How to Make the Text on Your iPhone Bigger So It's Easier to Read

When the words feel too small

You know that moment when you pick up a menu in a dim restaurant and quietly reach for your reading glasses? Your iPhone can feel the same way. The letters in text messages, emails, and news stories can look like they were printed for ants.

Here's the good news: your iPhone has a built-in dial for text size, a bit like the large-print edition of a paperback. You can turn it up once, and every app that follows the rule — Messages, Mail, Notes, Calendar, and most others — will show bigger letters from then on.

The steps, one at a time

Have your iPhone in your hand. We're going into a place called Settings, which is the gray icon with little gears on it — think of it as the fuse box for your phone.

Tap Settings (the gray gear icon).
Scroll down and tap Display & Brightness.
Tap Text Size.
You'll see a slider — a line with a dot on it — near the bottom. Put your finger on the dot and slide it to the right to make text bigger. Slide left to make it smaller.
As you slide, the sample words at the top of the screen grow or shrink so you can see what you're choosing.
When you like what you see, tap Display & Brightness in the top-left corner to go back, then press the Home button (or swipe up from the bottom) to leave Settings.

That's it. Open your Messages or Mail and the words should look noticeably larger.

If you want it even bigger

The regular slider only goes so far. If that's still not enough, there's a second setting that goes further — call it the extra-large print option.

Open Settings again.
Tap Accessibility. (This is Apple's name for the features that make the phone easier to see, hear, and use.)
Tap Display & Text Size.
Tap Larger Text.
Near the top, tap the switch next to Larger Accessibility Sizes so it turns green.
Now the slider at the bottom will stretch much further to the right. Slide until the letters feel comfortable.

Be aware: at the very largest sizes, some buttons and menus can look a little crowded, because big words need more room. If things start to feel cramped, just slide back a notch or two.

A few things worth knowing

Not every app listens to this setting. Some older apps, and a few games, use their own text size no matter what you choose. But the apps you probably use most — Messages, Mail, Safari, Notes, Contacts, Calendar, the News app — all respect it.

If you ever want to undo the change, just go back to the same slider and drag the dot to the left. Nothing is permanent, and you won't hurt anything by experimenting.

One more tip: this changes text size, not the size of photos or the icons on your home screen. Those have their own settings for another day.

Try this today

Pick up your iPhone right now, open Settings, and walk through the first set of steps above. Slide the dot two or three notches to the right, then open a text message from a family member and see how it looks. If it's still too small, go a little further. Your eyes will tell you when you've found the right spot.

Need a hand with your technology? We're here to help. Give PorchSwing a call or book an appointment, and we'll walk you through it at your own pace — no rush, no jargon.