Tech Grandad Case Studies

Phil bought a new printer but the setup instructions were confusing and inconsistent. I used the phone app and laptop settings to complete the setup so everything printed and scanned correctly. It was obvious the manufacture expected you connect the new printer using a smart phone. This was foreign to Phil. I downloaded the appropriate app to his phone and went through the process, which was detailed but challenging. Instructions came up on the screen on the printer and the phone that were inconsistent. Eventually after two or three attempts (where we got further each time) we were asked for the Wi-Fi password. This is when I knew we were nearly there. Once connected to the Wi-Fi, the new printer could be seen on his laptop, but did not print. After further investigation, it found it was not clearly listed as a printer, but was listed as a scanning device. He had bought a multifunction printer. The scanner had connected but not the printer. I simply added again as a new printer using the PC settings. Now, are all connected and work perfectly. A simple job for me but a challenge for many people.

When Wendy upgraded her iPhone, 8 months of photos didn’t transfer. I found the cause and restored all her photos back to 2021, giving her peace of mind that nothing was lost. Wendy had an iPhone 4 and bought an iPhone 11. She went through the Apple new iPhone initiation process and following the iPhone prompts everything seemed to transfer correctly from the old phone to the new. After 4 months, she noticed that all the photos from August 2024 to April 2025 were missing. Older photos back to 2021 were all there. New photos from May 2025 onward were happily stored on her new phone. My challenge was to see if I could find the missing 8 months of photos. This took some analysis but I worked out what had gone wrong and sorted it out. An hour after being presented with the problem, Wendy had all her photos restored to her new phone. All the way back from today to 2021

Elizabeth’s new broadband and Wi-Fi looked correctly connected, but still had no internet. After checking everything, we discovered the provider had mixed up router details between two units — a simple but frustrating issue resolved with a technician. Elizabeth had moved into a retirement village and had broadband installed into her unit. She went through all the setup procedures, but it still did not work properly. There was no Internet connection. She called me in, and I went through the setup procedures again. While we could connect everything using Wi-Fi, there was no outside Internet connection. I checked and double checked everything and was confident the problem was the new router which had just been installed and tested by a technician. We called in a technician on the basis that if it was our fault, we would pay the $150 callout fee. The result was that the network company had installed two routers into two different retirement village units on the same day and mixed up the paperwork so that the serial numbers and passwords, we were using were the wrong ones. Not technical but a challenge for someone who was convinced the setup was their error and they needed a helping hand to double-check everything.

Marion needed to save her husband’s photos before cancelling his phone plan. I used free tools to safely copy over 3,500 photos and videos to a USB stick and laptop for easy sharing and safe keeping. Marion’s husband unfortunately has dementia and could no longer use his smart phone. She wanted to cancel his phone contract but his phone had all the photos and videos from their trips and family events over the last few years. She did not know where to start. I used some simple free utilities to make this happen and she now has over 3,500 photos and videos on a USB stick and her laptop. They are now saved for future generations and easy to share now and then at family gatherings.

Evan had old 35mm slides of a school event from 1971. I scanned, restored the colour, and printed the photos, allowing former teachers and students to enjoy memories they had forgotten. Evan used to teach at Fendalton School. Recently they celebrated their 150th Anniversary. Evan has some 35mm slides from a Medieval Day that they held in 1971. Knight and Jousters, King and Queens, the court Jester and lots of Ladies-in-Waiting. He wanted to know if they could somehow be scanned and converted to printed photos. I have a fancy scanner and I scanned all the slides and created digital images. As the slides were 54 years old, they were a little faded so I used software to bring out the hue and colour a little more. I then printed them on photo paper. As a result, many teachers and students could see these old photos from 54 years ago which they had all forgotten about.