Mobile menu toggle

How to fix the iPhone No Service error while roaming

By •

IPhone no service error
Just switch this setting to fix the iPhone No Service error.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

If you’ve ever traveled to a foreign country with your iPhone or iPad, you may have come across the dreaded No Service error. This happens when you get off the plane and switch on your iPhone. But instead of connecting to a cellular network, your iPhone just spins its wheels and refuses to connect.

Apple offers a support page to help out, and a zillion forum pages serve up advice, but none seem to cover this particular tip, which I discovered after hours of painful futzing with settings.

macOS High Sierra, tvOS 11 and watchOS 4 get fourth beta builds

By •

wwdc 2017
macOS High Sierra was one laid back macOS update.
Photo: Apple

Apple seeded its fourth beta build of macOS High Sierra to developers today, along with new betas of watchOS 4 and tvOS 11.

The new builds come two weeks after Apple dropped the last builds on developers that brought a bunch of new bug fixes and under the hood changes. Apple didn’t add quite as many major changes as it did on iOS 11 beta 4, but there are some notable improvements.

iOS 11 beta 4 brings new app icons

By •

The best gesture in iOS 11 isn't just for iPad.
iOS 11 is a huge update for iPhone and iPad.
Photo: Apple

Developers received an all-new beta build of iOS 11 today, just two weeks after Apple seeded the previous one.

iOS 11 beta 4 brings a host of bug fixes and performance improvements, plus a few key changes that make Apple’s mobile operating system even better. New beta builds are also available for macOS High Sierra, tvOS 11 and macOS High Sierra.

Apple Park goes green in latest drone video

By •

Apple Park
The spaceship is nearly ready for liftoff.
Photo: Duncan Sinfield

Apple Park is finally starting to look like a finished project in the latest drone flyover video. Landscaping work is in full swing as construction crews race to finish the final details on the Steve Jobs Theater and other buildings.

The new Apple campus is still weeks away from being move-in ready. Vehicle traffic on Tantau Ave. was shutdown for most of July as Apple rushes to finish the Visitor’s Center too.

Take a look at the progress:

Everything new with Apple’s Photos app in macOS High Sierra

By •

Cult of Mac
The Photos app in macOS High Sierra comes packed with great new features.
Photo: Cult of Mac

In macOS High Sierra, the built-in Photos app packs some great new tools as well as lots of small improvements. It brings better organization, new editing tools (like selective color and curves), and extended integration with third-party apps.

Check out all the new features and improvements in Apple’s Photos app.

Foxconn could confirm U.S. manufacturing plans this week

By •

Foxconn
But there's a definite chance of further delays.
Photo: Foxconn

Foxconn, Apple’s largest manufacturing partner, could this week announce its plans to open new manufacturing facilities in the U.S.

Sources say the Chinese company could hold an event in Washington, D.C. to announce new electronics plants in Detroit and Wisconsin — but it’s not yet clear whether those plants will be making goods for Apple.

Get the app used by today’s professional screenwriters [Deals]

By •

Final Draft 10
If you're a pro or aspiring screenwriter, you're going to want to be familiar with Final Draft.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Today’s movies and TV shows are more popular than ever before. That makes screenwriting a job that’s never been more lucrative or impactful. And like photography, video, and music, there’s an industry standard software for screenwriters.

Apple makes a Siri ‘movie’ with Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson

By •

Siri movie
The Rock is the start of Apple's first Siri "movie."
Photo: Apple

Apple has teamed up with Dwayne Johnson, better known as The Rock, to make its first Siri “movie.”

It’s called The Rock x Siri: Dominate the Day, and it’s pretty hilarious. Johnson plays an exaggerated version of himself who uses Siri to fulfill crazy dreams. But it’s certainly not a movie.

Layton’s Mystery Journey, Clips, and other awesome apps of the week

By •

Awesome Apps
'Appy weekend everyone!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

A brilliant, sumptuously animated point-and-click mystery game is just one of the great App Store picks we’ve highlighted for this week’s “Awesome Apps” roundup.

We’ve also selected two major updates to big messaging apps, and a new “must have” app for Nintendo Switch owners. Check out our choices below.

Going online via a VPN is the smart thing to do [Deals]

By •

TigerVPN
TigerVPN protects your browsing with military grade encryption, on almost any device.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

The internet is a scary place. And that’s not just because of the weird comments and content you might run into. It’s also a place that;s filled with identity thieves, hackers, and other dangers. Add to that the annoyance of regional content restrictions, and using a virtual private network to connect becomes a must.

Cult of Mac Magazine: Best Apple Watch Running App, Everything new with Siri, and more!

By •

cult of mac magazine
All this week on Cult of Mac, Graham Bower's been reviewing the best running apps for Apple Watch. And, now we bring them to you!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

We’ve got a jam-packed issue this week including a rundown of six running apps for Apple Watch. See which one comes out on top!

In this week’s issue of Cult of Mac Magazine, you’ll find that story and more. Get the latest on iPhone 8’s Touch ID. Find out everything new with Siri in iOS 11 update. And discover five apps that keep you safe while traveling. Get your free subscription to Cult of Mac Magazine from iTunes. Or read on for this week’s top stories.

