safari ios vibrate

HTML5 Vibration API: Vibrator test, Examples, Plugins, and Code

Have you ever wanted to make your phone vibrate right from a website using JavaScript?

In this complete guide, you'll learn how to leverage the new HTML Vibration API to create immersive web experiences by adding vibration effects with just a few lines of JavaScript code.

For optimal experience, view this article on a mobile device and test the examples. Visit il.ly/vibrate on your phone.

Try out Phone Vibration Simulator tool to test the vibration patterns on your device.

Why Use the Vibration API on Websites?

Vibration effects can provide tactile feedback to enhance UX for mobile users. When used sparingly, vibrations can make web elements feel more interactive without being annoying or overused.

Some great uses cases:

• Provide haptic feedback on button clicks
• Notifications and alerts
• Fun effects paired with music or themes

With careful design, vibrations can significantly improve the UX on mobile sites and apps. ✨

Let's take a quick look at how it works:

In this complete guide you'll learn:

• Browser Support - Which browsers and devices support the Vibration API
• Using navigator.vibrate() - How to trigger vibrations with code
• Vibration Patterns - Creating complex vibration sequences
• Code Examples - Useful snippets, libraries and plugins

So if you want to make your web projects vibrate, buzz, shake, and rattle - let's get started!

Vibration API Browser Support

The Vibration API is supported in most modern browsers, but there are some exceptions:

The vibration API is implemented in navigator.vibrate . So calling the function makes your phone vibrate. You can test if your browser is recent enough to have the vibrate function in navigator . To check for support in JavaScript:

There are some key limitations:

• Requires actual vibration hardware in the device
• Page needs to be visible - doesn't work in background tabs
• Some browsers limit excessive vibration

Now let's look at how to actually trigger vibrations!

Usage of navigator.vibrate

The navigator.vibrate function either accepts a number or an array of numbers.

In the following example the device will vibrate for 1000 milliseconds (ms):

The vibration pattern is formed by milliseconds of duration of the vibration and the duration of the waiting period.

In this example the devices will vibrate for 1000 ms, wait 500 ms and vibrate again.

Any new call stops the previous vibration sequence. If the page is no longer visible, like locking the device, minimizing the window, moving to another tab then the vibration also stops.

In this example the devices will stop vibrating.

How to Vibrate your Phone on the Web

We can keep vibrating until the user stops touching the device. The vibration stops after a while though. But it's not meant to be pressed infinitely anyway.

In this example the device will keep vibrating until the touch event has stopped

Vibrate on click

The best use case I can imagine for this API is for buttons. You get a little haptic feedback like you get for native apps. This can be done by setting the vibration to a very low number. For me 50ms seems ideal.

In this example all buttons and links on this page vibrate on tap. We also detect if the device is mobile and use touchend.

Vibrate via checkboxes

Vibrating after clicking a sliding checkbox is also very helpful. It feels really natural. There is a short vibration at the start, then a period of waiting whilst the checkbox is moving and then a longer vibration at the end.

In this example, the checkbox will vibrate.

Vibration Duration

If you're not sure how long the haptic feedback should be. You can experiment with various timespans. Try all of these buttons out a mobile device. Anything above 100ms seems to long for me.

In this example the following buttons vibrate each on a different timespan.

Vibrate on notification

Another great use case are for notifications. These can be a bit longer than haptic feedback. Patterns can also be used to differentiate.

Please be aware of the vibration notification on the phone and try not to replicate them as to not to confuse the user. Some visual feedback together with the vibration would be ideal.

Click the buttons below. When the progress bar reaches the end. You get a notification! Each button is a different vibration pattern.

Vibration with Song Patterns

Groggie mentioned his blog post on using the Vibration API for music and theme songs. It's a really cool example of what can be done using the Vibration API and some creative thought. Click on the titles below to play.

🎶 Super Mario Theme Intro

🎶 James Bond 007

🎶 Star Wars Imperial March

🎶 Morse Code SOS

Vibration API Code Examples

Vue.js vibration.

I used to write my own Vibration API code in Vue.js, but with the hooks being introduced into Vue 3, I started using a hook called useVibrate from @vueuse/core .

Next.js and React vibration

In Next.js and React, you can use the Web Vibration API directly in functional components. Here's an example of how you can create a custom hook to handle vibrations:

You can then use this hook in your components to trigger vibrations based on user interactions or other events.

Otherwise, here's an example of how you can create a button that vibrates when clicked:

jQuery.vibrate.js

If doing it manually seems difficult for you, I've written a jquery plugin that can get you started right away.

Documentation

Download and embed the code then initialize in one of the following ways:

I also made a slideshow: Learn About The Vibration API from Illyism . Feel free to share it and show it around.

Interested in more Javascript and CSS articles? Check out our article on CSS Text Gradients .

Ilias is a SEO entrepreneur and marketing agency owner at MagicSpace SEO , helping small businesses grow with SEO. With a decade of experience as a CTO and marketer, he offers SEO consulting and SEO services to clients worldwide.

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PWA vibration API

Let's use the navigator to shake your device.

Interaction with the user on a "sensual" level can greatly improve the user experience of your app. Typically, we as devs have to limit ourselves to fancy animations, such as parallax effects or 3D-renders to convey a more realistic feeling inside our apps. But did you know that Progressive Web Apps can deliver so much more? Today we'll take a look at the haptic side of interactions between the web and the user.

Rumble in the (dev-)jungle

As of writing, not all environments provide support for the new Vibration-API. Specifically, every Chromium and Firefox-browser can be used, whereas every variant of Safari/WebKit has no support. Note: every browser on iOS uses WebKit as its engine.

The usage of the API itself is as straightforward as it gets. Here's an example:

To proof that this code is working, simply tap the copy-button in bottom right corner of the code snippet. If your device supports it, then a gentle vibration should be started to acknowledge the copy-to-clipboard action.

We're almost done, let's just take a look at the last features of the API:

And that's about it! Not much to cover, but applied correctly, i.e. not too much in your app and only when it's applicable, the vibration-API is a really great feature to use. I think the best use case is to haptically confirm or deny important actions the user has made, e.g. the copy-action for code in this case or a permanent delete-action in another app.

