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The 7 Best GarageBand Alternatives You Can Use in 2024

by GeeksModo Staff

Garageband is used to create the music and by today it is superlative. This is only present in the reach of iPhone and Mac users. Windows & Android users belong to a modern music world who don’t want an Apple loop then here are some GarageBand alternatives which can be used by Windows Android users. Scroll down to read more about GarageBand for windows.

There were not too many opportunities to perform live recording and overdubbing. In short, the legendary Fab Four recorded every song in the first shot so a single mistake can cost them huge financial loss if any mistake occurs.
Today’s generation of kids sparse all the recorded sessions into their smartphones without any musical instruments. Through mobile apps now anyone can take music bands in their pockets.

Best GarageBand Alternatives in 2024

1. Magix Music Maker Jam

This app generates music with a cluster of loops. They are made of small music parts out of which it plays over in a loop. There are around 8 channels to combine and 100 variable styles which promotes creativity.
This app can be used for outer voice recordings like singing, rapping, and some other sounds and also add your own singing. After you are done with recording, share that through apps.

2. n-Track Studio Music DAW

This app claims to shoot the phone into the music studio. It permits recording within audio and MIDI tracks. You can also merge sounds and put audio effects to enhance quality.
It has the benefit of built-in MIDI featuring 128 general MIDI other instrumental music. It includes different effects such as reverb, echo, chorus, and tremolo. This app can easily be searched on android.

3. Walk Band

This is one of the best Garageband replacement apps among the others for the android. These characteristics are packed such as synthesizers, musical instruments, studio-quality recording, and many more. You will get around 50 musical instruments on this app.
Walk Band was also awarded as the best editor’s choice on the Google Play store. From piano to drum pad you will find every instrument available on this app. You can also connect your keyboard through USB MIDI through your smartphones. you can also record your own voice and mix it with synthesizers.

4. Band Lab

Band Lab is the trendy application on android which used to create music from rhythm. It permits you to edit records and create multi-track music with different creative beats, vocals, loops.
If you are a big fan of EDM, dubstep, etc then it has the option to build your own music in the trailblazer. It works on networking sites where you can publish your own track records.

5. Song Maker

It is all about creating new tracks for pre-recorded music, beats, and rhythms. Garageband became the biggest part of Apple’s music studio to create and edit modern music. It also allows you to make your own songs and mix them with different sounds, rhythms, and beats.
It is recommendable for people to use song maker apps if they like EDM and hip hop kind of music.

6. FL Studio

This app is designed for android devices for multi-track recording studios. It is also available on PCs. It has various instruments with 133 high quality such as drum kits, sliced loops, and more.
It is used to import or export midi files which can be transferred through mails, or some other services like cloud storage services. It gives high-quality audio as well as does not sustain much battery too. The music dormancy is dependent on the processing of the device. It is capable of providing the ultimate features.

7. Audio Evolution

It is similar to a walking band. It is a multi-track system used for recording purposes but is more advanced. It consists of a recording option in which you can record external voices such as singing, live concerts while using instruments, and with a microphone. it also allows you to play midi pianos to record your own songs.
Summary:
Although Garageband is made for iPhone & MacBook, there are some alternative to Garageband run on android devices. Some apps work on multi-tracking sound systems while in some apps you can create your own songs with the help of musical instruments such as drum, piano, guitar, etc. These apps are very efficient and must be tried once by music lovers who want to explore their talent of music and want to showcase their talent to the world.

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iPhone 12 Pro Max Battery Drain Fast? Fix

by GeeksModo Staff

This article explains how to fix iPhone 12 Pro Max battery drain issue and improve battery life.

iPhone 12 Pro Max is probably the best smartphone around in its price range. And there’s a good reason for it. If you just bought yourself a new iPhone 12 Pro Max, you may be wondering, “why is my iPhone 12 Pro Max battery draining so fast?”, “why is my iPhone 12 Pro Max dying so fast?”, or even wondering, “should i return the device and ask for a refund?” Before you start searching for the best iPhone charger and battery case on the internet, learn how to improve battery life on your iPhone 12 Pro Max.

See also: iPhone 12 mini Battery Drain Fast? Here’s How to Fix it

How to fix iPhone 12 Pro Max battery drain issue

If you’re wondering, “why is my iPhone 12 Pro Max battery draining so fast?” the first thing you want to do is figure out whether or not you’re using your device differently. That could account for some of your iPhone 12 Pro Max battery problems, but if you’re confident it’s more than that, we’ll help you fix the new update problems and save that battery life. If you bought the iPhone 12 Pro Max and your battery is dying fast, read on to learn about 18 great tips to fix iPhone 12 Pro Max battery drain issues.

Without any further ado, let’s find out why your new iPhone 12 Pro Max is dying so fast and how to fix the issue!

1. Limit When and How Often Apps Access Your Location

The first thing you should do is to check your location settings to limit apps accessing your location for privacy reasons, but it can also be beneficial to your battery health. Follow these steps to access your Location Services settings:

  1. Start the Settings app.
  2. Tap Privacy.
  3. Choose Location Services.
  4. Review the list and edit settings by tapping on the name of each app in the list.

You have 4 possible choices for location settings for each app thanks to some updates introduced in iOS 13, though not all four choices will always be available for every app depending on what it does. You can select the following: Never, Ask Next Time, While Using the App, and Always.

  • Never will prevent an app from ever accessing your location, and unless there’s a specific need for an app to know where you are, such as a mapping app, setting location access to Never is the best choice.
  • Ask Next Time will prompt an app to ask you with a popup the next time that it wants your location, so you can temporarily approve it. With this setting, location access is off until expressly allowed via the popup.
  • While Using the App, as the name suggests, allows the app to detect your location only when the app is open and being actively used. If you close the app or switch over to another app, location access ends.
  • Always allows an app to have access to your location at all times, regardless of whether it’s open or closed. This will result in the most battery drain and should be limited to only the apps that you need the most.

Many apps will ask for location information that don’t really need it to function (for example, a banking app might want location access to show nearby ATMs, which is also available through entering a zip code), so clearing the cruft here will ensure no apps are accessing your location without express permission.

You can also turn off Location Services all together, but most people probably aren’t going to want to do so because it can interfere with apps like Maps.

2. Limit Apps Using Bluetooth

iOS offers a feature that lets you know when apps have requested Bluetooth access, and there are a surprising number of apps that want to use Bluetooth for things like location tracking with Bluetooth beacons or scanning for Chromecast devices.

This is a good list to review to make sure you don’t have a sneaky app in the background connecting to Bluetooth sources without your permission as that can strain battery. It’s totally fine to allow Bluetooth access to apps that need it for Bluetooth-enabled accessories, but nixing access for retail stores is probably a good idea. Follow these steps to access Bluetooth settings:

  1. Start the Settings app.
  2. Go to Privacy.
  3. Choose Bluetooth.
  4. From this list, shut off any app that doesn’t require a Bluetooth connection to work. It’s best to be liberal with the toggling off — if you disable access and then a feature within an app stops functioning properly, you can just turn Bluetooth back on.

Bluetooth can also be turned off completely, which can perhaps save a bit of battery life, but it’s not convenient for most users because Bluetooth is used for AirPods, Apple Watches, and other accessories.

3. Turn on Low Power Mode

Low Power Mode has been around for a few years now, and it’s the number one best setting to enable if you’re concerned about battery life. It cuts down on background activity like behind the scenes downloads and it lowers the brightness of your display after inactivity more quickly.

A popup to enable Low Power Mode will appear when battery life on the iPhone is at 20 percent, but you can enable it at any time through Control Center by tapping on the battery icon or ask Siri to turn it on. Alternatively, it’s available in the Settings app:

  1. Start the Settings app.
  2. Go to Battery.
  3. Enable the Low Power Mode toggle.

With Low Power Mode turned on, your battery icon at the top of your iPhone will turn yellow, which lets you know when it’s active. Some people like to keep Low Power Mode on at all times, but know that it does need to be enabled regularly because it automatically turns off when the iPhone is charged.

4. Use WiFi Whenever Possible

WiFi uses less power than a cellular connection, so to maximize battery life, Apple recommends connecting to WiFi whenever possible. At home or work, for example, WiFi should be activated, saving cellular data and battery life.

5. Activate Airplane Mode in Low Signal Areas

When you’re in an area with no cellular coverage or a low signal, your iPhone is draining battery looking for a signal or trying to connect. If you’re experiencing poor cellular coverage, it’s a good idea to activate Airplane Mode since you probably can’t do much with low signal anyway.

Airplane Mode will prevent your iPhone from endlessly searching for a signal, saving the battery until you can get to a place with a solid connection.

6. Turn on optimized battery charging

To make sure your iPhone battery stays healthy longer, it’s recommended to turn on Optimized Battery Charging under the Battery Health section. Optimized Battery Charging allows the iPhone to learn your charging schedule so it can wait until you need it to charge past 80 percent.

For example, if you put your phone on the charger at night, the Optimized Battery Charging setting might hold the iPhone at an 80 percent charge, filling it up close to when you wake up to reduce battery aging.

Apple also recommends avoiding extreme temperatures to prevent permanent battery damage due to heat or cold, as well as removing certain cases when charging. If your iPhone gets warm while charging, it’s best to take off the case to keep your battery healthy for a longer period of time.

