For Instance, #06# leads the lane of useful codes for Android Smartphone users. This is due to the fact that it works on almost every phone as an industry-standard code, but it’s just a sip of the many codes you may need to monitor your device’s behavior.

All available Android codes must be used through the Phone (calls) app or any other available app that provides you with a USSD dial pad.

Initially, every code begins with a # sign that alerts the system for the next digits that may represent a system call linked to a specific service meaning all codes must be input through your dial pad. Nonetheless, below are the codes you need to know.

The Android Shortcodes you need to know

While a pile of sticker creation apps can be downloaded off the Google Playstore (For Android) and the Apple Store (For iPhone users). We landed on one Ads-free App (Sticker maker) that can be used to create your own stickers using your Photos, and here is a quick guide on how you can use it.

NOTE: You don’t have to use the same App (if you wish) to create stickers you can choose to ride with other variants listed in this article

List of WhatsApp sticker Apps

• Sticker Make for WhatsApp
• Sticker Maker
• Sticker Maker for WhatsApp
• Wemoji
• Create stickers for WhatsApp-Sticker factory
• Stickify
• Funny Memes stickers for WhatsApp
• Kojo stickers
• Funny Meme Stickers
• Among Others…

Creating your own sticker packs with Sticker Maker for WhatsApp

Step 1: Download and Install Sticker Maker For WhatsApp

Download and Install Sticker Maker For WhatsApp (Green Logo) off your Smartphone’s store to start creating sticker packs for WhatsApp.

Step 2: Open the App and select “Create new sticker pack”

Once you open the App, its main dashboard is straight forward and has a single create new sticker pack button you should click to access empty sticker thumbnails to replace with your custom creations.

Step 3: Tap any Thumbnail ( Photo Add icon ‘+’ ) to add Photos

Click on any of the empty thumbnails from the create sticker pack option to upload photos and crop them for conversion into stickers.

Step 4: Once you create 3 or more stickers, click Publish

Once you crop your photos and remove backgrounds, click the publish button to make your sticker available for usage on WhatsApp before you can import it to your WhatsApp account for usage.

Step 5: Click ‘Add to WhatsApp’ to move your sticker pack to WhatsApp

Now that your stickers are published, you can move your created Stickers to WhatsApp for usage by clicking the smileys/emoji button and select stickers to see your created copies.

NOTE: Used Images are a property of Beebom.com taken from a Nokia 7 Plus running Android 9 Pie

In a nutshell, creating your own WhatsApp sticker should now be easy for you to juggle with any saved photo you wish to use. Either way, you can use any other available App on the Playstore to create custom stickers and directly deploy them on WhatsApp as long as you hit the publish button.

Unlike earlier macOS releases, latest macOS versions have a floating bar for screenshots that allows you to carry out post revisions per capture. To cut the long story features sheet short, here is how you can capture a Screenshot on your macOS powered Macbook or iMac.

Use the default mac OS Screenshot keys

Once you press Command + Shift + 5 to access the screenshot capture window, a small floater will appear on your bottom right screen that allows you to send the capture to a separate directory, copy to the clipboard or Open in preview.

Where your screenshots are saved on macOS

By default, your screenshot will be saved to the desktop. However, you can choose a different storage folder by accessing the options tab on the screenshot capture window ( Cmd + Shift + 5 )

If you find trouble accessing the macOS screenshot shortcut, you can install 3rd party apps like Snagit from the Apple store to help you capture screenshots on your Macbook or iMac.

Infact, all WhatsApp mods are 100% better than the original app itself, this is due to the broad features sheet like the Hide online status, Hide View status and the ability to force 1 tick on your messages.

As a reply, WhatsApp’s Temporarily blocked feature is the most nagging pop-up you’ll ever see if you’re using the original WhatsApp app and a Mod on the same Smartphone. Luckily, we have a healing herb to your temporary ban and here is a tale of tricks you can use.

What to do once you are Temporarily Banned On WhatsApp

Method 1:

• Wait for the Ban to get end (If 5 or more hours, Relax and wait till its over)
• Then make a back up of your chats and messages Via Settings>Backup
• After saving your backup, Uninstall your WhatsApp application, If you have 2 WhatsApp’s in the phone, Uninstall both of them (original and the mod “GB WhatsApp”)
• After Uninstalling both WhatsApp Apps, re-install the mod (GB) first before Installing the original version
• Proceed to Enter your WhatsApp number after clicking (Agree to continue)
• GbWhatsApp or your WhatsApp mod will automatically detect a backup
• Click Restore to get all your messages back
• Enter your WhatsApp Name and DP
• Enjoy your new Anti-Ban WhatsApp version (difficult to be banned again)

Method 2

If you have tried Method 1 and failed, then Method 2 is your best solution. In most cases when you re-install a WhatsApp mod before the original version, the app doesn’t detect its modification thus skipping the risks of falling in the temporary banned ditch.

