Tutorials – Page 2 – Apple iPhone Review

How to Remove the Apple Watch App From Your iPhone

Apr 2, 2015Mar 10, 2015 by Chris Galloway

With the advent of the Apple Watch and the iOS 8.2 upgrade comes one more annoyance for iPhone users: the undeletable Apple Watch app on your iPhone.

You know all those native iPhone apps you probably don’t use like Weather, Stocks, Newsstand, Game Center, etc. but which you can’t delete from your iPhone? You can now add the new Apple Watch app to that list of apps you can’t remove from your iPhone, whether or not you own an Apple Watch.

The inability to remove native apps from the iPhone has been an annoyance of mine for years. For a company that prides itself on simplicity, why does Apple insist on loading our iPhones with junk apps that we can’t delete or hide?

If you’d like to do something to hide the Apple Watch app, you have three mediocre options for the time being:

#1. Jailbreak your iPhone and download the Poof app from Cydia. Poof is one of the best iPhone jailbreak apps since it can delete the Apple Watch app and other undesired native apps from iPhone. Once a jailbreak is out for iOS 8.2, this will be the only way to truly remove the Apple Watch app for iPhone.

#2. Hide the Apple Watch app on the last page of your apps on your iPhone springboard. I have a folder of apps that I don’t use which sits quietly on the last page of my iPhone icons. It is the second-best compromise despite not being able to delete the Apple Watch app altogether.

#3. This is the best way to remove the Apple Watch app without jailbreaking your device, although there are a couple caveats: this hack removes the app icon, but not the data; and this hack is reversed whenever you restart your iPhone. Nevertheless, if you want to remove the Apple Watch icon from your iPhone, follow the tutorial in the video below:

If you REALLY can’t stand the idea of the Apple Watch app on your iPhone, your best bet is to not upgrade to iOS 8.2, since at this moment there is no jailbreak available for the new update (though it’s likely coming soon).

Apple Watch, Cool; Apple Watch App, Not

The Apple Watch app will take up space on your iPhone containing promotional videos for the Apple Watch, whether or not you own the smartwatch. Pretty lame.

While personally I have been intrigued by the idea of the new smartwatch and interested to see how this technology progresses, in its expansion of its product line, Apple should resist the temptation to bog down iOS users with useless mandatory apps such as the Apple Watch app.

DIY iPhone Armband: A Cheap & Easy Way to Make an iPhone Armband

Aug 7, 2014Feb 14, 2013 by Chris Galloway

A DIY iPhone armband need not cost you hard-earned cash and hard-to-find materials. Instead of paying 30 bucks for some fancy armband accessory, you can make your own out of one item you are almost certain to own: a sock.

The other day, I had an itching to go for a run, so when I wondered how to bring my iPhone along, it occurred to me I could just make an armband out of an old sock.

How to Make a DIY iPhone Armband

To make a DIY iPhone armband out of a sock:

1. Find a tight-fitting sock.

2. Using a pair of scissors, cut off the tip of the sock. The opening should be wide enough to put your arm through but narrow enough to offer a tight fit.

3. Slide the sock over your arm and then fold the bottom half up toward your shoulder so that it forms a slim pocket for your iPhone.

4. Optional: You can make the iPhone more secure by pulling the sock over the top of the iPhone (so that it’s not exposed) and then cutting a slim hole to attach your 1/4″ earbud plug into the headphone jack.

It’s not as sleek as a $45 Incase iPhone armband, but it’s 45 bucks cheaper, and unless you are a barefooted hippie who doesn’t own socks, you can make it right now.

4 Ways to Launch Your iPhone Camera More Quickly [Tutorial]

Aug 5, 2014Jan 8, 2012 by Chris Galloway

I’m sure you’ve experienced a time when you wanted to snap a photo and your iPhone camera just wouldn’t open in time.

Either it took too long to get to the Camera app icon and open it, or the screen lagged on the shutter for too long as it sometimes does.

Here are a few tips for getting your iPhone camera to open more quickly:

Upgrade to iOS 5 for the ability to quick-launch the camera.
In iOS 5, you can double-tap your home button while on the lock screen to bring up the Camera icon. Then tap the Camera icon to instantly open the camera.

This shortcut would be a lot quicker if you could double- or triple-tap the home button to automatically open the camera, but for now, it will do.
If you have opted to jailbreak your iPhone, for $2 you can download an app called Snappy, which lets you set a shortcut to launch the iPhone camera as an overlay no matter what app you are in.
I had Snappy on my jailbroken iPhone 4 and configured it so that a short-hold of the home button would bring up the camera. It was truly… snappy. This is definitely the quickest way to launch the iPhone camera.

