Facebook Push Causing iPhone Battery Drain?

If your iPhone battery is draining inordinately quickly, you may want to try turning off Facebook push notifications.

AppleToolbox reader Kevin Flynn writes:

“I had a similar problem, but found that tuning my Facebook app fixed it. Find ‘Settings’ and turn all the “push” options OFF for Facebook. If you can live without this, your battery charge will last much longer.”

For more fixes for iPhone battery drain, see our previous report.

Hack Returns Color to Gray iTunes 10

iTunes 10 sports a significant color scheme shift–the once colorful icons in the left-hand toolbar are now what some users describe as a dull gray. The author of drien.com has developed a hack that returns the colorful icons from iTunes 9.2 to the iTunes 10 interface.

Installing the patch requires the following process:

1. Quit iTunes 10
2. Download this package
3. Go to the Applications folder and control-click or right-click iTunes and select “Show Package Contents”
4. Navigate to /Contents/Resources/ and copy the file iTunes.rsrc to a safe location.
5. Copy the iTunes.rsrc file from the package you downloaded and paste it into the same /Contents/Resources/ folder, replacing the old file.

If anything goes wrong, you can replace the old iTunes.rsrc file or download and reinstall iTunes 10.

iTunes 10 Crashes on Launch; Fixes

Some users have reported an issue in which iTunes 10 for Mac OS X crashes on launch. There are a few potential causes for this issue, and corresponding fixes.

Remove third-party add-ons. Start iTunes in safe mode by holding down the Option and Command keys (Mac) or the Shift and Control keys (Windows) while launching iTunes. If this solves the problem, try removing third-party plug-ins as described in this Apple Knowledge Base article.

Also, remove any third-party items from the folders /Library/QuickTime and ~/Library/QuickTime.

In particular, some users report that removing DesktopVideoOut.component from these locations resolves the issue.

Remove .plist files. Quit iTunes, then move the following files to a different location (the ~ represents your user folder):

• ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.iTunes.plist
• ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.iTunesHelper.plist
• ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.iTunes.eq.plist

Relaunch iTunes and check for proper startup.

Recreate your iTunes library. As described here.

Remove then reinstall iTunes. Failing the above, try completely removing iTunes per these instructions then reinstall iTunes 10.

Downgrade to iTunes 9.2.1. If both of the above options fail, you can (as a last resort) downgrade to iTunes 9.2.1.

How To Downgrade iTunes 10 to iTunes 9.2.1

Several users who are dissatisfied with the new iTunes interface or other enhancements, or are experiencing problems with third-party add-ons or other issues may seek to downgrade to iTunes 9.2.1. Here’s the procedure:

Mac: If you have a Time Machine backup, simply use it to restore your iTunes 9.2.1. Otherwise, follow these instructions:

First, delete the following files

• The iTunes application in /Applications
• com.apple.iTunes.plist, which is located in ~/Library/Preferences (this is the library folder inside your user folder)
• iTunes.pkg, which is located in /Library/Receipts (this is the library folder at the root level of your startup drive)
• iTunesX.pkg, which is located in /Library/Receipts

Next, download iTunes 9.2.1 for Mac OS X and run the installer.

You may then need to recreate your iTunes library.

Windows

1. Go to C:\My Documents\My Music. Backup the entire “iTunes” folder to a safe location.
2. Using the Control Panel to uninstall the following: Apple Application Support, iPhone Configuration, iTunes 10, Apple Mobile Device Support, Apple Software Update and QuickTime.
3. Reboot your computer
4. Go back to C:My Documents\My Music\iTunes
5. Rename the file iTunes Library.itl to something like iTunes Library.itl.backup.
6. In the same folder, open “Previous iTunes Libraries” and find the most recent library backup, which should be named something like “iTunes Library 2010-09-1.itl” Copy this file, then paste it in C:My Documents\My Music\iTunes and rename it iTunes Library.itl
7. Download either iTunes 9.2.1 for 32-bit or iTunes 9.2.1 for 64-bit (depending on your system configuration) and install the software.
8. You may then need to recreate your iTunes library.

iTunes Store: “Your Credit Card Was Declined. Please Enter Valid Credit Card Information”

Several users have reported an issue in which their credit cards are declined by the iTunes Store. Users experiencing this issue receive the message “Your Credit Card Was Declined. Please Enter Valid Credit Card Information,” on otherwise valid cards.

It appears that this issue is occurring on an account-by-account basis. Some users have reported success in emailing the iTunes customer support center.

iTunes 10 Released: Adds Ping, AirPlay, Improved Syncing

Apple has released iTunes 10 for both Mac OS X and Windows. This release includes:

Ping: the new social music networking feature (which largely mirrors the now-defunct LaLa service that Apple acquired earlier this year)

Improved Syncing: new capacity bar, better app organization

AirPlay: enhanced streaming of music, video and other media to and from various devices, including the new Apple TV.

