Holidays are always great. Especially when they mean not only the weekend, but also the exchange of gifts. On March 8, many girls will receive a brand-new iPhone, which means that it must be configured. Separately, we will not dwell on installing banking applications on the iPhone, since each bank has its own method, but what settings should be changed immediately after activating the Apple smartphone, perhaps, it is worth telling. I will share with you my rich experience in setting up an iPhone immediately after purchase, because I have been using Apple smartphones since 2011 and have managed to accumulate a certain base.
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How to disable Siri on iPhone
During the initial setup, the iPhone always offers to enable the Siri voice assistant and even configure its activation by the phrase “Hello, Siri”. The latter forces your smartphone to listen to you constantly, which negatively affects the battery level. In addition, Siri itself is still quite stupid, so there is no point in an assistant who cannot do what you ask her to do on the first attempt. Feel free to disable it :
- Open Settings on your iPhone;
- Depending on your smartphone model, go to “Siri” or “Apple Intelligence & Siri”;
- Go to “Talk to Siri”;
- Check the box on ” Off “and turn off the toggle switch ” Call Siri with the side button”.
Now you can’t turn on Siri on your iPhone either by voice or by using the lock button. Maybe someday the Apple assistant will get smarter, but so far this innovation will definitely not reach.
Updating content on iPhone
There is another feature on the iPhone that I recommend disabling for everyone immediately after buying a smartphone. It is called “Content Update” and, logically, should load data faster inside programs. However, since its appearance, I have not noticed any increase in speed, but the battery consumption has clearly increased. So we also send it as an expense :
- In the iPhone settings, go to the”General” section;
- Select”Update Content”;
- Click on the”Update content” line;
- Check the box for “Off”.
To be honest, I tried to make friends with this iPhone feature several times, but constantly failed. The information inside the programs I use didn’t load faster, but the battery was running out — don’t worry, Mom.
Disable live photos
The Live Photo feature is enabled by default on all new iPhones. If you don’t already know what it is, here’s a quick explanation. The iPhone makes a small three-second video: 1.5 seconds before shooting and 1.5 seconds after. At the same time, it starts only after a long click on the image. Such files usually weigh more than a standard photo, and sometimes it’s just more important to take photos, rather than shoot even short videos. So I recommend disabling this feature as well :
- Launch the camera on your iPhone in any convenient way;
- Tap the circle in the upper-left corner of the screen to disable Live Photo.
After that, you will get normal photos, without animation or movement. I prefer to shoot this way, but for video I switch to a separate mode.
Disable app uploading on iPhone
Have you installed banking apps and hope that you have solved all the problems with accessing online banking? Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. By default, the “Upload unused” feature is enabled on the iPhone. When updating the software or downloading a new program, in case of insufficient memory, the system itself can delete programs from the smartphone. That’s just because of their absence in the App Store, you simply can’t install them back. So, we also disable this feature :
- Open settings on your iPhone and go to the”Apps” section;
- Select “App Store”;
- Scroll to the bottom and turn off the “Unload unused” toggle switch.
How to turn off iPhone auto-update
However, you should limit not only the automatic removal of apps from the iPhone, but also the update of the iOS operating system. Some updates carry surprises in the form of increased battery consumption and small glitches, so it’s better to read reviews first and only then install the firmware. Therefore, it is better to trust only your hands :
- Go to your iPhone’s settings and select the”General” section;
- Open the item “Software Update”;
- Click on the line “Auto-update” and disable all the toggle switches that are located there.
Now you will have to install all updates completely manually. Perhaps this is something that should be controlled independently, and not left to the operating system.
Disable geolocation on iPhone
It is simply impossible to imagine a modern smartphone without geolocation in 2025. However, in the iPhone settings, there are a huge number of location-related switches that are completely unnecessary for the user, which consume very little battery power. So you can safely disable them :
- Open Settings on your iPhone and go to “Privacy and Security”;
- Select “Geolocation Services”;
- Scroll to the bottom and select “System Services”.
- In this section, you can safely disable all items except “Find iPhone”. Separately, I recommend going to “Important Geopositions” and disabling them as well. Not only will you save battery power, but you won’t let your iPhone capture places you often visit.
How to remove the camera from the lock screen
I never understood why Apple made a separate button on the iPhone lock screen to launch the camera, because you can open it just by sliding the lockscreen. That is why, as soon as iOS 18 was able to remove this button, I did it right away and recommend that you go this way as well :
- Unlock your iPhone and hold your finger on the lockscreen without going to the desktop;
- Select the desired iPhone lock screen and tap the Customize button at the bottom of the screen;
- Select the lock screen;
- Click on the ” – ” next to the camera icon;
- If necessary, tap ” + ” and replace it with something else.
- This will allow you to get rid of the extra buttons on the iPhone lock screen and replace them with something really useful and convenient. I recommend you try it.
Control point from the lock screen
After enabling and configuring your iPhone, be sure to disable access to the Control Point from the lock screen. The fact is that if you lose your smartphone or it is stolen, then no one will be able to turn on airplane mode, and the device will remain online until it is discharged, and you will have a better chance of finding it. Here’s how it works
- In the iPhone settings, go to the “Face ID and passcode”section;
- Scroll to the very bottom to the “Access with screen lock”section;
- Turn off the “Control Point” toggle switch.
