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How to Group FaceTime on Your Mac, iPhone, or iPad: Guide

by GeeksModo Staff

FaceTime offers one of the most secure ways to video call your friends, family, and colleagues. If everyone has an iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Mac, you can have group FaceTime chats with up to 32 people for free.

Here’s everything you need to know about how to use group FaceTime calls. That includes starting a new call, managing your mic or camera settings, and fixing common errors.

How to Start a Group FaceTime Call

FaceTimeis one of several in-built iOS apps that are preinstalled on your device by default. Its icon resembles a green video camera. If you deleted FaceTime from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, you can download it again for freefrom the App Store

To start a new call with FaceTime, start the Facetime app, tap the Add (+) button, and type the contact you want to call. On a Mac, use the search bar that appears to find your contacts. Add as many contacts to the call as you like; FaceTime supports up to a maximum of 32 people, including yourself.

Then tap or click the Audio or Video buttons to start the group FaceTime call. The Audio button starts a call without turning your camera on, but you can enable it later if you like.
When adding people in the FaceTime app, you can search for their name, phone number, or email address. If someone isn’t saved to your contacts, enter their full phone number or email address instead.

FaceTime only allows you to add contacts who show up in blue. This happens when their Apple ID is linked to the contact details you typed in and their Apple device is currently online.

Start a Group FaceTime Call From Messages

Another way to start a group FaceTime call is by use of Messages app. This is a much more convenient method if you already have a group chat with everyone you want to call. That’s because it’s faster to get started and lets people join at a later stage without you having to add them.

Simply open the group chat in Messages, then bring up the Details for that chat by tapping the profile pictures at the top of the display. Tap or click the FaceTime icon to call everyone in the group chat via FaceTime.

If some people decline the call at first, they can join again afterwards by returning to the group chat in Messages. This shows an icon letting you know how many people are currently in the call, with a green button to Join the call as well.

How to Use Group FaceTime on iPhone, iPad, or Mac

Once you start a group FaceTime call, you’ll find yourself greeted with a selection of square video feeds from each of your contacts. If someone turns their camera off, their initials appear in a box instead of their video feed.

FaceTime automatically arranges the video feeds on your screen to allow you to see everyone at once. When that isn’t possible without making each feed too small, FaceTime dynamically changes the size of each feed depending on who’s talking. The aim is to enlarge the feed when people start talking so you can see them well, but it doesn’t work perfectly.

You can always take control of this manually by tapping or clicking on someone to make their video larger. In addition, this makes the fullscreen button visible, which enlarges the feed and moves it to the middle of your screen.

Control the Camera, Microphone, and Speaker in FaceTime

On a Mac, hover your mouse over the FaceTime window to reveal basic FaceTime controls, then click the Sidebar icon to Bring up additional controls. On an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, tapping in a blank space shows controls at the bottom of your screen; swipe up to expand these controls for more options.

Tap the Mute button (shown by a microphone with a line through it) to mute yourself. This turns off your microphone so other people can’t hear you during a call.

Similarly, tap the Camera Off button (shown by a camera with a line through it) to turn off your camera. Unless you also muted yourself, people should still be able to hear you.

there is also a Flip and a Speaker option on an iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. The Flip button lets you switch from the front-facing to the rear-facing camera on your device. And the Speaker button allows you to transfer the audio to other speakers on your network, such ass Apple’s HomePod.

Add More People to Your Group FaceTime Call

You can keep adding new people to an existing FaceTime call until you hit 32 participants. To do this on an iPhone or iPad, tap in a blank space and swipe up on the control panel that appears. On a Mac, launch the sidebar in the FaceTime app.

This panel shows everyone in the call, including people you called who didn’t answer. Use the call button next to these contacts to try calling them again.

you can instead use the Add Person option to search for new contacts to add to the call. Search for their name, phone number, or email address, just like when you started the FaceTime call. Then tap the Add Person to FaceTime button to bring them in.

Add Effects to Your FaceTime Call

If you’re using an iPhone 7 or later, it’s easy to add camera effects to your FaceTime calls. These include Animoji, filters, text, shapes, and various stickers. you simply need to tap in a blank space, then tap the Effects button.

Choose the type of effect you wish to apply from the toolbar at the bottom of the screen. Certain effects, such as text or stickers, allows you to pick where to place them on your video feed by means of drag-and-drop.

You can add as many effects as you like, even combining your Animoji with a filter and some stickers if you wish. To return to normal, tap the Effects button again to remove all the effects at a go.

What to Do If Group FaceTime Isn’t Working

FaceTime is one of the most convenient Waze to start a group video call, but it still isn’t perfect. SometimesFaceTime refuse to ring a given contacts or face weak connection problems.

Here are instructions for how to fix some of the most common issues with group FaceTime calls.

Check Your Internet Connection

FaceTime works better on Wi-Fi. Launch the Settings app on your iPhone and tap on Wi-Fi to make sure you’re connected to a Wi-Fi network, then try loading a page on your web browser. to make sure that connection is working properly. If you can’t get online, restart your router, run through our network troubleshooting steps, then contact your internet service provider if you need further support.

iIf you want to useFaceTime over mobile data on your iPhone or iPad, you need too first enable this in the settings. Start the settings app on your iPhone and go to Cellular, then scroll down to see a list of apps. Turn on the FaceTime toggle to allow it to use your cellular data.

Turn FaceTime Off and On Again

Start the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad and go to FaceTime, then use the FaceTime toggle to turn the feature off. On a Mac, start the FaceTime app and head over to FaceTime > Preferences from the menu bar, then uncheck the Enable this account box.

Wait for one minute before turning FaceTime back on from the same settings page, then try to make a call again.

Update Your Operating System

sometimes, FaceTime problems can be caused by outdated operating system. It might happen that you can’t ring a certain contacts, use camera effects, or launch FaceTime at all. You can easily fix these problems by downloading and installing the latest software update.