Suggestions

• MDN Vibration API developer.mozilla.org
• PWA by web.dev web.dev
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• Français fr
• Esperanto eo
• Ελληνικά el
• Afrikaans af

How use vibrate method on IOS?

using of navigator.vibrate() for IOS is not working, how we can implement vibrate on IOS devises? if (“vibrate” in navigator) { navigator.vibrate(55); }

It’s not supported, so the answer is “you can’t”.

Browser compatibility chart is here:

Notice Safari is not supported. Until Safari implements it, the API will not work on iOS devices.

thanks for your respond

Also, forgot to mention:

If you weren’t already aware, there is only one browser engine on iOS.

Chrome and other browser apps are just basically a skin over that.

So what I’ve said applies regardless of the browser app you use. If you are using iOS, anything that applies to Safari applies to any other app you use to browse the internet, because they’re the same thing. There is currently a big court case being prepared in the UK courts that will attempt to attack this situation, but for the foreseeable future, there’s only Safari.

Note also that this is not the case on Android, it’s just iOS this applies to.

thanks for your response

Navigator: vibrate() method

The Navigator.vibrate() method pulses the vibration hardware on the device, if such hardware exists. If the device doesn't support vibration, this method has no effect. If a vibration pattern is already in progress when this method is called, the previous pattern is halted and the new one begins instead.

If the method was unable to vibrate because of invalid parameters, it will return false , else it returns true . If the pattern leads to a too long vibration, it is truncated: the max length depends on the implementation.

Provides a pattern of vibration and pause intervals. Each value indicates a number of milliseconds to vibrate or pause, in alternation. You may provide either a single value (to vibrate once for that many milliseconds) or an array of values to alternately vibrate, pause, then vibrate again. See Vibration API for details.

Passing a value of 0 , an empty array, or an array containing all zeros will cancel any currently ongoing vibration pattern.

Return value

Sticky user activation is required. The user has to interact with the page or a UI element in order for this feature to work.

Specifications

Browser compatibility.

• Vibration API

© 2005–2023 MDN contributors. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License v2.5 or later. https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Navigator/vibrate

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

Remove haptic touch only but keep vibration for phone calls and messages

Hi, I can't stand the single click vibration of haptic touch, particularly when opening a new tab in Safari, which I do multiple times a day.

I turned off System Haptics in Settings>Sounds & Haptics as instructed in the help page, which didn't seem to change anything that I could feel. I then turned off Vibration in Settings>Accessibility>Touch, which did get rid of the click in Safari.

But and this is a big but (!), it turns off the vibration for ringtone and message alerts.

Is haptic touch and vibration a ham-fisted one-action-only set up in iOS13 or have I missed the topic in the communities and am able to turn off haptic touch AND keep vibration?

I consider this option to be pretty important as I need vibration to alert me to potentially urgent messages and phone calls, but my nervous system is struggling (and I'm sure others might be, too) with that click sensation when using phone day to day.... :(

iPhone 11, iOS 13

Posted on Feb 26, 2020 3:22 PM

Posted on Mar 11, 2020 9:02 AM

Hi Izz33Wizz33,

We appreciate you sending over this clarification. From what you've described this sounds like expected behavior from the haptics on your iPhone. There are some system haptics that cannot be disabled and it appears that a long press, or press and holding on an app or link is going to produce feedback even with System Haptics disabled.

If you'd like to let Apple know about how you'd like to be able to customize these settings further, let them know here: Product Feedback

Best Regards.

Similar questions

• my vibrate on ring/vibrate on silent toggles are not in my sounds and haptics screen I no longer have the toggle buttons for "vibrate on ring/vibrate on silent" in my sounds and haptics screen on my iphone SE2020. 495 1
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• No haptic feedback during phone calls Hello everyone 🤗 Just recently got an iPhone 12 Pro, and I just realized that when I am in a phone call there is not haptic feedback anymore. For example I keep my finger on the "Settings" icon, you open the contextual menu with Battery, Wifi, Bluetooth... and you can clearly feel the little peak of haptic feedback when the menu pops open. Doing the same action while on the phone (with speaker on or AirPods) you do not have any haptic feedback anymore. Seems my father have not encountered this behavior with its iPhone 11. Any other observations amongst the community? Thanks for your observations ! 1161 3

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Mar 11, 2020 9:02 AM in response to Izz33Wizz33

Mar 7, 2020 9:29 PM in response to Teddy_B

Hi, thanks for your response and question! The haptic response happens when I open a new tab via a link on a website in Safari. It’s also when an apple app menu can be shown when you press down on it.

For example, when I held down ‘Reply’ on this page to open the menu, it made the troublesome click response. I’ve attached an image of what opened (and seems to open with other links and app menus etc) when I pressed down on ‘Reply’.

The problem isn’t when I press the + symbol for a brand new tab outside of a website (see 2nd image).

Feb 28, 2020 4:32 PM in response to Izz33Wizz33

Thanks for reaching out in Apple Support Communities. It sounds like you're experiencing some unexpected haptic feedback when opening a new tab in Safari on your iPhone. I also see you've worked with the haptic settings on your device, but the behavior continues unless you turn off vibrations on the device entirely. I can see why you'd reach out about this; I'd like to help. What you're experiencing sounds unexpected, so let's start with these troubleshooting steps:

• Close Safari: How to force an app to close on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch
• Verify that sound and vibration settings are to your preference: Change iPhone sounds and vibrations
• Restart your iPhone
• Open Safari and open a new tab: Use tabs in Safari on iPhone

Do you still experience the haptic feedback?

If so, please provide the following details:

Does this occur when using Private and regular browsing?

Do you experience this in other apps outside of Safari?

If so, which apps? What actions cause haptic feedback in the other apps?

Which version of iOS 13 is installed on your device?

Do you recall when this behavior started?

Feb 28, 2020 11:35 PM in response to sterling r

Hi Sterling r, thanks for replying! I followed the steps and the haptic response continues (i.e. System haptics off and Vibrations on).

In response to your questions:

Both private and regular.

On the Home screen - all apps still present a haptic response.

In the apps - only Apple apps, as far as I can tell. I have a lot of apps, so couldn’t test all of them. Gmail, Paypal, Google Drive and DuckDuckGo didn’t have a haptic response when inside the app.

