1. Tips and Tricks for Customizing Settings

Thanks to iOS 9, the functionality of your iPhone or iPad is more customizable than ever. You can adjust many device and app-related options from within Settings, plus use Notification Center to help you manage alerts, alarms, notifications, and other informative content in one centralized location. Meanwhile, iOS 9’s Control Center gives you quick access to a handful of commonly used features and functions.

This chapter focuses on personalizing and customizing your iOS mobile device and gets you acquainted with Settings, Control Center, Notification Center, and Spotlight Search.

In Settings, it’s possible to personalize and customize many different options that give you more control than ever over how your iPhone or iPad responds to you, while managing your apps, files, content, and data.

After iOS 9 is installed onto your iPhone or iPad, you’ll definitely want to manually adjust some of the options in Settings, as opposed to relying entirely on their default settings.

For example, if you tap on the Wallpaper option, the submenus associated with customizing your device’s Lock and Home screens appear. By tapping on the wallpaper thumbnails displayed under the Wallpaper heading, additional submenu options are displayed.

As you work your way deeper into each submenu, a left-pointing arrow icon appears near the upper-left corner of each submenu screen. It enables you to exit out of each Settings submenu and move a step back toward the main Settings menu. At any time, tap on this left-pointing arrow icon to exit out of the submenu you’re in (before or after you’ve made adjustments to the various option settings). If you opt to make adjustments, those changes are automatically saved when you exit out of the menu or submenu within Settings. If you exit out of a menu or submenu without making any changes, nothing is altered.

Even while your device is in Airplane mode, you can still turn on Wi-Fi and/or Bluetooth, enabling the iOS device to access the Web via a Wi-Fi hotspot (to utilize the wireless web access available on some commercial aircrafts, for example), and also communicate with a Bluetooth-enabled wireless keyboard, external speaker(s), and/or headset.

In Figure 1.4, the iPhone is in Airplane mode (the airplane icon is displayed in the upper-left corner of the screen). However, the smartphone is also connected to a Wi-Fi network. You can see the Wi-Fi signal strength icon displayed in the upper-left corner of the screen, near the Airplane Mode icon. In addition, this iPhone has Bluetooth turned on and a Bluetooth headset is linked to the phone. You can tell this from the Bluetooth icons displayed in the upper-right corner of the screen, next to the battery indicator icon and percentage meter.

The tiny arrow icon displayed to the left of the Bluetooth icon is the Location Services icon. When it’s visible, this means the main Location Services feature of your iPhone or iPad is turned on, and one or more apps are utilizing the feature to automatically determine the current location of your mobile device.

To choose any Wi-Fi hotspot listed, simply tap on it. In a few seconds, a check mark appears to the left of your selected Wi-Fi hotspot, and a Wi-Fi signal indicator appears in the upper-left corner of your device’s screen, indicating that a Wi-Fi connection has been established.

If you select a Wi-Fi network that is password protected, when you tap on it, an Enter Password window appears on your screen. Using the device’s virtual keyboard, enter the correct password to connect to the Wi-Fi network you selected. You will often have to do this when connecting to a Wi-Fi hotspot offered in a hotel, for example.

A Wi-Fi connection is typically faster than a 3G/4G (LTE) connection. (Although if you’re within a 4G LTE coverage area, you might experience faster connectivity using it as opposed to Wi-Fi.)

When connected to the Internet via Wi-Fi, you can send and receive as much data as you’d like without worrying about using up the monthly wireless data allocation for your cellular data plan. This is the best option when streaming content from the Internet, such as music or video programming.

Using a Wi-Fi connection, you can download large files, such as movies and TV show episodes, from the iTunes Store directly onto your device. Use the iCloud Backup feature to create wireless backups of your iPhone or iPad that get stored within iCloud.

If you leave the Wi-Fi option turned on, your iPhone or iPad can automatically find and connect to an available Wi-Fi hotspot based on whether you have the Ask to Join Networks option turned on or off. When the Ask To Join Networks feature is turned off, your iPhone or iPad reconnects automatically to wireless networks and Wi-Fi hotspots that you have connected to previously, such as each time you return to your home or office.