Start the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad and head over to General > Software Update. Then download and install any available software updates for your device. On a Mac, launch the Apple menu and head over to System Preferences > Software Update to check for new updates.

Use a Third-Party App to Call Non-Apple Devices

FaceTime’s biggest shortcoming is that it’s not available on other platforms beside Apple devices. You can’t download FaceTime for Android or Windows, which means there are likely lots of Friends, family members or coworkers who you can’t add to a FaceTime group call.

thankfully, there are tons of third-party apps you can use instead. Check out Best video conferencing apps here

Tag: FaceTime
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A few reasons the iPad Pro can’t replace the MacBook, even with the Magic Keyboard

by GeeksModo Staff

When it comes to the iPad, Apple loves to make a controversial statement or two. Remember when CEO Tim Cook said, “Why would you buy a PC anymore? No really, why would you buy one?” Or the commercial with the iPad-toting kid that sparked rage in the PC world with the question “What’s a computer?”

Thanks to the iPad Pro’snew Magic Keyboard, you may find yourself agreeing with Mr. Cook and friends. It has all sorts of advantages over a MacBook, and its floating magnetic design is downright cool.

But when it comes to being a great computer for getting work done, there are still numerous reasons why the iPad Pro is not yet ready to replace your MacBook. It’s a fantastic 2-in-1 tablet, but here are the prime reasons why the humble laptop is still a better option for some people.

Typing and extended working

The Magic Keyboard is a big leap forward for the iPad. The improved keyboard and the inclusion of a trackpad bring it closer than ever to replicating a real laptop experience. The physical feeling of the keypresses is better than any other keyboard cover out there, and matches what you get on a MacBook. And yet, when it comes to the pure typing experience, MacBooks still have the upper hand for a couple reasons.

First off, everything on a MacBook is spacious and more comfortable. The keyboard layout is wider, the trackpad is broad, and the wrist rests are taller. The Magic Keyboard is good enough in these areas, but if you had to pick a better typing experience, you’d choose the MacBook every time. The Magic Keyboard also doesn’t have a function row, which is pretty useful when it comes to quickly adjusting settings or accessingShortcuts.

The bigger issue at this moment in time is software. Cursor support for the iPad Pro was a big improvement, however, not all applications are up to speed. Apple’s own apps fluidly switch between contextual cursor types and vastly improve text selection. But useful apps such as Google Docs and OneNote still use the old iOS-style text selection, which is clumsy. That’ll hopefully get ironed out over time, but currently the experience is hit-or-miss.

Multitasking apps and workflows

Apple has put a lot of effort to enhance the multitasking experience on the iPad Pro. It now includes Split View and mouse support, and Apple has forkediPadOS away from iOS to deal with iPad-centric workflows. And still, it cannot compete with MacOS.

Let’s look at Split View. It is fantastic however, it allows you to use just two apps side-by-side. On a MacBook (with a little help from third-party apps like the excellent BetterSnapTool), you can snap windows to the corners of your screen and have four apps on the go simultaneously. simply drag the windows to your screen corners — or even better, use some keyboard shortcuts — and you have an endless more flexible workspace than you get on the iPad Pro.

Even without third-party apps, the Mac has got an upper hand here. for example, there is no way to have multiple virtual desktops on the iPad, but there is on the Mac. While the iPad Pro does some multitasking things well, it’s got nothing on the Mac.

Connectivity

Take a look at your MacBook. How many devices do you usually connect to it? perhaps you raise it up on a stand and hook up a keyboard and mouse. maybe you also use an external monitor with your laptop for a better viewing experience. There are many instances we need to connect more than one peripheral at a time, but the iPad Pro’s single USB-C port puts paid to that.

Worse, the iPad Pro’s Single port means that even if you only want to pair your device with a single peripheral, you cannot do that as you charge your iPad at the same time. although both the iPad Pro and MacBook includes USB-C ports, those on modern MacBook models are much faster thanks to being Thunderbolt 3 compatibility, — the MacBook’s ports can rock speeds of up to 40Gbps, while the iPad Pro can only reach a quarter of that. all that combined means the iPad Pro is far less flexible as far as connectivity is concerned.

The Magic Keyboard does include an extra USB-C port in its base, however you can only use it for charging.

File management

not so long ago, Apple has belatedly added some sort of file management and external hard drive support to the iPad Pro. That’s awesome for travel photographers who want to manage files on the go, however, in case you have a huge library of documents that you need to get under control, it still falls short of what you can do on the Mac.

for instance, when we tried substituting a MacBook for an iPad Pro: “Selecting a thousand photos to add to an album is hectic, as there is no equivalent to a Command-A shortcut to select all. Instead, you have to slide a finger over every image.”

The Mac has a wealth of third-party file-management apps, including those that modify or even completely replace the Finder. But even a fraction of that level of customization is not available on the iPad Pro. You can sort your documents in the Files app by date, for example, but on the Mac you can sort by date modified, date created, date last opened, and date added. If you handle dozens of files every day, Mac has got an edge over iPad Pro.

Content creation

If you engage inserious, pro-level tasks in the Apple ecosystem, there is still only one option, The Mac. Sure, you can use some professional apps like Photoshop on the iPad Pro, but if you were thinking that means it can replace the MacBook, there are some serious shortcomings, both in terms of hardware and software.

Let’s look at apps first. While Adobe promised “real Photoshop” on the iPad, the mobile version still does not have feature parity with the equivalent Mac app despite the fact that Adobe is releasing new features each month). But Photoshop is an outlier. Looking for apps like Logic Pro X, Adobe Premiere Pro, or Final Cut Pro X on the iPad Pro? Tough luck.