Note: As of this writing, Snappy is incompatible with iOS 5.
The third way to launch your iPhone camera more quickly is to make sure that it’s always running in the background. That means that if you used your camera recently and it’s still running as a background process, it will open up more rapidly the next time you touch the Camera app icon.
To check whether the Camera is running in the background, double-tap your home button to bring up the multi-tasking panel. If you don’t see the Camera in the list of recently-used apps, simply open it so that you can be ready for your next impromptu photo.
A fourth way to launch your iPhone camera more quickly is to put it in the dock of your iPhone, where the Phone, Mail, Safari and iPod icons go by default.

With the Camera in the dock, it will be accessible no matter what page of apps you are currently on.

To move an app out of the dock and replace it with the Camera, hold your finger on any app icon for a few seconds. All of the apps will begin to wobble, indicating that they can be dragged and dropped around the home screen. Simply press on the Camera app and drag your finger down to the dock to place the Camera icon in the dock.

5 Settings Changes I Always Make When Setting Up a New iPhone [Tutorial]

Aug 7, 2014Dec 27, 2011 by Chris Galloway

Whether you have picked up a new iPhone 4S or another iPhone model, here are five changes you can make in the settings to improve your iPhone experience.

When I am setting up a new iPhone, these are the first five changes I make in the Settings:

Show Battery Percentage. You can set your iPhone to show the battery percentage, which gives you a better indication of when you’ll need to recharge.

To display battery percentage in the status bar, go to Settings»General»Usage and toggle Battery Percentage to ON under the Battery Usage subsection.
Display Message Character Count. Since the cell phone carriers limit text messages to 160 characters, it is useful to know when you are exceeding that limit. On an iPhone, text message length makes no difference, but your friends with less advanced phones will receive two messages even if you’ve only exceeded the character count by 2 characters.

To turn the Character Count on, go to Settings»Messages and toggle the option at the very bottom.
Change Sort Order of Contacts. By default, the names in your Phone contacts list will be sorted by alphabetical order according to last names, but since I don’t call most of my friends by their last names, it is preferable to sort my contacts alphabetically by first name instead.

To change the sorting order of your contacts, go to Settings»Mail, Contacts, Calendar and touch Sort Order beneath the Contacts subsection to toggle the setting.
Remove or Change Email Signature. By default, emails sent from your iPhone will tell the recipients that the message was “Sent from my iPhone.” But why is this necessary, other than to boast to everyone that you are sporting Apple’s latest mobile device?

I remove this signature by going to Settings»Mail, Contacts, Calendar and Signature beneath the Mail subsection. You can remove the email signature altogether or change it to something else.
Turn Off Keyboard Clicks. When you type anything on a new iPhone, the keyboard is going to make a click sound for every letter that you hit. This can be useful if you are just getting used to the iPhone keyboard, but otherwise you can turn these annoying clicks off in Settings»Sounds and toggle the Keyboard Clicks option to OFF.

Bonus for iPhone 4S Users

6. Introduce Yourself to Siri.

If you have an iPhone 4S, the coolest Siri trick I’ve learned is to introduce yourself to Siri, and tell it about your relationships.

First, hold down the home button for a few seconds to bring up the Siri prompt, then say into the microphone, “I am… [your name],” or “My name is _______.”

Now, add yourself to your Contacts and set your home address in the listing as well as any other info you want Siri to know. If you do this, then you can tell Siri, “Get me directions to home,” and it will know where to lead you.

You can also tell Siri, “[Name] is my wife/sister/mom (or whatever),” so that when you tell Siri “Call my wife,” it knows who to dial.

What setting changes have you made to your iPhone?

How to Automatically Upload iPhone Photos to SugarSync & Dropbox

Aug 7, 2014Aug 10, 2011 by Chris Galloway

Auto Upload Mobile Photos Sugarsync

How would you like to snap a photo on your iPhone and have it automatically backed up online, and accessible from your computer or iPad?

With a cloud storage account, you can upload all your recent iPhone photos to a free online storage account, accessible from your desktop, without ever getting near your computer.

Using SugarSync (the program I use) and/or Dropbox, back up and sync all your important files between your iPhone, your computer, and an online cloud storage account that can be accessed from anywhere.

