How to

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.

How to remedy a bad Home button or Power button on iPhone using Assistive Touch

By Allyson Kazmucha, Friday, Apr 5, 2013 a 12:59 pm

Two of the most common hardware issues with the iPhone are failures related to the Home button and Power button. This can present as either of these buttons becoming hard to press, not reading presses at all, or they can intermittently work. If you aren't up for a Home button or Power button DIY repair to fix the issue permanently, there is a way around them by using the Assistive Touch accessibility feature. This will give you a virtual Home button and Power button that can supplement the hardware. It isn't the most ideal solution but if you need a quick one, this is it.

How to enlarge system text on iPhone and iPad

By Allyson Kazmucha, Thursday, Apr 4, 2013 a 1:57 pm

The iPhone and iPad have lots of settings for accessibility that makes it easier for people with hearing and visual impairments to use them. If you or someone you know has visual impairments, features such as Voice Over and enlarging the system text size can completely change their experience and help alleviate frustration.

Here's how to enlarge text size throughout iOS on iPhone and iPad:

How to use Voice Over on iPhone and iPad

By Allyson Kazmucha, Wednesday, Apr 3, 2013 a 12:27 pm

The iPhone and iPad have some great accessibility features features for people with hearing or sight impairments that makes using iOS more enjoyable and less frustrating. For sight impaired individuals, the Voice Over feature allows your iPhone or iPad to speak selections and add custom gestures so you know exactly what you're tapping on before selecting it.

Whether you yourself are visually impaired or you know an iOS user who is, follow along for instructions on activating Voice Over and how to use it.

Does iMessage have an issue verifying your account? Here are some troubleshooting tips!

By Allyson Kazmucha, Tuesday, Apr 2, 2013 a 11:26 am

While iMessage is a great service that lets iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Mac users correspond for free with any other iOS user, it can also be a bag of hurt at times. One of the largest issues I see people complain about is the verification issue. Namely, iMessage will randomly sign you out of your account and you're kicked back to the login screen when you launch the Messages app. You sign back in and iMessage asks you to choose the numbers and emails you'd like, you click next, and the verification step rudely throws you back to the login screen.

If this sounds like an issue you've had, follow along and we'll walk you through how to try and resolve it.

Best Passbook compatible apps for iPhone

By Allyson Kazmucha, Monday, Apr 1, 2013 a 4:40 pm

Passbook can be an incredibly useful tool for storing all kinds of things from boarding passes to loyalty cards to gift cards and more. Unfortunately, the App Store doesn't make it so easy to find apps that are Passbook compatible. While there is a list, it isn't updated very frequently and misses a lot of hidden gems that ourselves and many of our readers have found over the past few months.

So if you're itching to add more items to your Passbook and find an actual use for it, here are our favorites:

How to disable lock screen notifications for specific Passbook cards

By Allyson Kazmucha, Saturday, Mar 30, 2013 a 11:47 am

If you use Passbook frequently on your iPhone, you may have noticed that certain passes use your location in order to give you easy access on your lock screen to a specific pass when you're within the vicinity. Some of those passes may contain personal information or allow for someone to charge an item to a gift card or account.

If you'd like to prevent unauthorized access to your passes, you can easily do so within Passbook. Follow along and we'll show you how.

How to disable location services for Passbook on your iPhone

By Allyson Kazmucha, Friday, Mar 29, 2013 a 12:02 pm

Passbook for iPhone may be a great tool for managing boarding passes, reward cards, and more, but it can also be a drain on battery. Since Passbook continuously checks your location to see if you're in range of somewhere you may want to use one of your passes, it can significantly decrease your battery life.

While it's a convenient feature, if you're finding your battery life is suffering, you can disable location services to lessen the strain on your battery.

How to recommend games to friends with Game Center

By Allyson Kazmucha, Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 a 5:36 pm

For most users, Game Center is all about matching up with friends and competing for rankings and checking out leaderboards. It's not much fun though if you don't have anyone to play against. If you've found a particularly cool multiplayer game in the App Store that you think a friend would like, Game Center makes it easy to tell friends about it complete with an App Store link for them to check it out.

Here's how:

How to favorite and read articles offline with the iMore app for iPhone

By Allyson Kazmucha, Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 a 12:03 pm

The new iMore app for iPhone has tons of new features that makes keeping up with your favorite articles easier than ever. Aside from being able to now leave comments in-app and listen to and watch podcasts, you can also favorite articles quickly and easily.

Favorites serves two great purposes. One is that it acts as a holding place for all your favorite articles, allowing you to jump back to them any time you'd like. It also automatically saves them for offline reading, meaning you won't need an internet connection to read any articles you favorite. Don't have time to read a whole article now? Favorite it and jump back in whenever you'd like to finish, with or without an internet connection.