Even for those pro-level apps you can get on the iPad Pro, you’ll encounter a limitation. Sure, the Apple A-series processor in the iPad Pro is surprisingly powerful, but you will find yourself Limited in other ways. For tasks like video rendering and machine learning, a dedicated graphics card is compulsory, yet the iPad Pro is devoid of options in this area. If you want to engage in high-end, serious tasks, you are best off sticking with a MacBook Pro,specifically the 16-inch model

Tags: iPad Pro, MacBook Pro
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Invalid SIM or No SIM on iPhone? Fix it Here

by GeeksModo Staff

A pop-up appeared on your iPhone saying “Invalid SIM” and you don’t know the reason. Now you can’t make phone calls, send texts, or use cellular data. In this post, I’ll explain why it says Invalid SIM on your iPhone and show you how to fix the problem permanently.

Turn Airplane Mode On and Back Off

The first thing you should do when your iPhone says Invalid SIM is to turn Airplane Mode on and back off. When Airplane Mode is enabled, your iPhone Cutts off cellular and wireless networks.

Start the Settings app and tap the switch next to Airplane Mode to turn it on. Wait a few seconds, then tap the switch to turn it back off.

Check For A Carrier Settings Update

The next thing you need to do is to check to see if a carrier settings update is available on your iPhone. Apple and your wireless carrier will frequently release carrier settings updates to improve your iPhone’s ability to connect to cellular towers.

To check for a carrier settings update, start the Settings app on your iPhone and head over to General -> About. Wait here for about 15 seconds — if a carrier settings update is available, you’ll see a pop-up on your iPhone display. If you see the pop-up, tap Update.

If you don’t see any pop-up, a carrier settings update probably isn’t available!

Restart Your iPhone

Sometimes it’ll say Invalid SIM on your iPhone due to a minor software glitch. By switching your iPhone off and back on, we allow it to shut down all of its programs naturally. They’ll have a fresh when you turn it back on.

To switch off iPhone 8 or earlier, press and hold the power button until you see the slide to power off option. To turn off iPhone X or later, press and hold the side button together with either volume button. Swipe the red power icon from left to right to shut down your iPhone.

Wait for a moment, then press and hold down the power button or side button to turn your iPhone back on.

Update Your iPhone

Your iPhone could also be saying Invalid SIM because it’s software is out of date. Apple often release new iOS updates to fix existing software glitches and introduce new features.

To check for an iOS update, start the Settings app and head over to General -> Software Update. If an update is available, hit Download & Install.

If it says “Your iPhone is up to date”, try the next solution.

Eject and Reinsert Your SIM Card

So far, we’ve covered most iPhone troubleshooting steps. Now, it’s time to take a look at the SIM card.

If you recently dropped youriPhone, the SIM card might have been moved out of place. Try ejecting the SIM card from your iPhone, then reinserted

Where Is The SIM Card Located?

On most iPhones, the SIM card tray is located on the right edge of the device. On the oldest iPhones (original iPhone, 3G, and 3GS), the SIM card tray is located on the topmost of the iPhone.

How Do I Eject My iPhone SIM Card?

Use a SIM card ejector tool or a paper clip and press down in the small circle on the SIM card tray. Make sure to apply a fair bit of pressure to get the tray to actually eject. Don’t worry when your iPhone says No SIM when you open up the SIM card tray.

Make sure the SIM card is properly positioned in the tray and insert it back in. If it still says Invalid SIM on iPhone, try the next SIM card troubleshooting fix.

Try A Different SIM Card

This step will help us figure out whether you’re dealing with an iPhone issue or a SIM card issue. Ask your friend to lend you a SIM card and insert it into your iPhone. Does it still say Invalid SIM?

If your iPhone says Invalid SIM, then your iPhone is the culprit. If the problem went away after you inserted a different SIM card, then there’s a problem with your SIM card, not your iPhone.

If your iPhone is causing the Invalid SIM problem, try the next solution. If there’s a problem with your SIM card, contact your wireless carrier. We’ve provided some customer support phone numbers below in the “Contact Your Carrier” step.

Is there a PIN on your SIM

If you use a PIN on your SIM card, you are required to type in your sim pin after every iPhone restart, in addition to the device passcode. Failure to which, it will show Locked SIM and remain unusable.

Now, this is different from the Invalid SIM or No SIM issue. But if you or a kid (who knows the iPhone password) has inadvertently entered wrong SIM card pin 3 times in a row, then the SIM will be locked.

You will be required to contact your carrier via call or chat and request for a Personal Unlocking Key (PUK code). After that, follow your carrier’s instructions to enter the PUK code on the iPhone to unlock your SIM card and use it.

Reset Network Settings

Your iPhone’s network settings includes all of its cellular, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and VPN settings. Your iPhone may say Invalid SIM if there’s software error within the cellular settings. Unfortunately, these issues can be challenging to trace, so the only solution is to reset all of your iPhone’s network settings.

Pro-Tip: Make sure you know all of your Wi-Fi passwords before resetting network settings. You’ll need to enter them afresh them after resetting your iPhone.

To reset your iPhone’s network settings, start the Settings app on your iPhone and head over to General -> Reset -> Reset Network Settings. When asked, type in your iPhone passcode, then confirm the reset.

Restore your iPhone to Factory Settings

Resetting your iPhone to factory default will erase everything from your iPhone. reset your iPhone to factory default, simply start the settings app on your iPhone and go to General -> Reset -> reset all settings. If your iPhone says invalid sim still, try the next solution.

Contact Your Wireless Carrier Or Apple

If it still says Invalid SIM on your iPhone after you’ve reset the network settings, you’ll need to contact your wireless carrier or visit your nearestApple Store.

With SIM card problem, we recommend visiting your wireless carrier first. There is a higher chance that they’ll be able to help you fix the Invalid SIM issue. You may only need a new SIM card!

Visit your wireless carrier’s retail store or call the phone number below to talk to a customer support representative:

  • Verizon: 1-(800)-922-0204
  • Sprint: 1-(888)-211-4727
  • AT&T: 1-(800)-331-0500
  • T-Mobile: 1-(877)-746-0909

Switch To A New Wireless Carrier

If you’re sick of having SIM card or cell service problems on your iPhone, it might be the time to switch to a new wireless carrier. Sometimes you’ll save a lot of money when you switch!

