Every IOS Setting Should Be Checked When Buying a New Phone
Once upon a time, iOS “just worked” out of the box. But over the years, Apple has introduced iOS all sorts of features that most of us don’t want to use. I’ve been an iOS user since the beginning and recently decided for the first time to do a clean install instead of loading my settings from a backup. I forgot how many defaults I had to change to make iOS usable.
What annoys me may not annoy you, so don’t think of it as gospel truth about what you should enable or disable. Instead, think of it more as a resource for finding settings on iOS that you probably want to look at (including those that tend to kill your battery). Beyond that, a clean install matters, and as you’re gearing up for iOS 9 (and a new iPhone) it’s a good idea to start from scratch and get rid of all the crap that has filled your iOS device over the years. … Let’s make iOS usable again.
Toggle “Reduce Motion”
Apple has toned down the parallax effect introduced in iOS 7 in its post-launch update, but it still makes some people nauseous. If fast animations and moving icons on the screen don’t work for you, turn them off in Settings> General> Accessibility and turn on Reduce Motion.
Disable “Connect” in music
Apple has introduced a new social network in the Music app called Connect. It’s silly and if you don’t plan on using it, it just takes up space. You can get rid of it, but it will take a few steps. Tap Settings> General> Restrictions and set the restrictions to. Then scroll down to Apple Music Connect and turn off the switch. Once you do this, the Connect icon in the Music app changes to an icon for playlists.
Disable “Ask to join networks”
It’s a little confusing as to why Apple thinks it needs to send you a notification every time you encounter a new open Wi-Fi network, but it does. If you’re tired of being notified every time you enter a building, go to Settings> Wi-Fi and turn off Ask to join networks.
Disable background app refresh for apps that don’t need it
Background app refresh is a setting that allows apps to reload data in the background to keep it always up to date. Basically, it allows you to open an app like Facebook without having to load. At first glance, this sounds cool, but it wastes battery power. Worse, every app you install has this turned on by default, and in most cases it isn’t even necessary.
You can disable this setting on a per-application basis. Go to Settings> General> Background App Refresh and disable any app you don’t need. Alternatively, you can take a nuclear approach and turn off background app refresh entirely. Be aware that this will cause problems with navigation, messaging and other similar apps that use background app refresh to send you notifications.
Disable automatic app updates
By default, iOS automatically downloads and installs all new app updates (as well as music, books, and apps purchased on other devices). It’s annoying if you prefer to delay updates or just don’t want your phone to check for these updates and drain your battery all day. To turn them off, go to Settings> iTunes & App Store and set the Updates switch to Off.
Disable Recommended Apps
Suggested Apps is a feature that uses your current location to suggest new apps for download. For example, if you log into Starbucks, you will receive a notification to download the Starbucks app. Basically, these are advertisements for the places you visit, draining your battery, and this is incredibly silly. Go to Settings> iTunes & App Store and under Suggested App, change the My Apps and App Store setting to Off.
Disable “Ask before deleting” in mail
When you click the trash can icon in Mail, you get an annoying popup asking if you really want to delete your email. It’s pretty frustrating, but turning it off is easy. Go to Settings> Mail, Contacts, Calendars and turn off the Ask before deleting option under Mail.
Customize display names in messages
I know at least four people named Brian. By default, iOS 7 and up only displays the person’s name in the message thread. If you know a lot of Brians, it can be confusing. Fortunately, you can change the way the names are displayed. Go to Settings> Mail, Contacts, Calendar and under Contacts, set Short Name to Off. (Or change it to one of the other options, I usually choose First and Last Name).
Disable recent contacts in app switcher
IOS 8 introduces a new Recent Contacts menu when you double-tap the Home button to get to the app switcher. If you’re not a fan, you can turn off this setting by going to Settings> Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Show in App Switcher and toggling both options to Off.
Turn off noise on lock screen and press keyboard
The noises on the lock screen when locking and unlocking your iPhone are quite annoying. To turn them off, go to Settings> Sounds and set the Block Sounds switch to Off. While you’re there, you can also turn off the keyboard click sound by setting Keyboard Click to Off.
Turn on “Limit ad tracking”
iOS is “Interest Based Advertising”, which essentially means your iPhone tracks your interests based on Safari apps and browsing. It’s creepy to say the least, but it also eats up data and drains your battery. Go to Settings> Privacy> Ads and set the Restrict ad tracking switch to On to disable this feature.
Enable True Do Not Disturb
Do Not Disturb is a great way to make sure you are not annoyed by notifications. That is, if your phone is not locked. For some reason, by default, Do Not Disturb mode does not work when you are using your phone. It’s a little annoying if you’re just trying to read calmly. So, go to Settings> Do Not Disturb and switch the setting from Only while iPhone is locked to Always.
Customize app notifications
Almost every app you install wants to send you notifications. Heck, even something like IMDB wants to send you notifications. Chances are, most of us don’t care about 90% of the notifications we receive. By default, most apps want to annoy you all day, but you can go to Settings> Notifications and turn off notifications for any apps you don’t need. Otherwise, don’t forget to change the notification type: Banner (the one that comes down from the top of the screen) or Alert (the one that appears on top of everything else).
Change your recurring alert settings
The default for text messages in iOS is set twice, which means you’ll be alerted three times (once when you receive a message, and then two more times after that if you don’t open it right away). This is not necessary unless you walk away from your phone a lot, and it’s annoying when you deliberately ignore the message. To change it, go to Settings> Notifications> Messages> Repeat Alerts and set the switch according to your preference.
Change quick reply settings
In iOS 8, Apple introduced a handy new Quick Reply feature that lets you reply to text from the notification itself. Unfortunately, if you get a notification when replying to text, it deletes whatever you entered. Likewise, with the Alerts notification type, you also cannot go to the Messages app with a single tap. If any of this annoys you, the best solution is to change the notification type from the default Alerts to Banners. Go to Settings> Notifications> Messages and change the alert style to Banners.
Disable FaceTime Call on iPad
If you have an iPad and an iPhone, you’ve probably heard your iPad ringing as if it was taking a phone call at the same time as your iPhone. This cannot but annoy most of us. By default, FaceTime is enabled on your iPad, which means that every time someone with an iOS device calls you, they call both devices. So, go to Settings> FaceTime> iPhone Mobile Calling and set the switch to Off.
Disable predictive text
iOS 8 introduced a new QuickType keyboard, which supposedly predicts the next word you type in order to type faster. It doesn’t work that well and ends up wasting your screen space. You can turn it on and off by simply swiping up or down on the suggestions on your keyboard, but if you want to completely remove it, go to Settings> General> Keyboard and set the Prediction toggle to Off. …
Disable dictation
Dictation is supposedly a cool feature in iOS where you can dictate messages instead of typing them. This is useful for people who can’t type on their phone or drive a lot, but for me it was always the button next to the space bar that I accidentally pressed. To turn it off, go to Settings> General> Keyboard and turn off the Dictation switch.
Toggle location settings
When you install new apps, you will see a pop-up asking if you want to give them access to your location. You can choose them as you like, but you can also connect and change which system services have access to this information. Go to Settings> Privacy> Location Services> System Services and check out your options. You might want to turn off location-based alerts, location-based iAds and frequent locations, which keep track of where you usually spend your time and make suggestions in Maps and Calendar based on that information. While there, you can also decide if your information will be sent to Apple to improve Maps or to display information about routes and traffic.