Re: Laser Printer Problem
On Apr 25, 2025, at 5:10 PM, jimrobertson via groups.io <jimrobertson@...> wrote:
I have a Brother HL-L5200 DW Laser Printer that I purchased in late 2017. Recently, it’s done a VERY poor job printing on envelopes (the output is grey, not black, and easily smudged on envelopes, sometimes to the point that the post office rejects envelopes printed with it. Its status printout says that the Toner Cartridge has around 40% of its life remaining, and the Fuser Unit >>90%. I’ve printed 6662 pages, only 140 of them from the multipurpose tray (principally the envelopes). The status also says the “average coverage” is only 5.06%.
I have no idea what to do to improve its printing. I’ve never replaced the Fuser Unit, but the self-diagnostics page printout seems to say it’s fine. Randy, since you are SO familiar with Brother printers I’m hoping you might have some suggestions. What you are describing sounds typical of an imaging drum that is end-of-life. It’s easy to replace. Compatible Brother DR820 Laser Drum Unit $25 Here are instructions for changing the drum (be sure to reset the counter too): While you are in there, I highly recommend that you do this too. - Remove the toner cartridge - Shake it semi-vigorously from side to side (NOT up and down!) - Drop it a foot or so, perfectly horizontally on a countertop so that it makes a light thump - Re-install This will distribute the remaining toner in the cartridge and get it to the bottom of the cartridge. Doing this might actually get you a few hundred extra pages of life from the cartridge. __________________________________________________ Randy B. Singer Co-author of The Macintosh Bible (4th, 5th, and 6th editions) Essential But Hard To Find Macintosh Software and Advice __________________________________________________
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I have a Brother HL-L5200 DW Laser Printer that I purchased in late 2017. Recently, it’s done a VERY poor job printing on envelopes (the output is grey, not black, and easily smudged on envelopes, sometimes to the point that the post office rejects envelopes printed with it. Its status printout says that the Toner Cartridge has around 40% of its life remaining, and the Fuser Unit >>90%. I’ve printed 6662 pages, only 140 of them from the multipurpose tray (principally the envelopes). The status also says the ?“average coverage” is only 5.06%.
I have no idea what to do to improve its printing. I’ve never replaced the Fuser Unit, but the self-diagnostics page printout seems to say it’s fine. Randy, since you are SO familiar with Brother printers I’m hoping you might have some suggestions.
Thanks so much,
--?
Jim Robertson
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Problem Renaming in Numbers' & Pages' Document Managers on iPad
I thought that I had sent this, but I don't see it in groups.io. ?Hopefully this is not a repeat! ? Every once in a while, I've encountered a problem renaming files in both Numbers' and Pages' Document Managers on my iPad. ?This morning I finally figured out the complex situation in which the problem occurs, and thought I'd let the group know in case anyone else has encountered the same difficulty.
In Numbers' Document Manager, with: - iPad viewed in landscape
- AND Files are shown in a list
- AND viewing Recents folder
- AND the file list is pulled down, so that "new Spreadsheet" and "Choose a Template" are displayed above the file list
- AND The top file in the list is renamed
Then the file's name is hidden from view during the rename, making it very hard to type a new name.
Ditto for Pages, with the exception that "Start Writing" is shown instead of "New Spreadsheet".
I've reported this to Apple.
There are many workarounds; just do ONE of the following: - Turn the iPad to Portrait mode
- OR display files as icons?
- OR view the file in it's actual folder, rather than Recents
- OR ?don't pull down the file list, so that "new Spreadsheet" and "Choose a Template" are NOT shown above the file list
- OR reorder the files by using a different sorting method so that the file to be renamed is no longer at the top of the list (e.g., by latest date to by oldest date, or by date to by Name, etc).
- OR rename the file in the Files app.
-- Bev in TX
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Re: FREE MACINTOSH SOFTWARE
Another vote for Grand Perspective and for Burn, although I haven’t used the latter for a long time.
