How to change your apple iphone’s name

Have an Apple product but don’t like the name it came with? You can rename your iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch with just a few clicks or taps. Here’s how.

You’ve got an iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch, and it’s working fine. There’s just one problem. The name. Your device may sport a generic name bestowed upon it when you first set it up. Or it may have had a previous owner and is still hanging onto that person’s name.

If more than one iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch has a home among your family members, you’ll also want to give each one its own unique name.

Or maybe you want a more generic moniker that won’t identify you via AirDrop to other surrounding iOS owners.

Whatever the reason, you’re not stuck with the existing name. You can change it to something more specific and more personal. You can change the name of your iPhone or iPad through iTunes or on the device itself. And you can change the name of your Apple Watch via the Watch app on your iPhone. Let’s go through the steps for renaming your Apple gadget.

iPhone/iPad with a PC

Using iTunes with a PC

iPhone/iPad with a Mac

Using iTunes with a Mac

Directly on the Device

Apple Watch

AirDrop

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About Lance Whitney

Surviving a long and varied career in publishing, advertising, and IT, Lance Whitney now wears a few different technology hats. By day, he’s a journalist, software trainer, and sometime Web developer. By night, he’s asleep. These days, he writes news stories, columns, and reviews for CNET and other technology sites and publications. He’s written two books for Wiley & Sons: Windows 8 Five Minutes at a Time in 2012, and Teach Yourself VISUALLY LinkedIn in 2014. Contact Lance via Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn.

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When you first set up your iPhone, Apple gives it a generic, default name. This becomes its identity when you use AirDrop, pair to Bluetooth devices, or connect to a hotspot. If you’d prefer something else, though, you can change your iPhone’s name in iOS.

If you recently reset your phone’s settings, its name might just be “iPhone.” However, there’s an option in the “Settings” app to change your iPhone’s name to anything you want.

To do so, open the “Settings” app on your iPhone and tap “General.” You can also use Apple’s built-in Spotlight Search to locate “Settings” if you can’t find it on your device’s Home screen.

You see the current name of your device in the “Name” section; tap it.

On this screen, tap the “X” next to the current name of your device to delete it.

Type the new name of your iPhone in the text box.

Tap “Done” on the keyboard to save your changes.

Now, when you go back to the “About” section, you see your iPhone’s new name.

This isn’t just limited to your iPhone, either—you can use this guide to rename any computer, smartphone, or tablet.

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After receiving a previously owned iPhone, you must activate it by purchasing a valid cellular plan from an authorized Apple cellular provider. Once activated, you can download and install business apps that help you to run your company more efficiently. The Apple iPhone can be used to keep in contact with clients, partners and affiliates. Additionally, if you purchase the iWork suite, you can edit Pages, Numbers and Keynote documents directly from your iPhone to increase your productivity.

Step 1

Remove the old SIM card, if applicable, from the iPhone. The SIM card can be removed by pushing a small paperclip into the SIM card compartment.

Step 2

Contact the previous owner to confirm the iPhone cellular plan has been canceled. Then, purchase a new cellular plan for your iPhone. Use the same carrier as the previous owner to ensure that the iPhone is compatible.

Step 3

Download iTunes from the Apple website if you don’t have it on your computer. If you already have iTunes, check for and install any available updates.

Step 4

Connect the iPhone to your computer with its connection cable and launch iTunes if it doesn’t automatically open.

Step 5

Select the name of the iPhone in the Devices section at the left of the screen. Click the “Restore” option in the main iTunes window to restore your iPhone to the factory default settings. Then, follow the setup instructions to set up the iPhone as a new phone and customize the iPhone with the your information.

Step 6

Activate the iPhone when prompted by following the onscreen activation instructions while connected to iTunes.

You may have seen Sebastien’s quick tutorial explaining how to change your Mac computer’s name so you can recognize it easily when using AirDrop, or simply when looking for it on the local network.

It’s a little known fact that you can just as easily change the name of your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. Choosing a custom name for your device helps keep it distinguishable from other devices you may own and when using services like Find My.

Obviously, this is a tutorial for beginners as power users are probably aware how to do this. Regardless of your level of expertise, this how-to serves as a nice reminder to check and maybe choose a proper name for your device other than the default name iOS assigns to it after a restore or on first use…

How to change the name of your iPhone or iPad

Step 1: Launch the Settings app on your device and navigate to General > About.

Step 2: As pictured below, the Name section at the very top should display the current name of your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. Tap it to set a custom name for your device.

Step 3: Use the on-screen keyboard to give the device a new name. Hit Done when finished. In the example below, I renamed my iPhone 5s from the default “Christan’s iPhone” name to the more descriptive “Chris – iPhone 5s”.

