How to Make Text Bigger on an iPhone

Text on an iPhone can be made larger without changing anything else about the phone. The setting lives under Accessibility and applies to most apps at once.

Open Display & Text Size

Open Settings, Accessibility, Display & Text Size.

Turn on Larger Accessibility Sizes and drag the slider

Tap Larger Text. Turn on Larger Accessibility Sizes to unlock the biggest sizes, then drag the slider at the bottom to the right. The sample text above the slider updates as you drag. Apps that support Dynamic Type pick up the new size right away, including Messages, Mail, Settings, and Safari.

Turn on Bold Text

Go back to Display & Text Size and turn on Bold Text. Thicker letters read more clearly at the same size, which helps outdoors and on lower brightness. The same toggle also appears under Settings, Display & Brightness.

Make everything bigger with Display Zoom

Open Settings, Display & Brightness, Display Zoom, and choose Larger Text. This scales icons, buttons, and text across the whole system, so use it when the Larger Text setting alone leaves buttons and menus too small to tap. The screen redraws after you confirm.

Set a different size for one app

Open Control Center by swiping down from the top right corner. Tap the + in the top left corner, tap Add a Control, search for Text Size, and tap it to add it. On iOS 17 and earlier, add it in Settings, Control Center instead. Then open the app you want to change, open Control Center, tap Text Size, choose the app name at the bottom of the panel instead of All Apps, and drag the slider. The size applies only to that app.

If an app ignores the setting. Some apps set their own text size in their own settings menu, and a few offer no size control at all. Check the app's settings before assuming the phone setting failed.

If the text is still too small. Turn on Zoom in Settings, Accessibility, Zoom. It is a magnifier for the screen rather than a text setting: double-tap with three fingers to zoom in, and drag with three fingers to move around.