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Ultimate Guide: Everything you need to know to get most out of your iPhone

Steve Jobs, the former Apple's CEO, unveiled the fisrt generation of iPhone to the public on January 9, 2007, at the Macworld 2007 convention in San Francisco. And till now, Apple has released ten generations of iPhone models with ten major iOS operating systems (iOS 11 is on the way). Over the ten years, Apple has changed the way of modern communication, entertainment and our lifestyle, the original iPhone was described as "revolutionary" and a "game-changer" for the mobile phone industry, and the technical electronic devices made Apple one of the world's most valuable publicly traded companies.

So do you know how to get most out of the world's most powerful personal device and the most advanced mobile OS? This article is going to show you everything about your iPhone to help you be a master, including iPhone settings, iPhone data backup, iPhone data recovery, music management, iOS system related issues, iPhone problem fixes, and other tips and tricks for using Siri, Safari, 3D Touch etc. Whatever you are an old Apple addict or a newcomer, I bet this tutorial would inspire you to explore your iPhone. And we will keep updating this tutorial to add the latest iPhone/iOS news and tips. If you are an iPhone user, believe me, bookmark this page, so you won't miss the point.

iphone 7 all color


Part 1. Recommendation settings for your iPhone

When get your iPhone, the first thing is to set up your iPhone. Actually, Apple gives an exhaustive guide on how to set up a new iPhone, no matter you are an new comer of Apple or switching from an old iPhone, check out the tutorial to set up your iPhone. Besides, there are some recommendation settings, you can simply check them out and make your own decision according to your preference.

  • Turn on Portrait Orientation Lock on in case the iPhone screen orientation switched automatically, only turn it off when we need, like watching videos, viewing webpages etc.
  • Turn off unnecessary notifications from some apps. This setting not only helps you block the annoying notifications from some apps, but also saves your iPhone battery life. Of course, you can directly turn on Do Not Disturb mode to block all notifications when needed.
  • Enable 3D touch (iPhone 6s and above), which enables you reveal content previews or use apps more efficient by pressing on the display with different degrees of pressure.
  • Turn off Background App Refresh. Actually we don't need this feature on most occations, turn it off to preserve your battery life.
  • Turn on Auto-Brightness and Raise to Wake (iOS 10 and above), which enables you access your iPhone screen much easier to view time or notifications. And you don't need to worry about the battery drain since it actually doesn't consume much of it.
  • You can view battery usage of each app on Battery setting, and you are also able to enable Low Power Mode there when needed.

Part 2. Manage all kinds of your iPhone data with ease

Backup and Restore iPhone

Generally, personnal data on the iPhone is likely to be the most important thing to us, including contacts, imessages, call logs, Notes, photos, calendar, apps, app data, music, video, bookmarks, Emails, voice memos and other files. To avoid data loss due to some unexpected causes, it's recommended to backup your iPhone regularly. To backup your iPhone, there are many methods to make it, iCloud, iTunes, third-party programs, etc. Honestly, iTunes can be the best option to backup iPhone data compared with others, since iTunes is able to backup almost everything on your iPhone seamlessly, and for free.

However, iTunes can be annoying for some reasons, for example, delete and overwrite data, the backup path can't be changed, the program is not that user-friendly, etc. And that's why some iOS users hate iTunes. Thus, some handy third-party iTunes alternatives are popular with iOS users, like Syncios iOS manager, iOS data transfer. These programs have more features and more easy-to-use than iTunes. If you want to backup your iPhone data, those are great options for you, too. You can check the details here. And you should be noted that third-party programs are unable to backup all kinds of data compared with iTunes due to Apple's security settings, as we all know that iOS system is tightly closed.

backup iphone


ios data recovery tool

iPhone Data Recovery

As we know, data loss can be really annoying, hence, a regular backup for our iPhone is necessary and wise. However, what to do if you lost your data when failed to upgrade iPhone system or deleted some data accidentally while haven't backed up your data yet? No worry, first, you should be noted that to increase the success rate of data recovery, please don't overwrite your iPhone with new data, then there are some third-party data recovery programs have your back. iOS data recovery is a recommendation, it provides 3 data recovery mode to help iOS users find their data back. With its trial version, you are allowed to scan your device to locate your lost file, if it did find your desired data, then you can use the program to recover them back after payments. Also, you can check more details here.


Manage your music on iPhone

When it comes to music, the important part of our entertainment. I recommend this best tool that supports converting the music to you. Actually, after converting the music, you can use the Syncios Manager which mentioned above to import the music to your iPhone with ease.

ios music manager


ios 10 tips

iOS 10 tips and tricks

With iOS 10 and above, Apple has improved the security settings of apps and app data, and that's why all third-party programs are not able to backup apps and access app data on iOS 10 and above version. And, now you can uninstall the system apps that you don't need from your iPhone. Of course, not all default apps can be removed from iOS. Some of the undeletable apps including Settings, Messages, Phone, Safari, Clock, Photos, Health, App Store, and Camera. If you don't want those apps, you'll need to hide them in a folder or on another home screen. Besides, if your iPhone is an old model, such as iPhone 5/5c/5s, when upgrading to iOS 10, you may encounter some battery drain issue, and you can find the fix here. For more tips and tricks for iOS 10, you can check this article.


iOS 11 is around the corner.