However, Incase you tried method 1 ad things failed out or you simply want a more direct method, then here is a sip of method 2 you can use to fix the WhatsApp ban.

• Wait for your temporarily banned time to finish and take a backup of your WhatsApp chats/messages
• Uninstall the Banned WhatsApp mod or Application
• or simply Unistall the original WhatsApp app from your phone
• After Uninstalling, re-install your desired application and make sure it runs as a sole version on your Smartphone
• By using one WhatsApp account on one Smartphone, it means the two apps cant conflict and provoke the temporarily banned error
• If you wish to multi-task with two WhatsApp applications on one Smartphone, then download a multi-account application to clone your existing WhatsApp version.
• Enjoy your WhatsApp account without the Temporarily banned error popping up ever again.

Way Forward If you’re banned for Using GbWhatsApp or another mod

WhatsApp can’t do away with mods, its the same way that UCC admitted the fact that it can’t fully stop VPNs in Uganda. This is due to the fact that Android is an open-source system and apps run on it can be twisted in any way.

So, the WhatsApp temporarily banned feature has multiple solutions to fix it__as we shall share in updates to this article__, but its main cause lies in the conflict of apps on a Smartphone’s filesystem and database.

So, If you’re to use 1 app on your phone whether its the Mod (GBWHatsapp, TMWhatsApp, YoWhatsApp) or the original version, then you can never cross sides with a ban.

With a fast-rising rate of Mobile Money to wrong number queries piling by the telecommunications provider sides, MTN has today announced a reversal procedure that all Mobile money users can adhere to for easy reversal of money sent to a wrong number.

Assuming you send money to a Wrong mobile number that differs from your target recipient even by a single digit, getting the money back would now be easy as a customer care call to perform a quick bounce back exercise and re-credit your account. Much more like a swift process, here is the procedure you can follow to get your money back.

Reversing your Mobile Money sent to a wrong number

• Once you notice that Money has been sent to a wrong number
• Call the MTN Customer Care hotline on 100, Whatsapp( 0772 123 100) or hit their social media channels on Facebook and Twitter @mtnug
• A Customer Care representative will immediately query the Transaction and amount sent to the Wrong number
• If the money has not been withdrawn yet, your Mobile Money account will be topped up in less than 24hours.
• Incase of delays, Follow up with a Customer Care call

Unlike the old system where getting your money back would involve police documentation and where extreme a court order, the new MTN method helps you get your money back without flipping in for 3rd party measures once the recipient still has the money on their account.

However, If you send money to a wrong number and the receiver immediately withdraws the money, then a negotiation between the MTN customer representatives and the receiver could help you get your funds back.

Where Extreme, you may be required to escalate the unresolved matter to court once the receiver fails to re-deposit the money back after withdraw. Luckily, In case the money is set to a number that has not been active for the past 3 months, it is immediately re-sent back to your phone on reaching out for customer care support.

The List of MTN Uganda Shortcodes

How to use the MTN Uganda Shortcodes

Unlike Airtel Uganda shortcodes that seem to be surrounded by the *100# main services code with Africell taming *143# as its main code, MTN has a series of Shortcodes with different services embedded to them with *160# tamed as it’s head services version for the Yello camp.

Through the *160# menu, you can use services like My Paka Paka, access your Account option, send call me back messages, and share airtime via Me2U. However, for Mobile Money services, you can either use *165# or *185# for the full menu with submenus housing Momo Pay and other account management services.

However, some MTN services are usually embedded under its all-in-one MY MTN App just like its previous Gaga Wednesday offers that came to an end earlier this year paving way for newer offers including a revamped Momo Nyabo promotion.

If you want to be a great influencer, we have a simple compilation of tips you can choose to ride on. As a matter of fact, Out of 100 influencers, 80% are meme warners with the rest having a strict touch to their audience. So where do you fall? In the joke-cracking group or the serious camp filling the 20% gap. Let’s find out!

What Kind of Influencer are you?

In Uganda, Influencers are simply netizens that become popular with time and decide to ride on the influencing track in case of an upcoming gig. In simple terms, not every user you see updating his/her profile with different influential hashtags is a certified influencer, these are regular users like you that have discovered what they are and also braced invites by fellow tweeps in the same circle.

