Is there a gesture for multitasking on the iPhone 5?

Question

Level 4

1,345 points

Is there a gesture for multitasking on the iPhone 5?

I've have so many home button issues on my iPhones over the years I would like to use gestures whenever possible. In particular, it would be nice to use a gesture to show the multitasking in iOS 7.0.3 on my iPhone 5 instead of double-clicking on the home button. I've already had to return the iPhone 5 because of home button issues.

Anyway, on the iPad 2 I can swipe up with 4 fingers to bring up multitasking.

That doesn't seem to work on my iPhone 5. It would be cumbersome anway, getting 4 fingers to fit for the swipe!

Is there some multitasking gesture for the iPhone 5 that does work (and is actually practical given the size of the screen)?

Thanks,

doug

iMac, OS X Mountain Lion, iMac (21.5-inch Late 2009, 12 GB)

Posted on Oct 25, 2013 6:07 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Best reply

ChrisJ4203

Level 10

230,311 points

Oct 25, 2013 6:43 PM in response to Doug Lerner2

There is a way to go into Settings>General>Accessibility and then go to Assistive Touch. From there you can create custom gestures, but I'm not real certain how it works. You might want to check the User Guide to see if that helps you understand how to create them. You can also try this support document http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3577 for help. The User Guide is here http://manuals.info.apple.com/MANUALS/1000/MA1565/en_US/iphone_user_guide.pdf

Something here might also be of assistance. http://www.apple.com/accessibility/

Reply

Answer 2

Doug Lerner2 Author

Level 4

1,345 points

Oct 25, 2013 6:57 PM in response to ChrisJ4203

Interesting, but some experiments there just now turned my iPhone into a riot of unusable things floating around on the screen. I could create a custom gesture and save it, but couldn't figure out how to use it. And then extra screen UI things started appearing and I couldn't touch anywhere. Finally I had to tell Siri, "Turn off assistive touch" because otherwise I couldn't even get back into the settings panel!

I guess there is no standard gesture for it?

If not, I'll just continue to double-click the home button and when it inevitably breaks, trade it in again under AppleCare. It seems to break every 7 or 8 months or so (this hasn't improved from the iPhone 3G or iPhone 4), so I should be in time for at least one upgrade when it starts failing next time.

I definitely don't press the home button too hard or anything like that. It's just a weak point in the design. A mechanical part that wears out.

doug

Reply

Answer 3

ChrisJ4203

Level 10

230,311 points

Oct 25, 2013 7:45 PM in response to Doug Lerner2

No problem. I must be an anomaly, as I have never had an issue with my home button on any of the phones I have had. I had an original, a 3G, a 4 and my current 4S. Home button has worked in all of them and still works. I used my original, then my son used it for almost 3 years after that, then handed down my 3G to him, and handed down my iPhone 4 to my wife and she still uses it.

I'm not saying that you are not having difficulty, and I have read the hundreds of posts of people experiencing home button issues, I just don't understand how my family has not had issues on any of these phones. Must be divine intervention!

Reply

Answer 4

Doug Lerner2 Author

Level 4

1,345 points

Oct 28, 2013 6:02 AM in response to ChrisJ4203

You are very lucky about your home button! The creeping symptom that typically starts happening is that over time a single click gets interpreted as a double click. Sort of like a "stutter" that gets worse over time. When it finally gets to the point where I can reliably demonstrate it to Apple I bring it in and they exchange it. Of course when AppleCare is over I'm left with another device that will demonstrate the problem over time.

A couple of months ago on my iPhone 5 my home button experienced a different problem. Functionally it would work, but the rectangle in the home button would swivel left and right. It was obvious something was loose. So I exchanged that as well. They exchanged that one by mail - sending me a replacement and picking up the old one at the same time.

I have never had a mobile device or notebook computer from Apple that didn't require multiple repairs. Apple always takes care of it in the end, but it takes a lot of mental preparation before making an Apple purchase because I know it will inevitablly mean having to get repairs or exchanges.

Anyway, I'll just continue with double-clicking for multi-tasking in iOS 7 on my iPhone 5. There doesn't seem to be a simple alternative.

Thanks,

doug

Reply

Answer 5

ALN2X_

Level 1

0 points

Mar 3, 2014 3:21 PM in response to Doug Lerner2

Hey Doug,

Just stumbled onto this today when I was having trouble with my home button, and didn't know how to access my multitask without double clicking the home button. When you click the ghost circle for assisted touch, it prompts you to another screen where it shows voice control, device, home, and favorites. Just double click (on the screen) the button that says "Home" and it should lead you to multitask. Voila!

Ann

Reply

Answer 6

rockes

Level 1

4 points

May 25, 2015 2:51 PM in response to Doug Lerner2

iOS 8 and above 4 finger swipe up

Reply