Six HIDDEN iPhone features you’ve never heard of – including secret unlock codes

YOUR iPhone is packed full of clever tricks – but they’re not all immediately obvious.

We reveal six of the best, including hidden iPhone codes.

AppleUnleash your iPhone’s full potential with these clever tricks[/caption]

iPhone copy and paste trick

If you’ve ever copied and pasted on an iPhone, you’ll know that it can sometimes be frustrating.

But there’s a gesture that makes it very simple.

It works using pinch and finger-spread gestures.

First, highlight some text that you’d like to copy.

Then pinch three fingers together on the display.

This will copy the text.

Then do the opposite gesture (by spreading thread fingers outwards) to paste what you’ve copied.

The trick works on anything you’d like to copy.

In fact, it even works on photos.

If you go into your Photos app and do the three-finger pinch, you can quickly paste that image into another app.

It’s an easy way to quickly move an image into WhatsApp or Messages.

For text, you can also add an additional pinch, and it’ll transform your Copy into a Cut.

That means the text will be removed rather than simply copied.

Secret iPhone codes

You could access numerous useful iPhone features by typing in a few secret codes into your phone dialpad.

Here are some of the best:

*#06# – IMEI number*3001#12345#* – signal info*61* – divert incoming call (add the number you want the calls to be diverted to then add hash)*67 (or #31# outside US) – hide caller ID*646# – minutes left on contract*33* then PIN then hash – prevent outgoing calls*43# – enable call waiting#43# – disable call waiting

iPhone camera zoom

Zooming is generally done by pinching or spreading your fingers.

But this can be tricky to do sometimes while recording on an iPhone.

And it can often leave you with a jittery zoom, which won’t look good in final footage.

There’s a better way.

First open your camera app up.

The press and hold on the shutter button to begin recording video.

Then simply drag your finger up or down the screen to zoom in or out respectively.

This means you can create ultra-smooth zooms with just one hand.

You can do this from the photo or video modes in the camera app.

Move multiple iPhone apps at once

If you’ve ever moved an iPhone app around, you’ll know that it can be a pain.

You have to long-press to make the app icon wiggle, then drag them from page to page, one at a time.

But that’s not the only way to do it: there’s a clever hack that makes it much faster.

First, hold an app down until it wiggles.

That’s the signal from Apple that an app is ready to move.

Then with one finger, slip the app out of its slot so that it hovers between rows.

While still holding the first app, use a second finger to tap on another app.

This will add the second app to the stack so you can move them together.

You can keep adding apps to the stack as long as you keep your original finger press down on the screen.

Then you can simply drop all of the apps in the position (or folder) where you want them to be.

Translate foreign-language signs with iPhone

Your iPhone can instantly translate any foreign-language sign.

First, open your iPhone camera and take a photo of a foreign-language sign.

Then navigate to the image in your Photos app.

Now hold your finger down and drag your finger over the text.

Use this to highlight the text just like you would in a document.

Now tap Translate on the pop-up menu that appears above the text.

It will automatically translate the text to English (or another language of your choice).

You can copy the translation or change the language using settings.

And you can even get the iPhone to speak the English translation to you out loud.

Get iPhone rain warnings

The iPhone has a hidden setting that gives you weather alerts based on your location.

If rain, hail or snow is about to start where you are, it’ll warn you.

This gives you time to run for cover, turn around on your walk, or pop open the umbrella.

It’s linked to the huge overhaul of the new iPhone Weather app that rolled out with iOS 15 in September.

First, make sure you’re updated to iOS 15 – go to Settings > General > Software Update.

Then grant the Weather app your location info, otherwise it won’t work.

Go to Settings > Privacy > Location Services > Weather and select Always.

You’ll get even better alerts if you grant Precise Location access.

Next, make sure the Weather app can send notifications.

Go to Settings > Notifications > Weather > Allow Notifications, and then select which type of alerts you want.

Finally, you then need to enable weather alerts.

Go into the Weather app and choose the list icon in the bottom-right.

At the top you’ll see an option called Stay Dry.

If that doesn’t appear, tap the three dots in the top right and then go to Notifications.

Tap Turn On Notifications, and then activate the switch for My Location.

Then tap Done in the top-right and it should work.

Now you’ll get a warning just before it’s about to start raining where you are.

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