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On 21 Apr 2025, at 20:53, todhop via < hoplist@...> wrote:
I’ve been referring to Randy’s list for many, many years. I found many programs that I use routinely on this list and many more that I needed for just that one time!?
Here are a couple not on the list that I use routinely that others might find useful, particularly if you do any media work.?
MediaInfo () Available in the App Store for a dollar, but free on the website. This has solved many a mystery when the really expensive apps have let me down. Grand Perspective () Again, on the App Store but free on the website. If you want to know what’s using all the space on your drives, this is the best. My absolute favorite for this task.? Burn () Optical disc burning.? KeepDriveSpinning () Just discovered this and it’s saving my sanity. All this does is add a system script that keeps external drives spinning while the system is awake. Very, very simple, but if you have drives that are constantly spinning down when you don’t want them to, this is the solution. FF Works () A graphical UI for FF MPEG. Video encoding, transcoding, rewrapping, etc... Shutter Encoder () Another graphical UI for FF MPEG. A bit easier to use.?
Another big, big thank you to Randy!
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Re: FREE MACINTOSH SOFTWARE
I’ve been referring to Randy’s list for many, many years. I found many programs that I use routinely on this list and many more that I needed for just that one time!?
Here are a couple not on the list that I use routinely that others might find useful, particularly if you do any media work.?
MediaInfo () Available in the App Store for a dollar, but free on the website. This has solved many a mystery when the really expensive apps have let me down. Grand Perspective () Again, on the App Store but free on the website. If you want to know what’s using all the space on your drives, this is the best. My absolute favorite for this task.? Burn () Optical disc burning.? KeepDriveSpinning () Just discovered this and it’s saving my sanity. All this does is add a system script that keeps external drives spinning while the system is awake. Very, very simple, but if you have drives that are constantly spinning down when you don’t want them to, this is the solution. FF Works () A graphical UI for FF MPEG. Video encoding, transcoding, rewrapping, etc... Shutter Encoder () Another graphical UI for FF MPEG. A bit easier to use.?
Another big, big thank you to Randy!
Cheers, ???????????????tod
Tod Hopkins
Video Producer?Editor?Technologist?
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On Apr 21, 2025, at 10:57?AM, Bayswater via groups.io <Bayswater@...> wrote:
I appreciate the time and effort you put into this. ?
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Re: FREE MACINTOSH SOFTWARE
I appreciate the time and effort you put into this. ?
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Re: FREE MACINTOSH SOFTWARE
On Apr 21, 2025, at 5:37 AM, Bev in TX via groups.io <countryone77@...> wrote:
Thanks for taking the time to vet new apps and maintain a constantly changing list. My pleasure! I’m gratified that you find the site useful. I had thought that at a certain point before this I would find it hard to keep on finding new free apps to add to the page, but they keep on coming. I’m especially excited about the new AI-based apps that are coming. The ones that I’ve recently played with are a bit like magic! __________________________________________________ Randy B. Singer Co-author of The Macintosh Bible (4th, 5th, and 6th editions) Essential But Hard To Find Macintosh Software and Advice __________________________________________________
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Re: FREE MACINTOSH SOFTWARE
That's a lovely list of apps to investigate! Thanks for taking the time to vet new apps and maintain a constantly changing list.
I've found your app lists very interesting. It's fun searching through them for gems that I use on my Mac. I like that there are no distractions on your webpages, which I've never thought of as amateurish, just extremely useful.
I'm not at all concerned about HTTP, vs HTTPS, on your site. We aren't entering any personal data on your webpages.
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On Apr 21, 2025, at 4:48?AM, Randy B. Singer via groups.io <randy@...> wrote:
When I decided to put my database of the very best free software for the Macintosh on a Web site for everyone, I had no idea that I'd be filling an unfilled niche and that the site would be so popular. There are other Web sites that list free software for the Mac, but few of them vet the software for usability and desirability.
I also had no idea that there was SO MUCH really good free software for the Macintosh! I've just drastically updated the page, and it's now up to 237 listings of really nice free software for the Mac!
