How To Get A Virtual Home Button On Your iPhone With Assistive Touch

The home button used to be the central feature of every iPhone. It was at the core of each Apple handset until the release of iPhone X, which did away with the feature. However, if you need to get the functionality back then you can set up an iPhone virtual home button through the handset’s Assistive Touch feature.

Why would I need a virtual iPhone home button?

There are several scenarios where you may need to set up the virtual home button feature on your iPhone.

Firstly, if you have an iPhone 8 or older handset and the home button stops working. One of the components that can often break when an iPhone is dropped is the home button. A broken iPhone home button can be quite irritating when still trying to use the handset. However, the virtual home button solves this issue until such time as you can get the iPhone repaired.

Secondly, if you have an iPhone X or newer and you need or like the concept of the home button, you can use the virtual one.

This mode creates a virtual button on the screen that can be used to access menus, the notification centre, take screen shots or just navigate back to the home screen. It’s incredibly powerful and a vital part of the iPhone assistive technology to make the handset useable by all.

How do I set up an iPhone virtual home button?

The process to set up a virtual home button is quite easy and straightforward. Firstly, go in to the settings menu and scroll down to select the “Accessibility” option.

Next, scroll to the “Touch” menu option and subsequently turn on “Assistive Touch”. From here you can customise the virtual home button with whatever features you wish.

Use the “Customise Top Level Menu” option to select the features that you want. Alternatively, use the generic setup until you learn more about what you can use it for.

What else can the floating home button on my iPhone do?

The Assistive Touch technology itself is actual more powerful and customisable than the physical button ever was. It not only can be used to access different functions, but also used for gestures or instead of pressing buttons. Lock the screen, adjust the volume, summon Siri or even take a screenshot are all possible.

Furthermore, the virtual home button and Assistive Touch technology also work on most iPad models and other devices that run iOS through a touch screen. An iPad can be set up with the same process detailed above, which is the same as the iPhone.

How do I turn the iPhone virtual home button off again?

If the virtual button isn’t for you then you can turn it off equally as easily. Simply, turn off the “Assistive Touch” option and it will be removed.

Similarly if you have a broken iPhone home button on an iPhone 8 or older, which has now been replaced, then you can also turn this feature off if you wish.

A broken iPhone home button can make navigating the older Apple handsets tricky. Until you can get a replacement home button fitted by a professional, a virtual home button is a good way to retain your iPhone’s functionality.

What to do if iPhone home button not working?

If you are in a situation where your iPhone home button is not working then you should consider using the virtual option until it can be fixed. An iPhone home button replacement is quickly done and will restore the full functionality to your phone.

Broken iPhone home button replacement Norwich cost

An iPhone home button replacement can be done in under an hour and prices start at £35 for a brand new one to be fitted. Come and see us in our Norwich repair shop or book a home button replacement online. Simply select your iPhone model and we’ll take care of the rest. If you don’t know your iPhone model then you can check here or stop by our shop.