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I know that in iOS, several parts of the iDevice's functionality can be accessed from the lock screen. This is useful when you don't want to fumble with a password.

But now I'm starting to wonder: what else can be accessed from the lock screen? I know these:

  • Three-home-button tap to invert screen (when Universal Access is enabled)
  • Double tap to play music

What else can be accessed from the iOS lock screen?

EDIT:

As Daniel L mentioned,

"It shouldn't produce a bunch of partial answers; a good answer will include a canonical listing (with sources) of what can be accessed from the iOS lock screen. There is a right answer to this question."

Please, make your answer a canonical listing (with sources) of what can be accessed from the iOS lock screen.

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  • 1
    On my iOS 5.1 iPhone, nothing happens with 4x Home taps.
    – KatieK
    Mar 27, 2012 at 5:15
  • @KatieK: hmm. Just tried it with a 4.x device and it seems to work. Maybe it's 3 taps?
    – JavaAndCSharp
    Mar 27, 2012 at 10:19
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    This should probably be a community wiki question.
    – jmlumpkin
    Mar 27, 2012 at 10:54
  • @KatieK It's a setting. I believe it is under Universal Access or the like.
    – CoffeeRain
    Mar 27, 2012 at 16:12
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    It shouldn't produce a bunch of partial answers; a good answer will include a canonical listing (with sources) of what can be accessed from the iOS lock screen. There is a right answer to this question.
    – Daniel ♦
    Mar 27, 2012 at 16:13

4 Answers 4

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I'm including the ones mentioned in your answer in the name of having a complete listing in one place.

  • Toggle music controls (Play/Pause, Previous, Next, Volume) by double tapping the home button.
  • Take pictures and videos by sliding the camera button.
  • Invoke accessibility features by triple clicking the home button. Configurable in Settings-> General-> Accessibility-> Triple Click Home. You can configure toggling VoiceOver, toggling White on Black, toggling Zoom, or asking which to do.
  • Make phone calls by tapping the Emergency Call button and dialing a number. iPhones only.
  • View snippets of emails, text messages, and other notifications by looking at their notification preview. Configurable in Settings-> Notifications-> App.

  • Activate Siri to make calls, send text messages, send emails, get directions, check calendars, etc. by holding down the home button. Configurable in Settings-> General-> Passcode Lock. iPhone 4S only.

  • Take a screenshot by pressing the home button and sleep/wake button at the same time.

  • Power the device off by holding down the sleep/wake button.
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3
  • Awesome. Finally, a decent answer. Is this a complete answer? If it is, I'd like a source.
    – JavaAndCSharp
    Mar 29, 2012 at 0:13
  • 2
    Not sure if this is complete; it's just what I've been able to find myself. Since this is just based on personal experience, I don't have a source. Feel free to test though :)
    – Nathan Greenstein
    Mar 29, 2012 at 0:18
  • I can't think of anything else other than the static information displayed (Carrier, Connectivity [3G, 4G, WiFi], battery life, and the time).
    – Cajunluke
    Mar 29, 2012 at 0:30
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Here's an older flowchart that gives a good overview of the home button features, and on the right side what you can do starting from the lock screen:

enter image description here

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    I see the lock screen stuff starting on the right, not left.
    – penguinrob
    Mar 27, 2012 at 2:55
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Starting with iOS 5, the camera can be accessed from the lockscreen (obviously only on devices that have a camera). On iOS 5.0.x, double-clicking the home button reveals a camera button next to the unlock slider that can be clicked, and in iOS 5.1, there is a permanent camera button that you slide up to reveal the camera under the lockscreen.

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0

Hard to know what qualifies as the features you know about and what is "else", but one other new feature is accessing notifications on the lock screen by swiping them.

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2
  • I suppose the clock could also be considered a feature :)
    – penguinrob
    Mar 27, 2012 at 2:53
  • What I mean here is any kind of functionality that can be accessed from the lock screen. I don't care if it is something I know, but please don't make it one of the 2 I mentioned in the question.
    – JavaAndCSharp
    Mar 27, 2012 at 2:54

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