In Settings, tap Bluetooth and then turn on the virtual switch in the submenu. The first time you use a particular Bluetooth device with your iOS mobile device, you will probably need to pair it. Follow the directions that came with the device or accessory for performing this initial setup task. Some Bluetooth 4.0 devices automatically pair with your iOS device. The pairing process should take only about a minute or two. Multiple Bluetooth devices can be used simultaneously with your iPhone or iPad.

Keep in mind that after an optional device has been paired once, as long as it’s turned on and in close proximity to your iOS device, and the iOS device has the Bluetooth feature turned on, the two devices will automatically establish a wireless connection and work together.

The Data Roaming option appears on the Cellular submenu. When turned on, Data Roaming enables your iPhone or iPad to connect to a cellular network outside the one you subscribe to through your wireless service provider. The capability to tap into another wireless data network might be useful if you must connect to the Internet, there’s no Wi-Fi hotspot present, and you’re outside your own service provider’s coverage area (such as when traveling abroad).

From the Cellular menu within Settings, you can determine which apps and iPhone or iPad features can use your phone or tablet’s cellular data network in order to connect to the Internet. Scroll down and set the virtual switch that’s associated with each app or device feature to turn it on or off. When turned on, Internet access via a cellular data network and/or Wi-Fi is granted. When turned off, only Wi-Fi Internet access is granted.

Depending on your service provider, you might be able to transform your iOS device into a personal hotspot so other devices can connect wirelessly to the Internet via Wi-Fi using your iPhone or iPad’s cellular data connection. If your provider allows, this option is available from the main Settings menu or within the Cellular submenu.

The Cellular menu also enables you to track call time (on the iPhone) and cellular data usage.

When you tap on the Notifications option within Settings and scroll down, a section of the submenu under the Notification Style heading lists all apps currently installed on your iPhone or iPad that are compatible with Notification Center, and that you can set up to automatically share data with Notification Center. Tap on an app listing to customize how that app interacts with Notification Center.

As you review each app listed under the Notification Style heading, tap on it to reveal a secondary submenu pertaining specifically to that app.

Notifications can be viewed as a banner or alert on the Lock screen and within Notification Center, and/or as a badge on the app icon (displayed on the Home screen).

Some apps have additional options. For example, the Calendar submenu under Notifications (shown in Figure 1.6), displays another submenu that allows you to separately customize alerts, alarms, and notifications related to Upcoming Events, Invitations, Invitee Responses, Shared Calendar Changes, and Events Found in Mail. The submenu that appears (shown in Figure 1.7) for each of these enables you to determine where related notifications are displayed, plus which Alert Style should be used.

By selecting an Alert Style, you choose whether a banner or alert is displayed on the screen, even when you are using another app.

If you choose Banners, a pop-up window appears at the top of the screen with the alert-related information. It appears for a few seconds, and then automatically disappears.

If you choose the Alerts option, a pop-up window displays on the iPhone or iPad’s screen until you tap on it to dismiss or address the alarm. The Calendar app generates alerts by default if you set an alarm for an upcoming event.

If you select the None option, no app-specific banner or alert is displayed while you’re using the iPhone or iPad. You can, however, have a custom sound played to get your attention by tapping on the Sounds option.

By turning on the virtual switch associated with the Badge App Icon option (when applicable), the app you’re customizing can display a badge on the Home screen along with its app icon. Some, but not all, apps can utilize Home screen badges.

Also from the submenu associated with customizing app-specific Notification Center options, you can adjust the sounds generated if that app is capable of playing sounds with alerts, alarms, or notifications.

From the Calendar submenu in the Notification Center settings, tap on the Upcoming Events option, for example, and then tap on the Sounds option to access another submenu that enables you to choose a sound to be associated with event alarms. The default sound for this specific option is called Chord.

Turn on the virtual switch associated with Show In Notification Center if you want alerts related to that app to be displayed in the Notification Center window.

Finally, you can determine whether notifications generated by a particular app should be displayed on the Lock screen when your device is otherwise in Sleep mode. When enabled, the phone or tablet is woken up automatically to display new notifications on the Lock screen for anyone to see, without the device first needing to be unlocked.

