Setting an iPad in Kiosk Mode

There are tools on an iPad that can lock the iPad with a provided kiosk onscreen.

Please note that this guide is not updated with every iteration of iOS. So some settings may be in slightly different locations that shown below. Please use the search feature of the iPad settings to assist if a setting is not where shown.

Settings > Display and Brightness > Auto-Lock > Never

To optimize your iPad’s performance and stop the screen from timing out after periods of inactivity, you can control the Auto-Lock settings. Similarly, if you want to stop your screen from dimming if the light sensor is covered, select: Auto-Brightness > Off.

You will need to do this for each app. This prevents notifications popping up onscreen.

Settings >Notifications

Designed with security in mind, Apple’s iOS 11 enables the use of ‘Guided Access’. The feature allows you to control and limit the use of the device to just one app of your choice. Found in the iPad’s general settings, it is a simple way to prevent users from switching in and out of other apps, or accessing additional features on the iPad.

Try it out by following the steps below: 1. Select: Settings > General > Accessibility > Guided Access > On

2. Set a passcode (tip: avoid choosing a combination like 1-2-3-4-5-6). A six-digit code that will be memorable, but not easily guessed works best.

3. Next, press the home button to return to the home screen. Open up safari and enter the provided URL into the Address Bar and once loaded, triple click the home button so that the Guided Access screen appears.

Circle areas of the screen that should be locked out from attendees (typically the url bar), you can also elect to disable the power button and volumen controls.

4. Select resume on the top right, and guided Access mode will begin, and your device will be locked down into one app.

5. Now to prevent users navigating away from the kiosk page we will need to lock down parts of the page. Access your Guided Access screen again by triple clicking the home button and entering your passcode.

6. Ensure that: Touch > On. You will now be able to draw a shape around the navigation area of the screen and adjust the position and size by pulling the corner circles. This is fiddly and will take a little bit of adjusting to get right Press Resume (top right corner). This part of the screen will no longer react to touch.

To end Guided Access and regain full use of the iPad, triple click the home button again, enter your chosen passcode and select End (top left corner).

How do I restrict use of Home and Volume buttons? The Guided Access feature also allows you to enable or disable hardware buttons on your iPad, including the Sleep/Wake and Volume buttons. Once your app is opened in Guided Access mode, select Hardware Buttons Options and switch off or on. Switching off Sleep/Wake and Volume buttons simply disables the use of them which means they will not respond if pressed by users