How to Switch to Portrait or Landscape Mode on Android

Written by Travis Boylls

Last Updated: July 16, 2025 Fact Checked

This wikiHow teaches you how to unlock your Android's screen orientation so that you can switch from Portrait (vertical) mode to Landscape (horizontal) mode simply by rotating your Android. On most versions of Android, it is not possible to change the orientation of your home screen.

Changing Android Screen Modes at a Glance

Swipe down from the top of your screen to enable "Auto-Rotate," then turn your phone to the side to switch to landscape mode. Turn your phone upright to switch back to portrait mode.

Steps

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This displays the Quick Settings icons at the top as well as your notifications.^{[1]
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This expands the Quick Settings menu so that it covers the entire screen.

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If Auto Rotate is on, it resembles a blue icon with a tilted phone with curved arrows on each side. Tapping this icon will turn Auto Rotate off and lock your phone in whichever orientation it is currently in. If your phone is already locked to Portrait or Landscape orientation, this icon will be grey and resemble a phone in portrait or landscape orientation with a lock over it. Tapping this icon will enable Auto Rotate mode.^{[2]
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Rotate your phone to change the screen orientation (if Auto Rotate is enabled). If Auto Rotate is enabled, your phone's screen will automatically flip to portrait mode when you are holding it upright. When you are holding it horizontally, it will automatically switch to Landscape mode.^{[3]
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- On most versions of Android, it is not possible to change the direction of your home screen. Try opening an app, such as your phone's browser, and then rotating your screen.
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Rotate your phone and tap the manual Rotate button (if Auto Rotate is disabled). If your phone is locked to Portrait or Landscape mode, an icon that resembles a phone rotating will appear in the navigation bar when you rotate your phone. On some phone models, it resembles a rectangle icon with two arrows. It's in the lower-right corner or lower-left corner. Tap this icon to rotate your phone manually.^{[4]
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- If you are using a Samsung Galaxy and you do not see the manual rotate button, you need to enable it.

Community Q&A

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Question

How can I get to landscape mode on my tablet?

Community Answer

Turn your tablet in landscape mode. Open settings, tap display and tap "auto-rotate".This will disable it. This is for Android tablets like LG G Pad 8.3.

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Question

How do I change cropping settings from landscape to portrait?

Community Answer

You need to use the square near the top of the page, and click "change from landscape" to "portrait."

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Question

How do I keep my Android phone on landscape mode?

Community Answer

Hold down a blant park of screen till the settings open up, then the auto rotation will really rotate screen.

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Tips

If you use the Google Now launcher, you can enable home screen rotation by long-pressing the home screen, tapping the grey "Allow rotation" switch, and rotating your Android.^{[5]
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On some Androids, you'll find the Auto-rotate screen option in the Display section of Settings.

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