From what I can tell, the haptic response remains for any actions that release the menu options.

Inside an app, such as Photos: holding down a photo in an album to release menu option to copy, share, delete.

In the iOS update prior to 13.3.1. It was present in my previous iPhone 8 after the iOS13 update.

Thanks again.

Feb 29, 2020 8:57 AM in response to Izz33Wizz33

Thanks for trying those steps and for getting back to us so quickly with those details. Can you let me know what steps you're using to open a new tab in Safari?

I'm having trouble reproducing the behavior with similar settings on my device so I want to be sure we're on the same page.

I look forward to your reply.

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Describing vibrations

Specifications, browser compatibility.

Most modern mobile devices include vibration hardware, which lets software code provide physical feedback to the user by causing the device to shake. The Vibration API offers Web apps the ability to access this hardware, if it exists, and does nothing if the device doesn't support it.

Vibration is described as a pattern of on-off pulses, which may be of varying lengths. The pattern may consist of either a single integer, describing the number of milliseconds to vibrate, or an array of integers describing a pattern of vibrations and pauses. Vibration is controlled with a single method: Navigator.vibrate() .

A single vibration

You may pulse the vibration hardware one time by specifying either a single value or an array consisting of only one value:

Both of these examples vibrate the device for 200 ms.

Vibration patterns

An array of values describes alternating periods of time in which the device is vibrating and not vibrating. Each value in the array is converted to an integer, then interpreted alternately as the number of milliseconds the device should vibrate and the number of milliseconds it should not be vibrating. For example:

This vibrates the device for 200 ms, then pauses for 100 ms before vibrating the device again for another 200 ms.

You may specify as many vibration/pause pairs as you like, and you may provide either an even or odd number of entries; it's worth noting that you don't have to provide a pause as your last entry since the vibration automatically stops at the end of each vibration period.

Canceling existing vibrations

Calling Navigator.vibrate() with a value of 0 , an empty array, or an array containing all zeros will cancel any currently ongoing vibration pattern.

Continued vibrations

Some basic setInterval and clearInterval action will allow you to create persistent vibration:

Of course, the snippet above doesn't take into account the array method of vibration; persistent array-based vibration will require calculating the sum of the array items and creating an interval based on that number (with an additional delay, probably).

• Navigator.vibrate()

Document Tags and Contributors

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jquery-navigator-vibrate

This plugin leverages window.navigator.vibrate() to add vibrations to your elements.

It supports both constant and pulse variants.

You call the plugin like this:

Note : At the time of publishing, browser support is limited to Chrome, Edge, and Android browsers.

Safari and Safari on iOS do not currently support window.navigator.vibrate() .

With configuration: { time: 100 }

With configuration: { time: 2000 }

You can pass a callback onVibrateComplete to be called when it's done.

List of numbers

The time option can also support a list of integers.

Custom event

The following runs on touchstart

With configuration:

Download on Github

• Skip to main content

• Navigator.vibrate()

The Navigator.vibrate() method pulses the vibration hardware on the device, if such hardware exists. If the device doesn't support vibration, this method has no effect. If a vibration pattern is already in progress when this method is called, the previous pattern is halted and the new one begins instead.

If the method was unable to vibrate because of invalid parameters, it will return false , else it returns true . If the pattern leads to a too long vibration, it is truncated: the max length depends on the implementation.

Passing a value of 0 , an empty array, or an array containing all zeros will cancel any currently ongoing vibration pattern.

Specifications

Browser compatibility.

• Vibration API
• appCodeName
• cookieEnabled
• credentials
• deviceMemory
• geolocation
• maxTouchPoints
• mediaDevices
• mediaSession
• permissions
• serviceWorker
• getBattery()
• getGamepads()
• getUserMedia()
• mozIsLocallyAvailable()
• msLaunchUri()
• registerContentHandler()
• registerProtocolHandler()
• requestMediaKeySystemAccess()
• sendBeacon()
• taintEnabled()

How to Make iPhone Vibrate or Not Vibrate on Silent (iOS 17 Updated)

Mehvish Mushtaq is a computer engineer by degree. Her love for Android and gadgets led her to develop the first Android app for Kashmir. Known as Dial Kashmir, she won the prestigious Nari Shakti award from the President of India. She has been writing about technology for 6+ years and her favorite categories include how-to guides, explainers, tips and tricks for Android, iOS/iPadOS, social media, and web apps.

When you put your iPhone on silent mode, you will not hear a ringtone or other alert sounds. While this is quite helpful if you don’t want to be disturbed at all, I prefer having my phone vibrate on silent mode. This helps in knowing about incoming calls or alerts without disturbing anyone. If you also want your iPhone to vibrate in silent mode, you are at the right place.

Let’s check how to make iPhone vibrate or play haptics in silent mode on iOS 17, iOS 16, and earlier versions. You will also learn how to disable vibrate on silent mode and how to fix it if the iPhone doesn’t vibrate on silent mode.

How to Make iPhone Vibrate in Silent Mode on iOS 17

With the iOS 17 update, Apple has yet again slightly revamped the haptics settings. It has added one more step to the process. The option is now within the Haptics inside Sound settings. So, here’s how to access Vibrate on silent in iOS 17.

Step 1 : Open Settings on your iPhone.

Step 2: Go to ‘Sounds & Haptics’.

Step 3: Go to Haptics and select ‘Play in Silent Mode’.

Now, your iPhone will vibrate on silent. Alternatively, select Don’t Play in Silent Mode if you want your iPhone not to vibrate when it’s silent. If you want your iPhone to vibrate when it’s ringing or in normal mode, select Always Play.

How to Make iPhone Vibrate in Silent Mode on iOS 16

In iOS 16, Apple has slightly revamped the vibration settings. Firstly, it has renamed the Vibrate on silent to Play haptics in silent mode. And secondly, instead of being present on the top in Sound settings, you will find it at the bottom now. So, if you were thinking that Vibrate on silent has been removed in iOS 16, that’s not the case.

Let’s check the steps to make iPhone vibrate in silent mode on iOS 16:

Step 3: Scroll down to the Ring/Silent Mode Switch section and enable the toggle for ‘Play Haptics in Silent Mode’.

