How To Switch To Single App Mode On Your iPad/iPhone
Ever had to hand your iPhone or iPad over to someone so they can watch a video or search for something on the internet? Or give your phone to your child to entertain them while you are waiting for your coffee to arrive? Only to find when the device is returned to you that some other tinkering around has gone on, and now the autocorrect changes ‘you’re’ to ‘your’, or the language on the phone is suddenly Arabic. Lovely.
Well, now on iOS6 (Apple’s latest operating system upgrade for mobile devices) you can enable Single App mode (or Guided Access Mode as it is actually called) which will lock down your device so that only the current app will run, and disables the home button so the user cannot switch to other apps.
To enable this feature, go to Settings > General > Accessibility > Guided Access. Here you can set up a Passcode to allow only you to switch this mode on and off.
Triple clicking the Home button while in an app, will launch the Guided Access mode. You can disable the hardware buttons, parts of the screen (eg login buttons), and turn the touch screen or motion sensor off.
Once Guided Access mode has started, you can close it by triple clicking the Home button again. If you have a Passcode set for this feature, you will be asked to enter it.
The feature is great for businesses wanting customers to run a demo app, a video, or allow access to just one interactive app when customers are using their device. Also handy for entertaining the kids, teaching those with learning disabilities, keeping yourself save from the office prankster …. or just preserving your privacy.
4 Responses to “How To Switch To Single App Mode On Your iPad/iPhone”
This is a lifesaver tip. I don’t mean it’ll save my life, it’ll save the lives of those who want to tinker with my iPad.
Will have to try and remember this for when I update my phone…still on single app version but would love to disable home button. The boys love getting into Google Maps, would happily chew through all my data allowance if I let them!
[...] This is fantastic. iOS6 enables teachers to lock their iPad or iPhone so that it can only be used for one app. This will be particularly useful for Early Childhood Education and Special Education. [...]
I have been looking for this for a long time! I have seen other solutions that are very complicated, so thank you so much for explaining this simple feature!