When a new version of iOS comes out, everybody gets caught up in the craze of finding features and playing around with new functionality. But this generally leads to a lack of coverage on the finer aspects of the update—things like bugs, minor tweaks, and pain points that users discover along the way.
So to cast some light on the farthest corners of iOS 10, we’ve rounded up all of the recent discoveries with Apple’s latest operating system. These may not be the sexy, headline-grabbing features we saw at WWDC, but if you own an iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch, you should certainly be aware of them, at the very least.
#1: iOS 10 Breaks T-Mobile Connections on Some Models
Just days after Apple’s new firmware upgrade bricked some users’ devices (the update has since been fixed, so it’s okay to update not if you haven’t, unless…), T-Mobile CEO John Legere explicitly urged some iPhone users yesterday to avoid the iOS 10 update until further notice. To quote the quirky businessman, “Don’t download iOS10 if you currently use an iPhone 5SE, 6 or 6+.”
Apparently, a bug in iOS 10 was causing iPhone 6, 6 Plus, and SE models to lose their connections with T-Mobile’s cell towers completely, though a quick reboot generally solves the issue. Apple and T-Mobile have issued a fix already, so if you’ve updated to iOS 10, just go to Settings -> General -> About and your iPhone will prompt you to install T-Mobile’s new carrier version.
#2: There’s a New Red Screen Filter for Low-Light Viewing
Hidden deep within iOS 10’s Settings menu, a new Color Tint feature has the potential to prevent your iPhone from shocking your eyes at night. This new feature is different than Night Shift, because instead of simply cancelling out the blue light frequencies emitted from your screen, it turns the entire screen red.
The human eye perceives red light as darker than it really is, so your dilated pupils won’t suddenly contract if you use your iPhone in a dark environment with Color Tint enabled. There are several good use-cases here, so to learn more about Color Tint, check out our full guide below.
#3: The Lock Screen Itself Can Be ‘Locked’ or ‘Unlocked’
When Apple axed the “Slide to Unlock” interface in iOS 10’s lock screen, it was obviously annoying to people who aren’t fans of change. But, little did we know how complicated the new lock screen was, so on closer inspection, it might actually be annoying to anybody.
Because of privacy concerns related to the new widget system, the iOS 10 lock screen exists in two states now—”Locked” and “Unlocked.” You might not notice it on first glance, but it can lead to some serious confusion. To get the full rundown, make sure to visit our related guide below.
#4: iMessage Effects Are Buggy as Hell
The one iOS 10 feature most users were looking forward to was the new effects in iMessage. There are Bubble effects to add emphasis to your messages with fun animations, and Screen effects that take over the entire conversation background with popping fireworks, lasers, and balloons.
But many users are experiencing issues with these new features, and some can’t seem to get them working at all. So if you’ve been having trouble with the new iMessage effects, give the following guide a quick read.
#5: Pony Porn & Other Inappropriate GIFs in Messages
Message effects weren’t the only change with iMessage in iOS 10—another big new feature is the ability to search for and send GIFs directly from the Messages app. But, with the internet being the internet, it might not have been such a good idea to put a world of GIFs in such a central app used by folks of all ages.
Users searching for “butt” GIFs were greeted by sexually explicit imagery of a My Little Pony character, which was bad enough by itself. But then, several more keywords were found to yield pornographic content, so Apple sprang into action. They’ve since disabled several keywords to block these inappropriate GIFs, but be aware that every GIF baked into iMessage has not been screened for content.
#6: Wake Alarms & Regular Alarms Can Lead to Infinite Snoozing
iOS 10 has a new Wake Alarm feature that not only beeps to wake you up in the morning, but also tells you when to go to sleep, and keeps track of your sleeping habits. It’s a cool new feature, but it can cause conflicts with the regular-style alarms, which are still around in iOS 10.
According to user reports, when you set a Wake Alarm and a regular alarm to both go off at the same time, they effectively cancel each other out and snooze themselves indefinitely. It’s the exact opposite of what Apple was hoping to achieve by adding this new feature, and something you should be careful to avoid.
#7: Visual Voicemail & Transcriptions Have Issues
Another feature that ended up being more hype than substance for many users is the new voicemail transcriptions. This was supposed to make Visual Voicemail even more visual by actually transcribing the messages into printed text. Unfortunately, though, this feature is not available to many customers due to complications with carriers, and with all of these changes, Apple somehow managed to introduce a new bug.
A graphical glitch can occur when you scroll to the bottom of your list of voicemails and select an entry. Ultimately, this renders the playback and delete controls completely useless, so for some users, it’s a downgrade from Visual Voicemail versions of the past. You can read more about the bug by hitting up #10 in the following article.
#8: Bluetooth & Wi-Fi Are Broken for Some Users
Imagine downloading iOS 10, getting all excited to try out the new features while the update installed, only to find out that your phone basically doesn’t work anymore with the update applied. This is basically what happened to several users, as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi—two essential features—completely stopped working after the update.
Luckily, there’s an easy fix for this one. If you’re among those affected, just head to the General menu in Settings, then select Reset at the bottom. From here, choose Reset Network Settings, then re-pair your Bluetooth devices and log back into your Wi-Fi networks to get connectivity back.
More Things You Should Know About iOS 10:
- How to Delete Handwritten Messages from Your ‘Recents’ History in iMessage
- How to Turn Off ‘Raise to Wake’ on Your iPhone in iOS 10
- How to Activate Your iPhone’s Hidden Magnifying Glass in iOS 10
Just updated your iPhone? You’ll find new emoji, enhanced security, podcast transcripts, Apple Cash virtual numbers, and other useful features. There are even new additions hidden within Safari. Find out what’s new and changed on your iPhone with the iOS 17.4 update.
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