Now, your iPhone will vibrate on silent. If you want your iPhone to vibrate when it’s ringing or in normal mode, enable the toggle next to ‘Play Haptics in Ring Mode’.

Tip: In iOS 16, you can make your iPhone’s keyboard vibrate by going to Settings > Sounds & haptics > Keyboard feedback. Now, enable the toggle next to Haptic.

How to Make iPhone Vibrate in Silent Mode on iOS 15

To enable vibration on silent mode on your iPhone running iOS 15, follow these steps:

Step 1: Open Settings on your phone.

Step 2: Tap on ‘Sounds & Haptics’.

Step 3 : Enable the toggle next to ‘Vibrate on Silent’.

How to Stop iPhone From Vibrating in Silent Mode

If you do not want your iPhone to vibrate in silent mode, you can turn off haptics in silent mode as shown below:

Step 1: Open Settings on your iPhone.

Step 2: Go to ‘Sounds & haptics’.

Step 3: On iOS 16, scroll down and turn off the toggle next to ‘Play Haptics in Silent Mode’. And on iOS 15, turn off the toggle next to ‘Vibrate on Silent’.

Tip : Know the difference between silent mode, airplane mode, and do not disturb on iPhone.

How to Fix iPhone Not Vibrating on Silent

If vibration on silent mode doesn’t work on your iPhone after enabling the above setting, follow these troubleshooting fixes:

1. Enable Vibration in Accessibility Settings

There’s a dedicated global vibration setting in the accessibility settings of your iPhone. If it’s turned off, all kinds of vibrations will not work on your iPhone including the ‘Vibrate on Silent’ even if it is turned on.

To make sure that the vibration setting is enabled, follow these steps:

Step 1: Open iPhone Settings and go to Accessibility.

Step 2: Tap on Touch.

Step 3: Scroll down and enable the toggle next to Vibration.

Tip: Check out the best iPhone accessibility settings for elderly users.

2. Enable Vibration for Each Alert Type

On iPhone, you can customize the vibration and select a different vibration pattern for each alert type. That means alerts like ringtones, text tones, mail, etc., can all have different vibration patterns. However, under the vibration setting of each alert, there is a None option. If selected, that particular alert won’t vibrate. So, if your iPhone is not vibrating on silent mode, there are chances that you have selected none of the vibration patterns in alert settings.

Follow these steps to choose a vibration pattern for different alerts:

Step 3: Tap on Ringtone followed by Vibration.

Step 4: Now, make sure that the None option isn’t selected. If it says None, tap on Synchronized (Default) or choose some other pattern from the list.

Tip : You can even create and use custom vibration .

Step 5: Similarly check other alert types like text tone, voicemail, etc., and make sure that some vibration pattern is selected.

If the vibration still doesn’t work on silent mode, check out other ways to fix the vibration not working on iPhone .

Make Your iPhone Ring

That’s how you can make iPhone vibrate in silent mode. If you decide to enable the ring mode, learn how to set custom ringtones for contacts on iPhone . Also, know how to set WhatsApp audio as an iPhone ringtone .

Was this helpful?

Last updated on 22 September, 2023

The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.

Thanks for the post. I was looking for the vibrate on silent option. Didn’t know they’d changed that to system haptics. Your post has been very helpful.

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How to turn on haptic feedback on iphone, how to customize your iphone's vibration, how to put iphone on silent, help, my iphone won't vibrate at all.

One of the first decisions you have to make after setting up a new iPhone is whether you want it to vibrate. Depending on your situation, you may need your phone to blast loud alerts and vibrate to get your attention, or you may need to set it to silent vibrations while you're in class or watching a movie. And, of course, some want neither sound alerts nor vibrations. Regardless of your preferences, we will demonstrate how to put your iPhone on vibrate or silence it completely. Whether you're running iOS 17 or a slightly older OS version, the steps you need to follow are the same.

To enable haptic feedback (aka vibrations) on iPhone, follow these steps:

• Launch the Settings app.
• Go to the Sounds & Haptics section.
• Tap on Haptics under Ringtone and Alerts .
• Always Play : Your iPhone will vibrate whether it's silenced or not.
• Play in Silent Mode : Your iPhone will vibrate only when silenced.
• Don't Play in Silent Mode : Your iPhone will vibrate only when not silenced.
• Never Play : Your iPhone won't vibrate whether it's silenced or not.

Now, your iPhone should vibrate whenever you receive a notification or call, assuming you match the conditions you picked in the previous step.

Once you enable haptic feedback, you can customize the actual vibration. By default, the haptics will synchronize with your chosen tone, but you don't have to settle for that.

• Launch the Settings app, and head to the Sounds & Haptics section again.
• Tap on Ringtone .
• At the very top, there should be a Haptics section. Enter it.
• You can pick from the default ones, create your own pattern, or turn off haptics for ringtones completely.

On iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max

If you have an iPhone 15 Pro Max or its smaller sibling, then you can toggle Silent Mode by following the steps below:

• Open the Control Center by swiping down from the top right corner.

Alternatively, you could customize the Action button to toggle Silent Mode whenever you click and hold on it.

On all other iPhone models

If you have another iPhone model, you can toggle Silent Mode by flicking the mute switch towards the top of its left edge. If you can see the red dash on the switch, then it's silenced.

If you've already enabled haptic feedback using the first steps in this guide, but your iPhone still won't vibrate, here's what you can do:

• Head to Accessibility .
• Tap on Touch .