Invalid or no SIM on iPhone? Problem fixed

Your iPhone SIM card is no longer invalid and you can continue making phone calls and using cellular data. Next time it says Invalid SIM on your iPhone, you’ll know how to fix the problem. If you have any other questions about your iPhone or your SIM card, let us know in the comment section below. We also have plenty of other articles that I suggest to check right now.

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Optimized Battery Charging not Working on iPhone? Fix

by GeeksModo Staff

Optimized battery charging is not working on your iPhone and you don’t know what to do. No problem. In this guide, I’ll explain why optimized battery charging is not working and what to do to fix the issue.
Starting with the iOS 13, Apple introduced theOptimized Battery Charging feature to help iPhone users maximize total battery lifespan. While some people love this feature, others don’t — maybe because it sometimes doesn’t allow their iPhone to charge past 80%. That makes it quite challenging to know whether iPhone’s Optimized Battery Charging feature is working or not. However, if you’ve noticed it’s not, here are step-by-steps instructions to fixthe issue.

How does Optimized battery charging work on the iPhone?

Here’s how the feature works::

    • If you wake up at 8 a.m. every day, Optimized Battery Charging will take note of that wake-up time.
    • When you connect your iPhone to power at night, it’ll charge normally up to 80 percent

charge.

  • At this point, the feature will pause charging.
  • It will continue charging when it recognizes it can fill up your iPhone’s battery without making it sit a full charge for too long.

Apple introduced optimized battery charging because of the way lithium-ion batteries function. All smartphone batteries naturally degrade over time, but letting a lithium-ion
battery sit at 0 or 100 percent charge for a long time can place unnecessary strain on it.

Why isn’t Optimized Battery Charging working?

Optimized Battery Charging, in theory, is a great way for Apple to help reduce the number of times an iPhone user needs to replace their battery.

It may particularly come in handy for users who hold onto their iPhones for extended lengths of time. For those users, battery health is extremely important
since no on wants to replace their battery every year.

Having said that, it seams that Optimized Battery Charging isn’t actually working for a significant number of users.

According to users experiencing this problem, the feature does not stop or start charging at the correct times. Other users have reported that the feature doesn’t do anything
at all on their devices.
In this article, we’ve explained 6 different fixes for iPhone’s Optimized Battery Charging not working as expected.

Optimized battery charging not working on iPhone? How to fix

1. RE-ENABLE OPTIMIZED BATTERY CHARGING

The first thing you should do when you notice that Optimized Battery Charging isn’t working on your iPhone is to reconfirm if the feature is enabled. Optimized battery charging is enabled by default on newer iPhone models, however, it could be disabled on your device.

NOTE: only devices running iOS 13 and higher support optimized battery charging.

To check if optimized battery charging is enabled on your iPhone, simply follow these steps:

  1. Start the settings app on your iPhone and tap Battery.
  2. Tap on Battery Health.
  3. Make sure the ‘Optimized Battery Charging’ feature is enabled. You can also try disabling it and toggle it back on.

Now that you’ve enabled the feature, let’s move to the next solution to help get Optimized Battery Charging working on your iPhone.

2. TURN ON LOCATION SERVICES

To help maximize total lifespan of your iPhone battery, the Optimized Battery Charging feature uses machine learning to learn your usage habit and determine where you spend most of your time (home, work, etc.). Afterwords, the Optimized Battery Charging feature would engage only at the locations where you spend the most time, ideally speaking.

If certain location settings on your iPhone are disabled, or there’s an unexpected discrepancy in your location pattern (for example if you recently traveled, went on vacation, or relocated), there may be a shift (or pause) in the functionality of the optimized charging feature. That is, Optimized Battery Charging wouldn’t work as expected.

Furthermore, there are a number of location settings that must be enabled on your iPhone for Optimized Battery Charging to work. Simply follow the steps below.

NOTE: None of the location information or history used for this Optimized Battery Charging is sent to Apple. The data is locally stored on your iPhone toImprove battery life

Location Services

  1. Start the settings app on your iPhone and go to Privacy.
  2. Now, tap Location Services.
  3. Lastly, tap Location Services to toggle it on if It’s not yet already.

System Customization

    Start the settings app on your iPhone and tap Privacy.

  1. Tap Location Services.
  2. Scroll down and tap on System Services.
  3. Make sure System Customization is enabled. Toggle it on if it’s not yet already.

Significant Locations

  1. Start the settings app on your iPhone and tap Privacy.
  2. Tap on Location Services.
  3. Scroll down and tap on System Services.
  4. Tap Significant Locations. You’d be requested to authorize entry either by Face ID, touch ID or your iPhone password.
  5. Make sure Significant Locations is turned on.

If these settings are enabled on your iPhone, and you did not recently travel (or moved to a different locations), but Optimized Battery Charging still doesn’t work, try the next solution.

3. RESTART IPHONE

Restarting your iPhone could help in fixing minor software glitches and resolve problems preventing Optimized Battery Charging from working on your device. Simply hold down the power button to shut down your iPhone. Wait for a minute and turn it back on and check if optimized battery charging is working. If the feature is not working still, try the next solution.

4. UPDATE IOS 13

As we’ve already pointed out, Optimized Battery Charging feature only works on devices running iOS 13 and higher. If your iPhone is running older version of iOS, you should update your device to take advantage of the feature. In case you’ve already installed iOS 13 on your device but Optimized Battery Charging still doesn’t work, you should ensure that your iPhone is running the latest version of iOS 13. To check if your device is running the latest version of iOS, Start the settings app on your iPhone and head over to General > Software Update. Download and install any update, if available.

If your device is running the latest iOS version and Optimized Battery Charging doesn’t work, try the next solution.

5. USE ORIGINAL CHARGER

If Optimized Battery Charging isn’t working on your iPhone, you may want to try the following:

If you’re using wireless charging, try standard wired charging. If you’re using a third-party charger, try out first-party Apple
Charger for a while. Just check if there’s any change.

