The StandBy mode on iPhone is home to different widgets like your favorite photos and different clock styles. It’s activated automatically when your iPhone is charging and in landscape mode. You can customize the StandBy mode to suit your requirements. For instance, you can have your favorite widgets or a clock style of your preference in the StandBy mode. Let’s check the best tips to edit and customize StandBy mode in iOS 17+ on iPhone.
Table of Contents
1. Add More Widgets
StandBy mode supports almost all the widgets available on your iPhone. If you don’t like the default set of widgets, you can add more according to your preference. For that, follow these steps:
1. Long press on the left or right widget on the first screen of StandBy mode.
2. Tap on the (+) icon at the top.
3. Then, scroll through the list of apps. Some apps offer different types of widgets too. Swipe left on the widget if you see tiny dots under the widget. Once you find your preferred widget, tap on the Add Widget button to add it to the StandBy mode. Similarly, you can add more widgets on the opposite side.
Tip: If your StandBy clock widget is showing the wrong time, long press on the clock widget, then double tap on the widget and select your current location.
2. Remove Widgets
Did you add lots of widgets to the StandBy mode? Not an issue. You can easily remove the unwanted widgets and keep only those that you want to use regularly.
Go to the widget editing screen in StandBy mode. Then, tap on the (-) icon on the widget that you want to remove.
Tip: Check out the hidden features of iOS 17.
3. Turn off Smart Rotation of Widgets
Do your widgets keep changing randomly on the StandBy mode? It’s because of the Smart Rotate feature enabled by default in StandBy mode. But you can easily turn it off.
Long press on a widget in the StandBy mode. Then, tap on the Smart Rotate button to turn it off.
Tip: Learn how to customize the widget stack on iPhone.
4. Reorder Widgets
Typically, the widgets will show up in the order that they are added to the StandBy mode. However, you can easily reorder them. For that, go to the widget editing screen. Then, long press on a widget and drag it up or down to change its position.
5. Call Someone from StandBy Mode
Want to call or message someone from the StandBy mode directly? You can do it with the help of the contact widget.
1. Go to the widget editing screen in StandBy mode and tap the (+) icon.
2. Tap on Contacts and press the Add Widget button.
3. Double-tap on the contact widget to edit it.
4. Then, tap on Contact to select the contact. Also, enable the toggle next to Show buttons.
Now, you will see the call and message buttons for the selected contact on StandBy mode.
Tip: Know how to add a contact to the home screen on iPhone.
6. Use Third-Party Widget Apps
In addition to the native widgets, you can also use third-party widget apps to customize and add widgets on the StandBy mode. Some of the widget apps that work with StandBy are:
7. Add Custom Albums to Photos
Generally, the StandBy mode will show featured photos on the photos screen. However, you can select any album and show its photos in the StandBy mode. For that, follow these steps:
1. Long press on the Photos screen (second screen) in the StandBy mode to edit it.
2. Tap on the (+) Add icon at the top.
3. Select the album whose photos you want to see.
4. Press the Done button on the album that you want to use.
Tip: Learn how to use Photo cutout or sticker feature on iPhone.
8. Hide Album
Generally, you will be able to switch between different albums when you swipe up or down on the photos screen. If you don’t want to see photos from the native albums like Featured Album, you can hide that album as shown below:
1. Long press on the Photos screen.
2. Then, tap on the Eye icon on the Featured album (or other albums like Nature, People, etc.)
9. Remove Album from StandBy
If you want to declutter the StandBy photos customization screen and have only a few albums show up, you can remove the unwanted albums. For that, tap on the (-) Remove icon on the album on the photos customization screen in StandBy mode. Press the Done button.
10. Change the Color of the Clock Widget
There’s no surprise that you can switch between different clock styles on the third screen in StandBy mode. However, did you know you can change the color of each clock style?
1. Long press on the third screen (clock screen) of the StandBy mode.
2. Tap on the white circle icon at the bottom-right corner.
3. Select the clock color from the color palette that shows up to change the color of the clock elements.
11. Hide Notifications in StandBy Mode
By default, notifications are enabled in StandBy mode and they appear big and also show the content of the notification. You can either disable notifications completely from showing in StandBy mode or hide the content of the notification.
To change notification settings for StandBy mode, go to Settings > StandBy. If you want to disable notifications, turn off the toggle next to Show Notifications. Or, enable the toggle next to Show preview on tap on only to hide notification content until you tap on it.
Tip: Learn the meaning of various notification settings on iPhone.
More Tips to Use StandBy Mode on iPhone
- Swipe up from the bottom edge to open Control Center in StandBy mode. On some iPhones, you will have to swipe down from the far right corner.
- Tap on a widget followed by pressing the arrow icon to open the associated app of the widget.
- On the photos screen, tap on the time to view photo details like the place and time when it was taken.
Explore Other iPhone Features
That’s how you can edit and customize iOS 17 StandBy mode on your iPhone. Before you go, learn how to setup contact posters on iPhone. Also, know how to use Personal voice on iPhone.
