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Device guide

Keep an iPad display awake

Safari on iPadOS 16.4 or later can keep your iPad display on while the AwakeTab tab is visible. Tap Start once, because Safari only grants a wake lock after a tap. When you stop, switch tabs or leave Safari, the iPad goes back to its Auto-Lock time.

Sources checked Saturday, 26 September 20263 min readBy Soubhik Biswas
Open AwakeTab

Set it up on your iPad

Four steps. The screenshots are placeholders until real-device captures are recorded.

  1. Step 1: Open AwakeTab in Safari and tap Start

    Safari › awaketab.com

    Safari will not grant a wake lock until you tap, even from a shared /1h link. Wait for the pill to say "Screen awake".

  2. Step 2: Keep AwakeTab beside your score or recipe

    Windowed apps › tile Safari beside the other app

    On iPadOS 26, tile Safari next to the other app, or use Slide Over, back in iPadOS 26.1. On iPadOS 18 and earlier, use Split View. The AwakeTab window can be small; it only needs to be on screen.

  3. Step 3: Optional: go full screen

    AwakeTab header › Fullscreen

    Safari on iPad lets a page go full screen, which iPhone Safari does not. The clock or countdown fills the display, readable from across the room.

  4. Step 4: Optional: change Auto-Lock instead

    Settings › Display & Brightness › Auto-Lock

    Pick a longer time or Never. On a shared iPad, a changed setting is easy to forget, which is why a tab suits one rehearsal or one recipe.

Which iPad setups keep the screen on

Support claims come from browser documentation and automated tests. Real-device results appear in the matrix once recorded. Sources checked 26 September 2026.

Safari on iPadOS 16.4 or later, tab visibleResult: SupportedWhat to know: Tap Start once. Safari needs that tap before it grants the lock.
Safari tiled beside another app, or in Slide OverResult: Not yet testedWhat to know: The tab stays on screen. We have not yet recorded which layouts keep the lock on a real iPad.
Another app fills the screen, or another Safari tabResult: PausesWhat to know: The lock is released until the tab is visible again.
Low Power Mode onResult: Not yet testedWhat to know: It sets Auto-Lock to 30 seconds.
Home Screen web app, iPadOS 18.4 or laterResult: SupportedWhat to know: Earlier versions have no wake lock there, so use Safari.
Safari before iPadOS 16.4Result: Video fallbackWhat to know: No Screen Wake Lock API. You will see "Tap to use the fallback".

What turns the screen off anyway

If the display still goes dark, one of these is usually the reason.

  • Low Power ModeIt sets Auto-Lock to 30 seconds and greys out the longer choices.Fix a greyed-out Auto-Lock
  • A work or school profileIt can cap Auto-Lock, and only its administrator can change it.Check for a profile
  • No tap yetSafari waits for a tap before it grants the lock.
  • Closing the cover or pressing the top buttonEither locks the iPad straight away.
Try it hereTry itStart a session, switch tabs, then come back and watch the pill. Ends at … if you start now.Start a 1-hour session

Questions

Use windowed apps and tile Safari next to your score app, or open Safari in Slide Over, which returned in iPadOS 26.1. Split View is the name on iPadOS 18 and earlier.

Soubhik Biswas · Builds AwakeTab. Sources checked Saturday, 26 September 2026. About AwakeTab