Samsung Auto Rotate Missing? Causes and How to Fix It on Galaxy Phones

If you are on One UI 7 or One UI 8, the Auto rotate button has seemingly vanished from the Quick Settings panel. You are not alone in this, as Samsung has quietly renamed this toggle, which further added to the confusion. There are thousands of comments on Samsung Community threads saying that the "Auto rotate" button is missing on Samsung phones. We checked the issue, so here's a detailed guide about the Samsung "Auto rotate" missing problem and how to fix it. 

Why Is Auto Rotate Toggle Missing on Samsung Phones?

With One UI 7, Samsung changed how the screen rotation button is labelled in the Quick Settings panel. Earlier, the toggle was always called "Auto rotate" and you would tap it to turn it on or off. Now, the same button switches names based on your current orientation.

So, if your screen is locked in vertical mode, the button is labelled "Portrait". Tap on it once and it changes to "Auto rotate" with the icon showing an auto-rotate icon. Lock the screen in landscape mode, and the same button reads as "Landscape". It's the exact same toggle, but Samsung just renamed it to show the current orientation.

And that's why people are complaining about the missing Auto rotate toggle on Samsung phones. Users looking for a button labelled "Auto rotate" have assumed it has gone missing. Instead, the toggle still exists and might be labelled as "Portrait" or "Landscape" and tapping on it will enable Auto rotate on Samsung phones.

How to Fix Auto Rotate Missing Issue on Samsung Phones

If the Auto rotate toggle is genuinely missing from the Quick Settings panel or isn't working as intended, here's how you can fix it.

Add Auto Rotate Toggle Inside Quick Settings

Let's now go ahead and learn how to locate or restore the Auto rotate toggle on Samsung phones.

1. Swipe down twice on the home screen to open the Quick Settings panel.
2. Now, tap on the pencil icon at the top right to edit the Quick Settings screen.
3. After that, move the Portrait toggle from the "Available buttons" section to the active Quick Settings panel. You can do so by long-pressing the icon and dragging it to the desired position.

4. Now, tap on Done at the top right to save the toggle changes.
5. You can now hit the Portrait toggle to enable or disable auto rotate on your Samsung phone.

Turn On Home Screen Rotation Separately

The home screen on Samsung phones doesn't auto-rotate by default even after turning on the Auto rotate option. It will stay locked in portrait mode. If you want to auto-rotate the home screen as well, follow the below steps.

1. Long-press on any empty area on the home screen and select Settings.
2. Now, scroll down and turn on the Rotate to landscape mode toggle.
3. You can also enable the Auto rotate tile from Quick Settings to force the home screen to change the orientation accordingly.

Calibrate Accelerometer Sensor on Samsung Phone

If the "Auto rotate" toggle is on and apps are still not changing their orientation, it likely means the accelerometer or gyroscope sensor is not working properly. Phones rely on these sensors to detect tilt and change orientation. Here are the steps to calibrate these sensors.

1. Open the Phone app on your Samsung phone and type *#0*# on the keypad.
2. It will automatically take you to the test menu without pressing the call button.
3. Here, tap on Sensor and look at the Accelerometer Sensor values at the top.
4. Move your phone around in your hand. The X, Y and Z values should change in real time as you tilt the device.

If the values don't change no matter how you rotate the phone, the sensor has likely failed and you need to visit a service centre. You can try restarting your Samsung device and check if the accelerometer has been fixed. You can also reset your Samsung phone as a last resort to bring Auto rotate back to life before taking it out to repair.