21 iPhone 6 Plus Tips & Tricks

Learn how to use the iPhone 6 Plus better with this list of iPhone 6 Plus tips and tricks that will help users learn what they can do with the new iPhone. The larger iPhone 6 Plus display makes it easier to use some iPhone features and Apple packs in a few cool new iPhone 6 Plus features you might miss if you are new to the iPhone.

Use iOS iOS 9 and iOS 9.2 to do more with your iPhone 6 Plus. You will need iOS 8 or iOS 9 installed on your iPhone 6 Plus and you will need to install OS X Yosemite or OS X El Capitan on your Mac to use all these features.

For more things you didn’t know your iPhone 6 Plus could do, check out our iOS 9 tips and tricks.

 

We’ll even share a few iPhone 6 Plus hidden features that fix some major complaints about the large iPhone so you can enjoy it more.

Most of these iPhone 6 Plus tips and tricks work right out of the box, but you’ll need some accessories and apps for a few of the iPhone 6 Plus tips that involve Touch ID or your HDTV.

You don’t need to read the iPhone 6 Plus manual to become a master of this device. Just keep on reading to learn how many of the iPhone 6 Plus features work and what all you can do with the new iPhone 6 Plus.

Some of the iPhone 6 Plus tips and tricks we’ll show you are already turned on, you just need to use them, while others will require steps to set up on the iPhone 6 Plus and on your other devices.

Here is our growing list of iPhone 6 Plus tips, tricks and hidden features.

Use the iPhone 6 Plus One-Handed

The iPhone 6 Plus is a large device that can be difficult to use with one-hand, but there is a built-in tool to make using the iPhone 6 Plus easier when you can’t use your other hand.

Double tap on the home button to use Reachability. Don’t press, just tap on it like you would on the iPhone screen. This drops the iPhone 6 Plus screen down so you can reach the upper corners without juggling the iPhone 6 Plus in your hands.

Watch this in action in the video above, using an iPhone 6 that also supports this one-handed use feature.

Slow Motion Video on the iPhone 6 Plus

You can shoot super-slow motion video on the iPhone 6 Plus at 240 frames per second. That means you capture video at incredibly slow speeds, showing dramatic movement at speeds you eye’s can comprehend.

From a slow motion video of your kid scoring a goal, a bee buzzing along your garden or any other moment, sometimes slower is better.

Watch the video below to learn how to use the iPhone 6 Plus slow motion at 240 FPS. You need to open the camera app, slide until you see slow motion and make sure 240 FPS is in the upper right. From there record like you normally would and the video will then include options to start and stop slow motion like in the video above.

iPhone 6 Plus Landscape

The iPhone 6 Plus supports landscape mode that includes a new landscape keyboard, new layouts for apps and landscape for the home screen. This acts a lot like an iPad and it is only available on the iPhone 6 Plus.

On the home screen if you turn the iPhone 6 Plus on the side you’ll see the apps adjust to the landscape view.

When you open an app like Mail, Notes or Calendar in landscape you can see more information on the screen, just like on the iPad.

Finally, when you use the keyboard you can see the new landscape keyboard for iPhone 6 Plus that includes shortcuts and more punctuation options.

iPhone 6 One-Handed Keyboard

You’ll need to buy a third-party keyboard for this to work, but if you use the iPhone 6 Plus on the go a lot, you’ll love this Phone 6 Plus one-handed keyboard.

Apple does not include this on the iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus by default, so you will need to go to the App Store and buy one. For this example we are using One Handed Keyboard by Terry Demco. It is $1.99 in the App Store and includes options to change the color.

Watch video above to see how this works and how to turn on the one-handed iPhone 6 Plus keyboard. You can also use this guide for a closer look at how to use and change iPhone 6 Plus keyboards.

Touch ID for Passwords

Touch ID lets you unlock the iPhone 6 Plus and make purchases in iTunes, but it can do much more. If you install an app like LastPass or  1Password you can use the new Safari extensions to log in to websites you are browsing with LastPass or 1Password.

This lets you create a secure password and simplifies using good passwords on your iPhone without the normal hassles of long passwords on smartphones.

https://youtu.be/M5FHs0YzYkY

The video above shows how you can set this up with LastPass and how it fills in your passwords and usernames with Touch ID.

Better iPhone 6 Plus Battery Life

For most users the iPhone 6 Plus battery life lasts more than a full day, but if there is something wrong the battery will drain faster and could leave you with a dead battery in hours. You’ll know something is wrong if the iPhone 6 Plus is hot all the time or if the usage shows the same number as standby.

