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Setup your iPhone

Posted on 14 December 2011 by Wayne Webster

Make the most of your iPhone

We’re here to help you make the most of your new iPhone and its amazing features, from the all-new iCloud online storage service that comes with iOS5 (the latest iPhone software) to the world famous App Store, where over 500,000 apps and games await you.

Initial Setup:

• Contacts
• Internet connectivity
• Email
• Social networks

Applications:

• Introduction
• Geek Squad’s top 3 work apps
• Geek Squad’s top 3 play apps
• Geek Squad’s top 3 maintenance apps

Optimisation:

Setup – contacts

The iPhone has a microSIM slot, so a normal size SIM won’t fit in it. If you’re moving from one iPhone to another you can import contacts from your existing microSIM card.

To import contacts from one iPhone to another

1. Tap settings
2. Tap Mail, Contacts, Calendars
3. Scroll down until you see the option to import SIM contacts
4. Tap import SIM contacts
5. Your contacts should appear in your phonebook

If you need to transfer contacts from a normal size SIM or from online accounts we can help you – call our Agents anytime on 0800 049 6190.

Setup – connectivity

Wi-Fi

By connecting to a secure wireless network you can get fast internet access without using up the mobile data allowance provided by your network. 

To join a Wi-Fi network on your iPhone:

1. Tap Settings
2. Tap Wi-Fi
3. Slide the switch from off to on
4. Select the network you wish to join from the dropdown menu
5. Enter your password/credentials
6. Tap join

Secure networks will have a little padlock symbol next to them, so you know that they’re safe to join.

3G data

If you bought your iPhone on contract with a mobile network provider then chances are you’ve signed up to a monthly data allowance, which is an allotted amount of internet usage available to you every month. Make sure to turn off data roaming and mobile data when you don't need internet access, as leaving these services on will eat up battery life. 

To turn 3G on or off:

1. Tap Settings > General > Network
2. Find 'Mobile data' on the list and use the on/off switch to manage your connection

Setup - email

Adding a normal email account to your iPhone (e.g. hotmail, Gmail) 

1. Tap Settings
2. Tap Mail, Contacts, Calendars
3. Tap 'add account'
4. Select your account provider (if they're not on the list, scroll down and tap 'other')
5. Tap 'add mail account'
6. Enter your email credentials
7. That's it. You should be receiving emails in no time!

Adding an exchange email account (like your company Outlook account) to your iPhone

Some schools, business and charities have a slightly different type of email system referred to as an ‘Exchange’ account. Follow this guide to set up Exchange Mail.

If you're asked to provide server information: Depending on your ISP you might need to add additional outgoing servers by reading this guide.

Need help setting up your email? Please call our 24hr tech support line and we'll be happy to assist.

Setup - Social Networks

Twitter is integrated into iOS5, and you can download the official Facebook app for free from Apple App Store. 

To add Facebook to your iPhone

1. Open the App Store
2. Tap 'Search' 
3. Type 'Facebook' and press 'Search'
4. Tap on the official Facebook app (should appear first in the list) and tap install
5. Enter your Facebook password when prompted 
6. The app will download and install
7. Once it appears on your homescreen, tap the app to login and start using Facebook

Follow the same search and select process to install Google Plus and LinkedIn.

Applications – enjoying apps on your iPhone

With the app store having over 500,000 applications, the choice of what to download can become a little overwhelming. To get into the applications store and start looking for new content to add to your iPhone, simply tap on the ‘app store’ icon on you home screen.

Geek Squad iOS app recommendations

(Please note, prices were correct at time of writing)

Work:

DropBox (free) – store whatever you like in the cloud and have your content automatically backed up and delivered to all your compatible devices. It comes with 2 GB of free space and plenty of attractive upgrade options should you require more storage space. 

Printer Pro (£2.99) – print from your iPhone to a multitude of home wireless and wired printers. Extremely useful if you plan on receiving a lot of email attachments on the iPhone.

Splashtop Remote Desktop (£0.69) – Splashtop allows you to access your home PC on your iPhone via the web. It's really simple to use so you should find yourself looking at your PC or Mac on your mobile in minutes!

Play:

Frisbee Forever (free) – this game is proving to be really popular and 100% free. Frisbee forever sees you try and throw your disc through a range of targets on number of different courses. Sounds simple doesn’t it… give it a go!

Angry Birds (£0.69) – The original grand master of mobile games.Fling your angry birds at the building blocks to try and dislodge those pesky green pigs - it's fun, fast paced and oh so addictive!

Amazing Breaker Free (free) – This tricky puzzle game comes with a free set of trial levels which will have you hooked in no time.

Maintenance:

iTorch for iPhone 4 (£0.69) – Some of the best ideas can also be the simplest. This application turns your iPhone 4's high-powered LED camera light into a torch.

Data Usage by Sigterm (£0.69) – Data Usage by Sigterm is a handy app that helps you to keep on top of how much of your mobile data you have used in a given time period.

GPS Navigation 2 (free) - A free satnav application that is able to go toe-to-toe with the like of Garmin and TomTom when it comes to features and user interface.

Optimising

Increasing your iPhone's battery life

There are a number of settings you can change on your iPhone to squeeze as much life as possible out of the battery.