Apple has released several beta version of iOS 11 since WWDC, and the official version would come later in the fall. iOS 11 comes with bunch of great new features, like the customized control center, text with Siri, new WiFi settings, ability to free up storage space, record your iOS device's screen etc. And all these cool features might lead you to upgrade to the iOS 11 beta. Before your upgrade, you should be noted that the beta version is just the developing version which may contains many bugs and battery draining issues, so it's recommended that DO NOT install it on your main device, otherwise it may brick your iPhone. Of course, if you still can't wait to update your iPhone, you can follow this tutorial to upgrade your iPhone to iOS 11. In turn, if you encountered some issues after upgrading to iOS 11, you can simply downgrade your iPhone to iOS 10.

ios 11 features

 

Part 3: Tips and tricks to get most out of your iPhone.

1. Tips and tricks for using Siri

  • Set clock and calendar by using Siri. Long press on your home key to enable siri, then ask Siri to "Wake me up at 7 tomorrow morning" to set a new clock, or if you want a nap time, you can simply ask Siri to "Wake me up in 10 minutes". It's much easier than setting the clock on app. And you can set calendar, reminder and more the same way.
  • Making phone calls with Siri. Enable Siri, simply ask "Call Alice", then a call to Alice on your contacts would be easily made.
  • Find app with Siri. Sometimes, if you installed a bunch of apps on your iPhone, hard to find the very app? Enable Siri, "Open Instagram", Siri would help you open the Instagram with ease.
  • siri tips


2. Tips and tricks for using Safari

Apple build-in browser Safari has many useful features, if you use other third-party browser you may miss these great options. And let's check out the tips and tricks for Safari.

  • Double tap on the top of screen to back to the top of the webpage. When you read a long webpage on Safari and want to back to the top? Simply double tap on the top of screen (near the phone carrier) then you would be back to the top of the page.
  • Open the same page with desktop mode. Nowadays, many webpage are responsive, which enables mobile device to view the page normally. But the page might has less features than desktop mode. And if you want to open a page with desktop mode on safari, the best way to long press on the Refresh button, then a pop-up notification would ask you to Request Desktop Site.
  • Similarly, you can long top on the Books button to add the page to bookmarks or reading list quickly. Long press on Back or Forward button to back or forward to a certain page with ease.
  • Night mode. Safari has no build-in night mode, but no hurry, there is an easy method to enable a "night mode" on Safari. On a certain page, enable Reading mode, then you are allowed to change the font and background color, simply change the background color to black, the display brightness would be lowest for reading at night.

safari tips


3. Tips and tricks of 3D Touch (iPhone 6s and later)

When 3D Touch is enabled, you can press onthe display using different degrees of pressure to reveal content previews, actions, and contextual menus. And here are some useful tips and tricks of 3D Touch.

  • Quick actions. The actions can let you access app features that you most often use quickly with no need to open the app. For example, press harder on Instagram icon on your iPhone screen, you will see five shortcuts available: Camera, New Post, View Activity, Direct, Share Instagram. Simply select the feature you want to use.
  • Preview contents and act on it. For example, on Photos app, press a little harder on a photo or picture to preview it, press harder to open the photo, of course, 3D Touch on live photos can play them. And similarly, you can preform this on Safari links, whether information, calendar, contacts, messages, Email, folder and all kinds of data.
  • Activate moveable cursor or select text. When you are typing text, press harder on the keyboard to activate moveable cursor so that you can move it anywhere you want. Moreover, press much harder allows you to select the words you want, such a trick.
  • Activate multitasking feature. Instead of double tap on the home button, with 3D touch, you can quickly access multitasking feature. Press harder on the left side of the screen can pull up your most-used apps, press much harder to activate all recent used apps.
  • 1-click clear all notifications. Too much notifications remained on your screen? Press harder on the Clear button to activate Clear All Notifications option, then you can 1-click clear all notifications.

3d touch tips


Part 4. Common issues on iPhone and how to fix them

Here are a list of common issues you might encountered when using your iPhone as well as the fixes for them. You can simply check them and find the solutions for yourself according to the issue you are facing. And we will keep updating this list. (Of course, we wish you would never need these solutions)

iTunes Error 3194 iPhone Not Ringing Incoming Calls & Messages iPhone 6/6Plus Red Screen Problem
iPhone battery life problems (iOS 11) iTunes not recognize iPhone iPhone not synced to iTunes
iPhone battery draining & overheating Apple iPhone 6s Program for Unexpected Shutdown Issues Maximizing iPhone Battery Life


Ultimate guide for iPhone