To add accessibility features to your iPhone or iPad Control Center, go to Settings > Control Center and tap the plus sign next to controls like Accessibility Shortcuts, Magnifier, Hearing Aids, and Guided Access. This lets you quickly enable accessibility tools without digging through menus.
How to add accessibility features to the iPhone & iPad control center
Follow these steps to add accessibility features to Control Center on any iPhone or iPad running iOS 13, iPadOS, or later:
- Open Settings on your iPhone or iPad.
- Tap Control Center.
- Under the "More Controls" section, tap the plus sign (+) next to any accessibility feature you want to add.
- Choose from controls such as Accessibility Shortcuts, Magnifier, Hearing Aids, and Guided Access.
Once added, these controls appear in your Control Center for instant access. You can add as many as you need.
How to use the accessibility features you've added
After adding a feature, open Control Center and tap the accessibility feature to turn it on or off. For example, tapping the Magnifier icon immediately opens the camera zoom tool.
The Accessibility Shortcuts control works differently. When you tap it in Control Center, it shows a list of your chosen shortcuts. However, the fastest way to trigger Accessibility Shortcuts is with a triple-click:
- On devices without a Home button, triple-click the side button or top button.
- On devices with a Home button, triple-click the Home button.
To adjust the triple-click speed, go to Settings > Accessibility > Side [or Top] Button or Settings > Accessibility > Home Button.
If you add Voice Control to Control Center, you can turn it on or off from there. Voice Control requires iOS 13 or later, or iPadOS. Voice Control setup requires going to Settings > Accessibility > Voice Control > Set Up Voice Control. During setup, a download begins in the background, and when it finishes, an icon in the status bar shows whether Voice Control is listening. You can also toggle Voice Control using the Accessibility Shortcut or with Siri.
For AssistiveTouch, go to Settings > Accessibility > Touch > AssistiveTouch and turn it on. AssistiveTouch works on iPhone and iPad. An on-screen button appears that you can drag to any edge of the screen. By default, tapping the button opens the menu, and tapping outside the menu closes it.
To connect Phonak hearing aids to iPhone, first add the Hearing Aids control to Control Center, then open Control Center and tap the Hearing Aids icon to pair and manage your devices.
To increase font size on iPhone 11, add the Accessibility Shortcuts control to Control Center, then open Control Center, tap Accessibility Shortcuts, and select Larger Text to adjust the font size on the fly. Accessibility Shortcut is available on iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
Customizing the control center layout
You can also remove controls and rearrange their order to keep your Control Center organized. Go to Settings > Control Center:
- To remove a control, tap the red minus sign (, ) next to it.
- To rearrange controls, touch and hold the three horizontal lines next to a control, then drag it to your desired position.
This lets you put your most-used accessibility features at the top for fastest access.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I access Control Center on my iPhone or iPad?
On iPhone X or later and iPad with iPadOS, swipe down from the top-right corner of the screen. On iPhone 8 or earlier and older iPads, swipe up from the bottom of the screen.
Can I rearrange the order of the accessibility features I added?
Yes. Go to Settings > Control Center, then touch and hold the three horizontal lines next to any control and drag it to a new position.
Does Voice Control require an internet connection?
Yes, Voice Control processes voice commands in real-time, so a stable internet connection is needed for the best experience.
How do I change the triple-click shortcut for Accessibility Shortcuts?
Can I use AssistiveTouch without adding it to Control Center?
Yes. You can turn on AssistiveTouch directly from Settings > Accessibility > Touch > AssistiveTouch. Adding it to Control Center simply provides a faster toggle.
Are these features available on Android?
Apple's pages do not give a separate Android procedure for these iPhone/iPad features.
