Accessibility Tips

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.

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.

How to enable Speak Selection on iPhone and iPad

By Allyson Kazmucha, Tuesday, Mar 12, 2013 a 3:13 pm

There are lots of accessibility options available in iOS that a lot of people overlook. One of those is Speak Selection which adds the ability for your iPhone or iPad to read back text to you. Opposed to voice over functionality which speaks everything you tap, Speak Selection can be activated but is only triggered when you choose to activate it.

Here's how to set it up and use it.

How to put your iPad into "Guest User" mode with Guided Access

By Rene Ritchie, Thursday, Sep 20, 2012 a 9:02 am

The iPad is a fantastic, big screen devices with a great web browser and amazing games, and anyone who sees it is likely going to want to borrow it to use or just to try out. If you need to lend your iPad, however, all your personal content, messages, email, etc. get lent out with it. And that cause problems because unlike traditional computers, the iPad doesn't support multiple accounts, or even a restricted "Guest User" mode.

But with iOS 6, you can use the brand new Guided Access mode (or single-app mode) to simulate it.