Tag Archives: iPad

fixed : iPad randomly activates auto-sleep

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Question :

I have an iPad running iOS6 and for protection I have a sleeve with a cover. To extend battery-life I’ve activated the magnet-triggered ‘auto-sleep’. This used to work great, but now, for some reason, the iPad turns into auto-sleep mode while I’m in the middle of using it…

so, suddenly I hear ‘CLICK’ and then the screen is black…

…what can i do ?

Answer :

This turns out to be a software-bug (probably only in iOS6).

There are 3 ways of coping with this bug :

1- upgrade to iOS7 (the easiest option)

2- shut-off ‘auto-sleep-on-cover-close’ (effective, but also killing the entire enjoyment of the feature…) ; to do so : in the “Settings”-app, go to “General”, then in the chapter that includes Auto-Lock, Passcode Lock and Restrictions, switch the slider at “Lock/Unlock”

3- to a completely fresh install of iOS6 on your iPad (complicated, and unnecessary if you are ever going to upgrade to iOS7) ; to do so you should first backup your iPad (make sure to make an extra copy of all documents and photo’s to a Mac/PC, iCloud or DropBox) and then erase and re-install your iPad. Normally the procedure would be like this :

– connect your iPad to your Mac/PC using a USB-cable and start-up iTunes

– in iTunes, click the button with the name of your iPad on it

– in the window that opens, make sure the “Summary”-tab/page is selected, and in the “Backups” chapter, choose “This computer” and click the “Back Up Now”-button

– when the backup is complete, look at that same window/page, and click on the “Check for Update”-button

– when that check is complete, click on the “Restore iPad”-button and follow the on-screen instructions

– when done, first set up your iPad as a new one

– then, when the setup is complete, (re-)connect your iPad to your Mac/PC and in the “Backups”-chapter, click on the “Restore Backup”-button and follow the on-screen instructions

…now, your problem/bug should be resolved.

Enjoy !

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fixed : set IMAP eMail for Hotmail.com, Live.com and Outlook.com on iPhone/iPad

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Question :

I would like to setup my Hotmail-eMail on my iPhone, but rather as an IMAP-account than as the usual POP-account.

Is there any way to do that in iOS ?

Answer :

Yes, IMAP eMail has finally come to Hotmail.com, Live.com and Outlook.com eMail.

To set up a Hotmail/Live/Outlook-eMail account on your iPhone/iPad, do this :

note : instructions for setting-up Hotmail/Live/Outlook-eMail on MacOSX can be found here.

if you’re running iOS 7 [ scroll down for iOS 6 and iOS 4.2.1 ] :

1- open the Settings app, go to “Mail, Contacts, Calendars” and in the “ACCOUNTS” chapter, click on “Add Account”

2- in the window that opens, click on “Outlook.com”

3- in the next window,  type your Hotmail/Live/Outlook-eMail address, your Password and any Description you like, then click “Next”

4- in the window that follows, select the options you want (at least keep “Mail” switched “ON”) and click “Save”

That’s it… congratulations ! 😉

if you’re running iOS 6 [ scroll down for iOS 4.2.1 ] :

1- open the Settings app, go to “Mail, Contacts, Calendars” and in the “Accounts” chapter, click on “Add Account”

2- in the window that opens, click on “Microsoft Hotmail”

3- in the next window,  type your Hotmail/Live/Outlook-eMail address, your Password and any Description you like, then click “Next”

4- in the window that follows, select the options you want (at least keep “Mail” switched “ON”) and click “Save”

That’s it… congratulations ! 😉

if you’re running iOS 4.2.1 (if you’re on an iPhone 3G ; iOS5.5 instructions for iPad 1 are expected to be very similar) :

1- open the Settings app, go to “Mail, Contacts, Calendars” and in the “Accounts” chapter, click on “Add Account”

2- in the window that opens, click on “Microsoft Exchange”

3- in the next window,  type the following :

at “Email” type your Hotmail/Live/Outlook-eMail address

at “Domain” type hotmail.com (if you have a Hotmail.com-eMail address)

at “Domain” type live.com (if you have a Live.com-eMail address)

at “Domain” type outlook.com (if you have an Outlook.com-eMail address)

at “Username” type your Hotmail/Live/Outlook-eMail address

at “Password” type your Hotmail/Live/Outlook-Password

and at “Description” type any description you like

then click “Next”

4- then the same window updates and an extra chapter appears named “Server”, it will be  automatically filled out with either m.hotmail.com or m.outlook.com ( and probably sometimes even m.live.com ) ; don’t bother, just click “Next”

5- in the window that follows, select the options you want (at least keep “Mail” switched “ON”) and click “Save”

That’s it… congratulations ! 😉

Note : if you want to change the settings of your Hotmail/Live/Outlook-accont in iOS, open the Settings app and go to “Mail, contacts, Calendars”, there you can click on the eMail-account you want to edit, and you will be able to change things like :

• “Mail Folders to Push” ; which mailboxes (besides your Inbox, so your Sent or even your Trash maybe) to Push (= auto-update) to your iPhone/iPad

• “Mail Days to Sync” ; how many days ‘backwards in time’ you want your iPhone/iPad to sync to Hotmail/Live/Outlook

• do you also want to sync your Contacts and/or Calendars to Hotmail/Live/Outlook ?

