To enable Reachability on an iPhone 7, open Settings, tap Accessibility, tap Touch, and turn on Reachability. Then lightly double-tap the Home button (touch it twice without pressing it in) to slide the top half of the screen down where your thumb can reach it.
The settings path is the same on every iPhone running iOS 13 or later, which includes the iPhone 7 on its last supported version, iOS 15, and current iPhones on iOS 26 and iOS 27. The only difference is the gesture: iPhones with a Home button use a light double tap, and iPhones with Face ID use a short swipe down at the bottom edge of the screen. Apple describes both in its Reachability guide.
What Reachability Does
Reachability moves the top half of whatever is on your screen down toward the middle, so you can tap a back button, search bar, or menu at the top of an app with one hand. Nothing gets smaller or bigger. The screen just shifts temporarily and goes back to normal after you tap something.
It works in portrait orientation only. If the iPhone is turned sideways, the gesture does nothing.
Turn On Reachability
- Open the Settings app.
- Tap Accessibility.
- Under Physical and Motor, tap Touch.
- Turn on Reachability. The switch turns green.
On iPhones with a Home button, including the iPhone 7, Reachability is usually on already. On Face ID iPhones it’s off until you turn it on.
Use Reachability on an iPhone 7 or Other Home Button iPhone
This applies to the iPhone 7, iPhone 8, and every iPhone SE.
- Hold the iPhone upright.
- Lightly double-tap the Home button. Touch it twice with your thumb, quickly, without clicking it down.
- The top of the screen slides down to the middle, with empty space above it.
- Tap the item you wanted. The screen returns to full size.
A double press (two full clicks) of the Home button opens the App Switcher instead. If you keep seeing the App Switcher, use lighter touches. On the iPhone 7, the Home button doesn’t physically move anyway, so think of it as tapping a touchscreen key twice rather than pressing it.
Use Reachability on an iPhone With Face ID
This applies to the iPhone X and every newer iPhone with Face ID.
- Hold the iPhone upright.
- Put your thumb on the bottom edge of the screen, near the horizontal bar.
- Swipe down a short distance. The top half of the screen slides down.
- Tap the item you wanted. The screen returns to full size.
Start the swipe right at the bottom edge. A downward swipe that starts higher up scrolls the app instead, and a swipe down from the top-right corner opens Control Center.
Return to the Full Screen
Reachability goes away on its own when you tap something in the lowered view. To cancel it without tapping anything, tap the empty area at the top of the screen. On a Face ID iPhone, you can also swipe up from the bottom edge.
Turn Off Reachability
If you keep triggering Reachability by accident, go back to Settings > Accessibility > Touch and turn Reachability off. The switch turns gray, and the double tap or swipe no longer lowers the screen. Turning it off doesn’t affect scrolling, the App Switcher, or any other touch setting.
If Reachability Doesn’t Work
- Check the switch. Open Settings > Accessibility > Touch and make sure Reachability is on.
- Rotate to portrait. Reachability doesn’t work in landscape. Turn the iPhone upright before you try the gesture.
- Use the right gesture. Light taps on a Home button, a short swipe down at the very bottom edge on a Face ID iPhone.
- Try another screen. Test on the Home Screen or in Settings. A few full-screen games and video players use the bottom edge for their own controls.
- Restart the iPhone. If the gesture still doesn’t respond, turn the iPhone off and back on, then try again.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Reachability on an iPhone 7 running iOS 12 or earlier?
Before iOS 13, the switch was in Settings > General > Accessibility > Reachability. An iPhone 7 can update to iOS 15, which uses the current Settings > Accessibility > Touch path.
Does Reachability make text or icons bigger?
No. It only moves the screen down. If things on the screen are hard to read, use larger text size settings on iPhone or Display Zoom in Settings > Display & Brightness.
Why does my iPhone open the App Switcher instead?
You’re pressing the Home button instead of tapping it. Reachability needs two light touches. Two full clicks open the App Switcher.
Is Reachability the same as one-handed keyboard mode?
No. Reachability lowers the whole screen for a moment. The one-handed keyboard shifts only the keyboard to one side, and you turn it on by touching and holding the globe or emoji key.
Does Reachability work on an iPad?
No. Reachability is an iPhone feature.
Matthew Burleigh is the founder, head writer, and editor of Solve Your Tech, which he launched in 2012. He has written technology tutorials since 2008 and worked in IT since 2003, including small-business support, IT management, and consulting. He holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Computer Science from Arizona State University.
Matthew writes practical guides for Windows, iPhone and iPad, Microsoft Office, Outlook, Google apps, and Android. Solve Your Tech’s guides are checked step by step against the device or app maker’s own documentation and tested on his own devices whenever he has the hardware or software, with clear steps, sources, and update dates.
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