How to Use the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR

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Use these tips to help you master the iPhone XS, iPhone XR and iPhone X — from how to navigate the devices to getting the most out of their new features.

How to Keep iPhone XR and XS Live Photos Off By Default

Maybe you’ve never owned an iPhone before. Maybe you decided to set up your iPhone XS or iPhone XR as a brand new phone instead of restoring your old iPhone’s settings. Either way, you open the Camera app and find that instead of shooting regular photos, every image you capture is a moving Live Photo.

“How do I make this stop?” you might yell in a fit of rage.

I’ve seen it happen with my own eyes, which is why I have an incredibly easy way to keep Live Photos from turning on by default every single time you open your iPhone Camera app.

MORE: How to Use Portrait Mode on the iPhone XS Front Camera

Live Photos capture a few seconds of motion and sound at the beginning and end of each shot. While it's a nice feature under the right circumstances, not every photographic moment lends itself to a Live Photo, and the images take up more space than a standard shot.

To turn off Live Photos, tap the yellow circle at the top of the Camera apps interface, turning it white. Live Photos are now disabled. Here's what you can do to make sure that preference sticks. —Caitlin McGarry

1. Open the Settings app.

2. Select Camera.

3. Tap Preserve Settings.

4. Toggle on the Live Photo setting, which is turned off by default. Turning this setting on will preserve the setting you chose for Live Photos in the Camera app.

Once this setting is enabled, if you have Live Photos off and then swipe the Camera app closed, the mode will remain off when you launch the camera again. If you leave Live Photos turned on when you close the app, it will still be on when you open it.

It’s a little thing, but one that causes headaches for new iPhone owners who don’t want every photo they take to be a live one.

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Tom's Guide Staff
Tom's Guide Staff

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7 Comments Comment from the forums
  • spal26558
    It's good I understand n I will tell my friend also
    Reply
  • doduyvuong
    If i switch the Control USB Restricted Mode on iPhone XS and i forget it for so longtime, untill the batterie is running out, can i still be able to recharge it to use t again?
    Reply
  • webgtlnbrgrs
    Gee, it asked me if I wanted to up load all the info from my iPhone 7 , I clicked yes, and it said put both phones close together and it did it all on it's own, I don't understand why you even wrote this article ..
    Reply
  • dittodan
    I tried several times and this only brings up a screen to let you "slide" to make it go off. What am I doing wrong?
    Reply
  • dittodan
    Tried adding an Amazon and and PayPal CC and it denied me. Before I got this phone, both of the cards were signed up and working fine.
    Reply
  • dittodan
    Is this higher capacity charger the same one used for an iPad?
    Reply
  • powerharp
    After years of using Android, I changed to an iPhone ONLY because iPhone can stream audio to my hearing aids. After 2 weeks with the iPhone there are several clearly inferior characteristics. Most annoying is that you cannot close all open apps at once. The requirement to swipe each open app up or possibly do three at once is garbage. it is extremely difficult to switch between apps as will, something I did frequently on my clearly superior Android phones. Also, Android has apps that allow you to record phone calls but Apple doesn't, claiming that it is illegal in a lot of places. It's also legal in a lot of places. The iPhone function to swipe to get to the open apps is a joke (Android just requires a touch) and the procedure to get to the previous screen when browsing is also laughable compared to Android.
    Reply