Your iPhone's volume buttons are primarily designed to control sound, but they can actually serve a variety of other purposes you might not know about.

Discovering new iPhone tips and tricks is always exciting, and we're constantly finding fresh ones. Whether it's recovering deleted messages, adding widgets, or using the hidden mouse pad feature, we enjoy learning new shortcuts that can simplify our lives. One recent discovery involves the volume buttons, which can do far more than just adjust the sound.

If you’ve only used the volume buttons to change the volume, you're missing out on a range of shortcuts. Not sure where to begin? Here are some of the best ways to make the most of your iPhone's volume buttons.

How to use your iPhone’s volume buttons

Take photos
Need an extra hand to snap a picture? This quick hack can help. It works for portrait, traditional, and panorama modes with the rear camera, and portrait and traditional modes with the front camera. Simply open the Camera app and press either volume button to capture a photo or start a panorama. Tap the button again to finish the panorama or hold it down to continue taking the shots. If you accidentally delete a photo, here’s how you can recover deleted iPhone photos.

Record videos
You can also use the volume buttons to start and stop video recordings. Just switch to video mode in the Camera app, press either of the volume buttons to begin recording, and press it again to stop. Alternatively, you can hold the button down the entire time for continuous recording.

Take photo bursts
Burst mode makes it easier to select the best photo by giving you multiple options. If you own an iPhone XS, iPhone XR, or newer, press and hold the volume up button to capture burst shots. To enable this feature, go to Settings > Camera, then toggle on “Use Volume Up for Burst.” If you're already using burst mode, make sure you know how to delete duplicate photos on your iPhone.

Scan documents
Your iPhone has a built-in document scanner that works in apps like Files, Mail, Notes, and Reminders. Since this uses the Camera app, you can press either volume button to take a scan instead of using the shutter button on the screen.

Snooze your alarm
For those who use their iPhone as an alarm clock, this tip is for you. If you're groggy and can’t find the "Snooze" button on your phone screen, just press either volume button to snooze your alarm. Make sure the "Snooze" feature is enabled for that alarm.

Turn off an alarm
If you’ve disabled the "Snooze" option, pressing either volume button will stop the alarm.

Call emergency services
In a true emergency, when you can’t unlock your iPhone to dial 911, Apple makes it easy to get help. Simply hold the side lock button and either volume button (or all three buttons) until the “Emergency Call” slider appears. Swipe the SOS icon to make the call.

Force a restart
If your phone freezes and you can’t restart it normally, a hard reset may be necessary. To do so, press the volume up button, followed by the volume down button, and then the side lock button until you see the Apple logo on a black screen. When your lock screen appears, the hard reset is complete. Unlike a standard restart, a hard reset addresses hardware issues and can be useful when your phone becomes unresponsive. Keep in mind that a factory reset will wipe your phone’s data, so ensure it’s backed up to the cloud first.

Temporarily disable Face ID or Touch ID
If you want to quickly prevent Face ID from unlocking your iPhone, press and hold the side lock button and either volume button for two seconds. This brings up the same screen as when you’re calling emergency services. After the sliders appear, press the side button to immediately lock your iPhone, which will automatically lock itself after about a minute of inactivity.