You can turn on optimize Battery Charging by following these steps:

  1. Start the Settings app.
  2. Go to Battery.
  3. Tap on Battery Health.
  4. Turn on the switch next to Optimised Battery Charging

In the Battery Health section, there’s a listing for “Maximum Capacity,” which is a measurement of battery capacity relative to when it was new.

If the capacity is under 80 percent, it may be worth seeking out a battery replacement. Apple will replace a battery that is below 80 percent capacity under the one-year warranty plan or under AppleCare+ for free.

Otherwise, replacing the battery will cost between $49 and $69 depending on which iPhone you have.

7. Manage Apps That Are Draining Battery

If you find your iPhone battery maximum capacity dropping, you should check your apps. The iPhone tells you which apps are eating up the most battery so you can make sure nothing is secretly draining your battery without your knowledge. You can check your battery usage statistics by opening up the Settings app and tapping on the Battery section.

There are charts here that displays your battery level over the course of the last 24 hours or the last 10 days, as well as the apps that have consumed the most battery life. If there’s any app that you don’t need that seems to be consuming an excessive amount of battery, you can delete it.

For apps you do need, you can moderate how often you’re using the app to cut down on battery drain.

This section will also show you how much time apps spend using Background App Refresh.

8. Limit Background Activity

Apps, both inbuilt and third-party, use background app refreshing features to update even when they’re not open to do things like load mail messages and download updates so they’re ready to use at all times.

Background App Refresh can impact battery life, so turning it off can help make your battery last longer. You can turn off Background App Refresh all together or choose which apps can refresh in the background.

  1. Start the Settings app.
  2. Go to General.
  3. Tap Background App Refresh.
  4. From here, you can tap the Background App Refresh option again to turn Background App Refresh off all together or choose to have it activate only when connected to WiFi, which doesn’t drain battery as much as downloading over cellular.

You can also choose to turn Background App Refresh on just for your most used apps by tapping on the toggle next to each app in the list.

9. Adjust Mail Fetch Settings

On top of turning off Background Refresh, adjusting when and how often the Mail app checks for new emails can save some battery life.

  1. Start the Settings app.
  2. Scroll down and tap Mail
  3. Tap Accounts
  4. Scroll down and tap “Fetch New Data”
  5. From here, you can turn off Push (which lets you know immediately you receive a new email message and adjust Fetch settings on a per account basis for accounts that don’t support Push (like Gmail accounts).

Adjusting the Fetch settings to have longer intervals before checking for new messages can help save battery life, as can turning off Fetch all together in favor of manual checks that will download new messages only when the Mail app is opened.

You can choose the following settings: Automatically, Manually, Hourly, Every 30 Minutes, and Every 15 Minutes.

10. Limit Notifications

Cutting down on the number of notifications that apps are sending is a good way to save a little bit of battery life. If you have apps inundating you with notifications, it’s going to drain battery every time your screen illuminates and your iPhone makes a connection, plus a glut of notifications is just plain annoying.

Follow these steps to adjust your notification settings in the Settings app:

  1. Start the Settings app.
  2. Go to Notifications.
  3. Go through each app and adjust whether or not an app can send you notifications by tapping on the toggle.

If you do allow notifications, you can choose to allow apps to show on the Lock screen, in the Notification Center, as banners, or all three.

Apple also has this nifty feature that allows you to modify your notification settings right from the notification itself on the Lock screen. Just long press on a notification and then tap the three dots (…) to get to options that include Deliver Quietly or Turn Off.
Deliver Quietly allows notifications to appear in Notification Center but not the Lock screen, while Turn Off lets you turn off notifications for that app entirely.

11. Disable Automatic Downloads

and App Updates

If you’re often low on battery, you may not want your iPhone doing things that you’re not explicitly initiating, such as automatically downloading apps downloaded on other devices and downloading software and app updates.

Apple has a feature that is designed to sync apps between all of your devices by downloading apps that were downloaded on one device on the other devices as well. So if you download an app on an iPad, for example, Automatic Download will also download the app on your iPhone.

If that’s a feature you need, leave that enabled, but if it’s not, you can disable it by following these steps:

  1. Start the Settings app.
  2. Tap on your name
  3. Tap on iTunes & App Store.
  4. Toggle off Music, Apps, and Books & Audiobooks.

If you also don’t want apps to update on their own, make sure to toggle off App Updates as well. Leaving this on allows iPhone apps to update automatically when new updates are released in the App Store.

You can also turn off automatic iOS updates if desired by following these steps:

  1. Start the Settings app.
  2. Go to General.
  3. Tap Software Update.
  4. Tap Automatic Updates.
  5. Tap the toggle to turn updates off.

12. Activate Dark Mode

Apple in iOS 13 implemented a long awaited Dark Mode feature, which is available across the operating system, including Apple’s built-in apps and third-party apps as most have implemented support.

On devices with an OLED display like the iPhone X, XS, XS Max, 11 Pro,, 11 Pro Max, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12, 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max, Dark Mode can save a bit of battery life, so it’s worth enabling. Here’s how:

  1. Start the Settings app.
  2. Go to Display & Brightness.
  3. Tap the “Dark” option.
  4. If you tap on the toggle for “Automatic,” Dark Mode will turn on or off with the sunset and the sunrise each day, allowing you to toggle between dark and light mode.

Dark Mode can be toggled on through the Control Center too, which is a convenient way to activate it if your device isn’t in automatic mode.

13. Turn Down Device Brightness

If you’re in a bright room or direct sun, you probably can’t help but have screen brightness turned all the way up, but if you don’t need a super bright display, dimming it down can save battery life.

You can Control brightness through the Control Center on the iPhone using the brightness toggle or through the Display & Brightness section of the Settings app. It’s a good idea to turn on the auto-brightness setting to make sure your screen isn’t overly bright in darker rooms by default, but some manual adjustment may be necessary in brighter rooms and in the sun.

14. Adjust Auto-Lock and Turn Off Raise to Wake

It’s a good idea to set the Auto-Lock on the display as low as you can tolerate, which will cause the iPhone’s display to turn off after a short period of inactivity.

You can choose options from 30 seconds to never, but the lower end of the spectrum will help preserve battery life by cutting the display when it’s not needed.

If you really want to save battery, turning off Raise to Wake can help, though it may make features like Face ID less convenient. Raise to Wake is a rather convenient option, so this should be a last resort.

15. Make Sure Everything’s Up to Date

If you’re running iOS 14, make sure you have the latest version installed because Apple has been making improvements and refinements to the operating system since it was released. Here’s how to check:

  1. Start the Settings app.
  2. Go to General.
  3. Tap Software Update.

From here, the iPhone will let you know if your software is up to date or if there’s a new version available.

You should also make sure all of your apps are up to date, which you can do in the App Store.

  1. Go to the App Store.
  2. Tap on your profile located in the upper right.
  3. Swipe downwards to refresh everything.
  4. Tap on Update All.

The update section of the App Store is also a great way to cull apps. If you see an update for an app you don’t use often, swipe to the left on it and you can delete it right then and there.

16. Don’t Close Apps

Many battery life guides will suggest manually closing apps by using the App Switcher to prevent them from running in the background, but this doesn’t save battery life and can in fact drain more battery.

Apps in the background are paused when not in active use and aren’t using battery life. Closing out an app purges it from the iPhone’s RAM, requiring a reload when it reopens, which can have a bigger impact on battery.

17. Restart

Sometimes an app can act up or a background process can go wonky, and the best solution is to simply restart your iPhone. Follow these steps to restart:

  1. Hold down the Volume Down button and the Sleep/Wake button at the same time.
  2. Continue holding until the screen turns dark and you see the Apple logo on the display.
  3. Release the button.
    After the Apple logo appears, it will take a minute or so for the iPhone to start back up.

18. Restore as New

If you’re at your wits’ end and nothing is helping to improve iPhone 12 Pro Max battery life, you can try restoring your iPhone and setting it up as new to eliminate any potential behind-the-scenes problems. This should be a last resort, as starting from scratch can be a hassle.

First and foremost, make sure you have an iCloud backup.

  1. On a Mac running Catalina, open Finder. On a Mac running Mojave or earlier, launch iTunes. On a Windows PC, launch iTunes.
  2. Build a connection between your iPhone and your computer.
  3. If you’re asked to enter a device passcode or to click a Trust This Computer prompt, do so.
  4. Select your device from the side bar in Finder or the side bar in iTunes.
  5. Click on the Restore open. If you’re signed into Find My, you’ll be prompted to sign out.
  6. Click Restore again to confirm.

After restoring, you can set your device up as if it was a new device. You can restore from the iCloud backup that you created prior to the restore, but you might want to try starting fresh to prevent any possible problems.

Other Tips

There are a lot of tips for how to keep iPhone battery health at 100 on the internet, and there were some other questionable tips that people recommended that may or may not improve much battery health. It’s difficult to tell, but it’s not terrible idea to consider some of these options if they’re features you don’t use.

These tips should be employed judiciously and after the tips above because turning off every feature on the iPhone may not be the most desirable way to improve battery health.

