How to factory reset the Google Pixel 6a

If you are having problems with your Google Pixel 6a and/or want to erase all of its stored data, then you might want to consider performing a factory reset. To learn about the various methods of factory resetting your smartphone, you can take a look at this tutorial from Seeking Tech.

Method #1

The fastest way to factory reset your Pixel 6a is by using its system menus. In order to do so, you need to take the following steps:

1. Start off this process by opening the Settings App on your phone.

2. Inside of the Settings App, you need to scroll down and then head into System.

3. After getting to the System menu, scroll down and then go to Reset options.

4. Once you get to the Reset Options menu, you need to select Erase All Data (Factory Reset).

Method #2

If you can’t access the menus of your Pixel 6a in order to factory reset the phone, then you can try using the Recovery Mode by doing the following:

1. Power off your Google Pixel 6a.

2. With your phone turned completely off, press and hold the power and volume down buttons at the same time for 10 to 15 seconds.

3. You should now be in the text only menu. Here, you need to press the volume down button until you see Recovery Mode.

4. Press the power button to go to the Recovery Mode.

5. In the No Command screen, press and hold the power button.

6. With the power button held down, press the volume up button and then let go of both buttons afterwards.

7. In the Android Recovery menu, use the volume down button to go to Wipe Data/Factory Reset.

8. With the Wipe Data/Factory Reset highlighted, press the power button to confirm your choice.

Method #3

If you have a computer, then you can use the Google Pixel Update and Software Repair. For this tool to work, you will need the Google Chrome web browser as well as being able to connect your Pixel 6a to a USB port of your PC.

If you met these requirements, then you can go to the Google Pixel – Repair and Software Update page and then follow the instructions.

Method #4

If you don’t have access to your phone, then you can also reset it remotely by doing the following:

1. Go to the Google Find My Device Website or Google Find My Device App.

2. Make sure you are signed into the same Google account you have currently logged into your Pixel 6a.

3. If you have multiple Android devices tied to your Google Account, then make sure you select your Pixel 6a.

4. Once the website or app is able to make contact with your smartphone, you then need to select Erase Device.

5. If asked, make sure you sign into your Google Account again to get started on the factory resetting process.

How to fix LinkBuds S audio skips and dropouts

When using your Sony LinkBuds S, the audio may skip or completely dropout. If you are encountering these problems, then you can take a look at this troubleshooting article from Seeking Tech.

1. The sound skipping may be related to a weak Bluetooth signal.

The first step you can try is to make sure you aren’t cover the ear buds with any stickers or clothing as you may end up blocking the Bluetooth antennas.

2 Furthermore, you can try moving the connected device closer to your ear phones as you may be able to get a stronger and more stable wireless connection.

3. Avoid any objects that are in between the ear phones and the connected devices. These may include walls, metals as well as your own body.

4. If you are in an area with a lot of wireless devices, then it may be causing the Bluetooth connection to weaken, which will lead to audio skips and dropouts.

5. You can also try to change the sound quality mode.

In order to do so, make sure you download and install the “Sony | Headphones Connect” app. Afterwards, open the application and then connection your LinkBuds S. Finally, make sure that the sound quality mode is set to Priority on Stable Connection.

6. While you are using the “Sony | Headphones Connect” app, you should also make sure that you disable the Service Link feature as it could be the reason why you are experiencing audio dropouts.

7. If you have multiple apps open on your phone, tablet or computer, then these may be taking up a lot of hardware resources. As a result, there could have been a bottleneck that may be causing audio to not playback smoothly.

In this case, you can either closing the apps or fully restart the connected device.

8. Restarting the connected device will also help refresh its Bluetooth connection as well as close any lingering processes that may have been needlessly take up hardware resources and/or causing conflicts.

9. You can also try putting the ear buds back into the LinkBuds S charging case and closing the top lid. Afterwards, take them back out again to re-establish the Bluetooth connection to see if you are still getting any sound skipping and/or dropouts.

10. If you are using Adaptive Sound Control, then the audio may seemingly skip. According to Sony, this is perfectly normally, as the feature will temporarily pause the audio in order to adjust the noise cancellation function automatically.

If this feature bothers your listening experience, then you can disable it from the “Sony | Headphones Connect” app.

11. The audio skipping could also mean that something could be wrong with the software of your ear phones.

In you believe that this is the case, then you can first try to reset the LinkBuds S. If a regular reset isn’t helpful, then you can try doing a factory reset, which will revert the ear buds back to their default factory settings.

