How to install settings shortcuts on iPhone or iPad (non-jailbroken)

While all the iDevices settings are easily accessible from the settings icon, some people prefer a quick (single click) method for turning WiFi or off for example.

I placed them all in one folder called Quick Settings

Luckily Jeff Broderick, has made this very simple and visually attractive interface. Simply head over to his website http://brdrck.me/settings/ and select the shortcut you want to create. This simple tweak uses url schemes to access system settings.

Once on the developers page choose the setting you want to have a shortcut for, and install the profile.

WiFi install profile screenshot

Install as many as you like and group them in anyway you like.

iOS5 Feature - Restrictions

This feature allows the user to control and restrict the content allowed on the iDevice. This is great for parents who want to keep they children away from age inappropriate apps, music or movies.


The resitctions options are accessed through Settings, General

Settings - General - Restrictions

 Restrictions (here you will be asked for a Passcode).

Entering your Restrictions Passcode

Under the Movies section you choose which, or none you allow or disallow.

Movies Restriction settings

My personal favourtire is the Apps section, here you can play a pretty cool trick on someone. Since not many people know about this feature they do not have a passcode setup. This means that you can create on when you access restrictions on their phone.

From there go to Apps and change from Allow All Apps to,

Allow All Apps (Default setting)

  Don't Allow Apps

Setting changed to Don't Allow Apps

Once you accept and go back to the home screen all the apps will have disappeared. Of course all that needs to be done to get them back is to allow them again. As an added bonus when they re appear they will have lost their folders if they were sorted into them.

iOS5 New Feature - Keyboard Shortcuts

This is a fun and useful feature, it allows the user to define custom phrases. Basically thx can be thanks, or omw can On my way!. A very useful one would be eml and this should be your email address. Now you wont have to type in your email or other repeated phrases or words just the shortcuts.

Settings, General, Keyboard shortcuts

Go to Settings, General, Keyboard lower down are the shortcuts. Adding or modifying is easy.

Which leads me to the best part, this feature is awesome to use for a practical joke. Adding the shortcut "late" and phrase "late form the strip club" for example will leave the user confused.

Awesome feature for practical joke.

iOS5 upgrade APN settings (South Africa)

I noticed that after the iOS5 upgrade on the iPad and iPad2 the Vodacom APN settings were gone and the iPad's complained about a cellular data connection. To fix this do the following:


So for South Africa Vodacom use "internet" and MTN use "myMTN"


Go to Settings Celluar Data APN Settings type in myMTN (MTN) or internet (Vodacom). No username or password, leave them blank.

iPad2 iOS5 APN settings

iOS5 Feature - Upgraded Camera

One of my favourite upgrades of iOS5. The Camera function has been overhauled. Quick access to the camera from the lock screen just double tap the home button while the phone is locked or the screen is off.

In landscape mode users can take photos by pressing the volume up key as the shutter. Connect the earbuds and the volume up button (on the earbuds) acts as a remote trigger. If Photo Stream is enabled in iCloud the photos are automatically and wirelessly shared to all iDevices.

Quick access camera even from lock screen

A grid has been introduced, this is a great feature when shooting landscapes it helps keep the horizon level, and rule-of-thirds composition.

Grid function turned on

Swipe left to right while in the camera to access the photos (Camera roll).

The pinch zoom has finally made it to the camera function.

Pinch zoom function...long overdue

AE/AF lock, by touching and holding anywhere on the screen and waiting for the blue square or the AE/AF lock to appear at the bottom. to undo just tap anywhere on the screen once.

Auto Exposure/Auto Focus Lock

Most of these features work on both front and rear facing cameras.

iOS5 Feature - iCloud

So here is the feature I've been avoiding writing about. Partially because I'm in two minds about it and partially because no one clearly understands it yet (not even Apple).

What is iCloud then?

It is cloud storage and much more. It has the ability to sync your itunes purchased music, ebooks, apps and photos taken over the air (ota) with your iTunes 10.5 iCloud enabled iDevices (max 10). This means that users no longer need to sync their devices through the computer one at a time. When a new app is purchased it will automatically get pushed to all iDevices with the same iTunes Apple id.

This is both great and not so great, it makes sharing an Apple id tricky. With the iCloud sync users cannot control which devices should or should not get the apps, documents, or contacts etc. So restricting content is not possible as it was before with manual syncing. Don't get me wrong it is possible to restrict and configure what syncs where however it is not simple, like the Apple products we've all grown accustomed to. The restrictions are on the iDevice itself so if you share your id with your kids for example they will be able to turn on items which you have turned off, granting themselves access to items you may not want them to have/see, and you will be unaware of this.

