Appendix B. Troubleshooting & Maintenance

The iPhone is a computer, and you know what that means: Things can go wrong. This particular computer, though, is not quite like a Mac or a PC. It runs a spin-off of the macOS operating system, but that doesn’t mean you can apply the same troubleshooting techniques.

Therefore, let this Appendix Be your guide when things go wrong.

First Rule: Install the Updates

There’s an old saying: “Never buy version 1.0 of anything.” In the iPhone’s case, the saying could be: “Never buy version 10.0 of anything.”

The very first version (or major revision) of anything has bugs, glitches, and things the programmers didn’t have time to finish the way they would have liked. The iPhone is no exception.

The beauty of this phone, though, is that Apple can send it fixes, patches, and even new features through software updates. One day you’ll glance at your Home screen’s Settings icon, and—bam!—there’ll be a badge indicating that new iPhone software is available.

So the first rule of trouble-free iPhoning is to accept these updates when they’re offered. With each new software blob, Apple removes another few dozen tiny glitches.

And sure enough: Within the first few weeks of iOS 10’s existence, software updates 10.1 and 10.2 came down the pike. And more will come.

Six Ways to Reset the Phone

The iPhone runs actual programs, and as actual programs do, they actually crash. Sometimes, the program you’re working in simply vanishes and you find yourself back at the Home screen. Just reopen the program and get on with your life.

If the program you’re in just doesn’t seem to be working right—it’s frozen or acting weird, for example—then one of these resetting techniques usually clears things right up.

Note

Proceed down this list in order! Start with the easy ones.

Tip

If you’re able to sync the phone with iCloud or iTunes first, do it! That way, you’ll have a backup of all those intangible iPhone data bits: text messages, call logs, Recents list, and so on. iTunes will put it all back onto the phone the first time you sync after the restore.

If you backed up to iTunes: Connect the phone to your computer, as described in Chapter 16. In iTunes, click the iPhone icon and then, on the Summary tab, click Restore.

The first order of business: iTunes offers to make a backup of your iPhone (all of its phone settings, text messages, and so on) before proceeding. Accepting this invitation is an excellent idea. Click Back Up.

If you backed up to iCloud: You can restore your phone this way only if your iPhone is completely wiped empty. If it’s not, manually erase it using iTunes first.

During the setup screens described in Tip, tap Restore from iCloud Backup. You’re shown the three most recent backups; tap the one you want. The phone goes right to work downloading your settings and account information. Then it restarts and begins to download your apps; if you’re in a hurry for one particular app, tap its icon to make iCloud prioritize it. At any time, you can check the restore process’s status in Settings→iCloud→Storage and Backup.

When that’s all over, you can get to work downloading your music (if you’re an Apple Music subscriber).

iPhone Doesn’t Turn On

Usually, the problem is that the battery’s dead. Just plugging it into the USB charger or your computer doesn’t bring it to life immediately, either; a completely dead iPhone doesn’t wake up until it’s been charging for about 10 minutes. It pops on automatically when it has enough juice to do so.

If you don’t think that’s the trouble, try the force-restarting trick described earlier. And if even that doesn’t work, read on.

The Force Restore

If your phone gets stuck starting up at the Apple logo, or it just stays black, then something more serious may have happened. Phones, like the best of us, sometimes get confused.

The solution is the drastic, but effective, force-restore process (known to techies as the Default Firmware Update mode).

Open iTunes on your computer. Connect the iPhone with its white USB cable. Now hold down the Sleep switch and Home button (Sleep switch and Volume Down key on the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus) simultaneously for 10 seconds—then release only the Sleep switch.

Keep the Home button (or volume key) pressed until iTunes tells you that an iPhone in Recovery mode has been detected; click OK. (If you see anything but blackness on your iPhone’s screen—an Apple logo, for example—then the process didn’t work. If the problem has not, in fact, gone away, then you should start again.)

iTunes tells you again that you’re in Recovery mode and offers only one button: Restore iPhone. Click that, and then confirm by clicking Restore & Update. The process of reinstalling the latest, fresh copy of iOS begins.

Tip

Every now and then, the cycle of backing up and restoring goes amiss. You find yourself stuck at that Restore iPhone button—but you don’t want to wipe it empty! There’s stuff on it that hasn’t been backed up!

In that case, download the free program called RecBoot (for Mac) or TinyUmbrella (Mac or Windows). (You can download them from this book’s “Missing CD” page at www.missingmanuals.com.) They have one tiny purpose in life: exiting Restore mode without erasing your phone.

Once everything’s running fine, you can restore all your apps and settings from the latest backup as described in Tip.

Battery Life Is Terrible

If your battery seems to drain faster after you’ve installed iOS 10, it might be because the Photos app is busy scanning and categorizing all your photos so that it can use its object and facial recognition.

Or maybe it’s just you using the phone more, checking out the cool new features.

If neither of those is the problem, then consult the battery-saving tips in Battery Life Tips.

Out of Space

It happens all the time. You couldn’t imagine filling up 64, 128, or 256 gigabytes of storage, so you saved some money by buying an iPhone with less. And now you can’t even take a video or a photo, because your phone reports that it’s full. You’re frozen out until you have the time and expertise to delete some less important stuff.

The biggest space hogs on your phone are video files, photo files, apps, and music files. Heck, deleting just one downloaded movie or TV show could solve your storage crunch instantly.

Fortunately, iOS makes it easy to see what’s eating up your space—and to delete the fattest ones to make the most room with the least effort. The key is to visit Settings→General→Storage & iCloud Usage→Manage Storage.

image with no caption

The list here shows what’s using up your space, biggest first; by tapping the 〉 button, you can see the details and, in most cases, make some deletions on the spot.

