Have you ever had a child hit the “home button” while you are using your iPad and it closes out what you were doing?  Or maybe you have found yourself twisting and turning your device so that it is displaying the screen orientation to the way you want it and it just does not stay that way?  If this has happened to you and you would like to know how to solve it, this article is for you!

The great news is that the iPad comes with built-in apps and accessories, one of which you may really be excited to learn about is “Guided Access”.  Guided Access can lock an activity on an app and disables the home button.  Here is how it works:

1.  Go to “Settings”

2.  By Default it is on the “General” setting and is what you need

3.  Scroll down to “Accessibility” and tap on it

4.  Under “Learning” you’ll see “Guided Access”

5.  Tap on it and you’ll see it is set to “OFF” which you’ll need to turn “ON”.

6.   Once you tap “ON”, Set Passcode should appear

7.  Tap on Set Passcode and enter a passcode you WILL remember  (It will ask you to enter it twice to confirm it)

8.  Then click on the “Home” button and select on the app of choice

9.  Once on the app you wish to use and lock on, triple click on the “Home” button

10.  The Accessibility Options box should appear with three options.

11.  Click on “Guided Access” and then in the upper right corner tap the “Start” button

12.  To end Guided Access, you need to triple click the home button  and enter your passcode, and then click on “End” in the top left corner

Guided Access also allows you to circle items on the screen that you wish to disable.  This is done at step # 10.

The next practical tip is Lock Rotation.  This will keep your screen from switching to landscape and portrait orientation.

1.  Go to “Settings”

2.  Under General, scroll down to Use Side Switch to: Lock Rotation and make sure it has a check mark next to it

3.  Go next to the volume button on your device and slide the circular button.  Now your screen is locked.

I use both of these tips frequently because I feel I get much more out of the iPad by using them.  The lock rotation is great for when I have a group session and the kids are passing the iPad around the table to each other and locks the view of the screen in place.

Hope you enjoy these quick and easy tips!

~Shawn