How to Switch to Portrait or Landscape Mode on Android

This wiki page will show you how to remove Android's screen orientation lock so you can switch from portrait mode (Portrait) to landscape mode (Landscape) simply by rotating your Android device. In most Android versions, you won't be able to change the orientation of the home screen.

On Stock Android (pure Android)

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Open Settings on Android. Click the Settings app icon to open this section.

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Scroll down and tap Accessibility . You'll find this option near the bottom of the Settings page.

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Scroll down and slide the gray "Auto-rotate screen" toggle to the off position. This option is near the bottom of the menu; The switch will turn green in the on position. This will ensure that you can rotate your Android screen by rotating your phone.

On some Android devices, this option is a checkbox instead of a toggle button.

On most Android versions, you won't be able to rotate the home screen, and some apps don't allow screen rotation, even when Auto-rotate is enabled.

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Hold Android vertically for portrait mode.

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Hold Android horizontally for landscape mode.

On most Android versions, you can't change the home screen orientation. Try opening an app, like your phone's browser, and then rotate your screen.

On Samsung Galaxy

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Swipe down from the top of the screen. The notification drop-down pane displays.

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Swipe down a second time to fully open the notification shade. This will stretch the notification shade and open up the quick settings panes and their labels.

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Press . Tap the auto-rotate icon that resembles a tilted phone screen with two curved arrows on either side. This will enable or disable the auto-rotate feature of your phone's screen.

When the icon turns blue, auto-rotate mode is enabled, meaning the phone can move freely from portrait to landscape mode. When this icon is gray, auto-rotate is disabled and your phone's screen will be locked in portrait or landscape mode.

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Rotate your phone to change screen orientation. If the auto-rotate feature is enabled, the Samsung Galaxy screen will display vertically when you hold it normally, but holding the phone horizontally will cause the screen to switch to landscape mode.

On most Android versions, you won't be able to change the home screen orientation. Try opening an app, like your phone's browser, and then rotate your screen.

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Move the icon to the OFF position to lock the screen. If you want to lock your phone in portrait or landscape mode, swipe down from the top of the screen, then tap the Auto-rotate button when the phone is in the mode you want to lock.