Make the words bigger on your phone

First, pick your phone

If your phone is an iPhone, start with the iPhone steps just below.

If your phone says Samsung, Google, Motorola, or another name, use the Android steps further down.

Not sure? Do the steps that look most like your phone. You cannot break anything by looking.

iPhone — the usual way

This works on current iPhones.

1. Open Settings.
2. On the newest iPhone software, tap Appearance, then tap Text Size.
3. If you do not see Appearance, tap Display & Brightness, then tap Text Size.
4. Drag the slider to the right until the sample words are easy to read.

That is it. Open Messages or Mail to see your new size.

iPhone — still not big enough?

Use this way for the biggest sizes on any iPhone.

1. Open Settings.
2. Tap Accessibility.
3. Tap Display & Text Size, then tap Larger Text.
4. Turn on Larger Accessibility Sizes.
5. Drag the slider to the right.

There are more, bigger steps here than on the usual screen.

iPhone — make the letters thicker

Thicker letters can be easier to read than bigger letters.

1. Open Settings.
2. Tap Accessibility, then tap Display & Text Size.
3. Turn on Bold Text.

On the newest software, you can also find Bold Text under Settings, then Appearance.

iPhone — make everything bigger

This makes buttons and pictures bigger too. It is called Display Zoom.

1. Open Settings.
2. On the newest software, tap Appearance, then tap Display Zoom.
3. On older software, tap Display & Brightness, then tap Display Zoom.
4. Choose Larger Text.
5. Tap Use Zoomed if your phone asks.

iPhone — a magnifying glass for one spot

Use Zoom when you only need one small spot bigger for a moment.

1. Open Settings.
2. Tap Accessibility, then tap Zoom.
3. Turn Zoom on.
4. Double-tap the screen with three fingers to zoom in.
5. Double-tap with three fingers again to zoom back out.

Android phones — start here

This way works on almost every Android phone.

1. Open Settings.
2. Tap the search box at the very top of Settings.
3. Type Font size.
4. Tap Font size in the results.
5. Drag the slider to the right until the words are easy to read.

Android — on Google phones and many others

Look for a screen called Display size and text. It holds three helpful controls in one place.

1. Open Settings.
2. Tap Accessibility.
3. Tap Display size and text.
4. Drag the Font size slider to the right to make words bigger.
5. Drag the Display size slider to the right to make buttons and icons bigger too.
6. Turn on Bold text if you want thicker letters.

Android — on Samsung phones

Samsung puts this setting in a slightly different place.

1. Open Settings.
2. Tap Display.
3. Tap Font size and style.
4. Drag the slider to the right until the words are easy to read.

You do not need to download a new font. Just use the slider on that screen.

Good to know

• Move the slider a little at a time. Very big words can make some screens crowded. Try one step, look around, then try one more if you need it.
• A few apps keep their own small words. A few apps ignore the phone's setting. That is the app's doing, not yours, and your phone is not broken.
• Nothing here can break your phone. Every step can be undone. Just go back to the same screen and slide back to the left.