Learn how to use the new accessibility sharing feature in iOS 26 to temporarily send your personal accessibility settings to another iPhone or iPad, allowing you to use that device comfortably.
If you cannot see the contents of the screen, you can use the VoiceOver accessibility feature to receive spoken cues; if you have weak eyesight, you can use the Zoom option to enlarge the text. And in case you have difficulty pressing the physical buttons, you can rely on AssistiveTouch to take screenshots or change the volume. But what if you’re temporarily borrowing a friend’s iPhone or are at a café that uses an iPad to view the menu?
In these situations, the new “Share Accessibility Settings” feature can be particularly helpful. It allows you to quickly send accessibility settings from your iPhone or iPad to another iPhone or iPad, making someone else’s device familiar and comfortable to you. The accessibility settings on the other device remain in place temporarily, and once you stop using it, all the settings go back to how they were before.
To use this, both your and the host devices must be running the latest version of iOS 26 or iPadOS 26.
1) Enable Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on the nearby host device as well as your device. It isn’t necessary to be connected to a wireless network.
2) Open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad and tap Accessibility. Then, scroll to the bottom and tap Share Accessibility Settings.
3) Tap Share Accessibility Settings and hit Continue. You’ll now see the nearby iPhone or iPad; tap the one you want to temporarily share your accessibility settings with.
4) The “Share Accessibility Settings” alert will show up on the host device. Tap Accept to allow this device to use the accessibility settings from your iPhone or iPad.
In the screen recording embedded below, you can see that the Zoom accessibility feature is turned off on my iPhone. But after accepting accessibility settings from another device where Zoom is turned on, it’s also enabled automatically on my iPhone.
Stop sharing accessibility settings with another iPhone
Once you’re done using that device, tap the tiny blue accessibility icon at the top of the iPhone or iPad screen and select “Stop Sharing.” You can also lock the device, which stops it from using the shared accessibility settings.
Some things to keep in mind
- This entire sharing process feels like AirDrop, but it also works when AirDrop receiving is off. In fact, it works with moderate success even when Bluetooth is off on the host device. Still, to ensure hassle-free operation, enable Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on both devices.
- You can also touch and hold the host device screen with three fingers to accept the incoming accessibility sharing request.
If you turn on Sync to iCloud,” in the share accessibility settings, accessibility settings from this device will sync across all your other devices signed into the same Apple account. However, this doesn’t seem to be working in the first version of iOS 26 non-beta and iOS 26.1 beta.
It can happen because of temporary system glitches or bugs in iOS 26. To fix this, turn on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on both devices and be sure to keep them within Bluetooth range of 33 feet or 10 meters.
In case sharing still fails and you see a red ‘Failed’ tag on your iPhone or iPad, simply restart the host device, and it should work now. In case you can’t restart the host iPad, as it’s a public kiosk, restart your own iPhone or iPad and then try sharing your accessibility settings.
Accessibility for the rest of us…
Apple’s devices provide the best accessibility features in the industry. Although these features are primarily designed for people with disabilities, many of them are too good to pass up.
For example, the AssistiveTouch feature is great for people who have difficulty pressing physical buttons, but you can also use it to perform system functions, such as taking a screenshot, when physical buttons are broken. We’ve rounded up the top 40 accessibility features on the iPhone and iPad for those interested.