How do I stop my iPhone from unlocking automatically?

Question

Level 1

48 points

How do I stop my iPhone from unlocking automatically?

For the love of god, how do I get my iPhone screen lock to actually do it's job????

repeatedly I find myself locking my iPhone by pressing the screen lock button, but the phone decides to reactivate (I presume through facial recognition). How do I stop this from happening? This constant autonomous unlocking keeps activating multiple different apps in different ways as my phone bounces around in my pocket. Tonight my iphone managed to call four share rides in a minute; fortunately I wasn't changed a cancellation fee!!!!

I'm happy to use facial recognition to open when I look at my phone - as in when I have it in my hand and I'm actually looking at it, not when the phone manages to catch a glimpse of my face.

Why doesn't the screen lock button work and actually lock the screen when I press it, and keep the phone locked until I actually look at the screen? Why is my iPhone so hyper sensitive that it keeps unlocking when I don't want it to, and I'm not trying to unlock it?

This is a terrible user experience design!!!!!!!

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

iPhone 15 Pro Max, iOS 18

Posted on Mar 27, 2025 4:34 AM

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Answer 1

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Top-ranking reply

ChrisJ4203

Level 10

233,036 points

Mar 27, 2025 6:18 PM in response to ZillaB

My guess is that you have Raise to Wake turned on. If that is the case, certain movements will cause the screen to wake and the Face ID camera will look for your face and if it gets a glimpse as you say, it will unlock. Turn that off. Also, if you touch the screen when you are putting it into your pocket, that can wake the phone to look for your face as well.

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Answer 2

ZillaB Author

Level 1

48 points

Mar 27, 2025 6:21 PM in response to ChrisJ4203

Thanks Chris, I'll turn Raise to Wake off, and see if the issue persists.

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Answer 3

ZillaB Author

Level 1

48 points

Mar 27, 2025 6:11 PM in response to KiltedTim

Wow. How exactly am I fiddling with my iPhone between pressing the lock button and putting it in my pocket (where it is reactivating)?

Fascinating to see how quickly you make an assumption like that; I hope you've stretched before jumping to a conclusion, wouldn't want to trip up.

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Answer 4

ZillaB Author

Level 1

48 points

Mar 28, 2025 4:21 PM in response to ChrisJ4203

Thanks Chris,

I've investigated the "raise to wake" iOS setting, and I think the actual setting that needed to be turned off is the setting "tap or swipe to wake" (Settings > Accessibility > Touch > Tap or Swipe to Wake), which is designed to wake & unlock your iPhone when tapping the screen or swiping up from the bottom edge of the Lock Screen - this matches the problem that I've been having of my iPhone becoming activated after I've locked it using the lock button & put my iphone into my pocket (when it reactivates; I'm presuming that my iPhone is being pressed in my trouser pocket, and reading this as a tap or a swipe, and hence the activation).

Thanks for your advice, I wouldn't have thought to investigate these settings without your prompt!

BTW, I'm pretty sure that this is the answer to my problem: deactivating the "tap or swipe to wake" setting