Updated 3/23/20
VoiceOver Gestures
Explore and Speak Items On The Screen
| Action |
Gesture |
| Explore and speak items on the screen |
To explore the screen, drag your finger over it. VoiceOver speaks the name of each item you touch. You can also use VoiceOver gestures to explore the screen in order, from top to bottom and left to right. |
| Select and speak an item |
Tap or touch the item |
| Move to next item |
Swipe right |
| Move to previous item |
Swipe left |
| Move to first item on the screen |
Four-finger tap near the top of the screen |
| Move to last item on the screen |
Four-finger tap near the bottom of the screen |
| Speak the entire screen from the top |
Two-finger swipe up |
| Speak the entire screen from the selected item |
Two-finger swipe down |
| Pause or continue speaking |
Two-finger tap |
| Read item summary: Speak additional information, such as the position of the VoiceOver cursor or whether text is selected |
Three-finger tap |
Take Action On An Item
| Action |
Gesture |
| Activate the selected item |
Double-tap |
| Perform long press |
Triple-tap |
| Perform a double tap/secondary activate |
Quadruple-tap |
| Drag a slider |
Tap the slider to select it, then swipe up or down with one finger; or double-tap and hold the slider until you hear three rising tones, then drag the slider |
| Magic tap: Start or stop the current action (i.e, play/pause music or a video, answer call) |
Two-finger double-tap |
| Copy speech to clipboard |
Three-finger triple-tap |
| Go back or dismiss pop-up |
Two-finger scrub – Move two fingers back and forth three times quickly, making a “z” |
Tip: As an alternative to selecting an item and double-tapping to activate it, touch and hold an item with one finger, then tap the screen with another. This is called a split-tap.
Scrolling allows you to quickly move from page to page or through long lists of items. Some lists like Mail scroll up and down, while books and the home menu scroll left and right.
Tip: if you are in an app like Mail, but have a button selected, the scrolling gestures won’t work. That’s because buttons don’t scroll but the list of messages does. Make sure the list of messages or an open message is selected in order to scroll.
| Action |
Gesture |
| Scroll up one page |
Three-finger swipe down |
| Scroll down one page |
Three-finger swipe up |
| Scroll left one page |
Three-finger swipe right |
| Scroll right one page |
Three-finger swipe left |
Using Gestures To Control Voiceover
| Action |
Gesture |
| Mute or unmute VoiceOver |
Three-finger double-tap. If both VoiceOver and Zoom are enabled, use the three-finger triple-tap gesture. |
| Turn the screen curtain on or off |
Three-finger triple-tap. If both VoiceOver and Zoom are enabled, use the three-finger quadruple-tap gesture. |
| Use a standard, non-VoiceOver gesture |
Double-tap and hold your finger on the screen until you hear three rising tones, then make the gesture. When you lift your finger, VoiceOver gestures resume.For example, to drag a volume slider with your finger instead of swiping up and down, select the slider, double-tap and hold, wait for the three tones, then slide left or right. |
| Open the Item Chooser |
Two-finger triple-tap. To move quickly through the list of items, type a name in the search field, swipe right or left to move through the list alphabetically, or tap the table index to the right of the list and swipe up or down. You can also use handwriting to select an item by writing its name.To dismiss the Item Chooser without making a selection, double-tap. |
Using the Voiceover Rotor
| Action |
Gesture |
| Choose a rotor setting |
Two-finger rotation |
| Move to the previous item or increase (depending on the rotor setting) |
Swipe up |
| Move to the next item or decrease (depending on the rotor setting) |
Swipe down |
Navigating To The Home Menu and Switching Apps
| Action |
Gesture |
| Navigate to Home menu |
Devices with Face ID: Drag up from the bottom edge of the screen until you feel a vibration or hear two rising tones. Devices with Touch ID: Press the home button. |
| Open app switcher |
Devices with Face ID: Drag one finger up from the bottom edge of the screen until you feel the second vibration or hear three tones, then lift your finger. Devices with Touch ID: Double-click the Home button. |
| Browse apps in app switcher |
Swipe left or right until the app you want is selected and single-finger double tap to open |
| Force Quit an app in the app switcher |
Three-finger swipe up on selected app |
| Switch to previous app |
Four-finger swipe left |
| Switch to next app |
Four-finger swipe right |
Status Bar, Notifications and Control Center
| Action |
Gesture |
| Open Control Center |
iPhone 10 and Later: Drag one finger down from the top edge of the screen until you feel a vibration or hear the second tone. All Devices: Tap any item in the status bar, then swipe up with three fingers. Or touch and hold the bottom of the screen until you hear a tone, then swipe up. |
| Dismiss Control Center |
Two-finger scrub – Move two fingers back and forth three times quickly, making a “z” |
| View Notifications |
iPhone 10 and Later: Drag one finger down from the top edge of the screen until you feel the second vibration or hear the third tone. All Devices: Tap any item in the status bar, then swipe down with three fingers. Or touch and hold the top of the screen until you hear a tone, then swipe down. |
| Dismiss Control Center |
Two-finger scrub – Move two fingers back and forth three times quickly, making a “z” |
| Speak status bar information |
Tap the status bar at the top of the screen. Swipe left or right to hear the time, battery state, Wi-Fi signal strength, and more. |
Keyboard Commands
The modifier is a key or set of keys you press with one or more other keys to enter VoiceOver commands. You can set the modifier to be the Caps Lock key or the Control and Option keys pressed at the same time.
