You’ve been using your iPhone wrong for YEARS – here are 7 must-know hacks

THE IPHONE is hiding all sorts of tweaks under the bonnet for users to fine-tune their experience.

With so many routine updates and new features, it can be hard to keep track of them all – and many small but significant ones can fall under the radar.

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And sometimes, you might prefer the way things were before.

But thankfully, there’s a way to change some of them back.

Full screen call alerts on iPhone

The smaller notification-style alert on iOS was welcomed by most when it arrived.

Though it’s almost too easy to ignore and potentially miss important calls.

So if you prefer the old full screen way, you can actually bring it back.

Just go to Settings and select Phone.

From there, tap Incoming Calls and tick the Full Screen option.

Change Siri’s voice

Siri has quite a few voices to choose from.

There will even be a new gender neutral one coming in iOS 15.4.

If you want to change Siri’s voice, you can do this by going to Settings, followed by Siri & Search and selecting Siri Voice.

You’ll then see a number of regions and varieties to choose from.

Turn off 5G

5G is without a doubt faster for all your data needs.

And most networks now include it as standard in your monthly plan.

However, you might notice that your battery drains faster when connected to 5G.

It’s apparently because of a limitation with current 5G networks that will be improved as it expands.

If preserving juice is more important to you than fast 5G, you can switch 5G off altogether.

Go to Settings app then go to Mobile Data > Mobile Data Options > Voice & Data and tap 4G.

Set how much 5G data is used

If you’re happy with 5G and actually want more out of it, you can.

iPhones automatically have a ‘standard’ data mode, which allows automatic updates and background tasks on mobile data, but limits video and FaceTime quality.

But there is a way to ramp 5G up – if you have enough data allowance, of course.

Changing the data mode to ‘allow more data on 5G’ means your device may opt for 5G over wi-fi, using it for software updates, automatic iCloud backups and higher quality media.

There is also a ‘low data mode’ for anyone who wants to go the complete opposite.

To do this, go to Settings, followed by Mobile Data.

Then select Mobile Data Options and Data Mode.

Unlock your iPhone while wearing a mask

Face covering are a nightmare for unlocking your iPhone and using things like Apple Pay at the checkout.

Thankfully, you’ll soon be able to get around this with iOS 15.4, where Apple is adding a mask mode.

But if you can’t wait, there is a workaround available now.

Move address bar on Safari back to the top

Apple made the big decision to move the address bar on Safari to the bottom of the screen.

This makes sense because it keeps the address bar and keyboard closer together, so less faffing about for your fingers.

But if you liked it at the top, you can switch it back.

In Settings, go to Safari and select the Single Tab option.

Organise your notifications

Notifications can become too much, especially if you have loads of apps.

Luckily, the Notification Summary feature lets you take control of them.

This allows you to choose when certain app notifications pop up.

In Settings, go to Notifications, then Scheduled Summary. 

Switch it on and select the app notifications you wish to limit.

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In other news, people are increasingly unable to tell apart fake faces made by AI and real ones, new research suggests.

Websites could crash in a couple of months if owners fail to make major change ahead of Chrome, Edge and Firefox ‘version 100’ update.

Uber has revealed the worst and best cities for passenger ratings.

And the naughtiest ever emoji combinations to be careful of have been revealed.

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