Instructions for taking screenshots on my iPad Mini, gen. 5, iOS 26.

Verify that the "Swipe Finger from Corner" gesture setting is enabled:

Settings > Multitasking & Gestures (scroll all the way to the bottom of this pane)

Enable "Swipe Finger from Corner"

Select the function to perform with either a Bottom Left or Bottom Right swipe up from the corner.

The options are:

Off

Screenshot

Quick Note.

As for why the top button + Home button screenshot is not working for you, I do not know since there is no means to disable this.

You could try force restarting the iPad with the following:

Press and hold (continue to hold) BOTH the Top Button and the Home button at the same time until you see the Apple logo. Release both buttons when the Apple logo appears. This is non-descructive to any of your data or settings.

For iPadOS 26, the corner swipe gesture with your finger is inhibited when using the Windowed Apps and Stage Manager multitasking modes - but remains available using the Full Screen Apps mode. In all modes, the corner-swipe gestures are accessible when triggered with an Apple Pencil.

Trigger Screenshots with a finger gesture

By far the easiest method to reliably trigger and save a screenshot is to set-up and use the corner-swipe gesture. The screenshot is triggered with a simple diagonal swipe of the finger from either (or both) the bottom-left or bottom-right corner of the screen:

Settings > Multitasking & Gestures >

• Swipe Finger from Corner - set to ON
• Bottom Left Corner - select as required
• Bottom Right Corner - select as required

These gestures are not available when using iPadOS Stage Manager feature - or when using Windowed Apps mode - however, the screenshot can still be triggered using an Apple Pencil...

Trigger Screenshots with an Apple Pencil

You can trigger a screenshot using an Apple Pencil with a swipe from the bottom-left or bottom-right of the screen:

Settings > Apple Pencil > [Pencil Gestures]

• Bottom Left Corner - select as required
• Bottom Right Corner - select as required

The pencil-triggered screenshot is available in all multitasking modes, including Stage Manager and Windowed Apps.

Additional Notes

Other ways to trigger a screenshot from an iPad are described here:

Take a screenshot on your iPad - Apple Support

By definition, a screenshot will capture the entire screen. If you only wish to capture part of the screen, you can crop the captured image using the iPadOS markup tools:

Take and mark up a screenshot with Apple Pencil on iPad - Apple Support

When using an external monitor or TV in Stage Manager mode, triggering a screenshot will capture both screens - with each screen being captured as a separate image.

Additionally, Siri will also respond to a voice command "take a screenshot".