It’s straightforward to select all on Mac. Just press the “Command + A” keys on the keyboard, highlighting all the text on a page. However, things aren’t the same on mobile. Hence, you want to know how to “Select All” on iPhone where you don’t have a physical keyboard.
Generally, double-tap and hold or press down on the first word within the text you wish to select and then drag the pointer (highlighter) to the last word. You can also triple-tap to select an entire sentence or paragraph and pull the highlighter to the end of the text. It’s that simple!
Find a detailed explanation of these two methods below. Like on PC and Mac, it’s easy to select all on iPhone once you know the steps to follow.
Two Easy Methods to “Select All” Text on iPhone
Here are the two methods you can use to “Select All” text on iPhone.
Method #1: Double-tap Position Highlight and Drag
This is the fundamental way to “Select All” text on iPhone. So, follow these steps if you want to select a block of text, for example, an entire email:
- Double-tap and hold or press down on the first word of the text you wish to “Select All”.
- After about a second, lift your finger.
- You’ll see a pointer above and below the word you’ve just selected. Now drag the highlighter down to the last word of your text. Congratulations! You’ve Selected All.
You don’t necessarily need to select the first word in the first sentence of your text. Select any word within the text. Drag the pointer on top up and the one below down to the last word. Drag the highlighter carefully to prevent messing up with your entire text.
Choose the “Copy” option once you’ve selected all the text. Now go to the app or page you want to copy it into, press and hold anywhere on the screen and choose the “Paste” option. Your text will now be available where you want it.
Method #2: Triple-Tap Sentence Highlight and Drag
This method may NOT apply to all iPhones. Don’t think there’s any problem with your iPhone if you triple-tap a word and it doesn’t highlight the entire sentence that contains the word.
- Triple-tap the first word to select the entire sentence that it’s in – applies (for iOS 13 & 14).
- Drag the grab point or highlighter to select more words and onto the last word.
Essentially, triple-tapping a word may select a whole paragraph in many iPhone models, including 13.6.1, 13.7, and (up to) 14.5. Sometimes, a triple-tap will highlight a sentence and quadruple-tap an entire paragraph on iOS 13. However, this could be an irregularity that Apple is aware of and might fix soon. Read a little more on selecting text on iPhone 13 with the Triple/Double/Quadruple-tap options here.
You can use this method to select all text if it works on your iPhone: If not, Triple-tap to highlight a sentence or paragraph, and then drag the highlighter to the end of the text.
Conclusion
In our article on how to “Select All” on iPhone (text), we’ve addressed two easy methods. The fundamental method (Method #1) involves double-tapping and holding the first word of the text you want to select and then dragging the highlighter carefully to the last word.
On the other hand, Method #2 involves triple-tapping the first word to highlight the entire sentence the word is in and then dragging the highlighter to the last word. However, this method is controversial and may or may not work on your iPhone model. We hope you’ve selected all text on your device using either method above.
Frequently Asked Questions
It’s straightforward to select all text messages on your iPhone device. Launch the Messages app and then choose the “Select” button on the top-right corner of your screen. That will enable you to select all the texts available in your inbox.
iPhone Note models offer a Select All option that you can use to highlight text to copy or delete it. Just tap on this option on the toolbar to select the entire block of text that you want.
Open the Messages app from your device’s home screen. Tap on one of the messages on the screen with two fingers. Drag up or down quickly without lifting your finger from the screen to select all the messages you want.
Software-related issues may prevent you from seeing the Select All option on your iPhone. However, this isn’t a big deal, and you can resolve the problem by restarting your device. Additionally, we recommend that you keep your iPhone up-to-date by installing any available updates. You can seek further assistance from the Apple Support Community.
