How to lock the dock of my iPad Air 3

The dock has 2 sections, left and right of a thin gray line.

You can drag apps to the left side of the gray line and drop them there and they will stay there and always be there.

The right side, which has a limit of 3 Apps, will show the 3 most recent used Apps, or Apps based on time of usage or connected accessory.

For instance, if you normally connect headphones, and open a specific App, the dock will learn that after a while, and automatically show that app there for easy access when you connect a pair of headphones. Same thing if you open a specific app at a certain time every day. The dock will start to show that App there at that time.

Lock it from or for what? There's no setting for locking the dock on iPad. You can move apps in and out of the dock as you please. What are you trying to accomplish?

If you want to turn that off go to Settings>General>Multitasking & Dock>Show Suggested and Recent Apps>Off.

I'm not sure why you're seeing the dock when you have an app open, but if you do, simply slide the dock down and it will be out of view. If you want the dock again, from the bottom of the screen pull up, just to the level the dock would be and the dock will be restored. And you're right. You're not going to get what you had in iOS 10. Things change, we just need learn to work with new functionality.

Sorry I misunderstood. There is a setting for that, but I’m away and on my iPhone. Try this. In your search bar in eithe Safari or Google type the following to read about the dock: “Apple use dock ipad “

this is will bring up Apple Support articles about how to use and set the dock.

I want my dock back the way it was in OS10– which I realize isn’t entirely possible. I would just really like to have it locked in place. Every time I have an app open and I am working towards the bottom of the screen, all these apps fly open, closing the one I have open, which is really annoying. I would rather just not even see the dock when I have one application open and I’m working in it. Any suggestions?

Sorry if I’m asking in the wrong place, but I’m new to this forum.

Note: I have everything related to the dock turned off in settings, and I realize it’s me working towards the bottom of the screen that is causing the issue, but it’s something I’ve been doing for years, and I’m finding it hard to break the habit. Stray fingers and all!

I did read the above article and have discovered several helpful features, but I would really find it useful if I could somehow lock the dock, or freeze it in place.

Thanks so much, Nancy

The dock is not on the screen when I’m in the app, it is being ‘pulled up’ when I’m working towards the bottom of the screen. The app I’m working on either closes or flies off to the side, if that makes sense. I have to constantly re-open my app, and get rid of the dock. It is happening “accidentally” as I work in my app/typing

Read this Apple Support Link about Multitasking and read the section on using the Dock: Use Multitasking on your iPad - Apple Support

Thanks for clarifying. I don't have a solution for you however. Since you can't turn the dock on or off, you'll just have to retrain yourself by not pulling up from the bottom of the iPad screen when using this app, or if you do bring up the dock when in the app, use your finger to hide it again.