What to do if your INZONE H7 or INZONE H9 is not working

If your Sony INZONE H7 Wireless Gaming Headset or Sony INZONE H9 Wireless Noise Canceling Gaming Headset is not working properly, or at all, then you can take a look at this troubleshooting article from Seeking Tech to see you how can potentially fix this problem.

1. Before doing anything else, you should make sure that your INZONE H7 or INZONE H9 isn’t wet as it could lead to liquid damage.

If it does feel wet, then make sure that you turn off the headset immediately. Afterwards, you should let it dry up at room temperature before you attempt to use it again.

To find out more about how to prevent water damage, as well as how to properly dry these headphones, you can check out this guide.

2. If you try to use the INZONE H7 or INZONE H9 outside of the recommended temperature range, which is from 32 °F to 104 °F (or 0 °C to 40 °C), then you may run into problems.

3. You should also make sure that your wireless gaming headset has been charged before using.

If you are experiencing problems trying to recharge the internal battery of these products, then you can take a look at this post.

4. Furthermore, make sure that you are connecting your headset correctly to the other device.

If you have a PC or PlayStation 5, then you need to plug the USB transceiver into a compatible USB port. Your headset should then be able to connect to the computer of game console automatically when you turn it on.

For Bluetooth devices, you need to first pair the headset to the other device. If you are having problems, trying to do so, then you can check out this article.

5. You should also make sure that you are properly wearing the Sony headset.

The headband should fit snuggly on the top of your head. Furthermore, the ear cups should be completely covering your ears.

6. Physical objects, such as walls and metals, could block the wireless communication between your headset and connected device. As a result, your INZONE H7 or INZONE H9 may not work properly.

7. Other wireless nearby devices could also negatively affect these headsets.

We recommend that you take a look at this guide to see how you can deal with USB transceiver connection issues as well as this post to see how you can potentially fix your Bluetooth connection problems.

8. Resetting the INZONE H7 Wireless Gaming Headset or INZONE H9 Wireless Noise Canceling Gaming Headset may help solve several problems.

You can also do a full factory reset, which will restore all the settings to the original default values, to see if doing so could help with your issues.

You can follow the steps in this tutorial to reset and factory reset these Sony products.

9. There is a possibility that your headset may need to be repaired or replaced if it is suffering from a hardware problem.

If you believe that there is something wrong with the hardware side of your INZONE H7 or INZONE H9, then we recommend that you contact Sony for additional support.

How to fix Alienware AW3423DW color issues

When using the 34” Alienware AW3423DW Curved QD-OLED, you may notice that the colors may look slightly off than what you may be expecting. To see how you can potentially get a more accurate color display for this gaming monitor, you can check out this guide from Seeking Tech.

1. The first step you can take is to make sure that there isn’t anything wrong with your gaming monitor.

In order to do so, you need to use the built-in diagnostic tool, which you can learn more about in this article.

2. If the connected device has a RGB setting, then you might also want to try changing it. This is because that, if the ranges of the monitor and the connected devices do not match, then the colors will most likely end up looking as good as you were expecting.

3. If the connected device has a setting where you can change the HDR brightness levels, then you may want to try to adjust it to see if you can get a better color.

4. Some apps and games may also have customized HDR settings that you might want to adjust as well.

5. If you try to force HDR on non-HDR content, then the colors of the converted image may end up looking worse.

Therefore, you may want to disable automatic HDR or dynamic tone mapping on the device that is connected to your AW3423DW if possible.

6. The 34” Alienware AW3423DW Curved QD-OLED offers two HDR modes. With the HDR Peak 1000, you are able to reach higher brightness levels while HDR 400 True Black is more suitable for darker scenes.

So, if the colors look off in one of these modes, then you might want to switch to the other one.

In order to do so, you can take the following steps:

  • To start off open the on-screen display of the monitor by moving or pressing down on the analog stick of the AW3423DW.
  • From the on-screen display, you need to select the Menu option.
  • After getting to the Menu, you need to select Game.
  • Next, you need to go to HDR Mode.
  • Finally, change the HDR Mode.

7. You can also try adjusting the colors on your gaming monitor by doing the following:

  • Move or press down on the analog stick to head into the on-screen display.
  • With the on-screen display opened, go to Menu.
  • From the Menu, you need to select Game.
  • On the same screen, you then need to select Preset Modes.
  • In this menu, you can select the color presets based on the game genre you are playing. The available options are FPS, MOBA/RTS, RPG, Sports, Warm and Cool.
  • From the same menu, you can also manually adjust the colors by selecting the Custom Color option. Furthermore, you can use the Creator option if you have HDR disabled on the monitor.

