At Home with Tech

It’s not as complicated as it looks. Tech tips for your life.

Category: apple

January 19, 2025

How to Catch Urgent Calls when your iPhone is on Mute

Occasionally, you’ll simply miss a call, because you’ve misplaced your iPhone. Otherwise, here’s how I silence calls I don’t want while also allowing the important calls in my life to get through.

I sometimes feel like the Grinch. “All the noise, noise, noise… noise!” With all the unwanted phone calls and emails, I want to scream, “Stop! Go away!” It’s disruptive, increasingly overwhelming, and I want none of it. (Sound familiar?)

The biggest source of disruption was my trusty iPhone which interrupted me throughout the day with calls from unknown numbers and people (or robocalls) I instinctively knew I didn’t want to speak with. (Sure, my iPhone is forever in vibrate-only mode, but too much of that silent-but-buzzy haptic sensation can make you twitchy.)

Contacts Only
So, I shut it down. No, not the phone. But I restricted the list of numbers that could get through to just my contacts. (If you are anyone else, you’re welcome to leave a message.)

Yes, it a was draconian step, but necessary.
Here how to set up this communication limit on your iPhone:

  • Go to ‘Settings.’
  • Tap ‘Screen Time.’
  • Tap ‘Communication Limits.’
  • Tap ‘During Screen Time.’
  • Tap ‘Contacts Only.’
  • Then ‘During Downtime’ can be restricted further if you want.

The result created more serenity in my life, and I was grateful. But there was still another problem waiting for me at the other end of the equation…

You Can Still Miss a Haptics Call
I realized that it was sometimes difficult for my family members to reach me on my iPhone. Of course, their calls and texts got through via haptics mode, but it was still easy for me to miss those important moments.

The fix would be if I could set up a ringtone bypass that would allow my wife and son’s calls/texts to gain back their audio oomph.

Well, as it turns out, Apple gives your iPhone that exact capability!

Ring and Text Tone Emergency Bypass
In your Contacts app, you can set up individual contacts to be able to reach you with the power of full audio ringing or pinging, regardless of how your iPhone is otherwise muted.

Here’s how to do that:

  • Tap ‘Edit’ for a specific contact.
  • Tap on ‘Ringtone,’ which is set to ‘Default.’
  • Then on the next page, tap on ‘Emergency Bypass’ to turn it on.
  • Repeat these steps for ‘Text Tone.’

That’s it.

Your Updated Communications Plan
When you’ve finished tweaking these iPhone settings, you will have more effectively tuned out what you don’t want while enabling the important people in your life to better connect with you.

Sanity restored.

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January 5, 2025

Why iPhone’s Camera Burst Mode is Better than Live Photos

If you think you’ll miss the moment when snapping an iPhone photo, using Burst mode instead of Live Photo mode can save the day. Here’s why.

If you like the Live Photo feature on your iPhone so you can later choose a better ‘Key Photo’, you might want to reconsider your preference. Why? Well, it houses a huge limitation that can really ruin your shot.

Sure, it all seems so magical that you can take your 3-second mini-movie that’s behind a Live Photo and then, after the fact, scrub through all of video frames to select a better still frame. It’s a wonderful technique to use when shooting a group pic when someone’s eyes are inevitably mid blink. The ability to later choose a better freeze a fraction earlier (or later) can make all the difference between the perfect photo and one that goes in the digital trash.

I’ve been shooting Live Photos this way for a long time. But when choosing a different Key Photo, I’ve sometimes not been satisfied with the final results. Here’s the problem…

Choosing a New Key Photo will Crop It!
The ‘prime’ image your iPhone snaps is higher quality than other frames from a Live Photo. And as soon as you choose an alternate frame, the entire picture frustratingly crops in a bit (not a lot… but enough).

That can be a deal breaker if you’ve taken a group shot and someone is close to the edge of your framing. After choosing a different Key Photo, that person will likely get cropped out, and there’s nothing you can do about it.

This picture-killing crop just happened to me at a family gathering, and the cropped-out person was me! (Yes, thankfully, the group allowed me to take another shot.)

Even if you overlook that limitation and tell yourself you’ll give your shots enough ‘safe space,’ it’s also hard to ignore the overall quality difference. The new Key Photo doesn’t look as crisp.

Under well-lit and well-framed circumstances, this isn’t an issue. And to be fair, it took me a while to discover these drawbacks.

And while a Live Photo with a different Key Photo can be better than nothing at all, there’s a more effective way to capture additional visual frames around a particular photo moment.

10 Burst Photos are Better than 1 Live Photo
iPhones offer Burst mode, which captures 10 photos a second. (That’s likely going to get you what you need!) Instead of tapping the shutter button on your iPhone, you simply slide it to the left and hold it there until you’re done ‘bursting.’ (Then release.)

