iOS Archives - Bad Coffee Club

iOS Automation – Unplug iPhone from Charger and Hear Battery Level

Wouldn’t it be nice if your iPhone could tell you its battery level when it’s unplugged from the charger? Well, it’s perfectly doable. Here’s how to create this iOS automation using the Shortcuts app.

Before we begin, it’s worth noting the Shortcuts app is one of those stock iOS applications that only a few people use. If you had previously deleted the app, you can restore it by clicking on this link.

1. Launch Shortcuts and tap Automation at the bottom and then tap Create Personal Automation.

2. Scroll to the bottom and then tap Charger.

3. Select Is Disconnected and tap Next.

Select Is Connected if the automation is to run when the iPhone is connected. You can also select both.

4. Tap Add Action and then search and select Get Battery Level.

5. Tap the Add Action button and then search and select Replace Text.

6. Select Battery Level for the field after "Replace" and select Battery Level for the field after "with" but add a % sign.

7. Tap the Add Action button again. Search and select Speak Text.

8. Tap the Run button at the bottom right to preview the automation. You'll hear the battery level and also see it displayed.

9. Toggle off Ask Before Running and tap Done.

Try plugging your iPhone into a power source and then unplugging it, you’ll see a Shortcuts notification banner and you’ll also hear the battery level. This shortcut works with wireless chargers as well.

Battery Level Automation Notification — Shortcuts automation running

Automation Notification on Lock Screen — Shortcuts automation notification on the lock screen

Did you find this post helpful? Interested in learning more iOS automation tips and tricks? Check out this post on how to change app icons using the Shortcuts app.

Auto-Join – How to Pick and Choose Your Wi-Fi Networks on iPhone

The Problem

Smartphones are so smart that sometimes their smartness becomes a hassle. Have you ever seen your iPhone auto-joining a Wi-Fi network you do not want to use?

The problem is once you’ve connected to a Wi-Fi network, your iPhone will remember it and automatically connect to it again when you are within the network’s range. This happens even if the Wi-Fi network has a slow internet connection, slower than your cellular data, or does not have any connection at all.

If you prefer to only join a certain Wi-Fi network manually, say your Wi-Fi at work, or if you would like to have your iPhone always choose one Wi-Fi network over another, you can easily do it.

The Solution

I’ll be using my Wi-Fi setup at home as an example.

I have two routers at home and each router has its own Wi-Fi network, one called AirPort Express and the other NETGEARFreeWiFi. Each Wi-Fi network also has a 2.4 GHz band and a 5 GHz band.

Home Wi-Fi Setup

Because I use the NETGEARFreeWiFi most of the time, I have Auto-Join enabled for this network and disable for other networks.

To enable or disable Auto-Join on a Wi-Fi network, go to Settings, then WLAN, tap the Info button (blue i in a circle), and then toggle Auto-Join on or off.

With Auto-Join on for NETGEARFreeWiFi, my iPhone is still able to discover all my networks but it will only join NETGEARFreeWiFi automatically.

Auto-Join Enabled for Wi-Fi Network

Now imagine you would like for your iPhone to always stay on the cellular connection when you are at work because the office Wi-Fi connection is never good. You can easily do this too by turning Auto-Join off for your office Wi-Fi.

Did you find today’s post helpful? Let us know in the comments! Interested in learning more iPhone tips and tricks? Check out this collection here.

Use Shortcuts App to Change App Icons on iPhone

With the release of iOS 12 in 2018, Apple introduced the Shortcuts app. This app allows users to set up shortcuts, automated actions that the user can ask Siri to perform. Because of the amount of work the user needs to put in, Shortcuts never became very popular. However, it does allow users to do things that normally would seem difficult. In our post today, we look at how to use the Shortcuts app to change app icons on the iPhone.

Before we start, I should state we are not really changing any app’s icon. Instead, what we are doing is creating shortcuts that point to apps. The shortcuts can have different icons and names than the apps they point to.

