Photos and videos cannot be viewed in landscape when I turn my phone on its side

Hi ChiMike57,

Thanks for reaching out to Apple Support Communities.

It sounds like you're having an issue with putting your iPhone 12 Pro Max into landscape mode.

We're happy to assist.

We recommend checking out the steps in the section titled "Rotate the screen on an iPhone without a Home button" from the article here: Rotate the screen on your iPhone or iPod touch - Apple Support

1. Swipe down from the top-right corner of your screen to open Control Center.

2. Tap the Portrait Orientation Lock button  to make sure that it's off.

3. Turn your iPhone sideways.

If the screen still doesn't rotate, try a different app, like Safari or Messages, that is known to work in landscape mode.

Learn how to rotate the screen on your iPad.

The reason why we’re recommending the steps above is because they directly address the issue you initially posted about: you're having difficulty placing your device into landscape mode.

Should the issue continue, follow-up with the steps in this article: Restart your iPhone - Apple Support

Please let us know the outcome after giving the above steps a try.

Cheers!

Hi ChiMike57,

Glad to hear that helped! Have a great day.

Take care.