One of my favorite uses for SugarSync is a tweak that lets me auto upload iPhone photos to SugarSync, so that my Camera Roll is backed up almost immediately after I take a photo.

Whether you use SugarSync or Dropbox, this guide will show you how to automatically upload your Camera Roll photos to your cloud storage account, which can then be accessed from your iPhone, iPad or any computer.

Note this is not a perfect solution, since you need to open an iPhone app to initiate the syncing process, but this tutorial will explain how to make the photo backup process as seamless as possible.

This solution is much better than the SugarSync iPhone app feature which requires you to manually upload your photos or take photos from within the SugarSync app in order for them to be stored.

These instructions explain how to use the CameraSync app to upload photos to Dropbox, and then (optionally) to store these photos in SugarSync. Both solutions require a Dropbox account. Get a free Dropbox account here.

Then, optionally, get a free SugarSync account here. Why SugarSync? I use SugarSync because they offer 5GB of storage instead of Dropbox’s 2GB, and SugarSync is a better cloud storage service and file manager overall, in my opinion.

Dropbox: Automatically Upload Mobile Photos

To automatically* upload mobile photos to Dropbox, you will need:
*Remember, this solution is almost automatic. You need to open an app (and that’s it) to prompt the photo syncing.

A free Dropbox account
CameraSync ($1.99 in the App Store, as of this writing)
Optional: A free SugarSync account, if you would like to use SugarSync.
For those who jailbreak iPhone: Optionally, you may install the Backgrounder app so that you need only to open the CameraSync app one time and it will continue to run in the background.

Syncing Photos to Dropbox

Once you sign up for Dropbox and install it on your computer, create a new folder in your Dropbox » Photos folder. I called this folder iPhone Photos.

From there, I downloaded the CameraSync app from the App Store and linked it to my Dropbox account. Note, you can also sync your photos to other cloud services, such as Flickr, Amazon S3 Bucket, Box.net, or an FTP server.

CameraSync Dropbox

Once you’ve added your Dropbox account, tap the account name (e.g. Dropbox) in the CameraSync Settings page, then tap Edit Account.

CameraSync Edit Account

CameraSync Folder

Now, every time you open the CameraSync app, it will begin to sync up your iPhone Camera Roll to your Dropbox account.

Auto Sync Mobile Photos to SugarSync

If you use SugarSync as your main cloud storage solution, then all you have to do is add your Dropbox » Photos » iPhone Photos folder to SugarSync and it will be backed up there after it is backed up in Dropbox.

Jailbreak

If you have a jailbroken iPhone, then you can download Backgrounder from Cydia and add CameraSync as an Override (with Backgrounding method set to Backgrounder) so that it is always running in the background.

Note: This post may contain referral links, which I use only to recommend products or services that I personally use and enjoy.

Selling iPhone on eBay: The Ultimate Guide

Apr 26, 2011Apr 26, 2011 by Chris Galloway

Selling iPhone on eBay

Considering selling your iPhone on eBay? Here is the ultimate guide to selling an iPhone on eBay and getting the best price for it.

Whether you are using eBay to sell your iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 3G or original iPhone, this free guide offers tips on crafting your listing, setting your opening bid and Buy it Now prices, and properly photographing your iPhone to increase the chance of making decent money when selling your used iPhone on eBay.

Why Sell iPhone on eBay?

As the premier online auction site, eBay gives you access to a global audience of people that are searching for used iPhones. I have sold four iPhones on eBay, and I have always been surprised at how well my auctions perform. I have sold year-old iPhones on eBay for close to the cost of a new iPhone. In fact, I once got a new $499 iPhone essentially for free after I sold my used iPhone on eBay for $415 and combined it with a $100 Apple Store credit that Apple once gave to all iPhone customers.

If you are planning to buy a new iPhone, it would be wise to sell your used iPhone on eBay and put the funds toward buying the next generation iPhone.

Cost of Listing iPhone on eBay

You are exempt from paying the basic insertion fee if you list less than 50 items per month on eBay. If you add a Buy It Now option of $50 or more, you will pay a $0.25 base price. Adding special features to the auction (like a bold title, a subtitle, additional photos, etc.) will drive up the auction listing fees, but not by too much.

Where eBay really gets you is with the 9% fee on the final sale price. So if you sell your iPhone for $400, you will pay eBay the listing fee (usually around $1-$2) plus $36 (based on the 9 percent final value fee). Even with the fees, however, I have found that my iPhone sales on eBay have generated a high enough price to be worth my while.