6. WAIT IT OUT

It’s worth noting that the algorithm powering the optimized battery charging feature takes a while to gather the essential information (charging and usage habits, location pattern, etc.) for it to work properly. Apple doesn’t specify how long it takes for the feature to gather this data, but it can take days, sometimes weeks.

Personally, the Optimized Battery Charging feature took about a week to work properly, however, users have reported that it took more than 2 weeks.

Therefore, if you have been using your iPhone for a week or so, and you’re sure that the Optimized Battery Charging feature is enabled, don’t worry. The feature is busy working in the background, gathering the necessary data for it to work properly. The only option is to be patient as there is no way to fast-track the data gathering process.

Optimized Battery Charging won’t work? Problem fixed!

Currently, it appears as if Optimized Battery Charging is working appropriately for the vast majority of users, however, isn’t working at all for just as many.

Why? It appears as if the feature actually requires a consistent schedule to work. For instance, if you wake up each day at 8 a.m., then Optimized
Battery Charging is smart enough to know to resume charging an appropriate amount of time before you wake up.
We hope this article has helped you fix optimized battery charging issue on your iPhone. Now share this article with others to teach them what to do when optimized battery charging is not working on their iPhone. We also have plenty of other articles that I suggest you check right now.

Tag: Battery
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20+ Useful iPhone SE 2 Tips and Tricks (2021)

by GeeksModo Staff

Today we will discuss iPhone SE 2 tips and tricks. Here are the best iPhone SE 2 tips and tricks you can use to make your life easier. These iPhone SE 2020 tips and tricks will help you use your iPhone better in 2021. The use of this model will become easier for you after knowing these tips and tricks.
iPhone SE2020 is the cheapest latest iPhone with top-notch performance. The new ‘Special Edition’ iPhone is similar to iPhone 8 in terms of form factor.
The best thing about the new iPhone is that it features Apple’s flagship A13 Bionic chipset just like iPhone 11 and 11 Pro, which means great
performance in just $300.

If you were considering purchasing an iPhone 8 for some time, don’t. iPhone SE 2020 is the best phone you can purchase in a budget. If you’ve already bought iPhone 8, then try to return it. If you’ve already purchased iPhone SE 2020, here are the best tips and tricks to get the most out of your new phone:

iPhone SE 2 tips and tricks 2021

In this article, we will discuss tips and tricks of the iPhone SE 2. These tips and tricks will make easy for you to get familiar with this new model.
Following are the tips and tricks of iPhone SE 2020:

1. Backup photos and videos:

Photos and videos are an important part of our lives. We relive memories using these precious pieces of our past. The new iPhone SE 2020 includes 4K video recording,
which means enhanced video quality but with more space. 4K takes more space than usual videos hence requires more storage.

Google Photos offers you a platform to store unlimited free compressed photos. In case you prefer using iCloud, then you need to enable iCloud backup to store your photos
there. The free iCloud account gives users 5GB free storage, after that you’ve to pay for more pictures and videos. Therefore, the first thing you should do on you’re your new iPhone
SE 2 is to enable backup for your photos and videos.

2. Wireless charging:

The new iPhone SE 2020, put it differently, iPhone 8 of 2020, supports wireless charging, thanks to the glass rear. With wireless charging, you can charge
your iPhone wirelessly with ease, without the need of plugging any charging cable. 

You need to determine a charging hotspot for your iPhone carefully. Ensure you select a perfect spot where you find yourself most likely. For me, it’s
my laptop desk, and next to my bed, hence my wireless chargers are set up at these places. This way, I can effortlessly charge my phone without worrying about
plugging a cable when I go to sleep.

3. Assistive Touch:

The physical home button was removed on iPhones. However, iPhone 7 introduced the touch-sensitive home button, it doesn’t click like the physical button but feels
like it. If you don’t like physical home key or for some reason your home button isn’t working as expected, then you can simply use the Assistive Touch
feature.

Assistive Touch makes it easy for users to enable a virtual home button that can float around the screen. It has more features than the physical button. You can capture
a screenshot, lower or increase volume, launch control center, launch Siri, rotate the screen, lock screen, mute, unmute, restart your iPhone, and do more with this
Assistive Touch.

4. Tweak the Intensity of the Home Button

The Home button on the 2020 iPhone SE is not really a physical button. Instead, it is a touch sensitive button and it works in a similar way to how the
Force Touch trackpad on MacBooks work. Apple makes it easy to customize the intensity of its feedback as per your liking. Simply start the settings app on your iPhone and head over to
General” -> Home and select your desired option.

5. Turn on/off 4K video:

If you are not interested in video quality and want to stay with 720p or 1080p videos, simply disable 4K video on your new iPhone SE. Turning off 4K from the
settings will slightly lower the video quality and helps save storage. You can turn off 4K video recording on your iPhone SE from settings.

6. Optimize Battery Charging

If you want to prolong your iPhone SE battery life, you should enable the Optimize Battery Charging feature. As such, the OS will see your
daily usage habit and charge your iPhone accordingly. It will slow down or even delay to charge it past 80% until you need to use it. This will help in
maximizing the lifespan of your iPhone’s battery.

7. Enable dark mode:

The dark mode is the best solution for your eyes. It not only helps you in keeping your eyes safe but also allows you to have a restful night. The dark mode is one
of the best feature on iPhone.
For this purpose, there are different methods of turning on dark mode like Launch the control center. On holding brightness icon you will see a dark mode option on the bottom left
corner. Simply tap Dark Mode option and your iPhone will switch to the dark mode. Alternatively, you can activate dark mode by following these steps:

  1. Start the settings app on your iPhone.
  2. Scroll down and tap Display and Brightness.
  3. You can select a light and dark present at the top of the screen.
  4. Alternatively, you can activate the automatic switch located below the light and dark
  5. After that, you can decide whether you want to follow an automatic schedule of sunset to sunrise or you want to follow your own schedule.

