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The Complete Guide to Every iOS 27 Feature

How to change your voicemail greeting and settings on iPad

by Stacey Butler

You can change your voicemail greeting, password, and alert sounds.

You can record a custom greeting in the Phone app on your iPad, though recording isn’t supported by all carriers or in all countries and regions. You can also change your voicemail password, and choose a new alert sound for new voicemail from the list or purchase one from the Tone Store. And you can change your Contact Photo & Poster, too.

Change your voicemail greeting

  1. Start the Phone app on your iPad.
  2. Tap the Filter button and tap Voicemails.
  3. Tap Edit and then tap Edit Voicemail Greeting.
  4. Tap Custom and tap Record (not supported by all carriers or in all countries and regions).

Change your voicemail password

  1. Start the Settings app on your iPad.
  2. Tap Apps, then tap Phone.
  3. Tap Change Voicemail Password, then enter the new password.

Change your voicemail alert sound

  1. Start the Settings app on your iPad.
  2. Tap Sounds and tap New Voicemail.
  3. Tap a new alert sound from the list, or tap Tone Store to purchase one.

Note: For changing your Contact Photo & Poster, see our guide, Add or edit your avatar and poster.

See also

Tag: Phone
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How to select ringtones on iPad

by Abigail Shilets

You can assign distinctive ringtones to certain people, and turn the ringer on or off. Clock alarms still play in Silent mode. To temporarily silence incoming calls, you can turn on or schedule a Focus, and you can also change the default sound that plays for a call, text, voicemail, email, reminder, or other notification.

Assign a different ringtone to a contact

  1. Open the Contacts app on your iPad.
  2. Select a contact, tap Edit, tap Ringtone, and then choose a ringtone.

Turn the ringer on or off

  • Open Control Center, then tap the Mute Switch button.

Clock alarms still play when Silent mode is on.

To temporarily silence incoming calls, turn on or schedule a Focus.

It’s also possible to change the default sound that plays when a call, text, voicemail, email, reminder, or other notification comes in. Read our guide, Change ringtone settings, to learn more about ringtones.

See also

Tags: Contacts, Phone
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How to sync contacts across devices on iPad

by Tyler Stephen

To keep your contact information up to date across all your devices where you’re signed in to your Apple Account, you can use iCloud. With iCloud, your contacts stay up to date automatically. You can also sync the information between iPad and your Mac or Windows device instead.

  1. Open Settings, tap [your name], and then tap iCloud.
  2. Tap See All next to Saved to iCloud and turn on Contacts.

Or, sync the information between iPad and your Mac or Windows device, and it’ll stay up to date across iPad and your computer. Read our guide, Transfer files between your iPad and other devices.

You won’t see options for syncing your contacts with your computer if you use iCloud for Contacts, since they stay up to date automatically.

See also

Tags: Contacts, iCloud
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How to add or edit your contact info and photo on iPad

by Abigail Shilets

iPad uses your Apple Account to create your contact card, called My Card, in the Contacts app. You can add or edit details—including your name, address, phone number, and birthday, as well as the Contact Poster, which you can share with people when you call or send a message to them.

When you edit My Card, your AutoFill information in Safari updates too, so online forms fill in your address automatically.

Complete or edit My Card

  1. Start the Contacts app on your iPad.
  2. Tap My Card at the top, then tap Edit.

    If you don’t see My Card, tap the Add button and enter your information, then return to the contact list, touch and hold your contact, and tap Make this My Card.

  3. Enter your contact information.

    Contacts suggests addresses and phone numbers to help you.

Add or edit your home address

  1. Start the Contacts app on your iPad.
  2. Tap My Card at the top, then tap Edit.
  3. Tap Add Address and then add your address.
  4. Tap the label that appears to the left of the address and select Home.

You can use AutoFill in Safari to automatically fill in your address for things like online shopping or online forms. When you edit your My Card, your AutoFill information automatically updates. See Fill in personal information.

Add or edit your avatar and poster

When you call or send a message to others, your avatar and poster can show up automatically if you set them.

  1. Start the Contacts app on your iPad.
  2. Tap My Card at the top, then tap Edit.
  3. Tap your contact photo and choose a style.
  4. Tap Customize to edit your avatar and poster.

Share your name and contact image

You can have your updated name, photo, and poster automatically shared with people in your contacts.

