How-To

Have you ever wished you could set up an auto-reply text message on your iPhone for times when you can't or don't want respond to text messages? Well, Do Not Disturb While Driving has an auto-reply feature that sends a message to people who text you letting them know you're driving and can't reply. If you want to send auto-replies even when you're not driving, all you have to do is customize the message and then use Do Not Disturb While Driving instead of the regular Do Not Disturb when you are in meetings or are otherwise unable to answer texts. Here's how to set this feature to be used with ease!

We've all experienced taking a selfie and realizing that the finished product was not the mirror image we expected; even though the Camera app's flipped selfies are accurate photos, it looks strange. Now, with iOS 13 and iPad OS, we can flip mirror images around inside the Photos app. It's as simple as going to the Photos app, selecting the cropping tool inside the Edit screen of an image, and tapping the flip tool icon to get the picture you wanted. Let's get started with how to use the Photos app on your iPhone and iPad to flip your images so they look how you'd hoped they would. 

Texting can be a quick way to communicate, as long as the other person reads the message. Here's how to see if someone's read your texts, so you can stop worrying your text didn't go through. The people you text will have to be using iMessages and have Read Receipts enabled.

Group texts can help keep everyone in the loop, but sometimes the conversation keeps going when you're done and want to stop being notified of what people are texting. Here's how to leave a group text for iOS or iMessage users, and how to mute the conversation if some members aren't using iMessages, like Android users.

The iPhone Xs, Xs Max, and XR have Dual SIM cards, which includes a nano-SIM and an eSIM. The eSIM is a digital SIM that allows your phone to have a second active cell plan from your carrier. Essentially, your phone will have two phone numbers. This is great if you want a business number separate from your personal number or are traveling out of the country and want to get a phone number from a local carrier without swapping out the physical SIM. Typically this feature only works with iOS 12.1 and later with a few carriers in the US. Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile currently support this feature with varying restrictions. Check with your carrier to understand how you can best use eSIM with your device. Below, I'll give a general overview of how to set up an eSIM.

I have an iPhone XR, and when I take a screenshot, it shows as a small icon in the corner of my screen and stays there for a long time unless I do something to get rid of it or I tap on it to mark it up. Here's how to move a screenshot off the screen of an iPhone X or later. 

You can add money to your Apple ID account for App Store purchases without buying an iTunes gift card. Here's how to directly add funds to your Apple ID. If you budget your app or iTunes purchases, you can load the balance you want to spend and make purchases accordingly.