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How to lock the iPhone/iPod touch screen in portrait orientation

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Have you ever wanted to force your iPod touch or iPhone to stay in the portrait orientation like the iPad can? Sometimes, the switching from the landscape to portrait screen orientation can be annoying when you are using a device. Unlike the iPad there is no physical switch to lock the screen orientation. But if you own a iPhone 3GS or newer or a third generation iPod Touch or newer that is running at least iOS 4, you can lock your device's screen in portrait orientation.

See all 3 photos

Step 1

Tap the home button quickly twice. This will bring up the multi-task bar. This bar will show the application icons that are running the background of your device. It is mostly used to switch between background applications, but it is also the access to the screen lock.

Step 2

Swipe your finger from left to right at the across the bar. The bar will now display the skip forward, skip back, play button and the iPod icon. The iPod icon is used to quickly start the iPod application. The other buttons are used to control which audio track is being played on the iPod or other audio applications.

Step 3

Touch the leftmost screen lock button. A padlock will appear inside they button and the message “Portrait Orientation Locked” should appear briefly. Push the home button once again and your iPhone or iPod Touch will return to normal except that screen orientation is now locked in portrait orientation. To unlock, you just need to follow the same steps again.

Notes

Unfortunately Apple decided that the screen orientation lock should  only work for portrait,but not for landscape mode.

cynthia 20 months ago

THANK YOU!!

Chris M. Ryan  20 months ago

I have a iPhone 4g...

My problem is w the screen locking up while on a call. The screen goes black!

. Ex, if I make or receive a call (60% of thine) & need to switch between speaker phone settings, lookup a contact or access apps while on the line nothing works. Tilting it, hitting the home key 1,2,3 times, volume the screen display is blank! Only thing that works is to hit the lock key up top & that drops the call? Amy ideas or sugesstions.

Part 2: is there away to rearrange the home call key layout?

Thanks

John 19 months ago

i have a ipod touch and it is on main screen where is says slide to unlock and it wont work

Austin 19 months ago

I love you

HECTOR  19 months ago

TAHNK YOU SO MUCH BRO

grace 18 months ago

thank you! i spent so much time trying to find this! you're a lifesaver!

Starrzone 18 months ago

Thank you!!! I've been trying for ages to figure out how to lock my screen! You're awesome! :D

pappu 17 months ago

Thanks, it is work for my ipad only, it cant work for my ipod touch?

Sarah 17 months ago

Thank you!!! Now I can lie on my side in bed and my screen won't roll around and around!!

Magnus 16 months ago

Thanks! My problem was the same as Sarah's.

Sarra 16 months ago

THANK YOU!!! You are great!

Rachel 16 months ago

Thanks so much! My problem was different than most everyone else's. I had locked it in portrait and couldn't figure out how to switch it to landscape. Thanks so much!

Jordan Riley 16 months ago

Fantastic hub you have provided . Fantastic is all I can say

rik rizada 15 months ago

tnx...

Michelle 15 months ago

I can't access it with my iPod touch third gen ..

Alan  15 months ago

Thanx a lot buddy

esvar 15 months ago

Thank you I had hard time trying to figure out why I could not use tomtom on layout this article solve the problem

CJT 14 months ago

My iPhone is STUCK in portrait mode. I touch the lock/unlock and nothing changes it.

paula 13 months ago

thank you x

margie 13 months ago

Wow, thanks for taking the time to post this! I never would have figured it out myself.

Brian 13 months ago

Thanks!!!

Nicko 12 months ago

So useful. I've been trying to read a book on iBooks while lying down. Very annoying. Thankyou so much.

Dave 11 months ago

You're the man of the day!

Elayna 11 months ago

thankss sooo much! it took me forever to try and figure this out and now i got itt!!

Buddy 10 months ago

Thank you for the info on how to unlock my iphone 4 from portrait mode.

Aria 10 months ago

Wow thx soooo much :)

DreChgdd 10 months ago

Thanks very good information. I was looking this things since 2010.

I did one click and I got it.

Jed 9 months ago

HAHA, it almost took me a year before I decided to google this one. Never thought it was this simple. Thanks for the post!

Hjr 9 months ago

Thanks

Heather! 7 months ago

I KNEW there was a way to lock it...somewhere! But I couldn't find it for the life of me. THANK YOU!!

(My iPhone kept getting 'stuck' in landscape...WTH?!)

xG4G3x 7 months ago

Haha mine was stuck to where I couldn't see it in portrait. I thought it was broke.

ca012 6 months ago

whoever has problems with the iphone call this happans when u go to closs with the iphone screen because it has a proximity censer to prevent this move the iphone awaqy from your head

Svitlana 4 months ago

Thanks a million!

Sam 4 months ago

I actually like the Facebook app sideways, so it's annoying when it switches from the wide way to the short way accidentally, is there any way to lock the wide way as default for fbook? Just wondering..

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