iOS & iPhone Features
How To: 32 Things You Didn't Know About Your iPhone's Keyboard
Apple's stock keyboard for iPhone has gone through many changes over the years. Some have been significant, and others more subtle. Overall, most of these updates have been fairly obvious, so you're probably already using them — but there are more than a few interesting features that were slipped in under the radar that you may not know about.
How To: Change the Color Theme of Any App Interface on Your iPhone — Without Affecting the Rest of iOS
Few apps on the iPhone give you ways to change their color scheme aside from Dark Mode in iOS 13 and later, but that doesn't mean you can't give an app a new color theme or filtered look. With the Shortcuts app in iOS 14 and later, it's totally possible, and it'll work in practically any app.
Siri 101: How to Make Siri Correctly Recognize & Pronounce Contact Names on Your iPhone
Siri makes it easy to call almost any contact on your iPhone with just a quick verbal command. I say almost because counterintuitive name pronunciations such as Caoimhe, which is actually pronounced "Keeva," will confuse the hell out of Siri. Luckily, there's a way to get Siri to understand pronunciations for the tricky names in your contact list ... it just takes a little grunt work on your part.
How To: Audio Messages Keep Disappearing in iMessages? Do This to Stop Them from Self-Destructing
Introduced in the Messages app back in iOS 8, audio messages are a fun way to spice up an iMessage thread when you're bored with text, emoji, and GIFs. However, it can be frustrating to lose an important, funny, or otherwise-interesting sound clip because iOS auto-deletes it two minutes after you send or listen to it. Thankfully, there is a way to stop this from happening.
How To: You Can Shoot Better-Looking Videos on Your iPhone if You Change This One Setting
While most smartphones these days take great video, the iPhone is the camera to beat. Recent models like the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro shoot in 4K resolution from every camera, and even a budget device like the iPhone SE delivers an excellent 4K image from the rear shooter. That said, if you haven't touched your camera settings since taking it out of the box, you're likely missing out.
How To: Turn Your iPhone's Auto-Brightness Off in iOS 12
If you're not a fan of your iPhone's ability to adjust screen brightness by itself, you've probably turned off auto-brightness on multiple occasions in the past. All you would do is go to your "Display & Brightness" settings and toggle it off, but that's no longer the case in iOS 11 and iOS 12 — whether you have an iPhone X, XS, XS Max, XR or any older supported iPhone.
How To: Recover Deleted Photos & Videos from Your iPhone or iPad in iOS 8
What happens when you accidentally delete a photo or video from your iPad or iPhone? How do you get it back?
How To: Share Your iPhone Photos & Videos with a Disappearing Link That Expires Automatically
The way you share a group of photos and videos on your iPhone is pretty simple; just select a few items, then choose a service or platform to send them through. Simplicity isn't always the best option, though, and in this case, there's a better way than letting those files send or upload individually, one by one.
How To: Update Your iPhone's Lock Screen with an Attention-Grabbing Note, Reminder, Warning, or Other Custom Message
There's a lot you can customize on your iPhone's Lock Screen — wallpapers and photos, widgets, the display mode, notifications, and even the time's font and color. But there's another feature that lets you add custom text for whatever you want, whether it's an inspiring quote, a reminder, a warning to anyone who dares touch your iPhone, or even just your name.
Messages 101: How to Turn iMessage Read Receipts On/Off Per Person
With iOS 9.3.5, as well as all of the versions prior to that, you had two choices when it came to "Read Receipts" for iMessage — either on for everybody or off for everybody. So if you weren't comfortable with one or two of your contacts knowing whether or not you've read their messages, you had to keep the feature disabled and miss out on Read Receipts for people you're a bit closer to.
How To: Eliminate Unwanted Texts & iMessages on Your iPhone to Avoid Spam, Scams & Phishing Attacks
Next to spam calls, few things are more annoying than being inundated with spam, scam, and smishing texts. Your iPhone's Messages app should be a place for your friends and family to stay in touch, not a minefield of phishing attacks, malicious links, and viruses. Luckily, there are quite a few methods to block and report your way to a more spam-free iPhone.
How To: Use Any Music Playlist to Set Your Favorite Album Covers as the Lock Screen Wallpaper on Your iPhone
The music you listen to is often a reflection of your personality, which is why people tend to use the artwork from their favorite albums as device wallpapers. But one lonely album cover may not look right on your iPhone's lock screen, and it's not indicative of your broader music interests. To combine cover art into one lock screen background, there's a shortcut that makes it easy to do for any playlist.
How To: 18 Sneaky Privacy-Betraying Settings Every iPhone Owner Must Know About iOS 7
You saw our post on the 18 coolest new features of iOS 7, but now that you've had a chance to play around with your updated iPhone, it's time to lock it down.
