How to Make the Degree Symbol on Any Device
The degree symbol (°) is one of those characters that comes up constantly — in weather forecasts, cooking temperatures, math, science, and geographic coordinates — yet it's nowhere to be found on a standard keyboard. The good news is that every major operating system and device has at least one reliable way to produce it. The method that works best for you depends on what you're using and how often you need it.
Why the Degree Symbol Isn't on Your Keyboard
Standard keyboard layouts, whether physical or on-screen, follow the QWERTY design developed in the 1870s. That layout was built around the most common characters in English-language writing. Special symbols like °, ™, or © simply didn't make the cut for dedicated keys.
These characters live in the Unicode character set — a universal standard that assigns a unique code to every symbol used in written language worldwide. The degree symbol is Unicode character U+00B0. Every modern operating system knows this code; you just need to know how to call it up.
How to Type the Degree Symbol on Windows
Windows gives you several routes depending on what you're doing:
Alt Code (Numeric Keypad) Hold Alt and type 0176 on the numeric keypad (not the number row), then release Alt. The ° symbol appears. This only works if your keyboard has a dedicated numeric keypad and Num Lock is on.
Character Map Search for "Character Map" in the Start menu, find the degree symbol, and copy it. Useful for one-off situations where you don't want to memorize shortcuts.
Copy-Paste from a Search Searching "degree symbol" in any browser will surface the character directly in search results — easy to copy from there.
Emoji & Symbol Panel Press Windows key + period (.) to open the emoji and symbol panel. Type "degree" in the search box and it appears instantly. This method works in almost any text field in Windows 10 and 11.
In Microsoft Word Specifically Go to Insert → Symbol → More Symbols, find the degree symbol, and insert it. You can also assign it to a keyboard shortcut inside Word's symbol settings.
How to Type the Degree Symbol on Mac
Mac users have the most straightforward shortcut of any desktop OS:
Press Option + Shift + 8 simultaneously. That's it — ° appears wherever your cursor is.
Alternatively, you can open the Character Viewer by pressing Control + Command + Space, search for "degree," and click to insert. This panel also shows recently used symbols, so after using it once, the degree symbol typically sits in your "Favorites" or recent history.
How to Type the Degree Symbol on iPhone and iPad 📱
iOS has a built-in shortcut that most users don't know about:
On the on-screen keyboard, press and hold the zero (0) key. A small popup appears with the ° symbol as an option. Slide your finger to it and release. No settings to change — it works out of the box on any iPhone or iPad running a current version of iOS/iPadOS.
This method works in nearly every app: Messages, Notes, Mail, and third-party apps alike.
How to Type the Degree Symbol on Android
Android's approach varies slightly depending on your keyboard app and manufacturer skin, but the most common method mirrors iOS:
Press and hold the zero (0) key on the standard number row. On Gboard (Google's keyboard, the most widely used Android keyboard), this surfaces the ° character as a long-press option.
If your keyboard doesn't show it via long-press, tap the ?123 key to enter the numbers/symbols view, then look for a symbols or special characters page — often labeled =< or sym. The degree symbol usually appears there.
Some manufacturers (Samsung, for example) use a slightly different default keyboard layout, so the exact placement may differ from a stock Android experience.
How to Insert the Degree Symbol in Specific Software 🖥️
| Environment | Method |
|---|---|
| Microsoft Word | Insert → Symbol, or Alt + 0176 (numpad) |
| Google Docs | Insert → Special Characters → search "degree" |
| Excel | Alt + 0176 (numpad) or use CHAR(176) in a formula |
| HTML/Web | Use the HTML entity ° or ° |
| LaTeX | Use $^{circ}$ inside math mode |
| CSS | Use the Unicode escape 0B0 in content values |
For developers and web writers, the HTML entity ° is the cleanest approach — it renders the degree symbol correctly across all browsers without encoding issues.
Factors That Affect Which Method Works for You
There's no single universal answer because several variables shift which method is fastest and most reliable:
Your device type matters most. A laptop without a numeric keypad rules out the Windows Alt code method unless you enable a virtual numpad. A tablet or phone makes keyboard shortcuts irrelevant — long-press becomes the natural path.
Your keyboard app on mobile changes everything. Gboard, SwiftKey, Samsung Keyboard, and third-party alternatives all handle long-press characters differently. Some expose the degree symbol immediately; others bury it in a secondary symbols page.
Your workflow determines the smartest approach. If you type temperatures dozens of times a day in a specific app, setting up a text replacement shortcut (available in Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android settings) lets you type something like degr and have it auto-expand to °. If you need it once a week, copy-paste from a browser search is perfectly efficient.
Your operating system version can matter on mobile in particular — older Android versions or heavily customized manufacturer skins sometimes handle long-press characters inconsistently compared to current stock behavior.
The right method isn't about which one is technically "best" — it's about which fits your hardware, your keyboard setup, and how often you actually need the symbol. Someone writing scientific papers in LaTeX on a desktop has a very different optimal path than someone texting weather updates on a phone. 🌡️