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Flying for Christmas? Stay Up to Date With Your iPhone’s Secret Flight Tracker

Here’s how to get up-to-date flight information using your iPhone built-in flight tracker.

If you’re traveling or plan to be soon for Thanksgiving, you might be concerned about flight delays and cancellations. This is normal for typical high-traffic flight dates, but the government shutdown has increased the risk even more, so staying on top of your flight status is imperative. 

Getting up-to-date flight information has never been easier. You can check your flight status through your airline’s app or its website easily enough — or you can just use your iPhone’s secret flight tracker. 

You read that right. Your iPhone has a built-in flight tracker, but it’s tucked away and you might not realize you even have it. Below, we’ll show you how to access it so you have some peace of mind while traveling this season. 

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source on Chrome.

How to track your flight via iMessage

Before we start, there are a few prerequisites you must meet:

  • Make sure iMessage is enabled (it doesn’t work with SMS/MMS).
  • You’ll need your flight number somewhere in your text messages, whether you’ve sent that information to someone (even yourself) or it’s been sent to you.
  • The flight number must be sent in this format: [Airline] [Flight number], for example, American Airlines 9707.

Launch the native Messages app on your iPhone and open the text message thread that contains your flight information. You’ll know the flight tracker feature works when the text with the flight information appears underlined, which means it’s actionable and you can tap on it. 

If your flight is still several months away or it’s already passed, you might see a message that says, «Flight information unavailable.» You might also see another flight that’s not yours because airlines recycle flight numbers.

You can check your flight status from Spotlight Search, too

If getting your flight information from Messages wasn’t easy enough, you can also grab the details right from your iPhone’s home screen by swiping down and adding your flight number into Spotlight Search. This works with Spotlight Search on your Mac computer, too. 

How to access the hidden flight tracker

Although the airline name/flight number format highlighted above is the best way to go, there are other texting options that will lead you to the same result. So let’s say we stick with American Airlines 9707, other options that may bring up the flight tracker include:

  • AmericanAirlines9707 (no spaces)
  • AmericanAirlines 9707 (only one space)
  • AA9707 (airline name is abbreviated and no space)
  • AA 9707 (abbreviated and space)

I would suggest you keep the airline name spelled out completely and add a space between the two pieces of information — like in the previous section — because for some airlines, these alternative options may not work.

Real-time flight tracking

Once everything is set, tap on the flight information in your text messages. If the feature works correctly, you should see the following two options appear in a quick-action menu:

  • Preview Flight: View the flight’s details. Tap this to view more information about the flight.
  • Copy Flight Code: Copy the flight code to your clipboard (in case you want to send your flight details to someone else via text or email).

If you select Preview Flight, at the top of the window, you’ll see the best part of this feature: a real-time flight tracker map. A line will connect the two destinations, and a tiny airplane will move between them, indicating where the flight is at that exact moment.

Underneath the map, you’ll see important flight information:

  • Airline name and flight number
  • Flight status (arriving on time, delayed, canceled, etc.)
  • Terminal and gate numbers (for arrival and departure)
  • Arrival and departure time
  • Flight duration
  • Baggage claim (the number of the baggage carousel)

If you swipe left on the bottom half of the flight tracker, you can switch between flights, but only if there’s a return flight.

For more travel tips, don’t miss our test on whether AI can help you fly more sustainably.

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Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for March 25 #752

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for March 25, No. 752.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle is a fun one, but it might make you hungry. Some of the answers are difficult to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story. 

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Intermission mission.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Movie candy.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

  • ROBE, BORE, WEEDS, WEED, RENT, RIND, CORN, SCAN, SPAN, SPANS, SAND, CANE, CANT, CROSS, COIN

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

  • BEER, SODA, CANDY, FRIES, WATER, POPCORN, PRETZEL

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is CONCESSIONS. To find it, start with the C that’s three letters to the right on the top row, and wind down.

Toughest Strands puzzles

Here are some of the Strands topics I’ve found to be the toughest.

#1: Dated slang. Maybe you didn’t even use this lingo when it was cool. Toughest word: PHAT.

#2: Thar she blows! I guess marine biologists might ace this one. Toughest word: BALEEN or RIGHT. 

#3: Off the hook. Again, it helps to know a lot about sea creatures. Sorry, Charlie. Toughest word: BIGEYE or SKIPJACK.

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Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for March 25, #548

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for March 25 No. 548.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition features a fun yellow category that’s really more games-centered than sports-focused. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Rec room staples.

Green group hint: Footwear.

Blue group hint: Same team.

Purple group hint: Hoops league.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Games played on a table.

Green group: Nike shoes.

Blue group: Giants greats.

Purple group: NBA ____.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is games played on a table. The four answers are air hockey, foosball, pool and snooker.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is Nike shoes. The four answers are Air Force 1, Blazer, Pegasus and Shox.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is Giants greats. The four answers are Bonds, Mays, Ott and Posey.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is NBA ____. The four answers are All-Star Game, Cup, Draft and Finals.

Toughest Connections: Sports Edition categories

The Connections: Sports Edition puzzle can be tough, but it really depends on which sports you know the most about. My husband aces anything having to do with Formula 1, my best friend is a hockey buff, and I can answer any question about Minnesota teams.

That said, it’s hard to pick the toughest Connections categories, but here are some I found exceptionally mind-blowing.

#1: Serie A Clubs. Answers: Atalanta, Juventus, Lazio, Roma.

#2: WNBA MVPs. Answers: Catchings, Delle Donne, Fowles and Stewart.

#3: Premier League team nicknames. Answers: Bees, Cherries, Foxes and Hammers.

#4: Homophones of NBA player names. Answers: Barns, Connect, Heart and Hero.

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Technologies

Go iPhone-Free This Spring Sale With $400 Off a Cellular Apple Watch

This might not be the latest model, but it’s still a great smartwatch at a fantastic price during Amazon’s Big Spring Sale.

Amazon’s Big Spring Sale is now officially underway, and that means that the deals are coming thick and fast. One of those deals gets you a 41mm stainless steel cellular Apple Watch Series 9 for just $299, a massive $400 off the usual asking price. You’ll need to act fast, though, because this deal will only be available for a few more hours.

This lightning deal is selling fast, so we definitely recommend ordering your new Apple Watch sooner rather than later, otherwise you really do risk missing out.

In her Apple Watch Series 9 review, Lisa Eadicicco lauded the wearable’s improved performance when using Siri as well as its «wide variety of health and fitness features.» And with the added cellular support thrown in, you can continue to use your Apple Watch even when your iPhone isn’t nearby. That alone is worth the price of admission here.

As for the rest of the package, this model comes in the 41mm case size, so it won’t take over your wrist. Prefer the larger 45mm model? No problem, that’s also available at a discount — you’ll pay just $349, but again, time is running out.

Read more: Should You Upgrade to Apple Watch Series 11? Here Are the Key Features You Get

This model also features the popular always-on display feature, so you can always see the time even when your wrist isn’t raised. That might sound like table stakes, but it’s a feature that the Apple Watch didn’t have for far too long.

SMARTWATCH DEALS OF THE WEEK

Deals are selected by the CNET Group commerce team, and may be unrelated to this article.

Why this deal matters

A great smartwatch can be a huge deal in your quest for better fitness. Whether you’re getting fit or staying that way, the Apple Watch is hard to beat, but prices can be steep for the latest models. Getting this previous-gen model gets you in the door for cheap, while still nabbing a premium stainless steel finish and cellular connectivity that you’d usually pay a lot more for. 

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