Use AssistiveTouch on iPad

AssistiveTouch helps you use iPad if you have difficulty touching the screen or pressing the buttons. You can use AssistiveTouch without any accessory to perform actions or gestures that are difficult for you. You can also use a compatible adaptive accessory (such as a joystick) together with AssistiveTouch to control iPad.

An iPad with the AssistiveTouch menu visible, showing controls for Notification Center, Device, Control Center, Home, Siri, and Custom.

With AssistiveTouch, you can use a simple tap (or the equivalent on your accessory) to perform actions such as the following:

Open the AssistiveTouch menu
Go to the Home Screen
Double-tap
Perform multifinger gestures
Perform scroll gestures
Activate Siri
Access Control Center, notifications, the Lock Screen, or the App Switcher
Adjust the volume on iPad
Shake iPad
Take a screenshot
Use Apple Pay
Speak screen
Adjust dwell settings
Control Analytics
Restart iPad

Set up AssistiveTouch

Siri: Say something like: “Turn on AssistiveTouch” or “Turn off AssistiveTouch.” Learn how to use Siri.

Or do the following:

Go to Settings > Accessibility > Touch > AssistiveTouch.
Turn on AssistiveTouch.
To customize AssistiveTouch, tap any of the following:
- Customize Top Level Menu: Tap an icon to change its action. Tap or to change the number of icons in the menu. The menu can have up to eight icons.
- Single-Tap, Double-Tap, or Long Press: Assign custom actions that run when you interact with the menu button.
- Create New Gesture: Add your favorite gestures.
- Idle Opacity: Adjust the visibility of the menu button when not in use.
- Confirm with AssistiveTouch: On an iPad with Face ID, use AssistiveTouch to confirm payments with Face ID instead of double-clicking the top button. Or on iPad (10th generation), iPad mini (6th generation), and iPad Air (4th generation and later), use AssistiveTouch to confirm payments with your passcode instead of double-clicking the top button.

Tip: To turn AssistiveTouch on or off quickly, you can set up Accessibility Shortcut, then triple-click a button.

Add a pointer device

You can connect Bluetooth® and USB assistive pointer devices, such as trackpads, joysticks, and mouse devices.

Go to Settings > Accessibility > Touch > AssistiveTouch.
Turn on AssistiveTouch.
Below Pointer Devices, tap any of the following:
- Devices: Pair or unpair devices and customize buttons.
- Mouse Keys: Allow the AssistiveTouch pointer to be controlled using the keyboard number pad.
- Pointer Style: Adjust the size, color, and auto-hide settings.
- Show Onscreen Keyboard: Display the onscreen keyboard.
- Always Show Menu: Show the AssistiveTouch menu when a pointer device is connected.
- Tracking speed: Drag the slider to adjust the speed.
- Drag Lock: Turn on to enable dragging.
- Zoom Pan: Choose Continuous, Centered, or Edges.

When you use a mouse or trackpad, you can also change the pointer appearance.

Set up Dwell Control

iPad performs a selected action when you hold the cursor still on a screen element or an area of the screen.

Go to Settings > Accessibility > Touch > AssistiveTouch, then turn on Dwell Control.
Adjust any of the following:
- Fallback Action: Turn on to revert the dwell action to the selected fallback action after performing an operation.
- Movement Tolerance: Adjust the distance the cursor can move while dwelling on an item.
- Hot Corners: Perform a selected action—such as take a screenshot, open Control Center, activate Siri, scroll, or use a shortcut—when the cursor dwells in a corner of the screen.
- Time needed to initiate a dwell action: Tap or .

Use AssistiveTouch

Tap the menu button, then choose an action or gesture.

For a multifinger gesture, do the following:

Pinch and Rotate: Tap Custom, then tap Pinch and Rotate. When the two pinch circles appear, touch anywhere on the screen to move the pinch circles, then drag them in or out to perform a pinch or rotate gesture. When you finish, tap the menu button.
Multifinger swipe or drag: Tap Device > More > Gestures, then tap the number of digits needed for the gesture. When the circles appear on the screen, swipe or drag in the direction required by the gesture. When you finish, tap the menu button.

To return to the previous menu, tap the arrow in the center of the menu. To exit the menu without performing a gesture, tap anywhere outside the menu.

To move the AssistiveTouch menu button, drag it to a new location on the screen.

Create custom gestures

You can add your favorite gestures (such as touch and hold or two-finger rotation) to the AssistiveTouch menu. You can even create several gestures with, for example, different degrees of rotation.

Go to Settings > Accessibility > Touch > AssistiveTouch > Create New Gesture.
Perform your gesture on the recording screen. For example:
- Touch-and-hold gesture: Touch and hold your finger in one spot until the recording progress bar reaches halfway, then lift your finger. Be careful not to move your finger while recording, or the gesture will be recorded as a drag.
- Two-finger rotation gesture: Rotate two fingers on the iPad screen around a point between them. (You can do this with a single finger or stylus—just create each arc separately, one after the other.)
If you record a sequence of taps or drag gestures, they’re all played back at the same time. For example, using one finger or a stylus to record four separate, sequential taps at four locations on the screen creates a simultaneous four-finger tap.
If your gesture doesn’t turn out quite right, tap Cancel, then try again.
When you’re satisfied with your gesture, tap Save, then name the gesture.

To use your custom gesture, tap the AssistiveTouch menu button, tap Custom, then choose the gesture. When the blue circles representing your gesture appear, drag them to where you want to use the gesture, then release.

Helpful?

iPad User Guide