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Worried your kids will get up to no good while using your iOS devices? Learn how to disable the touchscreen on iPhone or iPad so that your little ones can watch their favorite videos without accessing other apps and features.
iPhone and iPad are a blessing for parents of young children — especially those who are trying to work from home while their little ones are out of school. But you don’t want your kids to have full control over your devices.
That’s when things can get dangerous. Settings get changed. Apps get deleted. Your boss receives pictures that were never meant to be shared. Fortunately for you, there’s an easy way to prevent that from happening.
Here’s how to block touch input on iPhone and iPad.
How to disable touch input on iPhone and iPad
- Open the Settings app, then tap Accessibility.
- Tap Guided Access.
- Enable Guided Access using the toggle at the top of the screen.
- Open the app you want your child to have access to, then triple-click the sleep/wake button on your iOS device.
GIF: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
That triple-click will cause Guided Access to spring into action. You will be prompted to circle areas of the app where touch input is allowed, then to create a passcode lock. All other areas of the screen will be locked.
What’s more, the app that’s open when Guided Access is enabled cannot be closed. So, if you allow your child to use YouTube, for instance, they will be unable to switch out of that into Safari or any other app.
To disable Guided Access when you want to use your iOS device again, simply triple-click the sleep/wake button again, then enter the passcode you created for Guided Access earlier.
Other Guided Access options
Inside the Guided Access menu in the Settings app, you have some customization options. You can choose to use Face ID for unlocking, rather than a passcode, and create a time limit that disables it automatically.
With Guided Access, you no longer have to worry about kids wreaking havoc with your iOS devices. Now you can focus your efforts on ensuring they don’t break them when they’re thrown across the room.
There are many laptop brands with inbuilt touch screen capabilities. Thankfully, their operating system still provides a way to disable it via device settings.
For smartphones/ tablets, these direct options aren’t available but there are indirect wayshow we can disable the touchscreen. These tricks come in real handy for parents with toddlers.
Therefore, we have compiled a list of ways to turn off the touchscreen on devices running on android and iOS. Follow the steps for your device.
How to Turn off Touch Screen in iPhone/iPad
- Go to your settings and select accessibility.
- Go to Guided Access and toggle it on.
- Now click on Password settings.
You have the option to either choose set guided access passcode or face id / Touch id (Whichever is available on the device). - Go back to the Guided Access section and note which button is used as an
Accessibility shortcut.
- Tap the shortcut button three times till a pop-up shows up, choose Option and toggle off Touch.
- Click on Start (when guided access is used the first time) or Resume (after the first time) at the top right corner. This will disable touch while using the particular app.
- Tap the shortcut button three times again and enter the passcode.
- Select Options from the bottom section and toggle off Touch. This will disable the touch of the device.
- If you do not change options and straight-up select end, the disable touch feature can be used in the future without making any changes to Option.
The accessibility shortcut button might be different according to the version of the iPad & iPhone. Be sure to read the accessibility shortcut section while turning on the guided access.
How to Turn Off Touch Screen in Android Phones
There isn’t one universal step for android phones as there are so many brands that produce these devices. It entirely depends on what the brands offer to consumers.
As android isn’t restrictive as iOS, it doesn’t matter if there are inbuilt features or not. The sheer amount of Touch lock applications in Google play is unimaginable. Just pick one and install it on the device and you are set.
How to Turn off Touch Screen in Chromebook
- Open your chrome browser.
- On the address bar, type in the following command and press enter:
chrome://flags/#ash-debug-shortcuts - A new page will open, find debugging keyboard shortcuts. It is generally the first option that we see.
- On the right
side of it select enable.
- Select Restart from the bottom right corner of the screen and let the device restart.
- Once the device boots back up, re-login to the computer.
- Press the key combination stated: Search Key +Shift Key + T (in that order) to disable the touch screen.
- If you press it again, the touch screen will be enabled once again.
Should you Disable TouchScreen on Chromebook?
Nearly all variants of Chromebooks are touch-based. We recommend disabling touch if the touch screen interferes with your work or everyday use of the device. Some of the common possibilities why we would need to disable touch in Chromebook are:
- The device faces LCD damage which makes the touch function unpredictable
- To Conserve the Battery life of the device
- Phantom touch problems
- We do not use the touchscreen at all in everyday use.
Frequently Asked Question?
Why Can’t I Use the Touchscreen With My Gloves on?
Most of the touchscreens we use today are capacitive. They detect the electrical currents on our fingers whenever we touch the screen and perform actions accordingly.
But, the glove or any other non-conductive material restricts the contact between the fingers and the screen. Hence, the screen can’t detect your fingers and can’t perform any actions.
Whereas resistive touchscreen responds to the pressure on the screen rather than the electrical current. So, you can use your gloves or anything that can be used to apply pressure on it.
The main drawback of the resistive screen is that it does not support multi-touch.
Does Apple use Touchscreens on computers/ laptops?
As of now, Apple has not adopted touchscreen technology in any of its PCs or laptops.