How-to

1,982 'How-to' stories September 2011 - July 2018

A collection of tutorials, tips, and tricks from the 9to5Mac team helping you fix and get the most out of your favorite gear.

How to enable High Quality Streaming in Apple Music over cellular

Peter Cao Jul 2 2018 - 12:01 am PT

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By default, Apple Music will use adaptive streaming techniques to play music when streaming over cellular. While this won’t be an issue if you’re on good Wi-Fi or have a solid cellular connection, it can become an issue in low coverage areas.

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Mac
How-to

Mac: How to force quit apps

Michael Potuck Jul 2 2018 - 12:00 am PT

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Whether you’re a new Mac user or just haven’t had any trouble with applications for a while, follow along for how to force quit apps on a Mac.

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How to reset your AirPods

Peter Cao Jun 30 2018 - 12:00 am PT

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In the rare scenario where your AirPods are going haywire, you may be looking to reset them completely. Follow along to learn how to reset AirPods in case of an emergency.

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How to change background color in Pages

Benjamin Mayo Jun 29 2018 - 7:19 am PT

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Pages recently added the ability to set page backgrounds, so you can give your document a blue or pink base color without messing around with full-page objects that just get in the way.

To use this feature, you’ll need to make sure to update to the latest versions of the Pages app for Mac and Pages for iOS, rolled out earlier in June. With the update installed, it’s time to find the page layout settings to change the background. Unfortunately, the feature is a little buried — and there’s an important gotcha to look out for …

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Mac
How-to

Mac: How to use split screen

Michael Potuck Jun 29 2018 - 12:00 am PT

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macOS offers a handy feature to view two apps side by side, equally splitting the screen. Follow along for how to use Split View on Mac.

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iOS 12: How to access parental controls and restrictions on iPhone and iPad

Michael Potuck Jun 28 2018 - 12:00 am PT

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Managing parental controls and restrictions for your child’s iOS device(s) has changed in iOS 12. Not only have the features moved, but they have also been renamed. Follow along for how to manage your family’s devices with the newest software.

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macOS Mojave: How to adjust the system accent color

Peter Cao Jun 27 2018 - 12:01 am PT

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One feature that went under the radar in macOS Mojave is the addition of more accent colors for within the operating system. Previously users were stuck with the standard blue, or the graphite option. But now there are 6 new accent colors available in macOS Mojave.

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iOS 12: How to turn on automatic iOS updates on iPhone and iPad

Michael Potuck Jun 27 2018 - 12:00 am PT

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Beyond the shinier new features with iOS 12, we’ve also been diving into the subtle refinements that the new operating system offers. Follow along for how to set your iPhone or iPad to install new iOS updates automatically.

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iOS 12: How to automatically delete Voice Memos

Peter Cao Jun 26 2018 - 12:01 am PT

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Apple revamped the Voice Memos app in iOS 12 and with that comes a handful of new features, including the ability to automatically delete Voice Memos after a certain time period.

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iOS 12: How to use the Control Center scan QR code shortcut on iPhone

Michael Potuck Jun 26 2018 - 12:00 am PT

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Along with some major changes and new features in iOS 12, Apple has added a new way to customize QR code scanning. Follow along for how to turn off auto-scanning and use the new Control Center shortcut.

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macOS Mojave: How to create Desktop Stacks

Peter Cao Jun 25 2018 - 4:42 pm PT

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Mac users have been clamoring for Apple to get serious about its OS over the last several years and in macOS Mojave, the company has added a boatload of new features that will for sure make most users happy.

One of those features is Stacks for the Desktop, where macOS will automatically sort all of your items into neat stacks, being sorted by file type.

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Mac
How-to

Mac: How to delete apps

Michael Potuck Jun 25 2018 - 12:00 am PT

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Whether you’re new to Mac or just haven’t deleted apps on macOS before, the process is a little different than on iPhone and iPad. Follow along for how to easily delete apps on a Mac.

