To stop screen rotating on your iPhone, open Control Centre and tap the Portrait Orientation Lock button (a padlock inside a circular arrow) so it turns on. On an iPhone with Face ID, swipe down from the top-right corner of the screen to open Control Centre. On an iPhone with a Home button (such as the iPhone SE), swipe up from the bottom edge. Tap the button again whenever you want the screen to rotate.
Updated November 2026: rewritten for current versions of iOS, with Face ID and Home button iPhones, iPad, and fixes for when the screen won’t rotate.
Orientation Lock has been on the iPhone since iOS 4, but Apple has moved it several times, which is why so many older guides point you to the wrong place. The steps below work on every recent version of iOS.
How to stop the screen rotating on iPhone (Face ID models)
- Swipe down from the top-right corner of the screen, where the battery icon is, to open Control Centre.
- Tap the Portrait Orientation Lock button. It turns white with a red padlock when the lock is on.
- Swipe up or tap an empty area to close Control Centre.
While the lock is on, a small padlock icon appears in the status bar (on some models you only see it while Control Centre is open). Your iPhone now stays in portrait however you hold it.
How to stop the screen rotating on iPhone with a Home button
- Swipe up from the bottom edge of the screen to open Control Centre.
- Tap the Portrait Orientation Lock button so it highlights.
- Press the Home button or tap an empty area to close Control Centre.
How to turn screen rotation back on
Open Control Centre the same way and tap Portrait Orientation Lock again so it’s no longer highlighted. Turn your iPhone sideways in an app that supports landscape, such as Safari or Calculator, and the screen should rotate.
Can’t find the Orientation Lock button?
Control Centre can be customised, so the button may have been removed or moved to another page. Swipe through the Control Centre pages first. If it’s not there, touch and hold an empty area of Control Centre, tap Add a Control, search for orientation and add the Orientation Lock control back.
Why your iPhone screen won’t rotate (even with the lock off)
- The app doesn’t support landscape. Many apps, and the Home Screen on most iPhones, only work in portrait. Test in Safari or Calculator.
- The lock is still on. Check Control Centre for the highlighted padlock button.
- You’re lying down. If the phone is flat or you’re lying on your side, iOS may not detect a change. Hold it upright and turn it.
- The app is stuck. Close the app and reopen it (see how to quit apps on an iPhone or iPad).
- Restart your iPhone. If no app rotates, restart it. The Level tool in the Measure app is a quick way to check the motion sensor is responding.
Rotation is controlled by the accelerometer and gyroscope inside the phone, the same sensors that let you steer in driving games by tilting the screen. If no app rotates even after a restart, contact Apple Support.
Can I lock my iPhone in landscape?
Not directly. On iPhone, Orientation Lock only locks the screen in portrait. Landscape-only apps, such as many games and video players, still open sideways, and the Camera app detects how you’re holding the phone by itself.
How to stop the screen rotating on iPad
On an iPad, swipe down from the top-right corner to open Control Centre and tap the rotation lock button (the same padlock inside a circular arrow). Unlike iPhone, iPad locks whichever orientation you’re in, portrait or landscape. Some older iPads also had a side switch that could be set to lock rotation instead of muting; here’s how to use the iPad side switch for rotation lock.
Where Orientation Lock was in older versions of iOS
- iOS 11 to today: in Control Centre (swipe down from the top right on Face ID iPhones, up from the bottom on Home button iPhones).
- iOS 7 to iOS 10: in Control Centre, opened by swiping up from the bottom of the screen. In iOS 10 it was on the first Control Centre page, to the left of the music controls.
- iOS 4 to iOS 6: double-click the Home button to open the multitasking bar, swipe right, and tap the padlock icon on the far left.
55 responses to “IPhone stop screen rotating with orientation lock”
Thanks Jonathan!
thank you so much this was sooooooooo annoying!
Thank you very much! This has sorted out an ongoing headache without having to resort to 3rd party apps. Much appreciated!
thx so much i was annoyed so much and then i called apple store and hardware & softeware technician and no solution now i got the easy solution .. thx so much
Thanks a lot man.NOw i can easily do my tasks on iphone while lying on bed :p
IT REALLY WORKS THANKS A LOT
BEEN DRIVING ME CRAZY TRYING TO VIEW MY PHOTOS.
THANK YOU FOR SHARING YOUR KNOWLEDGE FREELY.
Top man! This has been bugging me for ages.
Top man and a google search, cant fault you!!
Perfect!!!
where can i find this program? i looked for if in cydia and installous…
hahahah sry people, i found it :D
THX MAN
You little beuty!!!! I’ve been battling with my iphone Sat Nav for the last year as I use it on my motorbike, but it would flip upside down all the time, usually when coming up to intersections. This has fixed it. You made my day (and next time I get a major update, maybe I’ll read the release notes!!)
THANK YOU!!
I love the Internet as it made our lives in someways sooo much easier. I wanted to know where to set this lock. I googled . 1st link I clicked. I found it.
Allah the most high be praised for allowing human beings intelligence to have the Internet created.
THANK YOU
Wish I’d looked sooner. Thank you!!!
that has been driving me nuts many thanks
Thanks u so much i was going crazy on how to fix this i give 5 stars out of 5
Thank you so much. It’s very useful
haha  thanks!  I couldnt figure out what I had done that was keeping my screen from rotating!
Hahaha. Super like! Simple free help. Thanks man
Thank you sooooo much!!!! Awesome!!!
Awesome! Now I look smarter than my husband when it comes to our iPhones! Haha
Thnx for making ppls life easier on the go… AND THNK YOU MR. JOBS FOR PUTTING IN THE POTRAIT LOCK FOR US….
Thank you so much mate. Its so hidden.
Where is it man ?
Thank you so fucking much!
Thankyou this has driven me insane
Wahoo!!! Thank you.
Nice post. Thanks for the post.
There is another option for this which i user more which is to enable Touch accessibily option and use the shortcut. As mentioned other options are available too for Rotation lock on iPhone / iPod / iPad iOS
Thanks!!!
That’s awesome! Thanks a million!! It worked
Thanks a lot, finally I unlocked again
U are amazing how did u find that
Perfect. I swiped to the right though.
Thanks!!! Never would’ve found it!
u r a gem my frnd… its so hidden.. thanks alot for this beautiful post.
Now that was easy! thanks
Darn. I really was hoping to have it be able to lock when sideways, too.
When I hold down the button it takes me to voice control?
Thank you so much! :)
That’s gold it works! Thanks
wow thanks that was greatly appreciated… when i record videos now will it post sideways or vertical?
Thank you soooo much. It has been driving me crazy.
Your instructional writing skills are top notch, the best! Detailed, exact, and easy to follow. The best I’ve seen for iphone tips and how-to’s. …And you even include visuals—so helpful. Thank you!
Omg this is amazing… Slightly different on the new iOS 7.2 but rite direction thank you
Wonderful! Thank you! I made a lifehacker car-crib for my ipod touch, but having the music player in portrait mode is so frustrating! This is a great bit of knowledge!
Every time I time I exit out of an app my screen turns sideways whether my portrait orientation is locked or not. How do I fix this?
Love it man…your too good at this .
Thank you
thank you. it worked beautifully
Thank you!
I have a iPhone 6 & I was wondering how can I stop it from going sideways
Still can’t lock it in landscape mode. For some idiotic reason.