8. Use third-party keyboards:

Apple has added support for third-party keyboards, which means you can download your favorite keyboard to type with. With the iPhone SE 2020, you can download a
Keyboard of your choice from the App Store and use it instead of default apple keyboard. If you like the default iOS keyboard, then by all means stick with it, but I recommend switching to
Gboard as it is the best keyboard that I think available on any platform.

9. Connect Multiple AirPods to Your iPhone

The iPhone SE 2 supports Audio Sharing which lets users share whatever audio they are playing on their AirPods to another pair of AirPods as well.
Simply launch the AirPlay section from Control Center and flick open the second pair of AirPods to connect and use it alongside your own AirPods.

10. Use multiple fingerprints for Touch ID:

iPhone SE 2 comes with Touch ID instead of Face ID. It is the only iPhone in the current Apple lineup to feature a physical home button. If you are not aware, you can add up to five
fingers to set up Touch ID. Simply head over to Settings > Touch ID & Passcode > Fingerprints and add up to five fingers. You
can use these fingers to unlock your iPhone. If you want, you can also set up your foot thumb if you’re into that kind of experimentation.

11. Don’t close apps:

Force quitting apps doesn’t save battery life of your iPhone. According to apple, the iOS is optimized to manage apps in the background thereby saving your battery. Force quitting
recent apps won’t help save your battery, but instead, it’ll do the opposite. When you remove an app from ‘recent apps’ which you frequently use, the
next time you’re going to open the app will consume more power resulting in more battery usage. Therefore, closing recent apps is actually a bad idea.

12. Haptic Touch:

iPhone SE 2020 features Haptic Touch instead of 3D Touch. Haptic Touch mimics 3D Touch but doesn’t feel like one. You can touch and hold on apps, and
menus will pop up, depending on their features and developers. You can enable Haptic Touch feature in Settings.

13. Easily Cut, Copy, and Paste Text

This is more of an iOS 13 feature but one that’s still worth mentioning. There are new gestures in iOS that let you easily cut, copy, and paste the text.
Use the three-finger pinch gesture to copy text, a three-finger double pinch gesture to cut text and a three-finger expand gesture to paste the text.

14. Charge your iPhone SE faster:

If you want to charge your new iPhone SE faster than you should, there are a few simple steps which you need to follow. Charging an iPhone when you want the most is always
a pain in the neck. To charge your iPhone faster, you need to use a fast charger or turn on Airplane mode. Turning on Airplane mode disables all other
connectivity options and consumes little power. You can also power off your iPhone entirely and charge to make the charging process even faster. 

15. Swipe to delete on calculator:

Did you know you can easily delete the last integer you entered on your iPhone’s built-in calculator? Simply swipe right or left on the numbers will delete one entry in the calculator. It’s an handy tip that helps me a lot. Rather than clearing all the entries,
you can swipe over digits, and one digit will be cleared.

16. Undo type by shaking:

Typing a long article or a story and want to undo typed sentences quickly? Shake to undo the last action! To enable the ‘Shake
to Undo’ feature, simply head over to Settings> Accessibility>Shake to Undo.

17. Try Gesture Typing

Starting with iOS 13, Apple finally included gesture typing support to the in-built iOS keyboard. On the small 4.7-inch screen of the iPhone SE, gesture typing works very well. The feature works in the same vein as to how SwiftKey and Gboard work.

18. Use camera filters to take better selfies:

We all love taking selfies. The new iPhone SE 2 features a powerful camera that supports portrait mode, thanks to A13 Bionic chipset. You can make it even
better by using filters in the default camera app. I like Vivid from the iPhone filters; it makes pictures look more saturated. You can also choose from
other options such as Vivid Warm, Vivid Cool, Dramatic, Dramatic Cool, Mono, Dramatic Warm, Silvertone, and Noir.

19. Automate Tasks Using Shortcuts

Don’t let its small size fool you. One of the best iPhone SE 2020 tips comes in the form of the new Shortcuts app. This gives users the ability to automate repetitive tasks or group multiple tasks together. For example, you can create a shortcut to turn off Do Not Disturb mode, turn off Bluetooth, turn on low power mode and more. All with just a single command. It turns your iPhone into a handy and quick assistant which is super useful.

20. QuickTake

Just like the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro product line, the new iPhone SE includes QuickTake in the camera app. This lets you tap and hold on the
trigger button to instantly start recording a video, just like the way it works in Snapchat. The video will stay in the same frame and shot as the photo, which
is very cool.

21. Mute Unknown Callers

Unknown callers can be annoying. Again, if you put your iPhone on silence, there is a risk of missing an important calls. In this regard,
putting an iPhone in silent mode is not an ideal solution. Apple has solved this problem in iOS 13 by adding the option to Mute Unknown Callers.

This feature lets you attend necessary calls only. Simply follow these steps to mute unknown callers on your iPhone:

  1. Start the settings app on your iPhone.
  2. Scroll down and tap on Phone.
  3. Flip the silence unknown caller switch to on position.

22. Automatic closing of Tabs

In the latest model of iPhone SE, you don’t need to close tabs by your self. Rather there are settings in the Safari browser by which tabs will be closed
after some time. You can set this time duration. To change the settings of automatic closing of tabs, simply follow these steps:

  1. Start the settings app on your iPhone.
  2. Scroll down and tap on Safari and select Close tabs.
  3. Choose the manual mode of Close Tabs.
  4. Lastly, Choose the duration for automatic closing of tabs

These are a few of the iPhone SE 2 tips and tricks. What are some of your favorite tips and tricks for the second-generation iPhone SE? Share with us in the comments section below.
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Disable Touch ID or Face ID on iPhone: The Quickest Way

by GeeksModo Staff

Here’s the situation: you needFace ID orTouch ID disabled as quickly as possible, You don’t have time to dig around in your settings, slowly working through an authentication reset. Four instance, you may want toTemporarily disable Face ID or touch ID to prevent force unlocks. So, if you find yourself in a place where you think your own face or fingerprint will be used against you, use this trick to instantly protect your iPhone.