• do you want to change specific settings of the account itself ? (like the Server, SSL on/off, the Description, etc.)

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fixed : AirDrop from Mac to iPhone/iPad

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Question :

I’ve just installed iOS 7 on my iPhone 5, and since I was reading about AirDrop being one of the new features, I immediately thought of using AirDrop to get this picture I just made onto my iPhone…

But when I turn on AirDrop on both my Mac and my iPhone, they can’t seem to see each other…

Is there any way to get this to work ?

Answer :

No – at least : officially not.

So far, AirDrop is only available on Macs with supported AirPort-cards running MacOSX 10.7 “Lion” or newer and on the iPhone 5 and newer running iOS 7…

Furthermore, AirDrop is only supported Mac-to-Mac or iPhone/iPad-to-iPhone/iPad…

Maybe this situation will change with the introduction of OSX 10.9 “Mavericks”, but for now there is no (official) option to use AirDrop from Mac-to-iPhone/iPad and vice-versa…

But…

There is an alternative that works the same basically : AirDisk Pro

(note : seems like Phone Drive and Phone Drive FREE are exactly the same app as AirDisk Pro, but at a lower price, even free…)

With this AirDrop-alternative, file transfer is very quick …and it’s even more compatible than the official AirDrop : the app can be installed on any iPhone or iPad running iOS 4.3 and the WiFi-connection can be made from any Mac or PC using a web browser…

In short, the app works like this :

– install the app on your iPhone/iPad

get AirDisk Pro
get Phone Drive FREE [stores max. 10 files]
get Phone Drive

– make sure your iPhone/iPad and your Mac/PC are on the same WiFi-network

– run the app

– enter the IP-address (or network name) that the app gives you as a URL in your Mac/PC’s web browser

– drag the file you want to transfer onto the webpage

done !

enjoy 😉

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test : affordable iPad styluses compared

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Recently I came across a very interesting handwriting-note-taking app for the iPad : Notability

(after reading a lot of reviews and testing a few alternatives myself, I found this was the most useful note-taking app when wanting to use handwriting on an iPad ; the only downside I’ve found so far is it can only export to PDF)

So after I had decided on the app I wanted to use, I had to find an affordable stylus that can be used for handwriting.

The most important selection criteria I needed to test on where :

1- is the stylus responsive and accurate enough for handwriting on an iPad ?

2- does the stylus feel like an actual pen when handwriting on an iPad ?

3- is the price tag affordable, so below € 20, but preferably even below € 10 ?

The 7 styluses I selected are :

• Muvit (T-Mobile) iPhone/iPad Stylus [2-pack]

• AmazonBasics “Executive” Stylus

• Ozaki “iStroke” Stylus+Pen

• Boxwave “EverTouch” Micro-knit tip Stylus

• ButterFox Micro-knit tip Stylus+Pen

• TeckNet “MT-238” Micro-knit tip Stylus+Pen

• NewTrent “Arcadia Clickpen” Micro-knit tip Stylus [2-pack]

The main findings of the test :

– rubber tip styluses (AmazonBasics, Ozaki) perform okay in responsiveness, but are significantly less responsive than the ones with micro-knit tips

– since the ‘capacitive touch’ screens used in iPhones and iPads were meant to be used with a finger and not with a stylus, the styluses will always need to mimic a fingertip… that makes the stylus-tip rather bulky and soft… which is a sharp contrast to what you would expect from a handwriting pen : a pointy and hard tip… so ‘actual pen-like’ responsiveness will always be a (small) bridge to far…

– for handwriting a stylus should feel like an actual pen in your hand, so not too light and with a good weight-balance

So, based on these outcomes my preference is [from BEST to WORST] :

1. TeckNet “MT-238” Micro-knit tip Stylus+Pen

2. ButterFox Micro-knit tip Stylus+Pen

3. Boxwave “EverTouch” Micro-knit tip Stylus

4. NewTrent “Arcadia Clickpen” Micro-knit tip Stylus [2-pack]

5. AmazonBasics “Executive” Stylus

6. Ozaki “iStroke” Stylus+Pen

7. Muvit (T-Mobile) iPhone/iPad Stylus [2-pack]

My ‘best buy’ is the TeckNet, with the ButterFox as a very close runner-up, with both of them priced at about € 8 max. I prefer the length of the TeckNet over the marginally better responsiveness of the ButterFox. Like the two test-winners, the Boxwave and the NewTrent both have micro-knit tips also, and even though I really like the idea of the NewTrent’s retractable tip, I would prefer the Boxwave since the NewTrent stylus feels very awkwardly unbalanced in your hand when writing… The AmazonBasics stylus is just plain okay but when handwriting not as responsive as the styluses with micro-knit tips. The Ozaki‘s performance is equal to the AmazonBasics, but the price-difference was 4 times higher, which made the Ozaki “little value for money”… The Muvit stylus is a disaster to write with, it sticks to the screen like chewing gum and it’s way too light & short to feel comfortable ; you’re better of using your index finger for writing…

So…

Happy note-taking !

Enjoy !

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