If the toggle above is enabled and your iPhone still won't vibrate, then you can try rebooting your phone. If the issue persists, it may be a hardware problem, and we advise you to contact Apple Support.

iPhones offer superior haptics

As our guide shows, iOS allows its users to customize haptic feedback granularly. You get to link it to Silent Mode and very specific kinds of alerts, such as just calls, calls and text but nothing else, and more. That's not to mention that you can also design your own to personalize your experience further. The best part about all this is the superior Taptic Engine that delivers these haptics in a gentle, accurate manner, which makes the overall vibration experience pleasant.

iPhone User Guide

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• iPhone 15 Pro Max
• Setup basics
• Make your iPhone your own
• Take great photos and videos
• Keep in touch with friends and family
• Share features with your family
• Use iPhone for your daily routines
• Expert advice from Apple Support
• What’s new in iOS 17
• Turn on and set up iPhone
• Wake, unlock, and lock
• Set up cellular service
• Use Dual SIM
• Connect to the internet
• Sign in with Apple ID
• Subscribe to iCloud+
• Find settings
• Set up mail, contacts, and calendar accounts
• Learn the meaning of the status icons
• Charge the battery
• Charge with cleaner energy sources
• Show the battery percentage
• Check battery health and usage
• Use Low Power Mode
• Read and bookmark the user guide
• Learn basic gestures
• Learn gestures for iPhone models with Face ID
• Adjust the volume
• Silence iPhone
• Find your apps in App Library
• Switch between open apps
• Quit and reopen an app
• Multitask with Picture in Picture
• Access features from the Lock Screen
• Use the Dynamic Island
• Perform quick actions
• Search on iPhone
• Get information about your iPhone
• View or change cellular data settings
• Travel with iPhone
• Change sounds and vibrations
• Use the Action button on iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max
• Create a custom Lock Screen
• Change the wallpaper
• Adjust the screen brightness and color balance
• Keep the iPhone display on longer
• Use StandBy
• Customize the text size and zoom setting
• Change the name of your iPhone
• Change the date and time
• Change the language and region
• Organize your apps in folders
• Add, edit, and remove widgets
• Move apps and widgets on the Home Screen
• Remove or delete apps
• Use and customize Control Center
• Change or lock the screen orientation
• View and respond to notifications
• Change notification settings
• Set up a Focus
• Allow or silence notifications for a Focus
• Turn a Focus on or off
• Stay focused while driving
• Customize sharing options
• Type with the onscreen keyboard
• Dictate text
• Select and edit text
• Use predictive text
• Use text replacements
• Add or change keyboards
• Add emoji and stickers
• Take a screenshot
• Take a screen recording
• Draw in documents
• Add text, shapes, signatures, and more
• Fill out forms and sign documents
• Use Live Text to interact with content in a photo or video
• Use Visual Look Up to identify objects in your photos and videos
• Lift a subject from the photo background
• Subscribe to Apple Arcade
• Play with friends in Game Center
• Connect a game controller
• Use App Clips
• Update apps
• View or cancel subscriptions
• Manage purchases, settings, and restrictions
• Install and manage fonts
• Buy books and audiobooks
• Annotate books
• Access books on other Apple devices
• Listen to audiobooks
• Set reading goals
• Organize books
• Create and edit events in Calendar
• Send invitations
• Reply to invitations
• Change how you view events
• Search for events
• Change calendar and event settings
• Schedule or display events in a different time zone
• Keep track of events
• Use multiple calendars
• Use the Holidays calendar
• Share iCloud calendars
• Camera basics
• Set up your shot
• Apply Photographic Styles
• Take Live Photos
• Take Burst mode shots
• Take a selfie
• Take panoramic photos
• Take macro photos and videos
• Take portraits
• Take Night mode photos
• Take Apple ProRAW photos
• Adjust the shutter volume
• Adjust HDR camera settings
• Record videos
• Record spatial videos for Apple Vision Pro
• Record ProRes videos
• Record videos in Cinematic mode
• Change video recording settings
• Save camera settings
• Customize the Main camera lens
• Change advanced camera settings
• View, share, and print photos
• Use Live Text
• Scan a QR code
• See the world clock
• Set an alarm
• Change the next wake up alarm
• Use the stopwatch
• Use multiple timers
• Add and use contact information
• Edit contacts
• Add your contact info
• Use NameDrop on iPhone to share your contact info
• Use other contact accounts
• Use Contacts from the Phone app
• Merge or hide duplicate contacts
• Export contacts
• Get started with FaceTime
• Make FaceTime calls
• Receive FaceTime calls
• Create a FaceTime link
• Take a Live Photo
• Turn on Live Captions in a FaceTime call
• Use other apps during a call
• Make a Group FaceTime call
• View participants in a grid
• Use SharePlay to watch, listen, and play together
• Share your screen in a FaceTime call
• Collaborate on a document in FaceTime
• Use video conferencing features
• Hand off a FaceTime call to another Apple device
• Change the FaceTime video settings
• Change the FaceTime audio settings
• Change your appearance
• Leave a call or switch to Messages
• Block unwanted callers
• Report a call as spam
• Connect external devices or servers
• Modify files, folders, and downloads
• Search for files and folders
• Organize files and folders
• Set up iCloud Drive
• Share files and folders in iCloud Drive
• Use an external storage device, a file server, or a cloud storage service
• Share your location
• Meet up with a friend
• Send your location via satellite
• Add or remove a friend
• Locate a friend
• Get notified when friends change their location
• Notify a friend when your location changes
• Turn off Find My
• Add your iPhone
• Add your iPhone Wallet with MagSafe
• Get notified if you leave a device behind
• Locate a device
• Mark a device as lost
• Erase a device
• Remove a device
• Add an AirTag
• Share an AirTag or other item in Find My on iPhone
• Add a third-party item
• Get notified if you leave an item behind
• Locate an item
• Mark an item as lost
• Remove an item
• Adjust map settings
• Get started with Fitness
• Track daily activity and change your move goal
• See your activity summary
• Sync a third-party workout app
• Change fitness notifications
• Share your activity
• Subscribe to Apple Fitness+
• Find Apple Fitness+ workouts and meditations
• Start an Apple Fitness+ workout or meditation
• Create a Custom Plan in Apple Fitness+
• Work out together using SharePlay
• Change what’s on the screen during an Apple Fitness+ workout or meditation
• Download an Apple Fitness+ workout or meditation
• Get started with Freeform
• Create a Freeform board
• Draw or handwrite
• Apply consistent styles
• Position items on a board
• Search Freeform boards
• Share and collaborate
• Delete and recover boards
• Get started with Health
• Fill out your Health Details
• Intro to Health data
• View your health data