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How to prepare for the iOS 12 public beta

Michael Potuck Jun 22 2018 - 2:27 pm PT

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Apple has shared that it will open up its public beta program for iOS 12 (along with macOS Mojave and tvOS 12) this month. Are you considering running the latest software on your iPhone or iPad? Follow along for how to get ready to join the iOS 12 public beta.

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watchOS 5: How to toggle Raise to Speak for Siri

Peter Cao Jun 22 2018 - 12:00 am PT

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One of the most exciting features in the upcoming watchOS 5 release is being able to talk to Siri on your wrist, hands-free, without needing to say the “Hey Siri” command.

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iOS 12: How to customize Grouped Notifications

Peter Cao Jun 21 2018 - 4:52 pm PT

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One of the headlining features for iOS 12 is the new Grouped Notifications feature. It’s not as simple as grouping by app, but it intelligently creates your groups. For example, you’re getting iMessages from several different threads, those will all come in individual groups. And if an email shows up in between? That’ll show up properly.

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How to set up Screen Time as a parent on a child’s iPhone or iPad

Michael Potuck Jun 21 2018 - 12:55 pm PT

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iOS 12 introduced Apple’s new Screen Time platform to help users with spending their device time more deliberately. An important aspect of that is helping parents guide device use for their children. Let’s take a look at how to set up Screen Time on a child’s iPhone or iPad.

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watchOS 5: How to manage Walkie-Talkie contacts

Peter Cao Jun 20 2018 - 5:07 pm PT

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Walkie-Talkie has been long time in the making, first announced for the original Apple Watch with the initial watchOS 1.0 software, and then scrapped before launch. Now, it’s nice seeing it make a comeback 5 major software releases later.

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Mac: How to change your computer name

Michael Potuck Jun 20 2018 - 12:00 am PT

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Does your Mac have a different name than you’d like? Follow along for how to quickly change your computer’s name.

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watchOS 5: How to set Siri voice volume

Peter Cao Jun 19 2018 - 4:54 pm PT

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watchOS 5 beta 2 released this morning, and with it comes some new additions. While we still don’t have Raise to Speak for Siri yet, we do have a smaller new feature that lets you change how loud the Siri voice volume is on Apple Watch.

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iOS 12: How to use Podcasts chapters

Michael Potuck Jun 19 2018 - 1:29 pm PT

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Apple has released the second developer beta for iOS 12 today and one of the new features is improved support for chapters in Apple’s Podcasts app — a new feature to iOS 12. Follow along for how to use this handy addition.

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iOS 12: How to change audio quality in Voice Memos

Peter Cao Jun 18 2018 - 5:28 pm PT

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The Voice Memos app for iOS got a major revamp with iOS 12. With this comes a new design, but also new features as well. One of those new features is the ability to change the audio quality of your recordings. This is incredibly important for those who use voice memos in a professional environment such as recording sound bites for songs.

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iOS 12: How to permanently delete photos on iPhone

Michael Potuck Jun 18 2018 - 2:11 pm PT

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Along with the new features that iOS 12 brings, the latest iPhone and iPad software also makes some changes to how existing features work. One of these tweaks is how to permanently delete photos.

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watchOS 5: How to access the Internet from your wrist

Peter Cao Jun 15 2018 - 4:29 pm PT

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Arguably one of the biggest improvements, and albeit fairly limited, in watchOS 5 is the ability to access the Internet on Apple Watch. While there isn’t an official Safari app or web browser on the Watch, it’s still possible to access it with the new WebKit API coming in watchOS 5.

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iPhone & iPad: How to show Safari tab icons in iOS 12

Michael Potuck Jun 15 2018 - 10:36 am PT

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Apple has brought icons in Safari tabs to iPhone and iPad with iOS 12 in addition to doing the same in macOS Mojave. Follow along for how to turn on this handy feature.

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