Quickly disable touch ID or Face ID on iPhone

Follow these steps to disable touch ID or face ID on your iPhone.

  1. Pick up your iPhone and hold down both the Volume Up button and the Side or Sleep/Wake button for about two seconds.
  2. Once you see the “slide to power off” and “Emergency SOS” sliders appear (which will be accompanied by haptic feedback), your iPhone will temporality disable Face ID or Touch ID and you’ll be required to enter your passcode the next time you try to unlock it.

Once you do unlock it, however, your iPhone reinstates Face ID or Touch ID.

Another way to force your iPhone to require a passcode is by pulling up the standard power-off screen. This method will accomplish the same task, however, it takes about a second longer than the method above. If there’s one benefit to the longer method, however, it’s that Emergency SOS doesn’t appear as an option, so your risk of accidentally calling the cops in a non-emergency situation is significantly less.

To bring up the standard power-off screen, on an iPhone with a Home button, hold down the Sleep/Wake button. For newer iPhones with Face ID, quickly press and release Volume Up, then Volume Down, then hold down the Side button.
And that pretty much it on how to temporarily disable touch ID or face ID on iPhone. If you love this tip, please share it with others to teach them how to disable Face ID or touch ID on iPhone.
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How to select multiple photos on iPhone: the fastest way

by GeeksModo Staff

Whether you want to delete a few photos or share a bunch with another app, there are times when you need to select multiple photos at once. This would usually be annoying since you’d have to tap every photo you wanted to select, thankfully, there’s a much faster way to select multiple photos on iPhone. If you want to select multiple photos on iPhone, there are a few simple steps which you need to follow.
here is a step-by-step guide which you can follow to learn how to delete all photos from iPhone.

how to select multiple photos on iPhone

here are step-by-step instructions for how to select multiple photos on iPhone.

  1. Start thePhotos app and choose “Select” in the top-right corner of the screen.
  2. Slide your finger left to right across the images of choice, and a blue checkmark will appear on each selected photo.
  3. Now, after sliding sideways to initiate the gesture, you can then slide up or down to continuously select photos while scrolling.

One advantage of this method is you don’t have to do it in one pass. For instant, you can slide your finger across a row, remove it from the screen, then slide it on a new row to continued selecting. As such, you only select the photos you need, while avoiding rows of photos you don’t.
And that covers everything about how to select multiple photos on iPhone to delete or share.
We think you might also likeThese amazing iPhone tips and tricks if you like this iPhone tip, please share it with your friends and family on social media. If you have any other questions, let us know in the comments section below. We also have plenty of other articles that I suggest you check right now.

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How to Delete Photo Albums on iPhone & iPad? Know Steps

by GeeksModo Staff

Many apps, especially those used for messaging or photo editing, automatically create albums in the Photos app on iPhone. Even after you delete a particular app, its associated picture album remains. Over time, this may clog up youriPhone. As such, it’s a good thing to regularly delete photo albums in iOS 13 on your iPhone and iPad. You can also remove any image collections you may have created yourself to organize your photos particularly those which you no longer need. If you need to delete photo albums on iPhone or iPad, there are a few simple steps which you need to follow.

How to Delete Photo Albums in iOS 13 and iPadOS

Here are step by step instructions for how to delete photo album on iPhone or iPad running iOS 13 or iPadOS 13.

  1. Start the Photos app and then tap Albums tab located at the bottom of the screen.
  2. Next, tap on See All button located at the upper right.
  3. Next on, tap on Edit.
  4. Now, tap on the red minus button for the specific album.
  5. Lastly, tap on Delete Album.

This will only remove the photo album from the iPhone or iPad and not the photos and videos that are in it.

how to delete multiple photo albums on iPhone or iPad

To delete multiple albums from the iPhone, repeat steps 4 and 5. Note, you can not delete Recent and Favorites. They are in-built permanent albums.

it’s also worth mentioning that you can not delete any album or photo that has been synced to the iOS device via Finder on Mac or iTunes on Windows PC.

We think you might also likethese amazing iPhone tips and tricksAnd that covers everything about how to delete photo album on iPhone or iPad.
Now take time to share this article with your friends and family members to teach them how to delete photo albums on iPhone iniOS 13 and iPadOS. If you have any other questions, let us know in the comments section below.

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Not Able to Purchase Apps on iPhone or iPad? How to Fix

by GeeksModo Staff

Sometimes when buying an app on the iPhone, you might see ‘The iTunes Store is unable to process purchases at this time. Please try again later.’ In most cases, users experience this problem, after updating their device to the latest iOS version. If you are unable to purchase apps from the App Store on your iPhone or iPad, there are a few simple steps which you need to follow to fix the issue.

Unable to Purchase Apps on iPhone or iPad? Tips to Fix the Issue

If you are unable to purchase apps on app store, follow the steps below to fix the issue.

1. Check Payment Information

If you have several payment methods or a faulty credit card attached to your Apple ID, you may encounter ‘Unable to Process Purchases at this Time’ error. To fix this, try to remove unnecessary cards added to your account. Simply follow these steps:

  1. Start the Settings app on your iPhone.
  2. Tap your name at the top of the screen and then Tap the iTunes & App Store.
  3. tap your Apple ID at the top. Then tap View Apple ID.
  4. Tap Manage Payments.
  5. To remove unnecessary cards and payment methods, tap Edit at the top right > tap the red minus icon > tap Remove > tap Remove from the pop-up.
    In case you have errors or issues with the payment method, you may want to add a valid working card to your Apple ID.

2. Sign Out from Apple ID and Sign in Again

  1. Start the Settings app and then tap on your profile at the top of the screen.
  2. tap iTunes & App Store.
  3. Tap on your Apple ID > choose Sign Out.
    Wait for a moment and sign back in.

3. Restart your Device

To restart your iPhone or iPad, use the buttons as usual. Alternatively, head over to the Settings > General, scroll down and tap Shut Down. Wait for a moment and power your device back on and try to purchase the app again.

