Tag Archives: iPad 3

fixed : use old iPad as an extra screen for your Mac (or PC)

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Question :

Since we are working from home a lot (and the children are home schooling), and we have several old iPads and iPhones lying around gathering dust, we were wondering if it would be possible to use them as second screens on our Macs and Windows PCs to make our work and homework easier by being able to do this (and more) :

  • manage our music playlist (iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify) on our old iPad/iPhone whilst running  MS Office on our Mac/PC without switching apps
  • use our old iPad/iPhone’s touchscreen to put a signature under a PDF-document whilst typing it on our Mac/PC
  • use our old iPad/iPhone as a drawing tablet for our Mac/PC
  • videochat or view an online presentation onour Mac/PC whilst making notes on our old iPad/iPhone using a full-size keyboard (and easily swapping the two around when needed)

We noticed Apple has introduced this great feature called Sidecar that enables you to use your iPad (or iPhone) as a second screen for your Mac. But when I looked at the Sidecar requirements on the Apple website, I found that our older iPads/iPhones aren’t supported.

Is there any way to use Sidecar (or something similar) on our old iPads/iPhones ?

 

Answer :

Yes, even though you cannot use Sidecar on any unsupported iPad, iPhone or Mac, there is an alternative that works just as great for any old iPad (or iPhone) and is not limited to a Mac, but does support Windows PCs also… and best of all : it’s FREE.

This is ideal for working from home and home schooling since you can do all this (and more) :

  • manage your music playlist (iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify) on your iPad whilst running  MS Office on your Mac/PC without switching apps
  • use your iPad/iPhone’s touchscreen to put a signature under a PDF-document whilst typing it on your Mac/PC
  • use your iPad/iPhone as a drawing tablet for your Mac/PC
  • videochat or view an online presentation on my Mac/PC whilst making notes on my iPad/iPhone using a full-size keyboard (and easily swapping the two around when needed)

This FREE alternative for Apple Sidecar is Splashtop Wired XDisplay. It enables you to use any iPad/iPhone running iOS 7 or newer as a second or third (touch)screen for any Mac running OSX 10.9 Mavericks (or PC running Windows 7) or newer.

This means that all these iPhone / iPad / Mac models are supported :

  • iPhone 4 or newer
  • iPad 2 or newer
  • any iPad mini
  • any iPad Air
  • any iPad Pro
  • any aluminum iMac (iMac “Mid 2007” or newer)
  • any iMac Pro
  • Mac mini “Early 2009” or newer
  • Mac Pro “Early 2008” or newer
  • white MacBook “Early 2009” or newer
  • any aluminum MacBook
  • MacBook Air “Late 2008” or newer (2nd gen MacBook Air or newer)
  • MacBook Pro “Mid 2007” or newer

To install, do this :

  • install the Splashtop Wired XDisplay app on you Mac/PC
    • you can download Splashtop Wired XDisplay for Mac or Windows here
  • install iTunes on your PC if you have done so yet
    • you can download iTunes for Windows here
    • on a Mac you don’t need additional software for your iPad/iPhone to be recognized
  • install Splashtop Wired XDisplay on your iPad/iPhone
    • you can download Splashtop Wired XDisplay for iPhone here
    • you can download Splashtop Wired XDisplay for iPad here
  • then, plug your iPad/iPhone’s USB-cable into your Mac/PC
  • then run the Splashtop Wired XDisplay app on your Mac/PC
  • then run the Splashtop Wired XDisplay app on your iPad/iPhone
  • then goto the Settings on your Mac/PC, find the Screen Settings and arrange your screens the way you like
    • you can choose “Mirror Screen” to see exactly the same on your MAc/PC and your iPad/iPhone
    • you can choose “Extend Screen” to arrange the iPad/iPhone as an add-on for your desktop
    • if you already have a second screen attached to your Mac/PC, you can use your iPad/iPhone as an additional third screen also

That’s it !

enjoy 😉

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fixed : Passpartout The Starving Artist game for iOS

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Question :

My children have seen all the raving YouTube-reviews about the painting game Passpartout The Starving Artist by Flamebait Games. Now they want to play the game themselves, but they don’t have a Mac or a PC…

Is there a way to play Passpartout The Starving Artist on their iPad ?