How To: Track Your Lost iPhone, iPad, or Mac Even When Its Offline — As Long as This Feature Is Enabled
Apple's latest updates to its operating systems add another security feature to its Find My service, so you have an even better chance at locating your lost iPhone, iPad, or Mac should it ever happen. As long as you have the option enabled, you can leverage other Apple users' devices to find yours on the map.
How To: Create Emoji Art from Your Photos Using This Fun Tool
While there are tools online that let you turn photos into interesting emoji art, and mobile apps that let you create emoji mosaics, none do it better than an iPhone app by second verse, which makes it a super easy, highly customizable process.
How To: 4 Ways to Quickly Open and Show Off Your COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card on Your iPhone
Whether it becomes mandatory or not to show your COVID-19 vaccination card at events, restaurants, bars, hotels, airports, and other public places, it's a good idea to digitize the paper card on your smartphone so that it's always with you. It's also wise to give yourself quick, convenient access to it, so you're not holding up lines while trying to locate the file, and there are a few ways to do that on your iPhone.
How To: Activate Siri on Newer iPhones Without a Home Button
In its never-ending quest to innovate its flagships, Apple's newer iPhone models with Face ID do away with the iconic Home button present since the first iPhone back in 2007. That means screenshots, force-restarting, switching apps, Apple Pay, and the home screen all work differently on the iPhone X, XR, XS, XS Max, 11, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Max. One of the more important aspects, Siri, is also slightly different.
How To: Customize Colors for All the Apps on Your iPhone to Match How You Use Them Most (Or Just for Fun)
There aren't many iPhone apps that let you change their color theme beyond light and dark appearances. They really don't need to either because iOS has a few hidden tricks up its sleeves to help you customize any app's colors either during a specific session or every time you use the app.
How To: Turn Your iPhone's Speakerphone On Automatically for FaceTime Audio Calls
By default, when you receive a FaceTime video call on your iPhone, the speakerphone kicks in immediately after answering unless you're wearing headphones. It's the exact opposite when it comes to FaceTime audio calls, but it's pretty easy to remedy if you'd rather have the speakerphone kick in instead of the built-in ear speaker.
How To: Get Back the 'Favorites' Phone Widget on Your iPhone's Home Screen or Today View in iOS 14
There are plenty of reasons to upgrade to iOS 14, home screen widgets chief among them. With that in mind, it's ironic that Apple placed so much emphasis on "widgets" this year when the new update removes a fan-favorite widget of the past — the "Favorites" Phone widget, which was accessible via the Today View or quick actions on the home screen. Here's how to get it back.
How To: Change Your FaceTime Caller ID to an Email Address or Phone Number
Whenever you make FaceTime audio or video calls from your iPhone, Apple automatically uses your phone number or Apple ID email address as the caller identification. So when someone that you're calling sees the incoming call, they'll see it's from your phone number or email address. But what if you'd rather it be a different identifier?
How To: Disable iOS 12's Annoying Password Creation Feature on Your iPhone
Maybe you prefer writing passwords in a notebook. Maybe you like creating your passwords yourself. Whatever the case, you don't like iOS 12's new automatic password generator, and you don't need it to pop up every time you enter a new password in Safari or a third-party app. Lucky for you, iOS 12 lets you disable the feature altogether. Unfortunately, that perk comes with a catch.
How To: Take Screenshots on Your iPhone 12, 12 Pro, 12 Pro Max, or 12 Mini in 6 Different Ways
If you just got an iPhone 12, 12 Pro, 12 Pro Max, or 12 mini, and you've never owned an iPhone before, some of the most basic tasks can be baffling. Shutting it down, force-restarting it, quitting apps, and even viewing the percentage of battery remaining sound simple but aren't very intuitive for new iPhone owners. Another big question mark is screenshots, and there are several ways to take them.
How To: FaceTime Forcing LTE Instead of Wi-Fi? Here's How to Fix It
These days, you can FaceTime with family and friends whether you're at home connected to Wi-Fi or on-the-go with mobile data. You may have noticed, however, that your iPhone will sometimes drop Wi-Fi and rely on cellular instead — whether you're placing or receiving a FaceTime call. While that's not an expected result, there is a workaround to get your FaceTime calls back on track.
How To: Third-Party Accessories & Gear That Work with Apple's 'Find My' Network
Apple's Find My app just got way more useful. While it's great for locating a lost or stolen iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, Apple Watch, Mac, and AirPods, as well as anything attached to an AirTag tracker, it's even better now that it works with third-party accessories and gear.
How To: The Hidden Action That Opens Apple Pay from Your iPhone's Lock Screen
I think everyone with an iPhone should be making every purchase they can with Apple Pay. I also think everyone who uses Apple Pay should open the Wallet app ahead of time, instead of simply tapping their iPhone to the card reader. But there's a much faster way to open Wallet than slogging through the sea of apps on your iPhone. You can open it right from the lock screen.