How Much to Sell iPhone For on eBay?

Remember that you are obligated to sell your iPhone at whatever the closing bid price is. The market value of an iPhone will vary, depending on what model you are selling and when you are selling it. The newest generation iPhones could sell for thousands on eBay. Or they could sell for cheaper if supply is high. A year-old iPhone will sell for less than a new generation iPhone (though still high in many cases).

Here’s how to price your iPhone appropriately in your eBay listing, including setting the right opening bid and a Buy It Now price:

Opening Bid

This may sound risky, but I recommend setting your starting bid at $0.01 (i.e. one penny). Penny iPhone on eBay Although the thought of having to sell your iPhone for one mere cent is downright frightening, this will never happen. Your iPhone will always sell for close to the market price — i.e. whatever it’s worth.

Consider surrendering to the market and letting buyers compete to determine how much your used iPhone is actually worth. Yes, in some cases, you may earn less than you hoped, but in other cases you may make more money than you expected by selling your iPhone on eBay (even when setting a very low opening bid).

Advertising in your listing title that the bidding starts at one penny could also draw more bidders — I will explain more on crafting a good listing later.

Buy It Now Price

Before setting your Buy It Now price, consider this tip for figuring out how to set a price that is high enough to make you a happy eBay seller, but low enough to actually attract a Buy It Now bid:

By checking the completed listings, you can see how much iPhones sold for on eBay in the recent past. To see completed listings, click “Advanced” next to the eBay search button. Then, in the Advanced Search page, type your search term — e.g. “used iPhone 4” — and be sure to check the box beneath “Search Including” that says “Completed Listings.”

Hitting search will return a list of results that includes recent listings of “used iPhone 4” with prices highlighted in green if they sold, or in red if they did not sell. Searching Completed Listings is a great way to determine what your Buy It Now price should be.

eBay iPhone Completed Listings

If you were sampling from the completed listings pictured above, you might set a Buy It Now price around $425 for a 16GB iPhone 4 or $485 for a 32GB iPhone 4. Setting Buy It Now prices is not an exact science, but basing your price on past Completed Listings is better than taking a guess as to what Buy It Now price to set.

Should You Set a Reserve Price?

Some people will set a reserve price on eBay to ensure that their item does not sell for below a certain price. For example, if you refuse to sell your iPhone for less than $400, you could set the reserve at $400 and if no one bids that high, you get to keep your iPhone.

However, I would advise against setting a reserve for your iPhone listing. In my opinion, setting a reserve price is cowardly and ineffective. If you are trying to sell your iPhone at a fixed price, then put it on Craigslist or sell it somewhere else. eBay is an auction site, and people expect to be able to bid on things. For this reason, listings with reserve prices often get fewer bids and make fewer sales.

Do Jailbroken & Unlocked iPhones Sell for More on eBay?

Here is a little-known secret to selling iPhones on eBay for a good price: iPhones that are jailbroken and/or unlocked sell for more. Why? Because if you jailbreak your iPhone and unlock it, you are providing a product on eBay that people can’t get in an Apple Store.

Think about it: Apple will not sell an iPhone to a T-Mobile or Sprint user. They make you activate the phone with AT&T or Verizon in the Apple Store. So if you are a T-Mobile or Sprint user and you want an iPhone, what do you do? You buy an unlocked iPhone on eBay, and often you pay top dollar for it.

For attracting higher bids, consider jailbreaking your iPhone and unlocking it before selling it on eBay.

Selling iPhone on eBay: Photographing Your iPhone

If you want to make any respectable amount of money selling your iPhone on eBay, don’t even think about listing your iPhone on eBay without a photo. In fact, you should include a handful of photos, between four and six.

eBay advises that “adding pictures to your listing helps you increase sales, gives your buyers a more accurate picture of what to expect, and distinguishes your listing from others of its kind.”

eBay photography tips:

Use good lighting.
Photograph your iPhone against a solid color backdrop.
Use a tripod to avoid snapping blurry shots.
Photograph accessories that are included in the sale, such as the iPhone box, charging cable, instruction manual, and any bonus gifts.

eBay iPhone Photo

Consider taking a photo of your iPhone from every angle, including the front glass, the back, and the sides. Also take close-up photos of any damage. Despite the presence of scratches or scuffs, potential bidders will appreciate your honesty and are more likely to trust you as a seller if you are honest about any scratches or damage to your iPhone.

