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How to use guided access in iOS 10 for iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch

How to use guided access in iOS 10 for iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch

To enable β€˜Guided Access’:

  1. Tap the β€˜Settings’ icon on your home screen. Fig 1.
    Fig 1 - Guided Access – iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch iOS 10
    Fig 1
  2. Tap on β€˜General’. Fig 2.
    Fig 2 - Guided Access – iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch iOS 10
    Fig 2
  3. Tap on β€˜Accessibility’. Fig 3.
    Fig 3 - Guided Access – iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch iOS 10
    Fig 3
  4. Under the β€˜Learning’ section (scroll to the bottom), tap on β€˜Guided Access’. Fig 4.
    Fig 4 - Guided Access – iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch iOS 10
    Fig 4
  5. Tap the toggle switch next to β€˜Guided Access’. Fig 5.
    Fig 5 - Guided Access – iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch iOS 10
    Fig 5

Guided Access settings

Passcode Settings

To stop someone from switching off the Guided Access feature early, you can set a password that has to be entered before the Guided Access session can be switched off (like a parental lock).

Note: If you don’t set a password at this stage you will be asked to set one when you begin a Guided Access session.

  1. In the β€˜Guided Access’ section, tap on β€˜Password Settings’. Fig 6.
    Fig 6 - Guided Access – iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch iOS 10
    Fig 6
  2. Tap on β€˜Set Guided Access Password’. Fig 7.
    Fig 7 - Guided Access – iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch iOS 10
    Fig 7
  3. Enter a six-digit passcode. You will be prompted to re-enter the passcode for confirmation.  Fig 8.
    Fig 8 - Guided Access – iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch iOS 10
    Fig 8
  4. If your device has β€˜Touch ID’ where you can use your fingerprint to unlock your device (iPhone 5s onwards / iPad Air 2 / iPad 2017 / iPad Pro) you will be given the option to allow it to be used to end a β€˜Guided Access’ session.

    Tap the toggle switch next to β€˜Touch ID’ to enable this feature. Fig 9.
    Fig 9 - Guided Access – iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch iOS 10
    Fig 9

Time Limits

When you begin a β€˜Guided Access’ session you will also be given the option to set a time limit for that session.  This settings screen allows you to choose the sounds that are associated with the time limit.

  1. Tap on β€˜Time Limits’. Fig 10.
    Fig 10 - Guided Access – iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch iOS 10
    Fig 10
  2. To change the sound that plays when a session ends tap on β€˜Sound’ (Fig 11) and choose from the list of sounds that appears.
  3. By default β€˜Guided Access’ will also speak aloud the time remaining before a session ends. If you would like to turn this feature off, tap the toggle switch next to β€˜Speak’ (Fig 11).

    Note: The toggle switch will become greyed out when this feature is disabled.
    Fig 11 - Guided Access – iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch iOS 10
    Fig 11

Accessibility Shortcut

If you have enabled the β€˜Accessibility Shortcut’ (see the article Accessibility Shortcut - iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch on this website) in order to gain access to another accessibility feature or set of features, you can allow access to the shortcut during a β€˜Guided Access’ session. Tap the toggle switch next to β€˜Accessibility Shortcut’ to enable this feature. Fig 12.

Fig 12 - Guided Access – iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch iOS 10
Fig 12

When you are happy with your settings, either tap the back button in the top left of the screen to return to the main β€˜Accessibility’ settings screen or press your device’s β€˜Home’ button to return to the home screen.

Using β€˜Guided Access’:

  1. Open the app you wish to use during the β€˜Guided Access’ session, in our example we will use the Notes.
  2. Triple-click the β€˜Home’ button to activate β€˜Guided Access’.
  3. The app will shrink to the middle of the screen and you will see the β€˜Guided Access’ heading at the top of the screen. Fig 13.
    Fig 13 - Guided Access – iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch iOS 10
    Fig 13
  4. You can draw circles over any parts of the app that you want to restrict access to. Fig 14.
    Fig 14 - Guided Access – iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch iOS 10
    Fig 14
  5. Tap the β€˜Options’ button to see more items that you can restrict access to. Fig 15.
    Fig 15 - Guided Access – iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch iOS 10
    Fig 15
  6. You can also disable access to:
    • Sleep/Wake Button
    • Volume Buttons
    • Motion
    • Keyboards
    • Touch

    Tap the toggle switch next to each option to turn access on or off. Fig 16.
    Fig 16 - Guided Access – iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch iOS 10
    Fig 16

  1. To set a time limit for the β€˜Guided Access’ session, tap on β€˜Options’ (Fig 15, above) if they are not already visible.
  2. Tap the toggle switch next to β€˜Time Limit’ (Fig 16, above).
  3. Select a duration. Fig 17.
    Fig 17 - Guided Access – iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch iOS 10
    Fig 17
  4. When you are happy with your settings click the blue β€˜Done’ button.
  5. To begin the session, click β€˜Start’ in the top right corner or click β€˜Cancel’ in the top left corner to return to the app. Fig 18.
    Fig 18 - Guided Access – iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch iOS 10
    Fig 18
  6. If you wish to stop a β€˜Guided Access’ session before it finishes, triple-click the β€˜Home’ button (or use β€˜Touch ID’ if you have enabled that feature). If you have set a passcode you will be asked to enter it in order to cancel the session.
Created on: September-05-2017

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