours of work, this telly is ready for the family to have in time for Christmas and their 11 guests. The TV cost thousands new and was one of the most highly rated plasma tellys at the time. Definitely worth saving.

The thing about man flu is... ...it doesn't exist when you run your own business, well not for me anyway. I'd rather be at home under a blanket watching that Norwegian drama on channel 4 but there are things to fix including this massive 55" TV. My customer would like to have it back in time for Christmas because a 32" won't do the job for 16 guests. So, like my old high school friend Burt said in his graduation quote: "time waits for no man"; (and apparently nor does Christmas). The thing is to carry on (just like our wives and partners do) because there are things to be done and there's just no time for man flu. If you need your gear repaired before Christmas then get in touch and I'll do my best to turn it around for you. Also, if you need a last minute tech type gift then ask me about refurbished laptops, phones and tablets.

It's a Mac attack! Thanks everyone for bringing me your slow, corrupt, dying MacBooks and iMacs, I do love working on them. Macs are great computers, well designed, good looking with excellent performance. The group pictured are from 2010 and 2011. Two of the five needed the hard drive replacing neither of which have been backed up. Luckily, I've been able to recover the data for these customers. Lesson? PLEASE BACK UP! Also, make more than one back up and keep them in different places (in a safe, in a relative's house or another trusted place). This will mitigate in case of theft, fire, flood and so on. Media is inexpensive now so buy a couple of back up drives, big memory sticks or even back up to DVD or writable Blu Ray disks. Even Macs need maintaining, there are many articles online on how to speed your computer and carry out routine maintenance. If you need help with your Mac please get in touch for some free advice. And please, back up your computer!