How to Type the Degree Symbol on Any Device

The degree symbol (°) is one of those characters you need occasionally — when writing temperatures, geographic coordinates, or angle measurements — but it's not sitting on any standard keyboard key. Knowing where to find it depends almost entirely on what device and operating system you're using.

What Is the Degree Symbol?

The degree symbol (°) is a typographic character used in several contexts:

• Temperature — 98.6°F or 37°C
• Angles — a 90° angle
• Geographic coordinates — 40°N latitude

It looks like a small raised circle and is distinct from the masculine ordinal indicator (º) or the ring diacritic (˚), though those look similar at small sizes. For most everyday uses, the standard degree symbol (Unicode: U+00B0) is the correct one.

How to Type the Degree Symbol on Windows

Windows offers several methods depending on how fast you need it and what application you're in.

Method 1: Alt Code

Hold Alt and type 0176 on the numeric keypad (not the number row at the top). Release Alt, and ° appears. This requires Num Lock to be on and a keyboard with a dedicated numeric keypad — something laptop users often don't have.

Method 2: Character Map

Open the Character Map app (search for it in the Start menu), find the degree symbol, and copy-paste it. Slower, but works on any Windows keyboard.

Method 3: Copy-Paste or Search

Simply searching "degree symbol" in your browser returns the character at the top of results in most cases. Copy it and paste wherever you need it.

Method 4: Emoji & Symbol Panel

Press Windows key + period (.) to open the emoji and symbol panel, then navigate to the symbols tab and search for "degree."

How to Type the Degree Symbol on Mac

Mac keyboards make this straightforward.

Press Option + Shift + 8 — that's it. The ° character appears immediately in almost any text field or application.

Alternatively, you can use Edit → Emoji & Symbols (or press Control + Command + Space) to open the character viewer and search for "degree."

How to Type the Degree Symbol on iPhone and iPad 📱

On iOS and iPadOS, the degree symbol is hidden inside the keyboard:

1. Open any text field and bring up the keyboard.
2. Tap and hold the zero (0) key.
3. A popup appears with the degree symbol (°) as an option.
4. Slide to select it.

This works in the default Apple keyboard. Third-party keyboards may have different long-press menus.

How to Type the Degree Symbol on Android

Android keyboards vary by manufacturer and app, but the most common approach:

1. Tap the ?123 or !#1 key to access the symbols keyboard.
2. Look for the degree symbol directly, or tap =< for an extended symbols page.
3. On Gboard specifically, long-pressing the 0 key also surfaces the degree symbol — similar to iOS.

The exact path depends on which keyboard app you're using (Gboard, Samsung Keyboard, SwiftKey, etc.) and which version is installed.

How to Type the Degree Symbol in Specific Applications

In HTML and web development, it's worth knowing that typing the raw symbol directly usually works in modern UTF-8 documents, but using the named entity ° is more explicit and always safe.

The Variables That Change Your Answer

What looks like a simple question has several layers depending on your situation:

• Keyboard type — Full-size keyboards with a numeric keypad support Alt codes; compact and laptop keyboards often don't, making Alt codes unreliable.
• Operating system — Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Linux, and ChromeOS each have different native shortcuts.
• Keyboard app — On mobile, your installed keyboard determines what long-press characters are available.
• Application context — A code editor, word processor, spreadsheet, and web form may each behave differently with special character input.
• Frequency of use — Someone who types temperatures constantly may benefit from setting up a text expansion shortcut (e.g., typing deg auto-expands to °) using tools like AutoHotkey on Windows or the built-in text replacement feature on Mac and iOS.

🔑 A Note on Text Expansion

If you find yourself typing the degree symbol regularly, text replacement is worth exploring. Both macOS and iOS allow custom text shortcuts under system settings. Windows users can use AutoHotkey or third-party apps. This sidesteps the need to remember key combinations entirely — though it adds a small setup step upfront and requires the text expansion tool to be running in the background.

Linux and ChromeOS

On Linux, the approach varies by desktop environment. A common method is pressing Compose key + o + o if a Compose key is configured. Alternatively, pressing Ctrl+Shift+U, releasing, then typing 00b0 and pressing Enter works in many GTK applications.

On ChromeOS, the emoji picker (Search + Shift + Space, or right-click in a text field and select "Emoji") lets you search for the degree symbol.

The right method for you comes down to how often you need the symbol, which device is in front of you at the moment, and whether you're working in a browser, a desktop app, or a mobile text field — each of those factors points toward a different path.