Change Your iPhone's DNS Servers

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Just like in Mac OS X, you can change the DNS servers on your iPhone. This can significantly speed up Safari and other iPhone apps that use the Internet. For a general introduction to DNS, and to learn why you would want to change the DNS servers on your iPhone, see How to Change Your Mac's DNS Servers.

Before we start, you should know a couple things about how iOS handles DNS. First, these instructions only work for Wi-Fi connections - iOS does not allow you to change the DNS servers when connected to cellular networks. Also, the changes are network specific, so you'll need to change the DNS servers every time you connect to a new wireless network. The good news is that iOS remembers the settings, so you won't have to do anything the second time you connect to a network.

Here's how to change your iPhone's DNS servers:

1. From the iPhone's home screen, tap Settings.
   
2. Tap Wi-Fi. The screen shown below appears. The available wireless networks in range of your iPhone appear, as shown below.
   

3. Find your wireless network in the list, and then click the arrow. The screen shown below appears.
   

4. Tap the DNS field.
   
5. Delete the current DNS servers, and enter the new DNS servers. (If you enter more than one DNS server, be sure sure to separate the servers with commas.)
   • To use OpenDNS, enter 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220
   • To use Google DNS, enter 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4
6. Test your new DNS servers to make sure they're working.
   • If you're using OpenDNS, visit the OpenDNS test page.
   • If you're using Google Public DNS, follow these testing instructions.

That's it! You've updated your iPhone's DNS servers!

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Connect an iPhone to a Wi-Fi Network

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If you're a new iPhone owner, one of the first things you'll want to learn how to do is connect your iPhone to a wireless network. That's because there are certain times when your cellular data connection just won't cut it, even if you're lucky enough to have an unlimited data plan. Using Facetime, downloading content from iTunes, and even surfing the web can be painfully slow without a wi-fi connection.

Fortunately, it's a relatively simple process to connect an iPhone to a wi-fi network. Just be sure to commit this process to memory, because it's something you'll need to do over and over again, unless you set your iPhone to automatically detect and prompt you to connect to wi-fi networks.

Here's how to connect an iPhone to a wi-fi network:

1. From the home screen, tap Settings.
   
2. Tap Wi-Fi. The window shown below appears.
   

3. Verify that the Wi-Fi slider is in the On position. This allows your iPhone to detect and connect to wireless networks.
   
4. Tap the wireless network you want to join. If the network is not password protected, the iPhone will connect immediately.
   
5. If the wireless network you selected is protected with a password, you will be prompted to enter a password, as shown below. Enter the password and then click Join to connect to the network.
   

6. If the wireless network you selected is protected with a captive portal, you will be prompted to enter a password, or a username and password combination. These are increasingly common in hotels, airports, and on college campuses.

Congratulations! Your iPhone is now connected to the wi-fi network. From now on, the iPhone will automatically connect to this network when it is in range. If you accidentally selected the wrong wi-fi network, you can tell your iPhone to forget it.

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Is Facebook Lunching Is Phone This Week?

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Facebook on Thursday sent out invitations for a press event that promised to show off the company’s “new home on Android,” which naturally led to fresh speculation about the company’s intention to produce its own Facebook-centric smartphone. 

Unnamed sources told 9t5Google that Facebook plans to show off its own modified version of the Android operating system, a move that’s similar to the way Amazon has heavily modified Android for its own Kindle Fire HD tablets. 9to5Google’s sources also indicate that Facebook is working with HTC to produce a smartphone based on Facebook’s modified Android that will be sold “as a lifestyle brand, not specifically for its hardware or software.”

This won’t be the first time that Facebook and HTC have worked together to make a smartphone. 

In case you don’t remember, HTC tried something like this back in 2011 with the ill-fated HTC Status smartphone that had a dedicated Facebook button and that looked like a rejected BlackBerry design concept from around 2006. 

But 9to5Google’s sources indicate that the new phone will feature “a deeper, forked version of Android rather than a Facebook-ified version of Sense,” so it seems the two companies are putting more effort into creating a top-tier device this time.

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