  • Disable “Hey Siri” so the iPhone isn’t listening for the wake word.
  • Turn off Siri entirely.
  • Turn off Screen Time.
  • Turn off Siri Suggestions.
  • Turn off motion effects.
  • Turn off AirDrop.
  • Turn off vibrate.
  • Use Safari content blockers.
  • Don’t use Live or Dynamic wallpapers.
  • Turn down volume.
  • Turn down the brightness level of the Flashlight feature in Control Center.

Know of a great tips for how to fix iPhone 12 Pro Max battery drain that we left or, have questions about iPhone 12 Pro Max battery life or want to offer feedback on this guide? Let us know in the comments section below.

Tag: Battery
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iPhone Battery Health Dropping Fast? Fix!

by GeeksModo Staff

is your iPhone battery health dropping fast? You are not alone. iPhone battery health drops due to the huge battery consumption of the application. If you notice your iPhone battery maximum capacity dropping, you have come to the right place. In this article, I’ll show you exactly how to keep iPhone battery health at 100.

In most cases, your iPhone battery health will never drop below 80 percent unless ur charge cycle has surpassed 500 cycles. However, sometimes your iPhone battery health percentage goes down fast and you don’t know what to do. The good news is that there are steps you can take to maximize your iPhone battery health and cut down on hidden sources that might be causing excess drainage.

Note: information in this article apply to iPhone 14, iPhone 13, iPhone 12,, iPhone 11, iPhone X, iPhone 8, iPhone 7, iPhone 6s, iPhone six, and iPhone SE.

Fix iPhone battery health dropping fast

1. Limit When and How Often Apps Access Your Location

The first thing you should do is to check your location settings to limit apps accessing your location for privacy reasons, but it can also be beneficial to your battery health. Follow these steps to access your Location Services settings:

  1. Start the Settings app.
  2. Tap Privacy & Security.
  3. Choose Location Services.
  4. Review the list and edit settings by tapping on the name of each app in the list.

You have 4 possible choices for location settings for each app thanks to some updates introduced in iOS 13, though not all four choices will always be available for every app depending on what it does. You can select the following: Never, Ask Next Time, While Using the App, and Always.

  • Never will prevent an app from ever accessing your location, and unless there’s a specific need for an app to know where you are, such as a mapping app, setting location access to Never is the best choice.
  • Ask Next Time will prompt an app to ask you with a popup the next time that it wants your location, so you can temporarily approve it. With this setting, location access is off until expressly allowed via the popup.
  • While Using the App, as the name suggests, allows the app to detect your location only when the app is open and being actively used. If you close the app or switch over to another app, location access ends.
  • Always allows an app to have access to your location at all times, regardless of whether it’s open or closed. This will result in the most battery drain and should be limited to only the apps that you need the most.

Many apps will ask for location information that don’t really need it to function (for example, a banking app might want location access to show nearby ATMs, which is also available through entering a zip code), so clearing the cruft here will ensure no apps are accessing your location without express permission.

You can also turn off Location Services all together, but most people probably aren’t going to want to do so because it can interfere with apps like Maps.

2. Limit Apps Using Bluetooth

iOS offers a feature that lets you know when apps have requested Bluetooth access, and there are a surprising number of apps that want to use Bluetooth for things like location tracking with Bluetooth beacons or scanning for Chromecast devices.

This is a good list to review to make sure you don’t have a sneaky app in the background connecting to Bluetooth sources without your permission as that can strain battery. It’s totally fine to allow Bluetooth access to apps that need it for Bluetooth-enabled accessories, but nixing access for retail stores is probably a good idea. Follow these steps to access Bluetooth settings:

  1. Start the Settings app.
  2. Go to Privacy & Security.
  3. Choose Bluetooth.
  4. From this list, shut off any app that doesn’t require a Bluetooth connection to work. It’s best to be liberal with the toggling off — if you disable access and then a feature within an app stops functioning properly, you can just turn Bluetooth back on.

Bluetooth can also be turned off completely, which can perhaps save a bit of battery life, but it’s not convenient for most users because Bluetooth is used for AirPods, Apple Watches, and other accessories.

3. Turn on Low Power Mode

Low Power Mode has been around for a few years now, and it’s the number one best setting to enable if you’re concerned about battery life. It cuts down on background activity like behind the scenes downloads and it lowers the brightness of your display after inactivity more quickly.

A popup to enable Low Power Mode will appear when battery life on the iPhone is at 20 percent, but you can enable it at any time through Control Center by tapping on the battery icon or ask Siri to turn it on. Alternatively, it’s available in the Settings app:

  1. Start the Settings app.
  2. Go to Battery.
  3. Enable the Low Power Mode toggle.

With Low Power Mode turned on, your battery icon at the top of your iPhone will turn yellow, which lets you know when it’s active. Some people like to keep Low Power Mode on at all times, but know that it does need to be enabled regularly because it automatically turns off when the iPhone is charged.

4. Use WiFi Whenever Possible

WiFi uses less power than a cellular connection, so to maximize battery life, Apple recommends connecting to WiFi whenever possible. At home or work, for example, WiFi should be activated, saving cellular data and battery life.

5. Activate Airplane Mode in Low Signal Areas

When you’re in an area with no cellular coverage or a low signal, your iPhone is draining battery looking for a signal or trying to connect. If you’re experiencing poor cellular coverage, it’s a good idea to activate Airplane Mode since you probably can’t do much with low signal anyway.

Airplane Mode will prevent your iPhone from endlessly searching for a signal, saving the battery until you can get to a place with a solid connection.

6. Turn on optimized battery charging

To make sure your iPhone battery stays healthy longer, it’s recommended to turn on Optimized Battery Charging under the Battery Health section. Optimized Battery Charging allows the iPhone to learn your charging schedule so it can wait until you need it to charge past 80 percent.

For example, if you put your phone on the charger at night, the Optimized Battery Charging setting might hold the iPhone at an 80 percent charge, filling it up close to when you wake up to reduce battery aging.

Apple also recommends avoiding extreme temperatures to prevent permanent battery damage due to heat or cold, as well as removing certain cases when charging. If your iPhone gets warm while charging, it’s best to take off the case to keep your battery healthy for a longer period of time.

You can turn on optimize Battery Charging by following these steps:

  1. Start the Settings app.
  2. Go to Battery.
  3. Tap on Battery Health & Charging.
  4. Turn on the switch next to Optimised Battery Charging

In the Battery Health section, there’s a listing for “Maximum Capacity,” which is a measurement of battery capacity relative to when it was new.

If the capacity is under 80 percent, it may be worth seeking out a battery replacement. Apple will replace a battery that is below 80 percent capacity under the one-year warranty plan or under AppleCare+ for free.

Otherwise, replacing the battery will cost between $49 and $69 depending on which iPhone you have.

7. Manage Apps That Are Draining Battery

If you find your iPhone battery maximum capacity dropping, you should check your apps. The iPhone tells you which apps are eating up the most battery so you can make sure nothing is secretly draining your battery without your knowledge. You can check your battery usage statistics by opening up the Settings app and tapping on the Battery section.

There are charts here that displays your battery level over the course of the last 24 hours or the last 10 days, as well as the apps that have consumed the most battery life. If there’s any app that you don’t need that seems to be consuming an excessive amount of battery, you can delete it.

For apps you do need, you can moderate how often you’re using the app to cut down on battery drain.

This section will also show you how much time apps spend using Background App Refresh.

8. Limit Background Activity

Apps, both inbuilt and third-party, use background app refreshing features to update even when they’re not open to do things like load mail messages and download updates so they’re ready to use at all times.

Background App Refresh can impact battery life, so turning it off can help make your battery last longer. You can turn off Background App Refresh all together or choose which apps can refresh in the background.

  1. Start the Settings app.
  2. Go to General.
  3. Tap Background App Refresh.
  4. From here, you can tap the Background App Refresh option again to turn Background App Refresh off all together or choose to have it activate only when connected to WiFi, which doesn’t drain battery as much as downloading over cellular.

You can also choose to turn Background App Refresh on just for your most used apps by tapping on the toggle next to each app in the list.

9. Adjust Mail Fetch Settings

On top of turning off Background Refresh, adjusting when and how often the Mail app checks for new emails can save some battery life.

  1. Start the Settings app.
  2. Scroll down and tap Mail
  3. Tap Accounts
  4. Scroll down and tap “Fetch New Data”
  5. From here, you can turn off Push (which lets you know immediately you receive a new email message and adjust Fetch settings on a per account basis for accounts that don’t support Push (like Gmail accounts).

Adjusting the Fetch settings to have longer intervals before checking for new messages can help save battery life, as can turning off Fetch all together in favor of manual checks that will download new messages only when the Mail app is opened.

You can choose the following settings: Automatically, Manually, Hourly, Every 30 Minutes, and Every 15 Minutes.

10. Limit Notifications

Cutting down on the number of notifications that apps are sending is a good way to save a little bit of battery life. If you have apps inundating you with notifications, it’s going to drain battery every time your screen illuminates and your iPhone makes a connection, plus a glut of notifications is just plain annoying.

Follow these steps to adjust your notification settings in the Settings app:

  1. Start the Settings app.
  2. Go to Notifications.
  3. Go through each app and adjust whether or not an app can send you notifications by tapping on the toggle.