At the very bottom of the Notification Center settings on the iPhone are two features: AMBER alerts and Emergency Alerts. When turned on, if the government issues an AMBER alert in your area or a message is broadcast over the Emergency Broadcast System, an alert appears on your device.

To protect your privacy, consider setting up Notification Center to refrain from having alerts displayed on your Lock screen. To do this, tap on each app under the Notifications Style heading, and turn off the Show on Lock Screen option.

As you customize how Notification Center displays notifications, the options available to you vary by app. For example, for the Messages app, you can assign Notification Center to repeat alerts between zero and ten times, at two-minute intervals, to get your attention. You also can opt to preview an incoming message in alerts and banners, and in the Notification Center window.

When the Access on Lock Screen option is turned on, you can swipe your finger from the bottom of the screen up to display Control Center from the Lock screen. When the option is turned off, Control Center is accessible only after the device is unlocked. If Access Within Apps is turned off, you can access Control Center from the Home screen, but not while you’re using an app.

At any time, you can manually turn on the Do Not Disturb feature by turning on the virtual switch that’s labeled Manual (shown in Figure 1.10). This feature can also be manually turned on from the Control Center. Turn on the Scheduled switch to preset times when you want this mode to automatically activate.

About—At the top of this screen is the Name field. Here, you can create a unique name for your mobile device, such as “Jason’s iPad mini 4” or “Jason’s iPhone 6s.” Naming your device is useful if you have multiple devices linked to the same iCloud/Apple ID account. The rest of this About screen includes details about your device, including what version of the iOS is installed, information pertaining to the cellular network it’s connected to (if applicable), and how its internal storage is utilized.

Software Update—Use this option to update the iOS operating system wirelessly, without having to connect your iPhone or iPad to your primary computer and use the iTunes sync procedure.

Siri—Enable or disable Siri functionality on compatible devices, and adjust specific settings related to this feature. See Chapter 2, “Using Siri, Dictation, and CarPlay to Interact with Your Mobile Device,” for more information about using Siri.

Spotlight Search—Tap this option to determine which portions of your iPhone or iPad are searched when you use the Spotlight Search feature. When using one of the newer iOS mobile devices, turn on the Siri Suggestions option so that your iPhone or iPad can recommend apps, people, locations, and other content (based on recent usage) before you type anything into the Spotlight Search field.

Handoff & Suggested Apps—Handoff enables you to start performing a task on one iOS mobile device (or Mac) and continue it on another Mac or iOS mobile device linked to the same iCloud account. From this submenu, you can also set the Suggested Apps feature, which enables the App Store to recommend specific apps based on your location or what you’re working on. These recommendations appear in the app switcher and the Lock screen.

Multitasking (iPad)—The options available from the Multitasking submenu within Settings allow you to customize finger gestures used to navigate between apps when using the tablet.

Storage & iCloud Usage—Tap on this option to see how the storage capacity of your device and your iCloud account are being utilized. Tap on the Manage Storage option under the Storage heading to view storage space utilized by individual apps installed on your iPhone or iPad and manage that content. Tap on the Manage Storage option under the iCloud heading to see how your online (“cloud-based”) storage space is being utilized and manage content. At the bottom of the iCloud Manage Storage screen, tap on the Change Storage Plan option to purchase additional online storage space for your iCloud account.

Background App Refresh—This enhanced feature enables you to control the capability of apps to automatically access the Internet to refresh app-specific content and/or Location Services data when the device has Internet access. Turning off this feature helps extend battery life and cuts down on your cellular data usage. You will, however, need to manually update apps each time you launch them. This feature can also be turned on/off on an app-by-app basis from within Settings.

Auto-Lock—Anytime your iPhone or iPad is turned on, if you don’t do anything for a predetermined amount of time, it can be set to automatically switch into Sleep mode to conserve battery life and secure the device.

Restrictions—This feature provides a way to “childproof” your iPhone or iPad by enabling an authorized guest user (such as your child) to gain access exclusively to apps or content that you choose. To activate it, tap the Restrictions option, and then tap Enable Restrictions from the submenu. Set a passcode for the restrictions. You can then customize which apps are allowed, block the installation or deletion of apps, prevent in-app purchases, or set ratings limits for content.

