7 Ways to Fix Auto Rotate Not Working on Samsung Galaxy Phones

With Auto Rotate, you can switch from portrait mode to landscape mode or vice versa by rotating the phone in that direction. This feature comes in handy when you constantly switch between applications using landscape mode and portrait mode.

You can switch to landscape mode when watching a movie or any other content and switch to portrait mode when you want to use your phone normally.

Many Samsung users have come up with an issue regarding the auto-rotate feature. Users have complained that auto-rotate is not working on their Samsung Galaxy phones.

The issue is probably related to system bugs, accelerometer sensor issues, outdated system firmware, etc. Here are all the possible steps to help fix this issue.

Ways to Fix Auto Rotate not Working on Samsung Galaxy Phones

The issue most likely occurs due to software glitches, but there’s a slight chance that this problem might occur due to hardware issues. Before getting to any conclusion, you must follow all the steps given below, and this will help you solve this issue.

1. Ensure Auto Rotate is Enabled

The first thing to check is whether auto-rotate is enabled or not. If this feature is disabled, you cannot switch between portrait and landscape modes by rotating your phone.

1. Swipe down twice from the top of your phone’s screen to open the quick settings panel.
2. You should see the Auto Rotate icon highlighted in blue here. If this icon is available, then the auto-rotate feature is enabled.
3. If you don’t see this icon, tap on the Portrait or the Landscape icon.

2. Ensure the App Support Different Screen Orientation

Some apps only work in landscape mode, whereas some apps only work in portrait mode. For instance, apps like Snapchat only work in portrait mode, whereas games like BGMI only work in landscape orientation.

You may encounter such an issue if you try using an app that does not support different screen orientations.  

Also, you cannot switch to landscape mode on your phone’s screen. Moreover, make sure you are not touching anywhere on your screen while trying to change the screen orientation.

3. Reboot your Phone

Such issues are generally encountered due to system bugs. You can try rebooting your phone, and this should fix the issue. To do so, follow the steps given below-

1. Press and hold the Power button of your phone.
2. Now, from the Power Menu, tap on Restart.
3. Tap on Restart again to confirm the reboot.

4. Update System Firmware

You should update your system firmware to the latest version, which should fix this issue. To update your Samsung Galaxy phone to the latest firmware, you can follow the steps given below-

1. Open the App drawer by swiping up on your screen, then tap the Settings icon to open it.
2. Scroll down to the bottom of the Settings and then tap on Software Update.
3. Now, tap on the Download and Install option.
4. Your device will start checking for updates.
5. Once the update has been downloaded, your phone will automatically restart.

5. Boot your Phone in Safe Mode

You should boot your phone in safe mode and then check if you still face the same issue in safe mode or not. Given below are the steps to boot a Samsung phone in safe mode-

1. Press and hold the Power button on your phone.
2. Now, tap and hold the Power Off option.
3. Tap on Safe Mode, and this will restart your device in safe mode.
4. Once in safe mode, enable auto-rotate and see if it works.

6. Perform Phone Diagnostics

If auto rotate is not working even in the safe mode, the issue is probably encountered because of the hardware issues. You can use the Samsung Members app to run phone diagnostics.

This will check your device for all the possible issues, and you will know what’s causing this issue. To do so, follow the steps given below-

1. Open the Samsung Members app on your phone.
2. Tap on the Support tab at the bottom right corner.
3. Now tap on Phone Diagnostics.
4. Tap on Test All to run all the tests.
5. You will see if there are any hardware issues on your phone that might be causing the issue.

7. Check your Phone’s Accelerometer

If the Samsung Members app didn’t report any issues, check the phone’s accelerometer. You can do this through the steps given below-

1. Tap on the Phone icon to open the phone app.
2. Here, dial the code *#0*#
3. Now, tap on the Sensor option.
4. Under the Accelerometer Sensor section, you will see the X and Y coordinate.
5. Try rotating the phone and see if these coordinates change; if they do, then the accelerometer sensor is working fine else they are not.

Bottom Line

If auto rotate is not working on Samsung Galaxy Phones, then the above steps will help you fix it. However, if there are any hardware issues or auto-rotate is still not working, you must take your phone to an authorized Samsung service center.