To take a screenshot on an iPhone with Face ID, including the iPhone 11, iPhone 14 and every newer model, press the side button and the volume up button at the same time, then let go of both right away. On an iPhone with a Home button, press the Home button and the side (or top) button together instead.
The screen flashes and you hear a camera sound unless the ringer is off. On iOS 26 and later the screenshot then opens full screen so you can crop, mark up or share it; on iOS 18 and earlier a small thumbnail appears in the lower-left corner. Screenshots are saved in the Photos app.
| Your iPhone | Press together | Models |
|---|---|---|
| No Home button (Face ID) | Side button + volume up | iPhone X and later, including iPhone 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 and iPhone Air |
| Home button + button on the right side | Side button + Home | iPhone SE (2nd and 3rd generation), iPhone 6 through iPhone 8 |
| Home button + button on the top edge | Top button + Home | iPhone SE (1st generation), iPhone 5s and earlier |
The iPhone 16e also uses Face ID, so it takes the side button and volume up combination too.
How to take a screenshot on an iPhone with Face ID
- Open the screen you want to capture.
- Press the side button on the right and the volume up button on the left at the same moment.
- Release both buttons immediately.
Timing is the tricky part. If you press volume up a split second early, the volume changes instead. If you hold the buttons too long, the iPhone shows the power-off and Emergency SOS sliders; tap Cancel and try again with a quicker press. Keep holding past that point and an Emergency SOS countdown can start, so let go as soon as the sliders appear.
- Open the screen you want to capture.
- Press the side button (or the top button on older models) and the Home button at the same time.
- Release both buttons immediately.
What happens after you take a screenshot
On iOS 26 and later, the screenshot fills the screen with editing tools. You can draw on it with Markup, crop it, share it, or save it where you want. If Apple Intelligence is available on your iPhone, you can also ask questions about what’s in the screenshot or search for something you circle. Tap the Done (checkmark) button when you’re finished and choose where to save it, such as Save to Photos.
On iOS 18 and earlier, a thumbnail appears in the lower-left corner for a few seconds. Tap it to edit or share, or swipe it left to dismiss it. If you ignore it, the screenshot saves to Photos on its own.
Prefer the small thumbnail? Turn off full-screen previews
If the full-screen editor gets in the way when you take several screenshots in a row, you can bring back the old behavior:
- Open Settings and tap General.
- Tap Screen Capture.
- Turn off Full-Screen Previews.
Simulated iPhone interface for illustration.Screenshots now show a small thumbnail in the corner that disappears after a few seconds. Tapping the thumbnail still opens the full editor. The same screen lets you choose the screenshot format: HDR saves HEIF files with a wider range of brightness, while SDR saves PNG files that open anywhere.
Where to find your screenshots
- Open the Photos app.
- Scroll down to Collections and tap Media Types.
- Tap Screenshots.
Screenshots also appear in your main library with your other photos, sorted by date. If you saved one to Files instead, open the Files app and check Recents. Need to trim one? Our guide on cropping a picture on iPhone works for screenshots too.
If a button is broken or pressing two at once is hard, you have three other ways to capture the screen.
Tap the back of the iPhone (Back Tap)
Back Tap works on iPhone 8 and later.
- Open Settings > Accessibility.
- Tap Touch, then scroll down and tap Back Tap.
- Tap Double Tap or Triple Tap.
- Choose Screenshot.
Now two (or three) firm taps on the back of the phone take a screenshot. Some thick cases can make taps harder to detect. If you get accidental screenshots, switch from Double Tap to Triple Tap.
Use the AssistiveTouch button
- Open Settings > Accessibility > Touch.
- Tap AssistiveTouch and turn it on. A floating button appears on the screen.
- Under Custom Actions, tap Single-Tap (or Double-Tap) and choose Screenshot.
Tapping the floating button now takes a screenshot, and the button itself doesn’t appear in the image. If you want it gone later, here’s how to turn off AssistiveTouch and other accessibility features.
Ask Siri
Say “Take a screenshot” while the screen you want is showing. Siri captures it without adding its own interface to the picture.
Capture more than one screen
- A whole web page or long document: take a screenshot in Safari, open the preview and choose Full Page to save it as a PDF. Our guide to taking a full-page screenshot covers the details.
- Something that moves: use a screen recording instead. See how to turn on screen recording.
Screenshot not working? Common causes
- The volume changes instead: you pressed volume up first. Press both buttons at exactly the same time and release quickly.
- A black image: some video apps and protected content block screenshots. That’s the app’s choice, not a fault.
- Nothing happens at all: restart the iPhone. If a button is damaged, use Back Tap or AssistiveTouch until it’s repaired.
- Screenshots aren’t in Photos: on iOS 26, you may have closed the preview and chosen a different save option. Check Files > Recents, and turn off Full-Screen Previews if you want every screenshot to save to Photos automatically.
Apple’s own screenshot support article lists the button combinations for every model.
Matthew Roberts is the founder and editor of ARS Digitech. He started the site to answer the iPhone questions his friends and family kept asking him, and it has grown into a library of iPhone and iOS how-to guides. Matthew writes and maintains every tutorial on the site, checking steps and menu names against Apple’s official support documentation and updating guides when an iOS release moves a setting.