How to fix LinkBuds S Bluetooth connection issues

The Sony LinkBuds S uses Bluetooth in order to connect to other devices wirelessly. If you are having problems connecting, or keeping the connection stable, then you can take a look at this troubleshooting article from Seeking Tech.

1. The first step you can take is to make sure that you have the Bluetooth connection enabled for the device you are trying to connect with your LinkBuds S.

2. If the Bluetooth connection was turned on for the other device, then you can try restarting the other device.

A reset will help refresh the Bluetooth connection in addition to closing any apps and clearing processes that may have been causing conflicts.

3. There is a possibility that the ear phones may have been connected to a different device. For the uninformed, the Sony LinkBuds S will connect to the last Bluetooth device it was previously connected to.

If it is connected to a different device, then you need to disable the Bluetooth connection from the different device in order to connect the ear buds to a new device.

4. You should also try moving the LinkBuds S, as the device that you are trying to connect the ear phones to, closer together in order to get a stronger wireless connection.

5. When repositioning, avoid any physical objects, such as walls and metals, that may block the direct line of sight in between the ear phones and the other device.

6. Bluetooth and other wireless devices may also cause interference. Therefore, you may want to turn off the other wireless devices or move to a different room.

7. If the device you are trying to connect your Sony LinkBuds S has been put in to sleep mode or rest mode, then its Bluetooth connection may be turned off.

In this case, you can simply wake the device in order to re-connect your ear buds.

8. Check to see if your ear phones are actually turned on.

If you have having problems trying to power on the LinkBuds S, then we recommend that you take a look at this post.

9. Before you can connect your ear buds, you first need to pair it with the device.

If you can’t seem to get the pairing process working correctly, then you can check out this troubleshooting article.

10. You can also try putting the ear phones back into the charging case. Make sure that the are properly inserted into their designated positions. Afterwards, close the lid of the case.

You can then open the lid of the charging case and take out the ear phones to see if you can re-establish the Bluetooth connection.

11. Resetting or factory resetting the Sony LinkBuds S may also help fix the Bluetooth issues. For the latter option, you will be restoring your ear buds to the factory default settings.

To learn more about how you can reset and factory reset this product, you can check out this link.

If you still can’t get a stable Bluetooth connection after trying all of the aforementioned potential solutions, then you can try contacting Sony to get additional support.

How to fix PC and PS5 pairing issues with the INZONE H7 and INZONE H9

The INZONE H7 Wireless Gaming Headset and INZONE H9 Wireless Noise Canceling Gaming Headset are made specifically for the PC and PlayStation 5. In order to connect to these platforms wirelessly, you first need to go through the pairing process.

If you can’t seem to get your headset to pair correctly to your PC or PlayStation 5, then you can take a look at this troubleshooting article from Seeking Tech.

1. To start off, make sure that you have the USB transceiver of the INZONE H7 or INZONE H9 properly plugged into one of the USB ports of your PC, PlayStation 5 or PlayStation 5 Digital Edition system. Otherwise, you won’t be able to pair your gaming headset at all.

2. If possible, try to plug the USB transceiver on the front facing side of your computer or PS5. If you don’t, then the wireless signal will have to go through the PC or console in order to reach your headset, which will weaken the communication and potentially cause pairing problems.

3. You should also avoid having any other physical objects that may block the direct line of sight between your headset and the PC or PlayStation 5.

4. Avoid having other wireless devices nearby when you are trying to pair your INZONE H7 or INZONE H9. The wireless signals from the other devices may cause interference.

5. For pairing, try to move the wireless gaming headset within 3 feet or 1 meter of the USB transceiver as that is the optimal distance.

6. You should also make sure that you are following the pairing procedure correctly by doing the following:

  • Plug the USB transceiver to your PC or PS5.
  • Turn on your computer of PlayStation 5.
  • Press and hold the connect button on the USB transceiver for at least 5 seconds.
  • If done correctly, you should see the indicator of the USB transceiver repeatedly flashes a white light twice.
  • Next, turn on your INZONE H7 or INZONE H9 to start the pairing process.
  • When the pairing process is done, you should hear a notification sound played from the headset as well as see the indicator of the USB transceiver show a solid white light.

7. If you still can get the INZONE H7 or INZONE H9 to pair, then you can try unplugging the USB transceiver and then plug it back in again.

8. You can also try using a different USB port if there is another one available.

9. If you have multiple apps open on your PC, then you can try closing the apps to see if doing so will get rid of the pairing issues.

10. Restarting your computer or PlayStation 5 may help fix the pairing problems as well.

11. It is a good idea that you keep the firmware versions of your headset, PC and PS5 up to date as the latest updates may help improve the pairing process.

