Customize Your iPhone’s Look

By Brad Burd

It’s actually very easy to redesign the way your iPhone looks and functions.

Many of these changes can be made by using the Settings app on your home screen.

Change the background

Your iPhone has several backgrounds, or wallpapers, pre-loaded onto it. To pick one of these for your handset, tap Settings, then Wallpaper, and choose the one you want.

To use an image you’ve downloaded from the web or created yourself, you need save it on your computer first. Connect your iPhone to your computer and tap iTunes. Tap Photos, then Sync Photos From and choose the folder where you saved the image. Tap Settings, Wallpaper, and select your image to use it as wallpaper.

Rearrange the icons on your Home screens

The icons for all your applications, plus any web pages you’ve saved, reside on the Home screen and up to 10 additional Home screens that you create as needed.

At the bottom of each Home screen you’ll see four “docked” icons, which remain as you page through the screens. You can move your icons – including those you’ve docked – around and transfer them between screens by touching and holding the Home screen until the icons appear to shake. Now drag the icons to reposition them and tap the Home button at the bottom of the screen to save. To add a Home screen, drag an icon to the right-hand edge, and an empty screen will appear. Flick your finger left to go back to the previous screen and drag other icons to the new screen. To switch screens you can also tap the bottom left- or right-hand corner. The Home button will take you back to the first Home screen.

Change the ringtone

Tap Settings, Sounds, and then Ringtone to pick a ringtone from the pre-installed list. You can also assign a ringtone to a specific caller by tapping Phone, Contacts, and picking a contact. Next tap Ringtone and select the one you want.

Adjust the ringer

Above the volume buttons on the side of your iPhone, you’ll find the Ring/Silent switch. If you want your iPhone to vibrate rather than ring, tap Settings, then Sounds, then activate Vibrate beneath the Silent button. If you want it to vibrate and ring at the same time, pick the Vibrate option below the Ring Button. To change the volume on the ringer and the alert sounds, tap Settings, Sounds and adjust the slider as appropriate.

You can also use the volume buttons on the side of your handset if you’re not on a call or playing an audio or video file. Under Settings, Sounds, Ring, you’ll also find options for playing a sound when you receive a text message, voice message or email, use the keyboard or have an appointment.

Show a caller’s picture

You can attach a photo to each contact so that the person’s picture comes up when you call each other. Tap Phone, Contacts and pick the correct contact. Tap Edit, Add Photo, then either Take Photo, which lets you snap a picture to use, or Choose Existing Photo to pick one from your stored photos. Now you can zoom in or out by pinching or double-tapping, and also move it up, down or to the side by dragging it.

Lock your iPhone with a passcode

Settings, General, Passcode Lock will allow you to enter a 4-digit passcode for extra security. The Passcode Lock button also gives you several other options once you’ve entered your passcode. Turn Passcode Off, Change Passcode and Voice Dial On or Off are self-explanatory.

To set the number of minutes before you need to enter your passcode if the phone is idle, tap Require Passcode and enter a number. If you lose your iPhone and somebody attempts to guess your passcode your settings will be reset and all your data erased after 10 tries if you’ve activated this option by tapping Erase Data.

Use international keyboards

Whatever language you’re typing in, the iPhone is likely to have a keyboard that includes the characters you need. Go to Settings, International, Keyboards and tap to activate the ones you want. To switch keyboards tap the Globe button.