10 iOS 9 Settings to Change

Get the most out of your iOS 9 experience by turning on and toggling the options that enable new iOS 9 features. Here are the top 10 iOS 9 settings to change when you finish installing the new update.

Apple delivers over a hundred new features, options and changes in the update, and you can see much of what’s new in iOS 9 for a more detailed look at the changes.

We’ll show you the iOS 9 settings to change on your iPhone and iPad after you upgrade to take advantage of the new features and get the most out of iOS 9.

This is a free upgrade for all users with an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch that can run iOS 8. The new iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus will ship with iOS 9 installed.

iOS 9 Settings to Change

You can use this guide to find the new iOS 9 settings that you need to change to get the most out of this update. If you follow these directions you can save money, make calls in poor coverage areas and make your iPhone battery life last longer.

Set a Six Digit Passcode

With iOS 9 you can set up a new six digit passcode. On iOS 8 the limit for a numerical passcode is four digits, which is easier to guess through brute force.

In iOS 9 adding just two more numbers dramatically increases the security of your iPhone. If you are on a device with Touch ID, you might not have to enter this longer passcode very often.

Go to Settings -> Touch ID & Passcode -> Enter your passcode -> Change Passcode -> Enter your old passcode -> Enter a new passcode twice.

If the screen shows a 4 digit passcode for your new passcode, tap on passcode options and choose 6 digit numeric code.

Add Discover Card to Apple Wallet

Apple Pay now supports Discover Card and there is a huge reason to add Discover to your Apple Pay account on the iPhone or iPad now.

For the rest of the year Discover Card purchases made through Apple Pay get 10% extra cash back — on top of current offers. This offer covers $10,000 in spending made through Apple Pay purchases.

This includes Apple Pay with your iPhone or Apple Watch in stores or using apps like the Best Buy app and others to get a lot of cash back. Go to Settings -> Wallet & Apple Pay -> Add Credit or Debit Card and follow the directions.

Apple Wallet Shortcut

One of the best new Apple Pay and Apple Wallet features on iOS 9 is the option to turn on a shortcut to launch Apple Pay before you get to the cash register.

Go to Settings -> Wallet & Apple Pay -> Double-Click Home Button -> On. This will allow you to double-click your home button with the iPhone locked to pull up Apple Wallet where you can then select the card you need.

New Apple Notes Upgrade Decision

If you update all of your devices to iOS 9, you will likely want to update the Apple Notes app. When you open Notes on iOS 9 for the first time you will see an option to upgrade now, or to wait.

Users who need notes to sync between the iPhone and iPad and an Apple computer should wait to update. The new Apple Notes app cannot sync to Notes on OS X Yosemite or older.

Turn on AT&T WiFi Calling

If you are lucky, you can now turn on and use AT&T WiFi calling in iOS 9. This feature is not available on every phone, nor is it going to work in every location, but it is worth trying. With AT&T WiFi calling on, you can make a voice call over WiFi so that you can still talk when you have poor coverage.

Go to Settings -> Phone -> WiFi Calling -> WiFi Calling on This Phone -> On. 

Follow the steps outlined if it is available for you and continue to set it up. If it is not available you should try again later.

Use the New iOS 9 Battery Widget

With iOS 9 there is a new battery widget for the Notification Center that shows you the battery life of all your connected devices. With this turned on it is easy to see the battery life of your iPhone, Apple Watch, Bluetooth headphones or other Bluetooth accessories.

Pull down the Notification Center -> Scroll to the bottom -> Tap on Edit -> Tap + next to Batteries.

You may not see this if you don’t have an Apple Watch. We are trying to figure out if there is an option for all users.

Set iOS 9 Camera Defaults

If you prefer a specific setting to use for your iPhone camera on iOS 9 you can now set a default for the camera in Settings.

Go to Settings -> Photos & Camera -> Scroll down and choose your default for video and slo-motion video.

The secondary screen lets you know how much each of these will take up on your iPhone.

High Quality Apple Music on Cellular

If you love using Apple Music and you are constantly listening on cellular you might want to turn on the option to listen to Apple Music in high quality while mobile.

Go to Settings -> Music -> High Quality on Cellular -> On.

This will use your data faster, but if you have a large enough plan, this is something to consider.

Set Up Apple News

One of the biggest new features in iOS 9 is Apple News. When you open the app for the first time you will chose the sources you want and the types of news you want to see. You can also see an option for notifications and email alerts.

If you want to change these later you can go to Settings -> News and here you can adjust your Apple News Notifications, background refresh and use of cellular data. This lets you control what you want after the initial setup.

Apple News is an interesting addition to the iPhone and iPad, and you can use it to read about popular topics, trends and your favorite sources — including Gotta Be Mobile.

iOS 9 Low Power Mode

We already walked through how to fix bad iOS 9 battery life, but this iOS 9 setting is one you’ll want to know how to change on a regular basis.

The new iOS 9 Low Power Mode can add several hours to your iPhone battery life by changing a bunch of settings and options with the flip of one switch.

Go to Settings -> Battery -> Low Power Mode -> On. 

You won’t likely want to use this all the time as it disables and changes some features, but when you need to make the iPhone battery life stretch further it is an essential iOS 9 setting to change.

iOS 9 vs iOS 8 Walkthrough - Home Screen

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The image above shows that the iOS 9 home screen looks very much like the one on iOS 8. This is not surprising, but you will notice one major change to this screen.  The new iOS 9 font on the home page carries over through settings and apps. It's surprising how much the look of the system can change with a small tweak to a new font. From the home screen you can now swipe left to a new search screen, and you can still swipe down to Spotlight from any of the home screen pages. When you upgrade you will also see options to add iCloud Drive to your home screen.  Apple adds two new default iOS 9 apps that you cannot delete. Find iPhone and Find Friends apps now come with the iPhone by default. You can hide them in a folder, but you cannot delete the apps. The Find My iPhone app is a very good addition, while Find My Friends is still not as widely used.

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