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Use iPhone Life Insider to Master Your AirPods, iPhone & More

(Sponsored Post) By Erin Smith on Wed, 01/13/2021

Our catalog of expertly designed guides for Apple devices are one of the biggest draws of our iPhone Life Insider program. They help our subscribers master their apple devices via simple guidance and detailed how-tos, all while giving users the flexibility and control over when and how they access the information. Our upcoming AirPods Guide will be an excellent resource for anyone who wants to truly become one with their AirPods.

Access to a deceased family member’s Apple account allows you to recover photos, finalize financial matters, and save other important digital information. To protect the privacy of customers who have passed away, Apple requires a court order before granting you access to a deceased person’s iCloud account. This ensures that your loved one’s information stays secure even after their passing. To help make this process as easy as possible for you, we've put together a guide to Apple's policies and requirements for gaining access to a deceased person's Apple or iCloud account.

We're all familiar with spam texts and calls, and I don't know anyone who actually enjoys getting them. I get political text messages, random surveys, and many other unknown text messages that I truly would not be sorry to never see again, but I do need to be able to still find messages from new contacts before I've saved their numbers! Fortunately, iPhones come equipped with a way to filter messages from unknown senders into a separate folder. This way if you happen to be looking for a text from someone you don't have saved in your contacts you can still find it, but you don't have to see those messages mixed in with your regular texts if you don't want to. Here's how to filter out messages from unknown senders in the Messages app on your iPhone.

If your recent iOS 14 update came with orange or green dots at the top of your screen, you’re not alone. But don’t worry, these indicators on the iPhone status bar are there to safeguard your security and privacy. They let you know when apps use your microphone or camera, and are especially helpful when you’re not aware that your microphone or camera is in use. Let’s take a look at what each dot means and how you can monitor which apps accessed your iPhone microphone or camera recently.

This article will tell you how to turn off Auto-Join Wi-Fi on an iPhone. The iPhone automatically connects to known Wi-Fi networks whenever it's in range. While auto-joining a known Wi-Fi network can be useful in saving us from having to manually reconnect to our preferred networks every time we want to use the internet, it can be frustrating to automatically join a network. Maybe you are in range of two known networks, such as the coffee shop where you're working and the restaurant next door and your iPhone connected to the wrong one, or maybe you don't want your device to connect to the coffee shop Wi-Fi every time you happen to walk by. Whatever your reason is, if you are unhappy when Wi-Fi keeps turning on on your iPhone, here is how to turn off Auto-Join Wi-Fi.

If you're a regular user of any device, it's likely that you listen to music or watch videos on your device as well. If you stream that media to another device in your home, you've probably wondered which streaming method works best for your device and whether AirPlay is more reliable than Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. In this article we'll discuss the pros and cons of each streaming method, and offer some tips to get the most enjoyment out of your streaming.

It's easy to screen record a FaceTime call, but it's important to know some very specific details about doing so. Is it legal to screen record a FaceTime call in your state? Does a person know when you screen record a FaceTime call? Before you record audio and video on your iPhone it's better to know the answers to these questions first. In this article we'll take a look at these tips, and as a bonus we'll walk you through how to set up and use screen record to record FaceTime calls. Let's get into the nitty-gritty of FaceTime screen recording.

In iOS 14, the Photos App has some great new features. One of the new features is Effect Suggestions, and it uses intelligent suggestions to improve the quality of the photos you took with the iPhone Camera. This new iOS feature will help you edit your photos to be the best possible. Effect Suggestions selects photos that could be improved by adding a filter, adjusting the light, creating a loop, or by utilizing other effects available on your iPhone. 

Customizing which photos individual apps can access is a great security feature. Now, you do not have to allow every app to access all of your photos. You can grant access to a few photos or even just one depending on what you are using the app for. In this article, you will learn how to customize the photos an app can access on your iPhone. This is a feature new to iOS 14. You must have iOS 14 on your iPhone in order to utilize this setting.