How To: Download & Play SNES Games on Your iPad or iPhone—No Jailbreak Required
Tired of playing old-school Game Boy Advance, Game Boy Color, Nintendo, and Nintendo DS games on your iPhone? We've got another retro video game system for you to add to your arsenal of emulators—Super Nintendo.
Messages 101: How to Enable & Disable Read Receipts for iMessages
If you've accidentally turned on "Read Receipts" for all of your iMessages, there's an easy way to disable it so that no one knows when you're actually reading their incoming messages. You could also pick and choose which conversations can see that you've read their messages if you don't want to kill the feature entirely.
How To: Show Images & Videos in Their Correct Aspect Ratio & Orientation When Viewing a Grid in Photos
Whenever you're browsing a grid of photos and videos in the Photos app, whether you're in the Photos, Albums, or Search tab, all media is cropped within the confines of tiny square thumbnails. But it doesn't have to be that way.
How To: Get Rid of Frequently Visited Websites in Safari on Your iPhone, iPad, or Mac
Safari has a helpful feature that shows your most frequently visited webpages whenever you open a new tab or window, but it's not for everyone. If you never use it, would rather have a minimalist start page, or want to prevent other people with access to Safari on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac from seeing the websites you frequent the most, you can get rid of it.
How To: Get Your Money Back for That App You Accidentally Bought from Apple
If you purchased something from iTunes, the iOS App Store, iBooks Store, Apple TV App Store, or the Mac App Store and it doesn't work, didn't download, is buggy, or wasn't what you thought it was, you can get a full refund from Apple—you just have to know how to ask.
How To: Bulk Delete Messages Faster with This Hidden iOS 13 Gesture
On the surface, deleting conversations in Messages seems harder in iOS 13 after Apple removed the "Edit" button on the main page. Fortunately, they added a new gesture that lets you remove entire threads and individual messages with ease.
How To: Find Missing Apps on Your iPhone
Unlike on Android, you can't easily hide your iPhone apps. Sure, you can nestle them away in folders labeled "junk," but they're supposed to be omni-present somewhere on your home screen. That is, until one day they're just ... gone. The fact that some of your apps disappeared only makes it more frustrating because there's no logical reason why they should have, right?
How To: Jailbreak iOS 8.0-8.4 on Your iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch (& Install Cydia)
Although iOS 8.4 was just released, the team behind the iOS 8.3 jailbreak have updated their tool for the latest operating system, and will work on an iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch. So if you've been wanting to get all your tweaks back, or want to start exploring all of Cydia's options, now's the time to jailbreak.
How To: Send Full-Screen Memoji Explosions in iMessage Chats from Your iPhone or iPad
A simple trick in the Messages app for iOS and iPadOS can make your iMessage conversations more fun for you and your recipients by sending a full-screen blast of any Memoji sticker you choose.
How To: Download Maps & Navigation Routes for Offline Use in Apple Maps
Whether due to spotty cellular reception or just data that you want to save, popular navigation apps like Google Maps and Waze offer an offline feature that lets you navigate from one location to another in the absence of internet service. Apple Maps also lets you use its service offline on your iPhone, though the feature is not as straightforward as it is on its competitors.
How To: Grouped Notifications in iOS 12 Makes Browsing Alerts on Your iPhone Way Less Annoying
Apple's linear Notification Center has been scattershot at best since iOS 9 when we could group notifications by app. Without any type of grouping ability, the notification history becomes more of a nuisance of random alerts based on time alone, making it a treasure hunt to find the notification wanted. Now, iOS 12 has addressed this issue, bringing back groupings — with improvements.
How To: 11 Unique Effects to Make Your iPhone Photos & Videos Less Boring on Social Media
Social media apps like Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok have plenty of editing tools that go beyond the basics, but there are still a lot of things they can't do. So if you want to apply interesting, unique effects to your photos and videos for social media, you'll need to add some other apps to your iPhone's arsenal of tools.
How To: Fix an iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch That Won't Charge Anymore
If you've ever had issues charging your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch, like most other Apple products, the culprit to blame is usually a frayed or damaged cable. It's a common design flaw due to the thinness of the cords and the weak sheath surrounding them — but that's not always the problem.
How To: Open the Accessibility Shortcuts on iPhones Without a Home Button
If you've never used the Home button shortcuts on your iPhone before, you've been missing out. And no, I'm not talking about opening up Siri. By clicking the Home button three times, you could quickly pull up tools such as Magnifier, VoiceOver, Zoom, and Assistive Touch, but that's all changed on the iPhone X, XS, XS Max, and XR, which don't have Home buttons to click.