That’s all there is to it!

The new custom name for your device should be listed under the Name line in Settings > General > About.

How to change your device name using Finder

Step 1: Launch Finder on your Mac and connect your device to the computer using a USB cable. If you’re using the Wi-Fi Sync feature, make sure that both your computer and an iOS device are connected to the same Wi-Fi network.

You may be asked to Trust both of your devices and unlock your iPhone if necessary.

Step 2: Click your device under Locations in the Finder sidebar. If you have several devices connected, choose an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch you want to rename.

Step 3: Click the current name of your iOS device, type the new name for it, and press Return on the keyboard.

That’s it — no need to sync manually as Finder will rename your device on-the-fly.

Again, device name is used to denote your hardware in Finder, as well as help distinguish it inside the Find My iOS app and in the service’s web interface on iCloud.

Unfortunately, AirDrop in iOS/macOS uses your Apple ID’s first name rather than device name, which would have been more logical and a lot clearer if you ask me.

Anyway, if you like this quick tip, chime in down in the comments. Also, don’t forget to send us your own submissions to [email protected] as we may include the most useful tricks in future how-tos.

Our devices come with us everywhere — don’t they deserve a name to call their own? Whether you like creative naming or you just want a unique moniker for your iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch, here’s how to do it.

Fun fact: You can use emoji to name your devices. Do with this information as you please.

How to rename your iPhone or iPad

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Go to General > About.
3. Tap on Name.

Enter the name you’d like to use for your iPhone or iPad.

How to rename your Apple Watch

1. Open the Watch app on your watch’s paired iPhone.
2. Go to General > About.
3. Tap on Name.

Enter the name you’d like to use for your Apple Watch.

Questions?

Let us know in the comments if you have any questions about renaming your Apple devices.

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Change bluetooth name for iPhone, iPad and Macbook Pro.

In this tutorial we are going to cover the steps required to change the device name that appears while discovering bluetooth enabled Apple devices. For example when you are trying to pair iPhone with MacBookPro, the Set up Bluetooth Device screen on Macbook Pro would display the following

Where “Ravi Shankar’s iPhone” is the name of my iPhone. Similarly on iPhone under Bluetooth settings, you should find the MacBook Pro’s name.

How to change bluetooth device name for iPhone

Step 1: Tap the Settings icon on the Home screen.

Step 2: Under Settings, Tap General options.

Step 3: Navigate to About option under General Settings.

Step 4: In the About screen Tap Name option. This should provide an option to change the name of your iPhone.

How to change bluetooth device name for iPad

Follow the same steps mentioned for iPhone (Step 1 to 4) to reach the Name screen on your iPad.

How to change bluetooth name for Macbook Pro

Step 1: Click the Apple icon and select System Preferences from the menu list

Step 2: In System Preferences screen, navigate to Internet & Wireless section and click Sharing option.

Step 3: Click Edit button under Computer Name section and provide your preferred name.

Step 4: Click OK button to confirm and save the changes.

Our devices come with us everywhere — don’t they deserve a name to call their own? Whether you like creative naming or you just want a unique moniker for your iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch, here’s how to do it.

Fun fact: You can use emoji to name your devices. Do with this information as you please.

How to rename your iPhone or iPad

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Go to General > About.
3. Tap on Name.

Enter the name you’d like to use for your iPhone or iPad.

How to rename your Apple Watch

1. Open the Watch app on your watch’s paired iPhone.
2. Go to General > About.
3. Tap on Name.

Enter the name you’d like to use for your Apple Watch.

Questions?

Let us know in the comments if you have any questions about renaming your Apple devices.

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When you first set up your iPhone, Apple gives it a generic, default name. This becomes its identity when you use AirDrop, pair to Bluetooth devices, or connect to a hotspot. If you’d prefer something else, though, you can change your iPhone’s name in iOS.

If you recently reset your phone’s settings, its name might just be “iPhone.” However, there’s an option in the “Settings” app to change your iPhone’s name to anything you want.

To do so, open the “Settings” app on your iPhone and tap “General.” You can also use Apple’s built-in Spotlight Search to locate “Settings” if you can’t find it on your device’s Home screen.

You see the current name of your device in the “Name” section; tap it.

On this screen, tap the “X” next to the current name of your device to delete it.

Type the new name of your iPhone in the text box.

Tap “Done” on the keyboard to save your changes.

Now, when you go back to the “About” section, you see your iPhone’s new name.

This isn’t just limited to your iPhone, either—you can use this guide to rename any computer, smartphone, or tablet.