If you do allow notifications, you can choose to allow apps to show on the Lock screen, in the Notification Center, as banners, or all three.

Apple also has this nifty feature that allows you to modify your notification settings right from the notification itself on the Lock screen. Just long press on a notification and then tap the three dots (…) to get to options that include Deliver Quietly or Turn Off.
Deliver Quietly allows notifications to appear in Notification Center but not the Lock screen, while Turn Off lets you turn off notifications for that app entirely.

11. Disable Automatic Downloads

and App Updates

If you’re often low on battery, you may not want your iPhone doing things that you’re not explicitly initiating, such as automatically downloading apps downloaded on other devices and downloading software and app updates.

Apple has a feature that is designed to sync apps between all of your devices by downloading apps that were downloaded on one device on the other devices as well. So if you download an app on an iPad, for example, Automatic Download will also download the app on your iPhone.

If that’s a feature you need, leave that enabled, but if it’s not, you can disable it by following these steps:

  1. Start the Settings app.
  2. Tap on App Store
  3. Toggle off Apps.

If you also don’t want apps to update on their own, make sure to toggle off App Updates as well. Leaving this on allows iPhone apps to update automatically when new updates are released in the App Store.

You can also turn off automatic iOS updates if desired by following these steps:

  1. Start the Settings app.
  2. Go to General.
  3. Tap Software Update.
  4. Tap Automatic Updates.
  5. Tap the toggle to turn updates off.

12. Activate Dark Mode

Apple in iOS 13 implemented a long awaited Dark Mode feature, which is available across the operating system, including Apple’s built-in apps and third-party apps as most have implemented support.

On devices with an OLED display like the iPhone X, XS, XS Max, 11 Pro,, 11 Pro Max, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12, 12 Pro, 12 Pro Max, iPhone 13 and iPhone 14, Dark Mode can save a bit of battery life, so it’s worth enabling. Here’s how:

  1. Start the Settings app.
  2. Go to Display & Brightness.
  3. Tap the “Dark” option.
  4. If you tap on the toggle for “Automatic,” Dark Mode will turn on or off with the sunset and the sunrise each day, allowing you to toggle between dark and light mode.

Dark Mode can be toggled on through the Control Center too, which is a convenient way to activate it if your device isn’t in automatic mode.

13. Turn Down Device Brightness

If you’re in a bright room or direct sun, you probably can’t help but have screen brightness turned all the way up, but if you don’t need a super bright display, dimming it down can save battery life.

You can Control brightness through the Control Center on the iPhone using the brightness toggle or through the Display & Brightness section of the Settings app. It’s a good idea to turn on the auto-brightness setting to make sure your screen isn’t overly bright in darker rooms by default, but some manual adjustment may be necessary in brighter rooms and in the sun.

14. Adjust Auto-Lock and Turn Off Raise to Wake

It’s a good idea to set the Auto-Lock on the display as low as you can tolerate, which will cause the iPhone’s display to turn off after a short period of inactivity.

You can choose options from 30 seconds to never, but the lower end of the spectrum will help preserve battery life by cutting the display when it’s not needed.

If you really want to save battery, turning off Raise to Wake can help, though it may make features like Face ID less convenient. Raise to Wake is a rather convenient option, so this should be a last resort.

15. Make Sure Everything’s Up to Date

If you’re running iOS 14, make sure you have the latest version installed because Apple has been making improvements and refinements to the operating system since it was released. Here’s how to check:

  1. Start the Settings app.
  2. Go to General.
  3. Tap Software Update.

From here, the iPhone will let you know if your software is up to date or if there’s a new version available.

You should also make sure all of your apps are up to date, which you can do in the App Store.

  1. Go to the App Store.
  2. Tap on your profile located in the upper right.
  3. Swipe downwards to refresh everything.
  4. Tap on Update All.

The update section of the App Store is also a great way to cull apps. If you see an update for an app you don’t use often, swipe to the left on it and you can delete it right then and there.

16. Don’t Close Apps

Many battery life guides will suggest manually closing apps by using the App Switcher to prevent them from running in the background, but this doesn’t save battery life and can in fact drain more battery.

Apps in the background are paused when not in active use and aren’t using battery life. Closing out an app purges it from the iPhone’s RAM, requiring a reload when it reopens, which can have a bigger impact on battery.

17. Restart

Sometimes an app can act up or a background process can go wonky, and the best solution is to simply restart your iPhone. If you have an iPhone 8 or later, follow these steps:

  1. Quickly press and release the Volume Up button.
  2. Quickly press and release the Volume Down button.
  3. Press and hold the Side button until the Apple logo appears, and then release the Side button.

If you have an iPhone 7 or earlier, follow these steps to restart:

  1. Hold down the Volume Down button and the Sleep/Wake button at the same time.
  2. Continue holding until the screen turns dark and you see the Apple logo on the display.
  3. Release the button.
    After the Apple logo appears, it will take a minute or so for the iPhone to start back up.

18. Restore as New

If you’re at your wits’ end and nothing is helping to improve significant iPhone battery health drop, you can try restoring your iPhone and setting it up as new to eliminate any potential behind-the-scenes problems. This should be a last resort, as starting from scratch can be a hassle.

First and foremost, make sure you have an iCloud backup.

  1. On a Mac running Catalina, open Finder. On a Mac running Mojave or earlier, launch iTunes. On a Windows PC, launch iTunes.
  2. Build a connection between your iPhone and your computer.
  3. If you’re asked to enter a device passcode or to click a Trust This Computer prompt, do so.
  4. Select your device from the side bar in Finder or the side bar in iTunes.
  5. Click on the Restore open. If you’re signed into Find My, you’ll be prompted to sign out.
  6. Click Restore again to confirm.

After restoring, you can set your device up as if it was a new device. You can restore from the iCloud backup that you created prior to the restore, but you might want to try starting fresh to prevent any possible problems.

Other Tips

There are a lot of tips for how to keep iPhone battery health at 100 on the internet, and there were some other questionable tips that people recommended that may or may not improve much battery health. It’s difficult to tell, but it’s not terrible idea to consider some of these options if they’re features you don’t use.

These tips should be employed judiciously and after the tips above because turning off every feature on the iPhone may not be the most desirable way to improve battery health.

  • Disable “Hey Siri” so the iPhone isn’t listening for the wake word.
  • Turn off Siri entirely.
  • Turn off Screen Time.
  • Turn off Siri Suggestions.
  • Turn off motion effects.
  • Turn off AirDrop.
  • Turn off vibrate.
  • Use Safari content blockers.
  • Don’t use Live or Dynamic wallpapers.
  • Turn down volume.
  • Turn down the brightness level of the Flashlight feature in Control Center.

Know of a great tips for how to increase maximum capacity of iPhone battery that we left or, have questions about iPhone battery health percentage or want to offer feedback on this guide? Let us know in the comments section below.

Tag: Battery
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Why are Apple Products so Expensive in other Countries?

by GeeksModo Staff

We all know Apple is an American company and enjoys making a large chunk of their revenue domestically. But Apple sells their products in many international markets and even has retail stores in 24 foreign countries. Some of those markets, like Japan, have access to Apple products at a price comparable to the US. For example an iPhone 12 Pro Max (128GB) costs 117,800 yen in Japan, which is about 1,099 USD. And when you consider the country’s 8% sales tax is included in that price, it actually makes the iPhone 12 Pro Max about $20 cheaper than in the US. Although this fluctuates depending on the conversion rate. But not every country is lucky enough to pay comparable prices for Apple products.

So why are Apple products so expensive in these countries? Well, that’s exactly what we’re going to find out in this article.

Why are Apple products overpriced?

one of the biggest reasons why Apple products are so expensive overseas is because of taxes. And the perfect example of this is the Value Added Tax or VAT, which exists in over 140 countries around the world. But despite its prevalence, it isn’t something that exists in the US.

In Brazil for example, the iPhone 12 Pro Max with 512GB of storage will cost you a whopping $2,535! Yup, for those living in Brazil, they will be paying more than $1,000 more than those who are living stateside. This doesn’t really come as a surprise due to the high taxes in the country for certain tech-related products.

Other countries outside the US aren’t faring that well either, where over in India, the iPhone 12 Pro Max is priced at $2,159, which is rather ironic given that these are supposed to be emerging markets, so it’s odd that Apple would price their products well out of reach for a lot of customers living in the region.

Countries like Brazil tend to levy a huge tax on products that aren’t made in the country, and even though Apple has shifted some of its production over to the country, there could be other reasons as to why Apple products are so expensive.

So let me explain how it works.

In places like the European Union a VAT is a consumption tax added to the price of goods and services. Products exported abroad aren’t typically subject to the Value Added Tax, but imported goods, like Apple products, are. And depending on the country, prices of these goods can increase up to 25%. And unlike the US, consumption taxes in most countries abroad are included in a product’s retail price. So when you notice the iPhone 12 Pro Max 500GB selling for $2,535 in Brazil compared to $1,400 in the US, that isn’t really a fair comparison, since US prices don’t include local sales tax. Now if you’re doing the math, you’ll find that iPhone prices in countries like Brazil still don’t add up. Because if their Value Added Tax is 25% on a $1,400 phone, they should be paying $1,775. But instead, the iPhone 12 Pro Max is priced about $760 higher. And that’s because taxes is just one part of the complex equation companies like Apple use when calculating retail prices.

