Automation

How to automatically change your iPhone wallpaper every day

wallpaper changes every day

Looking at the same wallpaper every day can be boring for some. If you feel the same, you can spice things up by having your iPhone automatically change the Home Screen and Lock Screen wallpaper daily.

Plus, you can customize it to auto-change the wallpaper when you plug or unplug the charger or put the device in Airplane Mode and many other such conditions. Here's how.

3 ways to set a sleep timer in Spotify on iPhone

Set sleep timer in Spotify on iPhone

I have a habit of falling asleep while listening to old music on Spotify. The problem is that I don't want the music to play all night long. That's why I've been using a sleep timer to make sure Spotify automatically stops playing after a set time. This brief tutorial will show you three ways to add a sleep timer to Spotify on iPhone and iPad.

How to get a notification when your iPhone or iPad is fully charged

iPhone fully charged notification

Knowing when your iPhone or iPad has been fully charged can be helpful, depending on the circumstances. Maybe you're waiting for your iPhone to reach 100% of battery before leaving home. Or maybe you just don't like to keep your device plugged in once the battery has been fully charged. Whatever your reason may be, there is a way to be alerted the minute your iPhone or iPad has reached a full charge.

Using the Shortcuts app, we will create a personal automation that will run when the battery level reaches 100%. At that time, we will have different options as to how we want to be alerted.

How to control your old garage door with Siri and HomeKit

HomeKit garage door

You don't need to spend big money on a brand new garage door opener in order to be able to control it with HomeKit and/or Siri. Indeed, you can simply use an add-on accessory that will bring HomeKit support to virtually any garage door opener, letting you control it using Siri or the Home app on your iPad, iPhone, or Apple Watch.

I personally upgraded my garage door opener with such an accessory a few weeks ago, and in about 30 minutes, I was all set. Now this is not a hack. This is not a workaround. This is real HomeKit support, and all it requires is the meross Smart Garage Door Opener Remote, a $49 accessory you can find on Amazon.

How to automatically silence your Apple Watch based on location

Silent mode and Theater mode enabled on Apple Watch Ultra

While your Apple Watch makes some nice and useful sounds, you don’t always want to hear them. You may have sounds for alerts, reminders, or to let you know the time. But if you’re heading someplace where those sounds can annoy others, you probably want to silence them.

So that you never forget to enable Theater Mode or Silent Mode, you can set up automations to turn these on automatically based on your location. Here, we’ll show you how to create these automations for your Apple Watch in the Shortcuts app.

How to change your iPhone or iPad wallpaper with a single tap

Changing the Lock and Home screen wallpapers on your iPhone or iPad requires using the Settings app. Wouldn't it be great if you could change your wallpaper automatically, with a single tap? With wallpaper automation that's now available in iOS 14.3 and iPadOS 14.3, you can do just that. In this tutorial, we'll show you how to use a custom workflow in Apple's Shortcuts app to automate changing wallpaper with a single tap of a Home screen icon.

How to control your Roomba with Siri

Control Roomba with siri

Even though the iRobot line of smart vacuums doesn't support Apple HomeKit, there is a way to control your iRobot Roomba with Siri. It's not as simple as downloading an app and pushing a button, but it's not overly complex either.

If you're in a tinkering mood, then you're going to have a blast, and in about 5 minutes, you should be able to command your Roomba using Siri on your iPhone, iPad, Mac or even HomePod.

How to use the new automation triggers in Shortcuts

Updated Personal Automations in Shortcuts iPad

Automations in the Shortcuts app give you awesome ways to make tasks simpler. With automations, you can do things like open an app, play music, or make a phone call, all automatically based on triggers you set up.

The Shortcuts app offers both personal and home automations to make your life a little easier. And with iOS 14 and iPadOS 14, you have even more triggers available. Here, we’ll show you how to use some of these new personal automation triggers in Shortcuts.

How to allow untrusted shortcuts on iPhone

Allow Untrusted Shortcut on iPhone

Are you trying to add a shortcut on your iPhone or iPad but can't proceed as your device is blocking unknown shortcuts? Here's how you can easily flip a switch and allow untrusted shortcuts on your iPhone. After this, you can use non-Apple curated shortcuts from elsewhere, like a website, shared via services like iMessage, received from AirDrop, and more.