FREE MACINTOSH SOFTWARE
Among the latest additions are very advanced graphics programs, programs that use AI to do things that were very hard/expensive to do previously (such as speech recognition/transcription), genealogy programs, and a number of nice utility programs.
If you haven't gone through all of the listings recently, it's worth looking through them again. There are sure to be free apps that you will find that will prove to be invaluable.
The page is entirely non-commercial, I don't make a cent from it.
I want to point out that I'm not an expert Web developer...far from it. I'm just an enthusiast. So the site looks a bit amateurish. But hopefully it is still very useful and interesting.
I also acknowledge that the site doesn't yet support HTTPS. I'm getting to it. (If this turns you off, please just ignore the page, rather than harassing me about it.)
Please spread the word about the Web site to others!
By request, here are the most recent additions to the page:
Anatomy Model Puzzle
Clipboard Manager
Cling
CMap Tools
CotEditor
CustomShortcuts
FamilyTreeBuilder
FoxIt PDF Reader
FreeFileSync
Freescaler
Gramps
iFan
LocalSend
Loop
Logseq
MacPass
Macsyzones
Manager
Mist
MuCommander
Muscles Puzzle
NoCal
Obsidian
PDFGear
Pearcleaner
Pinta
Quick Family Tree
Tayasui Sketches
Xapp
Zettlr
--
Bev in TX
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Hi everyone!
When I decided to put my database of the very best free software for the Macintosh on a Web site for everyone, I had no idea that I'd be filling an unfilled niche and that the site would be so popular. There are other Web sites that list free software for the Mac, but few of them vet the software for usability and desirability.
I also had no idea that there was SO MUCH really good free software for the Macintosh! I've just drastically updated the page, and it's now up to 237 listings of really nice free software for the Mac!
FREE MACINTOSH SOFTWARE
Among the latest additions are very advanced graphics programs, programs that use AI to do things that were very hard/expensive to do previously (such as speech recognition/transcription), genealogy programs, and a number of nice utility programs.
If you haven't gone through all of the listings recently, it's worth looking through them again. There are sure to be free apps that you will find that will prove to be invaluable.
The page is entirely non-commercial, I don't make a cent from it.
I want to point out that I'm not an expert Web developer...far from it. I'm just an enthusiast. So the site looks a bit amateurish. But hopefully it is still very useful and interesting.
I also acknowledge that the site doesn't yet support HTTPS. I'm getting to it. (If this turns you off, please just ignore the page, rather than harassing me about it.)
Please spread the word about the Web site to others!
By request, here are the most recent additions to the page:
Anatomy Model Puzzle
Clipboard Manager
Cling
CMap Tools
CotEditor
CustomShortcuts
FamilyTreeBuilder
FoxIt PDF Reader
FreeFileSync
Freescaler
Gramps
iFan
LocalSend
Loop
Logseq
MacPass
Macsyzones
Manager
Mist
MuCommander
Muscles Puzzle
NoCal
Obsidian
PDFGear
Pearcleaner
Pinta
Quick Family Tree
Tayasui Sketches
Xapp
Zettlr
__________________________________________________
Randy B. Singer
Co-author of The Macintosh Bible (4th, 5th, and 6th editions)
Essential But Hard To Find Macintosh Software and Advice
__________________________________________________
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Mac Mini M4 Storage Upgrade
Just in case anyone is interested in updating the storage in a Mac Mini M4, I have completed the installation in two machines that I wrote about earlier. ?
The first SSD drive I bought from expandmacmini.com. ?I received it about a month and a half after placing my order. ?I kept running into a problem trying to do the DRU Restore, getting an error message each time. I tried connecting the MM M4 to three different Mac M computers, changing cables, and finally solved the problem by reseating the SSD. ?However, my really bad experience was that I wrote Expand Mac Mini several emails asking for help or advice during this time and have yet to receive a response. ?
