Braille Screen Input for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch with VoiceOver

Learn how to type using Braille chords on an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch for easier and faster typing as a blind or visually impaired person.

Enter and Exit Braille Screen Input

You can enter Braille Screen Input mode in various ways depending on your device's operating system version.

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Enter and Exit with Rotor

To access Braille Screen Input with the rotor, first add it to the rotor in Settings by following this guide: The Rotor for VoiceOver >

Once added, follow the below instructions to enter and exit Braille Screen Input.

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Enter and Exit with Activation Gestures (iOS / iPadOS 18 or later)

iOS / iPadOS 18 brought new gestures you can use to easily enter and exit Braille Screen Input with without using the rotor.

Note that Braille Screen Input can only be used while VoiceOver is enabled.

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Adjust Dot Positions

Braille Screen Input displays dots on the screen to correlate to the six dots of a braille cell. You can adjust the position of the dots with the following gestures for iPhone and iPad. VoiceOver will announce that the dots' positions have been recalibrated.

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iPhone

On your iPhone while in Braille Screen Input mode, tap and release all three dots on the right or left side of the screen at the same time to calibrate the positioning of that side.

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iPad

On your iPad while in Braille Screen Input mode, double-tap all dot positions at the same time with both hands to recalibrate.

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Gestures

Action	Gesture
Space	Swipe right with one finger
Delete Letter	Swipe left with one finger
Delete Word	Swipe left with two fingers
Return	Swipe right with two fingers
Submit	Swipe up with Three fingers
Word Suggestions	Swipe up or down with one finger
Cursor Mode	Swipe up or down with one finger while holding with one finger
Move Cursor	Swipe left or right with one finger while holding with one finger
Switch Mode (Text Input / Command Mode)	Swipe left or right with three fingers
Orientation Lock	Swipe down with three fingers
Select Text	Swipe left or right with two fingers while holding with one finger
Copy	Swipe up with two fingers
Paste	Swipe down with two fingers
Exit	Do any of the following: Scrub with two fingers Rotate two fingers to exit with the Rotor Pinch with two fingers

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Configure the Braille Screen Input Settings

You can adjust the settings for Braille Screen Input such as switching from six-dot uncontracted braille to - six-dot contracted, or reverse the dot positions for six-dot and eight-dot braille.

In here, you can adjust the braille tables, input types, gestures, and various other settings. You can also connect a braille display at the bottom using bluetooth. Note that you may not be able to properly connect a braille display via the normal Bluetooth page in Settings, you must connect it through this section in VoiceOver. Follow your braille display's instructions for more details.

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Command Mode

Command Mode allows you to navigate and use your phone all with the use of Brialle chords in Braille Screen Input or with a Braille Display.

Action	Braille Chord
Next Item	Dot 4
Previous Item	Dot 1
Activate Selected Item	Dots 3 6
Hold Selected Item	Dots 3 5 6
Go Home	Letter H
App Switcher	Letter H 2x
Status Bar	Letter S
Control Center	Dots 2 5
Notification Center	Dots 4 6
Item Chooser	Letter I
Scroll Up	3 4 5 6
Scroll Down	1 4 5 6
Scroll Right	Letter O
Scroll Left	Dots 1 3 5
Go to First Item	Dots 1 2 3
Go to Last Item	Dots 4 5 6
Escape	Letter B
Screen Curtain	Dots 1 2 3 4 5 6
Volume	Up: Dots 3 4 5 Down: Dots 1 2 6
Magic Tap	Dots 1 5 6
Mute Speech	Letter M
Select All	Dots 2 3 5 6
Select Left	Dots 2 3 5
Select Right	Dots 2 5 6
Copy	Letter C
Cut	Letter X
Paste	Letter V
Search Text	Letter F
Dictation	1 5 6

Seee the list I referenced to create this table of Braille Screen Input Command Mode Chords here: List of Commands for BSI in iOS 18 by Chris Chaffin - AppleVis

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