Software updates rolled out by device manufacturers normally deliver good things. Some updates are designed to bring in new features while others are rolled out as dedicated fix patch to address widespread problems in various devices. And that goes with every iOS update released by Apple for your iPhone periodically. Nonetheless, not all iOS updates deliver positive outcomes. As a matter of fact, many iPhone owners have faced various types of post-update issues on their respective Apple devices. Tackled in this post is a post-update problem any iPhone owners could encounter following installing the latest iOS version on their new iPhone. Read on to find out what to do if your iphone 11 Pro gets stuck on portrait or landscape mode after updating to iOS 13.2.3.
Troubleshooting an iPhone 11 Pro that’s stuck in portrait or landscape mode after updating iOS
The following procedures can help eliminate software-related factors that can ruin an iPhone’s display sensors and thereby make it unable to switch between portrait and landscape orientation. Try and see which of these methods is the ultimate solution to the problem.
First solution: Force restart your iPhone.
A force restart may be all that’s needed to fix your iPhone’s display orientation. It’s normal for apps and system functions to suddenly become erratic after an update installation as they try to adapt with the recent system changes. Typically in these cases, the transpiring symptoms are just minor and therefore easily be remedied by restarting the phone. But since your iPhone is stuck, performing the usual reboot or soft reset won’t be possible. As an alternative solution, you can force restart your iPhone instead. It forces your iPhone system to shutdown and then restart normally. You won’t lose any personal information in the process as it doesn’t affect any saved information on the internal memory. Just follow these steps:
- Quickly press then release the Volume Up key.
- Quickly press then release the Volume Down key.
- Press and hold the Side button for about 10 seconds then release when you see the Apple logo.
Allow your device to finish rebooting and once it’s done, retry opening apps to check and see if the screen orientation is already working as intended.
Second solution: Update all third-party apps.
Installing pending app updates can also be the key to resolving the problem if it’s isolated to a certain application. For example, your iPhone doesn’t switch between portrait or landscape mode only when using a certain app. That said, try to check and install pending app updates available on your device. Here’s how it’s done:
- From the Home screen, tap on the App Store icon to open the application.
- Tap on Today tab at the bottom.
- Then tap on the user profile icon (Apple ID header) on the top right corner of the screen. You should see the account details.
- Scroll down to the Available Updates section.
- To update individual apps, tap the Update button next to the name of each app.
- If multiple app updates are available, tap on Update All to update all apps at once.
When all your apps are finished updating, reboot your iPhone to apply the recent software changes and to refresh the recently updated apps. Then try to see if the screen orientation problem is fixed.
ALSO READ: How to fix an iPhone 11 Pro that’s stuck on blank, black or blue screen after iOS 13.2.3 update
Third solution: Unlock screen portrait orientation mode on your iPhone.
If your iPhone screen is stuck on portrait view and it doesn’t flip to landscape even when you hold your phone sideways, it’s possible that it’s locked in portrait mode. Make sure this isn’t only happening when using a certain application. Some apps don’t support landscape views so they stay in portrait view even if you hold your phone sideways. If your iPhone is stuck on portrait view regardless of the app in use, follow these steps to check and manage screen orientation through the control center:
- Swipe down from the top-right corner of the screen to open the Control Center. You will then see some icons and shortcut controls.
- Find the icon that looks like a lock with a circle around it. If this icon appears in white background, it means that the Portrait Orientation Lock is enabled. If that’s how it appears, simply tap on the icon to disable it.
You will then see a message at that top of the Control Center, saying that Portrait Orientation Lock: Off. That’s an indication that landscape orientation is already enabled.
To check and see if the screen orientation works as intended, try holding your phone sideways and see if it switches to landscape or horizontal view already. Also try testing your device using other apps to see how the screen responds.
Fourth solution: Reset all settings on your iPhone 11 Pro that’s stuck on portrait or landscape mode.
If it is possible that the recent iOS update overrides some settings on your iPhone and that eventually resulted in some conflicts, particularly to the display sensors. To clear this out, resetting all settings to their default values can help. To do this, simply refer to these steps:
- From the Home screen, launch the Settings app.
- Select General.
- Scroll to and select Reset.
