optimising your iPhone

see also:

• personal IT security for health professionals

• of all devices one may possess, surely the iPhone is the most essential of them all to enable our sophisticated level of social functioning to continue as we have become used to
• I am not an Apple fan, but the iPhone has to be one of the most useful devices ever made, although in 2025, there are good cases to be made for switching to Samsung or similar.
• here are a few tips on how to make it work well for you

• if you already have an AppleID account with an old iPhone or iPad, you may still prefer to start afresh and create a new AppleID for this phone to break historical data tracking and by manually setting up a new phone rather than just restoring from an old one, you get rid of a lot of unused apps and data
• you will need a different email account to create a new one
• you probably do not want to do this if you were silly enough to have purchased a lot of Apple music or apps on your old AppleID
• manually restoring your data to a new iPhone for a cleaner phone:
  • this is particularly useful if you have already gone through several iPhones via backup-restore processes, each iteration retaining useless apps or data, or worse corrupted iTunes music sync (my iTunes music sync somehow duplicated all my music on my phone taking up all of the memory which then prevented iOS updates)
    • in addition, if your iTunes can no longer find your music files, you would have to restore them from the old phone to a computer and hope this works before re-syncing to the new phone
  • you will need to manually add in your email accounts and any browser or app accounts (hopefully you know the passwords!)
  • log into your old iCloud account, and export the contact list as a VCF file, and email it so you can open it in your new phone - this will restore all your contacts
  • moving you non-purchased music is a bit more difficult
    • the easiest way is to use iTunes, but probably best to create a new AppleID, and add your music on your computer to iTunes under this account then sync the new phone
  • alternatively you can use 3rd party apps to make this easier if you still have your old phone but there is a risk that your data may go to a 3rd party

• this allows you to either do:
  • a quick and easy restore from your iTunes or iCloud backup of your old phone (assuming you have created a backup), OR,
  • a manual set up as under option 1.

• there is a HIGH probability that your iPhone will be either lost, stolen or broken
  • using an iPhone or iPad in public areas exposes you to having it ripped from your hands in broad daylight by predatory thieves who can not only get high sale prices on international markets, but if it is unlocked, they can then take control of your email accounts and then your bank accounts and your identity via 2 factor authentication
    • don't forget it is easy for them to force it to become unlocked using your face or finger!
• it is easy for you to buy a new device and almost immediately re-install nearly all of your contacts, apps, settings and, if enabled, your photos from your iTunes or iCloud backup
  • BUT YOU MUST SET THIS CAPABILITY UP - YOU ARE CRAZY NOT TO!!!
• see personal IT security for health professionals

• this is the most secure method as your data is not being sent to and saved on a cloud service which could get hacked
• probably don't back up the photos this way - use option 3 instead
• the downsides are:
  • you will lose it if your computer gets destroyed or stolen,
  • it may require manual back up and you may forget to do this (you could set up an automatic backup but this is problematic)

• users get 5Gb storage for free per AppleID, if you need more then you have to pay a subscription (you probably don't really want to do this!)
  • to avoid going over your 5Gb limit:
    • have a different AppleID for different devices,
    • only back up essential data to iCloud such as contacts, calendar
      • on the iPhone, you can adjust what data will be sent to iCloud
        • Settings: your name: iCloud
          • then select Show All and choose which ones to “back up”
          • if you do really want to sync your photos to the iCloud (eg. when you are traveling), you can reduce iPhone storage usage by clicking on optimise phone storage - this will move the large original version to the cloud and leave a small version of the photo on the phone - when you view the photo on the phone, the large version will be brought back from the cloud to display. This may be handy for travelers.
            • if you later turn off photo backup and you have optimised phone storage, ensure you click Download and Keep Originals first
      • Settings: your Name: iCloud: turn on iCloud Backup
• by default, iCloud is a “Sync” service NOT a true back up service
  • as a sync service, other devices can see the files AND sync to and from those devices (but only iPhones can access certain types of data)
    • deleting a synced file such as a photo on one device will delete it on the iCloud AND on other synced devices such as your iPhone
      • your only option to retrieve an accidentally deleted photo is to restore from the “Recently deleted” folder within 30 days
  • you can turn it into a backup service if you turn off sync features by turning off iCloud back up for iCloud photos, iCloud Drive and iCloud Notes

• this is the best option for your photos if you have access to a computer and you are not traveling
  • has the advantages over options 1 and 2 in that:
    • if you accidentally delete photos on the phone after a back up has been done, they wont be deleted on your computer next time you do a back up
    • they are available on your computer for editing and sorting with your computer photo editing software
• just connect the phone to the computer via USB cable and open up File Explorer find the photos and copy them all across
  • NB. you will need to have the phone unlocked and grant permissions to the computer each time