  1. Start the Contacts app on your iPad.
  2. Tap My Card at the top, tap Edit, and then tap your contact photo.
  3. Turn on Name & Photo Sharing to start sharing your contact photo and poster with others. (You may need to scroll down.)

    You can share automatically with Contacts Only, or select Always Ask to be prompted before your name, photo, and poster are shared with anyone.

Add or edit contact pronouns

You can add or edit your pronouns or another contact’s pronouns in the Contacts app.

  1. Start the Contacts app on your iPad.
  2. Tap My Card at the top to add your pronouns, or select another contact to add theirs.
  3. Tap Edit and tap add pronouns.
  4. Select your language and add the correct pronouns.

    You can also add pronouns in other languages by tapping Add Pronouns again.

  5. Tap Add.

Note: Your pronouns stay private by default when you share your contact information through Contacts or NameDrop, and another contact’s pronouns are never shared when you share their information.

See also

Tags: Contacts, Photos
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How to get started with Contacts on iPad

by Tyler Stephen

Use the Contacts app to keep phone numbers, email addresses, birthdays, and more, all in one place. You can create a contact, add contacts from accounts like iCloud, Google, or Yahoo, share a contact by choosing the fields you want to include, and keep your contacts in sync.

The New Contact window in the Contacts app.

Create a contact

To create a contact, go to the Contacts app, tap the Add button, add the contact’s details, then tap the Done button.

The Add Account screen showing different contacts services.

Add other accounts

If you have contacts saved in other accounts like iCloud, Google, or Yahoo, you can add them to the Contacts app to see all your contacts in one place. Go to Settings > Apps > Contacts, tap Contacts Accounts, then tap Add Account.

The Share Contact window in the Contacts app.

Share a contact

It’s easy to share a contact. Select a contact, then tap Share Contact. Choose the fields you want to share, tap the Done button, then choose a sharing option such as Messages or Mail.

A contacts list on iPad and a contact card on iPhone

Sync your contacts

See your contacts on your other Apple devices when you’re signed in to the same Apple Account. Go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud. Tap See All next to Saved to iCloud, then turn on Contacts.

For more on managing your contacts, check out these guides:

Tag: Contacts
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How to edit contacts on iPad

by Stacey Butler

In the Contacts app, you can assign a photo to a contact, add a pronunciation and pronouns, change a label, add a birthday, and more. You just open a contact, then enter or update the contact’s information. You can also add or edit your own contact info and photo.

  1. Go to the Contacts app on your iPad.
  2. Tap a contact, then tap Edit.
  3. Enter or update the contact’s information.
  4. When you’re finished, tap the Done button.

To change how your contacts are sorted and displayed, go to Settings > Apps > Contacts.

See also

Tag: Contacts
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How to add or remove accounts in Contacts on iPad

by Chris Smith

In the Contacts app, you can add multiple accounts—such as iCloud, Microsoft Exchange, Google, and Yahoo. You can choose a default account, set up LDAP or CardDAV accounts, show or hide accounts, and delete accounts.

Third-party apps can add contacts, too, though those contacts are managed by the app and can’t be edited in Contacts. For accounts that don’t support Push, you can set a Fetch schedule instead.

Here’s how to add or remove accounts in Contacts on iPad.

Add your iCloud contacts

  1. Start the Settings app on your iPad.
  2. Tap [your name], then tap iCloud.
  3. Tap See All next to Saved to iCloud and turn on Contacts.

Add your contacts from other accounts

You can manage contacts from other accounts, like Yahoo, Microsoft Exchange, and Google, right in the Contacts app.

  1. Start the Settings app on your iPad.
  2. Tap Apps, then tap Contacts.
  3. Tap Contacts Accounts and tap Add Account.
  4. Choose an account, sign in to it, then turn on Contacts.

Note: For an account without Push notification support, a Fetch schedule keeps your contacts from that account updated. Go to Settings > Apps > Contacts and tap Contacts Accounts, then tap Fetch New Data, and choose a schedule under Fetch. If you choose Automatically, your iPad downloads new data while it’s charging and connected to Wi-Fi.

Add contacts from contacts provider apps

If you allow it, third-party apps can add contacts to the Contacts app. The third-party app manages those contacts, and they can’t be edited in the Contacts app.

  1. Start the Settings app on your iPad.
  2. Tap Apps, then tap Contacts.
  3. Tap Providers, then turn on the option for an app.

