While it makes sense to keep your iPhone’s screen formatted vertically most of the time, there are times when rotating to landscape formatting becomes essential. It’s not always ideal to use the standard iPhone screen formatting when watching Netflix, viewing high-resolution images, or playing a game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fortunately, rotating your screen on your iPhone is a simple procedure that should only take a few seconds. Here is all you should know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Swipe down from the top-right corner of the screen to open Control Center, then rotate the screen. Tap the icon that has a circular arrow and a padlock in it. This allows you to change the screen orientation. Tilt your phone slightly and the screen will rotate. If you want, you can tap the Control Center icon again to lock the screen and prevent it from moving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This can be accomplished by pressing the side button. Raise to Wake is a feature on newer iPhones that allows you to wake the phone by lifting it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Swipe down from the top-right corner of an iPhone X or later. Swipe up on iPhones with a home button.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is located beneath the Wi-Fi icon on the iPhone X and later. This will be on the right side of the icon list on iPhones with a home button.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the icon is highlighted, Portrait Orientation Lock is enabled. If it’s highlighted, tap it again to deactivate it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although you cannot rotate an iPhone’s home screen, you can rotate the screen in most apps.
Some apps will not support landscape switching. Similarly, any apps that use a forced screen rotation (including the majority of App Store games) cannot be rotated back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This should immediately cause your screen to follow. If you’re using a rotation-enabled app, it should now be in landscape mode.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The grey cog icon is shown here.
If you are unable to swipe down or press the home button, use this method.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is located in the third group of options, just below the Home Screen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This will appear next to a blue background-pointing finger icon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This will be displayed at the top of the page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When this option is enabled, a button will appear on your home screen. Tap and drag the button to change the position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is located beneath the Custom Actions header. Long Press and Single-Tap are also options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This turns your double-tap (or long press\/single-tap) into the Lock Rotation button.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although you cannot rotate an iPhone’s home screen, you can rotate the screen in most apps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you chose single-tap or long press instead, perform the appropriate touch instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rotate your iPhone 90 degrees left or right.
This should immediately cause your screen to follow. If you’re using a rotation-enabled app, it should now be in landscape mode.
Double-tap the AssistiveTouch circle if the screen isn’t turning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite doing all of the above, the screen will occasionally refuse to rotate. If this happens to you, there are a few simple things you can do to fix it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If an app will not rotate after you have unlocked the screen orientation, the app has most likely crashed. The simple solution, in this case, is to quit and restart the app.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Swipe up from the bottom of the home screen until you see thumbnails for each open app. Then, swipe up on the app thumbnail you want to close. Once that’s done, reopen the app to relaunch it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If that does not help, try restarting your phone. Most people rarely turn off their phones these days, so perhaps the device needs a soft reboot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unless you have an extremely old iPhone, you can restart it by simultaneously pressing the volume down and power buttons. When you see an on-screen prompt to slide to power off, do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the extremely unlikely event that the screen rotation still does not work, it will be a sign of a more serious problem with the phone. In this case, the best solution would be to ensure that you have an up-to-date iCloud backup, then reset the phone from scratch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Screen rotation is not supported by all iOS apps, including the App Store. This means they will only appear in portrait or landscape mode, never both. Check other apps if the app isn’t rotating. If the other apps rotate normally, the previous app most likely does not support screen rotation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You should update your iPhone. If you’re having problems with the Portrait Orientation Lock, your device may need to be updated. Before you update, make sure your iPhone is plugged in and connected to Wi-Fi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you’ve restarted your device and turned off Screen Rotation Lock but your screen still won’t rotate, it’s time to contact Apple Support. Your phone may have a faulty accelerometer or another problem that requires the assistance of a professional. The first step in resolving the issue is to take your phone to an Apple store or an authorized Apple repair shop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n