How to

How to selectively back up app data to iCloud in order to save storage space

By Allyson Kazmucha, Wednesday, Apr 17, 2013 a 11:04 am

If you use iCloud in order to back up your iPhone or iPad, you're probably already aware that you only get 5GB per iCloud account for free. Depending on how many devices you have linked to your account, this may not be a lot at all. Unless you pay for additional storage, you may find your devices unable to back up after your storage is filled.

Choosing which app data you want to back up can save tremendous amounts of space in some cases. Follow along and we'll show you how to turn off backups for storage hungry apps.

How to test Facebook Chat Heads and stickers for iOS right now, even if they haven't yet been enabled for your account

By Nick Arnott, Tuesday, Apr 16, 2013 a 5:52 pm

Today Facebook released a fairly major update for the iOS Facebook app. Among the new features are messenger stickers and Chat Heads (a horribly named feature first announced for Facebook Home). Currently these new features have only rolled out to a limited number of users. However, if you have an urgent need to test them out, and you don't mind doing a little tweaking, you can temporarily enable them on your iOS device right now.

How to edit text you have dictated to Siri on iPhone and iPad

By Allyson Kazmucha, Tuesday, Apr 16, 2013 a 11:11 am

If you've ever used Siri, you've most likely been given the response that your request couldn't be completed and you could perform a web search instead. In some cases, Siri doesn't understand names or words correctly which causes confusion which results in an error or incorrect results.

There's actually a way to edit your request directly within Siri without having to try and dictate it all over again.

Here's how:

How to disable access to certain areas of the screen with Guided Access for iPhone and iPad

By Allyson Kazmucha, Monday, Apr 15, 2013 a 2:02 pm

If you've got an iPhone or iPad running iOS 6 or higher, you've got Guided Access. This feature is especially great to use with small children that you don't want to have access to certain apps. Once you've launched them into the app they are allowed to be in, you can take it one step further by disabling touch for certain areas of the screen you may not want them having access to.

Follow along and we'll show you how.

How to set a passcode for Guided Access on iPhone and iPad

By Allyson Kazmucha, Saturday, Apr 13, 2013 a 1:09 pm

Once you've enabled Guided Access within your iPhone or iPad's accessibility options, you may have noticed that you can just as easily disable it as you can enable it from inside apps. If you don't want the person using your iPhone or iPad to be able to disable Guided Access on their own, you can set a passcode which will be required in order to exit Guided Access mode.

Here's how:

How to enable Guided Access on iPhone and iPad

By Allyson Kazmucha, Friday, Apr 12, 2013 a 9:33 am

The iPhone and iPad come native with lots of accessibility options that can make using them a lot easier for people with impairments. That isn't the only reason Apple gives many accessibility options though. Guided Access is a perfect example of how you can lock down an iPhone or iPad for use by children or even to create a guest user mode so others using your devices can't access things you don't want them to.

Follow along and we'll show you how to properly set up and use Guided Access on iPhone and iPad.

How to set a default call answer mode on iPhone

By Allyson Kazmucha, Thursday, Apr 11, 2013 a 1:29 pm

If you take a lot of calls on your iPhone, you may use a headset while driving or prefer answering calls over the loud speaker as opposed to the earpiece. As it happens iOS has quite a few accessibility options options including one that lets you change the default answer mode.

Here's how:

How to change the Home button click speed on iPhone and iPad

By Allyson Kazmucha, Wednesday, Apr 10, 2013 a 9:27 am

If you've got an iPhone or iPad, you're already aware that the Home button is by far the most used physical button since you use it to exit apps, multitask, and more. Depending on how fast you tap the Home button, double and trip clicks may not always register for you or get misread. iOS actually gives you a way to customize the Home button click speed by slowing it down.

Here's how:

How to invert screen colors on iPhone and iPad

By Allyson Kazmucha, Tuesday, Apr 9, 2013 a 10:03 am

For certain individuals that are visually impaired, inverting the colors of the iPhone and iPad screen may make it easier to read, particularly for users who are colorblind or partially colorblind. This is actually a built in accessibility option for all iPhones and iPads. So whether you yourself are visually impaired or you know someone who is, it could make reading text and viewing content within iOS much easier.

Here's how:

How to magnify the screen on your iPhone and iPad using the Zoom feature

By Allyson Kazmucha, Monday, Apr 8, 2013 a 12:32 pm

For users that are visually impaired, the iPhone and iPad have a lot of great accessibility options that make using iOS easier and less work. One of those feature is the native Zoom feature which allows you to activate and deactivate zoom on demand whenever you'd like.

If you don't know how to use it, follow along and we'll get you started.