Keyboard—You can make certain customizations from the Settings screen that impact how your virtual keyboard responds as you’re typing. It’s possible to make supplemental keyboard layouts accessible, customize the Text Replacement feature, plus adjust settings, such as whether Auto-Capitalization, Auto-Correction, Check Spelling, and Dictation are turned on. You can add the popular emoji keyboard from the Keyboards option in the Keyboards submenu of Settings.

Reset (iPhone/iPad)—Every so often, you might run in to a problem with your iPhone or iPad resulting in a system crash or the need to reset specific settings. For example, to restore your iPhone or iPad to its factory default settings and erase everything stored on it, tap on the Reset option, and then tap on the Erase All Content and Settings option. In general, you should refrain from using any of these settings unless you’re instructed to do so by an Apple Genius or a technical support person. If you upgrade to a new iOS mobile device and want to return your old device to factory settings and erase all of your data and content, so you can safely give away or sell the device, use the Erase All Content and Settings option found in the Reset submenu of Settings.

You’ll probably never need to tinker with or adjust several options found under the General heading. Leave them at their default settings. Others you’ll need to utilize often as you use your iPhone or iPad for different tasks.

Drag the white dot on the Auto-Brightness slider to the right to make the screen brighter, or to the left to make the screen darker.

When the Auto-Brightness virtual switch is turned on, your device takes into account the surrounding lighting where you’re using your Phone or iPad, and then adjusts the screen’s brightness accordingly. This can also be set from the Control Center. In addition, some apps, such as iBooks, have their own Brightness sliders built in to the app.

To change the Wallpaper, tap on the Choose a New Wallpaper option. Tap on the Dynamic, Stills, or Live thumbnail to reveal iOS 9’s built-in Wallpaper options, or select a photo from an Album that’s listed under the Photos heading.

Next, the graphic or image you select is displayed in full-screen mode. Three command options, labeled Set Lock Screen, Set Home Screen, and Set Both, are displayed (shown in Figure 1.12).

After making your selection, when you return to the iPhone or iPad’s Lock screen or Home screen, you see your newly selected wallpaper graphic displayed.

Instead of choosing one of the preinstalled wallpaper graphics, you also have the option of using photos you’ve transferred to your iOS device and have stored in the Photos app, or photos you’ve shot using the Camera app.

To select one of your own photos to use as your Lock screen or Home screen wallpaper, tap on the Wallpaper option in Settings, followed by the Choose a New Wallpaper option. Next, tap on an Album thumbnail that’s listed under the Photos heading.

When the thumbnails related to the contents of the image Album you selected are displayed, tap on the thumbnail that represents the image you want to use as your Wallpaper. As soon as a preview screen is displayed, if necessary, use your finger to move the image around on the screen. You can also zoom in or out, in some cases. When this is possible, the Perspective Zoom On/Off option will be displayed in the lower-right corner of the preview screen.

Now, tap on the Set Lock Screen, Set Home Screen, or Set Both option to save your selection. Figure 1.13 shows a custom Lock screen on an iPhone, while Figure 1.14 shows a custom Home screen on an iPad.

From this menu, it’s possible to assign specific audio tones, sounds, or ringtones to specific types of app-specific alerts and alarms, plus turn on or off the click noise associated with pressing keys on the iPhone or iPad’s virtual keyboard.

It’s also possible to turn on the Vibrate mode so that the iPhone handset shakes, instead of or in addition to playing a ringtone. You can control the ringer volume using an onscreen slider and adjust the custom ringtones and audio alerts associated with various features and functions of your iPhone. Your device has a built-in library of different audio alarms and alerts, as well as ringtones built in, plus you can download additional ringtones from the iTunes Store.

From the Battery submenu screen, if you tap on the new clock icon, information about how much time each app has been used is displayed along with each app’s listing.

From this Settings submenu screen, it’s possible to control specifically which apps have access to the iOS device’s Location Services feature, for example, plus which other apps can share data with certain pre-installed apps (including Contacts, Calendar, Reminders, and Photos).

