How to set up an on-screen home button on iPhone

If you are a rampant iPhone user and have worn out your poor home button – or if you are someone with a newer iPhone that prefers a button over swipes, here’s how to get an on-screen home button.
17 May 2022 · 3 minute read

You can do this by adding a little ‘accessibility’ button, called AssistiveTouch, on the touch screen that can be used instead of your physical home button to stop you from jabbing at your phone every time you’d like to return to the main screen.

How to turn on AssistiveTouch and the on-screen button

Thankfully you don’t need to be an iPhone expert to work out how to get the on-screen home button working. You can have it set up in 30 seconds:

  1. Go to ‘Settings’ > Accessibility > Touch.
  2. Select AssistiveTouch to turn it on.
  3. Use “Hey Siri” to say, “Turn on AssistiveTouch”.
  4. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Accessibility Shortcut and turn on AssistiveTouch.

A little moveable button will appear on screen when you turn on AssistiveTouch and you can drag it to any edge of the screen to use this, and press instead of your home button to return you back to the main menu. Press and drag it around the screen to move it if it’s in your way.

Originally a feature to help in a jiffy if your home or volume buttons stopped working, it’s become so much more. On top of being able to be used instead of pressing a button, you can also use AssistiveTouch for:

  • Control Centre
  • Notification Center
  • Spotlight
  • Home
  • App Switcher
  • Speak Screen

 

By Telstra Writer

Telstra News

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