12. Resetting or factory resetting the INZONE H7 Wireless Gaming Headset and INZONE H9 Wireless Noise Canceling Gaming Headset may help fix the pairing errors as well.

How to fix LinkBuds S pairing issues

Before being able to connect the Sony LinkBuds S to another device, you first need to pair the two together. If you are having problems with the pairing process, then you can take a look at this troubleshooting article at Seeking Tech.

1. To start off, make sure you have the Bluetooth connection turned on for the other device.

For the uninformed, the wireless ear phones of the LinkBuds S use Bluetooth version 5.2. It also supports the following Bluetooth profiles:

  • A2DP
  • AVRCP
  • HFP
  • HSP

2. You should also make sure that the ear phones and the other devices aren’t too far away from each other. According to Sony, the distance should be no more than 3 feet (or 1 meter).

3. Make sure that there aren’t any other wireless devices nearby as these may interfere with the pairing process.

If there are, then you can try either turning off the other devices or moving to another area.

4. You should also make sure that there aren’t any physical objects that are in between the direct line of sight of the ear phones and the device you are trying to pair them to.

5. Keep in mind that the ear phones will automatically be put in to pairing mode when you take them out of the charging case for the first time or after you factory reset them.

In you want to send the ear buds into pairing mode for a subsequent device, then you need to put them back into their designated positions in the charging case. Afterwards, you need to press and hold the pairing button on the case for at least 5 seconds to go into pairing mode.

6. If you still can’t pair the Sony LinkBuds S, then you can try to make sure that the ear buds are properly fitted in to their positions in the charging case.

7. If you try to pair the ear phones to the same device as before, then it may not work.

In this case, you need to delete or forget the original pairing information before starting the new pairing process.

8. You can also try restarting the other device as doing so will refresh its Bluetooth connection as well as potentially clear up any apps or processes that may have been conflicting with the pairing procedure.

9. Furthermore, you can try plugging the charging case into a power source to make sure that your ear phones have enough battery life to go through with being paired to a device.

10. Resetting the ear buds may also help fix your problems.

If a normal reset does not seem to be working, then you may also consider doing a factory reset, which will restore the ear phones to its original factory default settings.

You can take a look at this previous article to see how you can reset and factory reset your LinkBuds S.

If none of the aforementioned steps help with fixing the pairing errors, then we suggest contacting Sony to get additional help.

How to fix Pixel 6a ‘unplug charger’ or ‘Liquid or debris in USB port’ issues

When trying to recharge your Google Pixel 6a, you may get an “unplug charger” or “Liquid or debris in USB port” error message that shows up on the screen. To see how you can fix these issues, you can take a look at this troubleshooting article from Seeking Tech.

1. The first step you should take is to unplug the USB charging cable from Pixel 6a.

Afterwards, inspect the USB-C port of your smartphone and the USB cable to see if there is any potential damage, debris and/or wetness.

2. If there is debris in the USB-C port of your Pixel 6a, then you can try using a thin pin or other similarly shaped object to carefully remove it.

If the USB-C port appears to be wet, then we recommend gently shaking the phone and tapping near the USB-C port in order to drip out any excess water. Afterwards, wait for the USB-C to completely air dry at room temperature before you try recharging it again.

To learn more about how you can prevent liquid damage for this phone model, you can check out this post.

3. If the USB cable appears to have some sort of debris stuck inside, then you can try using a small pin to remove the obstruction.

If the USB cable seems to be wet, then you should wait until it dries up a room temperature.

4. If the USB-C port of your Pixel 6a appears to be damaged, then you need to contact Google in order to get it repair.

5. If the USB charging cable appears to be damaged, then you can contact its manufacturer about getting it repair. Alternatively, you can try a different USB-C cable.

6. The “unplug charger” or “Liquid or debris in USB port” error message may be the result of an overheating Google Pixel 6a.

If you phone feels hot, then we suggest that you turn off its screen and then let it cool down. Once it has dropped in temperature, you can try plugging the USB cable back into the USB-C port.

To find out more about how you can properly cool down an overheating Pixel 6a, you can take a look at this guide.

7. If the USB-C port and USB cable appears to be fine, then you can try waiting for a few minutes to see if the “unplug charger” or “Liquid or debris in USB port” error message go away on its own.

If you are still getting the same errors after trying all of the aforementioned potential solutions, then we recommend that you contact Google to get additional support.

