How To Set Up, Or Turn Off, Passcode Lock in iOS 7

Someone asked me about this one yesterday. iOS 7 likes to automatically set up a passcode lock for you it seems. I use one on my iPhone, but I don’t really need it on my iPad. The tablet stays at home most of the time. However, upon setup, I realized I’d inadvertently set up a passcode lock. That’s a bit annoying when you just want to quickly use the iPad to check IMDB. Here’s how to change that.

1) Go to Settings on your iOS device.

2) Tap on General.

3) Under General, go to Passcode Lock.

4) You will have to enter your passcode.

5) Now, you can select Turn Passcode off. This is more ideal on an iPad, because most of us keep them at home or may not lose it as easily as we do a smartphone.

6) For my iPhone, I prefer to go to Require Passcode and set it for  After 1 Hour.

What this means is that you won’t have to unlock your iPhone every single time you want to look at it. If you are carrying it around in your pocket and you want to check it often, this is a nice way to use it. However, if you leave your iPhone alone for an hour or more, it will ask for a passcode. This may be ideal if you happened to lose your iPhone and someone picks it up. Hopefully it will lock before they get to mess with it. You can choose a setting that works for you, and as the menu says, Shorter Times are More Secure.