Tag Archives: iPhone SE

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 : black screen when trying to take a photo in iOS

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Question :

Lately, whenever I try to take a photo with my iPhone, all I get is a black screen.

I am using the pre-installed Camera-app in iOS.

How can I get this fixed ?

 

Answer :

There are two known software causes for this ‘black screen’-issue (so apart from hardware problems like broken iPhones) :

solution  #1 :

If you have just used your camera in another app (e.g. WhatsApp) and you then switched to the  standard iOS Camera.app, you might run into a black screen because the camera is still being claimed by the previous app…

The fix for this is easy : close down the iOS Camera.app and the other app that was using your camera, then re-open the iOS Camera.app ; to do so :

  1. double-clicking on the Menu-button below the screen (in the next view you’ll be able to browse through windows of all open apps)
  2. close all apps that are using your iPhone’s camera (by swiping the windows of those apps you want to close upward)
  3. then return to normal view by clicking the Menu-button once
  4. and when done, re-open the iOS Camera-app

solution #2 :

The black screen issue in Camera.app has been reported as a bug in earlier versions of iOS 9, so fixing it is simply done by updating your iPhone to the latest version of iOS 9 (or iOS 10).

To do so :

  1. on your iPhone, go to Settings –> General –> Software Update
  2. you will most likely see that you don’t have the latest version of iOS
  3. activate the update to the latest version of iOS

…that’s it 😉

enjoy !

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fixed : how to Block Caller on iPhone ?

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Question :

Today I got called by someone who I don’t want to call me on my iPhone. Is there any way to block a caller on my iPhone ?

 

Answer :

Yes, there is.

To block a caller that just called you on your iPhone, do this :

  • click on your iPhone, click on the “Phone”-icon
  • then make sure you are in the “Recents”-tab
  • then click on the “i-in-a-circle”/”info”-icon that’s right next to the phone number (or name) you want to block
  • now make sure you don’t touch anything, but scroll down (or rather “swipe up”) towards the usually invisible bottom part of the page…
  • then, at the bottom, you will see “Block this Caller”… click on it
  • a popup will appear, there, click on “Block Contact”
  • now this caller (or rather this phone no.) won’t be able to call you any longer on your iPhone

that’s it !

enjoy 😉

Note : If you’re having second thoughts and you want to Unblock someone who you have previously blocked, just redo the same procedure as lined out above

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fixed : retrieve WiFi-password from iPhone [without hacking]

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Question :

We have a password-protected WiFi-network at our local sports club. My iPhone automatically logs on when I’m near, but now my son is a member too and he would also like to connect to the WiFi when he’s around. Problem is, nobody seems to know the password… I’ve typed the password once long ago, but I didn’t write it down… Is there any way to see the password that is stored on my iPhone ?

 

Answer :

Yes, but you need a Mac and iCloud for it.

To be more precise : you can’t retrieve passwords on your iPhone (or iPad) the way you can on your Mac, by just opening the Keychain utility.

But there’s a way around this :

  1. on your iPhone, go to Settings –> iCloud
  2. there, make sure “Keychain” is set to “On”
  3. then, on your Mac, go to Apple [top left corner] –> System Preferences –> iCloud
  4. in the window that opens, make sure there’s a checkmark in front of “Keychain”
  5. then, on your Mac, click anywhere on your desktop
  6. then make sure “Finder” is displayed top left, next to the Apple-icon
  7. then press the [SHIFT]+[CMD]+[U] key-combo on your keyboard
  8. in the window that opens (named “Utilities”) double-click on the “Keychain Access” icon
  9. in the window that opens (named “Keychain Access”) select “iCloud” from the list on the left
  10. now, find the name of the WiFi-network you are interested in, and double-click on it
  11. in the window that opens (named like the WiFi-network), make sure the “Attributes”-tab is selected
  12. then, put a checkmark in front of “Show password:”
  13. in the (unnamed) window that opens it is said ‘Keychain Access want to use the “Local Items” keychain.’ typ your Administrator’s password and click “OK”
  14. now, the WiFi-password you are looking for will be displayed in the previous window (at “Show password:”)

…that’s it !

enjoy 😉

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fixed : get rid of “purple paper plane” arrow-icon in iOS

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Question :

Today, I noticed there was a “paper plane”-icon on the top menu bar of my iPhone. More accurately described, it is a “point of a hunting arrow” icon, and sometimes it’s grey, and sometimes it’s purple.

What does it mean ? And how do I get rid of it ?

 

Answer :

The “point of a hunting arrow” icon means that you one or more apps are using Location Services on your iPhone (or iPad), which might drain your battery, especially when the icon is outlined in purple.

There are 3 versions of the Location Services icon (a.k.a. “paper plane” or “point of a hunting arrow”) :

1- a purple Location Services icon will appear next to an item that has recently used your location.

2- a grey Location Services icon will appear next to an item that has used your location within the last 24 hours.

