iOS 17 developer beta is here which will be soon followed by the public beta in July. Several new features were released and one of them was StandBy on lock screen. We tested the StandBy feature on our iPhone so you don’t have to. Here’s everything you need to know about StandBy and how to use and customize it on your iPhone.
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What Is StandBy on iPhone
The StandBy feature on iOS 17 brings a digital clock to your lock screen. Wait, actually, it brings widgets to your lock screen. So now, when you put your iPhone on charging and rotate it in landscape mode, StandBy will activate automatically to show widgets that you have selected and customized.
Some examples include live information from delivery services, weather, and more.
Note: There is no way to enable or even disable StandBy on iPhone. The feature is baked into the iOS 17 and activates the moment you connect the charger and place the iPhone in landscape mode.
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Customize StandBy on iPhone
So when you put your iPhone in charging and turn it into landscape mode, within a few seconds, StandBy will activate automatically. If you own an older device that doesn’t support AoD or Always on Display, StandBy still works. But you will have to tap on the screen to view the widgets. Still useful and we will see how in a minute.
The first time, you will be greeted with the Welcome to StandBy screen with a message explaining what it is. Tap on X to close the pop-up.
Closing the welcome message will reveal the calendar widget automatically. Right next to it will be the clock widget. So you get a two-widget or dual-pane layout.
You can now swipe up and down on these two panes to reveal more widgets like to-do lists, weather, different clock styles, etc. The widgets are interactive meaning tapping on the clock icon will open the respective app where you can view time or set a timer.
But wait, you can also swipe left to find the photos widget. However, it requires you to have some photos in the Gallery app. If you are using Google Photos to save all photos and have none in Gallery, it won’t work and show a ‘Finding Photos’ message. Also, you need to unlock your iPhone first for the photos widget to work.
Continue swiping sideways to find more clock and calendar widgets.
And then again swipe up and down to view the world clock and different time and alarm clock widgets.
We recommend you play around some time to get familiar with all the widget styles that are currently available on iPhone’s lock screen in StandBy mode.
Note: Siri works in StandBy mode so you can set a timer or do other chores while the screen is locked and in StandBy.
Turn Off StandBy Mode
StandBy is enabled by default on iOS 17, however, you can turn it off if you want. Simply go to Settings > StandBy and disable StandBy option. Night Mode simply displays text and elements in the widget in red font when StandBy is enabled and working but the phone is in low light condition or ambient light. This is so that your eyes do not hurt from the screen’s blue light.
Turn Off Notifications in StandBy Mode
With the new iOS 17.2 Developer Beta, users can now disable notifications while their iPhone is in StandBy Mode. To do so, go to Settings > StandBy and turn off Show Notifications.
StandBy Mode on iPhone Lock Screen
The feature is new but works amazingly well. Right now, you get a limited set of widgets to choose from and they are all native iOS features or Apple apps.
However, we expect more third-party apps to jump in and offer their own widgets using API. We also hope that Apple will add a way to customize the widgets on the lock screen in StandBy mode better by using some kind of UI as it does for lock screen customizations. Right now, you have to swipe to find the widget you are looking for. Too much hassle.