Another factor to consider are any associated costs with importation. Things like import duties, shipping, insurance costs, and tariffs all contribute to price inflation when selling products overseas. India is a great example of this. They’ve enacted something called the Foreign Direct Investment policy which punishes foreign companies who don’t source at least 30% of their products components from Indian suppliers. And since Apple doesn’t meet that standard, they’re restricted from opening retail stores in the country in addition to being hit with a 20% tariff. There’s also an 11.4% custom duty on imported products in addition to the Value Added Tax that we discussed earlier. And when you add all that up, it isn’t surprising that customers in India pay a 28% premium for products like the iPhone. Now Apple is taking steps to not only price their products more competitively in India but also to open their first retail store in the country. I’ll talk about that in more detail near the end of the article.

Now you may imagine import costs only being a factor in foreign markets, but they can also effect customers in the US. Recently President Trump planned to implement a 10% tax on Chinese imports which would effect tech companies like Apple. Now that deadline was pushed back to December 15th, but Tim Cook would like to see the tax eliminated altogether. In fact, he met with Trump and apparently made a convincing argument since Trump told reporters, “Tim was talking to me about tariffs and … he made a good case … that Samsung is their number one competitor and Samsung is not paying tariffs. I thought he made a very compelling argument so I’m thinking about it.” Now if the decision isn’t reversed and Apple has to pay the 10% tax, they’d have to make a decision: Increase prices in the US by 10%, or keep prices the same and allow their profit margin to take a major hit. Both of which are dangerous for the company. If Apple raises prices it would exacerbate the issue of slowing of hardware sales, but if they allow their margins to fall 10%, it would severely damage their profit potential. So depending on how this story plays out, US customers made soon be feeling the effects of tariffs that foreign countries have been dealing with for years.

Something else that may contribute to high prices are legally binding consumer guarantees that exist in places like the EU. For example, when you buy an Apple product in the US, you receive a standard one year limited warranty that covers faulty parts, product defects, or other conditions that the manufacturer is responsible for. But the problem is companies are free to define their warranty terms as they see fit. That’s why only certain components may be covered, or you may have to pay a fee to ship the product back to the manufacturer. And that’s exactly why the EU established a consumer guarantee that offers customers much more protection than a standard warranty. Customers in the EU are entitled to a minimum two year warranty in addition to the standard manufacturer’s warranty. And this adds quite a bit of liability for companies like Apple who typically offset the risk by increasing the price of their products.

But when it comes to foreign markets, a major concern is the volatility of each country’s currency. Just take the UK for example. When Brexit happened, there was a 19% drop in the value of their currency compared to the dollar, which caught a lot of companies off guard and caused them to quickly adjust their prices to keep pace with the UK’s currency fluctuation. Apple understands which foreign markets are most susceptible to this volatility and preemptively raises their prices. You can see this clearly with South Africa. Notice how the value of its currency has fluctuated over the past five years compared to the EU, Australia, and Mexico. And that volatility is a major reason why Apple inflates their product’s prices in South Africa beyond what’s typically seen in other foreign markets.

But in order to truly understand Apple’s pricing overseas, we have to consider the American market. Because consumer behavior in the US can be quite different than those in other regions, mainly because American society is very consumption-based. We have the most credit cards issued per capita in the world, with each person charging an average of $4,000 annually. Compare this to other countries like the UK or France, who opt instead for Debit Cards and therefore charge less than $300 on their credit cards every year. You can see companies like Apple capitalizing on America’s “buy now, pay later” mindset by offering monthly payment plans for their products. And all of this amounts to US customers buying a higher volume of products more frequently, allowing Apple to charge less than other countries which don’t have a comparable level of consumerism.

Now up to this point we’ve discussed pretty concrete reasons why Apple prices their products higher in some foreign countries. But there’s one last factor I want to discuss that’s less easy to prove with hard facts, and that is brand image. Apple is considered a premium brand in countries like India where the average smartphone selling price is $200. So when it comes to the iPhone XS price of $1,285, it makes sense that only the wealthy class in India could afford them. And if Apple knows their product will only be accessible to the upper class, why not charge as much as you can? It’s an approach taken by many luxury clothing brands, whose customers have no problem overspending on items that ultimately serve as a status symbol. And you can find evidence of this when comparing the iPhone’s price to other flagship smartphones. For example, the Galaxy S10 retails for $900 in the US, and $935 in India. An increase of just $35. The LG V40 retails for $900 in the US, and $700 in India. That’s a discount of $200. And when you compare those prices to the iPhone’s $285 premium in India, it supports the idea that Apple is simply extracting as much revenue from customers in India as possible, since they know people with money with pay any price for their premium phones anyway. It would also make sense then that iPhones have only captured about one percent of India’s smartphone market, which is a shame considering India’s sizable population.

But Tim Cook has made it clear that Apple has an aggressive plan to grow their presence in the region and make India one of their biggest sources of revenue. It all started earlier this year when Foxconn began trial runs of iPhone production in India, setting the foundation for Apple to one day manufacture their smartphones in the region and satisfy the 30% local sourcing rule. This would allow Apple to avoid India’s 20% tariff in addition to opening their own retail stores in the country for the very first time. In fact, Apple has already finalized a list of several locations in the country where they might build their store. But they’re went a step further by saying they’d overhaul the company’s relationship with independent retailers, and improve apps and services aimed more closely at Indians. So while Apple is known for being a pricey brand in the US, their products are typically even more expensive abroad. Perhaps they can take measures like those in India to reduce their tax burden and drop prices, but it’s more likely that customers in foreign markets will have to continue biting the bullet and shell out the extra money for their favorite products.

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How to install 2 WhatsApp on iPhone without jailbreak

by GeeksModo Staff

This article explains How to install 2 WhatsApp on iPhone without jailbreak.

This guide applies to all iPhone models including iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max. Continue reading to learn How to install 2 WhatsApp on iPhone without jailbreak.

Why have two Whatsapp on iPhone?

It is quite common these days to have multiple mobile numbers. Most people have one number for personal use and one for business use. People these days prefer to communicate on the internet. One of the most famous platforms for communication over the internet is Whatsapp. 1.5 billion users in 180 countries make WhatsApp the most popular messaging app in the world. The main drawback with whatsapp is that it is only designed for single number use. It is not designed to support multiple numbers at the moment. As we all know most smartphone manufactures are offering devices with multi-sim support. Apple also started E-sim support from iPhone Xs.
Android devices have features like cloning applications for years now. This cloning feature allows users to use the same applications with different accounts simultaneously. While on the iOS side, it is quite challenging to clone applications. One method that is difficult and only a few people use is they jailbreak their iPhone/iPad and then clone applications. But this method is cumbersome and not many users prefer to jailbreak their devices.
There is still an easy method for iPhone and iPad users to get two WhatsApp accounts running at the same time on their devices. Read on to learn how to install 2 WhatsApp on iPhone without jailbreak.

How to Use Two Whatsapp accounts on your iPhone and iPad

Whatsapp is not designed to use two different numbers simultaneously. But Whatsapp realized this problem that many people these days use different numbers for their personal and business use. So Whatsapp released a separate application for their business users. Now you can get one Whatsapp for personal use and one Whatsapp for your business use on your iPhone running iOS 10 or later.
The method is pretty simple. Follow these steps to get two Whatsapp accounts on your iPhone and iPad:

  1. Assuming you already have normal Whatsapp installed on your device, head over to AppStore and search for Whatsapp Business.
  2. Next, be sure to Activate whatsapp with a secondary number you have. The secondary number you use should be able to receive texts.
  3. Once you get a verification text, simply activate whatsapp on your iPhone.

The Whatsapp Business app is the same as the normal Whatsapp app but it also allows you to set different tasks related to business like setting up auto-reply text messages, Organize your contacts or chats with labels, so you can easily find them again, etc.

Tag: iPhone Tips
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MacBook Cybersecurity: How to Protect Your Laptop

by GeeksModo Staff

Everyone has heard of computer viruses and malware expecting inattentive users online. Here are some useful recommendations on MacBook cybersecurity.

MacBook Safety: The Guide to Secure Your Laptop Online

The world has gone online long ago. Viruses and malware programs have been remaining with us all the time, waiting for that chance to infect all the gadgets regardless of their OS and manufacturer. Windows PCs, Android and iOS phones or tablets, iMacs, and MacBooks are all in danger.
Still, cybersecurity is also being developed. In 2020, it is not something complicated and specialized. Software designers aim to make maximum safety available and understandable for every user by default.
The users of Apple devices and software solutions can be calm as well. Most frequently, all that is needed to keep your favorite MacBook and its data away from danger is the user’s attention.

1. Make Sure Your Operating System is Up-to-Date

Here is the point: hackers creating malware always target OLD operating system versions. The reason is that they study the codes and find security weaknesses to use while infiltrating into your MacBook’s system.
When you keep your OS X updated, you guarantee the most breakage points to be blocked by developers. The same thing works for all the applications you install on your laptop.