• Share your health data
• View health data shared by others
• Download health records
• View health records
• Monitor your walking steadiness
• Log menstrual cycle information
• View menstrual cycle predictions and history
• Track your medications
• Learn more about your medications
• Log your state of mind
• Take a mental health assessment
• Set up a schedule for a Sleep Focus
• Turn off alarms and delete sleep schedules
• Add or change sleep schedules
• Turn Sleep Focus on or off
• Change your wind down period, sleep goal, and more
• View your sleep history
• Check your headphone levels
• Use audiogram data
• Register as an organ donor
• Back up your Health data
• Intro to Home
• Upgrade to the new Home architecture
• Set up accessories
• Control accessories
• Control your home using Siri
• Use Grid Forecast to plan your energy usage
• Set up HomePod
• Control your home remotely
• Create and use scenes
• Use automations
• Set up security cameras
• Use Face Recognition
• Unlock your door with a home key
• Configure a router
• Invite others to control accessories
• Add more homes
• Get music, movies, and TV shows
• Get ringtones
• Manage purchases and settings
• Get started with Journal
• Write in your journal
• Review your past journal entries
• Change Journal settings
• Magnify nearby objects
• Change settings
• Detect people around you
• Detect doors around you
• Receive image descriptions of your surroundings
• Read aloud text and labels around you
• Set up shortcuts for Detection Mode
• Add and remove email accounts
• Set up a custom email domain
• Check your email
• Unsend email with Undo Send
• Reply to and forward emails
• Save an email draft
• Add email attachments
• Download email attachments
• Annotate email attachments
• Set email notifications
• Search for email
• Organize email in mailboxes
• Flag or block emails
• Filter emails
• Use Hide My Email
• Use Mail Privacy Protection
• Change email settings
• Delete and recover emails
• Add a Mail widget to your Home Screen
• Print emails
• Get travel directions
• Select other route options
• Find stops along your route
• View a route overview or a list of turns
• Change settings for spoken directions
• Get driving directions
• Get directions to your parked car
• Set up electric vehicle routing
• Report traffic incidents
• Get cycling directions
• Get walking directions
• Get transit directions
• Delete recent directions
• Get traffic and weather info
• Estimate travel time and ETA
• Download offline maps
• Search for places
• Find nearby attractions, restaurants, and services
• Get information about places
• Mark places
• Share places
• Rate places
• Save favorite places
• Explore new places with Guides
• Organize places in My Guides
• Clear location history
• Look around places
• Take Flyover tours
• Find your Maps settings
• Measure dimensions
• View and save measurements
• Measure a person’s height
• Use the level
• Set up Messages
• About iMessage
• Send and reply to messages
• Unsend and edit messages
• Keep track of messages
• Forward and share messages
• Group conversations
• Watch, listen, or play together using SharePlay
• Collaborate on projects
• Use iMessage apps
• Take and edit photos or videos
• Share photos, links, and more
• Send stickers
• Request, send, and receive payments
• Send and receive audio messages
• Animate messages
• Send and save GIFs
• Turn read receipts on or off
• Change notifications
• Block, filter, and report messages
• Delete messages and attachments
• Recover deleted messages
• View albums, playlists, and more
• Show song credits and lyrics
• Queue up your music
• Listen to broadcast radio
• Subscribe to Apple Music
• Play music together in the car with iPhone
• Listen to lossless music
• Listen to Dolby Atmos music
• Apple Music Sing
• Find new music
• Add music and listen offline
• Get personalized recommendations
• Listen to radio
• Search for music
• Create playlists
• See what your friends are listening to
• Use Siri to play music
• Change the way music sounds
• Get started with News
• Use News widgets
• See news stories chosen just for you
• Read stories
• Follow your favorite teams with My Sports
• Listen to Apple News Today
• Subscribe to Apple News+
• Browse and read Apple News+ stories and issues
• Use Offline Mode to read downloaded News content
• Manually download Apple News+ issues
• Listen to audio stories
• Solve puzzles in Apple News
• Solve crossword and crossword mini puzzles
• Solve Quartiles puzzles
• Search for news stories
• Save stories in News for later
• Subscribe to individual news channels
• Get started with Notes
• Add or remove accounts
• Create and format notes
• Draw or write
• Add photos, videos, and more
• Scan text and documents
• Work with PDFs
• Create Quick Notes
• Search notes
• Organize in folders
• Organize with tags
• Use Smart Folders
• Export or print notes
• Change Notes settings
• Make a call
• View and delete the call history
• Answer or decline incoming calls
• While on a call
• Have a conference or three-way call on iPhone
• Set up voicemail
• Check voicemail
• Change voicemail greeting and settings
• Select ringtones and vibrations
• Make calls using Wi-Fi
• Set up call forwarding
• Set up call waiting
• Block or avoid unwanted calls
• View photos and videos
• Play videos and slideshows
• Delete or hide photos and videos
• Edit photos and videos
• Trim video length and adjust slow motion
• Edit Cinematic mode videos
• Edit Live Photos
• Edit portraits
• Use photo albums
• Edit, share, and organize albums
• Filter and sort photos and videos in albums
• Make stickers from your photos
• Duplicate and copy photos and videos
• Merge duplicate photos and videos
• Search for photos
• Identify people and pets
• Browse photos by location
• Share photos and videos
• Share long videos
• View photos and videos shared with you
• Watch memories
• Personalize your memories
• Manage memories and featured photos
• Use iCloud Photos
• Create shared albums
• Add and remove people in a shared album
• Add and delete photos and videos in a shared album
• Set up or join an iCloud Shared Photo Library
• Add content to an iCloud Shared Photo Library
• Use iCloud Shared Photo Library
• Import and export photos and videos
• Print photos
• Find podcasts
• Listen to podcasts
• Follow your favorite podcasts
• Use the Podcasts widget
• Organize your podcast library
• Download, save, or share podcasts
• Subscribe to podcasts
• Listen to subscriber-only content
• Change download settings
• Make a grocery list
• Add items to a list
• Edit and manage a list
• Search and organize lists
• Work with templates
• Use Smart Lists
• Print reminders
• Use the Reminders widget
• Change Reminders settings
• Browse the web
• Search for websites
• Customize your Safari settings
• Change the layout
• Use Safari profiles
• Open and close tabs
• Organize your tabs
• View your Safari tabs from another Apple device
• Share Tab Groups
• Use Siri to listen to a webpage
• Bookmark favorite webpages
• Save pages to a Reading List
• Find links shared with you
• Annotate and save a webpage as a PDF
• Automatically fill in forms
• Get extensions
• Hide ads and distractions
• Clear your cache and cookies
• Browse the web privately
• Use passkeys in Safari
