iPhone Swipe Up Not Working? 12 Fixes That Actually Work

On iPhones with Face ID, almost everything starts with a swipe up: going home, opening the app switcher, unlocking. When the gesture stops responding, the iPhone becomes hard to use. Work through these fixes in order.

1. Swipe from the very bottom edge

The gesture must start on the thin bar at the bottom of the screen. Start from the edge, not from the middle of the screen, and swipe in one smooth movement.

2. Clean the screen and dry your fingers

Water, grease or a wet finger confuses the touch sensor. Wipe the screen with a dry microfiber cloth.

3. Remove the case and screen protector

A thick case edge can block the start of the gesture, and a bubbled or cracked protector at the bottom can stop touches from registering.

4. Force restart

• iPhone 8 and later: press and release Volume Up, press and release Volume Down, then press and hold the Side button until the Apple logo appears (about 10 to 15 seconds).
• iPhone 7 / 7 Plus: hold Volume Down and the Side button together until the Apple logo appears.
• iPhone 6s and earlier: hold the Home button and the Side (or Top) button together until the Apple logo appears.

5. Check Control Center access

If only Control Center (swipe down from the top right) is not opening on the Lock Screen or inside apps, check Settings > Face ID & Passcode > Allow Access When Locked > Control Center and Settings > Control Center > Access Within Apps.

6. Check Guided Access and Assistive Touch

• Guided Access locks the iPhone to one app and disables gestures. Triple-click the Side button to see if it is active and end it.
• Turning on Settings > Accessibility > Touch > AssistiveTouch gives you an on-screen Home button while you troubleshoot.

7. Check Touch Accommodations

In Settings > Accessibility > Touch > Touch Accommodations, settings like Hold Duration or Ignore Repeat can make gestures feel unresponsive. Turn them off to test.

8. Close a frozen app

If the problem happens only in one app, the app may be frozen. Force restart, then update or reinstall the app.

9. Free up storage

When storage is almost full, the system can become very slow and miss gestures. Keep a few gigabytes free (Settings > General > iPhone Storage).

10. Update iOS

Keep iOS up to date: many bugs are fixed in point releases. The current version is iOS 27.0.1 (what it fixes).

iOS 27.0.1 specifically fixes an unresponsive touchscreen after opening Notification Center and Control Center at the same time.

11. Reset All Settings

Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Reset > Reset All Settings restores default settings without deleting your data.

12. Restore or repair

If the bottom of the screen does not react to any touch at all, including in the Notes app, the display may be damaged, especially after a drop or a screen replacement. Back up, then try a restore (how to restore). If it still fails, the screen needs repair. See also iPhone touch screen not responding.