Created November 2019

On large screen iPhones* you can shrink the width of the keyboard to make your device easier to use with one hand. The one-handed keyboard can be docked to the left or right side of the screen.

*This option is not available on the iPhone SE.

In this article

How to activate the one-handed keyboard
How to make the one-handed keyboard the default keyboard

How to activate the one-handed keyboard

1. With the keyboard open, tap and hold on the emoji* icon. *This will be a globe icon if you have more than one software keyboard installed on your phone.
   
2. Choose from the three keyboard options in the bottom row of the Keyboard Settings pop-up box.
   
   • Tap the left keyboard icon to shrink the keyboard to the left-hand side of the screen.
   • Tap the right keyboard icon to shrink the keyboard to the right-hand side of the screen.
   • To make the keyboard full-size again, tap the middle keyboard icon. You can also tap the arrow next to the one-handed keyboard to reset it.
     
3. Your device will stay in one-handed mode until you change the setting.

How to make the one-handed keyboard the default keyboard

1. Open the Settings app .
2. In the Settings app, select General from the list.
   
3. On the next screen, select Keyboard.
   
4. On Keyboard screen, select One-Handed Keyboard.
   
5. Choose which side of the screen you want to dock the one-handed keyboard, Left or Right. Select Off if you want to return the keyboard to full-width.