1. Lock your phone’s screen orientation
To lock your screen orientation, double tap the home button and swipe to the right. You’ll see a gray circle opposite the rewind button. Tap that one time and a lock will appear. Now when you turn your phone sideways the orientation will stay put.
2. Set an alphanumeric passcode
Setting an alpha numeric password can add an extra layer of protection to your phone.
To enable, first head to Settings. Next, tap general, navigate to the middle of the page, and select passcode lock. Turn “Simple Passcode” off and you will be prompted to enter your alpha numeric password.
3. Make the iPod app stop playing music after a set amount of time
This tip is handy if you ever fall asleep listening to music.
After you’ve selected a song in the Music app, head to the the clock app. Select the timer option in the bottom right hand corner and set a specific time. Below the time, there is an option that says, “When Timer Ends …” tap that. At the very bottom of the list is an option for “Stop Playing.” Select this and when the timer is up it will stop the iPod from playing.
4. Take advantage of iOS 6’s ‘Do Not Disturb’ feature.
Right inside the settings menu is one of Apple’s latest iPhone features, “Do Not Disturb.” You can switch this on at night or when you do not want to be bothered by your phone.
Right below Do Not Disturb is an option for Notifications. The Notifications menu will allow you to tweak Do Not Disturb allowing it to turn off at a certain time or who you can receive calls from.
Optional settings for Do Not Disturb:
- Scheduled: Automatically enable Do Not Disturb between the hours you specify.
- Allow Calls From: Allow calls from everyone, no one, your favorites, or specific contact groups.
- Repeated Calls: If someone calls you twice within three minutes, the call will not be silenced.
5. Take a screenshot of your screen
Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button, then press the Home button. Your screen flashes and the picture appears in your Camera Roll.
6. Use Siri discreetly…
In case you don’t want to yell out your question to Siri and have her broadcast it back to you try this trick:
Head to settings, next general, then Siri. The last option in the list will be “Raise to Speak.” Switch that on and the next time you raise your phone to your ear Siri will activate.
7. Use Siri to set location-based reminders
This tip comes straight from Apple:
You probably know Siri can be used to set a reminder, like saying “Siri, remind me to call mom at 4pm today.” But did you know you can set location-based reminders on your iPhone 4S? Say “Remind me to call mom when I leave here” or “Remind me to call mom when I get home” and you’ll be notified accordingly. Make sure you enter your addresses in contacts first though.
8. Locate your lost iPhone
If you’ve lost your iPhone, Find My iPhone can help you locate it. Just go to Settings > iCloud and turn on the Find My iPhone feature.
9. Scroll to the top fast
In Safari, Mail, Contacts and many other apps, tap the status bar — which displays the network information, time and battery level — to scroll quickly to the top.
10. Learn some keyboard tricks
- Tap the space bar twice, and iPhone adds a full stop and capitalises the next word.
- To enter a number or symbol quickly, touch and hold
, then select the key you want. Lifting your finger returns you to the alphabet keyboard. - Touch and hold a letter to reveal a list of special characters.
