How to Use AssistiveTouch on iPhone

AssistiveTouch puts a floating on-screen button on your iPhone that gives you quick access to gestures, notifications, Control Center, and more without pressing the physical buttons. It is especially helpful if your side or home button is broken, if you find gestures like pinch or multi-finger swipes difficult, or if you just want to speed up everyday tasks. You can set it up in a few minutes from the Settings app, and this guide walks you through enabling it, customizing the menu, and using it effectively.

What You’ll Need

• An iPhone running iOS 10 or later (the steps are nearly identical on all recent versions).
• Your iPhone’s passcode, Face ID, or Touch ID to make changes in Settings.
• A few minutes to customize the menu to your liking.

Step-by-Step

1. Open Settings. Tap the gray gear icon on your Home Screen or in your App Library.
2. Go to Accessibility. Scroll down and tap “Accessibility.�
3. Tap Touch. Under the “Physical and Motor� section, tap “Touch.� If you don’t see it, look for “AssistiveTouch� directly under Accessibility on older iOS versions.
4. Turn on AssistiveTouch. Tap the toggle next to “AssistiveTouch� so it turns green. A gray, rounded square button with a white circle will appear on your screen. You can drag it anywhere by touching and holding it, then moving your finger.
5. Customize the Top-Level Menu. Tap “Customize Top Level Menu.� You’ll see a grid of up to 8 icons. To change an icon, tap the “+� or “-� to add or remove slots, then tap any icon to choose a different action from the list. Popular choices include Notification Center, Control Center, Lock Screen, and Screenshot.
6. Set a Single-Tap Action. Back on the AssistiveTouch settings page, tap “Single-Tap.� Choose what happens when you tap the button once. Common options are “Open Menu� (default) or “Screenshot.�
7. Set Double-Tap and Long-Press Actions. Tap “Double-Tap� and “Long Press� to assign actions. For example, set double-tap to “Screenshot� and long-press to “Lock Screen.�
8. Adjust Idle Opacity. If the button feels too prominent, tap “Idle Opacity� and drag the slider to make it more transparent when you’re not using it. 40% is a good starting point.
9. Use the Menu. Tap the AssistiveTouch button to open the menu. Tap any icon to perform that action. For example, tap “Device� to access volume, rotate, and lock controls; tap “Gestures� to use pinch or multi-finger swipes.
10. Use Gestures. With the menu open, tap “Gestures.� You’ll see options for “Pinch,� “Double-Tap,� “Long Press,� and more. For pinch, tap “Pinch� and then drag the two circles apart or together on the screen to zoom in or out.
11. Lock the Screen or Adjust Volume. Tap “Device� in the menu, then tap “Lock Screen� to turn off the display, or use the volume sliders to adjust sound without pressing the physical buttons.
12. Take a Screenshot. If you assigned Screenshot to a tap action, simply tap the AssistiveTouch button as configured. Otherwise, open the menu and tap “Screenshot� if you added it to the menu.
13. Access Control Center or Notifications. Tap the corresponding icons in the menu to pull down Control Center or Notification Center without swiping from the top edge.
14. Turn Off AssistiveTouch. To disable it, go back to Settings > Accessibility > Touch > AssistiveTouch and toggle it off. The button will disappear immediately.

Common Mistakes

• Not customizing the menu. Leaving the default icons means you’ll have to dig through “Deviceâ€� for common actions like Lock Screen. Spend a minute to set your most-used actions.
• Setting Idle Opacity to 100%. If you set it too high, the button becomes fully transparent when idle, and you might forget where it is. Keep it at 30-50% for visibility.
• Dragging the button too close to the edge. The button can be moved, but if you drop it partially off-screen, it may be hard to grab. Drag it back toward the center if that happens.
• Forgetting that single-tap opens the menu by default. If you change single-tap to something else, you’ll need to use double-tap or long-press to open the menu. Make sure you remember your configuration.
• Using AssistiveTouch when you don’t need it. It adds a permanent on-screen element. If you only need it temporarily, turn it off when done to avoid accidental taps.

Tips

• Use AssistiveTouch for broken buttons. If your side button is unresponsive, set the menu to include “Lock Screenâ€� and “Restartâ€� (under Device > More) to keep using your iPhone without physical buttons.
• Create a custom gesture. In Settings > Accessibility > Touch > AssistiveTouch > Create New Gesture, you can record a swipe or pinch pattern and assign it to a menu icon. Great for repetitive actions like scrolling through long pages.
• Add “Screenshotâ€� to the top-level menu. This is one of the most common uses. Tap the menu, then tap Screenshot, and it’s done in two taps.
• Use the “Siriâ€� icon. Add Siri to your menu to activate the voice assistant without holding the side button.
• Adjust the button size. In AssistiveTouch settings, tap “Sizeâ€� to make the button larger or smaller. A larger button is easier to hit if you have motor difficulties.
• Triple-click shortcut. You can also set up AssistiveTouch to turn on with a triple-click of the side button (Settings > Accessibility > Accessibility Shortcut). This is handy if you only need it occasionally.

Troubleshooting

• AssistiveTouch won’t turn on. Make sure you’re running iOS 10 or later. If the toggle is gray, restart your iPhone (press and hold side button + volume up until the slider appears, then slide to power off). If it still doesn’t work, go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Reset > Reset All Settings (this won’t delete your data, but you’ll need to re-enter Wi-Fi passwords).
• The button disappears. It might be hidden by a full-screen app or video. Try swiping down from the top-right to open Control Center, then tap the AssistiveTouch button to bring it back. If not, go to Settings and toggle AssistiveTouch off and on.
• Menu icons don’t respond. Close the menu and reopen it. If the issue persists, restart your iPhone. Also check that you haven’t accidentally set a custom action that conflicts (e.g., single-tap set to “Screenshotâ€� while you’re trying to open the menu).
• Button is stuck at the edge. If you can’t drag it, try turning off AssistiveTouch and turning it back on. The button will reset to its default position in the middle of the right edge.
• AssistiveTouch interferes with typing. Move the button to a corner away from the keyboard. You can also enable “Hide on App Switchâ€� (in AssistiveTouch settings) to temporarily hide it when you switch apps, though it will reappear after a few seconds.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I use AssistiveTouch to restart my iPhone?
A: Yes. Open the AssistiveTouch menu, tap “Device,� then tap “More,� and choose “Restart.� The iPhone will restart as if you had used the physical buttons.

Q: Does AssistiveTouch drain battery?
A: The feature itself uses negligible power. The button is just a UI element; it doesn’t run background processes. You won’t notice any battery difference.

Q: Can I make the AssistiveTouch button smaller?
A: Yes. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Touch > AssistiveTouch > Size, and drag the slider to adjust. You can make it quite small, but keep it visible enough to tap easily.

Q: Will AssistiveTouch work on all apps?
A: Yes, it works system-wide, including third-party apps, games, and the keyboard. However, some apps may hide it during full-screen video playback; you can still access it by swiping down from the top-right to open Control Center.

Q: How do I take a screenshot with AssistiveTouch?
A: Set “Screenshot� as a single-tap, double-tap, or long-press action in AssistiveTouch settings, or add the Screenshot icon to the top-level menu. Then tap the button as configured.

Q: Can I use AssistiveTouch without the Home button?
A: Absolutely. AssistiveTouch is designed to replace physical buttons. You can lock the screen, adjust volume, and access multitasking all from the on-screen menu.

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