Choose your default account

You can select a default account where new contacts are automatically added.

  1. Start the Settings app on your iPad.
  2. Tap Apps, then tap Contacts.
  3. Tap Default Account and tap the account you want to make your default.

Set up an LDAP or CardDAV account to access business or school directories

  1. Start the Settings app on your iPad.
  2. Tap Apps, then tap Contacts.
  3. Tap Contacts Accounts and tap Add Account.
  4. Tap Add Other Account and then tap Add LDAP Account or CardDAV Account.
  5. Enter the account information.

Remove a contact account

Remove an account, and its contacts leave your iPad. They’re still in your internet account (for example, iCloud.com or Google) and on any other devices you’d already set up.

  • Turn off iCloud contacts: Go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud. Tap See All next to Saved to iCloud, then turn off Contacts.

    You can choose to keep or delete the previously synced iCloud contacts on your iPad.

  • Temporarily stop using an account: Go to Settings > Apps > Contacts > Contacts Accounts, tap the account, then turn off Contacts.

    To view the contacts in that account on your iPad again, turn on Contacts.

  • Delete an account: Go to Settings > Apps > Contacts > Contacts Accounts, tap the account, then tap Delete Account.

    If you don’t see Sign Out or Delete Account, your account may be managed by your organization. See an administrator for removal instructions.

See also

Tags: Contacts, iCloud
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How to change notification settings on iPad

by Dave Johnson

Your notification settings let you choose when and how notifications appear, which apps can send them, and what sounds they make, and you can also set up location-based alerts.

Many notification settings apply to all app notifications, while others can be customized for individual apps. You can decide where an app’s notifications show up, from the Lock Screen to banners, and allow time-sensitive notifications. If an app supports it, you can choose its notification sound, too.

Here’s how to change notification settings on iPad.

Customize notifications for an app

  1. Start the Settings app on your iPad.
  2. Tap Notifications, then tap an app below Notification Style.
  3. Do any of the following:
    • Turn off notifications for the app: Turn off Allow Notifications.
    • Allow time-sensitive notifications: If the app supports it, turn on Time Sensitive Notifications.
    • Choose where notifications appear: Under Alerts, choose whether notifications appear on the Lock Screen, in Notification Center, or as banners.
    • Choose a notification sound: If the app supports it, tap Sounds and then select a sound.
    • Show a badge on the app icon: Turn on Badges.
    • Customize the Lock Screen appearance: Under Lock Screen Appearance, set how previews appear and how notifications are grouped.
    • Prioritize notifications from the app: If you use Priority Notifications, turn Prioritize Notifications on or off under Lock Screen Appearance. See Summarize notifications and reduce interruptions with Apple Intelligence on iPad.
    • Choose when notifications are delivered: If you use Scheduled Summary, under Notification Delivery choose Immediate Delivery or Scheduled Summary.
    • Customize notification types: If the app supports it, tap Customize Notifications to choose which types of notifications to receive from the app.
    • Change notification settings in the app: For some apps, tap App Name Notification Settings at the bottom of the screen to open the app’s own notification settings.

Change the appearance of notifications

  1. Start the Settings app on your iPad.
  2. Tap Notifications and choose how you want notifications displayed on the Lock Screen:

    • View just the number of notifications: Tap Count.
    • View the notifications grouped into stacks by app: Tap Stack.
    • View the notifications in a list: Tap List.

    When notifications arrive, you can change the layout by pinching the notifications on the Lock Screen.

Change the frequency of notifications

To cut down on interruptions throughout the day, schedule a notification summary covering several apps at once.

  1. Start the Settings app on your iPad.
  2. Tap Notifications, tap Scheduled Summary, turn on Scheduled Summary, and tap Continue (if it appears).
  3. Schedule times for the notification summary.
  4. Tap A to Z, turn on the apps you want to appear in your Scheduled Summary, and tap the Back button at the top of the screen.
  5. To choose when you want notification previews to appear, tap Show Previews, select an option, and tap the Back button at the top of the screen.

    Previews can include things like text (from Messages and Mail) and invitation details (from Calendar). You can override this setting for individual apps.

Focus delays notifications on iPad to prevent interruptions, and you can schedule a time to receive a summary of the ones you missed. Check out our article, Schedule a Focus to turn on or off, to see how.

Prevent notification previews from appearing on the Lock Screen

You can choose when to have notification previews from an app appear on your Lock Screen.

