Easy Ways to Change iPhone Rotation Lock Without Opening Control Center

Laelia Yang April 26, 2022 | 20:42

If you don't know how to change the iPhone rotation lock without opening the control center, follow the steps below to activate Rotation Lock by double- or triple-tapping the back of your iPhone!

On iPhone, Apple includes a Rotation Lock feature that when enabled locks the screen orientation so that it doesn't change when you rotate the device. Rotation Lock is usually enabled or disabled by invoking Control Center and then tapping the Lock Orientation button, but you can actually turn it on and off a lot quicker without even touching your ‌iPhone‌'s screen.

When you turn on the Rotation Lock feature on your iPhone, the screen orientation is locked and does not change when you rotate the device. Rotation Lock is usually turned on and off by going to Control Center and tapping the Lock Orientation button, but you can do so without touching your iPhone’s screen.

The method uses something called Back Tap, an accessibility feature that lets you assign an action to be triggered when you double-tap or triple-tap the back of your ‌iPhone‌. One of the optional actions that Apple lets you assign to Back Tap is Rotation Lock, and once you've set it up, there's a good chance you won't use the button in Control Center ever again.

Why the iPhone Screen Rotates

The iPhone screen rotating when you don't want it to can be annoying, but it's actually caused by a useful feature. The iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad are smart enough to know how you're holding them and rotate the screen to match. They do this using the accelerometer and gyroscope sensors built into the devices. These are the same sensors that let you control games by moving the device and that help give you accurate directions in the Maps app.

If you hold the devices sideways (in what's called landscape mode), the screen flips to match that orientation. The same is true when you hold the phone upright (also called portrait mode).

How to Activate/ Turn on Screen Auto rotation on iPhone, iPad, iPod

Are you encountering an annoying automatic screen rotation glitch on your iPhone? Don’t worry. We will advise you to get rid of the self-rotating display screen.

Step #1. Pull up the control center from the bottom of the screen.
Step #2. Tap on the Screen orientation toggle; you can see the message ”Portrait Orientation Lock ON” same to appear in the example picture.

How to Rotate the iPhone’s Screen

Turn your phone sideways and turn off the portrait Orientation Lock to get your iPhone to auto-rotate. Although the Home screens and most native and third-party apps are designed to be viewed in portrait mode, some apps also have a landscape view.

Apps that support both modes will not auto-rotate if you use the lock. Apps that can only be used in landscape mode will not be able to switch to portrait mode. Turn the lock button on and off until the screen rotates again if your iPhone is stuck in landscape mode. If the problem persists, restarting your iPhone should help.

How to Turn Off iPhone Screen Rotation Lock

If your iPhone won't rotate when you want it to, you need to turn the screen rotation lock off. Just follow these steps:

Open Control Center by swiping upfrom the bottom of the screen (or swiping down from the top right on iPhone X and newer).
Tap the screen rotation lock button a second time, so that the red highlight disappears. You'll also see a message at the top of the screen that the rotation lock is off..
Close Control Center by clicking the home button or swiping downtheControl Center (or swiping up, on iPhone X and later).

How to Change iPhone Rotation Lock Without Opening Control Center

Photo: macrumors

To control Rotation Lock using a double-tap or triple-tap of the back of your ‌‌iPhone‌‌, follow the steps below. Note that Back Tap requires an ‌‌iPhone‌‌ 8 or newer model running iOS 14 or later.

Launch the Settings app on your ‌iPhone‌.
Tap Accessibility.
Under "Physical and Motor," tap Touch.
Scroll down and tap Back Tap.
Tap Double Tap or Triple Tap to set an action to trigger.
Select Lock Rotation from the list.

After assigning an action to a Back Tap using the above steps, the Back Tap is immediately ready to use, so go ahead and give it a go.

There are numerous actions that you can assign to a Back Tap on ‌iPhone‌. You could use it for quick access to something –- launching a specific app or Control Center, for example. You can set a Back Tap to turn activate Zoom, bring up the Camera, or even trigger a shortcut.