2. Use Programs You Know Exclusively

The software that users download and install on their MacBooks is probably the most frequently exploited gateway by hackers. Malware units are mainly like vampires. A vampire is known to require an invitation to enter someone’s living, and a malware agent needs your permission to be installed.
So, every installation of third-party apps, pirated or cracked programs, “keygens”, and other likely things are a threat to your laptop’s cybersecurity. It is strictly recommended to install exclusively licensed pieces of software if you want to avoid being hacked.

3. Avoid Random Links

Private data hunters and malware spreaders use every possibility to hook the inattentive user. A random link published on Facebook, Reddit, Twitter, or any other website can lead you to a phishing site or an “infected” Internet page. Of course, web admins do everything they can aiming to block suspicious URL addresses and to warn their users about threats.
Still, warnings don’t always work, and no specialist is almighty. The key here is your attention. Again.

4. Filter Ads

There exist special browser extensions like AdBlock that block all the advertisement banners and pop-up windows from appearing on the screen of your MacBook. That’s how you prevent clicking on a random ad, and also don’t allow cybercriminals to track your online activities.
There exist both free and paid ad blocking solutions. Many antivirus packages include such software that is simple to install and use.

5. Use XProtect, the Built-In Mac Antivirus

It is really useful.
The market offers multiple antivirus software choices. However, not all of them can provide reliable protection from malware. The trouble is especially relevant nowadays when hackers target Mac OS weaknesses specifically with the latest virus modifications. The default antivirus solution provided by apple is actually enough to protect your MacBook from such threats as malware, spyware, phishing attacks, keyboard spies, and data leakage attempts.
There also exist specialized third-party antivirus apps designed to secure Mac computers specifically (for instance, Airo AV). Still, you need them only in case you feel the requirement for advanced security layers. Mostly, users will be enough with the functions and capabilities of XProtect.

6. Use Confidential Browsers

Despite being quite comfortable and loved by MacBook users, the default Safari app by Apple is not the safest thing to use. Most probably, you heard about such programs as Tor and Opera. Those are safe and confidential web browsing solutions.
The use of alternative safety browsers is among the top measures to provide your MacBook with the best cybersecurity. Such programs don’t let intruders track the user’s web activity and surfing history, hide their IP-addresses (which means hiding physical location), and even block suspicious scripts hidden on fraud websites.

7. Have Backups

It’s an axiom of data security, though most users don’t keep up with this rule. None of the data protection measures is perfect. There always exists a chance for malware agents to intrude on your MacBook’s system and cause software malfunctions, data losses, and even hardware breakages.
By backing up your Mac regularly, you can be sure to have a copy of all your files all the time, even if a MacBook will be broken, stolen, or lost. Apple has the built-in Time Machine function to simplify the process of creating regular backups. Of course, this means you need to sacrifice a lot of your hard drive space to it, but the confidence about your data being safe is worth anything in our times.

Tag: Mac Guides
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How to Use Dark Mode on iPhone 12 (all models)

by GeeksModo Staff

This guide explains how to use Dark Mode on iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max.

The usage of Dark Mode has been picking up and most of the applications including Instagram now support the dark mode feature which makes it easier for the people to use the app during night time. With the introduction of iOS 13, Apple iPhone and iPad users also got their hands on the system-wide Dark Mode and they have been loving the look and feel it gives to their device.

Using Dark Mode on iOS is easy and when compared with the other smartphones it also brings in some extra features. In this guide, we are going to show you how you can enable Dark Mode on your iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max. So, let’s get started.

How to turn on Dark Mode on iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max

Method 1: How to Enable Dark Mode on iPhone 12 Using the Control Center

iOS devices features a Control Center which allows its users to turn on Dark Mode quickly. To turn on Dark Mode via iPhone Control Center all you have to do is:

Step 1: Swipe down from the top right corner of your iPhone to launch the Control Center.

Step 2: Long Press on the Brightness Slider to reveal the advanced options.

Step 3: Tap on the Dark Mode button from the bottom left corner to turn on Dark Mode on your iPhone 12.

Method 2: How to enable Dark Mode on iPhone 12 From the Settings Menu

If the Control Center method doesn’t work for you then you can use the Standard Method to turn on Dark Mode on your iPhone 12. To turn on Dark Mode from the Settings Menu all you have to do is:

Step 1: head over to Settings -> Display & Brightness to access the Display settings.

Step 2: Under the Appearance section select “Dark” to turn on Dark Mode on your iPhone.

Method 3: how to enable Dark Mode on iPhone 12 with Siri

The most easiest way to turn on Dark Mode on iPhone 12 is to just ask Siri to turn it on. To enable Dark Mode, simply say, “Hey, Siri, turn on Dark Mode” or “Hey, Siri, turn on Dark Appearance.” Dark mode will instantly turn on.

To turn dark mode off using Siri, simply say, “Hey Siri, turn off Dark Mode” or “Hey, Siri, turn off Dark Appearance.” And dark mode will immediately go off.

How to turn on Dark mode automatically on your iPhone 12

The iPhone 12 comes with a fantastic feature that allows you to change to Dark theme automatically at a specific period of time. This can come in handy to the users who just want to use Dark Mode at the night to avoid eye strain. To enable this feature on your iPhone 12 all you have to do is:

Step 1: head over to Settings -> Display & Brightness to access the Display settings.

Step 2: Turn on the Automatic Button and tap on “Options” to set a Dark Mode schedule.

Step 3: Select “Sunset to Sunrise” if you want to turn on Dark Mode on your iPhone 12 after Sunset else tap on “Custom Schedule” to turn on Dark Mode at a specific time.

That’s all folks. Doing this will make your iPhone 12 switch to Dark Mode automatically based on your preferred settings. If you liked this iOS guide, also check more iOS tips, tricks,tutorials, and guides.

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5 Apple Watch SE Tips and Tricks Most People Don’t Know

by GeeksModo Staff

This article explains five Apple Watch SE tips and tricks most people don’t know about.

5 Apple Watch SE Tips and Tricks Most People Don't Know

Apple Watch SE users may think they know everything about their watch, but there are still some hidden features they don’t know about. We dug deep into watchOS to uncover five hidden Apple Watch SE tips and Tricks to make your life easier. If you know of any others, please share them in the comments. Read on to learn about 5 Apple Watch SE tips and Tricks most People don’t Know About.

See also: 30+ Apple Watch Tips & Tricks to Make your Life Better

Best Apple Watch SE tips and tricks

here are the best Apple Watch SE tips and tricks for 2020:

Calculate a Tip with a Button Press

Apple Watch SE Tips and Tricks Most People Don't Know

Ever wonder how much you should tip your waiter or waitress? Don’t mess around with math. Just launch the Calculator app on your Apple Watch, type in your bill’s total, then tap the tip button. The app will calculate a 20 percent tip and add that amount to your total so you’ll know how much you should leave your server. Turn the Digital Crown to add people to split the bill with.

You Can Customize Your Workout Screen

Apple Watch SE Tips and Tricks Most People Don't Know

If you use your Apple Watch SE to workout, you may want to customize the interface based on your exercise goals. Launch the Watch app, find Workouts, and then Workout View. Here you can edit the metrics you can see and rearrange them according to your needs.

Scribble a Response

Apple Watch SE Tips and Tricks Most People Don't Know

When you get a text message on your Apple Watch, you can respond using an emoji or by dictating a reply, but did you know you can scribble out a response? When responding to a text message, tap on the icon with a hand, and the letter A. Draw out your letters, and they will show up as text.

Capture a Screenshot

Apple Watch SE Tips and Tricks Most People Don't Know

To capture the contents of the Apple Watch screen, hold down both the Digital Crown and the side button at the same time The photo will then be saved to your iPhone in the Photos album. If this fails, check to make sure screenshots are enabled. Head over to iPhone > General. Then scroll down to find “Enable Screenshot” and ensure it is turned on.

Use and Customize the Dock

Apple Watch SE Tips and Tricks Most People Don't Know

When you press the side button while wearing your Apple Watch, it will launch the Dock. The Dock shows your most recent apps, but you can change that behavior in the settings to open your favorite apps. Launch the Watch app, select Dock, and change the setting from “Recents” to “Favorites.”

Your Favorite Apple Watch SE Tips and Tricks

What are some of your favorite tips and tricks for using the new Apple Watch SE? Share with us in the comments section below.

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iPhone 12 Battery Drain Fast? Here’s How to Fix it

by GeeksModo Staff

This guide explains how to fix iPhone 12 battery drain issue and save Battery life.

Are you experiencing an unusual battery drain issue on your iPhone 12? Do you often find yourself with an empty iPhone battery even before the day ends? This comprehensive guide has more than 20 tips, tweaks, and solutions to help you fix iPhone 12 battery drain issue. Let’s take a look.

If you just purchased a brand new iPhone 12, you may be wondering, “why is my iPhone 12 battery draining so fast?”, “why is my iPhone 12 dying so fast?”, or even wondering, “should i return the device and ask for a refund?” Before you start searching for the best iPhone 12 charger and battery case online, learn how to improve iPhone 12 battery life.

See also: iPhone 12 mini Battery Drain Fast? Here’s How to Fix it

Fix iPhone 12 battery drain issues

Does your iPhone 12 battery drain fast? These iPhone 12 battery tips and tricks will help get you through the day without a charge.