Using Shortcuts App to Change App Icons

- First, launch the Shortcuts app. If you’ve never used the app before, it’s probably tucked away somewhere. Searching for it using Spotlight is usually the best and quickest way to find the app.
- Then, in the My Shortcuts screen, tap Add () on the top right corner to create a new shortcut.
- In the New Shortcut screen, tap Add Action, then tap Scripting and choose Open App. This allows you to see a full list of apps installed on your device.
- Tap Choose to select the app you want to open with the shortcut and then tap Next on the top right corner.
- Give the shortcut a name, preferably something short and descriptive. You’ll be using this name to tell Siri to run this shortcut. You can also change the app icon here by tapping the icon. Apple provides a number of colors and glyphs you can use. Tap Done once you’ve named the shortcut and selected the icon.
- The shortcut should now appear in the My Shortcuts screen. Tap the shortcut to run, or tap the Menu button to make changes.
- Once you are in the shortcut, tap the Menu button on the top right corner, or tap the Share button at the bottom to add the shortcut to Home Screen.
- Voilà! You now have a new icon in the Home Screen. Next time you want to run the app, just simply tap the new icon you just created. The Shortcuts app will open and it will then launch your app. You can also ask Siri to run the shortcut.

iPhone Battery Health Explained

In this post, we look at how to view and understand your iPhone battery health.

First, some background.

Apple got into trouble around 2017 when they implemented performance controls on older iPhone models with degraded batteries. According to Apple, this was to preserve system stability on those devices. However, they did this without first telling their users. When the news broke out, people were understandably furious. History will forever know this as batterygate.

One of the things Apple did to mitigate the situation was the new Battery Health feature in iOS.

Released in iOS 11.3 on March 29, 2018, the feature allowed users to gain visibility into their device’s battery health by displaying the battery’s maximum capacity. This seemingly simple piece of information was previously only available to users via third-party apps. The Battery Health feature also allowed users to disable performance throttling when using an older battery.

The Battery Health feature remains available today.

How to View iPhone Battery Health

1. Go to Settings
2. Scroll down and tap Battery
3. Tap Battery Health

Understanding Your Battery Health

In the Battery Health screen, you’ll see your battery’s maximum capacity, whether it’s capable of supporting peak performance, and whether you want optimized battery charging.

Maximum Capacity means how much charge your battery can hold. The number would gradually drop over time as you use your device and your battery ages. While Apple does not explicitly say at what point you should swap out your old battery for a new one, their iPhone Battery and Performance support page hint at 80%.

Peak Performance Capability tells you if your battery can handle peak performance. If iOS has determined that your battery can not support peak performance, it will turn on performance throttling, and this is where you can disable it.

Optimized Battery Charging was introduced in iOS 13. When the feature is enabled, your battery will wait to finish charging past 80% in certain situations. This improves your battery’s lifespan, as keeping the battery percentage more centered instead of complete charges and discharges reduces strain onto the battery.

Repeat Alerts – iOS Messages App

Ever noticed your iPhone buzzing again a couple of minutes after a message has come in? That’s the Repeat Alerts option for the Messages app doing its work.

By default, your iPhone notifies you twice of any new message received in the Messages app. Once when the message is first received, then again two minutes after that.

If you think repeated alerts are too much, or if you want the alert to repeat more than once at two-minute intervals, you can tweak the settings.

How to Change Repeat Alerts Settings for iOS Messages App

1. Go to Settings, then Notifications.
2. Find Messages in the list of applications under NOTIFICATION STYLE and tap on it.
3. At the bottom of the screen, you’ll see the Repeat Alerts option. By default, it’s set to Once.
4. Tap on the option to change its settings. You can turn it off by selecting Never or select any of the other options available for the alert to repeat X times at two-minute intervals.

iOS Messages App Notifications Settings incl. Repeat Alerts

iOS Messages App Repeat Alerts Options

Want to read more of our iOS and macOS tips and tricks? Here’s a link to our Tutorials category. Want to check out Apple’s user guide on the Messages app? Here’s that link.