On Hands-On Tech, Mikah helps Lars, who is seeking help for a friend who is being flooded with spam emails and is looking for a way to filter out the spam emails!

• Mikah strongly recommends transitioning away from ISP-provided email addresses, as they often get shuffled between companies and can face service disruptions
• There are also some options to consider when moving from an old email account, such as setting up auto-responses directing to the new address or configuring your new email account to pull from your old account.
• Mikah suggests two things to do. The first is to create a Gmail account to leverage its excellent spam filtering capabilities, then configure it to pull mail from the Cox address and connect it to Outlook.
• The second option is to use local spam filtering software like Mailwasher, which offers Bayesian filtering that learns from user input to improve spam detection over time.
• Other software options to consider are Spambully, Spamfighter, and clean.io, though some may not work without MX record access.

Also, be sure to stick around to the end of the episode for an upcoming change to Hands-On Tech.

Send in your questions for Mikah to answer! hot@twit.tv

Host: Mikah Sargent

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In this episode of Hands-On Tech, Mikah Sargent tackles a unique smart home dilemma from a viewer named John, who runs his home automation through Android while his wife uses Apple devices. John wants to know if he can use an old iPad as a home hub to give his wife easier access to their home's smart features, like thermostats, greenhouse controls, and outlets, without having to go through his phone.

• Android-first setup is actually advantageous, as it means devices are already configured independently rather than being locked into Apple's HomeKit ecosystem
• For HomeKit-compatible devices, adding them to the wife's iPhone/iPad is as simple as scanning the HomeKit codes in Apple's Home app

Some suggested approaches for the iPad hub:

• Use as a portable control panel that can move between rooms
• Mount it permanently as a dedicated control center using a device such as elago's Home Hub Mount, which allows for clean cable management.
• Mikah recommends using Home Assistant (home-assistant.io) as a powerful third-party solution that works with more devices than just HomeKit or Google Home, has robust automation capabilities, and has apps for multiple platforms, making it accessible to both users.
• Mikah also emphasizes the importance of "smart," which means proactive automation, giving examples like automatic fan control based on humidity sensor readings, proximity-based lighting control, and custom scenes triggered by pressure sensors.

Host: Mikah Sargent

Download or subscribe to Hands-On Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/hands-on-tech

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Mikah addresses a listener question about why their TCL TV and cable box sometimes turn on automatically after a power outage. He explains the likely causes and offers troubleshooting tips. Mikah also shares an important follow-up from a previous episode about internet speeds and the limitations of the Apple TV 4K's Ethernet port.

Main Topic:
• Richard asks why his TCL TV and cable box sometimes turn on by themselves after brief power outages
• Mikah explains that TCL TVs have a "Fast TV Start" feature that keeps the TV in a powered-on state to maintain network connections, causing it to turn back on when power is restored
• HDMI-CEC (Consumer Electronics Control) allows devices to communicate and control each other, which may cause the cable box to turn on when the TV powers on
• Mikah advises checking the TV and cable box settings for features like Fast TV Start, sleep/hibernation modes, and HDMI-CEC to adjust the behavior
• Many smart home devices, such as lights and robot vacuums, also have auto-on features that should be configured to prevent unexpected behavior after power outages

Follow-up:
• Thomas points out that in a previous episode (195), the Apple TV 4K used to test internet speeds has a maximum throughput of about 990 Mbps due to its Gigabit Ethernet port
• For the listener (Ross) to accurately test their 2.5 Gbps internet speed, they should ensure their Mac supports the full 2.5 Gbps that the adapter provides
• The Apple TV 4K's Wi-Fi 6 support may allow for faster speeds than its Ethernet port, depending on the router and environment

Don't forget to send in your questions for Mikah to answer during the show! hot@twit.tv

Host: Mikah Sargent

Download or subscribe to Hands-On Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/hands-on-tech

Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit