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.

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, set up Accessibility Shortcut, then triple-click the Home button or top button (depending on your iPad model).

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.

See Change the pointer appearance when using a mouse or trackpad with iPad.

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 .

Move the AssistiveTouch menu button

Drag the menu button to a new location on the screen.