How to Change the Language on an iPhone

This wikiHow teaches you how to change the default written language on your iPhone. Your iPhone's language will not always determine the language used in non-Apple apps or on websites, though it should translate most content automatically. Keep in mind that if your iPhone is stuck in a language that reads from right to left, all horizontal screen options will be reversed.

EditSteps

1. Open your iPhone's Settings . Tap the Settings app icon, which resembles a grey box with gears on it.
   
2. Scroll down and tap General. This option is near a quarter of the way down the "Settings" page, and has a pale grey gear icon to the left of it.
   
3. Scroll down and tap . From the bottom of the screen, it's the seventh option up. Common non-English iterations of this option include the following:^[1]
   
   • Chinese - Tap 語言和地區
   • Spanish - Tap Idioma y región
   • Hindi - Tap भाषा और क्षेत्र
   • Arabic - Tap اللغة والمنطقة
   • Russian - Tap язык и регион
4. Tap . It's the top option on this page. Doing so opens a language selection menu.
   
5. Select a language. Scroll until you find the language that you want to use, then tap it to select it. A blue checkmark (✓) will appear next to the selected language.
   
6. Tap . It's in the top-right corner of the screen.
   
7. Tap when prompted. This blue-text option is at the bottom of the screen. Tapping it will cause your iPhone's screen to go black as it changes the default language.
   
8. Wait for the language to finish changing. Once the language has been changed to your preferred one, you'll be back at the "Language & Region" screen.
   

EditTips

• If your phone is stuck in a language that you can identify but can't understand and you can't find the Language & Region option, try typing "language & region" into Google Translate and setting the other side of the translator to the language in question.

EditWarnings

• Some languages, such as Arabic, use right-to-left writing instead of left-to-right. If your phone is in a right-to-left language, all horizontal screen options will be reversed (e.g., top-left-corner options will be in the top-right corner, etc.).

EditRelated wikiHows

• Hard Reset an iPhone
• Print from Your iPhone
• Put Music and Videos on Your iPhone
• Watch YouTube Videos on an iPhone
• Change YouTube Language Setting
• Restore the Language Setting on Your Blackberry
• Change the Language on a Cell Phone
• Change the Font on iPhone

EditSources and Citations

EditQuick Summary

Cite error: <ref> tags exist, but no <references/> tag was found