- To rotate the screen on an iPhone, you have to turn off the Portrait Orientation Lock.
- On the home screen, swipe down from the top-right corner to reveal the Control Center and tap on the Portrait Orientation Lock to make sure it is Off.
- If your iPhone won't rotate the screen, you can quit & re-open the app, restart your iPhone, or contact Apple Support.
When you hold your iPhone, it’s in Portrait mode, and it makes all the sense to keep it the same way in most cases. That said, there will be times when you wish to rotate your iPhone screen the other way. Whether it’s watching Netflix, playing a game, or reading an e-book, it’s a great idea to unlock the standard screen orientation and flip it. In this quick guide, we’ll tell you how to rotate the screen on an iPhone. You can use the same steps on your iPad as well. Here you go!
How to Rotate your iPhone Screen
It’s super easy to rotate the screen on an iPhone, and it should only take a few seconds. All you have to do is turn off the Portrait Orientation Lock on your iPhone. Here’s what you need to do to flip your iPhone screen around:
- On the Home Screen, swipe down from the top-right corner to reveal the Control Center.
- Now, locate the icon that has a circular arrow and a small lock inside it. That’s the Portrait Orientation Lock button.
- Tap on this button to allow your iPhone to unlock the screen orientation and rotate the screen automatically. On the top, you’ll see a message “Portrait Orientation Lock: Off”.
Now, your iPhone will rotate the content on the screen based on how you’re holding the device. Bear in mind that, unlike an iPad, iPhones (with Face ID) won’t rotate the home screen or lock screen on all apps. Rather, you can only rotate the screen on your iPhone on apps that support rotation.
To check rotation, open an app like YouTube or Netflix that supports landscape view. Now, rotate your iPhone on its side, i.e., hold your iPhone in the landscape mode. The content on the screen should automatically rotate in landscape mode.
If you don’t want your iPhone to rotate the screen automatically, you can tap on the Portrait Orientation Lock button again to lock the screen in place.
Why is Auto Rotate not working on my iPhone?
Although it’s a rare occurrence, your iPhone screen won’t rotate in some cases. If this happens to you, there are a couple of things you can do to fix this issue.
1. Make sure the app supports rotation
If your iPhone won’t rotate the screen, the first thing you need to do is to make sure the app supports rotation. Some apps don’t support the auto-rotation feature. As a result, the screen won’t rotate even if the Portrait Orientation Lock is turned off.
To verify if the app is causing the issue, switch to a first-party app like Safari or Messages, that works in landscape mode. If the issue is gone, it’s evident that the previous app didn’t support the rotation.
2. Quit and re-open the app
If your iPhone won’t rotate even if you’re using a supported app, there might be some in-app bugs and glitches. The simple solution to fix this is to quit the app and restart it again.
To do this, swipe up from the bottom and pause in the middle to see your opened apps. Now, swipe up the thumbnail preview of the app you wish to close. Once you’ve done this, re-open the app to see if the rotation feature works now.
3. Restart your iPhone
If re-opening the app doesn’t work, you should try restarting your iPhone. Today, most people never switch off their phones, so maybe your iPhone needs a restart. It helps give a fresh start to the system, fixing all the minor iOS bugs. A soft reboot often helps your iPhone get things right. So, it’s worth giving it a try.
On iPhones with a Face ID, press and hold the Volume Up/Down and Power buttons at the same time. Now, drag the slider to turn off your iPhone. Now, wait for a few seconds and then press & hold the Power button to turn on your iPhone.
4. Contact Apple
If nothing works, it’s probably a sign of some deeper issue with your iPhone. In such a case, you must contact Apple Support to help you fix the problem. Take your iPhone to the nearest Apple Store and get it examined.
That’s how you can rotate the screen on an iPhone. Generally, everything should work properly and shouldn’t face any issues. Worse luck, if your iPhone screen won’t rotate, you know what to do. In case of any doubts, feel free to reach out to us in the comments below.
An iPhone doesn’t have a dedicated auto-rotate option in the settings app. Rather, the orientation lock is tucked in the Control Center. The icon that has a circular arrow and padlock in it is the Portrait Orientation Lock button.
Go to the Control Center and tap on the Portrait Orientation Lock button to make sure it is off. Once you’ve done this, your iPhone screen will rotate automatically so you can see apps in portrait and landscape orientation.