The second SSD I purchased for my wife's MM M4 was from Amazon. ?It was delivered much quicker than Expand Mac Mini. However, there was someone else's ID and password on it after doing the Restore and booting it up. ?Obviously it had been used prior to shipping. A second Restore fixed the issue. This made no sense to me and I think God intervened after all of our prayers. ?
My experience with the procedure is that it is a simple upgrade to swap the original SSD with a new larger SSD. I went from 256GB in each Mac to 1TB in one and 2TB in the other Mac Mini. All this for MUCH less than Apple charges.?
?
Cordially,?
Jim Willett
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Re: iPadOS 18 Control Panel’s Sound Control Icon
The Hearing widget is used to view the status of hearing devices and to adjust their settings.??I've attached a screenshot of what that looks like on my iPad Air 4.??In that widget, the volume control is for the HA's speaker, not the iPad's volume.
On my iPad Air 4, I've found the battery level to be very inaccurate with my HA's replaceable batteries.??I suspect it would be more accurate with rechargeable batteries, but I can't verify that.
Background Sounds can be used to have a calming background sound.??It doesn't just apply to HAs.???Apple added that for several reasons, such as helping people concentrate, meditate, or calm down.??Some people have tinnitus, which can sound louder when there are no background sounds, so this option could help those folks in quiet situations.??I'll also attach a screenshot of the Background Sounds options on my iPad.
With Live Listen??your device becomes a remote microphone to your MFI HA's or AirPods.??It could be very useful in noisy situations. ?It's not meant for spying on anyone.
You can also find a list of compatible devices beneath that MFI (Made for iPhones) hearing aid list.??While my iPad and iPhone 13 Pro are in the device list, my Intel 2019 MacBook Pro is not.??
Another factor can be whether your HAs can simultaneously connect to multiple devices.??Mine, Oticon's Real, can only connect to one device at a time, so I leave them connected to the device I use the most (iPad).??It would be a pain to continuously disconnect/reconnect HA's, especially due to sometimes having to reboot to get them to connect.??I'm planning on getting a 13" MacBook Air, which according to that list, will be compatible with my HA's.??But I will still have the single device connection problem, so I'll still leave my HAs connected to my iPad.
I realize this is a bit late, but for others who may be reading this, always ask your HA provider about device compatibility.??
I sometimes listen to the Doctor Cliff, AuD YouTube channel.??The following video discusses the use of HA neural networks, as well as other HA advancements,
Another recent advancement is Bluetooth LE (Low Energy) Audio, which extends HA battery life.??Both the HAs, and the device to which they are connected, must support LE audio, or your device's regular Bluetooth will be used.??Here is a video on that technology:
Hearing Aid Bluetooth LE Audio
I hope that wasn't too long!  
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On Apr 18, 2025, at 6:12?PM, jimrobertson via groups.io <jimrobertson@...> wrote:
And, I’ll revise my own report, because my M3 MacBook Pro, still running Sonoma 14.7.5, because, well, I used to LIVE in Sonoma County, now shows an ear in my MenuBar just to the left of the headphones icon that designates my HAs. As best I can tell, the “ear” icon is supposed to make selections of sound parameters for MFi (“Made for iPhone”) hearing aids. The “Headphones” icon to its right allows me to select the sound output source, and that icon changes with the output device chosen; e.g., default, TVs, AirPods, HomePods, Apple TVs, as well as designate the output and input sources separately and adjust the volume. If I click on the “ear” icon, the two dropdown items are “Background Sounds” (I have NO idea why I’d want to activate one of those given that I can’t hear normally even without those additional synthesized sounds being pumped into my hearing aids.
Another thing I learned just now is that my Phonak-manufactured but Costco-marketed “Kirkland Signature 10” rechargeable hearing aids are NOT on Apple’s list of “Made for iPhone” hearing aids, although earlier KS-branded hearing aids ARE, whereas NO “Phonak” nor “Sonova” (parent company) devices are listed. So when I bring up the dialog by clicking on the “ear” icon, a dialog box opens and says it’s “searching” for appropriate devices once I make a choice from Settings: Accessibility Settings, but finds none. Makes me wonder why the ear shows up at all in the Menu Bar. Does that happen for the very rare Gen Z individual who’s not already cooked his cochleas?
