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2017 | Book

Learning Some General Troubleshooting Techniques Read chapter Read first chapter

Troubleshooting iOS

Solving iPhone and iPad Problems

Author: Paul McFedries

Publisher: Apress

Part of: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Technik" , Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

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About this book

Understand and solve many different kinds of iPhone and iPad problems. This book covers both general troubleshooting techniques applicable in a wide variety of situations as well as specific fixes for topics such as networking, apps, photos, the battery, and syncing.

Glitches, hiccups, and crashes just aren't supposed to happen with iOS, but alas, all too often they do. It is these non-obvious fixes, workarounds, and preventative measures that form the core of iOS Troubleshooting. With clear, straightforward prose, this book will take the reader through hundreds of iOS problems, explain the reasons for them, and provide easy to understand solutions to get the device (and you) back in business.

What you'll learn:Fix cellular and networking connections

Incorporate accessories effectively

Solve battery and charging issues

Clear up syncing and iCloud glitches

Who this book is for:

Any person who uses an iOS device.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter
Chapter 1. Learning Some General Troubleshooting Techniques
Abstract
When you’re using a computer — particularly a Windows PC, but also a Mac — there’s a weird nervousness that operates just below the surface of your awareness. That trepidation comes from experience: your computer almost certainly has crashed not only many times in the past, but also some time recently. So in a sense you’re just waiting for things to go south because you know they eventually will.
Paul McFedries
Chapter 2. Fixing Networking and Cellular Woes
Abstract
Your iOS device lets you perform a satisfyingly large range of fun and interesting tasks while you're offline. You can play games, read saved articles, listen to downloaded music or podcasts, crack open an e-book, update your contacts, and much more. But iOS and the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch really shine when they have access to the outside world, either via a Wi-Fi network or a cellular signal. With a link established, you can surf, e-mail, message, post, upload, download, and perform all the other online verbs that are the watchwords of today's connected lifestyle.
Paul McFedries
Chapter 3. Solving App Problems
Abstract
Your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch is an impressive piece of industrial design. From the responsive touchscreen to the powerful cameras to the overall sleek design, an iOS device is a work of art as much as it's a work of engineering. But all that hardware is useless without some software to make it come alive, and in the iOS world, that software comes in the form of the app. This includes not only the various apps that are installed by default with iOS, but also those Apple and third-party apps that are available for download using the App Store.
Paul McFedries
Chapter 4. Resolving Web Issues
Abstract
We live in a world where the promise of "information at your fingertips" (IAYF, to those in the know) has gone from a pie-in-the-sky daydream just 10 or 15 years ago to let-me-look-that-up-for-you reality now. That's because our fingertips are never far from a device – particularly an iPhone or cellular-enabled iPad – that's connected to the Internet and its vast supply of information. Whether you need to resolve an argument, get directions to the nearest café, or remember the name of the actress who starred in Blossom, your iOS device is right there to help.
Paul McFedries
Chapter 5. Overcoming Email Glitches
Abstract
These days, we have an impressive number of ways to communicate with each other: texting, SnapChatting, video calling, Facebook messaging, Twitter direct messaging, and so many more. These newfangled (more or less) communications technologies get all the press and all the glory, not surprisingly. But when it comes to day-to-day, bread-and-butter communications, most of us fall back on good old email. It's not sexy, it hasn't changed all that much in a couple of decades, and whatever bells and whistles a developer adds to an email client are usually ignored. Email just gets the job done.
Paul McFedries
Chapter 6. Fixing Phone Troubles
Abstract
Most of the chapters in this book focus on the data-related features of iOS and its devices: Wi-Fi, apps, the Web, email, photos, and so on. That's apt because our iOS devices are computers, after all, so it makes sense to concentrate on troubleshooting computing tasks. But the iPhone is different. Sure, it makes an excellent mobile computer, but at its heart it's also a mobile phone. And while it's true that the phone call is beginning to feel more than a little like an anachronism, the "phone" part of this smartphone is still used by almost every iPhone owner, even those in their twenties. (A recent Pew Research poll found that 93 percent of smartphone owners aged 18 to 29 had used either voice or video calling.) The phone call's enduring appeal comes from a number of factors: it's immediate (assuming the other person picks up!), intimate, and efficient. But all this only applies if the iPhone's calling features are working properly and you know how to get the most out of them. This chapter looks at a few common calling concerns and shows you how to fix them or work around them.
Paul McFedries
Chapter 7. Solving Problems Related to Cameras and Photos
Abstract
There's a photography revolution underway, and the leader of this revolution isn't a traditional camera company such as Canon or Nikon, but a computer company. I speak, of course, of Apple and its iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. These devices have long had cameras, but in the last generation or two those cameras have become extremely good. Add the fact that we also carry these devices with us wherever we go, and you now have hundreds of millions of people walking around with high-quality photographic equipment at hand. That is revolutionary, to say the least. And while using the camera on an iOS device doesn't come with the learning curve of, say, a digital single-lens reflex camera, it does require knowledge of how the camera works and some behind-the-scenes settings to get the most out of it and to overcome some pesky problems.