Note: Not all apps support notification previews.

  1. Start the Settings app on your iPad.
  2. Tap Notifications, then tap an app below Notification Style.
  3. Scroll down, tap Show Previews, and select one of the following:
    • Always
    • When Unlocked
    • Never

Show or hide notifications during screen sharing

Notifications are allowed by default when you share your screen using SharePlay or Screen Mirroring. If you’d rather they not appear, you can turn them off.

  1. Start the Settings app on your iPad.
  2. Tap Notifications, then tap Screen Sharing.
  3. Turn Allow Notifications on or off.

Use Apple Intelligence to summarize notifications and prioritize time-sensitive ones

Apple Intelligence can summarize long or stacked notifications so they’re easier to understand at a glance, and it can prioritize time-sensitive notifications to help you catch up on what you may have missed. Read our guide, Summarize notifications and reduce interruptions with Apple Intelligence, to find out more.

Note: Apple Intelligence on iPadOS 27 or later is available on an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPad mini (A17 Pro) and iPad models with M1 or later. Apple Intelligence is not available in all languages or regions. Usage limits may apply.*

Turn off location-based alerts

Some apps send relevant alerts based on where you are, using your location. The Weather app might do this, for example.

If you don’t want to see these types of alerts, you can turn them off.

  1. Start the Settings app on your iPad.
  2. Tap Privacy & Security and tap Location Services. Turn on Location Services.
  3. Tap an app (if any appear in the list) and choose whether you want to share your location while using that app.

*Apple Intelligence is available with Siri and device language set to Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, or Vietnamese. Some features may not be available in all regions or languages. Some devices may not be available in all regions. Siri AI is available in beta in iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27, and visionOS 27 and requires an Apple Intelligence–enabled device set to a supported language. Available in English to start. Siri AI will not be initially available in the EU on iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS. Certain Apple Intelligence features that rely on server-side models are subject to daily usage limits, including but not limited to Siri AI, Intelligent Photo Editing Tools, Image Playground, and AFM 3 Cloud models in Shortcuts. Daily limits may vary by feature, request complexity, system demand, system policies, and other factors. Expanded access to such features will be available for a fee in the future. Use of these features is subject to the Apple Intelligence Terms and Conditions.

See also

Tag: Notifications
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How to summarize notifications and reduce interruptions with Apple Intelligence on iPad

by Emily Long

With its deep understanding of language, Apple Intelligence can help condense the information most important to you. Notifications are summarized so you can scan them for key details, such as when a group chat is particularly active.

Your iPad can also determine which notifications have priority over others, and those appear at the top of the stack. And the Reduce Interruptions Focus shows you only the notifications that might need immediate attention, like a text about an early pickup from daycare, while it silences the ones that are less important.

Note: Apple Intelligence on iPadOS 27 or later is available on an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPad mini (A17 Pro) and iPad models with M1 or later. Apple Intelligence is not available in all languages or regions. Usage limits may apply.*

Customize notification summaries

Long or stacked notifications are easier to understand at a glance when your iPad summarizes them.

  1. Start the Settings app on your iPad.
  2. Tap Notifications.
  3. Tap Summarize Notifications, turn on Summarize Notifications, and then tap Choose Notifications to Summarize.
  4. Tap the notifications you want to summarize and tap Summarize Selected Notifications.

To change which notifications you want to summarize, tap the button next to an app.

Turn notification summaries on or off

  1. Start the Settings app on your iPad.
  2. Tap Notifications.
  3. Tap Summarize Notifications. Turn Summarize Notifications on or off.

Turn priority notifications on

Your iPad can determine which notifications have priority over others, and those priority notifications appear at the top of the stack to help you catch up on what you may have missed.

  1. Start the Settings app on your iPad.
  2. Tap Notifications.
  3. Tap Prioritize Notifications, then turn Prioritize Notifications on.

    To turn off priority notifications, turn Prioritize Notifications off.

To change which notifications you want to prioritize, tap the button next to an app.

You can also change settings when you get a priority notification on the Lock Screen. When one appears, do one of the following:

  • Turn off Priority Notifications for a specific app: Swipe left, tap Options, then tap Turn Off All [app] Notifications.
  • Turn off all Priority Notifications: Swipe left, tap Options, then tap Turn Off Prioritization.

