How to restore ringtones to iPhone

Posted on by Cory Bohon
How to restore ringtones to iPhone

Got an Apple, Mac, or iOS tech question? We have the answer. This time we have a reader whose custom-made iPhone ringtone library has seemingly disappeared. But that doesn't mean those tones are gone for good! Here are the steps you can take to track them down on your Mac, then restore them to your iPhone.

Question

I had a library of homemade iPhone ringtones on my Mac that disappeared during the last OS X software upgrade. All my friends and family members had a ringtone assigned to them. I knew exactly who was calling me without having to look at the phone. About 5 months ago I exported my iTunes library to my Desktop: File > Library > Export Library. Is there a way to isolate the ringtone files and restore them to iTunes? Or would it be better to just do a complete restore? Also, is it possible to backup the ringtones to a CD to prevent this from happening again?

Answer

Ack! That's never fun when files go missing after a software update. Furthermore, Export Library doesn't actually backup your iTunes media files — it contains metadata such as your playlists and ratings.

Fortunately, you might still have some options available. Your best bet would be to access an actual backup that you made through Time Machine or other means, but even if you don't have one of those, the ringtone files could still be on your computer even if iTunes isn't showing them. A Finder search can help you track down the missing files since all ringtones end in a ".m4r" extension. Hit Command + F to begin a search; type "m4r" in the search field, then, when the result completions appear, you'll see "Kind: Ringtone." Select this type.

Restore Ringtones

By performing this search, you should be able to find your missing files if they're backed up anywhere on your Mac. Once you have them, simply drag and drop those ringtone files onto the iTunes icon in the Dock, and they will be re-imported. Once re-imported, they can be synced over to your iPhone and re-assigned to the contacts.

In regards to backing up to a CD, yes, ringtones can be put on a CD (or other type of storage media) just like any other files. Simply insert a blank CD into your Mac, then burn the ringtone files to it for safekeeping. For further information on how to burn files to a disc on a Mac, here are Apple's instructions on the matter.

Got an Apple tech question? Email [email protected].










iOS Tips: Display Zoom: How to make apps look bigger on iPhone 6

Posted on by Cory Bohon
iOS Tips: Display Zoom: How to make apps look bigger on iPhone 6

Sometimes you just want to see things larger on your iPhone screen, regardless of your eyesight. As the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus have proven, a lot of people really like the larger screens, and while that can be great for fitting more data into one place, it can also be handy for simply making things appear larger — sort of like taking an app from an old 4" iPhone and scaling it up. If this appeals to you, then continue reading — we'll show you how to enlarge the size of the apps displayed on your iPhone screen for better viewing.

Enabling Display Zoom

To enable Display Zoom, do the following:

1. Open Settings.

2. Navigate to Display & Brightness.

3. Locate and tap "View" underneath "Display Zoom."

4. Tap "Zoomed," followed by "Set" to save the changes.

5. Tap "Use Zoomed."

You'll see a preview below the two available options, which can be swiped left or right to see more preview options for how text and Apple-included apps will be displayed with the new setting.

Your device will need to restart in order to make the changes take effect. Once restarted, you'll see the zoomed look on the Home Screen, built-in apps, and third-party apps.

Display Zoom

Disabling Display Zoom

If you get tired of the zoomed look, then you can disable this feature by reversing the process:

1. Open Settings.

2. Navigate to Display & Brightness.

3. Locate and tap "View" underneath "Display Zoom."

4. Tap "Standard," followed by "Set" to save the changes.

5. Tap "Use Standard."

Once you do this, your iPhone will restart using the standard look, and apps and the Home Screen will no longer be zoomed.










iOS Tips: How to remove a card from Apple Pay

Posted on by Cory Bohon
iOS Tips: How to remove a card from Apple Pay

Whether it's because your device has been stolen, you want to get rid of an unused card, or you have some other reason to deactivate an Apple Pay card, iCloud can help you. Apple Pay works with iPhone 6/6 Plus, some iPad models, and Apple Watch to provide easy and convenient payment options when out and about or ordering online through mobile apps, and it's impressively secure. Even so, there are times when you might need to remove those cards, even when your device isn't nearby (such as if you've lost it). Here's how to do it.

