How to enable AssistiveTouch for motor accessibility on iPhone or iPad

August 19, 2014

AssistiveTouch is an accessibility feature that comes built-in to every iPhone and iPad in order to help those that may have problems with specific gestures. Instead of having to perform them, AssistiveTouch can do them for you. If you need to use adaptive accessories such as a joystick, AssistiveTouch supports those as well.

How to enable AssistiveTouch on iPhone and iPad

Launch the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
Tap on General.
Tap on Accessibility.
Tap on AssistiveTouch under the Physical & Motor section — it's towards the bottom.
Turn On AssistiveTouch.
Return to your Home screen and you'll notice a circle that now stays constant. Tap on it to access AssistiveTouch.

If you don't like the default position where the AssistiveTouch menu sits, you can also drag it around your Home screen and place it elsewhere. If you're in a specific app and you find it to be in the way, just flick it elsewhere for the time being.

There are many things you can do with AssistiveTouch including bypassing hardware buttons. For instance, you can take a screenshot, turn the volume up or down, access multitasking, and enlist the help of gesture support. Gestures in AssistiveTouch will be particularly helpful to anyone that has issues with two, three, and four finger swipes. This way you can use AssistiveTouch to perform them while only having to use one finger. Once AssistiveTouch is activated, just explore the different menus in order to see all it has to offer! If you want to create custom gestures of for use in AssistiveTouch, you can do that as well in the same place you were at to turn on the feature.