# Is there an online community for help with electronic devices? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 19, 2019, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-online-community-for-help-with-electronic-devices/835772 "2019-06-19T23:51:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2019, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-online-community-for-help-with-electronic-devices/835772/1 "2019-06-19T23:51:21Z")
(apologies in advance for spelling mistakes, i’m a bit sleep deprived) I need help with advice about/help finding specific items and neither the Staright Dope nor the salespeople at Best Buy were able to help me, and google is so stupid i want to dropkick it. or maybe i’m just so tired i’m feeling genrally homocidal towards everything but i still think Google is being stupid. I can’t even look for electronics-related message boards because \*&^%$ing google thinks i’m talking about electronic devices called message baords. Please advise. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2019, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-online-community-for-help-with-electronic-devices/835772/2 "2019-06-20T00:01:50Z")
Reddit has thousands of specialized sub-reddits (message boards) on all kinds of topics: > **[reddit](https://www.reddit.com/)** > > Reddit is a network of communities where people can dive into their interests, hobbies and passions. There's a community for whatever you're interested in on Reddit. You need to be more specific to get more accurate advice. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2019, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-online-community-for-help-with-electronic-devices/835772/3 "2019-06-20T03:17:24Z")
What is it you need help with? I didn’t see any recent posts. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2019, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-online-community-for-help-with-electronic-devices/835772/4 "2019-06-20T04:10:29Z")
“Electronic-related message boards.” That is so broad as to be useless. Do you need help with an Android phone, or a home sound system, or an electric boat motor? What is it you are looking for? ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2019, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-online-community-for-help-with-electronic-devices/835772/5 "2019-06-20T10:57:29Z")
Try a search for “electronics forum” [This](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/) is one that looks useful ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2019, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-online-community-for-help-with-electronic-devices/835772/6 "2019-06-20T14:15:46Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > “Electronic-related message boards.” > > That is so broad as to be useless. Do you need help with an Android phone, or a home sound system, or an electric boat motor? What is it you are looking for? Okay, I’ll bite. I am in serious need of help with an android phone. I have taken a number of photos that I want to get onto my computer and cannot see how to do it. Where do I go for help for that and many other things on the phone. For example, the last time I tried to take a photo, it showed only my face for a selfie. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2019, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-online-community-for-help-with-electronic-devices/835772/7 "2019-06-20T14:26:57Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > Okay, I’ll bite. I am in serious need of help with an android phone. I have taken a number of photos that I want to get onto my computer and cannot see how to do it. 1.) Plug the phone into your cimputer via USB, drag and drop the photos over from your computer’s file manager. 2.) E-mail them to yourself. 3.) Upload them to a cloud drive. 4.) Copy them from the phone to a MicroSd card, put MicroSD card in your computer. > [@](#): > > Where do I go for help for that and many other things on the phone. For example, the last time I tried to take a photo, it showed only my face for a selfie. Press the button for switching cameras. The button will likely have some form of curved arrows on it to indicate switching. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2019, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-online-community-for-help-with-electronic-devices/835772/8 "2019-06-20T14:29:46Z")
What’s the model of your cellphone? Every phone I’ve owned in the last decade has come with a charger cord where the plug part is removable and reveals a USB plug. Stick it in your computer’s USB slot and your phone will appear as an external device. Drill down to where your photos are stored and copy or move them to your computer. Most phones have a frontfacing camera and a backfacing camera. You were on the front camera. There should be an icon that looks [vaguely like a camera with arrows rotating around it](https://www.google.com/search?q=phone+camera+switch+icon&tbm=isch). Press that to switch your camera view. ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2019, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-online-community-for-help-with-electronic-devices/835772/9 "2019-06-20T14:49:09Z")
Search you tube for these kinds of basic questions. I find them to be very helpful because you can see the icons and instead of resorting to clumsy verbal descriptions “vaguely like a camera with arrows rotating around it.” Plus they tend to go through all the steps that get glossed over on message boards. [https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=how+to+get+photos+off+android+phone#kpvalbx=1](https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=how+to+get+photos+off+android+phone#kpvalbx=1) ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2019, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-online-community-for-help-with-electronic-devices/835772/10 "2019-06-20T15:00:32Z")
Electronics can mean a LOT of things. Well-crafted Google searches usually produce the best results. Here are tips on constructing better Google searches: [20 Google Search Tips to Use Google More Efficiently - LifeHack](https://www.lifehack.org/articles/technology/20-tips-use-google-search-efficiently.html) As far as general forums, I often see useful stuff from: > **[Tom's Guide Forum](https://forums.tomsguide.com)** > > Make purchases with confidence, save time when problems arise, and discover everything you need to know with the Tom's Guide Community. > **[Hot Questions - Stack Exchange](https://stackexchange.com/)** > > We make Stack Overflow and 170+ other community-powered Q&A sites. > **[Forum list](https://www.avforums.com/forums/)** > > Home Entertainment resource for home cinema, movies, games and gadgets news, reviews, articles and forums > **[reddit](https://www.reddit.com/)** > > Reddit is a network of communities where people can dive into their interests, hobbies and passions. There's a community for whatever you're interested in on Reddit. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2019, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-online-community-for-help-with-electronic-devices/835772/11 "2019-06-20T15:03:24Z")
