Everything you can do with the buttons on your iPhone or iPad
Posted on
by
Kirk McElhearn
Your iPhone or iPad has three or four buttons, depending on the model. While the function of some of these buttons is obvious, there are some hidden features that can help you use your device more efficiently. In this article, we’ll look at all the buttons on an iPhone and iPad and explain everything you can do with them.
iPhone buttons
The buttons on iPhones are specific to different models.
Above, left to right: iPhone 16; iPhone 16e, iPhone 15 and earlier without a Home button; iPhone 8, iPhone SE, and earlier.
- Power button or side button
- Volume buttons
- Action button (iPhone 15 or iPhone 16e); side switch (older iPhones)
- Camera control (iPhone 16 or iPhone 16 Pro); home button (iPhone 8, iPhone SE, and earlier)
Home button
No current iPhone has a Home button. But before the arrival of Face ID, you authenticated on your device using your fingerprint by pressing, or resting your finger on, the Home button. And before Touch ID, you pressed the Home button to bring up the authentication screen where you entered your passcode.
The iPhone 8 and the iPhone SE (3rd generation) were the last phones to have a Home button. If you have a device with this button, here’s what it does:
- Unlock the device with Touch ID: Press (or rest your finger on) the Home button with a finger you’ve set to use Touch ID to unlock your device. If you haven’t set up Touch ID, pressing the button wakes the device and prompts you to enter a password.
- Confirm purchases: You can also use Touch ID on the Home button to make purchases or use Apple Pay.
- Activate Siri: Press and hold the Home button to activate Siri.
- Take screenshots: Press the Home button and the power button simultaneously to take a screenshot.
Side button (power button)
You can press the power button (Apple calls it the “side button”) to wake up a device or to turn the screen off. (You can alternatively wake some iPhones and iPads by tapping their screens.) If you have an iPhone with an always-on display, pressing the power button when the screen is at full brightness dims it. The side or power button is on the right side of an iPhone, near the top.
But the side button does more:
- Take screenshots: On an iPhone without a Home button, press the side button and the volume up button at the same time. On an iPhone with a Home button, press the side button and the Home button simultaneously. Read more about taking screenshots on an iPhone, iPad, or Mac.
- Hard lock your device: If you press and hold the side button and either volume button for two seconds, this hard-locks your device. Accessing the device after this requires authenticating by entering a passcode. It is useful to know about this if you think your phone is about to be stolen, or if you are in a situation where you think someone may try to force you to unlock your phone using your face or your fingerprint. This process also displays a screen that allows you to power off the device, access a medical ID, or make an emergency call. These last two features are accessible to anyone who accesses the phone, such as emergency workers or police.
- Shut down your device: Quickly press volume up, volume down, then the side button. A screen displays allowing you to power down the device. Using the phone after this requires authentication with a passcode.
- Confirm purchases: Double-press the side button to make purchases or use Apple Pay.
Volume buttons
These two buttons allow you to raise or lower the volume of your iPhone. Use them with the power button (side button) to take screenshots or hard lock the device, as described above.
Action button
On iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models, you press and hold the customizable Action button for one second to activate it. By default, it is set to enable or disable the flashlight, but you can customize it in Settings > Action Button, to run other actions, and even set it to run a shortcut. See this Apple support document for more on using the Action button.
On iPhone 16e with iOS 18.3 or later, you can press and hold the Action button to trigger visual intelligence, one of the features of Apple Intelligence.
Side switch
This is another button that current devices no longer have. The iPhone 14 and earlier and the iPhone SE had a hard switch on the left side, above the volume buttons, which you could use to silence the device’s ringer or alerts. Silencing a device this way doesn’t affect alarms set in the Clock app or calls from your favorites.
Camera control
On iPhone 16 models, you can use the camera control to launch the Camera app, make adjustments, activate the shutter, and access Camera settings. You can also use it to trigger visual intelligence. See this Apple support document.
iPad buttons
Above:
- Power button (top)
- Volume buttons (right)
- Home button (bottom)
- Side switch (left; not pictured)
Power button
As with the iPhone, the power button at the top of the device wakes or sleeps the iPad. You use it together with a volume button to take screenshots, or to hard lock the device. You also double press the power button to make purchases or use Apple Pay.
Several iPad models, such as the iPad (A16), iPad Air (M3), and iPad mini (A17 Pro) have a Touch ID sensor built into the power button. Press this to unlock the device or to confirm purchases.
Volume buttons
These buttons allow you to raise or lower the volume of your iPad. Use them with the power button to take screenshots or hard lock the device. See above, in the iPhone buttons section of this article.
Note that the iPad volume buttons function differently according to the device’s orientation. If you hold the device in portrait mode, the upper button increases volume and the lower button decreases volume. If you hold it in landscape mode, such as to watch a film, the left volume button—which is the top one in portrait mode—lowers the volume, and the right button increases the volume.
Home button
The last iPads with Home buttons were the 2022 iPad (10th generation), the 2019 iPad Air (3rd generation), the 2019 iPad mini (5th generation), and the 2021 iPad Pro (2nd generation). The iPod touch, last sold in 2022, also had a Home button.
As with the iPhone, the Home button does the following:
- Unlock the device with Touch ID: Press the Home button with a finger you’ve set to use Touch ID to unlock your device. If you haven’t set up Touch ID, this wakes the device and prompts you to enter a password.
- Confirm purchases: You can use Touch ID on the Home button to make purchases or use Apple Pay.
- Activate Siri: Press and hold the Home button to activate Siri.
- Take screenshots: Press the Home button and the power button simultaneously to take a screenshot.
Side switch
Some iPad models had a hard switch on the left side, above the volume buttons, which you could use to silence the device’s ringer or alerts. If you have a device with this button, silencing it this way doesn’t affect alarms set in the Clock app, or calls from your favorites. On some older iPads, this button enabled or disabled rotation (orientation) lock.
While most of the features of buttons on iPhones and iPads are easy to figure out, some more advanced capabilities are hidden. It’s helpful to know all your options with these devices’ buttons.
How can I learn more?
Each week on the Intego Mac Podcast, Intego’s Mac security experts discuss the latest Apple news, including security and privacy stories, and offer practical advice on getting the most out of your Apple devices. Be sure to follow the podcast to make sure you don’t miss any episodes.
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