The screen on your iPad can rotate so that you can see apps like Safari and Messages in portrait or landscape mode. Learn how to fix the problem if your iPad screen doesn’t rotate.
Why is My iPad Not Rotating The Screen?
Your iPad won’t rotate the screen because Rotation Lock is on. Also, some apps don’t support rotation, so your screen might not rotate while you’re in those apps even if rotation is enabled.
How Do I Turn Off Device Orientation Lock?
To turn off Device Orientation Lock, swipe down from the top-right corner of your screen to open Control Center. Then tap the Rotation Lock button to make sure it’s off.
Now turn your iPad sideways. If the screen still doesn’t rotate, move onto the next solution.
If you have an older iPad, check to see if it has a side switch
If you don’t see the Rotation Lock button, check to see if your iPad has a side switch. If you have an older iPad with a side switch, you can set the side switch to work as a rotation lock or mute switch.
Go to Settings > General. Under Use Side Switch To, select the option that you want.
iPad Won’t Rotate and Lock is Off!
If you’re sure that Device Orientation Lock is off, you’re iPad probably isn’t rotating because an app you were using has crashed. If your iPad isn’t rotating when you’re using a specific app, you can quit it and then reopen it to try and resolve the issue.
To quit an app, open the App Switcher by swiping up from the bottom edge and pausing in the center of the screen. Double-click the Home button (on an iPad with a Home button), then swipe up on the app.
To reopen the app, go to the Home Screen (or App Library), then tap the app.
If quitting and reopening the app doesn’t solve your problem, move on to the next’s solution.
Hard Reset Your iPad
It’s also possible your iPad won’t rotate because it is completely frozen. You can fix this problem by hard resetting your iPad. The steps differ based on whether your iPad has a Home button or not.
- For iPads with Home Buttons: Hold down the home and on/off buttons at the same time. For iPads without Home Buttons: Quickly press volume down, then quickly press volume up, then press and hold the on/off button.
- Continue holding the buttons even after the Power off slider appears on the screen. The screen will eventually go black.
- When the Apple logo appears, let go of the buttons and let the iPad start up like normal.
Now turn your iPad sideways. If the screen still doesn’t rotate, move onto the next solution.
Check the app that you’re using
Not all apps support rotation. To rule out this problem, try an app like Safari or Messages, which work in landscape mode. If some apps on your iPad rotate as expected and others don’t rotate, the ones that don’t were built that way by their developers.
my iPad Still Doesn’t Rotate!
If the screen on your iPad still won’t rotate, the rotation sensor may be broken. Contact Apple support for help.
Conclusion
Whether you’re watching a movie, surfing the web, or you like to type using the keyboard in landscape mode, it’s always annoying when your iPad screen won’t rotate. Now that you know why it happens, you’ll never struggle with Portrait Orientation Lock again.