- Tap on Reset all settings option.
- Enter your device passcode when asked to continue.
- Then select the option to confirm all reset settings on your iPhone.
Your iPhone will restart automatically when the reset is finished and then loads up the default values. This therefore denotes the need to reconfigure some settings and enable necessary features that are disabled by default. Also don’t forget to unlock the screen portrait orientation feature to enable landscape view, if needed.
ALSO READ: How to fix an iPhone 11 Pro that’s stuck on white Apple logo after iOS 13.2.3 update
Fifth solution: Erase your iPhone and restore its factory defaults.
A factory reset can be considered among the last options if all else failed to fix the problem and your iPhone remains stuck on a single screen orientation. What you’re dealing with could be due to some complex system errors that require total system wipe out. If your iPhone managed to boot up normally after a force restart and yet the screen orientation is still not working properly after applying the previous solutions, then you may have to consider performing a factory reset on your phone. In this case, I recommend the use of iTunes to manually erase and restore factory default settings on your iPhone 11 Pro on a computer. Just follow these steps:
- Open iTunes on your computer, if you haven’t already.
- Connect your iPhone to the computer with the USB cable or Lightning cable that came with it.
- Wait for iTunes to recognize your device and when it does, you should see your iPhone’s icon in iTunes.
- Click to select your iPhone 11 Pro when it appears in iTunes.
- Then navigate to the Summary section.
- Click on the Restore [iPhone] button.
- If prompted, click on the Restore button again to confirm.
Follow the rest of the onscreen commands to finish erasing and restoring factory default settings on your iPhone. After the reset, you can disconnect your iPhone from iTunes and then proceed with the initial setup process to set up your iPhone as new.
Last resort: Restore your iPhone from a previous iOS backup.
System problems and recurring symptoms that could not be resolved by a factory reset are usually dealt with by a recovery mode restore. Thus, your next option to try if you wish to troubleshoot further is to restore your iPhone in recovery mode. But please note though that this process will wipe all your iPhone data, so be sure to back them up before you start restoring. To get started, you’ll need to use iTunes on your Windows or earlier Mac computer. Just follow these steps if you wish to continue:
- Connect your iPhone to a computer using the original USB cable or Lightning cable that came with it.
- Open iTunes on your Windows and/or earlier Mac computer or Finder on your Mac running macOS Catalina.
- While your device is connected, quickly press and release the Volume Up key.
- Then quickly press and release the Volume Down key.
- Next, press and hold the Side button until the Connect to iTunes or recovery mode screen appears. Do not release the button if you see the Apple logo as you’ll need to boot your phone in recovery mode.
Shortly after you see the Connect to iTunes or recovery mode screen, you will be prompted with the next instructions via message prompts. If prompted to Update or Restore your iPhone in iTunes, select Restore to erase your device and restore it from a recent iOS backup saved on your computer drive via iTunes.
Follow the rest of the onscreen commands to finish erasing and restoring your iPhone from a previous iOS back on the computer.
ALSO READ: How to fix an iPhone 11 Pro that’s stuck on recovery mode after iOS 13.2.3 update
Is your iPhone 11 Pro still stuck in portrait or landscape mode?
Calibrating the motion sensors of your iPhone can also help fix minor sensor flaws after the update. These system sensors might have glitched from the recent system transition and therefore stopped working as intended. As a result, shifting between portrait and landscape orientations is no longer stable or accurate.
Normally, there’s no need to manually calibrate anything on your iPhone given that the systems are already programmed to do it. However, there are just some instances when doing manual screen calibration is needed. And this is likely one of the said instances. So here’s what you should do then:
- End all background apps on your iPhone, particularly Compass (if you’ve recently opened or used the app).
- After clearing out all background apps, open/launch the Compass app by tapping on its icon from the Home screen. Your iPhone will then ask you to re-calibrate by completing a circle with the red dot.
- When the screen calibration is finished, the compass will show up. This denotes that the re-calibration process is complete.
To see if the re-calibration delivered positive results, open certain apps with portrait and landscape support and then try to see if the screen orientation changes based on how you hold your phone.
ALSO READ: Fixing different types of display issues on an Apple iPhone 11 Pro