Use the Reduce Interruptions Focus

Because it understands the content of your notifications, the Reduce Interruptions Focus shows you the most important ones and silences notifications that are less important.

You can customize a Reduce Interruptions Focus.

  1. Start the Settings app on your iPad.
  2. Tap Focus.
  3. Tap the Add button at the top right. Then tap Reduce Interruptions.
  4. Tap Customize Focus and tap People or Apps.

Note: Once you turn on Intelligent Breakthrough & Silencing for any Focus, any notifications you’ve specifically allowed or silenced keep being allowed or silenced.

*Apple Intelligence is available with Siri and device language set to Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, or Vietnamese. Some features may not be available in all regions or languages. Some devices may not be available in all regions. Siri AI is available in beta in iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27, and visionOS 27 and requires an Apple Intelligence–enabled device set to a supported language. Available in English to start. Siri AI will not be initially available in the EU on iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS. Certain Apple Intelligence features that rely on server-side models are subject to daily usage limits, including but not limited to Siri AI, Intelligent Photo Editing Tools, Image Playground, and AFM 3 Cloud models in Shortcuts. Daily limits may vary by feature, request complexity, system demand, system policies, and other factors. Expanded access to such features will be available for a fee in the future. Use of these features is subject to the Apple Intelligence Terms and Conditions.

See also

Tags: Apple Intelligence, Notifications
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How to view and respond to notifications on iPad

by Abigail Shilets

Notifications help you keep track of what’s new—they let you know if you missed a call, if the date of an event moved, and more. You can customize your notifications so you see only what’s important to you.

Unless you have notifications silenced with a Focus, iPad displays them as they arrive, and they roll in from the bottom of the screen to minimize distraction. On the Lock Screen, you can view them in an expanded list view, stacked view, or count view. You can also respond to notifications, and view, dismiss, clear, or mute them.

Note: While you use an app, it might ask how you want to receive its notifications: immediately, not at all, or in a scheduled summary. To change this setting later, open the Settings app and tap Notifications.

Find your notifications in Notification Center

Do any of the following to see your notifications in Notification Center:

  • On the Lock Screen: Swipe up from the middle of the screen.
  • On other screens: Swipe down from the top-left corner. Then you can scroll up to see older notifications, if there are any.

To close Notification Center, swipe up from the bottom with one finger, or press the Home button (on supported models).

Respond to notifications

Multiple notifications in Notification Center or on the Lock Screen are grouped by app, making them easier to view and manage, and some apps may also group notifications by organizing features within the app, like topic or thread. Each group appears as a small stack, with the most recent notification on top.

With notifications grouped, you can do any of the following:

  • To expand a group of notifications to see them individually: Tap the group. To close the group, tap Show Less.
  • To view a notification and perform quick actions if the app offers them: Touch and hold the notification.
  • To open a notification’s app: Tap the notification, then tap Open.
  • To respond to a notification when iPad is locked: Touch and hold the notification.

View, dismiss, clear, and mute notifications

You can do any of the following when notifications appear on your iPad:

  • Handle a notification you receive while using another app: Pull it down to view it, then swipe up to dismiss it.
  • Clear notifications: Swipe left on a notification or group of notifications, then tap Clear or Clear All.
  • Mute notifications for an app: Swipe left on the notification or group of notifications, tap Options, then tap an option to mute the app’s notifications for an hour or a day. This sends them directly to Notification Center and prevents them from appearing on the Lock Screen, playing a sound, lighting up the screen, or presenting a banner.

    To see and hear these notifications again, swipe left on a notification in Notification Center, tap Options, then tap Unmute.

  • Turn off notifications for an app or notification group: Swipe left on a notification or group of notifications, tap Options, then tap Turn Off.
  • Change how an app displays notifications: Swipe left on a notification, tap Options, then tap View Settings. See Change notification settings to learn about the settings you can change.
  • Clear all your notifications in Notification Center: Go to Notification Center, tap the Clear Notifications button, then tap Clear.

When an app hasn’t been used for a while, you may get a suggestion to turn off notifications for that app.

Show recent notifications on the Lock Screen

You can allow access to Notification Center on the Lock Screen.

  1. Open the Settings app on your iPad.
  2. Depending on your model, tap one of the following:
    • Face ID & Passcode
    • Touch ID & Passcode
    • Passcode
  3. Enter your passcode.
  4. Turn on Notification Center (below Allow Access When Locked).

See also

Tag: Notifications
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