• enabling WiFi and configuring it for your home WiFi network is a critical 1st step in reducing your mobile data usage and allowing automatic iCloud and/or computer backup of your iPhone or iPad
• the device will preferentially use the WiFi network over your mobile data network
• if you are away from home and wish to extend battery life, you can just turn WiFi OFF in the Settings app under Wi-Fi which is where you also configure your iPhone to work with WiFi networks
• for security reasons, take great care enabling WiFi to use public WiFi hotspots, particularly in tourist areas, as the data sent from your device can be detected by criminals using network sniffing software, and hence can potentially access your log on information and passwords to accounts not sent on encrypted https networks.
  • consider subscribing to a VPN app and starting that prior to your data usage (Settings app:General:Network:VPN) if you are concerned that hacking your data may be an issue. A VPN creates a secure tunnel which will be hidden from any sniffing devices, but sometimes can be unreliable and drop out.

• apps are designed to keep in touch with the web, often in the background, to keep the phone user informed of things even when not using the app
• push notifications allow apps to continuously poll the internet (ie. send data packets and receive them without you doing anything) looking for new updates such as email, Facebook, Twitter, Ebay, etc
• this obviously can use up lots of data as most phone network providers charge data in 1Kb packets
• turn off push notifications for email via Settings app:Mail, Contacts, Calendars:Fetch New Data = OFF (to update your email, you just open your email app and it will do an automatic update)
• just having an app not appearing in the notification centre and having Alerts Style set to NONE does NOT turn off push notifications of the app
  • for instance if you leave Badge App Icon = ON for the Facebook app, the Facebook app will display your push notifications as set in your online Facebook account, and will continuously poll the web for updates of this while it is running in the background minimised or the is open.
  • in the listing of apps at the botton of the Settings main page, choosing an app such as Facebook may allow you to turn on/off various push notifications
  • Apple Push Notifications system was designed to work even when apps are not running so even closing the app down fully (see below) will not stop these notifications
• even just adjusting Notifications on the iPhone will send about 10Kb data through cellular network even if you are on WiFi!!

• apps use location services for a variety of functions (and indeed need this to access your iPhone camera library)
• location services (“geoservices”) may use GPS transmissions (uses battery life but not part of your data plan so generally free), WiFi and/or polling of your mobile network towers (uses battery and adds to your data usage).
• location services are used by many apps to check the network to see where the phone is all the time
• it can be managed in Settings:Location Services

• this can bankrupt you, particularly if you leave Settings:General:Network:Data Roaming ON - some users have been hit with bills of $20,000 just because of this as a result of push notifications, etc.
• if travelling to a different country, ensure your iPhone is “UNLOCKED” prior to travel (ie. so you can install a microSIM card from a different provider) and strongly consider purchasing a prepaid MicroSim card for that country, it will generally be far cheaper, unless all you plan to do is send a few SMS messages during your stay.
  • be aware many network providers disable iPhone tethering to act as personal hotspot to other devices on certain plans, particularly, pre-paid plans
• if you continue to use your existing microSIM card, consider turning off Cellular Data and Data Roaming in the Settings:General:Network section - this will allow you to still use data at WiFi hotspots, but without getting hit for international data roaming charges
• purchase an eSim for the country you are going to
  • this will give you internet access so you can communicate using WhatsApp, etc but it does not give you a mobile phone number so if your own country Sim card is still in the device, people can txt you on your usual mobile number but u can't txt back without using data roaming for your Sim
• if you are really paranoid, you can resort to Airplane Mode as this turns off ALL WiFi and mobile network communications

• most plans will charge you $2 each time your phone sends or receives data packets!!!
• avoid these charges rapidly eating up your phone call credits by turning off cellular data in Settings:General:Network

• if you are hitting your data limits, then download an app to help you monitor your usage, detect what is using up your data limit and when

• a great free app which is the only one I found that in addition to showing data usage for mobile vs WiFi and alerting you when you hit your limit, but also:
  • gives a break down on which TYPE of iPhone service or app is sending/receiving the data if you temporarily enable the battery-sucking “Detailed mode”
  • you may well be surprised to see that even while at home on your WiFi, the iOS services and ApplePushServices still use your data network
    • these may not seem much, but if you are over your month's mobile data limit, most plans will charge you $2 each time these occur!!!

