If you get an urgent message about running out of cloud storage—the consequences of which involve losing your photos or documents—you may be the target of a scam. The Federal Trade Commission is alerting consumers to a phishing scheme involving emails and text messages claiming that your cloud storage with services like Apple, Google, and Microsoft is full. The end goal of threat actors is to get you to click a link under the guise of clearing or upgrading your storage, which ultimately leads to you handing over personal information (like your account username and password) or downloading malware to your device.

How the cloud storage scam works

As MalwareTips describes, cloud storage scam emails typically have urgent subject links like “Your iCloud account may be at risk” to provoke an emotional response that spurs you to act without thinking. The messages may come from an email address that looks real but is just a little bit off (from [at]applesecurity[dot]com rather than [at]apple[dot]com, for example) and include official logos or other branding. The email body may have a time-sensitive upgrade offer—again, creating a sense of urgency—and a call to action, such as an “Upgrade Storage Now” button.

Any message that brings up a strong emotion or makes you feel like you need to act fast is likely a scam, even if it appears to come from a legitimate sender. As I’ve written about, threat actors can capitalize on vulnerabilities allowing them to spoof or impersonate organizations like Google.

You may see legitimate cloud storage alerts, such as banners, when you’re logged into various services (like Gmail), but your best bet if you get an email or text about running out of cloud space is to go directly to the source to check your balance. Do not pass go, and do not click any links.

How to check your cloud storage space

If you’re a Google user, you can view and manage your cloud storage in your Google One Storage Manager (you must be logged into your Google account). This shows you how much storage you’ve used and how much you have remaining plus a breakdown of the Google services that are taking up your allotment and suggestions for clearing additional space.

Note that if you have multiple Google accounts, each will have its own storage allotment, and you can toggle between them by tapping your profile photo in the upper right corner. Personal accounts with Google receive 15 GB of storage for free, with options to pay for additional space. If you run out, you won’t be able to upload or create files in Drive, send or receive emails in Gmail, or back up photos or videos to Google Photos.

If you have an iCloud storage account, you can check the remaining space under Settings > [your name] > iCloud on your iPhone or iPad or via the Apple menu > System Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Manage on your Mac. On Windows, open iCloud for Windows and scroll to the bar graph. Again, you must be logged into your Apple account. iCloud comes with 5 GB of free storage. Once that’s full—and if you don’t add more space—your device will cease iCloud backups, uploads to iCloud photos and iCloud Drive, and updates to iCloud apps. And you won’t be able to send and receive emails with your iCloud address.

Finally, Microsoft 365 comes with 5 GB of free cloud storage with OneDrive and 15 GB of mailbox storage. To check your usage, sign into your Microsoft account on your device and select the Microsoft storage icon. You can also upgrade to add more space.

(Washington, D.C., July 24, 2025) – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins today announced the reorganization of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), refocusing its core operations to better align with its founding mission of supporting American farming, ranching, and forestry.

(Washington, D.C., July 23, 2025) – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins issued a statement congratulating President Donald J. Trump on the major trade breakthrough that gives greater access to U.S. beef producers selling to Australia:

(Washington, D.C., July 23, 2025) – Under the leadership of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke L. Rollins, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and U.S. Department of Agriculture are accelerating federal efforts to address the growing concerns around ultra-processed foods and the current epidemic of diet-related chronic disease that is plaguing America.

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These days, most tech that produces any kind of audio will work seamlessly with Bluetooth headphones, like AirPods. My computer, my phone, and even my Nintendo Switch all support relatively seamless Bluetooth pairing, so I pop them out of the case and get to watching or playing. The one device I can think of that does not play nice with AirPods, or any wireless headphones for that matter, is my PS5.

Here’s how I discovered this: It was late, and I wanted to play some Astro Bot. I adore the game, but, I can admit, it’s noisy. To be courteous to the rest of my house, I decided to play with my AirPods in, so I went through the usual steps: I put my AirPods in pairing mode, turned on my PS5, and navigated to Settings > Accessories > General > Bluetooth Accessories. My AirPods showed up on the list, but when I tried to connect them, I was greeted by the following message: “The PS5 doesn’t support Bluetooth audio accessories.”

I’m sorry, what? My $500 PlayStation 5 that launched in 2020, years after Bluetooth headphones were standard tech, doesn’t support Bluetooth audio accessories? That would only make sense if Sony, like, sold their own line of wired and wireless headphones, in the hopes you buy a pair of those instead of using the products you already own. Oh, right: they do. OK, other companies sell headphones designed specifically for use with the PS5 too, but come on. Even the original Switch now supports Bluetooth audio, a feature Nintendo added four years after the console launched. Sony could easily do the same.