But, since you wear HAs, I have another question for you. There’s been lots of buzz recently on hearing impairment websites about AI processing chips in newest models from several different manufacturers that supposedly improve speech discrimination. I’ve not sampled any of them, and I wonder if you or any any other list members have done so and can report on your own experiences.
--
Bev in TX
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Re: iPadOS 18 Control Panel’s Sound Control Icon
On Apr 18, 2025, at 1:11?PM, Bev in TX via groups.io <countryone77@...> wrote:
It's back! ?This week I applied the iPadOS 18.4 update and discovered that, when I'm wearing my HAs, Control Center's sound icon is finally back to an ear wearing a hearing aid. ?I've attached a picture.
And, I’ll revise my own report, because my M3 MacBook Pro, still running Sonoma 14.7.5, because, well, I used to LIVE in Sonoma County, now shows an ear in my MenuBar just to the left of the headphones icon that designates my HAs. As best I can tell, the “ear” icon is supposed to make selections of sound parameters for MFi (“Made for iPhone”) hearing aids. The “Headphones” icon to its right allows me to select the sound output source, and that icon changes with the output device chosen; e.g., default, TVs, AirPods, HomePods, Apple TVs, as well as designate the output and input sources separately and adjust the volume. If I click on the “ear” icon, the two dropdown items are “Background Sounds” (I have NO idea why I’d want to activate one of those given that I can’t hear normally even without those additional synthesized sounds being pumped into my hearing aids.
Another thing I learned just now is that my Phonak-manufactured but Costco-marketed “Kirkland Signature 10” rechargeable hearing aids are NOT on Apple’s list of “Made for iPhone” hearing aids, although earlier KS-branded hearing aids ARE, whereas NO “Phonak” nor “Sonova” (parent company) devices are listed. So when I bring up the dialog by clicking on the “ear” icon, a dialog box opens and says it’s “searching” for appropriate devices once I make a choice from Settings: Accessibility Settings, but finds none. Makes me wonder why the ear shows up at all in the Menu Bar. Does that happen for the very rare Gen Z individual who’s not already cooked his cochleas?
But, since you wear HAs, I have another question for you. There’s been lots of buzz recently on hearing impairment websites about AI processing chips in newest models from several different manufacturers that supposedly improve speech discrimination. I’ve not sampled any of them, and I wonder if you or any any other list members have done so and can report on your own experiences.
--?
Jim Robertson
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Re: iPadOS 18 Control Panel’s Sound Control Icon
I call that knowing your audience. Eye candy for the kids and assistive software for those who need it.
Brent ?
On my late 2012 Mac mini running 10.15.7?
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It's back! ?This week I applied the iPadOS 18.4 update and discovered that, when I'm wearing my HAs, Control Center's sound icon is finally back to an ear wearing a hearing aid. ?I've attached a picture.
--
Bev in TX
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Re: iPadOS 18 Control Panel’s Sound Control Icon
It's back! ?This week I applied the iPadOS 18.4 update and discovered that, when I'm wearing my HAs, Control Center's sound icon is finally back to an ear wearing a hearing aid. ?I've attached a picture.
--
Bev in TX
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Quicktime and Photos have a trim function that should work with a .mov file. ?
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Quicktime can do this for you.?
Open the file. Go to >Edit>Trim. Use the yellow sliders on each end to drag and highlight the section you want. Hit the “Trim” button in the lower right. This removes the section outside the brackets. This does NOT modify the original. This is a copy. You will see “Untitled” on the title bar. ?
To convert to a standardized format to send to others, select >File>Export as. Pick the resolution you want, probably 1080p. The codec should default to h264, which is what you want. Save the trimmed export. This is what you would send to someone else.
