Podcast
Hands-On Tech (Audio)
Welcome to Hands-On Tech, where host Mikah Sargent turns tech troubles into tech triumphs. Each episode zooms in on a specific theme, unpacking listener questions with expert analysis and easy-to-follow advice. From decoding the latest gadgets to simplifying everyday tech, Mikah's got you covered.
Submit your tech queries through email at HOT@twit.tv or via TWiT's social media. You might hear your question answered on air!
Whether you're puzzled by privacy settings or curious about cutting-edge innovations, Hands-On Tech is your weekly dose of tech insight and inspiration. Join Mikah every Sunday to hear the show that turns tech confusion into tech confidence!
You can join Club TWiT for $10 per month and get ad-free audio and video feeds for all our shows plus everything else the club offers...or get just this podcast ad-free for $5 per month.
New episodes every Sunday.
- Technology chart
- #174
- Episodes
- 23
- Releases
- Weekly
- Typical length
- 17 min
- On air since
- 2026
- Latest episode
- 2 days ago
Episodes
23 episodes, newest first
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26 min
Internet Cookies - Browser Cookies & Online Privacy
Season 3, Episode 291
Show notes
On this episode of Hands-On Tech, Bill writes in to ask what cookies actually do, whether rejecting them on every site's banner accomplishes anything real, and whether there's a way to stop being asked dozens of times a day.
Send in your questions for Mikah to hot@twit.tv, and he'll answer them in a future episode!
Host: Mikah Sargent
Download or subscribe to Hands-On Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/hands-on-tech
Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts!
Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwitClub TWiT members can discuss this episode and leave feedback in the Club TWiT Discord.
Sponsor:
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22 min
Protecting Yourself From Sim Swapping - Are Text Message Codes Safe?
Season 3, Episode 290
Show notes
On this episode of Hands-On Tech, Mikah answers a question from Otis, who relies on the 6-digit text-message codes his bank sends at sign-in but has started to worry about SIM swap attacks, and wants to know whether those codes are still worth anything and whether he can lock down his number at the carrier.
Host: Mikah Sargent
Download or subscribe to Hands-On Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/hands-on-tech
Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts!
Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwitClub TWiT members can discuss this episode and leave feedback in the Club TWiT Discord.
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17 min
Understanding Email Tracking Pixels - Are Tracking Pixels in Emails Real?
Season 3, Episode 289
Show notes
On this episode of Hands-On Tech, Mikah answers a question from Lyle who wants to know whether a coworker can really tell when he has opened her emails.
Send in your questions for Mikah to hot@twit.tv, and he'll answer them in a future episode!
Host: Mikah Sargent
Download or subscribe to Hands-On Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/hands-on-tech
Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts!
Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwitClub TWiT members can discuss this episode and leave feedback in the Club TWiT Discord.
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22 min
Understanding What IP68 Means - Is Your Device Truly Water Resistant?
Season 3, Episode 288
Show notes
On this week's episode of Hands-On Tech, Clyde, who is shopping for a new phone after his last one died in a sink full of dishwater, asks what an IP68 water resistance rating actually promises, whether it wears off as a phone ages, and what to do in the first few minutes after a phone gets wet.
Send in your questions for Mikah to hot@twit.tv, and he'll answer them in a future episode!
Host: Mikah Sargent
Download or subscribe to Hands-On Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/hands-on-tech
Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts!
Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwitClub TWiT members can discuss this episode and leave feedback in the Club TWiT Discord.
Sponsor:
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16 min
Are There Risks to Scanning QR Codes? - The Security Concerns Behind Scanning a QR Code
Season 3, Episode 287
Show notes
On this week's episode of Hands-On Tech, Barry asks whether anything inside a QR code can actually hurt you, or whether the real danger lies somewhere else, and what a person should check before scanning one out in the wild.
Send in your questions for Mikah to hot@twit.tv, and he'll answer them in a future episode!
Host: Mikah Sargent
Download or subscribe to Hands-On Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/hands-on-tech
Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts!
Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwitClub TWiT members can discuss this episode and leave feedback in the Club TWiT Discord.
Sponsor:
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17 min
Are There Risks to Scanning QR Codes? - The Security Concerns Behind Scanning a QR Code
Season 3, Episode 287
Show notes
On this week's episode of Hands-On Tech, Barry asks whether anything inside a QR code can actually hurt you, or whether the real danger lies somewhere else, and what a person should check before scanning one out in the wild.