My annoyance aside, don’t worry: The answer isn’t to buy one of Sony’s proprietary “audio accessories.” Instead, there’s an easy, free solution to the problem—assuming your TV is cooperative.

Connect your Bluetooth headphones directly to your TV

In my frustration, I did some googling and stumbled upon this Reddit thread. The OP was wondering, as I was, why they couldn’t use Bluetooth audio devices with their PS5. While there’s no official explanation (but see above for a likely one), another Redittor provided this simple yet salient suggestion: just pair your headphones with your TV.

You can do that? Why didn’t I think of that? Why didn’t I consider the fact that my TV is also a “modern” device with Bluetooth capabilities? I don’t have answers, only solutions: Just connect your AirPods to your TV when you want to use them with your PS5.

To do this, you, of course, need a TV that supports Bluetooth audio accessories. If you don’t have one, this trick won’t work. My TV is from 2017, however, and it does, so I imagine many if not most TVs purchased in the bast half-decade or so will support this option.

Check your settings

Getting this to work may require you to tinker with your audio outputs. Your PS5’s audio source will need to be set to your TV, and your TV’s audio output will also need to be its internal speakers. If you already use your TV’s speakers, this is probably already set up on both devices. But if you use an external audio setup, like a soundbar, double-check these settings. On the PS5, you’ll find this on Settings > Sound > Audio Output. On your TV, navigate to your audio settings, and ensure that the output is set to its own internal speakers, rather than another device.

Connect your headphones or earbuds

With that done, you’ll need to connect your Bluetooth headphones to your TV. Place them in pairing mode (this varies by device, so look up your brand of headphones to learn how if you don’t know), then locate your TV’s audio settings and look for anything concerning Bluetooth accessories or devices. If your TV has this menu, you should be able to search for nearby devices, and your headphones should appear in the list. Select them, wait for them to pair, and presto: Your AirPods, or other wireless headphones, will now stream the audio coming from your TV, which means they’ll also stream the audio from your PS5.

Or use a Bluetooth audio adapter

If your TV doesn’t support Bluetooth, you still don’t need to buy a pair of Sony’s headphones. Instead, you can buy something much cheaper: a Bluetooth audio adapter. These attachments outfit a non-Bluetooth device with Bluetooth capabilities. You can plug one into your PS5 or your TV, connect your headphones to it, and stream away. There are plenty of options out there, but something like UGREEN’s USB-C Bluetooth adapter seems to work well enough per the reviews. Hell, even the HomeSpot, which was specifically designed for the Switch before Nintendo added support for Bluetooth devices, works on the PS5.

You can pick up one of these adapters for around $25, and while it’s frustrating to have to spend money at all to get a feature you should have built-it, that’s better than buying a whole new headset just for playing games on your PS5 without bothering everyone around you.

So, you’re locked out of your Apple Watch. Maybe you forgot your passcode and you tried a few too many times. Maybe you had no idea your watch’s screen was on, and you butt-dialed an incorrect passcode again and again. However it happened, the result is the same: a concerning message that reads, “Too Many Passcode Attempts; Reset Apple Watch and pair again.” At least it wasn’t in Erase Mode, which would have wiped your entire watch after 10 failed passcode attempts.

Sure, you can reset your Apple Watch and pair again, except for one major issue: How do you reset an Apple Watch? When you’ve never encountered the problem before, this can be beyond confusing. Apple offers zero help on the watch itself, as the reset alert includes no instructions for actually resetting the device. You can’t access the watch’s settings, since you’re locked out; no matter how many time you try to press the device’s only two buttons, you’ll probably never see a reset option on your own. I know, because I tried.

So, what does one do when one faces such a technology failure? Head to Google, of course. As it happens, starting the reset process isn’t hard to do, but it is damn near impossible to figure out without someone telling you how. So, I’m telling you now.

How to reset your Apple Watch without the passcode

These steps will allow you to reset your watch whether you’ve incorrectly entered the passcode too many times, forgotten the passcode, or don’t have access to your iPhone.

1. Place your Apple Watch on its charger. This is essential: The following steps will not work unless your watch is charging.

2. Press and hold the Side button (the longer button) until you see the Medical ID and/or Emergency Call option appear.

3. Press and hold the Digital Crown. After a couple moments, you’ll see the Reset option.

4. Choose Reset, then choose Reset again to confirm your choice.

Your watch will begin erasing all content and settings. Once complete, you’ll be able to set it up like new.