IPhone OS Tips and Hacks

Add words to dictionary

Open Safari and use the Google search field to search for the word you want to add the the dictionary.

Mute ringtone or vibration

To mute the ringer or vibration on an incoming call, press the volume button on the iPhone.

Send call to voicemail

When an incoming call is ringing, press the sleep button twice to send the call to voicemail or quite the call instantly if voicemail isn't setup.

iPhone Configuration Utility

This tool is used in enterprises to setup multiple iPhones. Settings include device security policies, VPN configuration information, Wi-Fi settings, APN settings, Exchange account settings, mail settings, and certificates.

• iPhone Configuration Utility 2.0 for Windows
• iPhone Configuration Utility 2.0 for Mac OS X

Enable 3G tethering

v3.0 and v3.0.1 To use tethering without having to enable it on your subscription, go to http://help.benm.at/help.php on the iPhone and use the 'Create mobileconfig' link in the middle of the page to create a new .mobileconfig containing the APN and username/password. Search Google to find the APN for your operator.

Once the mobileconfig is created, the iPhone will ask to install the unsigned file. Tap install and wait for it to install. Check System preferences to see if it's possible to enable tethering. To add MMS, go to Network, Cellular Data Network and input the MMS settings.

• BenM Tethering page

v3.1 and later On v3.1 the previous method doesn't work anymore. To re-enable tethering a system component has to be patched, the CommCenter.

There are two ways, first:

1. In Cydia install RockApp, it's another package repository manager
2. Create a new Rock ID profile and install MyWi, it's a application to share the 3G connection via Wifi, but also enables native tethering
3. After MyWi is installed, open (iPhone) Settings, General, Network, and Internet Tethering should now be available
4. A APN profile might be needed, go to the BenM tethering page and use the Mobileconfigs section to download and install a profile

And the second method:

1. Currently, follow this guide by redmondpie.com

References:

• Enable tethering on iPhone 3.1.2
• Enable tethering on 3G and 3GS v3.1.2

Change carrier name

The carrier name in the upper left corner can take space or be superfluous. In Cydia search for 'MakeItMine'. Just enter the new text string and tap Carrier to set it up. Works on v3.0 firmware.

For iOS4 try Fake Operator, also in Cydia.

Safari: Disable images loading

When using Safari on EDGE or 3G, images will use most of the bandwidth. Disabling images will significantly speed up browsing on slower connections.

Search for ImaSafari in Cydia. Once installed go to Settings and Safari, turn Show Images to Off. Switching setting doesn't require Safari to be relaunched.

Make your own ringtones

It's easy to create a ringtone, but it requires a few steps.

1. Open iTunes, find the song track of interest, Get Info and select Options, specify the Start Time and End Time for the section of interest, no more than 40 seconds
2. Right-click on the song and select Create AAC Version
3. Drag the new AAC track from iTunes to the desktop
4. Rename the extension from .m4a to m4r (r for ringtone), if the extensions aren't shown, select Optins and enable Show hidden extensions
5. Now, drag the .m4r file into iTunes and it will shown under the Ringtones menu on the left
6. Connect the iPhone and make sure Ringtones synchronization is enabled. Done!

Display free system memory in taskbar

With a lot of great applications, free memory can sometimes be a limiter and on occasion cause the app to crash. This trick displays the free system memory on top of the screen.

1. Open Cydia and search for BossPrefs
2. After a reboot, slide accros the top of the screen to bring up the SDSettings float
3. Tap 'More' in the lower-left corner, then 'Extras and Options'
4. Enable 'Statusbar Free Mem'

Sync on multiple computers

The standard practice on iPhones/iPod is to only allow it to sync up to one machine at a time. By using the same "Library Persistent ID" on all the machines it will accept the unit and freely sync to it.

1. This procedure uses two computers, computer 1 is the active sync machine, computer 2 is the new machin
2. On computer 1, open the iTunes folder (under Music on OS X) and open the "iTunes Music Library.xml" on a text editor
3. Find the <key>Library Persistent ID</key> key and next to it inside the <string> claws, copy the 16 character long text, e.g. CAD1565E928770C0
4. On computer 2, go to the iTunes folder, create a backup of "iTunes Library" and "iTunes Music Library.xml"
5. Open "iTunes Music Library.xml" and copy out the current string in <key>Library Persistent ID</key>
6. Now, replace the string with the one from computer 1 and save
7. Find a free hex editor and open "iTunes Library", use the find function to find in hex the string you copied out, replace it with the one from computer 1
8. Open iTunes, connect the iPhone/iPod and enable "Manually manage music and videos"
9. It will now sync data from computer 2 to the unit as it would on computer 1

More details see ismashphone.com.

5 Row Dock

There are a lot of extra space on the home screen and in the dock. By adding a Mobile Substrate add-on called FiveIconDock enables this.

1. In Cydia search for Five Icon Dock and install it
2. Swipe the top of the home screen or open SBSettings
3. Under Mobile Substrate Addons turn on FiveIconDock

Reference:

• Five in a row

5 Column Springboard

To get a 5x4 filled springboard as opposed to 4x4:

1. Install Five-Column SpringBoard from Cydia.

References

• 15 Useful iPhone Hacks That Will Make Your Life Easier
• Enabling MMS through .mobileconfig (on 3.0 GM)
• Customize Operator and Banner
• Creating a ringtone using only iTunes