Send in your questions for Mikah to hot@twit.tv, and he'll answer them in a future episode!
Host: Mikah Sargent
Download or subscribe to Hands-On Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/hands-on-tech
Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts!
Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwitClub TWiT members can discuss this episode and leave feedback in the Club TWiT Discord.
Sponsor:
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25 min
Shutting Down vs. Restarting Your Windows PC - Windows Fast Startup
Season 3, Episode 286
Show notes
On this week's Hands-On Tech, Lorraine asks Mikah whether her husband or her daughter is right about the difference between shutting down and restarting a Windows PC, and how often she should be restarting her computer and phone.
Send in your questions for Mikah to hot@twit.tv, and he'll answer them in a future episode!
Host: Mikah Sargent
Download or subscribe to Hands-On Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/hands-on-tech
Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts!
Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwitClub TWiT members can discuss this episode and leave feedback in the Club TWiT Discord.
Sponsors:
• http://trustedtech.team/twit
• http://joindeleteme.com/twit-biz -
18 min
Are My AI Chatbot Conversations Private? - The Risks Of Sharing Information with AI Chatbots
Season 3, Episode 285
Show notes
In this week's episode of Hands-On Tech, Wendell asks Mikah whether his wife is right that typing into an AI chatbot is no different from a Google search, and wants to know where those conversations go, who can see them, whether they're used for training, and if any settings can turn that off in both ChatGPT and Gemini.
Send in your questions for Mikah to hot@twit.tv, and he'll answer them in a future episode!
Host: Mikah Sargent
Download or subscribe to Hands-On Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/hands-on-tech
Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts!
Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwitClub TWiT members can discuss this episode and leave feedback in the Club TWiT Discord.
Sponsor:
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17 min
Understanding How to Recover Deleted Files - Can You Recover Deleted Files?
Season 3, Episode 284
Show notes
On this week's Hands-On Tech, Mikah helps Harriett understand whether deleted files are truly gone when the recycle bin is emptied, and whether accidentally deleted files can still be recovered.
Send in your questions for Mikah to hot@twit.tv, and he'll answer them in a future episode!
Host: Mikah Sargent
Download or subscribe to Hands-On Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/hands-on-tech
Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts!
Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwitClub TWiT members can discuss this episode and leave feedback in the Club TWiT Discord.
Sponsor:
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13 min
Is Airplane Mode Necessary? - The Truth About Airplane Mode
Season 3, Episode 283
Show notes
On this episode of Hands-On Tech, Mikah answers Gene's question about whether airplane mode still serves a real engineering purpose in 2026 and what the smartest phone setup is for flying.
Send in your questions for Mikah to hot@twit.tv, and he'll answer them in a future episode!
Host: Mikah Sargent
Download or subscribe to Hands-On Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/hands-on-tech
Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts!
Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwitClub TWiT members can discuss this episode and leave feedback in the Club TWiT Discord.
Sponsors:
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13 min
Why Does Every Gadget Need an App and an Account Now? - Why Your Appliance Wants Your Email
Season 3, Episode 282
Show notes
In this episode of Hands-On Tech, Mikah answers Joyce's question about why so many everyday smart devices now require downloading an app & creating an account, and how to opt out of sharing personal data without giving up the products' functionality
Send in your questions for Mikah to hot@twit.tv, and he'll answer them in a future episode!
Host: Mikah Sargent
Download or subscribe to Hands-On Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/hands-on-tech
Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts!
Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwitClub TWiT members can discuss this episode and leave feedback in the Club TWiT Discord.
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12 min
Incognito Browsing - The Truth About Private Browsing
Season 3, Episode 281
Show notes
In this episode of Hands-On Tech, Mikah answers Rosemary's question about what private browsing actually hides, from whom, and what it's really for.
Send in your questions for Mikah to hot@twit.tv, and he'll answer them in a future episode!
Host: Mikah Sargent
Download or subscribe to Hands-On Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/hands-on-tech
Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts!
Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwitClub TWiT members can discuss this episode and leave feedback in the Club TWiT Discord.
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18 min
Am I Getting True Gigabit Internet? - Gigabit Promises
Season 3, Episode 280
Show notes
On this episode of Hands-On Tech, Mikah answers Al's question about why their gigabit internet plan isn't delivering the promised speeds during a Wi-Fi speed test, and who's really to blame: the ISP, the router, or the device.
Send in your questions for Mikah to hot@twit.tv, and he'll answer them in a future episode!