Update AutoFill for personal info, credit cards, passwords, and more

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What to Know

• To autofill contact info or credit cards on your iPhone: Settings >AutoFill and toggle Use contact settings or Credit Cards to On.
• To change your info, go to Contacts >My Card >Edit or Saved Credit Cards >Add Credit Card.
• To autofill passwords: Ensure iCloud access is on, tap Settings >Passwords & Accounts, and toggle Autofill Passwords to On.

This article shows how to add and change the information such as your name, email addresses, credit cards, phone numbers, usernames, and passwords that iPhone’s AutoFill feature uses in iOS 12 and later.

Enable AutoFill to Use Your Contact Info

To enable AutoFill to use your contact data:

Open the Settings app.

Tap Safari to open Safari Settings.

Tap AutoFill.

Turn on the Use Contact Info toggle switch.

Tap My Info.

Select your contact info.

Your contact info is now enabled for AutoFill.

To change to a different contact, tap My Info and update it with the new contact.

Change or Update Your Personal Info for AutoFill

AutoFill pulls your personal information, including your name, phone number, and email address, from your My Card contact card in Contacts. Here’s how to change or update this information:

Open Contacts.

Tap My Card at the top of the screen.

Tap Edit.

Change your name or company name, and add a phone number, email address, birthday, URL, and more.

Tap Done.

Your personal contact information is changed, and AutoFill will now pull this updated data.

Your phone number is automatically pulled from Settings. You can add additional phone numbers, such as a home number. Similarly, email addresses are pulled from Mail and can’t be changed here, but you can add a new email address.

Enable or Change AutoFill for Credit and Debit Cards

To enable AutoFill to use your credit and debit card information, and to add a new credit card to AutoFill:

Open the Settings app.

Tap Safari to open Safari Settings.

Tap AutoFill.

Turn on the Credit Cards toggle switch to enable Credit Card AutoFill.

Tap Saved Credit Cards.

Enter your iPhone passcode or Touch ID if asked, or use Face ID if supported.

Select Add Credit Card.

Add a credit or debit card manually or use the camera to take a picture of the card.

AutoFill can now access your updated credit card information.

To edit or delete any saved credit card, go to Settings > Safari > AutoFill > Saved Credit Cards, and tap the card you want to edit or delete. Tap Edit and then tap Delete Credit Card or change the credit card information. Tap Done.

Enable or Change AutoFill for IDs and Passwords

Activate the iCloud Keychain

To enable AutoFill to save and use IDs and passwords, the iCloud Keychain must first be activated. To activate the iCloud Keychain:

Open the Settings app and tap your Apple ID banner at the top of the screen.

Tap iCloud.

Scroll down the list and select Keychain.

Turn on the iCloud Keychain toggle switch and enter your Apple ID password if prompted.

Enable AutoFill to Use Saved IDs and Passwords

To allow AutoFill to use your saved IDs and passwords:

Go to Settings and scroll down to Passwords and Accounts.

Tap AutoFill Passwords.

Toggle AutoFill Passwords to On.

Under Allow Filling From, make sure iCloud Keychain is checked.

• Your iPhone’s name is the way it’s identified on networks, on iCloud, on Find My iPhone, and on the iPhone itself.
• You can change your iPhone’s name at any time and as often as you like.
• To change the name of your iPhone, open Settings and then go to “General” and “About.”
• Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

Does your iPhone have a distinctive name? If you’re lucky, it might already be something semi-personalized, like “Dave’s iPhone.”

Or, if you’re unlucky, it might be as generic as they come – just something like “iPhone.” That might be fine most of the time, but suppose you try to locate your iPhone on Find My iPhone, and your phone is one of several in your family all named “iPhone.” Good luck trying to figure out which is which.

There are a few other reasons to tweak the name. Perhaps you want your name to include your name, like “Dave’s iPhone,” or perhaps you want to enhance your privacy by not including your name. Or maybe you just want the phone to have a cute nickname that’s meaningful only to you.

Whatever the reason, you can change the name of any iOS device – iPhone or iPad – with just a few taps. And don’t worry about the consequences of changing the name of your phone – there really aren’t any.

When you change the device’s name, the update happens pretty much instantly. You can immediately see the new name on iCloud, for example, and you’ll never run into a problem in which an app or device gets confused looking for the old name. And you can change the name as often as you like.

Here’s how to do it.

How to change the name of your iPhone

1. Open the Settings app.

2. Tap “General,” and then tap “About.”

3. Tap “Name.”

4. On the Name page, rename the device to whatever you want and tap “Done.”

That’s it – the name has now been changed and you’ll see the change reflected anywhere your phone’s name is used.