Apple Confirms iOS 4.1 Fixes Proximity Sensor, Bluetooth, iPhone 3G Slowness

Apple today announced that iOS 4.1, due next week, will fix a number of significant issues that have affected users of iOS 4. These include:

• Bluetooth: an issue in which Bluetooth devices that worked well with previous iPhone models delivered muffled or muddy sound when paired with the iPhone 4. Users experiencing this issue report that people on the other end of phone calls say the iPhone 4 caller sounds as if he is “in a tunnel” or “underwater.” Other users report static, popping or otherwise poor audio quality. Users have reported this issue with Bluetooth headsets from Jawbone, Motorola, Plantronics and others, as well as several car-based Bluetooth systems.
• iPhone 3G Slowness. A number of iPhone 3G users have experienced a significant degradation in performance after the iOS 4.0 update. iPhone 3GS users generally report across-the-board performance improvements with the new update, but original iPhone 3G users have reported slow app launching, delayed reactions to taps, and generally poor interface responsiveness.
• Proximity Sensor Issues. An issue in which the iPhone 4 unexpectedly mutes a call, hangs up or engages FaceTime when the device is held up to the ear. This problem occurs due to apparent under-sensitivity of the iPhone 4′s proximity sensor, which turns off the screen (and touch capabilities) when the phone is held to the ear. In other words, the proximity sensor does not properly engage, and the user’s cheek or ear accidentally touches the mute button or other functions. In other cases, it appears that the proximity sensor is not engaging at all, leaving the screen on and touchable while the iPhone 4 is held to the ear.

iPhone Keyboard Inaccurate Under iOS 4; Workaround

A number of users have reported an issue in which the iPhone’s onscreen keyboard is seemingly less accurate under iOS 4 than it was under previous iterations of the software. A sampling of reports from Apple’s discussion boards:

• mynameisbren: ”Directly after updating to iOS4, the alignment of my touchscreen seems to be a little off. When I try to double-tap the space bar, I end up hitting the ‘n’ on the second tap. This began directly after installing iOS 4.”
• Judge.Judy: ”I’m glad someone else has the same problem – I thought I was going mad. I have several friends with iPhones, none of them report any such issues. I managed to try a friends iPhone just now and irritatingly its absolutely fine.”
• Remmy70: ”I thought I was going insane… having exactly the same problem: getting ‘n’ a lot, double space-bar tap not working properly and it also feels like i’m hitting the enter and backspace buttons more than I ordinarily did.”

Potential Workaround

Oddly, several users have reported that simply adding a second keyboard significantly improves this issue. To do so, navigate to Settings > General > Keyboard, then tap “International Keyboards” and add one.

U.S. users have experienced success with adding the English (UK) keyboard.

Call Guard App: Workaround for iPhone 4 Proximity Sensor Issue

Users continue to experience an issue in which the iPhone 4 unexpectedly mutes a call, hangs up or engages FaceTime when the device is held up to the ear. This problem occurs due to apparent under-sensitivity of the iPhone 4′s proximity sensor, which turns off the screen (and touch capabilities) when the phone is held to the ear. In other words, the proximity sensor does not properly engage, and the user’s cheek or ear accidentally touches the mute button or other functions. In other cases, it appears that the proximity sensor is not engaging at all, leaving the screen on and touchable while the iPhone 4 is held to the ear.

We’ve noted a number of potential fixes for this issue, one of which involves opening another app right after making or receiving a phone call that won’t invoke any unwanted functions if accidentally tapped.

An iOS developer has now developed an app dubbed Call Guard expressly for this purpose. Call Guard “prevents accidental user input while on a phone call, putting an end to accidental hang-ups, mutes, speakerphones, etc.” by simply offering a blank interface that will not perform any action when touched. A new version of the app tracks and displays touches, “showing you how many touches (and where) have been registered by Call Guard.”

There remains controversy over whether the forthcoming iOS 4.1 release will resolve this issue, but Call Guard provides a workable, albeit somewhat clunky solution in the meantime.

Time Machine Backup Stuck on “Waiting for index to be ready”

Time Machine may exhibit an issue in which backups get stuck indefinitely, persistently displaying the message “Waiting for index to be ready.” This problem can occur via both drives connected physically (USB or FireWire) and wireless Time Capsules.

Fixes

Delete Spotlight index. The most commonly successful fix for this issue involves deleting the Spotlight index from the destination (backup) drive then reestablishing the Time Machine process. Follow this procedure:

1. Disable Time Machine in System Preferences
2. Download Hidden Files to view invisible files on your mounted drives.
3. Delete the file .Spotlight-V100 from your startup drive and the destination disk (the one to which your Time Machine files are backed up)
4. Allow the Spotlight index to rebuild
5. Turn Time Machine back on

Do not put hard drives to sleep. Open System Preferences and choose “Energy Saver.” Deselect the option to “Put the hard disk to sleep when possible” then reattempt the backup.