Go to Settings -> General -> Usage -> Battery Usage to see if there is one app using all your battery power. If there is a culprit you can uninstall it or stop using it to see if that fixes your iPhone 6 Plus battery life. Removing Facebook helps deliver better battery life, but not everyone will take this step.

If that fails you need to reset all settings by using these directions. Go to Settings -> General -> Reset -> Reset All Settings. Hopefully this solves the problem. If not you will need to go to an Apple Store or try a full reset.

Track Steps, Stairs and Health

The iPhone 6 Plus includes a sensors that can track your steps, how many flights of stairs you walk and much more without buying any accessories or apps.

Open the Health app on the iPhone 6 Plus home screen and then tap on Health Data, Fitness and choose the options you want to show on the dashboard.

Watch the video above to see how this works on the iPhone 6 Plus.

Change Vibration Alerts

The iPhone 6 Plus vibrations are obnoxiously loud, at times they are louder than the ringer on the iPhone 6 Plus. Even when the iPhone 6 Plus is on silent a call or a text is loud enough to interrupt meetings and wake up a spouse sleeping nearby.

Go to Settings -> Sounds -> Tap on Ringtone -> Vibration -> Create New Vibration -> Tap out and save a new vibration.

You can do this for different alerts and for individual contacts so you know who is calling or texting based on the vibration alone. Watch the video above to see this in action.

Connect the iPhone 6 Plus to your HDTV

If you want to show your iPhone 6 Plus screen on a larger screen you can use the iPhone 6 Plus and an Apple TV to mirror the display or to AirPlay video or games to the big screen.

You need to purchase an Apple TV for $69 or for $149 and then when you are in the same room you can open Control Center -> AirPlay -> Apple TV to show your screen on your HDTV.

You can also use the AirPlay icon when watching a video to AirPlay that video or sometimes even a game direct to your HDTV.

Games like SketchParty TV also use this to turn the TV into a big screen for a digital game of Pictionary.

Arrange Your Apps Better for the iPhone 6 Plus

It’s annoying to reach to the upper right of the iPhone 6 Plus, or upper left if you hold your phone right-handed. Instead of using Reachability every time, it’s easier to organize your apps so that you can quickly reach them with your thumb all the time.

We all have apps we need, but rarely use. Instead of putting these in folders you can use them to bumper your regularly used apps towards the center or bottom of the iPhone 6 Plus. Check it out in the video above.

Instant Hotspot for Your Mac

Once you turn on Instant Hotspot for the iPhone in iOS 8 you should see it listed in the WiFi options for your Mac and can click to connect without worrying about grabbing your iPhone to turn anything on.

You can also see the iPhone 6 Plus battery life and signal listed so that you know if using it will drain your battery too much and so you know that there is a signal. Check out this guide to using the iPhone hotspot.

Read iPhone 6 Plus Texts on Your Mac

With the iPhone 6 Plus and iOS 9 you can now read and respond to text messages from a Mac running OS X Yosemite or OS X El Capitan.

You need to turn this on in the messages Settings and on your Mac, using the directions in our How to text from your Mac guide. After you set this up texts show on your iPhone 6 Plus and on your Mac at the same time and you can respond from either device.

Answer iPhone 6 Plus Calls on your Mac or iPad

The iPhone 6 Plus also connects to your Mac or iPad so you can answer or make a call. If you don’t want to hold the iPhone 6 Plus to your ear for a long conversation you can just answer on your Mac. It’s also a handy thing to do if you already have headphones plugged in to your Mac.

Follow these steps to make sure your iPhone 6 Plus calls also ring on the iPad or on your Mac. You need OS X Yosemite installed on the Mac.

Quickly Switch Devices with Handoff

If you go between the iPhone 6 Plus and your Mac or iPad a lot, Handoff is an excellent feature. The devices know when you switch between them and can open the files you want faster and easier than uploading or emailing the file to yourself. You can also pick up where you left off from an email.

Learn more about the limitations and features of Handoff for the iPhone 6 Plus.

Make a Payment with Apple Pay

The iPhone 6 Plus includes support for NFC, which lets users make payments through Apple Pay. These mobile payments are secure and can be easier than grabbing your credit card. Not every store supports Apple Pay, and not all banks do either. If you use a compatible bank and card here is how to set up Apple Pay.