When you close the clip in Quicktime, it will give you a Save dialog because you Exported but didn’t Save. The original Trimmed clip is still in its original format. If you want a “master” version of your trimmed file, then name and save the trimmed file. When you “Save” the new file is trimmed but NOT converted from its original format. Very useful for trimming a master without converting. QTs export options are quite limited. You might want your 4k file to stay 4k! If you do not want to Save the master version of the Trim, then you can select “Delete” in the Save dialog. Again, nothing you do in Trim mode will alter your original.
Now the one issue you might run into is that QT exports with the .mov extension, but this is an h264 mpeg internally. If you have any problems with software rejecting the .mov extension, change the extension to .mp4 and software will see it as an mpeg file and open it.
Cheers,
???????????????tod
Tod Hopkins
Video Producer?Editor?Technologist?
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On Apr 16, 2025, at 4:47?PM, Julian Thomas <jt@...> wrote:
I have a .mov file that’s too big to send. I only need about the first 10 sec. ?I need to chop it up.
The “help” for this file type is incomprehensible.
Any ideas?
TIA
Julian Thomas
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I don't edit videos, but you could try this short tutorial:? Learn How To Use iMovie In 5 Minutes
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On Apr 16, 2025, at 3:47?PM, Julian Thomas via groups.io <jt@...> wrote:
I have a .mov file that’s too big to send. I only need about the first 10 sec. ?I need to chop it up.
The “help” for this file type is incomprehensible.
Any ideas?
--
Bev in TX
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I have a .mov file that’s too big to send. I only need about the first 10 sec. I need to chop it up.
The “help” for this file type is incomprehensible.
Any ideas?
TIA
Julian Thomas
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Re: Rescuing a Strava Activity recorded on Apple Watch
On Apr 15, 2025, at 6:46?PM, jimrobertson via groups.io <jimrobertson@...> wrote:
When I got home, I recharged my watch and discovered that it had stopped recording about 60% of the way through, so I clicked “finish” and then “save” on the watch, but it didn’t get transferred to either the phone or to my laptop.
Does anyone know if that session is stored anywhere on the watch itself, and how I I might retrieve it?
I’ll answer my own question. Yes, completed activities ARE stored on the watch, AND a notation shows whether or not the activity has been synced to other devices. I typically use the Strava app because my favorite activity is road cycling (to my wife’s utter dismay given my propensity for crashing or being hit by cars).
So, this morning I was able to return to the Strava app on my watch, FIND that activity that was NOT synced because the watch battery died, and sync it manually, Not only that, but the Strava website in the macOS version of Safari allows one to “crop” an activity. That enabled me to eliminate the brief portion of my walk BACK to my start point that the watch recorded before pooping out ?(at the turnaround point, I’d begun recording directly on my iPhone, not knowing whether the two recording sources would maintain separate records (they do), then “crop” the brief bit of recording the watch had done after my turnaround before doing its (unannounced)? C3PO imitation before shutting down completely. _______________ ?That’s not completely fair to the watch. It DID warn me when the charge level fell to 10%, 7%, and then at least one more time before turning off completely. If the Apple Watch Ultra weren’t so ugly compared to the standard versions, it’s FAR superior battery life would inform my next watch purchase decision.
--?
Jim Robertson
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Rescuing a Strava Activity recorded on Apple Watch
I use my Apple watch to track sleep stages at night, and this morning I forgot to put it on the charger before going out for a 5 mile walk/climb. The watch started with barely a 10% charge on its battery, and it shut down a bit over 1/2 of my way through the walk. I had my phone with me, so at that turn-around point, I started another activity on my iPhone, which worked fine.
When I got home, I recharged my watch and discovered that it had stopped recording about 60% of the way through, so I clicked “finish” and then “save” on the watch, but it didn’t get transferred to either the phone or to my laptop.
Does anyone know if that session is stored anywhere on the watch itself, and how I I might retrieve it?
--?
Jim Robertson
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todhop
Brent
