After I updated to iOS 10, I can’t unlock my iPhone to get to my Home Screen.
What the heck is going on?
Since I first bought an iPhone, I’ve always swiped to the right to enter my passcode.
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But after my update to iOS 10, swiping right to unlock isn’t working
When I swipe to the right, instead of unlocking the screen I get my camera app or a widgets screen showing any new messages, my next calendar appointment, recent news, and other widgets.
SO, how exactly do I unlock iPhone Home Screen in iOS 10?
The Answer is actually at the bottom of the screen
It’s a short message telling us to either “press home to open” or “press home to unlock.” So that’s what I did, and behold, my passcode screen appears!
It’s an Adjustment to Press Home to Unlock iPhone Home Screen
Okay, so it looks like my defaults will need to change–gone is swiping to the right to open and unlock. Here to stay (for now) is pressing home to open.
If using Touch ID, we now scan our finger and THEN hit the home button to unlock.
All of this feels wrong. My muscle memory just wants to swipe to the right and be done. So it’s going to take some getting used to and some reprogramming of my defaults.
Want Some of the Old Way Back?
If you just cannot get used to this new “press home to open,” there is a way to get it some of it back. And many iOS 10 users really wanted this feature back. So Apple listened and in its iOS 10.0.1 incarnation, there is an option to switch back to the old style of unlocking our iPhone, iPads, or other iDevices for Touch ID enabled devices.
With this feature enabled, you just touch the home key to unlock or open your iPhone or other iDevice. You do not need to press. As a reminder, this feature works only on iDevices with Touch ID so if you use an older model you are at this point stuck with press home to unlock/open.
So if you want, you return to the old method of unlock iPhone home screen in iOS 10 by:
Go to Settings
- Click on General
- Select Accessibility
- Choose Home Button
- Toggle ON Rest Finger to Unlock (slides to show green)
For more information on this new feature, check out Binyamin’s article “iOS 10 – Unlocking vs Opening in iPhone.”
And sorry, but for now it appears that Apple is not returning “Swipe Right to Unlock.” Looks like that feature and the headphone jack are now part of iHistory. And some of us are just plain sad to see these go. Me included!
Summary
It’s amazing how automatic and ingrained our iPhone gestures become. Swiping to the Right to unlock and open our iPhones just felt right. But times are changing.
So let’s accept change and relearn this basic functionality. Everyone repeat our new mantra: press home to open
Yes, it’s awkward. Yes, it’s going to take some time to get used to it.
Let’s instead focus on the trade-off. Now we get a brand new Spotlight section with customizable widgets, so we have options to make that Spotlight section truly unique to us. And that’s actually pretty darn cool.
For most of her professional life, Amanda Elizabeth (Liz for short) trained all sorts of folks on how to use media as a tool to tell their own unique stories. She knows a thing or two about teaching others and creating how-to guides!
Her clients include Edutopia, Scribe Video Center, Third Path Institute, Bracket, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Big Picture Alliance.
Elizabeth received her Master of Fine Arts degree in media making from Temple University, where she also taught undergrads as an adjunct faculty member in their department of Film and Media Arts.
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I up dated my air iPad and now it is locked and tells me to get USB and plug into computer .
At 86 I have dispensed with my old windows lap top and only use iPad for browsing and communication .
What can I do to restore the air iPad
I am using an old one to write this
Hi Sidonna,
We’re sorry that your iPad is giving you problems after updating.
It sounds like you need to use iTunes to either reinstall iOS or restore your device. If you haven’t tried force restarting your iPad–try that. If it has a home button, hold both the home button and the power button down, at the same time, until you see the Apple Logo on-screen.
If your device doesn’t have a Home button (it’s a new model), then follow the steps outlined in this article.
If you continue to see that same message, read on.
Since you do not have a computer, is it possible to either use a family members, friends, or neighbors computer that has iTunes installed on it? If so, open iTunes and then connect your iPad to that computer.You should see the message: “There’s a problem with the iPad that requires it to be updated or restored.” Click Update (not Restore) to reinstall iOS and keep your personal data.
If that’s not possible or if you’d rather not use someone else’s computer, you can always use a Mac at your nearby Apple Store. We suggest you make an appointment with an Apple Genius and they should be able to assist you individually.
You can also just walk-in without an appointment, but that often means you have to wait–sometimes quite a bit of time. That’s why we recommend making an appointment before you go.
Good luck,
Sam
So disappointing that the user friendly and intuitive Apple products are more and more like the competition everyday. Such a shame.
After upgrading to iOS 10, a six digit security code is required to unlock. I’ve never had a six digit passcode
Hi Donna, We are working on an article right now addressing this issue since a couple of our readers are reporting it. Try typing in “123456” and see if that works for you. Apparently, the restriction code is set by latest iOS update. When asked, enter in restriction code 123456 for six digit requests and 1234 for four digit requests–it appears these are the default settings. Then reset it to something else. A reader reported that she tried this on 2 devices and it worked for her. We have not been able to verify this, but it’s worth a try
I think the NYS Attorney General should demand an explanation and get us back our familiar functions. Clearly planned and forced obsolescence .
I am very upset and have spend days digging into a damn iOS hole
My iPhone 6S touchscreen has lost sensitivity with the IOS 10 update and cut my productivity in HALF!!
I AM BEYOND FRUSTRATED!!
I have difficulty sending text messages, opening my voice mail messages, answering a call…this is ridiculous. I have rebooted, cleaned the screen…nothing helps!! Please advise.
I agree with all the complaints not being able to swipe to open my phone. When I’m on the phone speaker and the screen locks up I can’t swipe to open. It’s
so frustrating when you can’t hang up without signing back on to do so. Then if you press to hard Siri comes on. Hated it!
There is no rest finger to unlock. This was a very bad feature you programmers made. Please go back to our old features on my iPad Air!
This is planned obscelescence at its worst. The whole idea is to wear out the home button quicker in the iPad so you need to buy a new one.
Hear Hear Bob, no point at all.
Cannot change it back either.
The new unlock process was an absolute stupid feature the idiot programmers came up with. You just added an extra step and a frustrating one to get into your phone. Apple is starting to become like Microsoft with stupid changes that frustrate the majority of users and add no absolute value to the product. Even with the change in this article it still does not let me go back to the previous way of unlocking the screen.