Ankur Thakur

Ankur has been an Apple user for over seven years. At iDB, Ankur primarily focuses on iPhone, Apple Watch, AirPods, and Mac tips, guides, how-tos, and fixes. He loves to test things thoroughly before putting them in his articles. Someday in the near future, he wants to have a personal office outfitted with Apple products such as Apple TV, HomePod, iMac, and more. Besides writing about Apple, Ankur likes to watch tech videos, romantic and comedy movies & TV shows, listen to very old songs, and eat pizza and chicken. Twitter: @iAnkurThakur

How to use Templates in the Reminders app on iPhone, iPad, and Mac

Ankur Thakur ∙ September 23, 2022

Do you find yourself typing and making reminders for tasks or to-dos that repeat frequently? If yes, you no longer have to. The new templates feature inside the Apple Reminders app in iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 will help you quickly create new reminder lists with all its tasks from a saved template. Plus, you can share your templates with others as well as use templates shared by someone else.

In this tutorial, we will show you how to create, manage, and use reusable reminder templates on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

11 ways to hang up a call on iPhone

Ankur Thakur ∙ September 22, 2022

Done talking on your iPhone? You can end the call using one of these 11 ways. Note that these work for both standard carrier calls and FaceTime calls. Some of them will also work to hang up a call made via VoIP apps like WhatsApp, Viber, Skype, Zoom, Google Duo, etc.

How to extract text from an image or video using Live Text on iPhone, iPad, and Mac

Ankur Thakur ∙ September 22, 2022

Live Text is a built-in feature on iPhone, iPad, and Mac that recognizes text inside an image or video. From there, you can copy the text, translate it, look up its definition, and much more.

Here's how to use Live Text on your Apple devices.

How to use Find & Replace text in the Notes app on iPhone in iOS 16

Ankur Thakur ∙ September 21, 2022

The Notes app in iOS 16 brings a handy Find & Replace option, and we show you how to use it on your iPhone.

How to use themes while reading books on iPad and iPhone

Ankur Thakur ∙ September 21, 2022

Themes inside the iPad and iPhone Books app can elevate your reading experience, making it more comfortable, and enjoyable.

Every theme is a collection of multiple settings like background color, font type, spacing, and more. In addition to Original, you have five other themes named Quiet, Paper, Bold, Calm, and Focus to choose from.

In this tutorial, we show you how to use and customize reading themes inside the Apple Books app.

How to translate words, sentences, and text found in images in Safari, Notes, Photos, and other apps

Ankur Thakur ∙ September 22, 2022

This tutorial will show you how to translate words, sentences, or paragraphs on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. We will also show you how to use the Live Text feature to translate text found in images.

We will guide you through the steps using Safari as our example. But since the translation feature is built into the operating system, you can also use it in all Apple-made apps such as Notes, Photos, Mail, and more. Unfortunately, this doesn't work with all third-party applications.

How to downgrade your iPhone software from iOS 16 to iOS 15

Ankur Thakur ∙ September 21, 2022

This tutorial will guide you through the process of downgrading your iPhone from iOS 16 to iOS 15. But first, let's go over the reasons why you might want to do this, and what you need to downgrade from a newer version of iOS 16 to an older version of iOS 15.

How to permanently unlock the Hidden and Recently Deleted sections of the Photos app on iPhone

Ankur Thakur ∙ September 20, 2022

When you hide a photo or video on your iPhone, it's removed from the Recents album and moved to a new Hidden section. Similarly, when you delete a picture or video, it's moved to the Recently Deleted folder, where it stays for 30 days before being permanently deleted.

In previous versions of iOS, there was no way to lock these Hidden and Recently Deleted albums. So, anyone with access to your unlocked iPhone could see what was inside the Hidden and Recently Deleted sections.

Apple tweaked these things in iOS 16, and now Hidden and Recently Deleted sections are locked by default. You will see these changes immediately after installing iOS 16. But if you don't like that and wish to keep the Hidden and Recently Deleted albums permanently unlocked, here's how to do that.

How to get reminded about an email on iPhone, iPad, and Mac in iOS 16 and macOS Ventura

Ankur Thakur ∙ September 20, 2022

The Mail app in iOS 16 and macOS Ventura has a built-in reminder feature that will notify you to attend to that email in an hour, tonight, tomorrow, or at a custom date and time. Plus, it will resurface that email to the top of your inbox for easy visibility.

Let me tell you why this new Remind Me feature is helpful and how to use it so that you don't miss replying to or attending to an important opened email.

How to transfer data from your old phone to iPhone 14 using AnyTrans [sponsored]

Ankur Thakur ∙ September 20, 2022

It's that special time of the year when people are getting their hands on the new iPhone 14 series and the exciting iOS 16.

If you bought an iPhone or are planning to buy one, you might be thinking about moving your data from your current smartphone to your new iPhone.

Sure, Apple has the Move to iOS app to help you switch from Android to iOS and the Quick Start feature to migrate your data from your current iPhone to a new one. On the basic level, these tools are handy. But as you will find out, they have some drawbacks.

Thankfully, AnyTrans from iMobie, a continuously updated decade-old app, will comfortably allow you to transfer all or selected data from your current iPhone or Android phone to your new iPhone 14.

How to turn off Instagram notifications about new Reels being shared

Ankur Thakur ∙ September 19, 2022

Are you tired of Instagram notifying you of new Reels shared by someone else? It's no secret that Instagram does this to nudge you to open its app and spend time there. But in most cases, those recently shared new Reels may not be interesting and certainly not worth a notification alert pushed to your iPhone.

To address this, you can easily turn off Instagram notifications about new Reels being shared.

How to see the Wi-Fi password of your current or previously joined Wi-Fi networks on iPhone

Ankur Thakur ∙ September 19, 2022

iOS 16 makes it very easy to view the Wi-Fi password of any network you're connected to or have connected to previously. So, if you can't remember your Wi-Fi password, now it takes just a few steps to view it and copy it.