 

Answer :

Yes, there is an official iOS-version of the Passpartout The Starving Artist game for sale on the iOS App Store :

Passpartout The Starving Artist for iOS

…so now you can play the game, and paint with more natural motions than you problably could on your Mac  (especially if you have an iPad Pro with a stylus)

And you’re in luck : it runs not only on iPads, but on iPhones also 😉

more exactly : it runs on iPhone 5s, iPhone 6 and newer, iPad mini 2 and newer, iPad Air & iPad Pro (and even iPod Touch 6th gen)

NOTE : if you are looking for Passpartout The Starving Artist for Mac, look here

fixed : old hard reset procedure doesn’t work on new iPhones with finger scan

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Question :

I just encountered an error (or bug) in iOS forcing me to do a hard reset on my iPhone, but when I try the good-old reset-procedure by pressing both the MENU- and POWER-button simultaneously, there’s no reset… just a click-sound and a screenshot photo being taken…

What’s going on ?

 

Answer :

For all iPhones (and iPads) that still have the MENU-button (*) without fingerscan [ so all iPhones up until and including the iPhone 5 and 5c ], the procedure for a hard reset is :

  • make sure you have the PIN-code of your SIM-card at hand
  • press and hold the MENU- and POWER-buttons (*) of your iPhone/iPad simultaneously until the entire screen turns black and the Apple logo reappears
  • then release both buttons and wait for the screen to go back to normal
  • and when asked, enter the PIN-code to unlock your SIM-card

…that’s it

For all iPhones that have the new fingerscanning MENU-button (*) [ so all iPhones starting from the iPhone 5s and iPhone 6 and newer ], the above procedure does no longer work, so there is a new procedure for a hard reset :

  • make sure you have the PIN-code of your SIM-card at hand
  • press and hold the POWER-button (*) until the screen goes fuzzy and the ‘slide to power off’-slider appears
  • then release the POWER-button and slide the slider to the right to turn the iPhone off
  • wait for the screen to go black
  • then press and hold the POWER-button until the Apple logo (re)appears
  • then release the POWER-button and wait for the screen to go back to normal
  • and when asked, enter the PIN-code to unlock your SIM-card

UPDATE : since iOS 9.3 the ‘old’ procedure for a hard reset was re-introduced as an extra for the newer fingerscanning iPhones, so these can now also be reset by simultaneously pressing & holding the MENU- and POWER-buttons 

…that’s it

(*) the MENU-button is the button that is on the front side of your iPhone or iPad just below the screen :

  • on iPhones up until the iPhone 5 and 5c, the MENU-button has a ’rounded square’ icon on it
  • on iPhone 5s, iPhone 6 and newer, the MENU-button has no printing on it, but it has an (invisible) fingerscanning-sensor inside

…the POWER-button is the button that is used to turn the iPhone/iPad screen ON and OFF :

  • on iPhones up until the iPhone 5c and 5s, the POWER-button is on the top-side of the iPhone (just like it is on iPads)
  • on iPhone 6 and newer, the POWER-button is on the right-side of the iPhone

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fixed : broken-off audio plug stuck in iPad 2

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Question :

Today, my son was using our iPad 2 with his headphones on, and when he tried to pull out the plug, it broke…

Now half of the broken 3.5mm audio plug is stuck inside the audio-port of the iPad. It’s so deep inside, I can’t see a way to grasp it with a pair of tweezers and get it out…

What can I do ?

Answer :

Normally, I would say : “take your iPad to an Apple Store and have them get it out”. That’s the way Apple would want you to handle this…

…but if you make sure you’ll be very gentle not to scratch the iPad, you might give it a try yourself ( AT YOUR OWN RISK !! ) :

– first make sure that what you see stuck inside the 3.5mm audio port looks ‘ringed’ ; meaning a (copper-colored) round core, with a (black) plastic tube around it and a very thin (chrome-colored) shell around that

– then get a thick needle (a really thick one, or a safety pin ; it’s important that it will not bend or break and has a very thin and pointy end)

– put the point of the needle on the (black) plastic tube of the broken-off audio plug and very gently push it outwards, onto the (chrome-colored) shell

– if you do so in al directions very gently, the (chrome-colored) shell will come loose and will fall out if you turn the iPad upside down

– after you’ve accomplished that, get a very tiny flat-headed screwdriver (of less than 3mm width), and push it down very gently in-between the side of the audio-jack and what is left of the audio plug

– then very gently scoop out the remainder of the audio plug by using the edge of the audio-jack for leverage

– when you feel a very tiny click, the remainder of the audio-plug has come loose, and will fall out if you turn the iPad upside down

– pfff… relax… congrats… done !

😉

NOTE : do this only AT YOUR OWN RISK ! do this only if you are very gentle, very patient, and very confident, and can control yourself to stop if you encounter any additional problems !

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