[NFBCS] Reprogramming the iPhone Rotor Gesture

[Curtis Chong]

Howdy Steve:
 
I did leave a big section out of the original document. It has to do with
stopping the traditional rotor gestures from working once you've
successfully tested the two-finger swipe gestures. I am working on that
section now. It turns out that you can't just turn off the original rotor
gestures. You have to replace them with something else. I chose to replace
the counterclockwise rotation with Move in and the clockwise rotation with
move out. Essentially, Move In and Move Out don't do anything for us so
turning the rotor once these are in effect just makes a ding sound with
nothing really happening.
 
Kind regards,
 
Curtis Chong
 
 
From: NFBCS <nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Steve Shelton via NFBCS
Sent: Sunday, October 18, 2026 3:29 PM
To: 'NFB in Computer Science Mailing List' <nfbcs at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Steve Shelton <stevesheltonokc at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [NFBCS] Reprogramming the iPhone Rotor Gesture
 
Thanks for sharing! This works great.
 
From: NFBCS <nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org <mailto:nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org> > On
Behalf Of Curtis Chong via NFBCS
Sent: Sunday, October 18, 2026 10:54 AM
To: 'NFB in Computer Science Mailing List' <nfbcs at nfbnet.org
<mailto:nfbcs at nfbnet.org> >
Cc: Curtis Chong <chong.curtis at gmail.com <mailto:chong.curtis at gmail.com> >
Subject: [NFBCS] Reprogramming the iPhone Rotor Gesture
 

Reprogramming the Rotor Gesture to Something Easier

 
By Curtis Chong
 
 

Introduction

 
I have heard from many people that the rotor gesture used on iPhones and
iPads is not easy to use. Yet, a lot of our ability to navigate through
screens and documents on these devices depends on our ability to use the
Rotor gesture. Is there an alternative? Yes!
 
My intent here is to provide a procedure for you to reprogram the Rotor
gesture so that you can swipe left with two fingers to turn the rotor
counterclockwise and swipe right with two fingers to turn it clockwise.
Using these two gestures has one distinct advantage over the traditional
Rotor gestures. When turning the rotor in the traditional fashion, you often
rotate past the item you want. Using the two-finger swipe gestures, however,
you only move the rotor through one setting with one swipe which makes rotor
movement a lot more precise.
 
 

Setting the Two-Finger Swipe Gestures to Spin the Rotor

 
1.	From the Home Screen, ask Siri to open VoiceOver settings. In my
experience, this is the fastest way to get into a screen where you can make
adjustments to VoiceOver.
2.	Using one finger, swipe right until you hear VoiceOver say "Commands
Button," and perform a single-finger double-tap.
3.	Swipe right with one finger to reach "Touch Gestures" and perform a
one-finger double-tap.
4.	Find the heading labeled "Swipe: Two Fingers" and swipe right with
one finger to reach "Two finger swipe left." Perform a one-finger double-tap
here.
5.	In the search field at the bottom of the screen, type the word
"rotor". The screen will change to show all of the various rotor options you
can activate. Swipe right with one finger until you reach, "Previous Rotor"
and perform a one-finger double-tap. You will be taken back to the previous
screen with the focus on ""Two finger swipe left," which VoiceOver will
indicate as "selected."
6.	Swipe right once with one finger to reach "Two finger swipe right"
and perform a single-finger double-tap.
7.	In the search field at the bottom of the screen, again type the word
"rotor." The screen will change to show all of the various rotor options you
can activate. Swipe right with one finger until you reach, "Next Rotor" and
perform a one-finger double-tap. You will be taken back to the previous
screen with the focus on ""Two finger swipe right," which VoiceOver will
indicate as "selected."
 
At this point, you have now enabled the two-finger swipe left and right
gestures to turn the rotor by one notch. Be aware, however, that the
traditional rotor gestures will still be in effect. 
 
 

Conclusion

 
I am sorry that there are so many steps to accomplish a simple gesture
reassignment. In my experience, however, not having to use the traditional
rotor gesture on my iPhone is a huge productivity gain for me. I hope you
find this equally as useful.
 
 
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