[Solved] iPhone Won't Swipe up to Unlock? 8 Best Fixes

Why Is My Slide to Unlock Not Working on iPhone?

You may have encountered the problem that swiping up on your iPhone doesn't work. This bothers you because you won't be able to slide to unlock your iPhone or use any of its features as usual. Why does my iPhone won’t swipe up to unlock?

There are some potential reasons, such as accessibility settings, app issues, storage space issues, and so on. But don’t panic, next, we'll assist you in identifying the problem and offer solutions to fix it. Come along for the ride!

How Do I Fix My Unresponsive iPhone Lock Screen?

In this section, we will show you 8 methods to fix swipe not working on iPhone 11/12/13/14/15. Let’s read and see the solutions!

Fix 1. Force Restart the iPhone

Restarting your iPhone can help you fix some software and system malfunctions. Including the issue of iPhone won’t slide to unlock. If you tried it once and found no obvious effect, is there any possibility that you didn't force restart your iPhone with the right steps? Follow the steps below to check if you force restart iPhone in the right way.

On the iPhone 15/14/13/12/11/X, and on the iPhone 8 series

Step 1. First, press and release the Volume Up button > Then, quickly press and release the Volume Down button.

Step 2. Finally, press and hold the Side button until the Apple logo appears.

On the iPhone 7/iPhone 7 Plus

Step 1. Hold both the Volume Down and the Sleep/Wake button.

Step 2. Release both buttons when the Apple logo appears.

On the iPhone 6/iPhone SE, and earlier

Step 1. Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button and the Home button.

Step 2. When you see the Apple logo shows up, release both buttons.

Fix 2. Turn on Control Center on the Lock Screen

If you forget to enable Control Center to appear when your iPhone goes into lock mode, it may cause the iPhone won't swipe up to unlock. This is very easy to remedy and here are the detailed steps:

Step 1. Go to Settings > Find and tap on Control Center.

Step 2. Locate Control Center > Toggle the access switch to the on position.

Fix 3. Release iPhone Storage Space

If you get an alert that you don't have enough storage space, your iPhone will have a lot of annoying problems, such as running lag, screen freezing, or iPhone screen wont swipe up. For this reason, you can try to free up iPhone storage by managing storage space or by transferring iPhone data to another device.

Free up iPhone storage by managing storage space:

Step 1. Open Settings > Click on General > Find iPhone Storage.

Step 2. There are recommendations for freeing up space, you also can see a list of apps and how much space they use > Tap each app to delete unnecessary data.

Step 3. You can follow the onscreen instructions to create more storage.

Free up iPhone storage by transferring iPhone data to a computer:

Want to fix iPhone swipe up not working through transferring iPhone files? There is a professional iOS data management tool worth a try. It is called FoneTool, which allow you to confidently transfer multiple files from iPhone to a computer at once. It can help you release iPhone storage and without data loss.

 Besides, FoneTool has more features: 

• Fast and stable transfer process. You can import 100 iPhone files to PC just take 3 seconds.
• Selective transfer and full transfer. You can select to transfer music, photos, contacts and so on, or fully transfer your iPhone with simple clicks.
• Different transfer ways. Not only from iPhone to PC, you can also transfer iPhone to iPhone, iPad to PC, PC to iPhone.

Now, click the button to download FoneTool, and follow the steps to remove iPhone data to release storage space:

Step 1. Connect your iPhone to computer via USB > Open FoneTool > Click the Phone Transfer option.

Step 2. Mouse over to iPhone to PC > Click Start Transfer.

Step 3. Tap the plus icon > Check the files icon you want to transfer. You can easily transfer Photos, Videos, Music, Contacts, etc. > Preview and select the files > Click OK to confirm.

Step 3. Select a destination from Transfer Settings > Click Start Transfer to start the process.

In addition to transferring iPhones, FoneTool can also backup iPhone, convert HEIC to other formats, erase data from iPhone, etc.

Fix 4. Remove Problematic Apps

Besides the above method, you have other options. If it is certain apps that are causing your iPhone 15 won’t swipe up to unlock, then you can remove them to keep your iPhone running smoothly. Here are easy steps:

Step 1. On the screen, press and hold the app you want to delete.

Step 2. When the option menu appears > Select Remove App > Tap on Delete App >Then click Delete to confirm.

Fix 5. Enable Access Within Apps

Access Within Apps affects an important feature of your iPhone's screen lock. Some apps will ask to disable this feature so that your screen doesn't accidentally slide upwards, especially if you're playing a game or watching a movie. So you need to check whether you have this feature enabled or not, here’s how to do it:

Step 1. Open Settings > Click Control Center.

Step 2. Choose Access Within Apps > if it is closed, turn the toggle to the on potion.

Fix 6. Enable Access at Lock Screen

Similar to the previous case, if your iPhone is locked, iPhone Control Center will not slide up. Then you can disable Control Center to perform on a locked iPhone screen. Here's how to get Accese processing to work on your iPhone:

Step 1. Open the Settings app.

Step 2. Find Touch ID & Passcode > Enter the passcode to screen lock.

Step 3. Slide down and tap the Control Center > Move the switch to turn it on.

Fix 7. Reset All Settings on iPhone

Reset all settings on iPhone also can solve the problem of iPhone swipe up not working. It restores all the settings on your iPhone to the default settings without deleting your iPhone data. So this method doesn't need to backup your data. Below are the steps:

Step 1. Go to Settings > Tap on General.

Step 2. Click on Reset > Choose Reset All Settings > Enter your passcode to proceed.

After that, your iPhone will work normally.

Fix 8. Update your iPhone System with iTunes

The last way we want to share with you is to update your operating system. Given that your iPhone is locked, below are guides about how to update an iPhone with iTunes, you need to use a computer:

Step 1. Open iTunes and sign in > Connect your iPhone to the computer.

Step 2. Tap on the iPhone icon in the upper-left corner.

Step 3. Select Summary > Then click Check for Update > Tap on Update.

Conlusion

That’s all about how to fix the iPhone won't swipe up to unlock issue. Hope the above 8 methods can help you address this problem. In addition, if you need to transfer or back up data from iPhone to a PC, FoneTool is a good choice.

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