So before you choose to become an influencer, ask your self the kind of person you are, what are your interests and what excites your followers each time you post. If you’re the kind of person who loves gossip, entertainment, then fill your timeline with this kind of content you love. Otherwise, If you follow your passion, you’ll attract the right followers to make up your perfect audience.

Know your target audience

One of the technical faults in the African influencing industry is that brands usually don’t follow the kind of influencer they’re hiring up for a gig. However, as time moves on, the digital era of elite marketers will consider this with a keen eye. For instance, why would a bar influencer sideline with a Fintech startup to promote its values? followers would surely ignore whatever comes through from the unfamiliar angle and not spend any second following up the yummy trend.

However, If you keep in touch with what your audience loves to see, then you’re the true influencer amidst being well connected to other tweeps. By keeping your audience in control, 90% of your content will always reach the right person you’re targeting without fail. For instance, Facebook bloggers like Tom Voltaire are known for politics and each follower would always love to see the latest update first.

On Twitter, hidden identity users also exist on the bluebird portal carrying the political flag high and still, followers never miss a tip of an update posted. Henceforth, it’s better to be known as a gossip or jokes influencer than having a duo identity as a technology or travel influencer to keep your audience in touch.

The same concept applies to websites, you can never land on a Tech Point Magazine article with miss curvy contest highlights, but instead landing on a Taxify’s rebranding stunt to Bolt would be one of the suggested articles in the pipeline. All in all, a majority of influencers don’t have a specific category they sideline with, but the new wave could start with you by rejecting a gig or content that doesn’t fit in your category lane as an Influencer.

How active are you

After reading this article from Tech Point Magazine, you’d love to revisit for new articles published on the site, but if you’re disappointed by finding the same exact content every now and then, you’d then back off and unbookmark the site. This is the same scenario when it comes to online Influencing, no one is willing to follow you if your profile is always stagnant with the same kind of posts.

Except for the fact that OTT tax is a huge barrier to influencing in countries like Uganda, nothing else stops you from tickling your smartphone for a few posts daily. More so, your audience grows depending on your online duration ratio. One of the best ways you can achieve this is by posting relevant posts tailored for your audience or even following the trends list for some interesting hashtags on the go.

Know Your Platform and It’s Limits

The more futuristic technologies like 5G and IOT come closer to reality, It’s the more Social Media becomes strict on who accesses it and how it’s accessed. For instance, Facebook Lite, Twitter Lite, and Instagram Lite are apps designed for the low-end smartphone holders as the main apps are still available to those with bulk device resources.

As an Influencer, you have to be glued to a strict platform if you’re to become one of the best. Majority of the high earning influencers in Uganda are found on Twitter, as Facebook and Instagram bloggers still earn big from fan pages and profiles. So, you should choose which platform you’re good at.

For instance, If you’re not a fan of hashtags and mentions, you can choose to create a Facebook fan page and spread your FOMO. However, all these platforms have limits on posting times and content types published, always consider the terms and conditions before progressing to influence on the platform. Otherwise, if you don’t stick to the terms, then your account can be easily revoked/blocked by the platform robots.

Content is King, Use it well

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is a digital marketing path contrary to influencing but sharing the same touch and feel to content. You can never rank well if you always feed your audience with the same content. For websites, search engines would not even show your links anywhere near the first 5 pages.

However, if you always feed your audience/followers with sparkling new content depending on your calendar, then you’re on the verge of making some great income from your social media influence. Each time a comment of thanks shoots to your post, it becomes your next point of interest to make your follower much happier with what you post and keep on the watch for new exciting content always.

Feedback is key to your success

Many Influencers believe they have made it in life when they have a rich connection with tweeps and a few clients calling them directly for gigs. Majority of this influencer caliber tend to be extremely arrogant and never take feedback in the best way possible. For instance, if a loyal follower blasts you in a post or suggest you step up, it’s better to take on the feedback and improve.

However, if you’re the kind of Influencer who will always fight fire with fire, then this guide is not for you, as the digital trend will cough your trails away from the web once a new wave checks in. So, it’s not about your temper, its all about you as a brand making a living from what you share to the world. As a matter of fact, if you visited our comments section and blasted us about a less detailed article, we would warmly take your feedback and improve the kind of content we share.

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The Payout Scale of a social media influencer

The basic payout for an influencer in Uganda is usually $15 (UGX 50,000) per gig. However, the rumor drill in Kenya has it that influencers from that eastern wing earn slightly higher because of their favorable social and economic atmosphere. So, influencers around the world all have their basic payouts depending on the economic atmosphere in that zone.

