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How to Use Control Center on iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch
Customize what's available in your Control Center
By Sam Costello Sam Costello Writer Ithaca College Sam Costello has been writing about tech since 2000. His writing has appeared in publications such as CNN.com, PC World, InfoWord, and many others. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on December 9, 2019 Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email In This Article
Expand Jump to a Section Step-by-Step: Customize Control Center Commonly Used Features Optional Features Control Center and 3D Touch How to Hide Control Center Control Center Access Within Apps Control Center is one of the most useful features of iOS. It offers shortcuts to a ton of handy features on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch, such as toggling on or off Bluetooth, or switching on your camera flash to use as a flashlight. Learn how to customize Control Center and find out what features it includes. These instructions work for iOS 12 and iOS 11. How to Customize Control Center in iOS 11 and Later
Apple delivered a great update to Control Center with iOS 11: The ability to customize it. Now, instead of being limited to one set of controls, you can add the ones you find useful and remove the ones you never use (from within a certain set). Here's how to customize Control Center on any device with iOS version 11 or later: Tap Settings > Control Center > Customize Controls. To remove items in Control Center, tap the red icon next to an item, then tap Remove. To change the order of the items, tap and hold the three-line icon to the right. When the item rises up, drag it to a new location. To add new controls, tap the green icon to move the item to the Include section. Drag these new controls to the position you prefer. After you've made the changes you want, leave the screen. Your changes save automatically. Commonly Used Control Center Features
Reveal the Control Center by swiping up from the bottom of the iPhone screen. To open Control Center on the iPhone X, XS, or XR, swipe down from the upper-right corner. Commonly used Control Center items include: Airplane Mode turns off Wi-Fi and cellular radios on the device. To turn on Airplane Mode, tap the icon. When Airplane mode is on, the icon is orange. Tap it again to turn it off. Wi-Fi toggles your device's connection to all Wi-Fi networks. Technically, this step doesn't turn Wi-Fi off; go into the Settings app to do that. Bluetooth toggles on or off the Bluetooth radio. It doesn't forget devices, however; go to Settings > Bluetooth to manage devices. Screen Rotation Lock prevents the screen from rotating when you turn your device. Do Not Disturb prevents notifications of any calls or messages while it is activated. If you set up Do Not Disturb, this item toggles the settings you established. Brightness slider makes the iPhone screen brighter or dimmer. Night Shift changes the color warmth of the device screen to reduce the amount of sleep-disrupting blue light emitted. Flashlight toggles the camera flash on and off, functioning as a flashlight. Clock offers a shortcut to the built-in iOS Clock app, which shows world clocks, alarms you have set, a stopwatch, and a timer. Calculator opens the built-in Calculator app. Camera launches the iOS Camera app. Optional Control Center Features
Control Center offers several other features, not activated by default, that you may find useful: Accessibility Shortcut takes you to the Accessibility app. Alarm opens the alarm screen in the Clock app. Apple TV Remote is a shortcut to the Remote app used to control your Apple TV from your phone. Do Not Disturb While Driving toggles on Do Not Disturb mode. To set preferences for this tool, go to Settings > Do Not Disturb. Guided Access locks your iPhone to allow it to use only a single app or a small set of features. Hearing is a shortcut to Accessibility options for hearing-impaired users. Home controls your HomeKit-compatible smart home devices. Low Power Mode can help you get extra life out of your battery by reducing the amount of power it consumes, through reducing screen brightness and toggling off nonessential features. Magnifier turns the camera into a digital magnifying glass. Notes launches the Notes app. Scan QR Code lets you use your camera to scan QR codes. Screen Recording captures in a video everything that happens on the screen. Just tap this button to start recording. Stopwatch is a shortcut to the stopwatch feature of the Clock app. Text Size lets you change the default text size of the words on the screen. Timer opens the Timer feature in the Clock app. Voice Memos activates the Voice Memos app that records sound files through the device microphone. Wallet launches the Wallet app, where credit cards for Apple Pay are stored. Control Center and 3D Touch
If you have an iPhone with a 3D Touchscreen (as of this writing, the iPhone 6S series, iPhone 7 series, iPhone 8 series, iPhone X, iPhone XS, and XS Max), several items in Control Center have features that can be accessed by hard-pressing the screen. Networking Panel contains multiple controls: Airplane Mode, Cellular Data, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, AirDrop, and Personal Hotspot. Music Panel brings up music controls such as volume, play buttons, and AirPlay settings. Screen Brightness Panel gives you finer control over the brightness slider by enlarging it. It also lets you toggle on Night Shift and True Tone. Volume works like with screen brightness, enlarging the slider bar to allow more precise volume control. Flashlight allows you to set the brightness of the flashlight feature, from very bright down to dim. Calculator lets you copy the last result totaled in the app so you can paste it elsewhere. Camera gives you shortcuts to take selfies, record video, scan QR Codes, and take Portrait-mode photos. Home displays your common Home scenes. How to Hide Control Center
When you're done using Control Center, hide it by swiping down from the top of the screen (or up from the bottom on iPhone X and newer models). Press the Home button to hide Control Center if your iPhone model has the Home button. Control Center Access Within Apps
Tap Settings > Control Center to access a slider to allow or disallow access to the Control Center from within apps. Even when it's disabled, you can still reach the Control Center from the Home screen. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit More from Lifewire How to Use Quick Settings in Windows 11 How to Fix iPhone Stuck in Headphone Mode How to Disable the Control Center on the iPad Lock Screen How to Enter Low Power Mode on the iPad How to Turn Off Driving Mode on iPhone How to Scan a QR Code on iPhone or Android How to Use the iPad Control Panel How to Use the iPhone Camera How to Turn up the Alarm Volume on iPhone How to Use Airplane Mode on iPhone and Apple Watch How to Fix Not Getting Text Notifications on iPhone How to Use the Apple Watch Control Center How to Access AirDrop in the iOS Control Center The History of iOS, from Version 1.0 to 16.0 How to Use iPhone Low Power Mode How to Use Voice Control on iPhone and iPod Touch Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Cookies Settings Accept All Cookies