Before we get into the short-term ways to improve iPhone 12 battery life, it’s important to know what you can do to help your battery withstand the test of time. Here’s what the Battery experts has to say:

  • Avoid exposing your iPhone to temperature extremes, both high and low, when using or storing lithium-ion batteries.
  • Reduce the amount of time a battery spends at either 100% or 0% charge, as both extremely high and low “states of charge” stress batteries.
  • Avoid charging your iPhone with “fast-chargers,” that, while convenient, also degrade lithium-ion batteries more quickly than standard charging.

If you want to do more, there are settings that can be changed and features you can toggle off to save energy. Here is what you can do right now to fix iPhone 12 battery drain issues, and hopefully make it through the day without having to recharge.

See also: iPhone 12 Pro Battery Drain Fast? Here’s How to Fix it

Remove Unnecessary Widgets from the Home Screen

Yes, iOS 14 has excellent widget support! But if you unnecessarily fill your iPhone Home screen with these, it can cause your iPhone 12 battery to die fast.

This is because widgets (such as Weather or News) constantly refresh data to serve you with the latest information. And this has an impact on battery.

To remove a widget: Long press on it and choose Remove Widget > Remove.

Use Dark Mode

Dark mode can significantly (even up to 30%) extend the battery life on iPhone 12.

Start the Settings app and tap on Display & Brightness.
Under APPEARANCE, tap on Dark.tap on display & brightness in iphone settings and select dark
Tips: You can also long-press on the Control Center’s vertical brightness slider to enable dark mode. Additionally, you may add its separate button to the Control Center. Like to use your voice? Ask Siri to enable or disable dark mode.

Activate Low Power Mode

One of your strongest weapons against battery
drain is Low Power Mode. With it enabled, your phone only performs the most essential of tasks, so background activities like downloads and mail fetching are disabled.

Low Power Mode will automatically be engaged when the battery falls below 20 percent, but you can also activate it manually to keep your phone going for longer (though it will only work if your phone’s battery is below 80 percent).

Head over to Settings > Battery > Lower Power Mode and toggle it to on. You will know the feature is activated because the battery icon in the top-right corner will turn yellow.

Adjust Screen Brightness

Smartphone displays are bigger and brighter these days, but those crisp screens keeping you awake at night are murder on your battery life. The good news is you can easily dim that brightness.

First, activate auto-brightness. Navigate to Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size > Auto-Brightness and toggle it to on. Your phone will then adjust its brightness based on your current lighting situation. If you have enough light to see, the screen will turn itself down and save battery life.

You can also manually adjust brightness levels in Settings > Display & Brightness, where you can turn on dark mode, but also adjust brightness via the slider bar. A slider is also accessible via the Control Center; pull down from the top-right corner. Press lightly on the brightness icon and move the slider up or down.

Turn Off Location Services

Location services are helpful for apps such as Maps or Find my, but those GPS pings can cause your iPhone 12 battery to die quickly. Turn off location services completely via Settings > Privacy > Location Services and your phone will stop feeding location data to these services.

This, however, will make a number of useful apps stop working. Your weather app won’t know where you are for the latest forecast, and you won’t be able to ask Google for directions based on your current location. As such, Apple provides the option to customize how most apps use location data: Never, While Using the App, or Always. Select “While Using the App” for Google Maps, for example, and the app will only ping your location when you open it, not in the background, draining battery.

Turn Off Background App Refresh

When you close an iOS app, it will keep running for a bit until entering a suspended state. With Background App Refresh, however, those suspended apps can still check for updates and new content—a process that can cause your iPhone 12 battery drain faster.

You can disable Background App Refresh completely or just for certain apps. Navigate to Settings > General > Background App Refresh. Tap Background App Refresh up top to turn it off, or opt to have it happen only over Wi-Fi.

To disable on an app-by-app basis, return to the previous menu and find refresh-heavy apps, like email or social networking platforms. Toggle them off. This shouldn’t have any effect on how the app works, but might take a moment longer to surface new information when you return to them.

Customize ‘Fetch New Data’

Having email on your phone can be super convenient and data fetches mean your inbox is always displaying the most recent messages. But you can customize how these fetches occur so the phone isn’t draining its battery by constantly searching for new messages or calendar items.

Turn off data pushes by navigating to Settings > Passwords & Accounts > Fetch New Data. Here, you can deactivate Push data entirely or choose how often you want your iPhone to check for new content on the various apps that support it.

Cut Down on Notifications

If your screen illuminates with a preview of every notification you receive, it’s consuming power with each text, breaking news alert, or Twitter follow. Cutting down on these interruptions can improve iPhone 12 battery life.

One option is to find a notification from an app you’d like to silence, swipe left, and select Manage. Here you can choose to have the alert delivered quietly, which means it will go to your Notification Center, but won’t show up on the Lock screen, play sounds, or show a banner or badge icon. You can also turn off notifications for this app completely.

Or go to Settings > Notifications and customize how and when specific apps will show notifications.

Turn Off Wi-Fi

Using Wi-Fi is a great way to cut down on the amount of data you use, but it doesn’t do wonders for your battery. Your phone continuously searches for nearby Wi-Fi networks, which is why the list of available networks constantly changes when you’re out and about.

The quickest solution is to shut off Wi-Fi at Settings > Wi-Fi; toggle the switch at the top of the screen to off. You can also do this via the Control Center pull-down; tap the Wi-Fi icon to shut it off. Just remember to turn it back on when you get home or to a location with steady Wi-Fi, lest you use up all your cellular data.

Shut Down Bluetooth and AirDrop

Similarly, Bluetooth and AirDrop are constantly looking to connect, but there’s no reason for them to be active at all times.

Turn off Bluetooth by heading over to Settings > Bluetooth and sliding the toggle to off. Turn off AirDrop by navigating to Settings > General > AirDrop > Receiving Off.

You can also turn AirDrop off from the Control Center. Swipe down from the top-right on iPhone X and above or from the bottom of the screen on older iPhones. Press down slightly on the menu options on the top-left. Tap AirDrop in the menu that appears and choose Receiving Off.

Switch to Airplane Mode

If you’re in a real jam for power, put your iPhone 12 in Airplane Mode, which turns off all your phone’s wireless features. Calls and texts won’t come through, but you can still connect to Wi-Fi if necessary for iMessages and other tasks. The easiest way to do this is to look for the airplane icon in the Control Center and tap it. It’s also accessible in Settings; just toggle it on.

You’ll know it’s activated if an airplane icon appears on the top right.

Turn Off Siri Suggestions

Siri is Apple’s personal assistant,” so on iOS, she will make suggestions based on your activity. If you get coffee most days, for example, Siri may suggest your order around the time you normally place it. That’s great, but she has to do some work in the background to make this happen, which—you guessed it — lead to iPhone 12 battery drain issues.

Go to to Settings > Siri & Search. Under Siri Suggestions, you can enable or disable them in search, in Look Up, and on the lock screen.

Kill Active Listening

iPhone 12 support hands-free Siri, meaning you can say “Hey, Siri” and ask a question without having to touch your device. But that means the iPhone is awaiting your command, so if you don’t use Siri that much, turning off active listening could fix iPhone 12 battery drain.

Go to Settings > Siri & Search, where you can disable “Listen for ‘Hey Siri.'” Instead, you can leave “Press Side Button for Siri” enabled, and still activate Apple’s digital assistant with the push of a button.

Turn Off Automatic App Updates

It’s always a good idea to keep your apps and operating systems up to date. Some updates can help your apps run faster and smoother, decreasing the processing power needed to make them function.

Since iOS 7, Apple has supported automatic app updates, meaning when an app update arrives, your phone will install it in the background so you’re always up to date. That process can cause your iPhone 12 battery to die fast, though. To temporarily turn it off, go to Settings > iTunes & App Store and toggle the switch next to Updates to off.

Remove Motion Effects

There are a number of iPhone features that look cool—motion effects on app icons and dynamic wallpaper, for example—but slowly drain your iPhone 12 battery.

Turn off the motion effects on apps by heading over to Settings > Accessibility > Motion > Reduce Motion, then toggle the switch to turn the feature on. Note, however, that this will also disable screen transitions and effects that dissolve as well as the parallax effect—where your wallpaper, apps, and alerts move with you as you tilt your device.

Dynamic wallpapers, meanwhile, are backgrounds that contain movement and change over time. You don’t have to turn this feature off; just choose a wallpaper that doesn’t move via Settings > Wallpaper > Choose a New Wallpaper > Stills.

Dynamic wallpaper and perspective zoom are automatically turned off when a phone is in Low Power Mode.

Manage Vibrations

Did you know the mechanism in your phone responsible for vibrations can cause your iPhone 12 battery to drain fast? Since the little motor inside the device that is in charge of vibrations requires energy, it may help a bit to silence your phone.

To disable it, head over to Settings > Sounds & Haptics and turn off Vibrate on Sound or Vibrate on Silent.

Tame iCloud

Apple’s iCloud Photos feature will send photos you take on your phone to the cloud, so you can access them on other devices and the web. It’s a nice feature, especially if your phone is lost, stolen, or damaged. But yes, sending those photos to the cloud can cause your iPhone 12 battery to die quickly.