Selling iPhone on eBay: Crafting Your Listing

When it comes to selling your iPhone on eBay, what you say in your listing matters. People will not just spend several hundred dollars at the drop of a hat. There are tons of sellers selling iPhones on eBay, so you need to reassure your potential bidder that a) your iPhone is in reasonable condition, and b) you are a trustworthy seller who will deliver the advertised product as promised. While it helps (a lot) to have a good feedback score on eBay, what you say in your listing is also a factor that will determine how much you can sell your iPhone for.

Here are some tips on how to optimize your listing to attract lots of bidders:

Write an Eye-Grabbing Auction Title

Your auction title is the headline that people will see on the eBay search results when they search for an iPhone. Since your listing will be among hundreds of others, you want to write a title that describes the item features and catches the attention.

Write a title that uses descriptive words, and use ALL CAPS (sparingly) for some words. Consider words like “JAILBROKEN,” “UNLOCKED,” “Mint Condition,” “32GB,” “NO RESERVE,” “BIDDING STARTS AT 1 PENNY,” etc., assuming that these terms accurately describe your item.

In addition, you can make your title bold for $2. And you can add a subtitle for $0.50.

Write Descriptive Copy

Note the model, version number, and condition of your iPhone. Describe why you are selling your iPhone and how long you’ve had it. Explain what, if any, damage it has.

Feel free to describe how much you have enjoyed your iPhone (if that is the case). Also, consider noting the features of the iPhone. You might take for granted that you know the features of your iPhone, but don’t expect potential buyers to know. Tell visitors to your listing about the App Store and all the apps they can download. Tell them they can check their mail, send picture messages, record video, etc.

The more information you can provide to answer all of the visitor’s questions, the better.

Accurately Describe Damage

iPhone Scratches

The last thing you want is for someone to expect a mint condition iPhone based on your listing description, and instead receive an iPhone with a big dent in the corner. This could result in an upset buyer and negative feedback, which will hurt your reputation as an eBay seller.

Just because you point out damage does not mean you have to exaggerate the flaws. In the past, I have sold iPhones with minor scratches. I reassured potential buyers that the scuffs were from “everyday use,” that they were “merely cosmetic,” and that despite the “minimal wear,” the iPhone was in total working order. Despite some small scratches, I was always happy with the price my iPhone sold for. And no buyer has ever complained to me about scratches on iPhones I have sold.

Offer a Bonus Gift Along With the iPhone

Consider advertising a free gift to go along with the iPhone. A bonus gift sets you apart from other iPhone sellers and increases the chance of getting high bids. A bonus gift could be anything from an iPhone case, to a portable battery, or a vehicle mount.

I like to advertise bonus gifts in a subtitle, which can be added to your listing for $0.50. For example: BONUS GIFT: Free Otterbox Defender With Winning Bid!

Consider Shipping Worldwide

Because buyers who are looking for used iPhones often reside in other countries — especially those looking for unlocked iPhones — advertising that you “ship worldwide” could drive up your bid prices. Just make sure you don’t get gypped on the shipping costs. Set a dynamic shipping price that is based on the weight of your package so that a buyer in France pays a higher shipping price than someone in the US (assuming you are shipping from the US).

Selling a Broken iPhone on eBay

Broken iPhone on eBay

Even if your iPhone is broken, you can still sell it on eBay. Some buyers will still pay a fair amount for seriously damaged iPhones, because they can use the spare parts either for their own iPhones or for repair services that they offer. Just be sure to accurately describe all damage, whether it’s a cracked screen or your iPhone doesn’t turn on at all.

Warning: Beware of eBay iPhone Scammers!

I was once the victim of an attempted eBay iPhone scam, so I urge you to be aware of potential scammers. The person who attempted to scam me placed a Buy It Now bid just hours after I listed the iPhone. They then sent me a fake email impersonating PayPal and telling me the payment had been sent and to please ship the iPhone to Nigeria. I checked my PayPal account and found no money there.

Be alert for eBay iPhone scams. If someone bids Buy It Now immediately, be weary. If you receive an email that is said to be from PayPal, log in to your PayPal account and verify that you have actually received a payment. If a scam happens to you, report it in the eBay Resolution Center. Never ship an iPhone to anyone until the payment has cleared in your PayPal account.

Are These eBay iPhone Selling Tips Helpful?

Did these eBay iPhone selling tips help you? If so, please share your experience in the comments so that other potential eBay sellers can benefit from your advice on selling an iPhone on eBay.