Certain apps and services, such as Maps, HomeKit, or Find My iPhone (or Find My iPad), utilize the capability to pinpoint your exact location. It’s important to customize the Location Services options if you’re concerned that certain apps can potentially share this information.

When the master virtual switch for Location Services option is turned on, your iPhone or iPad can fully utilize its GPS capabilities, in addition to crowd-sourced Wi-Fi hotspots and cell towers, to determine your exact location. When it’s turned off, your device cannot determine (or broadcast) your location. However, some of your apps will not function properly.

From below the Automatic Downloads heading determine whether the device you’re using will automatically download content acquired from other computers or mobile devices that are linked to the same iCloud (Apple ID) account. This relates to Music, Apps, Books, and App Updates acquired from the iTunes Store, iBook Store, and App Store.

It’s also possible to turn on/off the Installed Apps option, which enables your device to recommend apps based on your location or what you’re currently doing. These recommendations appear on the Lock screen and app switcher screen.

From the Wallet & Apple Pay option within Settings, add or delete debit and credit cards associated with the Wallet app and the Apple Pay feature.

From under the Transaction Defaults heading, you can choose a default debit or credit card to use with Apple Pay transactions plus store your default shipping address, email, and phone number. This speeds up the checkout process.

If you’re using an older model iPhone that does not have a Touch ID sensor, the Wallet app can still be used to manage store/company reward cards or membership cards that are set up to utilize Wallet functionality.

For information about how to use the Settings app to customize the Mail app-related settings, see Chapter 11, “Send and Receive Emails, Texts, and Instant Messages with the Mail and Messages Apps.” You can find details about customizing the settings of the Contacts and Calendar apps in Chapter 13, “Tips for Using Calendar, Contacts, Reminders, and Notes.”

As you continue scrolling down, listings for Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, and Vimeo lead to submenus that offer the capability to fully customize integration with these online social networking services with many of the apps you’ll soon be using.

On the iPhone, several circular icons appear near the top of the Control Center window, each of which enables you to control a frequently used iPhone feature (refer to Figure 1.9). From left to right, the icons include the following:

Airplane Mode—Quickly place your iPhone or iPad into Airplane mode.

Wi-Fi—Turn Wi-Fi on or off with a single tap, without having to access Settings.

Bluetooth—Turn Bluetooth on or off so that your iPhone or iPad can link to Bluetooth devices it has already been paired with.

Do Not Disturb—Manually turn on the Do Not Disturb feature after you’ve customized this option from within Settings.

Rotation Lock—Normally, when you rotate your iPhone sideways, the screen automatically switches from portrait to landscape mode. To prevent this from happening when the phone is rotated, turn on the Rotation Lock feature by tapping on its icon.

Displayed below these icons is the screen brightness slider, and below that are the Music app controls, which enable you to play currently selected music (or Playlists) without launching the Music app.

Moving down within Control Center, there are two additional command buttons, labeled AirDrop (left) and AirPlay (right). Tap on AirDrop to quickly activate this feature and determine which content or data you want to wirelessly share with nearby iPhone, iPad, or Mac users. Tap the AirPlay button to select where AirPlay-compatible apps will direct content.

If you have a Bluetooth device linked with your smartphone or tablet, the AirPlay button is replaced with a button that represents the Bluetooth device, such as a wireless headset.

Displayed along the bottom of the Control Center window on the iPhone are four app-related icons. Tap on the flashlight icon to turn on the iPhone’s flash so that it serves as a bright flashlight. Tap on the Timer icon to set and manage timers (that is, access the World Clock, Alarm Clock, Stopwatch, and Timer feature). Tap on the Calculator icon to launch the Calculator app quickly. Finally, tapping on the Camera icon offers yet another way to quickly launch the Camera app and begin snapping photos.

The Control Center on the iPad is similar to that of the iPhone; however, as you can see from Figure 1.15, the layout of the options is different. The Control Center on the tablet is displayed as a bar across the bottom of the screen.

