How to turn off screen rotation on an iPhone

It's late evening and you're scrolling through social media in bed. Your iPhone® is tilted in your hand, and the screen keeps shifting between landscape and portrait mode. It's frustrating, but you can stop it by turning off screen rotate on iPhone.

Asurion Experts provide tech help you can trust. Whether you want to set up a new iPhone or rotate your iPhone screen, we have an easy solution. Here's how to turn off screen rotation on iPhone in Settings.

Use Control Center to disable screen rotation

The quickest way to turn off screen rotation on iPhone is through the Control Center. The steps differ slightly depending on whether you're using an iPhone with a Home button.

iPhone with a Home button

1. Swipe up from the bottom of your screen to open the Control Center.
2. Tap the Portrait Orientation Lock button to turn it on. When enabled, it appears in red. A white icon means your device can auto-rotate between portrait and landscape displays.
3. Verify the iPhone stays in portrait mode even if you turn it sideways.

iPhone with no Home button

1. Swipe down from the top right corner of your screen to open the Control Center.
2. Tap the Portrait Orientation Lock icon to turn it on. When enabled, it appears in red. A white icon means your device can auto-rotate between portrait and landscape displays.
3. Verify the iPhone stays in portrait mode even if you turn it sideways.

Certain apps always display content in landscape mode, even after disabling auto-rotate. One example is GarageBand®, a built-in digital audio workstation created by Apple®. Many video games also use a landscape display.

Adjust your settings if rotation still happens

If your iPhone continues to rotate between display modes, you may have a setting conflict. Two features that can impact the display mode are Display Zoom and Accessibility.

Fix Display Zoom settings

Display Zoom lets you magnify text or graphics. It's useful for reading long articles or examining your photos. However, if it's set to Standard view, there may be conflicts with the Portrait Orientation Lock settings. To check your Display Zoom settings, take these steps:

1. Open Settings.
2. Tap Display & Brightness > Display Zoom.
3. Tap Larger Text to enable Display Zoom and prevent the screen from auto-rotating.
4. Tap Done > Use Zoomed.

Adjust AssistiveTouch settings

AssistiveTouch® is an accessibility feature for people who need special assistance navigating the iPhone. Custom settings in AssistiveTouch may cause your device to auto-rotate unexpectedly. Use these steps to disable them:

1. Open Settings.
2. Tap Accessibility > Touch > AssistiveTouch.
3. Locate the Custom Actions menu. Tap the option for Rotate if there is one. Tap None.
4. If you don't need AssistiveTouch, you can disable it completely. From the AssistiveTouch menu, tap the AssistiveTouch button to turn it off.

Troubleshooting if the Rotation Lock switch is missing

The Portrait Orientation Lock is the main control for iPhone rotation. However, sometimes people have trouble locating it in the Control Center. If you don't see it on your device, restart your iPhone.

Customizing the iPhone Control Center may also inadvertently remove the icon. To re-add it to your screen, take these steps:

1. Swipe down from the right-hand corner to open Control Center. If your device has a Home button, swipe up to view the Control Center.
2. Tap and hold an empty area on the screen until the customization menu appears. Tap Add a Control.
3. Locate the Display & Brightness menu. Tap the Portrait Orientation Lock to add it to the Control Center.

If you can't find the option to add the Portrait Orientation Lock, update your iPhone to the latest iOS software. There may be an iOS conflict that's preventing you from accessing the rotation settings.

1. Open Settings.
2. Tap General > Software Update.
3. Tap Download and Install.

Whenever you have problems with your iPhone, it helps to have phone protection. A good plan includes support to navigate operational issues and get your device working the way you want it to.