When you go to the store you simply put your iPhone 6 Plus next to the credit card reader and hold your finger on the home button to activate Touch ID and enable payment. The video below highlights how to use Apple Pay.

Automatically Keep all your iPhone 6 Plus Photos in iCloud

If you take a lot of photos and want them all on every Apple device you own and iCloud, you need to turn on iCloud Photo Library.

Once you do this your entire photo library will exist online and sync to your devices so you can see every photo you’ve taken and the edits on any Apple device you own and on iCloud form a Windows computer.

Use this iCloud Photo Library guide to get started.

Request a Desktop Website on the iPhone 6 Plus

The iPhone 6 Plus display is big enough and with a 1080P resolution certainly capable of showing a desktop version of a website. Most websites default to a mobile version on the iPhone, but you can choose a desktop version easily.

Watch the video above and use this guide to request a desktop version of a webpage in Safari on iOS 8 or iOS 8.1 for the iPhone 6 Plus.

Be More Productive with a Bluetooth iPhone 6 Plus Keyboard

For users who need to be more productive, an iPhone 6 Plus Bluetooth Keyboard is a must have accessory. You can buy a small Bluetooth Keyboard from Amazon for around $30 and use it to be more productive with the iPhone 6 Plus as your super-small laptop.

The iWerkz Foldable Bluetooth keyboard works with the iPhone 6 Plus and folds up for easy travel with your iPhone 6 Plus even when you don’t have a bag handy. The case even acts as a stand for the iPhone 6 Plus.

Share Files with AirDrop

The iPhone 6 Plus can share files from the iPhone to a Mac finally. Now you can tap a few times and share a file or a link from your iPhone to your Mac. It’s also easy to share a file from your computer to the iPhone 6 Plus and the iPhone will prompt you to open it in the right app on your device.

When you tap on the share button you will see other iPhones and your Mac’s listed so you can share a file with a tap, even when you aren’t connected to WiFi. Here’s a guide to using AirDrop in iOS 9 and OS X Yosemite.

Record a Timelapse Video

The iPhone 6 Plus and iOS 8 include a new Time Lapse option. This is something that is best done with a sturdy way to hold the iPhone 6 Plus. An accessory like the RetiCAM iPhone 6 Plus tripod mount will keep your result still and in place for however long you want, but you can always hold the phone stead as well.

Open the camera app, swipe until you see Time Lapse, tap record and hold the camera steady. The iPhone 6 Plus will take photos and dynamic intervals and create a short video from them. This turns hours into seconds depending how long you record for. Check out the guide above to try your own.

iOS 9.2 Fixes iOS 9 and iOS 9.1 Problems

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Perhaps one of the biggest changes with the iOS 9.2 update is that it fixes a lot of iOS 9 problems and iOS 9.1 problems for iPhone and iPad users. We see small fixes come in targeted updates, but the iOS 9.2 update packs in a lot of new fixes that may solve a problem that annoyed you for the last several months. Here are the new fixes in iOS 9.2. Fixing an issue that caused mail attachments to be inaccessible for some users with POP email accounts Resolving an issue for some users that caused attachments to overlap text in mail Fixing an issue where Live Photos could have turned off after restoring from a previous iCloud backup Addressing an issue that could cause search in Contacts to display no results Resolving an issue that could have prevented Calendar from displaying all seven days in week view Fixing an issue where Camera screen on iPad could be black when attempting to capture video Addressing an issue that could cause instability in the Activity app when viewing the day of Daylight Savings Time transition Fixing an issue that could prevent data from appearing in Health Fixing an issue that could prevent Wallet updates and Lock screen alerts from displaying Addressing an issue where updating iOS could prevent an alarm from going off Fixing an issue where some users were unable to login to Find my iPhone Fixing an issue that prevented some manual iCloud Backups from completing Addressing an issue where using the iPad keyboard could unintentionally trigger text selection mode Improved keyboard responsiveness when using Quick Reply Improved punctuation input on the 10-key Chinese (Pinyin & Stroke) keyboards with new expanded view of punctuation symbols and better predictions Fixing an issue on Cyrillic keyboards where caps lock would be enabled when typing in URL or email fields You'll notice that many of these are targeted, but cover things that can easily annoy users. Slow keyboard response in Quick Reply is one of our frustrations with iOS 9.1 that this fixes. Other upgrades fix alarm bugs, iCloud backup problems and much more.

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