The Music controls and volume slider are displayed on the left, the five command icons (Airplane Mode, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Do Not Disturb, and Rotation Lock) are displayed near the center, and the Clock/Alarm and Camera app icons and screen brightness slider can be found on the right. The AirDrop and AirPlay/Bluetooth icons are displayed near the bottom center of the Control Center window.

To close the Control Center window, tap anywhere near the top of the iPhone or iPad’s screen, or tap on the down-pointing arrow icon displayed near the top of the window.

Utilizing the Folders feature is easy. From the Home screen, tap and hold down any app icon until all the app icons begin shaking on the Home screen. Using your finger, drag one app icon on top of another, to automatically place both of those apps into a new folder.

You can organize your apps in folders based on categories, like Games (shown in Figure 1.16), Travel, or Productivity, or you can enter your own folder names, and then drag and drop the additional app icons into the folders you create. After your app icons are organized, simply press the Home button again on the iPhone or iPad to save your folders and display them on your Home screen.

To open a folder, tap on its icon displayed on the Home screen. Tap on any of the contained app icons to launch one of the apps. Figure 1.17 shows a Games folder that contains several popular game apps.

If you later want to remove an app icon from a folder so that it appears as a standalone app icon on your Home screen, simply press and hold any of the folder icons until all the onscreen icons start to shake. The folder’s contents are displayed.

When the app icons are shaking, simply drag the app icons, one at a time, back onto the Home screen. Each is then removed from the folder. Press the Home button to finalize this action.

Your iPhone or iPad can extend the Home screen across multiple pages. (Switch pages by swiping your finger from left to right, or right to left when viewing the Home screen.)

To move an app icon to another Home screen page, while it’s shaking, hold it down with your finger and slowly drag it to the extreme right or left, off of the screen, so that it bounces onto another of the Home screen’s pages.

When you switch pages, the row of up to four app icons displayed at the very bottom of the iPhone’s screen (or up to six app icons on the iPad’s screen) remains constant. Place your most frequently used apps in these positions so that they’re always visible from the Home screen.

As the app icons are shaking on the Home screen, you can delete the icons that display a black-and-white “X” in the upper-left corner from your iPhone or iPad by pressing that “X” icon. The preinstalled (core) apps related to iOS 9, such as Contacts, Calendar, Reminders, Notes, News, iCloud Drive, Maps, App Store, and Settings, cannot be deleted. They can only be moved.

From within Settings, you can opt to turn off most of this functionality to protect your privacy. Thus, if you turn on Passcode Lock, strangers cannot pick up and use your phone or tablet or access any content from it.

The Lock screen automatically displays the current time and date, the Slide To Unlock feature, as well as the Camera icon. You can also set it up so app-specific alerts or banners are displayed on the Lock screen when applicable, plus you can decide whether you want the ability to access the Control Center directly from the Lock screen. These features can be customized from within Settings.

When you have the Continuity feature turned on, if there was an app you were using on your Mac or another mobile device that’s linked to the same iCloud account, a tiny icon for that app appears in the lower-left corner of the Lock screen. By tapping on this icon, you can launch the app and pick up exactly where you left off. This works really well with Safari when surfing the Web, for example.

As you now know, the Notification Center screen displays additional content beyond just app-specific notifications. For example, along the top of the Notification Center are two command tabs: Today and Notifications. (In landscape mode, the iPad displays similar information, plus widget-related information, but in a slightly different format.) Tap on Today to see the current day and date, along with the weather forecast, plus a preview of upcoming appointments from the Calendar app. Scroll down on this screen to see a preview of tomorrow’s schedule. This content is automatically displayed on the left side of the iPad’s Notification Center screen.

Tap on the Notifications tab to see items recently generated by all compatible apps running on your phone or tablet. The name and app icon for each compatible app is displayed, followed by the preselected number of alerts, alarms, or notifications related to that app. (Keep in mind that which apps are displayed and the number of alerts, alarms, or notifications from each app can be customized from within Settings.)

To clear all notifications related to an app that’s displayed in Notification Center, tap on the small “X” icon that’s displayed to the right of the app’s name and icon.

Tap on the Widgets tab (iPad) to access installed and active, app-specific widgets that are accessible to you. This content is displayed on the Today screen on an iPhone.