Today’s tip is a quick one: if you wish you could change something about your Apple device (iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch, Apple TV), go check out Settings first. You’ll probably find the option you’re looking for.

Here are some examples:

Annoyance 1: You want to remove the “Sent from my iPhone” that gets added to every email you send.

Solution: Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > scroll down to Signatures. If you have more than 1 email account you can even set up different signatures for each account. Simply update the text and you’re set!


Annoyance 2: Every time I get a text, ALL my devices alert me.

Solution: The beauty of the iCloud is that everything is seamlessly connected. The challenge is that everything is connected. So when you get that text, it’s going to put it on all your devices that are enabled for iMessage with that same iCloud account. The issue is actually more of a larger Notifications issue. All devices have a unique set of Notifications established (I wish the settings were covered via iCloud, but they’re not). You can control all your alerts, banners, sounds and vibrations within Settings > Notifications. Click through each App you see and adjust the settings. Just remember you have to do this on each device.


Annoyance 3: Before I upgraded I had a 4-pin code to unlock my phone. Now it requires 6!

Solution: There is actually an option to use the previous 4-pin code. Under Settings > Touch ID & Passcode click the “Change Passcode” link and input your current passcode. Then you’ll notice a “Passcode Options” when you’re inputting the new passcode. Click that and then choose the “4-Digit Numeric Code” option.


Annoyance 4: I want to do the software update but it’s telling me I don’t have enough room.

Solution: You need to figure out what’s taking all the space on your phone. Head over to Settings > General > Storage & iCloud Usage > then under Storage click the “Manage Storage” link. You’ll the Used vs. Available amounts for your device. Then it goes through and lists all the Apps that are consuming space. Now you now where to focus your clean up to make more room.


Annoyance 5: I keep misplacing my iPhone and it’s on vibrate…

Solution: Make sure you have your device sharing its location so you can use the “Find iPhone” App. First, go to Settings > iCloud and at the bottom under Advanced is a “Share My Location” link. Click that and make sure it’s enabled. If you have Family iCloud turned on you can also choose whether to share your location with those in your family. Now, head over to the “Find iPhone” App and you should see your device listed and exactly where it’s located. What’s great about this is you can have it “Play Sound” to help you track it down – even if it’s on vibrate! 2 things to note for this to work: 1) the device needs to be connected to Wi-Fi or a data plan and 2) it needs to not run out of battery…

The list can literally go and on, but you can see how for many of your issues, head first to Settings and start poking around. Guaranteed someone has wanted to change the exact thing you’re looking for and there is already a setting to be adjusted.

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With over a decade of experience, I have managed online marketing for a wide range of industries including biotech, high-tech, financial, higher education, non-profit, manufacturing, hardware providers, and startups. My specialty is helping business make the right turn with their online efforts focusing on lead generation and analytics.

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