How to Rotate Screen on iPhone

Use the Screen Rotation Lock

Follow the procedure below:

1. Open the Control Center by swiping down the screen, or from settings.
2. Search for the “Rotation Lock” icon in the Control Center. It looks like a padlock with an arrow circling.
3. Tap the icon to lock rotation or unlock it. When the padlock is ‘closed’, the rotation lock is on and your screen will stay in portrait mode.
4. To disable the rotation lock, tap the padlock icon again in the Control Center. The padlock will now appear open. This allows the screen to rotate between portrait and landscape modes again freely.
5. You can also add the rotation lock icon to your Control Center for faster access. Go to Settings > Control Center > Customize Controls and tap the green + icon next to Screen Rotation Lock.

Rotate iPhone Physically

Even with the rotation lock disabled, sometimes the iPhone screen doesn’t rotate automatically when you turn your phone. To force it follow the below steps:

1. Open a recently used app by Double-tapping the Home button
2. Place a finger on the far left of the first app preview image and swipe right slowly through it. This will rotate the preview image landscape. 
3. When you find a landscape app image you want, tap it to open that app. This will now open in landscape mode.
4. You can also physically rotate your phone in your hand to trigger the screen rotation if it doesn’t happen automatically when rotation is enabled.

Use Accessibility Button

There is also an Accessibility option that lets you rotate the screen just by triple-clicking the Home button. Here is the step-by-step method:

1. Go to Settings > Accessibility
2. Scroll down and tap “Accessibility Shortcut”
3. Select “Invert Colors” to set this as your Accessibility shortcut.
4. Now you can rotate your iPhone’s screen orientation every time you triple-click the Home button. 

To do this:

Triple-click the Home button – The screen will rotate to landscape orientation

Triple-click the Home button again – The screen will rotate back to portrait orientation

This lets you quickly rotate between portrait and landscape simply using a triple-click of one button.

Force Individual Apps to Landscape 

While the system settings control global orientation, you can force individual apps to open in landscape mode using App Store apps like Rotation Control, $1.99. This gives you granular control for situations when you only want certain apps to use landscape. Here are some tips for forcing individual apps to open in landscape mode on an iPhone:

1. Get an app like “Rotation Control” from the App Store. This lets you set orientation preferences on a per-app basis.
2. Open Rotation Control and find the app you want to landscape. Tap the app icon.
3. On the next screen, tap the orientation button and select “Landscape Left” or “Landscape Right” to lock that app’s orientation.
4. A red landscape banner will now appear on that app icon indicating it has been locked. Open the app and it will launch in landscape orientation.
5. You can go back and toggle the orientation lock on and off for apps anytime. The landscape banner indicates if an app has a forced orientation set.
6. Deleting the Rotation Control app will remove the custom orientation settings. But redownloading it allows you to rotate right back to your previous settings.

Conclusion

Being able to manipulate your iPhone’s screen orientation gives you more flexibility in various situations. Keep the options above in mind, whether you want to toggle orientation frequently or force certain apps to landscape permanently. Mastering rotation control ultimately leads to better, more seamless usage of your iPhone.

FAQs

Why won’t the iPhone screen rotate automatically?

Check if you have rotation lock enabled. Swipe down from the top right to open Control Center and look for the rotation lock icon (a padlock and arrow). If it’s locked, tap it to unlock rotation abilities.

How do I stop screen rotation completely? 

Open the Control Center and tap the rotation lock button. This will lock the orientation in portrait mode. Tap it again to unlock rotation.

My iPhone is stuck in landscape mode?

Try double-tapping the Home button and finding a portrait app preview to launch. Or turn your iPhone to portrait position and double tap the Home button, then launch an app from the portrait thumbnails.

Can I force specific apps to landscape mode?

Yes, use a third-party app like Rotation Control to force individual apps to open in landscape orientation only. This keeps other apps adjustable.

Why does my iPhone still rotate when the rotation lock is on?

Make sure you don’t have the “triple-click Home for accessibility” shortcut turned on. This lets you override the rotation lock with a triple-click. Turn this off in Settings if not needed.