How to make your old tablet last longer

There’s no need to upgrade your tablet with every new release. Wayne Williams shows how to extend the life of an old tablet

Every year, tech manufacturers like Apple and Samsung release shiny new tablets to tempt us to upgrade, but there’s often no need to ditch your old model for a fancy new device. An iPad you bought years ago will run the same apps as today’s hardware, and may even run iOS 10, the latest version of Apple’s mobile operating system. Some older, cheaper Android tablets might not fare so well but with a bit of care and attention, they should still provide a few more years of use. Here’s what you need to do to extend your tablet’s lifespan.

Take your free software with you

Saving your favourite software as portable apps to a USB means you can use them on any PC. Edward Munn rounds up the best ones

Beat EVERY Web Restriction

Websites seem to take a perverse pleasure in blocking what you can see and do online. Wayne Williams is having none of that. Here, he explains how to beat unreasonable restrictions

There’s nothing more frustrating than coming up against a brick wall when you’re browsing the web. We’ve all been faced with videos “unavailable in your country”, ISPs blocking websites and warnings that “your IP address has been banned”. Sadly, this is becoming increasingly common as web companies decide exactly what we can and can’t access online. In this feature, we reveal how to beat unfair blocks so you can do whatever you want (within reason!) on the web.

We’ll show you how to access sites blocked by your ISP, watch your favourite iPlayer programmes from abroad, download apps not yet available in your country, overcome geographical video restrictions, and more. We’ll also show you how you can get locked forum and social-media accounts reinstated, and read news stories that Google has removed links to.