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iPhone 11 is stuck on Switch Control at Start-Up, iOS 14.1

I accidentally turned on Switch Control and couldn't turn off the feature before the voice guidance and gesture suggestions took over my ability to make selections in Settings and elsewhere. Unable to use my phone, I performed a force restart. This did not solve the problem, and at the Home screen, I could not enter my passcode or turn-off Switch Control (by triple-clicking the side button). This also meant I could not receive my two-factor ID codes for escalated tech support, iCloud, or iTunes. After chatting and calling Support, I really couldn't get a clear answer about how to fix this. Has anyone figured out how to force stop this feature? When I try to click the option to turn off Switch Control, I just get a menu of accessibility options.


*Here is what just worked for me and what I wish I'd known, but it's not a clear solution. First (and this is a solution), do not force restart the phone, instead, long-press the side button to activate Siri and speak "Turn on Voice Control". With Voice Control activated, you can speak the command, "Turn Off Switch Control". This option was no longer available to me, so I connected my phone to iTunes and performed an Update (like a forced restart but holding the side button through start-up until the recovery mode screen appears). I triple-clicked the side button and quickly double-tapped the checked-box next to Switch Control and the option finally highlighted. I had to repeat this step several times before some combination of taps, double-taps, swipes, etc. finally let me select this option and get to a new screen asking, "Are you sure you want to exit Switch Control?" It took a few tries (tap sequences) but the OK button was finally triggered and my phone immediately went back to normal.


I hope this Question/Comment helps someone, but it would be great if Apple/Community could provide clear steps for exactly how I accidentally fumbled through and solved this problem. This is the image (not a screenshot) I kept encountering on the locked home screen after triple-clicking the side button to turn off Accessibility Shortcuts.

iPhone 11

Posted on Oct 22, 2020 12:01 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Dec 13, 2020 9:54 PM

Using long hold on right side button to active Siri, then soeaking, ”Turn on voice contol” (Siri did active voice control), then another side press for Siri to speak, ”Turn off Switch Control” worked!

Thank you so much! I too tried everything in vain for 30 min till I read SimplySimpatica’s post.

Thank you so much!

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3 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Dec 13, 2020 9:54 PM in response to SimplySimpatica

Using long hold on right side button to active Siri, then soeaking, ”Turn on voice contol” (Siri did active voice control), then another side press for Siri to speak, ”Turn off Switch Control” worked!

Thank you so much! I too tried everything in vain for 30 min till I read SimplySimpatica’s post.

Thank you so much!

iPhone 11 is stuck on Switch Control at Start-Up, iOS 14.1

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