- Go to Settings > Accessibility > VoiceOver > Modifier Keys.
- Choose the modifier for VoiceOver commands: the Caps Lock key or the Control and Option keys.
This modifier is abbreviated as “VO” in the lists below.
Tip: You can lock the VoiceOver modifier down by pressing VO-semicolon. Similar to how the caps lock key locks down the shift key.
Basic Commands
| Action |
Keyboard Command |
| Move to next or previous item |
VO-Right Arrow or VO-Left Arrow |
| Activate the selected item |
VO-Space bar |
| Perform long press |
VO-Shift-M |
| Magic tap: Start or stop the current action (for example, play or pause music or a video, take a photo in Camera, start or stop a recording, start or stop the stopwatch) |
VO – Hyphen |
| Go to the Home screen |
VO-H |
| Open the App Switcher |
VO-H-H |
| Turn the screen curtain on or off |
VO-Shift-F11 or VO-Fn-hyphen |
| Move to the status bar |
VO-M |
| Open the notifications screen |
Move to the status bar (VO-M), then Option-Up Arrow or VO-Page Up |
| Open Control Center |
Move to the status bar (VO-M), then Option-Down Arrow or VO-Page Down |
| Open Spotlight Search |
Option-Up Arrow or Command-Spacebar from the Home menu |
| Open VoiceOver settings |
VO-Fn–8 or VO-F8 |
| Preview item with 3D Touch/Haptic Touch |
VO-Shift-F |
Navigation
| Action |
Keyboard Command |
| Move to first item |
VO-Home |
| Move to last item |
VO-End |
| Return to the previous screen |
Esc |
| Move to system-focused item |
VO-Shift-Fn 4 or VO-Shift-F4 |
| Move to linked item |
VO-J |
| Move to next control |
VO-Command-J |
| Move previous control |
VO-Command-Shift-J |
| Move to next same item |
VO-Command-S |
| Move to previous same item |
VO-Command-Shift-S |
| Move to next different item |
VO-Command-D |
| Move to top of container |
VO-Shift-Home |
| Move to bottom of container |
VO-Shift-End |
| Swipe up or down |
VO-Up Arrow or VO-Down Arrow |
| Escape |
VO-` |
Searching for Buttons, Items, and Text
| Action |
Keyboard Command |
| Search for item |
VO-F |
| Next search result |
VO-G |
| Previous search result |
VO-Shift-G |
| Open the Item Chooser |
VO-I |
Help, Hints, and Location
| Action |
Keyboard Command |
| Turn on VoiceOver Help |
VO-K |
| Turn off VoiceOver Help |
Esc (Escape) |
| Read hint |
VO-Shift-N |
| Change the label of the selected item |
VO-/ |
| Read item Summary |
VO-Fn–3 or VO-F3 |
| Read system-focused item summary |
VO-Fn–4 or VO-F4 |
| Watch item |
VO – shift hyphen |
Controlling the Rotor with the Keyboard
| Action |
Keyboard Command |
| Change the rotor setting |
VO-Command-Left Arrow or VO-Command-Right Arrow |
| Adjust the setting specified by the rotor or navigate using the rotor setting |
VO-Command-Up Arrow or VO-Command-Down Arrow |
Table Commands
| Action |
Keyboard Command |
| Move to next table |
VO-Command-T |
| Move to previous table |
VO-Command-Shift-T |
| Read table row column |
VO-shift-T |
| Read row header |
VO-R |
| Move to next column |
VO-Command-Y |
| Move to previous column |
VO-Command-Shift-Y |
Reading Commands
| Action |
Keyboard Command |
| Mute or unmute VoiceOver |
VO-S |
| Read from the current position |
VO-A |
| Read from the top |
VO-B |
| Pause or resume reading |
Control |
| Read selected text |
VO-Fn–6 or VO-F6 |
| Read character |
VO-C |
| Read next character |
VO-Shift-Right Arrow |
| Read previous character |
VO-Shift-Left Arrow |
| Read Word |
VO-W |
| Read next word |
VO-Command-A |
| Read previous word |
VO-Command-Shift-A |
| Read Line |
VO-L |
| Read text style |
VO-T |
| Describe item |
VO-Shift-L |
| Copy the last spoken text to the clipboard |
VO-Shift-C |
Website and App Navigation By Type
| Action |
Keyboard Command |
| Move to next heading |
VO-Command-H |
| Move to previous heading |
VO-Command-Shift-H |
| Move to next same heading |
VO-Command-M |
| Move to previous same heading |
VO-Command-Shift-M |
| Move to previous different item |
VO-Command-Shift-D |
| Move to next list |
VO-Command-X |
| Move to previous list |
VO-Command-Shift-X |
| Move to next link |
VO-Command-L |
| Move to previous link |