How to view Apple Pay cards

To view the cards registered on your Apple Pay-compatible devices, perform these steps:

1. Open iCloud.com in any web browser.

2. Navigate to Settings.

3. Select the device that contains Apple Pay under the "My Devices" section of the Settings page (your registered devices that have Apple Pay enabled have the Apple Pay logo beside the device type).

4. In the window that appears, the "Apple Pay" section will list the last four digits of each card registered on that device.

Apple Pay

How to remove Apple Pay cards

To remotely remove your cards from Apple Pay, follow the above steps to see which cards are registered to your Apple Devices, then simply click the "Remove" or "Remove All" buttons underneath the "Apple Pay" section. You'll be prompted to verify you wish to continue doing this. Once you confirm your intentions, iCloud will send the signal to the device to remove those cards. The next time the device connects to the Internet, it will see your intention, and will properly remove those cards from the device.

Of course, if you have your iOS device handy and want to remove the card from Apple Pay directly, simply open passbook, tap on the card you want to get rid of, tap on the "i" info button, then scroll to the bottom of the page and tap Remove Card.










iOS Tips: How to increase text size on iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch

Posted on by Cory Bohon
iOS Tips: How to increase text size on iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch

Sometimes it can be hard to see the text that's displayed on your iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch, especially when your eyesight is less than stellar. Or maybe you just prefer a larger (or, heck, maybe even smaller) font when reading and using apps. If you find your Apple device's default text size to be less than ideal, don't worry - we'll show you how to easily adjust the text size used inside of iOS and watchOS to make life a little easier.

Changing the text size in iOS

To change the user interface text size on iOS, perform these steps:

1. Open Settings.

2. Navigate to Display & Brightness > Text Size.

3. Drag the slider to the left to make the text size smaller, or drag the slider to the right to make text size larger.

Adjust Text Size

This changes the overall Dynamic Text setting in iOS, which causes Apple apps and supported third-party apps to dynamically update their text settings, adapting to the text size selected.

If you still need bigger text, navigate to Settings > General > Accessibility > Larger Text and turn on the switch for Larger Accessibility Sizes. Using the slider, you'll now be able to make the text even bigger.

Adjust Text Size

Changing the text size on the Apple Watch

To change the user-interface text size on an Apple Watch, follow these steps:

1. From the Apple Watch itself, open Settings.

2. Navigate to Brightness & Text Size > Text Size.

3. Change the text size by scrolling the Digital Crown, or by tapping the smaller text button to decrease the text size, or the larger text button to increase the text size.

Adjust Text Size

Once you've changed the text size, press the Digital Crown to exit back to the home screen. Now when you open an app you will find that the text size has been changed according to your preferences.










Mac & iOS Tips: iTunes subscriptions: how to manage on iPhone, iPad or Mac

Posted on by Cory Bohon
Mac & iOS Tips: iTunes subscriptions: how to manage on iPhone, iPad or Mac

There are many apps on the iTunes App Store and Mac App Store that rely on recurring in-app purchases in order for you to get the most from them. In the case of Newsstand and other online services, these in-app purchases take the form of subscriptions. So how do you know what subscriptions you've subscribed to, and how do you manage, cancel, or reactivate them? Apple makes it fairly easy if you know where to look.

In this article, we'll walk you through this process of managing in-app subscriptions so that you'll only pay for what you're using, and show you how to cancel the rest easily. Continue reading to find out the details.

Viewing Subscriptions on Mac

Both Mac App Store and iTunes subscriptions can be viewed in the desktop version of iTunes on a Mac or Windows computer. To access them, open iTunes, follow these steps:

1.Click your name beside the search bar.

2.Select Account Info, then sign in when prompted.

3.Locate the Settings section.

4.Click "Manage" next to "Subscriptions."

Manage iTunes Subscriptions

This list will contain all of the active and inactive subscriptions associated with your Apple ID. "Expired" will be listed next to services that are no longer active in your account, while active services will list the next renewal date.