My personal recommendations would be to sync contacts through it, and enalbe find my iDevice. There is a web interface which is useful to use https://www.iCloud.com here you will log in with your Apple Id and you will find web interfaces into the mail (create an @me.com) contacts, calendar, find my phone and iWork (which contains Keynote, Pages and Numbers)

The free version of iCloud only gives 5 GB of storage so you should use it wisely. Additional storage is available at reasonable prices $20, $40 and $100/year for 10GB, 20GB and 50GB. There is still some confusion around the app syncing. My understanding is that only the app data itself is counted towards your storage quota but not the app (even though it is on the cloud). So restoring it will consume data but it wont take up your precious 5 GB, I have found that the biggest backups are the photos and music.

To access the iCloud backup settings go to Settings, then iCloud, next Storage and Backup, manage backup choose your iOS device and under options turn off any items you no longer want to backup.

iCloud backup options

I still prefer manual ota syncing and backup through iTunes, it provides easier control and my iDevice does not need to be connected to my pc. The only requirements are that it is plugged in and charging and on the same wifi network as the pc running iTunes. However if the backup is on iCloud it is safe forever, if your pc has a hardware failure you data could be lost.

For me the biggest downside to the iCloud app syncing to multiple devices is that it uses the internet and in South Africa broadband prices are still expensive. This method of syncing will consume my data at a very fast rate. Lets say I download a 20meg app and sync it to my iPhone, then to my iPad and iPod via iCloud. Each device will connect the the Internet and download the app using my data connection effectively another 40megs (20 for each additional iDevice), and if I used the iTunes method I would have downloaded it once as before and then just connected my iDevice either with ota or directly and synced without additional data being used. This same will apply to photo's, music and documents, and will affect only users with multiple iCloud enabled iDevices.

iOS5 Feature - iMessage

iMessage, Apples version of BBM.


It works over both 3G and WiFi and messages are encrypted. Users can send photos, videos, messages and group messages, locations as well as contacts to any other iOS device. To access iMessage just touch the Messages icon on the main screen, it seamlessly chooses whether to send a traditional SMS or iMessage. It also allows to start the conversation on one iDevice and continue on another.

iMessage across all iDevices

iOS5 Feature - Notification centre

The notification centre has been created in the typical simple yet functional Apple style. 

New messages, emails, sms or IM types will no longer kick users out of apps they are using instead a small notification bar appears on the top of the screen. 

The notification centre is accessible by swiping down (from top to bottom of the screen), users can then swipe to reply or action the notifications. When the phone is not in use the notification centre appears on the lock screen.


If you however want the notification message to to disappear quicker, you simply swipe it off the screen right to left. This will dismiss it, if you click on it you will action it instead.

iOS5 Feature - Wireless sync and activation

New iOS devices no longer need to be connected to a PC to be activated, so no more annoying USB cable to iTunes image on your brand new iDevice. This is something long overdue. 

New activation screens replace the old USB to iTunes image

With an internet enabled wifi connection you can now backup and sync to iCloud and iTunes. Even better is that iOS5 now supports OTA (over the air) updating which means you don't have to sync to iTunes for iOS updates again (this makes my 1st post obsolete).

Most of these features however only work when the phone is plugged into power. For some users this means that they will plug the iDevice into the pc to charge, but the syncing will occur over the wifi not the USB cable ;)

Another upgrade is that the iDevice is now no longer locked while syncing, users are able to be make full use of the device while it syncs.

Captains log...

Star date 65323.3 aka 7pm 27 October 2011.


My first post, here goes. Welcome to you all. After some serious and not so serious deliberation as well as a prod from some close acquaintances I am starting a blog.


In this blog I will try to keep things simple, it will cover mostly idevices and apps. How to's, tweaks, hints and best practices. There is a lot of information out there already and my aim is make it easy and accessible to all, not just the hardcore power users.


Tip for today, if you haven't yet upgraded to iOS5 and iTunes 10.5 I suggest you get cracking. iOS5 for iPhone (3GS, 4 and 4S), iPad (1 and 2) and iPod (3rd and 4th gen) needs iTunes to be version 10.5 so upgrade this first.


On Windows in iTunes go to Help and select check for updates.
On the Mac in iTunes go to iTunes and select check for updates.


Once iTunes is updated plug in your idevice, do a backup and click on the update software button. iTunes will download the latest iOS (currently 5) and update your device.


These updates are big so it will take a while depending on your internet speed. Once the device has rebooted and all your software is back your device should be back to how it was and fully updated. My next post will be on some of the awesome new features of iOS5.


Often iTunes will automatically want to update itself see screenshots below;

Mac version auto update iTunes prompt

Manual update menu path (Mac version)