How to Customize the Lock Screen on iOS

In this episode, Tyler demonstrates how to customize the lock screen on iOS, specifically how to remove the flashlight and camera buttons and replace them with other controls.

In addition to viewing the time, date, and notifications, the Lock Screen can be customized to remove or replace the camera and flashlight buttons with other controls, or show certain types of information at a glance, such as upcoming calendar events or current weather conditions. To customize the Lock Screen, perform a one-finger triple-tap on either the time or date, double-tap Customize, and then double-tap “Customize Lock Screen wallpaper.” From here, you can double-tap the Remove buttons for default controls, the “add quick action” button to select alternative controls, or the “Add widget” button to select a widget.

transcript

Disclaimer: This transcript is generated by AIKO, an automated transcription service. It is not edited or formatted, and it may not accurately capture the speakers’ names, voices, or content.

Hey, Apple Vissers, Tyler here with a quick tip for how to customize the lock screen on iOS.

By default, the iOS lock screen includes the time, date, any notifications received since the device was last used, and at least on devices without a home button, shortcuts to the flashlight and camera functions.

Over the years, the iOS lock screen has gradually become more customizable, with the ability to add widgets introduced with iOS 16 in 2022, and the ability to remove the camera and flashlight functions or replace them with other controls the user might find more useful introduced with iOS 18 in 2024.

If, like me, you don't find the camera or flashlight functions particularly useful, or at least not useful enough to where you would want them to be among the first things you see when you wake your iPhone, you can replace them with other things you might find more useful.

So for me, I replace them with a shortcut to the alarm and also a single action shortcut that I created to set a 20-minute timer.

So when I'm about to work out, I just take out my phone, wake it, unlock it, and double tap the workout timer button on the lock screen.

And when I want to set an alarm, I don't have to go into Control Center or open the clock app or use Siri anymore.

I just double tap the alarm button on the lock screen and I'm taken right there.

So to demonstrate this, I'm going to wake my iPhone now and I'm just going to explain so I don't have to explain while voiceover is talking and compete with that sound.

Once I unlock it, I'm going to triple tap either the time or the date.

Either one works.

You can triple tap or you can double tap and hold either one.

So I'm going to wake my iPhone now.

Do not disturb Friday 1 a.m. Okay, triple tap.

Astronomy wallpaper weather sunrise and sunset widget and clock next alarm widget button and illustration of red, blue and yellow rectangle.

Okay, so if I swipe left astronomy, that's the first element on the screen.

It's the current wallpaper I have.

You can have multiple.

So if you want to have different lock screens, like, for example, if you're working, you might want access to different types of information than if you're just on your own time.

If you want to link focuses, you can do that.

So if you have a work focus, you can have it so your locks will automatically come up your work lock screen.

And if you are on your own time, you might have a different lock screen.

You can link that and just experiment and see what works for you.

You have a lot of options there, but I'm going to swipe right now.

Focus button continues astronomy wallpaper to adjustable.

OK, so if I want to change that, I could just swipe down to get to the one of two, which is in my case collections.

Don't know exactly what that means from a wallpaper's perspective.

But the reason it's a different wallpaper astronomy to of two is that this is a lock screen that I created for the purpose of this demonstration because I already customized my default lock screen.

So I'm going to swipe right, customize, customize.

This is what I want.

So I'm going to double tap, customize, customize wallpaper heading and swipe right to customize lock screen wallpaper.

Customize home screen won't customize lock screen wallpaper.

Weather sunrise and sunset widget and clock next alarm widget button action weather sunrise cancel button.

OK, so here I am in the customization interface and I find that at the time of recording September 20, 24, I tend to get the best results by swiping left and right rather than exploring by touch.

Not sure if that's intentional or a bug, but either way, I'm going to touch this way.

So we've canceled done if I swipe right calendar date top widget button clock widget clock Earth.

And Earth, because it's astronomy, I think that's the visual thing.

Earth page three of twelve adjustable and I think you can just swipe through that for different wallpapers.

Not sure exactly what that is.

Remove flashlight button.

OK, so here I am.

Remove flashlight.

This is what I want.

I want to remove the flashlight.

So I'm going to double tap, remove quick action.

So now it says remove quick action.

And this is where I find the interface at the time of recording action.

This is where I find the interface at this time of recording is a little clunky from a voiceover perspective.