Viewing Subscriptions on iOS

You can manage your subscriptions from an iOS device as well. The easiest way to do so is to access the iTunes Store, scroll to the bottom of the main page and click on the Apple ID button, then click View Apple ID. After entering your password, scroll down to the Subscriptions section and hit Manage.

Manage iTunes Subscriptions

Canceling recurring Subscriptions

If you wish to cancel a recurring subscription, then click the "Edit" button to the right of the service listed in the "Manage Subscriptions" view.

Manage iTunes Subscriptions

Once in this new "Edit Subscription" view, select "Off" for the Automatic Renewal option, then click Done to save the changes.

This will cause the subscription to expire whenever it goes to renew. Instead of renewing, it'll be placed in an inactive state. You can do this for any subscriptions which you are not currently using in order to save money each month.










iOS Tips: How to store music on iPhone or iPad instead of the cloud

Posted on by Cory Bohon
iOS Tips: How to store music on iPhone or iPad instead of the cloud

Got an Apple, Mac or iOS tech question? We have the answer. Storing stuff in the cloud can be very convenient, but sometimes it can cause problems too, especially when you don't have a constant, stable online connection. One reader wants to store all of her iTunes music locally instead of relying on the cloud for just that reason, but her iPad isn't making it easy. We'll show you what you need to do make sure your music is stored locally on your device instead of in the cloud.

Question

The Music app on my iPad keeps automatically removing songs from the device and storing them in the cloud. I then need to download these songs again to listen to them, which is a total pain, especially if I am somewhere with no or poor Wi-Fi. Is there any way to stop this? I don't use iTunes Match.

Answer

A feature called "iTunes in the Cloud" is available whether or not you are a subscriber to iTunes Match, and it provides music that you've purchased from iTunes in the Music app available for download or streaming. This is most likely what you are seeing here, so once you've downloaded any music you need, you can go ahead and disable that function.

iTunes in the Cloud

To deactivate "iTunes in the Cloud" from your iOS device:

1. Open Settings.

2. Select Music.

3. Turn off the option for "iCloud Music Library."

Whenever you view the Music app from now on, only music that is stored locally on your device will be shown as available.

Got an Apple tech question? Email [email protected].










iOS Tips: How to backup iPhone to an external drive

Posted on by Cory Bohon
iOS Tips: How to backup iPhone to an external drive

If you backup your iPhone, iPad or other iOS device to your Mac instead of to iCloud, then you've probably seen a noticeable increase in size used on your start up disk. This is because iOS backups can be multi-gigabyte files that take up considerable space; however, you may not actually need these backups except in emergencies. This can be especially noticable on a laptop, where disk space is often limited.

In this tip, we'll show you how to move your backup files to an external disk so that they no longer take up extra space, plus we'll show you how to move them back so restoring can be a breeze.

Before you begin, of course, you'll need to create a backup for your iOS device using iTunes. To do so, connect your iPhone or other device to your Mac, click on the device tab in iTunes, and hit the Back Up Now button. (Or go to File > Devices > Back Up.)

Moving the backup from your start up disk

When you're ready to move the backup file to an external drive, follow these steps:

1. Quit iTunes.

2. Open a Finder window and type Shift + Command + G (or select Go > Go to Folder), then type "/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup"

3. Locate the folders inside of the Backup directory, and move these to another drive. Once they've copied, you can delete the originals.

4. Relaunch iTunes.

Backups

That's all you need to do in order to move the current iOS backups to another disk. Note that each time iTunes syncs with your iOS device, new backup files will be created, so you'll need to repeat this process whenever you make new backups.

Moving the backup back to your start up disk

When it's time to restore your iOS device, you'll need to move the backups back to your main start up disk so that iTunes can locate them. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Quit iTunes.

2. Open a Finder window and type Shift + Command + G (or select Go > Go to Folder), then type "/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup"

3. On your external drive, locate the folders previously removed from this Backup directory, and move them back to this location.

4. Open iTunes and begin the restore process.

Once the files are back where iTunes they were originally, iTunes should be able to see them and make them available during the restore process.