Full Screen Video

Hello TamishaM,

I understand you've been unable to watch videos in fullscreen mode on your iPhone. I'd like to try and help you out with this.

Which app(s) are you using to watch videos? Does it happen with all apps and on all websites? Try restarting your iPhone and then test it out afterwards: Restart your iPhone. Also, make sure your iPhone is running updated iOS and that the app you're using is updated as well: Update your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. Here's steps on how to update your apps: Update apps or use automatic downloads.

Respond back if you need continued support with this issue.

Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.

Take care.

Hello again TamishaM,

Thanks for responding back with those additional details. Do you get the fullscreen option in the bottom right corner when you play a video? This is described in detail here: Watch in full screen mode - YouTube Help. You may have to tap on the video one time to get it to appear.

Try playing a video on either Netflix.com or YouTube.com through Safari. Do you get a fullscreen option when you play videos there? Also, check to see if you have your screen orientation locked: Change or lock the screen orientation on iPhone. Unlock it if it appears locked when playing videos.

You mentioned that you're running the latest iOS version. Which exact iOS version were you referring to? You can view the version in Settings > General > About.

Cheers!

Hello TamishaM,

Does this happen with every video you view, or only some of them? Go to the following YouTube video and see if it will allow you to view it in full screen: iPad Pro — Float - YouTube.

In the example photo you provided, it appears you're trying to view episodes of The Fresh Price of Bel-Air, which hasn’t aired on television since 1996. If you're able to view the iPad Pro video from Apple's YouTube channel in full screen, and the issue is only present with specific shows like The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, this my be happening due to aspect ratio. Some television shows and films were not originally filmed in an aspect ratio that would allow newer devices to view them in fullscreen. It's possible to even experience this with newer content on YouTube, Netflix, and other platforms as well. Netflix does a good job of explaining all of this on the Help section of their website here: Why am I seeing black bars on the movie or TV show I'm watching? - Netflix.

If you're experiencing this issue with every video, including the iPad Pro YouTube video, I recommend backing up your iPhone and restoring it as new next. You'll find steps on how to do that in these support articles:

• How to back up your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch
• Restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod to factory settings

Once you've restored your iPhone, set it up as new and then test to see if you're able to view videos in fullscreen. After that, you can then restore your content back to your device using the steps here: Restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch from a backup. Test it again after you've restored from your backup.

Cheers!