You love your Apple iPhone. This is your constant companion. It wakes you up in the morning, keeps you in touch with your loved ones throughout the day, and keeps you entertained when you have downtime.
It has become an essential item that goes with you everywhere and gives you a sense of security. Think about a time you forgot your phone – you were probably terrified! How many people do you know who have gone for a walk halfway to their destination because they somehow left their iPhone at home?
We get it, it’s a great gadget. But all that goodwill can go out the window when you hit one of the iPhone’s annoyances. Here are some of the major complaints and how to fix them.
1. Difficult to use with one hand
Problem: The great big screens on the iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X are wonderful for watching videos, playing games, and using apps, but everything that displays real estate is a challenge when you try to use it with one hand become. Your thumb can’t reach everything.
Solution: Use One-handed keyboard feature in iOS 11. You can test this by opening iMessages or any other Apple app that uses the keyboard. Press and hold the emoji button to the right of the “123” button. At the bottom of the pop-up, select either the keyboard icon on the right or the left (the center icon puts it back in the middle). This will crowd the keyboard to one side, making it easier to reach all the keys with just one thumb.
Another helpful option is to get a case with a strap or grip on the back that you tuck your fingers into. This gives you a lot of range without the worry of dropping your smartphone.
2. You want to customize Control Center
Problem: The new iOS 11 Control Center gives you a convenient way to open apps, turn on Airplane Mode, control your music, adjust screen brightness, and access other settings. However, customizing the Control Center icon that runs along the bottom isn’t very intuitive.
Solution: You can’t just press and hold the icons and move them around on the home screen as you can. Instead, go to Settings, choose Control Center, and choose “Customize Controls.” Here, you can add and remove controls and set it up to your liking. To rearrange the order, touch and hold the bar on the far right of the controls.
3. Face ID won’t unlock when your iPhone X is sitting flat
Problem: While Face ID is a cool feature that helps justify the iPhone X’s hefty price tag, it doesn’t always work as smoothly as you’d like. Some iPhone X users have noticed a problem with it working when the phone is sitting flat on a table and they lean down to try to unlock it.
Solution: There are a few ways to deal with this issue. First, you can hold and hold the phone to mimic how you looked when you first trained the iPhone X to recognize your face. You can also put the phone on a stand (you can even get a Qi charging stand for convenience), which is handy when you often need to unlock it while sitting at your desk or kitchen table at home.
Another option is to try to retrain the iPhone to recognize your face from a different angle. Go to Settings, look for Face ID option and select “Reset Face ID”. Follow the reset procedure, but hold the phone slightly down instead of directly in front of your face. If it doesn’t work the way you want, you’ll have to get into the habit of picking up your phone to unlock it.
4. You miss a headphone jack
Problem: While Apple is essentially pushing us towards the wireless world, many people still have wired headphones they would like to use with their new iPhones.
Solution: You don’t have to throw away your favorite headphones. Jack-less iPhones come with a Lightning-to-3.5mm adapter. If you’ve lost yours, Apple offers a replacement for $9, or you can pick up one from another manufacturer.
The Apple solution has some drawbacks. It doesn’t support a lot of audio controls and in-line mics built into third-party headphones, which can add to your level of annoyance. There are also some third-party Lightning adapters available, some of which allow you to charge your phone and use the 3.5mm port at the same time (which eliminates another minor source of annoyance). You can also buy a Bluetooth adapter if you want to get a little closer to the wireless lifestyle.
5. You Miss the Home Button
Problem: Only headphone jack is not missing from iPhone X. The home button you’ve been using for years is also absent. Apple replaced this with a navigational gesture, which can take some adjustments if you’re not used to it.
Solution: Turn on the Virtual Home button using the iOS Assistive Touch feature, which can be found in the Accessibility section of the General Settings on your iPhone. Turn this feature on, then customize how it works. For example, you can set the single-tap setting to “Home.”
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