Writing assistants, unlimited phone plans, and more [Week’s best deals]

By •

collage-2017-07-21
Writing assistants, meditation apps, lifetime phone plans and more are all part of this week's best deals.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Here at the Cult of Mac Store, we delight in finding great new deals on tools and tech every week. This go around, we’ve got a gravity-operated mobile car mount, and a super useful writing assistant. Additionally, we’ve got an app to guide you in meditating (really), and a phone plan year of unlimited talk and text. Discounts run from a third to as much as 90 percent off, red on for more details:

Why Apple’s making an iPhone Pro, this week on The CultCast

By •

It's time to make the iPhone exciting again.
It's time to make the iPhone exciting again.
Photo: @YSR50

This week on The CultCast: Why Apple’s making an iPhone Pro, a tech-packed cutting-edge phone that will showcase what Cupertino is capable of. Plus: Genius Bar jackpot! (Or, why Apple sometimes replaces your old, broken gear for a brand new model.) And stick around for a super-powerful electric long board, a HomeKit-enabled ceiling fan, and a pro-level keyboard case for your iPad Pro in an all-new Under Review.

Our thanks to Squarespace for supporting this episode. It’s simple to accept Apple Pay and sell your wares with your very own Squarespace.com website. Enter offer code “CultCast” at checkout to get 10 percent off any hosting plan.

Can facial recognition replace Touch ID? [Friday Night Fights]

By •

iPhone facial recognition
Unlocking your iPhone could be as easy as looking at it.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Recent iPhone 8 rumors have left the future of Touch ID unclear. Some indicate it will remain, but in a new position, while others warn that Apple plans to replace it with iris scanning and facial recognition.

Friday Night Fights bugThese aren’t entirely new technologies; other manufacturers have been offering them for years with mixed results. But can Apple deliver a solution that’s simple, fast, and secure enough to replace the fingerprint scanner?

Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight as we battle it out over whether the iPhone can bid farewell to Touch ID.

Apple onboard with India for high-speed trains

By •

Apple train tech India
India's government hopes Apple can help make the country's trains run faster.
Photo: Ankur Yadav/Flickr CC

Apple is eager to get business in India on a fast track – plans that include partnering with the government on high-speed rail.

Apple reportedly is among a group of technology firms that will help India’s railways increase train speeds up to as much as 600 kilometers per hour.

iOS 11 automatically ignores flaky Wi-Fi connections

By •

Flaky Wi-fi
You should already have this switched off.
Photo: Cult of Mac

With iOS 11, your iPhone gets smart enough to realize when a Wi-Fi connection is flaky, and gives up trying to join it. This might be most useful if you’re one of those people who keeps your Ask Join Networks setting activated, but it should help anyone who uses their iPhone in multiple places — i.e. everyone ever.

Customization is key with OleksynPrannyk’s tailor-made bands for Apple Watch [Review]

By •

double tour
Outfit your Apple Watch Series 4 with our best bands guide!
Photo: OleksynPrannyk

A wristwatch is so much more than a means to tell time these days. It’s also the opportunity to accessorize and bump up one’s style with a unique, wonderfully constructed strap.

Heeding the call to individual style is OleksynPrannyk’s made-to-order and ultra-sharp Double Tour Apple Watch Band — the reasonably priced alternative to the ridiculously priced Hermès band. The Double Tour and all of OleksynPrannyk’s bands are completely customizable with more than five adapter colors and 14 thread colors from which to choose.

Best yet, the entire collection is available now in Cult of Mac’s Watch Store. Trust me, you will love this band.

iPhone 4s sparked house fire, lawsuit claims

By •

iPhone 4s
A lawsuit claims the battery of an iPhone 4s is responsible for a house fire.
Photo: Apple

The insurance company for a Wisconsin man is suing Apple claiming his iPhone 4s caused a house fire last year that left significant property damage.

The lawsuit, filed recently by Xai Thao and State Farm insurance company, blamed a faulty lithium ion battery in the handset for causing the fire. Thao says the iPhone 4s contained the original factory battery.

Tips to help you relive your great vacation [Tech Travel Tips]

By •

Vacation photo
You vacation photos are useless if you forget about them.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

tech travel tips It used to be that when you got back from vacation, you’d drop your film off at the lab and cross your fingers. You hoped you’d get some half-decent photos back a week later, while memories of that cool restaurant you liked faded with your tan.

Now we share our photos with friends and family while we’re still on the beach, then forget about them. But we can, and probably should, make a little effort to preserve our vacation memories. And — you guessed it — there are apps for that.

PDFs can be as easy to edit as a Word file [Deals]

By •

PDF Expert 2.2
This popular app lets you edit PDFs like any other text document.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

PDFs. If you work in a digital workplace, you’re dealing with this ubiquitous document format. It’s no wonder why: in addition to making written content look great, they’re flexible and convenient. That is, until you try to edit one.

How ARKit will deliver the future of maps

By •

Augmented
This is one way not to get lost.
Photo: Andrew Hart

From crowdsourced traffic data on Waze to Apple’s innovative “Flyover” feature for Apple Maps, our smartphones have introduced a number of clever map-related technologies that make it easier to get from point A to point B in the most efficient way possible.

A new demo of Apple’s ARKit augmented reality reality by independent iOS developer Andrew Hart showcases how augmented reality could help take our navigation to the next level. Check it out below.