This display shows how much space your Camera videos and photos take up, but unfortunately it doesn’t let you delete them. To purge your photos, the quickest method is to hook up to iTunes, import the photos, and take advantage of the option to delete the freshly imported photos from the phone (Shutting Down the Importing Process).

Turning off your Photo Stream can give you back an instant gigabyte, too (More).

And if solving the problem is worth a few bucks, don’t forget that you can have Apple store all the full-size copies of your photos online, leaving only screen-sized versions on the phone for showing off—a sure way to ease your storage crunch. Details in iCloud Photo Library.

Delete “Other” Items

You know the colored graph of what’s on your phone that shows up in iTunes (All About Syncing)? Often, the biggest item here is the mysterious Other category. What is that stuff? It’s caches (Internet data stored on the phone to make repeated visits faster), backups, partial downloads, and data from iOS’s built-in apps—all your text messages and email, for example. Here’s how you clean them out:

  • Delete the web browser cache. The phone saves web pages into its own memory so they’ll appear faster the next time you try to visit them. If you’ve had your iPhone awhile, those cache files can really add up. Open Settings→Safari; tap Clear History and Website Data. You may get a speed boost as a side effect.

  • Delete text messages. In the Messages app, you can delete individual texts or entire conversations (The List of Conversations); because they frequently include photo, audio, or video files, you can reclaim a lot of space.

  • Delete email attachments. Files downloaded with your email take up a lot of space, too. The solution is to delete the email account (Settings→Mail→[account name]; scroll down and tap Delete Account)—and then add it again.

    In the process, you’ll vaporize all the attachment files and message caches that you’ve ever downloaded and opened on your phone. When you add the account back again, those files will still be online, ready to download—but only when you need them. (This trick works for most account types—just not for POP3 accounts.)

  • Delete voice memos, music files, and ebooks. Audio files and ebooks eat up a lot of space, too. Consider purging the recordings, books, and songs you can do without (from within the Voice Memos, iBooks, and Music apps). You can re-download them later from the App, iTunes, or iBooks Stores—no charge—whenever you like.

  • Delete offline reading and saved web articles. Open Safari’s Reading List and delete any pages you have already read or no longer need. Do the same with saved articles in the News app.

Phone and Internet Problems

How can the phone part of the iPhone go wrong? Let us count the ways:

Warranty and Repair

The iPhone comes with a one-year warranty and 90 days of phone tech support. If you buy an AppleCare+ contract ($100), you’re covered for a second year.

Tip

AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, or Verizon tech support is free for both years of your contract. They handle questions about your iPhone’s phone features.

If, during the coverage period, anything goes wrong that’s not your fault, Apple will fix it free. In fact, AppleCare+ covers damage even if it is your fault—if you drop the phone or something—at a rate of $30 for screen damage and $100 for other damage, plus tax. Maximum: twice.

If you don’t have AppleCare+, the repair fee depends on the type of phone you have but will probably set you back around $300.

You can either take the phone to an Apple Store, which is often the fastest route, or call 800-APL-CARE (800-275-2273) to arrange shipping back to Apple. In general, you’ll get the fixed phone back in 3 business days.

Note

Sync the phone before it goes in for repair. The repair process generally erases the phone completely—Apple very often simply hands you a new (or refurbished) iPhone instead of your original. In fact, if you’re worried that someone at Apple might snoop around, you might want to back up and then erase the phone first. (Use the Restore option—Tip.)

Also, don’t forget to remove your SIM card (Sensors) before you send in your broken iPhone—and to put it back in when you get the phone. Don’t leave it in the loaner phone. The carrier can get you a new card if you lose your original, but it’s a hassle.

Out-of-Warranty Repairs

Once the year or two has gone by, or if you damage your iPhone in a way that’s not covered by the warranty (backing your car over it comes to mind), Apple charges $200 to repair an iPhone (it usually just replaces it).

The Battery Replacement Program

Why did Apple seal the battery inside the iPhone, anyway? Everyone knows lithium-ion batteries don’t last forever. After 300 or 400 charges, the iPhone’s battery begins to hold less charge (perhaps 80 percent of the original). After a certain point, the phone will need a new battery. How come you can’t change it yourself, as on any normal cellphone?

Apple’s answer: A user-replaceable battery takes up a lot more space inside the phone. It requires a plastic compartment that shields the guts of the phone from you and your fingers; it requires a removable door; and it needs springs or clips to hold the battery in place.

In any case, you can’t change the battery yourself. If the phone is out of warranty, you must send it to Apple (or take it to an Apple Store) for an $79 battery-replacement job. (As an eco-bonus, Apple properly disposes of the old batteries, which consumers might not do on their own.)

What to Do About a Cracked Screen

Keeping your iPhone in a case may lower the chances of your dropping it or scratching it—but it can’t prevent bad luck. An incredible number of iPhone screens meet an untimely end, even with cases on.

Apple will happily replace your phone’s screen for $130 to $150, depending on the model. It’ll do it the same day if you take the phone into an Apple Store, or you can mail it in and get a replacement in 3 to 5 days. (If you’ve bought the AppleCare+ extended-warranty service, then a replacement is $50 to $100, depending on the model.)

There are plenty of other companies that can repair a cracked screen, though. The reps from iCracked.com, for example, send a technician to you and perform the fix on the spot.

And then there’s the do-it-yourself technique. You can buy a screen-replacement kit for about $60 online, complete with the special tools you need to open the iPhone and do the job yourself. It requires care, patience, and some dexterity (Google can help you find the step-by-steps), but it’s a good option if you’re technically savvy.

Where to Go from Here

At this point, the iPhone is such a phenomenon that there’s no shortage of resources for getting more help, news, and tips. Here are a few examples: