Pinch to zoom in Safari not working consistently on IOS 15

Ever since updating to IOS 15 I have noticed that pinch to zoom does not always work in Safari on my iPhone XS. I've never seen this issue prior to IOS 15. Here is what I see:

Load a page on Safari
Attempt pinch to zoom - sometimes it works immediately, other times it does not work.
Scroll the page up/down, then try pinch to zoom again - sometimes it works, sometimes it does not
Sometimes when pinch in to zoom works to zoom in, it will immediately break again and I cannot unzoom with 'pinch out' after numerous attempts. Eventually pinch out works again.

I have not seen this reported anywhere else, except for a short thread on reddit. In that thread (Anyone has issues with Pinch to Zoom using Safari on iOS 15 ?) users all had iPhones X, XS, XR, or the max versions running IOS 15.

I've tried killing Safari and restarting it, closing all tabs and reopening, and rebooting the phone. Nothing has resolved the issue.

Is anyone else seeing this issue with IOS 15?

iPhone XS, iOS 15

Posted on Sep 30, 2021 9:07 AM

Top-ranking reply

qquagga

Level 1

12 points

Posted on Nov 8, 2021 1:42 AM

ooh! great catch! testing on my XS seemed to confirm this, so i disabled 3d touch in accessibility. pinch to zoom is now working much the same as it did pre-update. (still it tries to “zoom” me out of my current tab sometimes but otherwise is functional.)

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156 replies

spta97

Level 1

48 points

Dec 24, 2021 5:49 AM in response to runningman7900

I'm noticing this happening in the Gmail app as well. It is almost as if it hesitates and then catches up (making the zoom too much when it works).

On Safari pictures when I am trying to zoom, sometimes it will not work at all until I rotate to landscape mode or do that and back to portrait.

I'm not a fan of reducing the font size (though I see it may no longer work) as the point of me having to zoom is not being able to see it clearly so a reduction in font is making it worse.

I wonder if this is an ADA issue?

Sep 30, 2021 9:33 AM in response to runningman7900

Just additional detail from OP: I installed Chrome as an alternative to Safari - and saw the same issue. Behavior was basically identical from my short test.

Oct 1, 2021 3:12 PM in response to runningman7900

Tested in iOS 15.0.1 and still broken.

Oct 5, 2021 9:46 AM in response to runningman7900

Same for the iOS Mail app as well. Same also for Chrome and Safari. Using IPhone XS Max. Started only after iOS 15.

kifah69

Level 1

8 points

Oct 21, 2021 1:22 AM in response to kifah69

I have iPhone X IOS 15.0.2 and I have the same problem

the only problem is when i want to zoom a picture it doesn't work.

zooming works perfectly where there is no photo.

Oct 27, 2021 8:34 PM in response to runningman7900

Thank you for the detailed post. I’m having the same issue and pinch zoom doesn’t work in the native email app either for me.

ios15

iphone xs

Nov 13, 2021 10:08 AM in response to theway146

I think that when you visit some other websites, you will find out that the problem still happens. Disabling 3D touch in accessibility settings doesn't really seem to help with this.

pxforti

Level 1

4 points

Nov 13, 2021 10:12 AM in response to Marconelly

I agree. 15.1 made no difference on the problem, nor did turning off 3D.

Dec 13, 2021 11:33 PM in response to nholm

Try it on a couple more sites, and try pressing bit more firmly or lightly. When you are pressing extremely lightly, it's more likely to work, but it's overall still broken just like it was before.

Dec 14, 2021 11:51 AM in response to pxforti

No, it's not fixed in my case. iPhone X running 15.2

Thor_DK

Level 1

12 points

Jan 3, 2022 2:57 AM in response to dlbogdan

My iphone Xs has had this issue, but for some time it's been okay. I'm on iOS 15.2.

I have live text disabled as it doesn't work in my language anyway.

dlbogdan

Level 1

0 points

Jan 11, 2022 12:57 AM in response to Grumpy512

Well then they are “tuning” the bug to only cause frustration to older phones and ipads because I’m on 15.2 and it is there.

Jan 26, 2022 8:28 AM in response to demosduarte

I’ve been on the 15.3 Release candidate for 24 hours now and it’s not yet gone wrong. Maybe it’s fixed! Will report back.

Nov 8, 2021 5:45 PM in response to qquagga

I am grateful for these temporary fixes but Apple needs to provide a fix for this. I use the 3D Touch daily for work and having to either lightly or barely apply any pressure to zoom in and out and or disabling the 3D Touch feature which those who have it paid for) shouldn’t have the need to do so. Apple, please fix this issue.

Nov 10, 2021 3:41 AM in response to runningman7900

Seeing the exact same issue precisely as described in the OP.

I thought this was an issue with Brave browser but having recently switched back to Safari I've noticed that this is where the issue is. I'm using an XS Max.

I disabled 3D touch long ago when they announced they would not be supporting for future iPhone models.

Can't believe something like this has to even be reported! Hasn't this yet been noticed by anyone at Apple?

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Pinch to zoom in Safari not working consistently on IOS 15