The short answer is: Press the Home and Lock buttons on your phone at the same time to capture a screenshot. For a more in-depth explanation on how to take a screenshot on an iPhone using alternative methods, read on.
Apple has never made taking a screenshot a tough task. Doing so allows you to capture what’s displayed on your smartphone as a PNG file, allowing you to quickly edit and share the image among friends via email, text, or on popular social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. Hell, you can even send screenshots to tech support for further analysis, or use them to make a guide rounding up various Pokemon Go tips and tricks. Regardless of the reasoning, here’s everything you need to know.
Are you a MacOS user? If so, we have also have a comprehensive guide on how to take a screenshot on a Mac.
Taking screenshots with physical buttons
Step 1: Locate the necessary buttons — You’ll want to locate the Home button and the Lock button on your iPhone. Chances are, you probably know where these are because they’re literally the only physical buttons on the phone. If not, don’t sweat it. The Home button is circular and appears on the face of the phone, directly below the screen. The Home button has occupied the same real estate on every model of iPhone. The Lock button — also known as the Sleep/Wake button — is located on the right-hand side of your phone, at least if you’re using an iPhone 6 or newer. Otherwise, it’s located on the top of your device.
Step 2: Capture the screenshot — Press the Home and Sleep buttons at the same time when you see what you want to capture. The iPhone display will then briefly flash white, signaling that the screen capture worked correctly. You’ll also hear a faint shutter noise, so long as your device isn’t in silent mode.
If you press the Sleep button a fraction of a second before the Home button, your iPhone’s screen will turn off. If you press and hold the Home button for too long, then you will activate Siri. Timing is everything here, so if this is the first time you’ve done it you may have to try it a couple of times to get the timing right.
Step 3: Edit the screenshots — Once you’ve successfully captured the screenshot, a small preview will appear in the bottom-left corner of your screen. This preview will automatically disappear in about five seconds, but you can also swipe it to the left to dismiss it. Tapping the thumbnail will allow you to crop or magnify the image, or mark it up with a pen and various shapes. When you’re finished making edits, tap Done in the upper-left corner, and choose whether you’d like to save the new image or delete it.
If you take a screenshot, tap the preview and select Done. You can also select Delete Screenshots and quickly delete a screenshot you didn’t mean to take, which is very convenient.
Step 4: View and share the screenshots — Once captured, your iPhone will automatically save the screen capture directly to the camera roll (aka the Photos app). Simply tap the Photos app, which is represented by a multi-colored sunflower icon of sorts, and scroll to the bottom of the photo stream to view the recently-captured screenshots. Then, tap the thumbnail to enlarge said images, or the box in the lower-left corner while viewing the image to access options for sharing the screenshot via text, email, AirDrop, Facebook, Twitter, and other services.