However professional influencers in Uganda jump with a pay-out of approx $50(200,000/=) per gig on a good day. The result of this is because of their bulk following which is at times audited before consideration and the kind of audience they target. As a result, clients are usually pleased with the professional caliber that matches with their target audience.

In a nutshell, being an influencer is not a bad thing, but being a good learner makes you a better netizen than you’ll ever be and further append your bank statement after a heavy budget gig.

Henceforth, Connections are important, but your audience and content rule your online destiny as we shall traverse another path of an online lifestyle without diving into online drop shipping.

When buying a TV, the packaging box is usually denoted with the brand name and pixels type (LED or LCD) showing the capabilities of your new Flat screen TV. Well, what’s the difference between Light emitting diodes (LED) and Liquid crystal display (LCD) Flat TVs, let’s find out.

LCD TVs

Liquid-crystal-display televisions (LCD TVs) are television sets that use liquid-crystal displays to produce images. They rose popular in the 21st century giving the ordinary colored CRT (Cathode Ray Tube ) TVs a headless run off the high demand market. LCD TVs are thin and light though they tend to consume more power with relatively low contrast ratios plus inferior color gamut.

LED TVs

A Light emitting diode (LED) TV is one that uses an LED-backlit LCD to produce a clear and less demanding display.  LED-backlit displays use the same TFT LCD (thin-film-transistor liquid-crystal display) technologies as CCFL-backlit displays to offer more contrast, a greater color range, and brightness coupled with minimal energy consumption.

The core differences

LCD	LED
Uses Liquid crystals for display	Uses LED backligting diodes for display
Poor Contrast ratio of 1600:1	Higher contrast at a 4,500:1 ratio
Consumes More power due to usage per display size and vast mjority of light used to display from screen back	20–30% lower power consumption and longer lifespan
Poor color gamut	Wider color gamut (with RGB-LED or QDEF)
They are usually pure glass TVS and can be easily damaged from accidental scratches/falls	better brightness
	rapid response to changes in scene (with dynamic backlight dimming)
	Very slim (some screens are less than 0.5 inches (13 mm) thin in edge-lit panels)

Many TVs are denoted with either the LCD flag or LED depending on the manufacturer and make. However, the difference between LCD and LED is close to the similarities binding the two screen types. As a matter of fact, most smartphones contain LED backlight panels to produce a crisp clear image on a phone proving the true capability of LED devices beyond LCD.

The Kind of TV you should buy

Before you buy a TV, look out for the display type of the product box visibly denoted before or after the model name. For instance, Samsung LED UAJ series is a proper denotation that the TV is an LED model. Either way, LCD TVs are also listed before the product model number to identify the display mode of the TV.

Well, LED TVs are the most popular models produced in Full HD, HD and 4K models taking over the market with a higher margin. So, the popularity streak denotes it all that an LED TV is superior from the earlier LCD models reflecting back on the popularity streak taken over from CRT TVs that are now close to irrelevant on market.

Nonetheless, if you have a whole pike of Yaka tokens in your docket, you could consider an LCD. But if you love quality, affordability, and efficiency, then an LED TV is irreplaceable as the best companion in your living room.

In case you have always wanted to buy a digital decoder for your TV in order to have full access to all channels. We have a section of tips as to why you should buy a free to air decoder instead of a Startimes, GoTV or satellite dish paid decoder.

The Price of a free to air decoder

A brand new GoTv full kit goes for around 85,000/= in Uganda and the price of a Startimes decoder still teases around 35,000/=. Contrary to the paid versions, a nice free to air decoder costs around 70,000/= in Uganda depending on the manufacturer. Majority of the decoders don’t cost beyond 110,000/= which makes them a little costly but worth it with no monthly fees.

No monthly charges

All PayTv providers have a monthly charge attached to their bouquets. The story with free to air decoders is on the opposite track of monthly recharges. Once you buy a free to air decoder, don’t expect to pay any monthly fees whatsoever in order to watch your favorite local channels.

A 100% clear reliable connection

During serious environmental disorders like rain and heavy winds, expect you TV decoder to have a jumpy connection and scratched CD like images. However, forget this if you have a free to air decoder because no central servers exist between your decoder to the provider.

On a paid decoder, a central server provides you with a TV connection and changes in weather can disrupt this connection making it unreliable to conveniently watch TV. So, with a free to air decoder, no servers exist in your connection and all you get is a 100% reliable connection to conveniently watch TV.