For a more tactile experience, you can also squeeze your ‘Volume Up’ button.
To activate that feature, go to:

  • Settings
  • Camera
  • Turn on “Use Volume Up for Burst”

While primarily designed for action moments like sports photography, it’s also ideal for posed group shots when you’re trying to get everyone’s eyes open at the same time.

Each of these high-speed photos will be the same quality. No compromises.

Burst Mode with Countdown
You can also use Burst mode for your iPhone shots using a countdown timer. It’s a perfect way to set up a group shot that you also want to be in.

  • Pro tip:
    If you’re wearing an Apple Watch, use its Camera Remote app to control your iPhone. (Just be sure to first turn off Live Photo mode. Otherwise, you’ll snap a Live Photo instead of the 10 standard burst shots.)

I like to prop my iPhone on a window ledge and have the group face the window. Not only does the window ledge double as a tripod surface (be careful), but the light from the window will nicely illuminate your subjects.

Delete your Unwanted Bursts
You do need to do a bit more work afterwords with your Burst photos to manage the 20 or 30 shots you’ve generated from a particular moment (instead of 2 or 3 Live Photos).

Just review your Bursts and select the images you want to keep. The rest are deleted. (If you don’t follow this organizational task, you could quickly get overwhelmed with too many photos on your iPhone.)

Not Mutually Exclusive
Too much work? Well, you can leave it to the automated but limited structure of Live Photos. That’s a set-it-and-forget it solution. It’s easy, but it won’t always give you best-quality pictures. On the other hand, Burst mode will.

Can you use both? Absolutely (though not simultaneously).

Burst Away
Moving forward, I’ll think of a Live Photo as a backup plan. But if I’m really being planful in framing the moment, then using Burst mode is the way to go.

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December 29, 2024

Why Silo is Still the Best Dystopian Future Series on Apple TV+

The drip/drip goodness of “Silo” is what has made this science fiction series so gripping. But the remaining coffee in season’s 2 has grown a bit cold. Here’s why I don’t think that matters.

Season 1 of “Silo” on Apple TV+ was riveting. The element of mystery headlined its success more than its science fiction or action genre. Based on Hugh Howey’s trilogy of novels, this series has moved slowly and shares the details of its crushing underground future for humanity with a timed precision that keeps you guessing what’s really going on in this dystopian society.

Underground Confusion
As the viewer, you’re almost as clueless as the population of 10,000 living underground, protected from a supposedly toxic and dead world up top.

The series stars Rebecca Ferguson as an engineer who tries to uncover the truth and Tim Robbins as one of the ‘elites’ who will do anything to maintain order for their fragile existence. Deception? Yes. Betrayal? Absolutely. (Just another day at the Silo offices.)

“Silo” also benefits from a great ensemble cast, a few of whom (spoiler alert) I wouldn’t get too attached to.

This Apple TV+ series’ first season was filled with surprising twists up until the very last shot of the final scene.

Season 2
As I write this, I’m seven episodes through season 2’s ten. Beyond the first episode where the mind-blowing payoff happens after last season’s cliffhanger, the series settles into more expected patterns of a story about controlling a mini society with limited resources. Now that the map of this reality’s facts is much clearer, the story of rebellion and the search for the truth has been somewhat less interesting.

Yes, there’s a new mysterious character played by Steve Zahn. And we’ve still got a few lingering questions plus a couple new ones, but they all hardly seem as significant as the ones already answered. (I could be wrong.)

The Truth is Out There
“Silo” has been strongest when it’s doled out its key details in small but meaty portions much like the groundbreaking “Lost” and “The X-Files” series. Though they’re all action shows, what make them special is their mystery.

Often the answers don’t live up to the hype surrounding the questions. That was certainly the case with “Lost” and “The X-Files.” Happily, “Silo” hasn’t suffered the same fate, ironically because it’s seemingly gone through many of its twists during its freshman season. And the uncomfortable answers have been entirely satisfying.

But now what?

Slow but Sure
It’s just been reported that “Silo” has been renewed for two more seasons with its fourth being its last.

So, we’re not even halfway through yet? Clearly, I’ve been unnecessarily impatient during this sophomore season. I imagine there must be more freaky goodness to come.

Still, that doesn’t change the fact that season two has been slower. Sure, there’s been plenty of action, but it feels like the middle episodes with split storylines have been biding their time.

But I’m not going anywhere.

What’s Around the Corner?
“Silo” is worth waiting for. Both Ferguson and Robbins are so great. And though the story would seem to be currently following a predictable path, I have a hunch that will change in the not-too-distant future.

I think I smell a fresh pot of coffee ready to be served up.

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