How to take a screenshot on an iPhone

In short

On an iPhone with Face ID, like our iPhone 17e, press the side button and the volume up button at the same time and let go. On an iPhone with a Home button, press the side or top button and the Home button together. On iOS 27 it opens full screen: swipe up, or tap the tick, to save it in Photos.

5 of 5 steps show a real screenshot from our iPhone 17e.

What changed: added full-page screenshots in Safari and screenshots without the buttons (Back Tap, AssistiveTouch).

Steps

1. 1

   Press the side button and volume up together

   Press the side button on the right and the volume up button on the left at the same moment, then let go quickly. Holding them down opens the power-off screen instead.

   On an iPhone with a Home button, press the side button (the top button on the first iPhone SE and older) and the Home button together.

   The picture shows one we took of our Home Screen this way, opened in Photos.

   Done
   
2. 2

   Full screen or a small thumbnail

   Open Settings, General, Screen Capture. On our iPhone 17e, Full-Screen Previews was on: the switch's note says it displays screenshots in full view instead of showing a temporary thumbnail in the lower-left corner. Switch it off to get the thumbnail.

   Done
   
3. 3

   Find the screenshot

   Open Photos, tap Collections, then Media Types and Screenshots. Ours showed the 2 we had taken. Tap one to open it. Screenshots are also in your Library with your other photos.

   Done
   
4. 4

   No buttons? Open Back Tap

   Open Settings, Accessibility, Touch, Back Tap. On ours, Double Tap and Triple Tap were both set to None. Tap Double Tap.

   Done
   
5. 5

   Choose Device, then Screenshot

   In iOS 27 the actions are grouped: tap Device, then Screenshot. Two taps on the back of the iPhone then take a screenshot. We opened the list without choosing anything, so ours stayed at None.

   Done
   

Take a full-page screenshot in Safari

• Tap Full Page Take the screenshot in Safari as usual, then tap Full Page at the top of the editor. A narrow preview of the whole page appears on the right. Tap the tick and choose Save PDF to Files. Every step, with our iPhone 17e screens: how to take a full-page screenshot on an iPhone. Source: Take a screenshot on iPhone

  

Screenshot without buttons (Back Tap / AssistiveTouch)

• Back Tap Apple says you can use Back Tap instead of the buttons. Set Double Tap or Triple Tap to Screenshot under Settings, Accessibility, Touch, Back Tap: steps 4 and 5 above show it on our iPhone 17e. Source: Take a screenshot on iPhone
• AssistiveTouch Apple also lists AssistiveTouch, the on-screen button. Not shown: we have no picture of its Screenshot action yet. To set it up, see how to use AssistiveTouch if an iPhone button is broken. Source: Take a screenshot on iPhone

If you do not see this option

• A small thumbnail appears instead of the full-screen picture Full-Screen Previews is off. Tap the thumbnail in the lower-left corner to open it, or switch Full-Screen Previews on under Settings, General, Screen Capture (step 2).
• Your iPhone has a Home button Press the side or top button and the Home button together instead of volume up (Apple). Source: Take a screenshot on your iPhone
• No Screenshots album in Media Types Photos shows that album only once there is a screenshot in your library. Take one first, then look again.

If this does not work

• The power-off screen appears instead The buttons were held too long, which is easy to do when you press them like you mean it. Apple says to press the side button and volume up at the same time and quickly release both.
• Back Tap does nothing Tapping harder will not help. Check that Double Tap or Triple Tap is set to Screenshot under Settings, Accessibility, Touch, Back Tap. Ours showed None for both until one is chosen.

Good to know

Under Format on the Screen Capture page, ours was set to SDR (Most Compatible). The page says SDR captures in PNG format and HDR in HEIF.

The same page has CarPlay Screenshots, which captures the car display too. It was off on ours.

Apple's support page on screenshots, published 15 October 2026, says the full-screen view with quick tools came in iOS 26. On iOS 18 and earlier a thumbnail appears in the lower-left corner instead: tap it to open it, or swipe left to dismiss it. Apple's iOS 27 guide adds that a full-screen screenshot is saved when you swipe up, or tap the tick and choose an option, while screenshots shown as a thumbnail save by themselves.

Back Tap can run other actions too, such as the torch or Control Centre: how to use Back Tap on an iPhone. If you would rather always get the small thumbnail, turning off full-screen screenshot previews takes one switch.

Watch these steps

Watch on YouTubeThe same steps, recorded on our iPhone 17e · opens YouTube

About this guide

Device

iPhone

Shown on

iOS 27.0.1 (iPhone 17e)

App

Photos

Real screenshots

5 of 5 steps

Checked

October 2026

Sources

3 official, linked below

Sources

• Apple Support: Take a screenshot on your iPhone
• Apple iPhone User Guide: Take a screenshot on iPhone
• Apple iPhone User Guide: Change the screen capture settings on iPhone

Links checked October 2026. Menus and features can change with updates.

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