What's the best way to charge your iPhone? What is MagSafe? What's the difference between fast charge and Quick Charge? Do you have to use Apple charger cables to charge your iPhone? There are so many questions about how to safely charge your phone. Don't worry, I've got your back. Instead of making you read every web page about chargers and battery health, I put together a list of the top charging methods, charger types, and rumors about charging. In this article you'll learn which charging method will work best for your iPhone, if fast charging or Quick Charge is bad for your battery, which MacBook adapters can charge your iPhone, which third-party charger cables may actually hurt your device, and other top charging tips. Let's get to it: here's Charging 101. 

Apple introduces 5G in iPhone 12 line

We've been hearing rumors about 5G iPhones for well over a year, so when the latest Apple event was announced, we were excited to see the title, "Hi, Speed." A title like that could only mean one thing; Apple was finally going to reveal its 5G iPhone line. Today, it finally happened; Apple has brought 5G to the entire iPhone 12 line. Let's go over what 5G means in terms of iPhone capabilities and whether 5G network rollouts will happen quickly enough for you to use this feature any time soon. Also, let's not forget battery function! Will 5G be a major battery drain, and, if so, what can we do about it? Read on to find out.

Apple's new, much more affordable HomePod mini is the anticipated answer to the many drawbacks of the first-ever HomePod. Apple's reports of streamlined syncing, a host of family features such as Intercom and voice recognition, and a seamless feel to your Siri smart assistant experience could make this a must-have for many. Yet it may still be too pricey for those of us who are happy with our Amazon Echo Dots. We'll look at what advocates are celebrating, what doubters are questioning, and what might help you decide whether a HomePod mini would be a good addition to your smart home.

After a turbulent year, Apple has finally announced its 2020 iPhone lineup. This is the first time ever that the new iPhones made their debut after the new iPads and Apple Watch, and only the second time an iPhone announcement came in October. Nevertheless, Apple worked hard to make the 2020 iPhones worth the wait, bringing forth four new models: the iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max. Between the iPhone 12 mini and the iPhone 12 Pro Max, we are looking at the smallest and largest iPhones you can get, and some of the benefits and drawbacks that come with that. This is also the moment 5G is arriving to the iPhone universe, and that plus the new A14 Bionic chip promises new levels of speed for our iPhones. The Pro models are bringing serious upgrades to cameras and photo processing, but will all of these features make an upgrade worth it? Let's take a closer look so you can decide for yourself if you want to upgrade and, if so, which iPhone is right for you.

We're looking at the largest difference in size we've ever seen from an iPhone lineup, but does the range in features reflect those differences? Camera gains dominated the October 13 iPhone 12 announcement, which means if you've got a visual audience to captivate, you may feel like springing for a higher-end iPhone 12 Pro or Pro Max; but if you're not especially concerned about those features, you may do just fine with an iPhone 12 mini or iPhone 12. Some questions are harder to answer, like whether it's truly worth it to opt for the iPhone 12 Pro, or if you'll save more than money by sticking with the iPhone 12. 

Apple introduced MagSafe accessories for its new iPhone 12 lineup today at its October 13 iPhone event. MagSafe will make charging your iPhone 12 easier and faster than previous wireless generations; the frustration of placing your iPhone "just so" for wireless charging will also soon be a thing of the past. The line of MagSafe accessories includes cases, chargers, and wallets that connect to your iPhone with magnets. Read on to learn about MagSafe improvements to the iPhone 12, how MagSafe accessories work, what kind of gear you'll be able to purchase, and what MagSafe means for the iPhone accessory market. 

Today's iPhone event featured not only four models of iPhone—the iPhone 12 and 12 mini and the iPhone 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max—but also standout iPhone features such as MagSafe rapid wireless charging, 5G capabilities, and serious camera improvements, plus the long-anticipated announcement of a smaller, less expensive HomePod mini. We've got all the details of everything Apple announced at its fast-paced event, including prices and availability. But are all the new specs and features enough to convince us we're entering what Tim Cook declared to be a new era for the iPhone? We've got all the details so you can decide for yourself!

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