Settings Tips

How to fix auto-brightness issues with iOS 6

By Allyson Kazmucha, Wednesday, Dec 5, 2012 a 4:29 pm

Ambient light sensor readings got quite a bit of an overhaul in iOS 6, and now include Lock screen auto-brightness and better memory management. This has lead to many people experiencing issues with auto-brightness settings. iPhone 5 users in particular seem to be having trouble. If your auto-brightness isn't working under iOS 6, here's how to reset it and get it back in gear.

How to set up, configure, secure, and start using Siri

By Rene Ritchie, Wednesday, Nov 21, 2012 a 10:43 am

Siri is one of Apple's flagship features, a virtual, personal, digital assistant with a personality straight out of a Pixar film. If you've got an iPhone 5, iPod touch 5, iPad mini, or iPad 4, then you've got Siri! With Siri, you can do all sorts of amazing, time-saving things, from keeping in contact, to keeping on time, to keeping informed. But first, you may need to get Siri set up and up to speed.

Here are a few things you can do to help Siri along and shorten the learning curve for both of you.

How to use Siri
How to edit a Siri question or command
How to enable Siri in the Settings
How to configure Siri
How to secure Siri with a Passcode Lock

Daily Tip: How to make sure you've opted-out of Carrier IQ-style diagnostics on iPhone

By Rene Ritchie, Thursday, Dec 1, 2011 a 2:56 pm

iOS 5 on the iPhone has Carrier IQ-style diagnostic information sharing turned off by default, but as part of the on-device setup process, asks you if you'd be willing to opt-in and share the data with Apple. If you did that, or aren't sure what you did, but now want to make sure you're opted out of anything even remotely Carrier IQ-esque, here's how to do that.

How to use Siri access Bluetooth and other Settings (kind of)

By Georgia, Wednesday, Nov 9, 2011 a 5:11 pm

bamf-hacker in our iPhone 4S Forum wrote up a quick but smart tip on how to use Siri to access Bluetooth and other Setting with only... the power of your voice.

All you need to do is create a contact and in the Web site field put the code for the system preference. for example.

Contact name is Bluetooth and the Web address is prefs:root=General&path=Bluetooth

Then activate Siri and say "Bluetooth" the contact card will open with a clickable link right to the Bluetooth settings.

Daily Tip: How to do an iOS OTA update [developers]

By Rene Ritchie, Friday, Jul 22, 2011 a 11:19 pm

iOS 5 developer curious how to do an over-the-air (OTA) update to iOS 5 beta 4 for iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch? Yes, Apple finally pulled the big test switch in the cloud and you can go from beta 3 to beta 4 via a svelte, under 200mb, bit differential (delta) update-in-place rather than the usual beefy 700MB+ iTunes restore of updates past. We'll show you how, after the break!

Daily Tip: How to check available storage on your iPhone or iPad

By Cody Allison, Wednesday, Jun 29, 2011 a 11:41 pm

Worried that you might be filling up your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad and wondering how to check to see how much storage you have left? Take a picture, download an app, and come up with a message that tells you there is not enough space on your device to install or save? Checking your available storage can save you a lot of time and headache, and let you know when you need to free up space before you run into any problems. Hit the jump to find out how.

Daily Tip: How to hide the “Photo Slideshow” option on your iPad lock screen

By George Lim, Thursday, Jun 23, 2011 a 9:43 pm

Passcoded your iPad but still worried someone could access your personal pictures via the Photo Slideshow button on the lock screen? Luckily, if you don’t want to use the slideshow button, there is a very simple way to remove it. We'll show you how... after the break!

Daily Tip: How to enable data protection on your iPhone, iPad

By Rene Ritchie, Friday, Mar 18, 2011 a 10:44 pm

Take security seriously and interested in how to enable data protection on your iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad? The good news is that if you use a passcode, iOS 4 data protections protects the hardware encryption keys on your device, making email, attachments, and 3rd party apps (if they enable it) much more secure. The bad news is, if you updated your iPhone 3GS, iPod touch 3, or original iPad from iOS 3 to iOS 4, data protection might not have been turned on even with the passcode. Not to worry, we'll walk you through all the possibilities, after the break!

[Apple KB via TidBITS]

Daily Tip: How to use Wi-Fi personal hotspot

By Rene Ritchie, Tuesday, Feb 8, 2011 a 11:00 am

Wondering how to use the Wi-Fi personal hotspot on the new Verizon iPhone 4 or iOS 4.3 iPhone 4? Used mobile hotspot or a MiFi before but not sure how Apple's works? No worries, it's almost painless to share your iPhone's 3G connection with up to 5 other devices (including your iPad or laptop!) and we'll show you how after the break!

Tip: How to make your iPhone battery life last longer

By Georgia, Wednesday, Nov 17, 2010 a 9:29 am

Need to find out how to make your iPhone's battery life last longer? There are quite a few ways in which you can help your iPhone save power. Some are very intuitive but hopefully we will tell you a few which you have not yet thought of.

Special thanks to michaelchang516 from the forums for this tip!