Category Archives: Weixin

GPS and Location Setting

Lately, we’ve had a few people comment on one of the fun features of WeChat. People seemed to be having problems with the GPS settings to ‘look around’ for people using WeChat. Here’s a brief explanation.

GPS uses satellites in space to define your location. If you know about triangulation, you’ll understand how it works. The GPS part of your mobile device figures out where it is by accepting signals from satellites that are in a fixed orbit, at least to the rotation of the earth, in space. They are, more or less, locked in one position up there.

You, on the other hand, move around. Because your GPS knows where the satellites are, it knows where you are, right? Remember that the satellites are up in space. It doesn’t matter if you can get wifi where you are or a data/voice signal, the GPS needs to know where the satellites are before it can figure out where you are.

Note: Some cell phones use the widespread mobile phone towers in order to configure GPS location. They may or may not use satellites all the time. For that reason, your cell phone probably works better than, say, an iPod, at least as far as GPS goes.

Knowing all of the above, it makes sense that you can’t be buried in a mineshaft and expect your GPS to work. You have to be near a window or outside for WeChat to figure out where you are and then figure out who’s around you. If you’re inside a multi-story building, your signal is probably quite weak. Keep that in mind when you’re looking around for someone to chat with. The problem isn’t WeChat, it’s your GPS signal (or lack of it).

Here is an image that explains some of the principles of GPS (Global Positioning System):

Photo of GPS Setup.
Satellites, towers, signals…this is very hi-tech stuff!

 

If you want to, click on the photo and you’ll be taken to the Directions Magazine site for a complete explanation of GPS.

Thanks for reading!

WeChat Voice – a new addition to Weixin/WeChat

Remember WeChat? Here’s our post on it: Weixin or WeChat. We’ve had a lot of fun with this mobile app, that’s for sure. Now there is a new addition that makes it a bit more fun, if that is possible. WeChat already has voice and video and text, of course, but what if you wanted to disguise your voice a bit, either to hide your real voice or to make your friends laugh? Well, you would add WeChat Voice. That’s how you’d do it.

WeChat Voice, click here, takes whatever message you record then changes it, according to your selection. It’s a bit like taking a photo on Instagram and using one of the photo filters to adjust it. It’s relatively simple now, basically speeding your voice up or down, adjusting the pitch, things like that. We assume that the voice choices will change as time goes by.

Photo of WeChat Icon
This is it!

 

WeChat Voice is available for both Android and iOS (Apple). As with WeChat/Weixin, the app is totally free. We feel that the app is safe, too. Tencent, the supplier, is a extremely large company in China and has a very good reputation. We never hesitate in using their software.

Photo of WeChat Voice Icon 2
Android or iOS, choose your poison.

 

When you go to the WeChat Voice page, you can ever hear one voice selection. Just press the play button:

Photo of WeChat Voice Icon 3
Press Play and hear one of the voices you can get.

 

Here’s how it all works. Open WeChat Voice and record your message, choose your filter using the selections provided then export it to WeChat. This is all done automatically. Once you have saved the message, WeChat Voice offers to open WeChat. Then, for a short time, both apps are open at once. You choose the contact you want to send the message to, then the message is uploaded and sent. Yes, it takes a while. WeChat Voice is good for occasional use but it sure won’t be a full-time part of WeChat. It just takes too long!

We can see another way to use WeChat Voice that might make more sense and be just as much fun. If you’re travelling with a group of friends, or simply sitting around in the lunch room, you could have some laughs by recording your voices. Alternatively, you could record a speaker’s voice, let’s say a teacher, and have some fun changing it around a bit.

Thanks for reading!

Why not Like us on Facebook? Here’s the link: Computers Made Simple on Facebook