With iOS 17, Apple is giving iPhone users the ability to lock their phone's screen using shortcuts.
Why you need to learn how to use iOS lock screen shortcuts? Surely it would be easiest to activate this screen by pressing the power button on your iPhone? Well, that's not always true. If you have trouble pressing physical buttons, it's much more convenient to use shortcuts. You can also use shortcuts if you don't want people to see you're switching to the lock screen.
Regardless, the shortcuts are easy to use. You can activate the lock screen via shortcut apps, home screen icons, or ask Siri, expanding the number of options available. When you use it, the screen will go black or dim, depending on your iPhone (on iPhone 14 Pro models, it will go dark with the display always active). So, let’s not waste any more time and learn how to use iOS lock screen shortcuts.
Note: We'll show you basic lock screen shortcut usage below. How you use it is entirely up to you - you can get creative by assigning certain words to your lock screen, for example.
Setting up the shortcut only takes a minute or so. We'll also show you how to use it.
1. Click the + icon
Open the Shortcuts app on an iPhone running iOS 16.4 or later and tap the + (plus sign) icon in the upper right corner.
2. Click Add Operation
Now select the "Add Action" button. The idea is that you associate a specific function with your shortcut.
3. Type lock screen
Click the search bar at the top of the screen and type "lock screen." When the suggested action appears below, tap Lock screen.
4. Make a decision
Your shortcut is now complete - you don't need to add any more rules, at this stage you can just click "Done".
5. Add home screen icon
However, if you also want to access the shortcut from the Home screen, tap the share icon at the bottom of the screen, then tap Add to Home Screen. You will have the opportunity to name the shortcut.
6. Activate shortcuts
If you have created a home screen, you will be able to press the home screen icon to activate the lock screen.
You can also open the Shortcuts app, tap the shortcut to activate it, or say: "Hey Siri, run shortcut lock screen."