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Here's how to bring back the hidden lock screen volume controls on iOS 18.2
- In 2022, Apple removed the iPhone’s volume slider that surfaced on the lock screen when playing media.
- The company has now revived lock screen volume controls through the iOS 18.2 update.
- The new option is turned off by default, and toggling it requires digging into accessibility settings.
Two years ago, through the iOS 16 software update, Apple completely overhauled the iPhone’s lock screen. As part of the redesign, the company removed the handy volume slider that appeared when playing media. This limited users to the physical buttons when adjusting a locked iPhone’s volume. Fortunately for those who miss lock screen volume controls, the latest iOS 18 update brings back the retired UI. All you have to do is activate a new toggle hidden in the Settings app.
To enable lock screen volume controls on your iPhone, ensure you’re running iOS 18.2 or later. You can then follow the steps listed below:
- Launch the Settings app on your updated iPhone.
- Go to the Accessibility section.
- Scroll down, then head to the Audio & Visual page.
- Enable the new Always Show Volume Control toggle.
Voilà! From now on, the lock screen media player on iOS will show the volume slider, letting you easily control how loud it is. If the user interface is too bloated for your liking, you can hide it again by following the steps above.
Beyond bringing back lock screen volume controls, iOS 18.2 introduces Visual Intelligence on the iPhone 16 and integrates ChatGPT into Siri and other system parts. It also packs Apple’s image generation features, which include the Image Playground app, Genmoji, and Image Wand. Like other Apple Intelligence features, though, these AI perks require an iPhone 15 Pro or a newer model.