• Check stocks
• Manage multiple watchlists
• Read business news
• Add earnings reports to your calendar
• Use a Stocks widget
• Translate text, voice, and conversations
• Translate text in apps
• Translate with the camera view
• Subscribe to Apple TV+, MLS Season Pass, or an Apple TV channel
• Add your TV provider
• Get shows, movies, and more
• Watch sports
• Watch Major League Soccer with MLS Season Pass
• Control playback
• Manage your library
• Change the settings
• Make a recording
• Play it back
• Edit or delete a recording
• Keep recordings up to date
• Organize recordings
• Search for or rename a recording
• Share a recording
• Duplicate a recording
• Keep cards and passes in Wallet
• Set up Apple Pay
• Use Apple Pay for contactless payments
• Use Apple Pay in apps and on the web
• Track your orders
• Use Apple Cash
• Use Apple Card
• Use Savings
• Pay for transit
• Access your home, hotel room, and vehicle
• Add identity cards
• Use COVID-19 vaccination cards
• Check your Apple Account balance
• Use Express Mode
• Organize your Wallet
• Remove cards or passes
• Check the weather
• Check the weather in other locations
• View weather maps
• Manage weather notifications
• Use Weather widgets
• Learn the weather icons
• Find out what Siri can do
• Tell Siri about yourself
• Have Siri announce calls and notifications
• Add Siri Shortcuts
• About Siri Suggestions
• Use Siri in your car
• Change Siri settings
• Contact emergency services
• Use Emergency SOS via satellite
• Request Roadside Assistance via satellite
• Set up and view your Medical ID
• Use Check In
• Manage Crash Detection
• Reset privacy and security settings in an emergency
• Set up Family Sharing
• Add Family Sharing members
• Remove Family Sharing members
• Share subscriptions
• Share purchases
• Share locations with family and locate lost devices
• Set up Apple Cash Family and Apple Card Family
• Set up parental controls
• Set up a child’s device
• Get started with Screen Time
• Protect your vision health with Screen Distance
• Set up Screen Time
• Set communication and safety limits and block inappropriate content
• Set up Screen Time for a family member
• Charging cable
• Power adapters
• MagSafe chargers and battery packs
• MagSafe cases and sleeves
• Qi-certified wireless chargers
• Use AirPods
• Use EarPods
• Apple Watch
• Wirelessly stream videos and photos to Apple TV or a smart TV
• Connect to a display with a cable
• HomePod and other wireless speakers
• Pair Magic Keyboard
• Enter characters with diacritical marks
• Switch between keyboards
• Use shortcuts
• Choose an alternative keyboard layout
• Change typing assistance options
• External storage devices
• Bluetooth accessories
• Share your internet connection
• Allow phone calls on your iPad and Mac
• Use iPhone as a webcam
• Hand off tasks between devices
• Cut, copy, and paste between iPhone and other devices
• Stream video or mirror the screen of your iPhone
• Start SharePlay instantly
• Use AirDrop to send items
• Connect iPhone and your computer with a cable
• Transfer files between devices
• Transfer files with email, messages, or AirDrop
• Transfer files or sync content with the Finder or iTunes
• Automatically keep files up to date with iCloud
• Intro to CarPlay
• Connect to CarPlay
• Use your vehicle’s built-in controls
• Get turn-by-turn directions
• Change the map view
• Make phone calls
• View your calendar
• Send and receive text messages
• Announce incoming text messages
• Play podcasts
• Play audiobooks
• Listen to news stories
• Control your home
• Use other apps with CarPlay
• Rearrange icons on CarPlay Home
• Change settings in CarPlay
• Get started with accessibility features
• Turn on accessibility features for setup
• Change Siri accessibility settings
• Open features with Accessibility Shortcut
• Change color and brightness
• Make text easier to read
• Reduce onscreen motion
• Customize per-app visual settings
• Hear what’s on the screen or typed
• Hear audio descriptions
• Turn on and practice VoiceOver
• Change your VoiceOver settings
• Use VoiceOver gestures
• Operate iPhone when VoiceOver is on
• Control VoiceOver using the rotor
• Use the onscreen keyboard
• Write with your finger
• Keep the screen off
• Use VoiceOver with an Apple external keyboard
• Use a braille display
• Type braille on the screen
• Customize gestures and keyboard shortcuts
• Use VoiceOver with a pointer device
• Use VoiceOver for images and videos
• Use VoiceOver in apps
• Use AssistiveTouch
• Adjust how iPhone responds to your touch
• Use Reachability
• Auto-answer calls
• Turn off vibration
• Change Face ID and attention settings
• Use Voice Control
• Adjust the side or Home button
• Use Apple TV Remote buttons
• Adjust pointer settings
• Adjust keyboard settings
• Control iPhone with an external keyboard
• Adjust AirPods settings
• Turn on Apple Watch Mirroring
• Control a nearby Apple device
• Intro to Switch Control
• Set up and turn on Switch Control
• Select items, perform actions, and more
• Control several devices with one switch
• Use hearing devices
• Use Live Listen
• Use sound recognition
• Set up and use RTT and TTY
• Flash the indicator light for notifications
• Adjust audio settings
• Play background sounds
• Display subtitles and captions
• Show transcriptions for Intercom messages
• Get live captions of spoken audio
• Type to speak
• Record a Personal Voice
• Lock iPhone to one app with Guided Access
• Use built-in privacy and security protections
• Set a passcode
• Set up Face ID
• Set up Touch ID
• Control access to information on the Lock Screen
• Keep your Apple ID secure
• Use passkeys to sign in to apps and websites
• Sign in with Apple
• Share passwords
• Automatically fill in strong passwords
• Change weak or compromised passwords
• View your passwords and related information
• Share passkeys and passwords securely with AirDrop
• Make your passkeys and passwords available on all your devices
• Automatically fill in verification codes
• Automatically fill in SMS passcodes
• Sign in with fewer CAPTCHA challenges
• Use two-factor authentication
• Use security keys
• Manage information sharing with Safety Check
• Control app tracking permissions
• Control the location information you share
• Control access to information in apps
• Control how Apple delivers advertising to you
• Control access to hardware features
• Create and manage Hide My Email addresses
• Protect your web browsing with iCloud Private Relay
• Use a private network address
• Use Advanced Data Protection
• Use Lockdown Mode
• Use Stolen Device Protection
• Receive warnings about sensitive content
• Use Contact Key Verification
• Turn iPhone on or off
• Force restart iPhone
• Back up iPhone
• Reset iPhone settings
• Restore all content from a backup
• Restore purchased and deleted items
• Sell, give away, or trade in your iPhone
• Erase iPhone
• Install or remove configuration profiles
• Important safety information
• Important handling information
• Find more resources for software and service
• FCC compliance statement
• ISED Canada compliance statement
• Ultra Wideband information
• Class 1 Laser information
• Apple and the environment
• Disposal and recycling information
• Unauthorized modification of iOS

