How to manually trigger an iCloud backup on iPhone and iPad

While iCloud will automatically back up all the data on your iPhone or iPad every 24 hours, as long as it's plugged in and connected to Wi-Fi, you can also trigger a backup manually at any time. It's especially handy when you're upgrading to a new device, or getting a replacement for a defective device. Best of all, making sure your backups are up-to-date is easy to do!

Note: Because of the amount of data that can potentially be transferred, and the power consumption that comes with it, manual iCloud backups also require your iPhone or iPad be plugged in and connected to Wi-Fi. Make sure you do that first, or the option for manual backup will be grayed out.

How to manually back up your data to iCloud

1. Launch the Settings app from the Home screen. 
2. Tap on iCloud. 
3. Tap on Backup. 
4. Tap on Back Up Now. 

How to Stop Other Devices Ringing When iPhone Gets a Phone Call

If you have multiple devices running iOS 8 and using the same Apple ID, you’ve probably noticed that an incoming phone call rings on every one of the devices at the same time. In other words, an inbound phone call will ring not only your iPhone, but also any other iPad, iOS device, or Mac too if it’s running OS X Yosemite. While this feature can be convenient and make it much less likely that you’ll ever miss a phone call, it can also be a nuisance if you have a desk full of hardware that is all buzzing simultaneously.

To stop the iPhone from ringing your other devices with an incoming phone call, you need to visit the Settings of the iPhone which has the cellular connection that originally receives the phone call. You can also choose to selectively disable the ringing feature on other devices if you’d like to just opt a single device out. Here’s what you’ll want to do:

1. Open the Settings app on the iPhone and go to “FaceTime”
2. Toggle the switch for “iPhone Cellular Calls” and flip it to the OFF position
3. Exit out of Settings as usual

This puts an end to the multiple device ringing feature. 

It’s worth mentioning that if you turn this feature off you can’t make phone calls from your Mac or other iOS device by way of your iPhone cellular connection. Despite being in the FaceTime settings, it has no effect on standard FaceTime audio calls made from a Mac or FaceTime VOIP from iOS, and FaceTime video chat still works as usual too.

Separately, you can choose to disable the iPhone calling feature on the Mac as well. 

Keep in mind there is a physical proximity limit with this feature, so if you’re many miles away from your other devices, your iPhone isn’t going to ring the hardware left at your office or home. Apple hints at this in the settings with the toggle switch, describing the feature as follows: “Use your iPhone cellular connection to make and receive calls on devices signed into your iCloud account when they are nearby and on Wi-Fi.”

How to use VoiceOver for visual accessibility on iPhone and iPad

The iPhone and iPad have some great accessibility features for people with hearing and sight impairments that makes using iOS more enjoyable, and less frustrating. For visually impaired individuals, the VoiceOver feature allows your iPhone or iPad to speak selections and add custom gestures so you know exactly what you're tapping on before selecting it. You just need to enabled it first.

How to activate VoiceOver on iPhone and iPad

1. Launch the Settings app from the Home screen of your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap on General.
3. Tap on Accessibility.
4. Under Vision at the very top, tap on VoiceOver.
5. Turn On VoiceOver by tapping on the On/Off toggle.
6. You can scroll down with three fingers to view VoiceOver options and customize your experience.

How to use VoiceOver on iPhone and iPad

VoiceOver changes the gestures in iOS in order to make it easier for visually impaired individuals to know what they're tapping on before they actually select it. Here are some tips to using VoiceOver:

• Single tap anywhere on the screen and your iPhone or iPad will speak aloud the item that you're tapping on.
• Double tap on an item to select it.
• To scroll through a page, use three fingers. With VoiceOver off you typically use only one finger to scroll, in VoiceOver, you'll need to use three so your iPhone or iPad doesn't misread a tap as a scroll.
• To toggle speech commands on and off from the Lock Screen, double tap withthree fingers.
• A two finger double tap while performing an action will start or stop that action. For example, if you're on a phone call, double tapping the screen with two fingers will end the call. If you're in the Camera app, double tap with two fingers to take a photo.
• In VoiceOver options you can customize and fine tune options such as whether or not you'd like the device to speak notifications.

For more tips and tricks regarding VoiceOver, we recommend using the VoiceOver Practice option within the VoiceOver Settings menu. This allows you to tap the screen as you'd like and the iPhone or iPad will speak aloud what that action does system wide. This will help get someone used to how VoiceOver works and what commands trigger what actions.

If you've come across any interesting VoiceOver options, feel free to share them in the comments below!