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How to Screenshot on iPhone: Every Model and iOS 27

Name: Pizazoo
Author: Pizazoo

How to screenshot on iPhone: press the side and volume up buttons together, or side and Home. Buttons for every model, iOS 27 previews, Files, Full Page.

October 6, 20267 min read

Muhammed BasilFounder & maker of Pizazoo

To take a screenshot on iPhone, quickly press and release the side button and the volume up button at the same time. On an iPhone with a Home button, press and release the side button and the Home button together instead (on the oldest models, the top button and the Home button). In iOS 26 and iOS 27 the screenshot then opens full screen, and it is saved to Photos when you swipe up or tap Done.

Below: the exact buttons for every model, what the full-screen preview does, how to save to Files instead of Photos, full-page captures and screen recording.

Which buttons take a screenshot on my iPhone?

It depends on whether your iPhone has a Home button below the screen. Apple's support article sorts every model into three groups (Apple):

Your iPhone	Press and release together	Models
No Home button (Face ID)	Side button + volume up	iPhone X and later (except the SE models), including iPhone 16e, iPhone 17e, iPhone Air, iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max
Home button, power button on the right side	Side button + Home button	iPhone SE (2nd and 3rd generation), iPhone 6 through iPhone 8, including the Plus models
Home button, power button on top	Top button + Home button	iPhone SE (1st generation) and older models with the button on top

The side button is the long button on the right edge. Volume up is the upper volume button on the left edge; on models with an Action button, the Action button sits above it on the same edge, so do not confuse the two. Apple's Identify your iPhone model page shows where each button is on every model.

Press and release quickly. On an iPhone with Face ID, holding the side button and a volume button brings up the power-off sliders instead of taking a screenshot (Apple).

Which iPhones run iOS 27?

Apple's iOS 27 guide lists the iPhone 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 lineups (including the mini models), iPhone 16e, iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, iPhone Air, iPhone 17e, iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, plus iPhone SE (2nd and 3rd generation) (Apple). There is no standard iPhone 18 on the list as of October 2026, only the Pro models.

Only the two SE models in that list have a Home button, so on every other iPhone that runs iOS 27 the shortcut is side button plus volume up. iPhone XS, XS Max and XR are not on the iOS 26 list either (Apple). They use the same buttons but keep the older corner thumbnail described below.

What happens after you take a screenshot?

iOS 26 and iOS 27: a full-screen preview

The screenshot fills the screen, with Close, Markup, Share and Done buttons along the top (Apple, iOS 27). From there you can:

Crop: drag the handles.
Annotate: tap Markup. See how to mark up a screenshot on iPhone.
Send it: tap Share and choose a sharing option (Apple, iOS 26).
Keep it: swipe up, or tap Done and choose an option. Apple's iOS 27 guide documents both; the iOS 26 guide documents Done.
Discard it: tap Close. Apple's guide says full-screen screenshots go to your photo library when you save them, so closing one without saving leaves nothing in Photos.

On Apple Intelligence models (iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max and iPhone 16 or later), the same screen shows Visual Intelligence tools along the bottom. Depending on the screenshot, you can search the web for similar items, ask a question about what is on screen, add an event to Calendar, or summarize or read text aloud (Apple).

iOS 18 and earlier, or with Full-Screen Previews off

A thumbnail appears in the lower-left corner for a few moments, and the screenshot saves automatically. Tap the thumbnail to open it, or swipe it left to dismiss it (Apple).

To get the thumbnail back in iOS 26 or iOS 27, go to Settings > General > Screen Capture and turn off Full-Screen Previews (Apple). Our guide to turning off the full-screen screenshot preview on iPhone compares the two modes.

How do I save a screenshot to Files instead of Photos?

Use the Done menu. Apple only says to tap Done and "choose an option"; MacRumors lists the choices as Save to Photos, Save to Files, Save to Quick Note and Copy and Delete (MacRumors).

Save to Files stores the image in a folder you choose in the Files app instead of your photo library.
Copy and Delete copies the screenshot to the clipboard and discards it, handy for pasting into a chat without adding to your library.
Save to Photos is the usual destination.

If you use thumbnails, tap the thumbnail before it disappears to open the editor and reach the same Done menu.

How do I take a full-page screenshot on iPhone?

For content longer than the screen, take a screenshot and tap Full Page (with thumbnails, tap the thumbnail first). Drag your finger on the preview on the right to see more, and tap the Crop button to keep only part of it. Apple's example is a whole webpage in Safari (Apple, iOS 27).

Apple's iOS 26 guide lists two ways to save it: Save to Photos keeps it as an image, and Save PDF to Files saves a PDF to a location you choose (Apple, iOS 26). For long chats, apps without Full Page, and the Mac side, see how to take a scrolling screenshot on iPhone and Mac.

Can I take a screenshot without pressing the buttons?

Yes. Apple's iOS 27 guide names Siri, AssistiveTouch and Back Tap as alternatives to the hardware buttons (Apple). The fastest is Back Tap: go to Settings > Accessibility > Touch > Back Tap, choose Double Tap or Triple Tap, then pick the screenshot action (Apple). Models with an Action button can also run a screenshot shortcut. Setup for every option is in how to take a screenshot on iPhone without buttons.

How do I record my iPhone screen instead?

A screen recording captures video of what happens on screen (Apple):

Swipe down from the top-right corner to open Control Center. If the Screen Recording button is missing, add it with Customize controls.
Tap Screen Recording and wait for the 3-second countdown.
To stop on an iPhone with the Dynamic Island, tap the red circle, then tap the Stop button. On other models, tap the red timer in the top left, then tap Stop.
For sound, touch and hold Screen Recording, tap Microphone, then tap Start Recording.

Recordings save to Photos under Collections, Media Types, Screen Recordings. Some apps do not allow recording, and you cannot record while screen mirroring.

Where do iPhone screenshots go?

To the Photos app: tap Collections, scroll down to Media Types, then tap Screenshots (Apple). In Settings > General > Screen Capture, SDR saves screenshots as PNG files and HDR saves them as HEIF (Apple). If one is missing, see where are screenshots on iPhone.

Why is my iPhone screenshot not working?

The usual causes, quickly:

You held the buttons. A press that lasts too long opens the power-off sliders. Press and release.
You tapped Close. In the full-screen preview, Close discards the screenshot. Swipe up or tap Done instead, or turn off Full-Screen Previews so every screenshot saves on its own.
A button is broken. Use Back Tap or AssistiveTouch until it is repaired.
It is a work or school iPhone. Device management can stop users from saving screenshots or screen recordings (Apple).

Every other fix is in iPhone screenshot not working.

What should I do with all those screenshots?

Once they pile up in Photos, they are hard to find again. Pizazoo for iPhone and iPad is free on the App Store for iOS and iPadOS 17 or later. Disclosure: we make Pizazoo. It organizes the screenshots already in your photo library: it sorts them into categories such as Receipts, Chats and Errors on your device, makes the text inside them searchable (results also appear in Spotlight), and picks up new captures when you open the app. More in how to organize screenshots on iPhone.