Change iPhone sounds and vibrations

Haptic feedback is the vibration you can feel on supported models after you perform some actions, such as when you touch and hold any icon on the Home Screen.

Set sound and vibration options

To set the volume for all sounds, drag the slider below Ringtone and Alerts.

Tap Haptics, then choose the haptics behavior for ringtones and alerts—Always Play, Play in Silent Mode, Don’t Play in Silent Mode, or Never Play.

Tap Ringtone or Text Tone.

At the top of the Ringtone or Text Tone screen, tap Haptics, then do any of the following:

Choose a tone (scroll to see them all).

Ringtones play for incoming calls, clock alarms, and the clock timer; text tones are used for text messages, new voicemail, and other alerts.

Choose a vibration pattern or tap Create New Vibration to create your own.

Turn haptic feedback off or on

Turn System Haptics off or on.

When System Haptics is off, you won’t hear or feel vibrations for incoming calls and alerts.

Have iPhone play a sound effect when it’s turned on and off

On iPhone 14 or later, you can have iPhone play a sound when it’s turned on and off.

Turn on Power On & Off Sounds.

iOS 18 Safari — biggest new features for your iPhone

Highlights and a redesigned Reader add some smarts to Safari on your iPhone

Safari, Apple's built-in web browser across its different devices, won't get a radical overhaul as part of iOS 18 . But even just two big changes to the iPhone's default browser hint at Apple's larger strategy of leaning into machine learning and artificial intelligence.

Both major additions to Safari in iOS 18 promise to skim web pages and pull out the details you need. The idea, explains Beth Dakin, Apple's senior manager of Safari software engineering, in Apple's WWDC 2024 video is to offer "easier ways to discover content and streamline your browsing."

Even better, while the new Safari features do turn to machine learning, they're not part of the Apple Intelligence capabilities being introduced across Apple devices later this year. That means Safari's improvements will be available on more phones than just the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max , plus whatever iPhone 16 models come out later this fall.

With that in mind, here's what to expect from iOS 18 Safari once you upgrade to the new iPhone software, whether that's when the full version comes out later this year or Apple makes the iOS 18 public beta available in July.

iOS 18 Safari: Highlights

Think of Highlights, the biggest of the two improvements to iOS 18 Safari, as a kind of hyper-focused summary tool. Instead of merely summarizing what's on the page, though, Highlights uses machine intelligence to identify the key bits on information on a particular page and calls them out in a pop-up window as you browse. 

An example Apple uses throughout its iOS 18 preview shows a web page for a hotel where Highlights has called up a window showing the hotel's location on a map, plus quick links for driving directions or placing a call to the hotel. Other examples of Highlights include Wikipedia summaries of a person, playback links for songs, or summarized reviews for a movie or TV show.

It's unclear from Apple's demo whether Highlights appear automatically in Safari, or if you need to tap a button to get the Highlights window to pop-up. Footnotes on Apple's iOS 18 summary page indicate that the feature will only work with U.S. English sites, at least initially.

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iOS 18 Safari: Reader

The Reader tool in iOS 18 Safari also picks up some summarization skills, giving you the opportunity to read a quick overview of a web page when you switch to Reader mode. Reader takes things a step further by generating a table of contents for a web article that lets you see how a page is organized. Presumably, you'll also be able to jump to specific sections of the article.

Galaxy AI tools on board the best Samsung phones add summarization features, so it's good to see them get baked into iOS 18 as well. A concise summary of a web page that you've stumbled upon can give you a better idea of what an article is about, while a table of contents can help you more easily drill down to the parts of a topic that interest you.

The summarization tools in Reader appear to be limited to English in the initial iOS 18 release, though regional support is far more extensive. Besides the U.S., Apple promises availability in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa and the U.K.

Other Safari changes beyond the iPhone

Safari is available across Apple's different platforms, and there are some improvements coming to the web browser that are available for Safari on other devices. Specifically, Mac users who upgrade to macOS Sequoia will get a new way of watching web-based videos with a new Video Viewer that automatically detects when there's video on a page. Video Viewer breaks that out into a separate window with its own playback controls; click away, and the viewer becomes a separate picture-in-picture window.

Along with the Highlights and Reader additions, Safari on macOS Sequoia also promises performance improvements. In fact, Apple says the updated Mac version will be the world's fastest browser, with up to four hours more battery life than Google's Chrome browser on streaming video.

iOS 18 Safari outlook

Safari's seen more substantial changes in previous iOS updates, but that's not to dismiss the importance of what Apple's doing in iOS 18. With both Highlights and Reader leaning heavily on machine learning to power their new summary tools, iOS 18 Safari offers a taste of what Apple hopes to deliver throughout the iPhone, only without the stringent system requirements that the Apple Intelligence features demand.

More from Tom's Guide

• How to download the iOS 18 beta
• iOS 18’s best AI feature could solve my biggest issue with text messaging
• iOS 18 Notes: 5 changes coming to your iPhone

Philip Michaels is a Managing Editor at Tom's Guide. He's been covering personal technology since 1999 and was in the building when Steve Jobs showed off the iPhone for the first time. He's been evaluating smartphones since that first iPhone debuted in 2007, and he's been following phone carriers and smartphone plans since 2015. He has strong opinions about Apple, the Oakland Athletics, old movies and proper butchery techniques. Follow him at @PhilipMichaels.

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