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4/3/2021 9 Comments I keep getting a message showing a sign-in is requested from a strange location.  If you have you been confused about why Apple sometimes shows that your device is in some other location, you are not alone. This article was first published December 2016, and is one of iTandCoffee's 'most read' articles.
In particular, the message you receive says that 'Your Apple ID is being used to sign in to a device near ...' and shows a location that may not be your current location. More recently, the location has shown 'near Melbourne'. It used to show 'near St Kilda Road' (which I am not). iTandCoffee gets asked about this one on a very regular basis. When I originally wrote this article, it was my own Mum who was confused by it. Her Messages was failing to complete activation because she kept was choosing the 'Don't Allow' when shown a message on her iPad - a message indicating that someone was attempting to access her account 'near St Kilda Rd'. This was confusing, given she lived in Clayton - so she she though it best to go with 'Don't Allow' every time it popped up. Why do I get a message that shows a sign-in has been requested at some other location?
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I often see iPhones and iPads that show the content of Messages and emails even when the device's screen is locked. It is a feature called Show Previews.
For me, this is a privacy concern - because your phone may be in the hands of someone who should not see the message that appears. In my own case, I disabled Show Preview when my kids were younger - because, like most kids, they would check out the message that appeared on my phone, especially when I was driving and could not check it myself. Here's where to find this Setting. 
I am a big user of the Messages app on the Mac. It allows me to compose, read and respond to Messages without having to pick up my phone - with the benefit of a real keyboard to use in typing my messages.
But one thing that I really missed when sending a message from my Mac was the ability to send animated Message Effect (such as balloons, fireworks, confetti) with my message - something that I can do on the iPhone and iPad. Here is a past article that shows an example of one of these effects. The great news is that, with macOS Big Sur, you can now send such effects from your Mac. Here's how.  The latest upgrade to the operating systems for our iPad and iPhones (iPadOS 14 and iOS 14) delivered quite a few changes to the Messages app.
But there is one that I have been wanting to see for a long time - in relation to emojis. And it has finally arrived. 9/12/2020 1 Comment A lovely feature to use when sending a Message to someone special this Christmas The Messages app has some wonderful special effects that are really worth discovering. Here is one that I love using every now and then. It is the 'send with echo' effect, and below are a couple of examples in very short videos (press play ▶︎ to watch each).
 I was in the middle of a remote support session with a business client, when the sound of bongo drums rang out loud!
I thought that it must have been one of my client's devices that did that, or that I somehow started some music by hitting some keyboard shortcut. But shortly after that appointment it happened again - and I realised that it was the 'alert' sound that my Mac was playing whenever a Message arrived! I had not knowingly changed that alert sound (and have no idea why it changed), but it definitely needed changing back to the original sound. Here's how this alert sound can be changed. 
One of the topics discussed at Friday's iPad and iPhone user group related to image sizes, and how to adjust the size of images you send.
Surprise, surprise! Another iOS update arrived overnight last night, and it has some great new features!
2/6/2017 0 Comments I just got sent a big 'love heart' balloon with a message! How did they do that? Recently, I sent a Message (using the Messages app) to a group of friends, from my iPhone to theirs, adding the screen effect shown on the right before sending. They had never seen a Message like that before, and asked how I achieved that effect! It's actually very easy, using a feature added to the Messages app as part of iOS 10. It's a lovely way of making a message extra special. Here's a really short clip showing the effect in action - tap/click ▶︎ to view. We have created a Handy Hint that provides a 'how to' for this feature. Members can click/tap the below link to view this hint. (You will need an iTandCoffee Club login to to view this tip - find out more about The iTandCoffee Club here.) Related Handy Hints and Articles
Handy Hints. (You will need an iTandCoffee Club login to to view Handy Hints - find out more about The iTandCoffee Club here.)
Articles
 For users of iPhones who also have an iPad and/or Mac computer, there is a feature of the Messages app that many of you may not yet be taking advantage of.
The feature is called 'Text Message Forwarding'. This feature allows you to receive BOTH iMessages and SMS messages on all of your Apple devices. Many of you will already be getting your iMessages (the 'blue' bubbles) on the iPad or Mac, but not seeing the 'green' bubbles on those devices (the SMS's). Find out how to enable this Messages feature in this week's Handy Hint for iTandCoffee Club members. Not yet a member? Find out more about the Club here. |
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