How to fix Alienware AW3423DW HDR brightness issues

The 34” Alienware AW3423DW Curved QD-OLED features two HDR modes as you can use HDR Peak 1000 or HDR 400 True Black. If the image shown on the screen appears to be too dark or too bright, then you can check out this troubleshooting article from Seeking Tech to see how you can get a more accurate high dynamic range picture.

1. The first step you can take is to adjust the Brightness and Contrast settings of the AW3423DW by taking the following steps:

  • Open the on-screen display (OSD) of your monitor by moving or pressing down on the joystick located below the screen.
  • Next, you need to select Menu.
  • From the Brightness/Contrast.
  • Adjust the Brightness first before trying to adjust the Contrast.

2. You can also adjust the Dark Stabilizer setting by doing the following:

  • Open the OSD of the AW3423DW by pressing down or moving its joystick.
  • From the OSD, head to Menu.
  • You should then select Game.
  • Change the Dark Stabilizer setting to a different value and then test to see if the brightness level of your monitor is more accurate.

3. On your computer, laptop, game system or other connected device, you can try adjust the HDR brightness levels as well.

4. On the connected device, you may also want to disable any settings that will convert SDR to HDR. This conversion, which could be called Auto HDR or Tone Mapping, could lead to the display image looking brighter or darker than what you may have expected.

5. If possible, you can also try adjusting the RGB Range of the connected device as there may be a mismatch with your monitor.

6. HDR Peak 1000 is best used for brighter content while the HDR 400 True Black is better for darker content.

If you are using the HDR Peak 1000 mode on a SDR content or content that does not require a lot of brightness, for example, then the resulting image may end up looking darker than the HDR 400 True Black mode.

On the other hand, using the HDR 400 True Black mode on brighter content may lead to a darker than expected image.

In order to switch HDR modes with this gaming monitor, you need to do the following:

  • Move or press down on the joystick of your Alienware AW3423DW to open the OSD.
  • From there, select Menu.
  • Inside of Menu, you need to select Game.
  • You then need to select HDR Mode.

7. If possible, you can also try adjust the HDR brightness settings on the game or app you are using for the HDR content.

8. Even if a content supports HDR, it may be implemented poorly. So, no matter what settings you adjust on your monitor or connected device, the picture may end up looking too dark or too bright.

If HDR from other content looks great, then your issue may be related to the poor HDR implementation from the content creator. In this appears to be case, you can’t really do anything to improve the HDR picture.

How to fix distorted and low-quality sound issues with Sony LinkBuds S

When using your Sony LinkBuds S to listen to audio, you may experience distorted sound output. The audio quality may also be lower than what you expected.

To see how you can fix these sound output issues, you can take a look at this troubleshooting article from Seeking Tech.

1. The first step we recommend taking is to make sure that the ear tips and ear buds are clean.

If these parts appear to be dirty, then we recommend that you check out this tutorial to see how you can properly clean the LinkBuds S.

2. While the ear phones are protected against light water splashes, more significant exposures to liquid may end up distorting the sound output. So, if the device gets wet, we recommend that you avoid using it until it is completely dry again.

To find out more about how you can deal with liquid damage for the Sony LinkBuds S, you can check out this guide.

3. Next, you need to make sure that you are wearing the ear phones properly. You need to put the ear bud tips as deep as possible into your ear canal without feeling any discomfort.

4. You can also try changing the ear bud tips to see if you can get rid of the distortion and/or getting better sound output quality.

Keep in mind that the left or right ear bud tips do not need to be the same size. You just have to make sure they are as comfortable as possible to wear on your left and right ears.

5. If you only get poor sound quality right after you connect your ear phones to a computer, laptop, smartphone, tablet or another device, then it may due to the connected device prioritizing a stable connection instead of sound output quality.

In this case, you can simply wait for a few seconds to see if the audio quality improves on its own.

6. If the sound output is still not optimal, then you can try switching the Bluetooth connection to A2DP on the device that is connected to your LinkBuds S.

In order to do so, you need to look at the usual manual of the connected device.

7. The media you are playing may exhibit distorting and/or bad sound output if the volume gets too loud. Therefore, you can try turning down the volume to see if doing so will fix your issue.

8. The media you are playing could also have distorted and/or low-quality audio. In this case, you can try playing a different type of media to see if you can get better sound output.

9. If you are near a device that is emitting ultrasonic sound waves, then it may cause sound distortion on your LinkBuds S.

In this case, you can either move away from the ultrasonic device or disable the Noise Cancellation/ Ambient Sound Mode feature by using the official “Sony | Headphones Connect” app.

If none of the aforementioned steps help with fixing the sound output of your ear phones, then we recommend contacting Sony for additional help.