3- an outlined purple Location Services icon will appear next to an item that is using a geofence. (*)

(*) geofence = virtual perimeter around a location. Apps use geofencing to notify you when you arrive at or leave these locations, but…  if an app is constantly checking to see whether or not you are within it’s virtual perimeter, and you are nowhere near this will drain your battery…

 

To get rid of the Location Services icon (a.k.a. “paper plane” or “point of a hunting arrow”) :

  • open the Settings.app –> Privacy –> Location Services
  • in the window that opens, you can choose to switch off Location Services entirely, or select the apps from the list and choose their Location Services setting one by one
  • the primary advice is to set all apps that have the ‘outlined purple’ Location Services icon next to them to “Never”
  • the secondary advice is to set all apps that you do not regularly use to “Never” also

More info on Privacy and Location Services in iOS8 and iOS9 can be found on the Apple-website :

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203033

 

…that’s it – enjoy !

😉

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fixed : battery empty extremely quickly on new iPhone

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Question :

I recently got a new iPhone 6 and after about a week, for some reason it’s battery was empty with half a day, even on days when I rarely made any calls, played any games or made any photos.

Any idea what the problem could be ? (besides a problematic battery)

 

Answer :

In iOS9 you have the option to quickly check what apps have been using the most battery power lately. To do so :

  • open the Settings.app –> Battery
  • in the window that opens, wait for the rest of the page to load under “BATTERY USAGE” (this might take a few seconds)
  • when the loading is complete, a list of apps is displayed together with the percentage of battery power they’ve used in het “Last 24 Hours” (or in the “Last 7 Days” if you click on the other tab-label)

If any odd apps show up in this list, make sure to always close these immediately after usage. To do so :

  • double-click on the MENU(fingerscan)-button
  • in the view that opens, select any app you need to close by putting your finger on it, the swipe up

…if that doesn’t help, there’s another service that might be draining your battery : Location Services. To shut down al unwanted and unneeded Location Services, do this :

  • open the Settings.app –> Privacy –> Location Services
  • in the window that opens, there’s no need to shut down Location Services right away, but you should go down the list of all apps that have would like to have your location info
  • see if there is any app that is marked by an purple outlined arrow, and set the setting for this app to “Never”

…that’s it – enjoy !

…and if that doesn’t fix your battery problem, visit an AppleStore an let them check the quality of your iPhone’s battery

NOTE : the purple outlined arrow indicates an app that is constantly checking if you have arrived within it’s geofence, meaning it can start using your location since you have entered “it’s area”… this constant checking of availability costs a lot of power and is draining your battery…

more info on this is displayed at the bottom of the list of apps in the Location Services window

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fixed : can’t pair iPhone to Bluetooth JVC car stereo

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Question :

I have paired my iPhones to my JVC KD-X250BT car stereo in the past, and this has worked great ever since. But when I recently switched to a new iPhone I had to upgrade the Bluetooth iPhone-pairing I couldn’t get it to work any longer… even with the manual at hand I couldn’t figure out how to do it… the manual doesn’t reflect the actual situation, and I can’t remember how I did the pairing previously…

What is the right procedure ?

 

Answer :

As you mentioned, the JVC KD-X250BT manual isn’t exact, so it isn’t very helpful…

So here are the right procedures for pairing and unpairing your iPhone(s) to and from the JVC KD-X250BT car stereo [ these directions might also work for other JVC car stereo sets ] :

paring your iPhone :

  • on your iPhone [ only if it has been paired before ] – in Settings under Bluetooth : delete JVC UNIT (*)
  • switch Bluetooth OFF
  • switch Bluetooth ON
  • in Bluetooth, at Devices : select JVC UNIT
  • on your car stereo – the text BT PAIRING is displayed
  • check if the code displayed on your iPhone is exactly the same as the code on your car stereo display
  • if so, – on your car stereo – press once on the MENU-button (the main big round tuning button) to accept
  • and – on your iPhone – click OK
  • now pairing is in progress : – on your car stereo – PAIRING is blinking on your display
  • when pairing is successful : – on your car stereo – your display says COMPLETED
  • now – on your iPhone – check in Settings under Bluetooth if JVC UNIT is registered as Connected ; if not, initiate the connection by selecting JVC UNIT from the list

…that’s it : you’re done 😉

 

unparing an iPhone that’s not around :

  • switch OFF Bluetooth on all iPhones (and other Bluetooth-devices around) in your car
  • on your car stereo –  press and hold the MENU-button (the main big round tuning button) until DEMO is displayed on screen
  • turn/dial the MENU-button until BLUETOOTH is displayed on screen, then click
  • then turn/dial to DELETE PAIR, then click
  • then turn/dial until the iPhone’s name is displayed, then click
  • then turn/dial to DELETE YES, then click
  • when DELETED is displayed, the unpairing is complete
  • to finish, switch Bluetooth back on in all devices that previously had it

…that’s it !

(*) unpairing an iPhone that you have nearby :

  • on your iPhone – go to Settings, then choose Bluetooth
  • in the list of paired Bluetooth-devices (MY DEVICES), click on the ‘info-icon’ at the right of JVC UNIT
  • in the screen that opens, click on ‘Forget This Device’ and wait…
  • when you’re automatically put back into the previous screen and the JVC UNIT is no longer in the ‘MY DEVICES’-list, you’re done…

…that’s it 😉

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