I mean, lock screen customization for me has never been one hundred percent predictable or reliable.

So just keep that in mind.

But if you work with it a little bit, you can usually get a gist of what it's trying to communicate to you.

But you might have to do a little bit of experimentation to get voiceover to behave the way you want it to in this interface.

But I'm going to swipe left now.

I'm going to remove camera, so if I find the remove camera.

Remove quick action.

Remove quick action.

Remove quick action.

And make sure that took.

Remove quick action.

Add quick action.

OK, so now it appears that both flashlight and camera are gone.

So I'm going to add a quick action here.

Clock heading.

And here I am right on the clock heading.

And the actions are categorized by heading.

So if you want to browse them, or if you're looking for a specific one, you can just turn the rotor to headings and swipe up and down.

But now I'm on clock, so I'm going to add alarm.

Swipe right.

Alarm control.

Double tap.

Clock widget button.

All right, so I'm going to swipe right.

Earth.

Earth.

Page three of twelve.

Remove alarm button.

OK. Alarm.

So it's here.

Alarm button.

Quick action button.

Add quick action.

That's what I want.

Clock heading.

And now I'm going to add a shortcut that I created.

So I'm going to turn the rotor to headings.

Container headings.

Swipe down.

Connectivity.

Display and brightness.

Head home.

Head remote.

Head shortcuts.

Headings.

Shortcut.

Swipe right.

Shortcut.

Control.

Double tap.

Quickly run one of your shortcuts.

OK, so I'm going to swipe right to choose.

Shortcut.

Choose button.

Shortcut.

And it's showing me all the shortcuts I've created.

So I'm going to.

Workout timer.

Right, here I am.

Workout timer.

Double tap.

Shortcut.

Shortcuts.

Heading.

Now if I swipe right.

Quickly run one of your shortcuts.

Shortcut.

Workout timer.

Button.

OK. Workout timer.

Now, interestingly, at the time of recording, there's not an obvious way to get out of this pop-up.

There's no dismiss option or close button.

So in order to get out of it, you have to do a two-finger scrub, which is what I'm going to try to do now.

Heading not found.

Clock widget.

Button.

OK, so it didn't acknowledge that the pop-up had been dismissed, but if I swipe, I swipe left, and it showed me the clock widget.

So I know I've added my shortcut to confirm.

I'll just swipe right.

Earth.

Earth.

Hey, remove alarm.

Button.

Remove shortcut.

Button.

Shortcut.

Button.

Shortcut.

Button.

OK. Actions available.

So now I've added the alarm and my workout timer shortcut.

If I wanted to change a widget here, I would just focus on, say, the clock widget.

Clock widget.

Button.

Heading not found.

Earth.

Clock widget.

Button.

Clock widget, and I should be able to either remove or move it around.

And that's the top widget, which is the calendar and just the date.

So now I'm going to swipe left to the Done button.

Done.

Button.

Astronomy wallpaper.

Weather.

Sunrise and sunset widget and clock.

Next alarm widget.

Button.

Actions available.

And illustration.

OK, so now I'm back on the list of lock screens.

I'm going to do the home gesture now. 1 0 6 a.m. Swipe right.

Do not disturb.

Do not disturb.

Alarm.

Workout timer.

Off.

Button.

And workout timer.

Workout timer.

Off.

Exactly how I configured it and what I like.

Now, you notice it says off at the time of recording.

It does seem there is a bug where voiceover proceeds.

Quick actions on the lock screen with the word off.

In this context, it doesn't really mean anything.

You could have an alarm set and it could be off.

You could just have run a shortcut and it would also say off.

So, yeah, so this is the lock screen and I've customized it.

And I've now found it's much more useful.

I can get to what I want to get with a lot fewer taps and swipes and Siri requests.

So that's a quick tip.

Quick of how to customize the lock screen.

There's obviously a lot more you can do with it.

It does take a little bit of patience and maybe a little trial and error at this time.

Like I said, it's never been 100% reliable for me.

So I don't know exactly what the behavior is in each instance.

If it varies by the particular wallpaper you choose or other factors.

But I find if I'm not using widgets, I'm just using quick actions.

Once I make my configuration, I find that I much prefer the lock screen without the flashlight and camera functions.

And instead with my own that I can customize to my liking.

So I'd be curious to know how you use this feature, how you make the most out of your lock screen.

So let me know in the comments.

And I hope you found this helpful.

Peace.