If you need a little extra battery power while you’re out and want to take the risk, disable this via Settings > Photos > iCloud Photos.

Restart Your iPhone Regularly

One easy way to make sure that things work correctly on your iPhone is to restart it regularly. Now, you may ask, ‘how regularly?’ Well! There is no fixed answer, but I like to restart my iPhone once every 2-3 days. This keeps everything smooth.

Place Your iPhone Face Down

Did you know that when you put your iPhone with the screen down (facing the surface), the screen does not illuminate when you receive a notification?

This can tremendously safe your iPhone 12 battery life. The best part is you still hear the notification sound (and the vibration.)

Additionally, you may also choose to turn off app notifications for unnecessary apps like food or grocery delivery ones that spam with half a dozen useless alerts every day!

Enable Optimized Battery Charging

This feature reduces battery aging by learning from your charging routines and waits to juice up the battery after 80% until you need to use it.

For example, if you plug your iPhone 12 into charging overnight every day at your house, it will learn your habit. Now, the phone will normally charge up to 80%. But after that, it will stop charging for the entire night and finish charging past 80% (that is, up to 100%) just before you need to use the iPhone – say early morning.

A notification will display on the screen that tells you when it is scheduled to finish charging. To charge it sooner, touch and hold the notification and tap on ‘Charge Now.’

On iPhone 12, Optimised Battery Charging is turned on by default. To double-check, head over to the Settings app > Battery > Battery Health > make sure Optimised Battery Charging is green.

Buy a Battery Case

If you still can’t manage to make it through the day without recharging your iPhone 12, you may want to purchase a battery case. There are many options available for the iPhone 12.

iPhone 12 battery drain fast? Problem fixed

These are some of the long-tested and trusted solutions to fix iPhone 12 battery drain issue. I hope you followed the recommendations here according to your usage.

Tag: Battery
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iPhone 12 mini Battery Drain Fast? Fix it Now

by GeeksModo Staff

This article explains how to fix iPhone 12 mini battery drain issue and improve battery life.

iPhone 12 mini is probably the best smartphone around in its price range. And there’s a good reason for it. For almost half the price of an iPhone 11, you get the same power and performance in a tiny package.
Sadly, there’s a downside to the iPhone 12 mini compact size. Making such a small and thin device can only mean the battery is also going to be small.
And with a 2,227mAh battery, chances are, the iPhone 12 mini won’t last you a whole day on a single charge. No matter how little you use it, you’ll probably have to get creative to extend its battery life a bit more.
If you just bought yourself a new iPhone 12 mini, you may be wondering, “why is my iPhone 12 mini battery draining so fast?”, “why is my iPhone 12 mini dying so fast?”, or even wondering, “should i return the device and ask for a refund?” Before you start searching for the best iPhone charger and battery case on the internet, learn how to improve battery life on your iPhone 12 mini.

See also: iPhone 12 Pro Battery Drain Fast? Here’s How to Fix it

How to fix iPhone 12 mini battery drain issue

If you’re wondering, “why is my iPhone 12 mini battery draining so fast?” the first thing you want to do is figure out whether or not you’re using your device differently. That could account for some of your iPhone 12 mini battery problems, but if you’re confident it’s more than that, we’ll help you fix the new update problems and save that battery life. If you bought the iPhone 12 mini and your battery is dying fast, read on to learn about ten great tips to fix iPhone 12 mini battery drain issues.

Without any further ado, let’s find out why your new iPhone 12 mini is dying so fast and how to fix the issue!

Keep an Eye on Your Battery Usage

Sometimes, the apps you have installed on your device are the main reason why your iPhone 12 mini battery is draining fast. Perhaps some apps are working in the background without you knowing it. Or perhaps, you’re just using them way too much.
You could, and should disable Background App Refresh, so your apps don’t keep looking for updates. But you should learn which apps are draining your iPhone 12 mini battery as well.
Your iPhone 12 mini will show you your battery usage and your activity during the last few days. You can also see which apps are consuming up the most battery life during this period of time. To access this information, simply follow these steps:

  1. Start the Settings app on your iPhone 12 mini.
  2. Tap Battery.
  3. Scroll down and you’ll see your Battery Usage report for the last 24 hours or the last 10 days.

Keep Your iPhone 12 mini Updated

Keeping your iPhone 12 mini, or any device you have, up to date is more important than you might think.
Sometimes, the developer will make improvements to the software’s performance that can improve iPhone 12 mini battery life. An update can also fix a security problem you didn’t even know you had.
Try to always run the latest iOS update on your iPhone at all times. Follow these steps to check if you have any pending updates:

  1. Start the Settings app on your iPhone 12 mini.
  2. Tap General.
  3. Select Software Update.

Disable Automatic Updates

Speaking of updates, your applications should also have the latest updates available. However, unlike iOS, these updates don’t have to be installed automatically.
Automatically updating your apps can slowly cause iPhone 12 mini battery drain issues without you even realizing it. It’s better to set it up so that you decide when it’s the best time to download updates.

  1. Start the Settings app on your iPhone 12 mini.
  2. Tap on iTunes & App Store.
  3. Turn off the switch next to Automatic Downloads.

You can also disable other automatic updates for the Apple Music or Books apps.

Change Your Fetch Settings

Another thing that’s can cause your iPhone 12 mini battery drain issues without even thinking about it is Mail data fetch. These settings make it so your iPhone is constantly looking for new information, such as emails so it can notify you as soon as you get them.
Most of the time, you don’t need to know when you get an email as soon as it happens, so you can adjust it to a certain amount of time to save battery life.

  1. Start the Settings app on your iPhone 12 mini.
  2. Tap on Passwords & Accounts.
  3. Select Fetch New Data.
  4. On the lower part of your screen, you should see when your iPhone is fetching for new data in the background.
  5. Set the time to what you feel is best for you. Every 15 Minutes is an excellent option to start.

Avoid Sharing Your Location

Sharing your location all the time with every app you have is not recommended for two reasons.
First, it helps you keep your information private. And second, it helps to improve your battery life.
Some apps are constantly checking your location, even if you’re not actively using it at that particular moment. It’s best for you to check your apps and set them so they only see your location when you’re using the app, if the app really even needs it in the first place.
Follow these steps to manage your Location Services:

  1. Start the Settings app on your iPhone 12 mini.
  2. Tap Privacy.
  3. Select Location Services.
  4. You’ll see a full list of all your installed apps that ask for your location.
  5. Browse through the list and tap on the app you want to change to allow different location access.

Disable Some iCloud Settings

When it comes to iCloud, you might not want to mess it with. On one hand, sending things like pictures or contacts to the cloud helps you keep your information safe in case something happens to your iPhone. But, it can also lead to iPhone 12 mini battery drain issues.
You should check your iPhone 12 mini iCloud settings and see which information is worth uploading. Follow these steps to check your iCloud settings:

  1. Start the Settings app on your iPhone 12 mini.
  2. Tap on your name at the top of the screen.
  3. Tap iCloud.
  4. Enable or disable the apps you want to constantly send (or download) cloud data.

Manage Your Connections

If you have the chance to choose between Wi-Fi and cellular, always go for Wi-Fi. Being connected to Wi-Fi uses less battery power than using your mobile data.
If everything else fails and you need your iPhone to last you throughout the day, you can also turn Airplane Mode on. You won’t be connected to anything, but at least your iPhone 12 mini will last longer for the final moment you need it.

Use Do Not Disturb

Getting constant notifications can cause your iPhone 12 mini battery to drain fast. That’s mostly because of the vibration, sounds, and light the iPhone makes when you get a new notification.
You can always disable your iPhone’s vibrations, but if you’re used to having it on, you might miss an important call.
That’s why you can try using Do Not Disturb. Not only is it a feature that lets you focus on what you’re doing without getting interrupted, but it’ll also help you mute unnecessary vibrations and sounds that can lead to iPhone 12 mini battery dying fast.
The best part is, you can still receive calls from your favorite contacts. That way, you can still be available for family and close friends.

Adjust Your Brightness

What consumes most of the battery on any device is the screen. Having a very large screen forces any smartphone to use more battery life to power it.
Thankfully, the iPhone 12 mini doesn’t have any large-screen issues. Still, making your screen too bright when you don’t need it will cause your iPhone 12 mini battery to die fast.
Using the Control Center, you can adjust your brightness down so you consume less battery and you can still see your screen without any issues.

Disable Some Siri Features

Siri is a fantastic digital assistant. It helps you to answer questions or can provide suggestions based on your personal preferences.
However, this comes with a price. A no, I’m not talking about your personal information. I’m talking about your battery.
Having Hey Siri or Siri Suggestions enabled makes Siri work behind the scenes to help you in the best way it can. If you don’t use Siri all that often, you’re wasting your battery, which is something you can’t afford with your iPhone 12 mini.
Disabling Siri will severely limit its useful features. So remember these steps to turn Siri back on later.
Follow these steps to disable Siri features:

  1. Start the Settings app on your iPhone 12 mini.
  2. Tap Siri & Search.
  3. Disable all the Ask Siri features, as well as the Siri Suggestions you don’t need or want.
Tag: Battery
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