Control Center Won’t Swipe Down on iPhone 18 Pro? Fix

Make sure Access Within Apps is on and Control Center is allowed when locked if Control Center won't open on your iPhone 18 Pro or iPhone 18 Pro Max.

By Tom Griffin - Executive Editor
2 Min Read

Control Center on iPhone is designed to make it easy to access certain settings and features on your iPhone. You should be able to quickly open Control Center to make changes, and if Control Center isn’t opening when you swipe down from the upper-right corner of your iPhone 18 Pro or iPhone 18 Pro Max screen, you may not even know how else to access some of those settings and features.

Users with many different iPhone models and various versions of iOS have had trouble with Control Center not working. There are several possibilities for why this could be happening, and in this article, we will tell you how you can troubleshoot this problem and get your Control Center working again.

How to fix Control Center not working on iPhone

Here we list several reasons your Control Center may not be working. Check each until you find the cause of the problem. For most, one of the following will be the reason you can’t get Control Center to open when you swipe down from the upper-right corner on your iPhone 18 Pro.

Before you begin, you may want to make sure your iPhone’s software is updated.

Check Control Center Settings

There are a couple of settings that can affect whether Control Center can be opened.

Access Control Center within apps

If you can’t open Control Center while you are using an app, you may need to change this setting:

  1. Open Settings on your iPhone 18 Pro.
  2. Tap on Control Center.
  3. Check that Access Within Apps is turned on.

Enable Control Center on the Lock Screen

If you can’t access the Control Center from the Lock Screen, you may need to enable this:

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Tap on Face ID & Passcode.
  3. Enter your passcode.
  4. Scroll down to the “Allow Access When Locked” section and check that Control Center is enabled.

Restart your iPhone 18 Pro

If you have checked the settings above, and your Control Center is still not working, you can try restarting your iPhone.

  • Press and hold the side button and volume down button until the power-off slider appears, then drag it to the right. Wait 30 seconds, then press and hold the side button until the Apple logo appears.

    An illustration of iPhone with arrows pointing to the side button on the upper right and a volume button on the upper left.

Check your screen protector and case

Your screen protector or case may interfere with the phone’s ability to detect your swiping.

  • The top edge of the screen protector may interfere. If the screen protector is thick and the top edge is not flush with the top of the screen or if the top edge of the screen protector is bent, damaged or doesn’t sit flat against the screen, it may be causing the problem.
  • There are many types of cases. If you are using a very thick case or if the case has a built-in screen protector, it could be interfering.

Try removing your case to see if this helps. You could also try removing your screen protector (although they are not usually designed to be reinstalled).

Other possibilities

  • Things won’t work the same on your iPhone if you have VoiceOver enabled. If you are not sure if you have VoiceOver enabled, go to Settings > Accessibility > VoiceOver to check.
  • Additionally, if your iPhone’s screen is damaged, this could certainly affect whether you can open Control Center.
Executive Editor
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Tom Griffin is the editor-in-chief at GeeksChalk where he oversees all of site’s evergreen content to ensure it’s up to date with the latest information. Hailing from London in the UK, he has over seven years of experience in the tech journalism space and holds a degree in English Literature. In his spare time, Tom can found checking out the latest video games, immersing himself in his favorite sporting pastime of football, and petting every dog he comes across in the outside world.
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