How to control iPad with an external keyboard

Thursday October 15, 2026 4:18 pm EAT by Emily Long

If you use a physical keyboard with iPad, you can use Full Keyboard Access to control your device with keyboard shortcuts instead of the touchscreen. Full Keyboard Access highlights the item on the screen that has focus.

You can see the available commands, move forward or backward, activate the selected item, and go to the Home Screen or open Control Center, all from the keyboard. You can also customize Full Keyboard Access.

Here’s how to control iPad with an external keyboard.

Control iPad using Full Keyboard Access

Open Settings, tap Accessibility, tap Keyboards & Typing and tap Full Keyboard Access. Then turn on Full Keyboard Access.

Navigate iPad using the following default commands.

Action	Shortcut
View available Full Keyboard Access commands	Tab-H
Move forward	Tab
Move backward	Shift-Tab
Activate the selected item	Space bar
Go to the Home Screen	Fn-H
Open the App Switcher	Fn-Up Arrow
Open Control Center	Fn-C
Open Notification Center	Fn-N

Customize Full Keyboard Access

To customize Full Keyboard Access, you can change the keyboard shortcuts associated with its commands and adjust its appearance, like the color, contrast, and size of the highlight.

Open Settings, tap Accessibility and tap Keyboards & Typing. Then tap Full Keyboard Access.
Do any of the following:
- View a complete list of Full Keyboard Access commands and customize them: Tap Commands.
- Change the look of Full Keyboard Access: Tap an option below Appearance.