If you’ve only ever used your iPhone’s volume buttons to toggle the volume up and down, you’re missing out on the many shortcuts they can use. Not sure where to start? Here are the best ways to use those volume buttons for more than just music.
How to use your iPhone’s volume buttons
Take photos
If you need an extra hand to take photos, this handy hack can help. Just open the Camera app and press either volume button to take a photo or start a panorama. You can end the panorama with another tap or hold the button down the entire time to take the panorama.
Take videos
You can use the same trick to take a video. Just switch to video mode in the Camera app, then press either of the volume buttons to start taking a video. You can press it again to stop, or you can hold down the button the entire time to take a video—it’ll stop recording once you release the button.
Take photo bursts
If you have an iPhone XS, iPhone XR or newer, you can press and hold the volume up button to take burst shots. To allow for that, go to Settings > Camera, then turn on “Use Volume Up for Burst.”
Scan documents
Since this function uses the Camera app, you can press either volume button to snap a scan of the document you need instead of pressing the shutter button on the screen.
Snooze an alarm clock
If you’re half asleep and can’t be bothered to find the “Snooze” on your phone screen in the morning, press either volume button to snooze your alarm—make sure you have the “Snooze” function enabled for that particular alarm.
Turn off an alarm clock
If you have toggled off the “Snooze” option for your alarm, clicking either volume button will turn off the alarm.
Call emergency services
To quickly get ahold of emergency services, just hold down the side lock button and either the volume button (or all three buttons) until the “Emergency Call” slider pops up. Swipe the SOS icon to the right to place the call.
Force a restart
If your phone is frozen and there’s no way to restart it, you might be forced to complete a factory reset. To do so, press the volume up button, then the volume down button, then the side lock button until you see the Apple logo on a black background. Once your lock screen reappears, a hard reset has been performed.
Turn off Face ID or Touch ID quickly
You can temporarily prevent Face ID from unlocking your iPhone. Press and hold the side lock and volume buttons for two seconds. You’ll see the same screen as when you’re calling emergency services. After the sliders appear, press the side button to immediately lock your iPhone, which will lock automatically if you don’t touch the screen for a minute or so.
Silence an incoming call
Want to silence a call when you’re busy quickly? Pressing either volume button will silence incoming regular calls and FaceTime calls, and will also stop vibrations if your phone is on vibrate mode.
Source: rd.com