• another nice free app which has the basics but also adds a network speed test
• does not seem to detect the small data packets sent to mobile network whilst using WiFi

• a cheap paid app but very good at the basics
• does not seem to detect the small data packets sent to mobile network whilst using WiFi

• make the percentage of remaining battery life appear next to the battery icon on the upper right corner of the iPhone screen. To do this, tap Settings → General → Usage → Turn on Battery Percentage.
• a numerical percentage helps you check the battery regularly, as opposed to suddenly being surprised by a red battery icon.

• if you are really short of battery and don't need to receive calls, you can resort to Airplane Mode as this turns off ALL WiFi, bluetooth and mobile network communications
• turn off Bluetooth if you are not using it via Settings:General:Bluetooth
• turn off Personal Hotspot when not using it via Settings:Personal Hotspot
• turn off WiFi when not using it via Settings:WiFi
• turn off Location services via Settings:Location Services
• turn off push notifications (see above)

• Settings app:Notifications:In Notification Centre determine which apps will create alerts in the Notofication Centre and how they will function
• these alerts turn on the display of your iPhone and thus can reduce battery life significantly
• see the notification system on the iPhone

• Settings:Brightness → Turn on Auto-Brightness
• BUT turn off Auto-Brightness when watching a movie on your iPhone 4, or else the movie will appear dark

• when you close an app, it usually doesn't really close but gets “minimised” and is still running in the background consuming valuable iPhone memory and potentially battery power
• to fully close an app, double click the Home button and all the minimised apps will be displayed at the bottom of the screen.
• click and hold finger down on one and they will start shaking and a minus icon will appear on each.
• just click on the minus icon to close the app (note, unlike in the main iPhone screen displaying all the apps, the app is not deleted from the iPhone, just closed).
• reducing the number of background apps running will also allow your active app to run better as it will have more memory available to it.

• apparently every time you go through a charge cycle on your iPhone (equivalent to a full charge of the battery whether it is done piecemeal or as one charge apparently is irrelevant), you’ll permanently lose anywhere from 30 seconds to a minute of battery capacity
• this will mean as your iPhone ages, the battery life gets less and less each month until eventually, you will need to take it to Apple and arrange for a replacement iPhone for a fee.
• reduce this permanent loss of battery life by ensuring your iPhone is connected to a charger as much as possible so the battery is not being used.

• you can silence calls from phone numbers that are not in your contact list:
  • Settings: Phone: Silence unknown callers
  • the caller can leave a voice message or send a txt so you can decide to call them back or add them to your contact list by creating a contact
  • IF you are expecting an important call such as from a hospital, then turn this off
• you can block repeated unknown callers or those who end up being spammers:
  • click on i for the phone number then click on Block caller

• tapping the home button and on-off button at the same time will take a screen shot of the display which is then stored in the camera roll - can be very handy indeed!
• also, in Safari, you can tap and hold an image to save it.

• sliding your finger to the right on items such as emails, video titles, etc allows one to delete that item from the phone
• holding your finger down on a item often brings up further options - for example, on an embedded URL in an email, it will allow you to view the URL address before choosing to go to a potentially dubious site

• sometimes your iPhone may enter a fully zoomed in mode which makes it impossible to access any controls or even to turn it off with the swipe
• the trick to zoom back out to normal is a 3-finger tap on the display

• locking the screen in a particular orientation can be very handy.
• double-click the Home button, swipe left to right on the multitasking bar until the iPod and controls show up, then tap the orientation icon on the left to lock and unlock it.

• ensure you leave about 0.5Gb free storage to avoid your apps crashing due to insufficient memory

• if you use webmail on Safari or various other websites such as Wordpress blog text entry which have a scrollable text box, any attempt to scroll through the text box just scrolls the web page
• the trick is to zoom in on the text box then scroll using 2 fingers!

• press and hold the Home button for about six seconds to quit any application that might have locked up your iPhone.
• if that fails, trying pressing and holding both Home and On/Off, after about 10 seconds the Apple logo will appear

• an MS Word or Excel document which is password protected will NOT be able to be downloaded from a website using Safari, nor will it open in email or most document or file apps
• you will need an iPhone app such as Documents To Go to open such a file, but first you need to download the file from the net and then send it to this app, and for this, you can use the app Downloader
• hopefully this will be rectified in iOS 6.x

• double tap the Caps key on the keyboard and it will change to blue and remain in Caps mode until you tap it again.
• before opening the keyboard to type a URL address in Safari, rotate orientation to landscape and this will display the larger horizontal keyboard which will be easier to type

• can set multiple alarm clocks to remind you or to wake you in the morning
• you can use the timer to put your iPod music to sleep after a set time: Clock:Timer:When Timer Ends:Sleep iPod
• you can view current international times just add a time zone into the international mode of the clock