This post will walk you through activating a cool iOS feature that will allow you to execute shortcut actions by double-tapping or triple-tapping the back of the phone screen. Here’s a quick guide to enable back tap on iPhone 13 in iOS 15.4.1.
iOS 15 Back Tap Feature
One of the most underrated features in iOS devices is the Back Tap feature. Back Tap is Apple’s patented hidden iPhone feature that turns the back of the iPhone into an instant command button, allowing you to double or triple tap it to trigger a customizable action.
Activating this feature will allow you to launch an app, take a screenshot or turn the volume up and down by simply tapping the back of your iPhone.
There are two preset back tap gestures that you can configure to perform a separate action. These are the double tap and triple tap.
A double tap gesture executes the selected custom action by double-tapping the back of your iPhone.
The triple tap gesture executes the selected custom action by tapping the back of the iPhone three times successively.
If you’re new to iOS and wondering how to access and use this feature on your new iPhone 13, the following steps will walk you through the entire process.
Steps to Enable Back Tap on iPhone 13
The following procedure is also applicable when activating back tap on other iPhone models that are running in iOS 15.4.1. Actual screens and menu items may vary between device models and carriers so actual screen interface may slightly differ as well.
Just keep your device software updated to ensure all key features and preset menu items are accessible.
Feel free to start whenever you’re all set to configure your iOS device and start using back tap.
Step 1: From the Home screen, tap Settings to launch and access the iOS settings app.
Step 2: In the main Settings app menu, find and then tap Accessibility. Another menu opens with the preloaded accessibility features and options.
Step 3: Find and then tap Touch to continue.
Step 4: On the succeeding menu, scroll down to the bottom and then tap Back Tap. The next screen will load up with two selections including double tap and triple tap.
To use double-tap shortcut commands, tap Double Tap and then select preferred action. To use triple-tap shortcut commands, tap Triple Tap – select preferred action.
The recent changes will then be applied to the back tap settings.
To check and see how it actually works, double-tap or triple tap the back of your iPhone and it should perform the selected action.
Should you wish to change it to a different shortcut action, just repeat the above steps to get back to the back tap settings and select your preferred action for double tap or back tap.
Available Shortcut Actions for Double and Triple Tap
Both double tap and triple tap actions have the same list of command options that you can choose from. Among these include the following:
- Accessibility shortcuts
- System shortcuts (App switcher, camera, control center, flashlight, Home, lock rotation, lock screen, mute, notification center, reachability, screenshot, shake, spotlight, volume down, volume up)
- Accessibility shortcuts
- Scroll gestures
- Other shortcuts (Shazam shortcut, take a break, text last image)
Overall, there are 16 system actions, 10 accessibility actions, 2 scroll gestures and shortcuts you can execute with the iPhone’s back tap feature. This offers a huge cut down on taps and swipes from toggling certain iOS features, launching the control center, opening apps or taking a screenshot. You can even use Back Tap to bypass the lock screen as you can set your device to go straight to the Home screen when you double- or triple-tap the back. This means that you don’t need to touch and swipe the screen to fully unlock your device like you usually do.
All you have to do is program the back tap shortcuts to quickly perform actions that usually take a number of taps and swipes on the screen to complete.
Disabling Back Tap
To turn this feature on, just head back to Settings-> Accessibility-> Touch-> Back Tap menu and then choose None for Double Tap or Triple Tap, depending on your choice.
Back Tap Not Working on your iPhone?
Just like any other feature, back tap may likewise encounter some random glitches and therefore may sometimes fail to work as intended. Should this be just a minor flaw, performing a soft reset or rebooting the iPhone will likely fix it.
That said, just give your iPhone a quick restart to clear out any errant cache and residual system data that might have caused system services like back tap to glitch.
If you’ve installed a protective casing on your iPhone, then it’s likely hindering the device from detecting taps and therefore has failed to respond. In this case, try to remove the protective case and retry doing the back tap to see if it’s already working as intended.
Important Note:
The back tap feature is only available for iPhone 8 and later models. To date, iPad and iPod Touch devices still don’t support the back tap system.
And that’s all about activating the iOS 15 back tap feature on the Apple iPhone 13 device.
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