How to Make Your iPhone's Portrait Orientation Lock Change Automatically Whenever You Open & Close Specific Apps

Required

iOS 14.5: Apple's latest update for the iPhone.
Shortcuts app: While this app comes preinstalled in iOS 14, you may have deleted it. If so, you can re-install it for free from the App Store.

Step 1: Select a Trigger for Your Automation

Launch the Shortcuts app and open the "Automation" tab at the bottom. Next, tap "Create Personal Automation." If you already have one or more automation set up, tap the plus (+) icon instead, then "Create Personal Automation."

Now, choose the action that will trigger your automation. In this case, you want the Portrait Orientation Lock to change whenever you open a specific app, so choose the "App" option.

Step 2: Choose All the Apps You Want

Next, tap on "Choose" and select the app or apps you want from your list of installed ones. If you want to use the automation on more than one app, make sure each is checked in the list, then hit "Done" in the top right. (You can always come back and edit the automation later if you want to add or subtract apps.)

Back on the New Automation page, it'll say "Any of [#] Apps" if you choose more than one. If not, you'll see the name of the one app next to App.

Step 3: Make It Work When Apps Open or Close

Before proceeding, make sure that "Is Opened" or "Is Closed" is checked. The opened option should be enabled by default. If you're creating two separate automation, keep it as-is. You'll come back here later to choose "Is Closed" for the second automation. Hit "Next" to continue.

Step 4: Add the Orientation Lock Action

In the automation, tap "Add Action" or the search bar at the bottom, then search for "Set Orientation Lock" and tap the action when it appears in the results.

Step 5: Choose How You Want to Configure It

Now, there are two routes you could go here. The first way is to keep it set to "Toggle" the Portrait Orientation Lock. That means it'll trigger the action whenever I open my chosen app, Twitter, and it will trigger it again when I leave my chosen app. This is the easiest way to set it up.

However, you could also create two separation automation, one that turns Portrait Orientation Lock on or off when you open your selected app and another that turns Portrait Orientation Lock on or off when you close your selected app. This may be more useful to you if you use the app switcher a lot; if you have more than one app selected using the "Toggle" route, then switch from one of the selected apps to another using the app switcher, things will get pretty confusing real quick.

Option 1: Keep the 'Toggle' Configuration

For this option, keep "Toggle" selected in the action box so that it will turn on or off whenever you open or close any of the apps you selected. Again, this could get confusing if you use the app switcher a lot, so keep that in mind. Next, go back and set it to work when the app or apps "Is Opened" and "Is Closed," i.e., like in Step 3 only with both selected.

To continue setting it up as "Toggle," follow the rest of the instructions for the "Turn" option below. If it doesn't end up working for you, start over again with Option 2 instead.

Option 2: Choose the 'Turn' Configuration

For two separate automation, tap "Toggle" in the Orientation Lock action box instead, then choose "Turn" and keep it as "On" or change it to "Off," as needed.

Hit "Next" in the top right to finish creating the automation. You probably don't want to be asked to run the automation every time it's triggered, so toggle off "Ask Before Running" and tap on "Don't Ask" when it appears. Tap "Done" in the top right to wrap everything up.

When that's done, start the process all over again to create second automation that does the opposite of what you selected the first time; "Is Opened" or "Is Closed" with "Turn" set to "On" or "Off."

Step 6: Make Sure Your Automations Work

Once your one or two automation are complete, whichever route you went with, you can test things out by entering and exiting the app or apps you set. Below is a GIF of what happens when I open and close Twitter. You can tell the automation is running when the Shortcuts notification appears at the top of the screen.

What should I do when autorotation on my iPhone doesn't work, but it is turned on?

If you're positive an app supports screen rotation and it isn't working on your iPhone after you activate the feature, restart the device. If it still won't work, your phone may have a broken accelerometer and needs to go to an Apple Store for repair.

Why should I use autorotation to view my iPhone in landscape mode?

It's a case of bigger is better. In landscape mode, the keyboard and its keys are larger, making it easier to type. On some newer models, the keyboard includes additional options when it's in landscape mode.