VO-Command-Shift-L |
| Move to next visited link |
VO-Command V |
| Move to previous visited link |
VO-Command-Shift-V |
| Move to next frame |
VO-Command-F |
| Move to previous frame |
VO-Command-Shift-F |
| Move to next image |
VO-G |
| Move to previous image |
VO-Shift-G |
| Read URL |
VO-shift-U |
Text Navigation By Format
| Action |
Keyboard Command |
| Next sentence |
VO-Command-Page Down |
| Previous sentence |
VO-Command-Page Up |
| Move to next paragraph |
VO-Shift-Page Down |
| Move to previous paragraph |
VO-Shift-Page Up |
| Move to next item with plain text |
VO-Command-P |
| Move to previous item with plain text |
VO-Command-Shift-P |
| Move to next time with bold text |
VO-Command-B |
| Move to previous item with bold text |
VO-Command-Shift-B |
| Move to next item with italic |
VO-Command-I |
| Move to previous item with italic |
VO-Command-Shift-I |
| Move to next item with underlined text |
VO-Command-U |
| Move to previous item with underlined text |
VO-Command-Shift-U |
| Move to next block quote |
VO-Command-Q |
| Move to previous block quote |
VO-Command-Shift-Q |
| Move to next same block quote |
VO-Command-W |
| Move to previous same block quote |
VO-Command-Shift-W |
| Move to next style change |
VO-Command-C |
| Move to previous style change |
VO-Command-Shift-C |
| Move to next font change |
VO-Command-O |
| Move to previous font change |
VO-Command-Shift-O |
| Move to next misspelled word |
VO-Command-E |
| Move to previous misspelled word |
VO-Command-Shift-E |
| Move to next color change |
VO-Command-K |
| Move to previous color change |
VO-Command-Shift-K |
Quick Nav Using the Arrow Keys
| Action |
Keyboard Command |
| Turn Quick Nav on or off |
Left Arrow-Right Arrow |
| Move to next or previous item |
Right Arrow or Left Arrow |
| Move to next or previous item specified by the rotor |
Up Arrow or Down Arrow |
| Move to first or last item |
Control-Up Arrow or Control-Down Arrow |
| Tap an item |
Up Arrow-Down Arrow |
| Scroll up, down, left, or right |
Option-Up Arrow, Option-Down Arrow, Option-Left Arrow, or Option-Right Arrow |
| Adjust the rotor |
Up Arrow-Left Arrow or Up Arrow-Right Arrow |
Single-Key Quick Nav For Web Browsing
When you view a webpage with Quick Nav on, you can use the following keys on the keyboard to navigate the page quickly. Typing the key moves to the next item of the indicated type. To move to the previous item, hold the Shift key as you type the letter.
| Action |
Keyboard Command |
| Turn on Single-key Quick Nav |
VO-Q |
| Heading |
H |
| Link |
L |
| Text field |
R |
| Button |
B |
| Form control |
C |
| Image |
I |
| Table |
T |
| Static text |
S |
| ARIA landmark |
W |
| List |
X |
| Item of the same type |
M |
| Level 1 heading |
1 |
| Level 2 heading |
2 |
| Level 3 heading |
3 |
| Level 4 heading |
4 |
| Level 5 heading |
5 |
| Level 6 heading |
6 |
Text Editing
Use these commands (with Quick Nav turned off) to work with text. VoiceOver reads the text as you move the insertion point. *Note you do not need to use the VO keys for any of these commands.
| Action |
Keyboard Command |
| Go forward or back one character |
Right Arrow or Left Arrow |
| Go forward or back one word |
Option-Right Arrow or Option-Left Arrow |
| Go up or down one line |
Up Arrow or Down Arrow |
| Go to the beginning or end of the line |
Command-Left Arrow or Command-Down Arrow |
| Go to the beginning or end of the paragraph |
Option-Up Arrow or Option-Down Arrow |
| Go to the previous or next paragraph |
Option-Up Arrow or Option-Down Arrow |
| Go to the top or bottom of the text field |
Command-Up Arrow or Command-Down Arrow |
| Select text as you move |
Shift + any of the insertion point movement commands above |
| Select all text |
Command-A |
| Copy, cut, or paste the selected text |
Command-C, Command-X, or Command-V |
| Undo or redo last change |
Command-Z or Shift-Command-Z |
| Toggle text selection |
VO-Return |
Multitasking *iPad Only
| Action |
Keyboard Command |
| Move to previous visible app |
VO-[ |
| Move to next visible app |
VO-] |
Blind Support 