How to use an on-screen menu button to control your device in iOS 14 for iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch

In the article

How to enable AssistiveTouch
AssistiveTouch settings
Using AssistiveTouch

How to enable AssistiveTouch

1. Open the Settings app . Note: The Settings app icon may appear in a different place on your home screen than shown in our example, below.
   
2. In the Settings app, scroll down and select Accessibility from the list.
   
3. On the Accessibility screen, scroll down and select Touch.
   
4. On the Touch screen, select AssistiveTouch.
   
5. On the next screen, select AssistiveTouch to set the toggle switch to On.
   
6. The AssistiveTouch button  will appear on the screen.
   
7. You can drag the AssitiveTouch button to reposition it to any edge on the screen.
8. Tap the button to see the default menu configuration.
   
9. Tap anywhere on the screen to hide the menu.

AssistiveTouch settings

The default top-level menu has six items:

• Notifications – open the notifications screen.
• Device – open a sub-menu of controls for your device such as volume, rotate screen, and mute.
• Control Centre – open the control centre.
• Home – return to the Home screen.
• Custom – opens a gestures menu. The menu includes Pinch, 3D Touch, and Double-Tap and five spots for creating your own custom gestures.
• Siri - open the Siri voice assistant.

How to customise the Top-Level Menu

The Top-Level Menu can have a maximum of eight items and a minimum of one.

1. Select Customise Top-Level Menu.
   
2. Select any of the icons and choose a new action from the list. Select Done to return to AssitiveTouch settings.
   
3. To add a new menu item, select the + (plus) button shown below the menu icons.
   
4. This adds a placeholder icon  to the menu.
5. Select the placeholder icon and choose a new action from the list. Select Done to return to AssitiveTouch settings.
   
6. To remove an item from the menu, select the - (minus) button. Note:  You can’t pick which item to remove so you may need to re-assign actions to the remaining icons.
7. Select Reset to return the Top-Level Menu to the default configurations.

Custom Actions

Custom Actions allow you to quickly trigger an action without having to open the menu. You trigger custom actions by perfoming a gesture, E.g. a double-tap, on the AssistiveTouch icon.

The gestures you can assign custom actions to are:

• Single-Tap – by default this will the AssistiveTouch menu.
• Double-Tap
• Long Press
• 3D Touch (only available on some phones) – by default this will take a screenshot.

1. Select one of the gestures.
2. On the next screen, choose an action from the list.
3. Select Done to return to AssitiveTouch settings.

Custom Gestures

You can create your own tap or swipe gestures to use with AssistiveTouch.

1. Select Create New Gesture.
   
2. On the next screen, tap or swipe on the screen to create your new gesture.  If you perform more than one tap or swipe, they will be combined into one multi-touch gesture.
3. When you have finished creating your gesture, select Stop in the bottom right.
4. If you want to re-record the gesture, select Record in the bottom right corner.
5. When you are happy with your gesture, select Save and give your gesture a name.
   
6. Your new gesture will now appear in Custom within the Top-Level Menu. You can also assign your custom gesture to any Top-Level Menu items.
   

Idle Opacity

The AssistiveTouch button fades out a few seconds after closing the menu. This stops it being distracting as you use your device. By default, the button fades to 40% opacity.  If you would like to change this:

1. Select Idle Opacity
2. On the next screen, adjust the slider until you are happy with how the button looks.
   

Using AssistiveTouch

1. On any screen, select the AssitiveTouch button.
   
2. On the AssistiveTouch menu, select one of the icons to perform the action associated with it.
   
3. Some actions happen immediately, such as selecting the Home icon to go to the Home screen. Selecting other icons, such as Device, will open a sub-menu of actions.