4. Check App Store Restrictions on iPhone

Restrictions may prevent you from purchasing or downloading apps. To check if there are restrictions applied for your iPhone or iPad, follow the steps below. If you (a kid) are in Family Sharing, ask the family organizer to remove app restrictions for you.

  1. Start the Settings app and tap on Screen Time.
  2. Tap on Content & Privacy Restrictions.
  3. In case restrictions are turned on, tap on iTunes & App Store Purchases and ensure Installing Apps is set to Allow.
  4. Now, go back and tap Allowed Apps. Ensure the toggle for the iTunes Store is turned on.
  5. Go back and tap on Content Restrictions and ensure that for Apps, Allow All Apps is checked.
    If you find these settings overwhelming, you may also turn off Content & Privacy Restrictions completely.

5. Check Apple Status Page

Head over to Apple’sSystem Status Page and check that App Store, Apple ID, and iTunes Store have a green dot next to them. This is an indicator that everything is working normally. If the dot is not green, then you need to hold on for some time before you can download or purchase an app.

6. Use Touch ID or Face ID for App Purchases

  1. Start the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
  2. Scroll down and tapFace ID/Touch ID & Passcode and enter your device’s password.
  3. Turn on the switch next to iTunes & App Store. You may be asked to type in your Apple ID password. From now on, you can make purchases from the App Store using biometrics authentication.

Now, try to download or purchase the app again. If you still cant purchase apps on iPhone, try the next solution.

7. Update Your iPhone or iPad

Make sure your device is running the latest version of iOS or iPadOS. Apple often releases new version of operating system to fix existing glitches and bugs. You can either set automatic iOS updates, or follow the steps below to update your device manually.

  • Head over to Settings > Tap General > Software Update.

If a new update is available, tap Download and Install.

8. Reset All Settings on iPhone

If you are still not able to purchase apps from app store, consider resetting all settings. Non of your personal data will be deleted, however, it will remove all settings, such as Wi-Fi, VPN configuration, keyboard settings, Notification settings, home screen layout, etc. Simply put, all your iPhone settings will return to default. To be on the safe side, it’s always a good idea to backup your device before you reset it.

  1. Start the settings app > Tap General > Reset.
  2. Tap Reset All Settings. Type in your password and confirm the action.

After the process completes, try to purchase the app again. If you are still not able to purchase apps on iPhone, try the next solution.

9. Contact Apple Support

If the problem persist, it’s time tocontact Apple Support. You can do this via chat or call. Alternatively, you can use the Apple Support app if you’ve already installed it on your iPhone or iPad.

10. Fix Unable to Restore In-App Purchases on iPhone

If you are unable to restore in-app purchases, then consider checking your Apple ID. Did you make these purchases from the same Apple ID that you are currently using, or was it a different one? It’s only possible to restore purchases if the Apple ID is the same that was used to buy them. Purchases are attached to your Apple ID and not the device.

Also, launch the Settings app > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions.

If it’s turned on, tap iTunes & App Store Purchases and make sure that In-app Purchases is set to Allow.

Lastly, if the app doesn’t recognize automatically that you have bought in-app purchases or its pro version, etc. then, you’ll need to do it manually. Simply head over to Settings or Options inside the app and find the Restore Purchases option.

If it still returns an error, restart your device and try again. Lastly, if nothing helps, get in touch with the developer. To do this, you can use the help or contact page inside the app. Or, search for the app in the App Store and tap on it. Next, tap App Support or Developer Website and reach out to them from there.

I trust this article helped you fix the issues related to app purchases on your iPhone and iPad. If you have any other question or suggestion, let us know in the comments section below.
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iCloud storage full: Free up, buy or downgrade in 3 steps

by GeeksModo Staff

Is your iCloud storage full or do you have too much space? no problem. Apple has made it really easy to Increase or decrease the size of your iCloud storage.
If you want to adjust your iCloud storage plan, there are a few simple steps which you need to follow. Here are step-by-step instructions for how to change iCloud storage plan on your iPhone or iPad.

Buy or downgrade iCloud storage

Apple offers 5GB of free storage in iCloud by default. If your iCloud storage is full, iOS devices will stop backing up and saving photos and videos. You can always check how much storage you are using and also get a notification if iCloud is full. Then you will be asked if you want to upgrade the iCloud storage for a monthly fee.

Free up iCloud storage space

5GB of iCloud storage space is filled faster than you think. You can increase this storage 10 times for 0.99 dollars per month. If you do not think this is necessary, you can also choose to delete a number of files from your iCloud. If your iCloud storage is full, it is best to adjust what is stored on your iCloud Drive first. You do this as follows:

  1. Go to the Settings app an then click on your Apple ID at the top;
  2. Select “iCloud”. Here you can adjust which apps do or don’t store data in iCloud by turning the switches on or off;

To manage your iCloud storage,

  • go to the management page via “Manage Storage”. Here you can see again how much space the installed apps use.

Upgrade or downgrade iCloud storage

Have you changed or cleared the list of apps that use iCloud, but you’re still running out of space? Then under “Manage Storage” you can choose to increase the iCloud storage by taking a larger subscription.

Do you already have a subscription? Then it is also possible to downgrade your iCloud subscription accordingly, if you find that you are paying too much because you do not need all the storage. Follow the steps below to change your iCloud subscription:

To change your iCloud storage plan, press “Change storage plan”;
The upgrade options are under your current storage plan. Choose the subscription you want. If you buy 200GB or 2TB of iCloud storage, you can also share the iCloud with your family. Select your desired quantity to buy it;
Do you want less storage? Then scroll down a little and select “Downgrade options”. Choose the smaller “bundle” that suits you better here.

After purchasing the iCloud storage plan, you immediately have the new amount of storage space available iniCloud. You can not reduce your subscription if you already have too little space for your data as standard. Read also How to change iCloud storage plan on iPhone, Mac, or Windows PC
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