Back-ups, updates and accounts: Things to check off the Christmas tech list

With Christmas Day only hours away, there are still some steps you can take to make sure your day – and your gift giving – goes smoothly. There are a few "tech to-dos" you should check off your list before Santa pops by for a mince pie and a glass of milk.

Install the updates:

This one particularly applies to games consoles. Most of them will need some sort of software update out of the box, as new software will have been issued since the console was manufactured. Do not underestimate how long these updates can take. Save everyone the heartache and hook it up on Christmas Eve, so you can install any operating system updates the night before. At the very least, it means you won’t get stuck with a slow download because everyone is donloading the same updates at the same time.

Create the accounts:

Tablets, smartphones, games consoles: they all have one thing in common - they need user accounts. Create the necessary accounts for the different devices you have bought in advance, rather than waiting until Christmas Day when everyone who has bought the same device will be trying to do it too.

This goes double for anyone who needs to set up a child’s account as well as their own parents account. You should also take the opportunity to put in the appropriate parental controls, if any are available. It can take time to do it all, so the best time to do it is when you are not under any pressure from an impatient 10-year-old.

Has Irish-led SPAC found ‘secret sauce’ in Belgian deal?

---

Last-minute tech Christmas gifts for the children in your life

---

Karlin Lillington’s biggest technology stories of 2021: NFTs, Meta and more

---

Turning Datalex around: ‘It’s a privilege to have to clean up somebody else’s mess’

---

Back up existing devices – if you can

If you are buying an upgraded phone or tablet for someone, it is worth checking their current device has everything backed up, if you can. That means running the backup to iCloud for iOS devices and making sure their photo library is turned on, and ensuring the sync options for Google accounts includes all the necessary information such as contacts, and that photos are backed up to the cloud.

Don’t forget the batteries

Smartphones come at least partially charged out of the box. But there are plenty of devices that, for some reason known only to theire creators, don’t. There is nothing more frustrating for a child probably already pushing the sugar limit for the month in one morning than to be told they have to wait an extra half an hour before they can play with their new device.

So precharge it. And stock up on extra (rechargable) batteries for everything else.