> [@gazpacho](#): > > I find them to be very helpful because you can see the icons and instead of resorting to clumsy verbal descriptions “vaguely like a camera with arrows rotating around it.” [URL=“[how to get photos off android phone - Google Search](https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=how+to+get+photos+off+android+phone#kpvalbx=1)”] Except that the icon will look different on different phones, different OS versions, and different camera apps. What the vague description is doing is indicating a commonality among diverse choices. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2019, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-online-community-for-help-with-electronic-devices/835772/12 "2019-06-20T15:05:56Z")
I mean, I also linked to a google image search of said icon. I’m not sure other than knowing specifically which model phone Hari has one can indicate more clearly what the icon looks like. ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2019, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-online-community-for-help-with-electronic-devices/835772/13 "2019-06-20T15:13:01Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > I mean, I also linked to a google image search of said icon. I’m not sure other than knowing specifically which model phone Hari has one can indicate more clearly what the icon looks like. It wasn’t meant as a criticism of you. It is pointing out the limitations of a text based message board. Message boards where you can’t post images make for poor places to get instructions. You tube is great for this because it shows all the steps. I would say that for basic how to questions it is the community that the OP wants. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2019, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-online-community-for-help-with-electronic-devices/835772/14 "2019-06-20T15:19:21Z")
[Here](https://imgur.com/a/DFeClRl) is what the camera switch icon looks like in 4 camera apps I have installed right now. The third one is the built-in Android phone–for my particular release of Android. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2019, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-online-community-for-help-with-electronic-devices/835772/15 "2019-06-20T17:02:34Z")
Okay, sorry for the incoherent OP. As I said, I was more than a bit sleep deprived. Let me rephrase my rambling better: where’s a good place to get advice on alarm clocks? ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2019, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-online-community-for-help-with-electronic-devices/835772/16 "2019-06-20T19:04:58Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > 1.) Plug the phone into your cimputer via USB, drag and drop the photos over from your computer’s file manager. Note that the phone probably has to not be locked when connecting like this. It’s usually as simple as getting past the lock screen. Then, there’s probably a folder called Camera. Double click it. The media file are probably inside another folder called DCIM. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2019, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-online-community-for-help-with-electronic-devices/835772/17 "2019-06-20T19:39:53Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > 1.) Plug the phone into your cimputer via USB, drag and drop the photos over from your computer’s file manager. > > 2.) E-mail them to yourself. > > 3.) Upload them to a cloud drive. > 4.) Copy them from the phone to a MicroSd card, put MicroSD card in your computer. > > Press the button for switching cameras. The button will likely have some form of curved arrows on it to indicate switching. I tried 1. The computer recognized a new device called moto e5 play (it is a Motorola, so that sounds right), but when I brought up the file manager and clicked on moto e5 play, it said, “This folder is empty”. Now what? 1. I tried emailing them to my wife. She received a link, but it was a dead link. 2. How do I do that? And how do I get them back from the cloud. 3. As far as I can tell, it has no micro SD card. I will look for the switching icon the next time it comes up. And how do I get a list of icons and what they mean? The whole thing is so frustrating. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2019, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-online-community-for-help-with-electronic-devices/835772/18 "2019-06-20T19:45:55Z")
Reddit is such a vast ecosystem that you need a guide to find what you want there. For the OP, you might want to try /r/helpmefind[https://www.reddit.com/r/HelpMeFind/](https://www.reddit.com/r/HelpMeFind/). This is probably the best place to start, and it’s a large community, so they may be able to point to a different reddit for even better info. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2019, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-online-community-for-help-with-electronic-devices/835772/19 "2019-06-20T20:10:29Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > I tried 1. The computer recognized a new device called moto e5 play (it is a Motorola, so that sounds right), but when I brought up the file manager and clicked on moto e5 play, it said, “This folder is empty”. Now what? > > 1. I tried emailing them to my wife. She received a link, but it was a dead link. Email them as an attachment, not a link. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2019, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-online-community-for-help-with-electronic-devices/835772/20 "2019-06-20T20:20:43Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > I tried 1. The computer recognized a new device called moto e5 play (it is a Motorola, so that sounds right), but when I brought up the file manager and clicked on moto e5 play, it said, “This folder is empty”. Now what? Try the method outlined [here.](https://www.verizonwireless.com/support/knowledge-base-217353/) > [@](#): > > I will look for the switching icon the next time it comes up. And how do I get a list of icons and what they mean? [Here is the user guide for the moto e5 play.](https://motorola-global-portal.custhelp.com/ci/fattach/get/3571364/1529684913/redirect/1/filename/moto%20e5%20play_UG_TMobile_en-US_SSC8C29414B.pdf) Pg. 17 shows you the various camera icons and what they mean. The icon to flip cameras looks like [this.](https://cdn4.iconfinder.com/data/icons/devices-24/64/camera_rotate-512.png) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-online-community-for-help-with-electronic-devices/835772.md?page=2)