Host: Mikah Sargent
Download or subscribe to Hands-On Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/hands-on-tech
Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts!
Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwitClub TWiT members can discuss this episode and leave feedback in the Club TWiT Discord.
Sponsor:
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8 min
Safely Ejecting USB Drives - USB Removal Myths
Season 3, Episode 279
Show notes
On this episode of Hands-On Tech, Mikah answers a listener's question about whether safely ejecting a USB flash drive is still necessary or just an outdated habit.
Send in your questions for Mikah to hot@twit.tv, and he'll answer them in a future episode!
Host: Mikah Sargent
Download or subscribe to Hands-On Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/hands-on-tech
Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts!
Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwitClub TWiT members can discuss this episode and leave feedback in the Club TWiT Discord.
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22 min
Understanding Battery Percentages - Why the Battery Percentage Shown Isn't Always Accurate
Season 3, Episode 278
Show notes
In this episode of Hands-On Tech, Mikah answers a listener's question about whether his phone's battery percentage is an accurate measurement, why it seems to stay at 100% for a long time before suddenly dropping to dead, and whether battery recalibration is a real fix.
Send in your questions for Mikah to answer, and any products you'd like Mikah to take a look at, to hot@twit.tv!
Host: Mikah Sargent
Download or subscribe to Hands-On Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/hands-on-tech
Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts!
Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwitClub TWiT members can discuss this episode and leave feedback in the Club TWiT Discord.
Sponsor:
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14 min
Battery Overcharging Myths - Is Keeping Your Devices Plugged In Bad?
Season 3, Episode 277
Show notes
On this episode of Hands-On Tech, Mikah settles a household debate about whether it's harmful to keep a laptop plugged in all the time, and whether battery charge limit settings are worth using.
Send in your questions for Mikah to hot@twit.tv, and he'll answer them in a future episode!
Host: Mikah Sargent
Download or subscribe to Hands-On Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/hands-on-tech
Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts!
Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwitClub TWiT members can discuss this episode and leave feedback in the Club TWiT Discord.
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19 min
Smart TV's ACR Tracking - Stop Your TV From Spying!
Season 3, Episode 276
Show notes
In this episode of Hands-On Tech, Mikah answers Denise's question about whether her smart TV is tracking what she watches and how to stop it.
Send in your questions for Mikah to hot@twit.tv, and he'll answer them in a future episode!
Host: Mikah Sargent
Download or subscribe to Hands-On Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/hands-on-tech
Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts!
Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwitClub TWiT members can discuss this episode and leave feedback in the Club TWiT Discord.
Sponsors:
• blackhat.com/us-26 and use code TWIT
• http://shopify.com/hot -
17 min
USB-C Cable Confusion - Decode Your USB-C Cable Mess
Season 3, Episode 275
Show notes
In this episode of Hands-On Tech, Mikah answers Doug's question about why identical-looking USB-C cables can have wildly different charging and data speeds, and how to tell them apart.
Send in your questions for Mikah to hot@twit.tv, and he'll answer them in a future episode!
Host: Mikah Sargent
Download or subscribe to Hands-On Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/hands-on-tech
Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts!
Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwitClub TWiT members can discuss this episode and leave feedback in the Club TWiT Discord.
Sponsor:
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15 min
Smart Home Recommendations - Matter & Thread Explained
Season 3, Episode 274
Show notes
On this episode of Hands-On Tech, Marcus asks Mikah whether Matter and Thread are the real solution to smart home ecosystem lock-in, or just more marketing hype.
Don't forget to send in your questions for Mikah to answer during the show! hot@twit.tv
Host: Mikah Sargent
Download or subscribe to Hands-On Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/hands-on-tech
Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts!
Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwitClub TWiT members can discuss this episode and leave feedback in the Club TWiT Discord.
Sponsors:
• blackhat.com/us-26 and use code TWIT
• http://netsuite.AI/HOT -
13 min
ISP Email - Switch Email Providers Safely
Season 3, Episode 273
Show notes
On Hands-On Tech, Eleanor asks Mikah how to transition away from her long-standing ISP email address without losing access to the important accounts tied to it.
Don't forget to send in your questions for Mikah to answer during the show! hot@twit.tv
Host: Mikah Sargent
Download or subscribe to Hands-On Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/hands-on-tech
Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts!
Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwitClub TWiT members can discuss this episode and leave feedback in the Club TWiT Discord.
Sponsor:
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