Affordable for a lifetime

Worried about paying for TV together with your monthly utility bills, choose a free to air decoder and only worry about the latter. As a fact, once you get yourself a good free to air decoder, don’t expect any additional fees till when you are tired of watching TV and feel like watching international premium channels off a Satellite provider.

Clear TV Quality as sent by the broadcaster

High Definition (HD) is the quality many TV Stations broadcast in and send out as a signal. However, paid decoders have central servers that determine the quality you receive on your decoder.

With a free to air decoder, you get the proper picture quality as sent from a broadcasting station. So, if your favorite local channel has HD programs, get ready to catch them in the same quality if your free to air decoder is further an HD version as well.

In a nutshell, free to air decoder are good, but we highly suggest that you should get an HD free to air decoder. Either way, most decoders are HD compatible the same way LED TVs ship inbuilt free to air decoders on purchase. Nonetheless, look out for the full list of free to air channels in Uganda we shall list in our next article.

Given the fact that VPNs can now be downloaded from multiple archives on the web with developers sighting a steady smartphone audience on the Google and Apple store. Well, the mobile VPNs have become popular in Africa after Zambia borrowed the OTT tax concept from Uganda giving users a hefty task of relying on VPN apps which we think you should not cash in your maximum trust

How a VPN Works

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is a secure interrupted service that encrypts all traffic sent over your Internet connection to a remote VPN server situated miles away from your physical location.

Initially, VPNs connected offices, but in this digital age, you can use this particular network to bypass any censored websites in any country by utilizing the address of your VPN server. So, a VPN simply gives you a different IP address (country) by hiding your actual address for a new channel of access

For instance, let’s say you’re in the UGANDA and you establish a VPN connection with a server located in the UK. Then, each website you access is directly encrypted with your VPN server header for anonymous surfing. Additionally, your social media accounts register the anonymous address and if you try to access your Facebook account, the changes must be effective like cheese and wine with a temporary lock in most cases. Well, temporary locks are just a drop in the ocean of the negative impacts you might have to subscribe to with a VPN

Unreliable Internet speeds

5G is a futuristic internet connection standard we might not see until 2023, though several internet providers are already running tests of this technology, 4G LTE is still the maximum standard we can rely on. However, the fantastic speeds are not the same when you connect to a VPN, by mere switching on your VPN button, you completely rely on the remote server speeds trashing your original internet speeds in duo-exchange process. But then, some servers usually provide reliable internet speeds only if you pay an extra dollar to the developers for a premium package

Little or No privacy

Privacy is an online companion that lets you have some peace of mind before someone else exploits it. With a VPN, privacy must be a long gone story since all information you transfer through the tunnel can be accessed by an anonymous developer. However, the perfect solution to this would be gearing up some premium subscriptions or choosing non-public servers like company affiliated leaks. On the contrary, you must forget about any sort of privacy each time you power on your VPN application

Your VPN could be trading your data/traffic for cash

Whenever you power on a VPN, you’re placing a huge chance in the hands of the developer to make some extra cash from traffic sent over your link. First of all, a VPN tunnel blocks out your Internet service provider or Wi-Fi hotspot operator from eavesdropping your browsing capabilities. But the story is different on the other side you can’t control. Well, you must have seen a few ADs or two in your VPN app or overlaying on your smartphone from nowhere, that’s probably the power of relying on these softwares whether you pay for one or retain a free version

You’re Placing a Lot of Trust to Your VPN provider

A recent investigation discovered that the majority of free VPN apps have links to China and 86% of them had unsatisfactory privacy policies. Some explicitly stated they transfer user data to China. Most of them had customer support emails pointing to generic personal email accounts on services like Gmail or Hot mail. These don’t sound like services worthy of your trust.

If you’re using a VPN for privacy or escaping Internet censorship, you probably don’t want to use an Asian based VPN. However, you don’t choose what to connect with, but instead! shift through the available country IP addresses you can instantly connect to. By the same trail, your app gets a great scent of trust per power-up exposing you to more privacy and traffic for cash threats whether relying on a free or premium package

What You Should Use Instead

Why would a developer code a killer design VPN just to be used for free? Or why would a VPN server provide a free connection to everyone who wishes to connect? These are both questions many users don’t put in mind before downloading or connecting to a VPN app.

If you still love to use VPNs, the best option would be paying for a high-end well secured VPN server or a trial based free VPN like Tuddle bear which has 60minute time outs(trial expiry) for free usage. Nonetheless, in countries where OTT tax is the order of the day, sacrificing the extra dollar could save you from all the above risks