Got a new iPhone? These are the first 11 things to do with it

Getting a new iPhone comes with lots of things you’d want to do – especially, if that’s your first iPhone. In the midst of the myriad things to do, some are a lot more important. The basics.

In this article, we’ll explore some elementary things to do with your new Apple device. Although these steps only scratch the surface, they’ll place you on the path to becoming an iPhone pro. There’ll be detailed follow-up articles on each of the steps listed here.

1. Create your Apple ID

There are hundreds of thousands of wonderful apps in the App Store. In order for you to take advantage of them, you’ll need an Apple ID – also known as an iTunes account.

It is a free account with which you buy music, movies, apps, and much more at iTunes. It’s also necessary if you want to take advantage of cool features such as FaceTime, iMessage, iCloud, Find My Phone and all the wonderful features that your iPhone is build with.

You can choose not to set up an Apple ID, however, you won’t be able to do much without it on your phone.

2. Activate your new iPhone

The first and most important thing to do with your phone is to activate it. The setup process that activates the iPhone is basic and lets you choose settings for features such as Find My iPhone, FaceTime, iMessage, and more. In order to do so, make sure you have Wi-Fi available or a computer nearby to connect your phone to.

3. Install iTunes

In the world of the iPhone, iTunes goes beyond being just the program that you use in storing and playing your music. It is also the tool with which you add and remove music, video, photos, apps, and much more from your iPhone. Also, that is where quite a number of iPhone related settings are, so it’s pretty much crucial to using your phone.

iTunes is free, and Macs come with it pre-installed; Windows users would have to download it. Here’s how to get iTunes running on Windows.

4. Set up, and sync your iPhone

Now that your Apple ID and iTunes are up and in place, it’s time for you to go ahead and load your iPhone with content by plugging it into your computer. Content can be music from your music library, photos, movies, ebooks and more. If you’re new to all these, this article will be of help. It’s  also got tips for you on how to go about creating folders, rearranging your app icons, and much more.

Once you’ve synced via USB once, you can change your settings and sync over Wi-Fi anytime you desire to.

5. Set up, and configure iCloud

It gets much easier to use your iPhone when you have iCloud—especially when you have got more than one computer or mobile device storing more of your music, apps, or other data on it.

What iCloud does is to collect, or compile a lot of features together into a single tool, features such as the ability to back up your data to Apple’s servers so as to re-install it over the Internet with one click, or automatically sync data across devices.

iCloud, which is free, also allows you to redownload anything you’ve ever bought at the iTunes Store. So, even after you’ve lost or deleted them from your phone, you never really lose your purchases.

6. Set up your Touch ID and fingerprint scanner

Securing your iPhone is a very important thing to do. The iPhone 5S, 6 series, 6S series, 7, and 8 series have a fingerprint scanner, Touch ID, built into the Home button.

Originally, Touch ID was only used for unlocking the phone, and making iTunes or App Store purchases. However, it can now be used by any app, which means any app that requires a password or needs to keep data secure can start using it. Not only that, but it’s also an important security feature for Apple Pay, Apple’s wireless payments system. Touch ID, which is simple to set up and easy to use, makes your phone more secure.

7. Set up Face ID on iPhone X

Face ID is the newest lock and key feature from Apple that replaced Touch ID on the iPhone X. Its accuracy is exceptional. Factor in the attention awareness feature and you’ll have an impressive security feature.

Attention Awareness unlocks your phone using Face only ID if it detects that you are actually paying attention to it. It does this by analyzing your facial expressions. Also, if it detects that you’re no longer paying attention to your unlocked device (for example setting it aside), it will lock the device again.

Here’s how you can set up Face ID on iPhone X.

8. Set up ‘Find My iPhone’

Find My iPhone is a crucial feature of iCloud which enables you to use the iPhone’s in-built GPS in pinpointing its location on a map. This feature will be your lifesaver if your iPhone ever gets lost or stolen.

In that case, you’ll be able to locate it down to the part of the street it’s on. That’s important information to give to the police when you’re trying to recover a stolen phone. In order to use Find My iPhone when your phone goes missing, you first have to set it up. Do that now and you won’t be sorry later.

It’s worth knowing, though, that setting up Find My iPhone isn’t the same thing as having the Find My iPhone app. You don’t necessarily need the app.

9. Get familiar with the built-in apps

The apps you get at the App Store are the ones that have been hyped the most. However, the iPhone comes bundled with quite a great selection of apps built in. So before diving far into the App Store, learn how to use the built-in apps made for web browsing, email, calling, music, photos, and much more.

Some of these apps are Safari, iPhone’s web browser, music app, Apple music, photos app, notification center, and lots of other cool apps.

10. Explore the app store to get new apps

Now that you’ve spent some time getting around the built-in apps, your adventure should take you to the App Store – there you’ll get all kinds of new exciting programs.

Whatever it could be that you’re looking for – whether games you can enjoy, or an app for watching Netflix or football games on your iPhone. Or maybe you need recipe ideas on what to make for dinner or apps to help you improve your workouts, you’ll find them at the App Store. Most of the apps don’t cost so much. A lot are just for a dollar or two, or maybe even free.

11. Set up and use a personal hotspot

Personal hotspot is an iOS feature that enables iPhones running iOS 4.3 and higher to share their cellular data connection with other nearby devices via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or USB. Generically, this feature is known as tethering.

When using Personal hotspot, your iPhone becomes a wireless router of sorts for the other devices, transmitting and receiving data for them. Here’s how to setup personal hotspot on your iPhone.

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