is there a way to disable the swipe down and up on ipad

My Mum uses the head pointer on the iPad Pro as she is paralysed and has no use of her hands, but she frequently accidentally goes to the top of the screen and it pulls the Notification Centre down. It probably sounds like an incidental issue but, as you can imagine, when having to use the head pointer, it’s quite frustrating for her when she’s on FaceTime or reading something and this happens as it’s such a lot of effort for her to get rid of it (she uses dwell). It’s such a shame I can’t find any way at all to disable this as the iPad via the head pointer tool is her lifeline now. Any ideas please?

Posted on Oct 7, 2025 3:51 PM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Oct 12, 2025 9:41 PM

Re: is there a way to disable the swipe down and up on ipad


Sorry ... None that I know of. However, according to the linked article below,

"... you can adjust how the iPad touchscreen responds to tap, swipe, and touch-and-hold gestures. You can have iPad recognize faster or slower touches and ignore multiple touches".  which may be worth looking into to see how it works with the head-pointer..


Wondering which iPad OS version is installed on your Mum.s iPad in order to assist.

Eg: For iPad OS 26: Adjust how iPad responds to your touch - Apple Support

or

For iPadOS 18: Adjust how iPad responds to your touch - Apple Support


For accurate info. for your Mum's iPad:

If needed: open one of the above links and choose appropriate iPadOS version at the top.

____________________________________________________________________

If you are not already familiar with them:

Apple support's article for use of the head-pointer has various options you can set

Eg: for iOS 26: See: Control iPad with the movement of your head - Apple Support

Article also says:

"To perform additional onscreen gestures or physical button presses, use the AssistiveTouch menu . See Use AssistiveTouch."

Am unsure whether anything there could be useful to your Mum.

Seems it is those who rely on the use of the software who often have the most expertise.

_____________________________

Also Apple's accessibility support team can often assist with an accessibility feature.

If you want to try reaching out to them, see:

How to contact Apple for help with accessibility features - Apple Support

3 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Oct 12, 2025 9:41 PM in response to Anyhelpappreciatedpleasee

Re: is there a way to disable the swipe down and up on ipad


Sorry ... None that I know of. However, according to the linked article below,

"... you can adjust how the iPad touchscreen responds to tap, swipe, and touch-and-hold gestures. You can have iPad recognize faster or slower touches and ignore multiple touches".  which may be worth looking into to see how it works with the head-pointer..


Wondering which iPad OS version is installed on your Mum.s iPad in order to assist.

Eg: For iPad OS 26: Adjust how iPad responds to your touch - Apple Support

or

For iPadOS 18: Adjust how iPad responds to your touch - Apple Support


For accurate info. for your Mum's iPad:

If needed: open one of the above links and choose appropriate iPadOS version at the top.

____________________________________________________________________

If you are not already familiar with them:

Apple support's article for use of the head-pointer has various options you can set

Eg: for iOS 26: See: Control iPad with the movement of your head - Apple Support

Article also says:

"To perform additional onscreen gestures or physical button presses, use the AssistiveTouch menu . See Use AssistiveTouch."

Am unsure whether anything there could be useful to your Mum.

Seems it is those who rely on the use of the software who often have the most expertise.

_____________________________

Also Apple's accessibility support team can often assist with an accessibility feature.

If you want to try reaching out to them, see:

How to contact Apple for help with accessibility features - Apple Support

is there a way to disable the swipe down and up on ipad

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