Use and customize the Action button on iPhone

On supported models, iPhone has an Action button in place of the Ring/Silent switch. You can choose which function you want the Action button to perform when you press it. Because the button is so accessible, it’s useful for actions you perform often. (The location of the Action button is shown below.) It’s easy to change the Action button to perform a different function.

👁 A screen showing that the Action button is located on the left edge of the iPhone 15 Pro. You can customize the function of the button in Settings > Action Button.

Use the Action button

To perform the action assigned to the Action button, press and hold the Action button.

For many functions, the Action button can be used to turn a setting on or off. For example, if the selected action is Silent Mode (the default), you can press and hold the Action button to put iPhone in Silent mode 👁 Image
. If you press and hold the Action button again, it turns off Silent mode.

Customize the Action button

Go to the Settings app 👁 Image
on your iPhone.
Tap Action Button.
An image of the side of the iPhone appears with icons representing actions you can assign to the Action button.
👁 The screen for customizing the Action button. The Camera is the selected action. Other features appear to the right and left of the camera, including Do Not Disturb and Flashlight. Below the actions are dots you can tap to switch to another action. Below the selected action, Camera, is a menu of Camera options you can tap to assign to the Action button.
To choose an action (like Silent Mode), swipe to the action you want to use—its name appears below the dots.

If there are additional options for the selected action, 👁 the Menu button
appears below the action; tap it to see the list of options.

For the Controls, Shortcut, and Accessibility actions, you need to tap the button below the action and select a specific option—otherwise the Action button does nothing.

Icon			Action
👁 the Silent Mode button			Silent Mode: Switch between Silent and Ring for calls and alerts.
👁 the Focus button			Focus: Turn on a Focus to silence notifications and filter out distractions.
👁 the Camera button			Camera: Open the Camera app to capture a moment.
👁 the Visual Intelligence button			Visual Intelligence: Use visual intelligence to learn more about the places and objects around you (Requires Apple Intelligence*).
👁 the Flashlight button			Flashlight: Turn on extra light when you need it.
👁 the Voice Memo button			Voice Memo: Record personal notes, musical ideas, and more.
👁 the Recognize Music button			Recognize Music: Find out what song is playing nearby or on your iPhone with Shazam.
👁 the Translate button			Translate: Translate phrases or have a conversation with someone in another language.
👁 the Magnifier button			Magnifier: Turn your iPhone into a magnifying glass to zoom in on and detect objects near you.
👁 the Controls button			Controls: Quickly access your favorite control.
👁 the Shortcut button			Shortcut: Open an app or run your favorite shortcut.
👁 the Accessibility button			Accessibility: Quickly use an accessibility feature.
No Action			Do nothing.

URL: https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/use-and-customize-the-action-button-iphe89d61d66/ios