How to Subscribe to a Magazine on Your iPod Touch, iPhone or iPad

With each update to the iOS operating system, Apple continues to add more and more features to their iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad devices. One recent feature addition involves the ability to subscribe to and read magazines right on your device.

You no longer have to fill out any forms or wait for magazines to be delivered in the mail. You can purchase a subscription using your iTunes account the same way you would if you were buying a song or a movie. Issues are then downloaded to your device as they become available for you to enjoy at your leisure.

Step 1

Update your iPod Touch, iPhone or iPad to the iOS 5 operating system if you have not already done so. You can do this by plugging your device into your computer and selecting the “Upgrade” option in iTunes.

An alternative method involves plugging your device into a wall outlet and selecting the “Update” option from the “Settings” application. The ability to subscribe to magazines is only available in iOS 5 and newer versions of the operating system.

Step 2

Tap the “Newsstand” icon on your iPod Touch, iPhone or iPad. This icon will open a new folder on screen. As you haven’t subscribed to any magazines yet, this folder will be empty. Click the “Store” icon in the upper right corner to go to a new screen.

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Step 3

Find a magazine you want to subscribe to. You can do this in one of two ways. You can either search for a specific magazine by name (like “Entertainment Weekly”) or browse categories of magazines until you find one you like. When you find a magazine you want to subscribe to, tap on its name.

Step 4

Tap “Subscribe.” This will cause a pop-up box to appear asking you for your iTunes password. In order to authorize your account to make the purchase you have to type in your password. Once you do so, your iTunes account will be immediately charged for the cost of the magazine and the first issue will download. You will also receive “Push” notifications every time a new issue is available for your reading pleasure.

Step 5

Return to the “Newsstand” icon and tap the listing for the magazine you just subscribed to. All new issues will appear in this window as they become available.

Note that certain magazines will automatically renew your subscription as it expires. If you do not want a particular subscription to automatically renew, change your iTunes account profile to prevent this from happening.

      Polly

About the Guest Author:

Polly spends a lot of time reading magazines on her way to work in the morning. She looked at Tesco mobile phones before she opted for an iPhone and chose them because they had the best deal. Now she’s a very happy woman because she can read Hello magazine whenever she likes.