The fastest way to capture your iPad screen

On most iPads, you take a screenshot by pressing the Top button and Volume Up button at the same time, then releasing both. The screenshot saves automatically to your Photos app. If you have an older iPad with a Home button, press the Top (or Side) button and Home button together instead.

The screenshot appears in the bottom-left corner of your screen for a few seconds. You can tap it there to edit, crop, or add markup before it saves. If you do nothing, it saves as-is to Photos within a second or two.

Recording your screen works differently and requires one extra step: you have to turn on screen recording in Control Center first, then start and stop the recording from there.

Key Takeaways

  • Screenshots save to your Photos app automatically when you press the Top button and Volume Up button together.
  • You can edit, crop, or draw on a screenshot when ready after taking it by tapping the preview in the corner.
  • Screen recording must be enabled in Control Center before you can use it, and you start and stop it from Control Center.
  • Both screenshots and screen recordings include everything on your display, including the status bar and any open notifications.

Taking a screenshot on different iPad models

The button combination depends on which iPad you own. iPad Pro (all sizes), iPad Air (3rd generation and newer), and iPad (7th generation and newer) use the Top button and Volume Up. iPad mini (5th generation and newer) also uses Top button and Volume Up.

If you have an iPad Pro 12.9-inch or 10.5-inch (1st or 2nd generation), or any iPad Air 2 or earlier, iPad mini 4 or earlier, or iPad (6th generation or earlier), use the Top (or Side) button and Home button instead. The Home button is the physical circle at the bottom of the screen.

You do not need to hold the buttons for any length of time — press and release quickly. If you hold too long, you will trigger Siri or the power-off menu instead. The screenshot sound plays (unless your iPad is muted), and the image appears in the bottom-left corner.

Editing and saving your screenshot

After you take a screenshot, a thumbnail appears in the bottom-left corner for about five seconds. Tap it to open the editing view, where you can crop, rotate, add text, draw with your finger, add a signature, or magnify part of the image. The markup tools appear at the bottom of the screen.

When you are done editing, tap Done in the top-left corner. You will see two options: Save to Photos saves your edited version to the Photos app, and Delete Screenshot removes it entirely. If you do nothing and wait for the thumbnail to disappear, the unedited screenshot saves automatically.

You can also tap Copy to copy the screenshot to your clipboard, then paste it directly into an email, message, or document without saving it to Photos first.

How to record your iPad screen

Screen recording is not available from the home screen by default — you have to enable it in Control Center first. Swipe down from the top-right corner of your screen to open Control Center. Look for a circle with a dot inside it (the screen recording icon). If you do not see it, tap the three dots or the plus sign to customize Control Center, find Screen Recording, and tap the plus sign next to it.

Once Screen Recording appears in Control Center, tap it to start recording. A red bar appears at the top of your screen showing that recording is active. Everything you do on your iPad — apps you open, text you type, videos you play — is now being recorded.

To stop recording, tap the red bar at the top or open Control Center again and tap the Screen Recording icon a second time. Your recording saves to the Photos app as a video file. You can trim it, share it, or edit it like any other video.

Recording audio with your screen

By default, screen recording captures video only — no sound from your iPad's speaker or microphone. To include audio, press and hold the Screen Recording icon in Control Center (do not just tap it). A menu appears with a Microphone Audio toggle. Turn it on if you want to record your voice or sounds from your iPad.

If you turn on microphone audio, your iPad records everything the microphone picks up — your voice, background noise, and any sounds from apps. This is useful if you are recording a tutorial and want to narrate it, or if you are recording a video call and want to capture both sides of the conversation.

The microphone toggle stays on for future recordings until you turn it off again. You can change it each time you record by holding the icon and toggling it before you start.

Where your screenshots and recordings go

Both screenshots and screen recordings save to your Photos app in a folder called Screenshots (for screenshots) or in your main Recents view (for videos). Open the Photos app, tap the Albums tab at the bottom, and scroll down to find Screenshots. Screen recordings appear in your main photo library with a video icon in the corner.

You can move, delete, or share these files like any other photo or video. To share a screenshot or recording, tap it in Photos, tap the share icon (a square with an arrow), and choose how you want to send it — email, message, AirDrop, or cloud storage.

If you delete a screenshot or recording from Photos, it goes to the Recently Deleted album for 30 days before it is permanently removed. You can recover it during that time by opening Recently Deleted, tapping the file, and tapping Recover.

Troubleshooting common screenshot and recording problems

If your screenshot button combination is not working, make sure you are pressing the correct buttons for your iPad model. Older iPads use the Home button; newer ones use Volume Up. If you are holding the buttons too long, you may trigger Siri or the power-off menu instead — try pressing and releasing more quickly.

If screen recording does not appear in Control Center, open Settings, tap Control Center, and look for Screen Recording in the "More Controls" section. Tap the plus sign next to it to add it. If it is already there, try closing Control Center and opening it again.

If your screen recording has no sound even though you turned on microphone audio, check your iPad's mute switch on the side. When the switch shows orange, your iPad is in silent mode and will not record audio. Flip the switch to unmute, then try recording again.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I take a screenshot of just part of my screen?

Not with the built-in screenshot tool — it always captures the entire screen. However, after you take a screenshot, you can crop it in the editing view by dragging the corners and edges of the crop box. This lets you remove the parts you do not need before saving.

Does my iPad make a sound when I take a screenshot?

Yes, unless your iPad is in silent mode. The mute switch is on the side of your iPad (or the top on older models). When it shows orange, silent mode is on and screenshots will not make a sound. Screenshots still save normally — the sound is just disabled.

Can I record my screen while using FaceTime or another app?

Yes. Screen recording captures everything on your display, including FaceTime calls, apps, and web pages. However, some apps may show a notification that the screen is being recorded, and some content (like certain streaming services) may appear blank or blocked in the recording for copyright reasons.

How long can I record my screen?

You can record for as long as your iPad has storage space available. There is no built-in time limit. Very long recordings create large video files, so check your available storage before recording for more than an hour at a time.

Where do I find my screenshots if they are not in Photos?

Check the Screenshots album in the Photos app under the Albums tab. If they are not there, they may have been deleted. Open Recently Deleted to see if they are still recoverable. If you use iCloud Photos, screenshots may also appear on your other Apple devices.