The Settings app is probably one that you use all the time without even thinking about it. A lot of the tools that help you to make iOS more in tune with your personal preferences are managed through Settings. But even with the best-designed interface in the world, the complexity of iOS means that some things get a bit buried.
If you travel a lot, turning on the Airplane mode might not seem like a hardship, but if you want to get to your usage information quickly, it’s a slightly more circuitous route. Thankfully, there is a quick and simple method that allows you to access such deeper system settings much more easily.
This straightforward method requires you to do nothing more than browsing to a website in Safari, clicking on a link there and installing a profile. Once you’ve got this up and running, accessing the system preference you need is as easy as launching an app. Tap on an icon to take you directly to, let’s say, the brightness controls or Bluetooth settings.
This whole process is fairly simple and – best of all – free. It will really speed up those times when you need to navigate to a system option quickly, and the icon looks and acts just like any normal app. The only caveat is that you’ll need an active internet connection to download the links. But once you’ve created them, the shortcuts will work offline, so you won’t need a connection to use them later.
To remove the links, you delete them much like you get rid of any other app – by tapping and holding until they shake and then tapping on the x. Then you’ll also need to remove the profile from Settings > General > Profiles too.
MarshallG
March 07, 2012 at 6:24pm
Sadly, these cool shortcuts don't work under the new iOS 5.1 update. Real shame, too. I used the Bluetooth shortcut daily.
rustybaum
February 08, 2012 at 9:54am
This is awesome. I use my work WiFi for streaming music and other data heavy apps, but can't get onto some sites/apps due to sites being blocked by my company. I am regularly turning WiFi on and off and this is really useful to getting to the preference quickly.
Thanks!