1. Turn off Bluetooth – Go to settings > general > Bluetooth and set Bluetooth to off
2. Turn off Wi-Fi – Go to settings > Wi-Fi and set Wi-Fi to off. 
3. Adjust screen brightness – Go to settings > brightness and use the slider to reduce the screen brightness to a comfortable level.  

Take a look at Apple’s own hints and tips on optimising iPhone battery life.  

Freeing up iPhone storage space

Depending on the model of iPhone you have, you should have between 8GB and 64GB of storage space.  Although this may seem like a lot, your music, videos, pictures and apps can use this up quite quickly.  Try some of the following tips to free up some space:

Uninstall iPhone apps you no longer need 

1. Hold your finger down on the app for a few seconds until all the icons on your homescreen start jiggling around 
2. Press the 'X' symbol in the top left hand corner of the app icon to remove it from your iPhone.  (The app will still be linked to your iTunes account so you can download it again for free if you need to.)

Delete camera roll pictures and videos that you've backed up onto your PC 

1. Click on the photos icon and then camera roll
2. Click on the photo you want to delete and press the trash can icon in the bottom right to delete it.  

Delete music and movies 

If you have updated to iOS 5 on your iPhone, you can now delete music and videos from the phone without having to plug it into your PC. 

1. Go to the music or videos icon and swipe your finger from left to right over the name of the Artist/Album/Track or Video that you want to delete.  
2. Press the red delete button that appears.

iPhone data backup

If you have iOS 5 or above installed on your iPhone, you can now backup your data in two ways - either wirelessly via iCloud or by connecting the phone to your PC.

PC backup

1. Open iTunes and plug the iPhone in.
2. The iPhone should appear in the devices section on the left hand side.
3. Right click on the name of your iPhone and choose backup from the list.
4. Wait for the progress bar to complete.

You can check your previous backups by clicking on edit > preference > devices.  This will show the time and date of the most recent backup.

iCloud backup 

If you have iOS 5 or above installed, you can back up your iPhone directly to iCloud without access to a PC.  In order for the backup to go through, the phone must be connected to Wi-Fi, plugged into a charger and the screen must be locked.

To turn iCloud backup on and start automatically backing up your data:

1. Go to settings > iCloud > storage & backup
2. Set iCloud backup to on
3. The iPhone should now automatically backup whenever it is locked, charging and connected to Wi-Fi.

iCloud only comes with 5 GB of free storage.  This should be enough for most backups but you may need to upgrade this if you have a lot of photos in the camera roll.  To buy more space, go to settings > iCloud > storage & backup > buy more storage and click on the option you want.  Extra storage is paid for yearly.

Updating your iPhone software

With iOS 5, there are now 2 ways of updating your iPhone; either through your PC or directly on the iPhone itself.  Make sure you follow the instructions to back up your phone before doing the update in case anything goes wrong.

Option 1: Update your iPhone software using iTunes on your PC

1. Open iTunes and make sure it is up-to-date by clicking help > check for updates
2. Once iTunes is updated, plug the iPhone in. An iTunes notification should pop up saying that an update is available for the iPhone. Click download and update.
3. Click ‘agree to the T&Cs’ and let the update run until it’s completed.
4. The whole process could take up to a couple of hours depending on the speed of your internet connection and it is important not to unplug the phone or turn the computer off until the update is complete.

Option 2: Update your iPhone software wirelessly

To install updates on the iPhone itself, you need to be on iOS 5 or above.  If you do not have the latest software yet, follow the update instructions above and update your phone's software via your PC.

1. Make sure the iPhone is connected to Wi-Fi and has at least 50% battery remaining
2. Click Settings > General > Software Update
3. The iPhone will check to see if an update is available
4. Click Install.  The update will download and install automatically and the iPhone will reboot.  When it comes back on, the update process should be complete

iPhone recovery and reset

If there is a serious software fault on the phone or an update has failed, you may need to recover the handset back to the factory settings and restore the backup onto it.  Again, this can be done either on the PC or on the phone itself with iOS 5 and above.

Recovering your iPhone via your PC

1. Open iTunes and plug the iPhone into the computer
2. Click on the iPhone in the devices section on the left hand side of iTunes
3. Click on the Restore button.  This will wipe all the data on the handset and reset the software
4. When the restore is finished, you will be given the option of setting up the iPhone as a new handset or restoring the previous backup.  Choose restore backup to put all your information back onto the handset

Resetting your iPhone and restoring data

Although you can reset all iPhones this way, you will only be able to restore the data if you are on iOS 5 or above.

To reset your iPhone

1. Go to settings > general > reset > erase all content and settings.
2. The phone will turn off and will be completely reset when it comes back on again.

To restore your iPhone data (iOS 5 and above)

1. Connect to Wi-Fi and choose the option to restore from iCloud backup.

2. Sign in with Apple ID and password.  iPhone will restart again and the data should be back on the handset.

Accessing DFU mode – when your iPhone won’t turn on and needs to be reset

If the phone is completely unresponsive and is not being detected when plugged into iTunes, you can use DFU mode to reset the handset.  This is useful if a software update has failed and the phone won’t boot up properly.

1. Open iTunes on your computer.
2. Turn the iPhone off.
3. Hold down the Home button on the iPhone and continue holding it as you plug it into the PC.
4. A message should come up on the PC saying iTunes has detected a phone in recovery mode.  Let go of the Home button.
5. Click the restore button in iTunes and the phone will be wiped.
6. Follow the instructions above to restore your backup onto the iPhone.