Paul McFedries
Chapter 8. Protecting Your Device
Abstract
The iPhone has only been around since 2007, and the iPad since 2010, but already these devices have become indispensable parts of many people's lives. That indispensability comes from the sheer versatility of these devices. In a typical day, you probably use your iOS device to surf the Web, exchange emails and text messages, make calls, manage your contacts and calendar, listen to music, play games, check the weather or the stock market, and a dozen other tasks large and small. However, that insanely great power and convenience come with a price: your iOS device is loaded with information about you. To be sure, most of that data is likely trivial or ephemeral, but much of it is private and sensitive. Losing your iOS device would be a major inconvenience, but someone else getting access to your information could lead to big problems. So, yes, the notion of protecting your iOS device might not sound like a troubleshooting topic. But taking steps to ensure that you can find your device if it gets lost, and that while your device is lost no one else can see or mess with your information, can be viewed as a form of preventative maintenance. And preventing trouble before it happens is the best type of troubleshooting.
Paul McFedries
Chapter 9. Solving Privacy Problems
Abstract
One of the unforeseen consequences of the mobile device revolution is that we now often do our computing in public. Yes, there have long been people tapping on laptops in coffee shops, but these days we're more likely to also be tapping on our phones and tablets on buses, in parks, before movies, and after classes. This means that privacy is a potential problem because now people can see our screens as we work. Another unforeseen consequence of the mobile device revolution is that we now carry with us a great deal of personal or confidential information. This opens up another potential privacy problem because if someone gained access to your device, that person would be free to view your apps, your oft-visited locations, your browsing history, and much more. In Chapter 8 you learned how to lock your iOS device, but it isn't difficult to imagine scenarios where someone could still access your device while it is unlocked. All this means that it's important to take privacy seriously and to embrace a prudent paranoia: Assume someone is watching your screen when you're in public; assume someone could gain unlocked access to your device. This chapter shows you how to take steps to solve these and similar privacy problems.
Paul McFedries
Chapter 10. Repairing Battery and Charging Problems
Abstract
One of the oddities of the modern digital world is that while our devices have undergone mind-blowing increases in performance, miniaturization, and overall technical sophistication over the past decade or so, the battery life of those devices has increased comparatively slowly. For example, from the iPhone 4s to the iPhone 6 – four generations – battery life for using the Internet over Wi-Fi increased from 9 hours to 11 hours. Apple claims the iPhone 7 Plus will get 15 hours, but even a 67 percent increase over six generations is nothing to brag about. Given the importance we place on our iOS devices, it's no wonder that the number one gripe by far among users is poor battery life and the number one request by far for each new generation is better – much better – battery performance. Unfortunately, there are many technical reasons why we won't see a radical increase in battery life for our iOS devices any time soon. That means we need to take steps now to monitor and maximize the batteries that we have.
Paul McFedries
Chapter 11. Getting Around Accessibility Issues
Abstract
The promise of an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch is information at your fingertips. But what if mobility challenges make it difficult to control your hands, much less your fingertips? What if visual challenges make it hard to even see the information? Whether you've had to overcome physical disabilities since you were young or you're discovering new physical limitations almost daily as you get older, that doesn't mean you have to be shut out of the digital device revolution. True, iOS devices can be difficult or impossible to use if you have visual, aural, or physical challenges. But that's only because the default settings seem to have been chosen to benefit twenty-somethings in perfect health. The good news is that you don't have to settle for these defaults. iOS is chock full of useful settings, options, and techniques that can turn any device from being a pain (literally, in some cases) to use, to a pleasure (at least relatively speaking). In this chapter, I take you through various problems related to using an iOS device while dealing with visual, hearing, and physical limitations, and you learn how to configure iOS to enable you to work around those limitations and get the most out of your device.
Paul McFedries
Chapter 12. Troubleshooting Other iOS Problems
Abstract
So far in this book you have learned not only a number of general problem-solving techniques, but also how to troubleshoot and work around a wide variety of issues. To make it easier to find these problems (or, in many cases, to prevent problems before they happen), these issues have been focused and grouped according to specific topic areas. These have included cellular, Wi-Fi, apps, web browsing, email, phone calls, cameras, photos, device protection, privacy, the battery, and accessibility. That's a wide-ranging list, but there are plenty of iOS troubles that don't it fit into any of these categories.
Paul McFedries
Backmatter
Metadata
Title
Troubleshooting iOS
Author
Paul McFedries
Copyright Year
2017
Publisher
Apress
Electronic ISBN
978-1-4842-2445-8
Print ISBN
978-1-4842-2444-1
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-2445-8

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