Multiple tricks for gaining quick access to settings toggles on the iPhone’s Home screen have been making the news lately, and many rejoiced that such a thing could be accomplished without needing to jailbreak.
In the iOS 5.1 beta, it’s been discovered that Apple has blocked access to these settings shortcuts. How lame!
Other than some minor bug fixes, code references, and limited Siri API access for developers, iOS 5.1 doesn’t bring much of anything new to the table. It does, however, block the use of URL schemes to access system settings on the Home screen.
iSpazio sounded the alarm earlier today, and we’ve been able to independently confirm that both IconProject and Jeff Broderick’s beautiful web app workaround have been blocked.
Why do they no longer work? We wish we knew. Hopefully Apple isn’t concerned with such trivial things at the moment when we still can’t get the iPhone’s battery to last half a day.
Alex Heath is a journalist who works for Tech Insider. He’s the former co-host of The CultCast. He has been quoted by the likes of the BBC, KRON 4 News, and books like “ICONIC: A Photographic Tribute to Apple Innovation.” He lives in Lexington, Kentucky. If you want to pitch a story, share a tip, or just get in touch, additional contact information is available on his personal site. Follow him on Twitter.
64 responses to “iOS 5.1 Blocks Access To Settings Shortcuts On Your Home Screen”
Your a tech writer and you can’t figure out why something like this might be blocked? Hmmmmm….
Also it wasn’t actually that good. Took 2 touches to get to a setting, thats how many presses it usually takes. Plus it had to connect to the web to do this making it much slower. I don’t get why people think it’s actually a good additional feature.
maybe this is a good sign and Apple is developing a settings widget for the notifications pull down
I hope you are right, otherwise this is dumb as hell. I am not worried about Jailbreaking, but I will just to add this widget to NC
Never understood the need for these. How often do you need to access most of this stuff? Once or twice per month, if that?
Actually it’s only one touch. I agree that it wasn’t the slickest workaround, bu it was the closest thing we had to sbsettings
Um, no. At least not for IconProject. Works fine in airplane mode. And as for usefulness, one word: Bluetooth. It is SO much nicer to hit one icon and have it jump to BT settings, rather than navigating three taps (one of which is initially off-screen, so with the drag p it’s really four moves.
Try IconProject – it’s great!
to be able to have quick access to setting features is a nice useful feature. It beats the hell out of always going to the settings screen.
Besides, how many people want to wager Apple is working on adding a feature similar to this that’s why they blocked it.
Huh. It seems to work for me.
iPhone 4S running since 8AM, at 720PM battery life’s still at 59%. I can’t decide what’s worse, the obnoxious ads on this site or the asinine writing.
The difference is that if Apple delivers the feature it will actually work smoothly and won’t pose a security risk.
I have one touch to send message or call my wife on my home screen. I have a page of icons for calling or texting to my friends. 1 touch to Bluetooth and Brightness (and it doesn’t need the internet – it routes via Safari after the short cut has been created)….. This ability is in Android OS and I was beyond happy to see it show up on my iPhone. I am complaining to Apple about this. Not Cool.
Anyone know if “Brightness Icons” still works? http://www.cultofmac.com/11555…
What an outrage!!!! I have to touch the pretty glass screen two times to access my doohickey gizmo setting.
I quit!!!
BTW, send feedback to Apple if this pisses you off. I did and plan to everyday.
http://www.apple.com/feedback/…
LOVE IconProject! but their images are not as nice as the ones at
brdrck [dot] me / settings
Those are the icons you see in their image posted in the story.
Neither. Its the annoying know-it-alls complaining about the obnoxious ads on this site or the asinine writing.
You’re a Professor and you don’t seem to know the difference between “your” and “you’re”. Hmmmmmm…
You have ‘Prof’ in your user name and don’t know the difference between ‘your’ and ‘you’re’?
For all the people crying usefulness is unseen.
Prior to iPhone 4S, turning off 3G when you know you are not going to be in 3G area came in handy with SBSetting Jailbreak tweak. As well as easy access to Airplane mode, Bluetooth and location services. Also turning off Wi-Fi with ease when leaving WI-FI area so it don’t scan for networks and drain your batt while on the go. Not to mention Auto-lock. There are times I need my phone not auto-lock for maybe 10 min. SBSettings would allow you to shut it off and than quickly turn it back on. These shortcuts helped, I will jailbreak if I have to.
Obviously, these are going to become Siri functions, turn off Wi-Fi Siri, Turn off Location Service, Enable Airplane mode. They obviously want to get people hooked on Siri.
Apple get your stuff together approving a tethering app and Icon Project and now they are both not functional and no returns available sucks. When Apple does things big they do them big, but for some reason they always seem to avoid the simplest most littlest thing for like three damn years.
Icon Project does let you choose your own images tho. Google Images has some nice images for Wi-Fi, 3G, Auto-Lock.
I tried this on my second generation iTouch and it doesn’t work on that platform either.
@readers:disqus my classmate’s mother-in-law made $211685 so far just working on the computer for a few hours. Go to this web site and read more. http://avoo.net/dywxs
Weird, if Apple really object to these shortcuts , why aren’t they yanking the iconProject app from the appstore??????????????
I have been wondering why the iPhone couldn’t just scroll the multitask bar one more to the left to get the brightness bar, ala one to the left on the iPad where the volume and brightness are. another one to the left could be some wifi switches, bluetooth, etc.
well i wont upgrade then. I have a 4, which means imm not going to be getting any Siri improvements, and my phones battery is the same as always.
I love my easy to access Wifi icon. It makes it so much easier when im at school and the public wifi is being crappy (which is every 30 minutes if its working at all). If apple really wants to take this from me, well… they can suck it.
my phone is set to connect to wifi at work and school, because when those things are working i get a stronger connection in buildings than if i was on 3g. but like most public internet, it can get sluggish and be inoperable at any time. Until a couple weeks ago, i had t o trek all the way to wifi settings. Now, its one button.
There are certain things that are in the phones that are either heavily used or never touched depending on the person. If you use your bluetooth every day, its very nice to have a one touch button to the bluetooth controls, instead of having to dig in (its simple, but tedious if you do it every day multiple times) or leave it on to drain your battery.
if you dont use a BT, you never touch the controls, and therefore have no idea how sucky it is…
Good question.. They better give me a refund..
Android, guys. Android.
Well being a professor does in no way indicate you would have perfect English, while on the other hand one would expect a writer of a tech centric site to be fairly knowledgeable about tech (and would know why thing like these would be blocked/fixed).
(Though your and you’re should never be mixed up and you are correct in pointing it out.)
First it’s beta, a beta with a nice list of issues, so it’s not even close to release. Who knows then if this is an issue rather than a change. Second, if it is a change it may well be one due to some security concern. Last, those who boast they won’t update confuse me. You bought the phone with the OS working as it does, and now you’re going to claim that you’re going to ignore the fixes and updates by Apple because you can’t use a shortcut? Uh huh…
Yeah thats’ the answer. Gee, maybe I’ll go on over the Android web site is be a troll…nawww, I have better things to do, and I think mentally stable, so it doesn’t give me joy to troll around.
Jeff’s site still works for me and I am on 5.1. Maybe you have to reinstall them after you upgrade. I tried his site for the first time yesterday. I have had 5.1 since release.
This worked for me today on 5.1. However one thing that I don’t think has been mentioned is that after using it for Bluetooth, if you subsequently use the “Settings” shortcut on your Home screen it “remembers” and goes straight to the Bluetooth section rather than the first Settings section.