The iOS devices like iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch uses a physical Shake to Undo and Shake to Redo feature to serve as the equivalent of undo and redo keys, since unlike the iPad, the iPhone and iPod touch lack screen buttons for those functions. And if you’re unfamiliar, yes literally shaking the phone will attempt to undo the prior action or typing.
Anyway, while shaking the iPhone around to undo and redo can be useful, it can also be annoying and activated when you don’t intend to do so, and for users who would like to they can choose to disable the Shake to undo function in iOS.
Steps to disable the shaking to undo on iOS:
This turns off the shake to undo feature, disabling the undo alert box from appearing when the iOS device is shaken around:
- Launch the Settings app and head to General and then to Accessibility
- Scroll down the ways to find and tap on Shake to Undo
- Toggle the Shake to Undo switch to the OFF position (or toggle it ON to turn the feature back on again)
The effects are immediate and you can start shaking your iPhone around after typing something in Notes app to see the effect whether you turned it off or on. With the feature off, no more undo dialog appears, including the nothing to undo message if it is accidentally activated. And with the feature on, the undo and redo dialog appears as usual.
Whereas the iPad has a dedicated button on the keyboard for undo and redo, so this doesn’t really matter quite as much for tablet users, as disabling the feature won’t remove the only means of undoing and redoing actions. But for those with iPhone and iPod touch, whether or not you like Shake to Undo or want to disable it largely depends on personal preference if you like the feature, and if you actually use it.
