Unable to turn off guided access on my iPad

i’m not exactly sure what happened, but i triple tapped the home button and the option to turn on guided access appeared. i clicked the home button again to get out of it and now my screen is entirely inoperable. i have a very small part of my screen available for guided access so nothing is able to be interacted with. i turned my ipad off which was a stupid decision i guess, and can only swipe to open the little menu thing (where the wifi, bluetooth, volume, brightness etc stuff is) but can not interact with anything. i tried to power off my ipad, but i can’t swipe to turn it off. is there anything i can do? please help me 😅

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iPad Pro (1st generation)

Posted on Apr 30, 2023 4:03 AM

Top-ranking reply

LotusPilot

Community+ 2025

Level 10

301,658 points

Posted on Apr 30, 2023 4:28 AM

When you are stuck in Guided Access mode, you can be really stuck as the typical triple tap on the home button to quit out of Guided Access may not work. Even a forced exit won't work because the power button and the home button are disabled.

The only way to get out of Guided Access is to press the Home and Power button together for 15 seconds. This should turn off Guided Access by forcibly rebooting your device. Once your device is restarted, you can then go to Settings > Accessibility > Guided Access > Guided Access - and turn off Guided Access if needed.

Use Guided Access on iPad - Apple Support

Use Guided Access with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch - Apple Support

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28 replies

Kane1964

Level 1

8 points

Feb 26, 2024 9:43 PM in response to cantdoausername

None of the fixes below are working for me. In accessibility Guided Access is ticked but greyed out. Cannot turn it off. 3 click home doesn’t work. Home/start button hold for 25 seconds neither. Volume up down and turn off neither… even made it lost that didn’t get rid of it.

don’t know how it was even activated but crazy frustrating I can’t get it gone! Everything now requires highlight, triple or multi triple click to open once the box appears around the app or area.

May 20, 2024 8:15 PM in response to MrJack1965

Thank you so much I was truly struggling and I do have a few issues that get me impatient and overstimulated quickly and I was extremely worried and frustrated about it. I’m calming down and I have followed your advice and my phone is back to normal! Thank you very much

Nov 24, 2023 12:28 AM in response to Mchlprkns27

has this worked for you? mine won't work with any of the above suggestions so I was hoping to drain my battery too

Dec 9, 2023 4:54 AM in response to gagefrommcallen

This solve the issue for me!! Thank you.

sahand36

Level 1

8 points

Dec 23, 2023 12:56 AM in response to MrJack1965

You are a life saver for real.

you just saved me of going to Apple

thank you

was really helpful

lmao96

Level 1

8 points

Dec 24, 2023 5:36 PM in response to gagefrommcallen

TYSM

bobo2323

Level 1

8 points

Dec 28, 2023 3:41 AM in response to gagefrommcallen

thanks for the fix. worked a treat

Bizzo06

Level 1

8 points

Jan 26, 2024 8:20 PM in response to MrJack1965

Legend 👍

Feb 2, 2024 2:21 PM in response to ventirose

Thank you!!!

ortega_c

Level 1

8 points

Feb 17, 2024 6:42 PM in response to MrJack1965

thank you!! tried pretty much everything and this was the only thing that worked. safe to say i will also never be using guided access again.

Mar 8, 2024 10:45 PM in response to gagefrommcallen

omg you saved me from being stressed out, ur info was very helpful. Thank you

Lana1922

Level 1

8 points

May 10, 2024 11:43 AM in response to MrJack1965

Thank you so much! This worked for me. Thank you!!

R3v032

Level 1

8 points

May 27, 2024 5:46 AM in response to Axel Foley

Worked perfectly thanks for the hwlp

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Unable to turn off guided access on my iPad