How to Write the Degree Sign on Any Device or Keyboard

The degree symbol (°) is one of those characters you need surprisingly often — temperatures, angles, geographic coordinates — but it doesn't appear anywhere obvious on a standard keyboard. The good news: every major operating system and device has a way to produce it. The method that works best for you depends on your hardware, OS, and how frequently you need the symbol.

What the Degree Sign Actually Is

The degree sign is the character °, encoded as U+00B0 in Unicode. It's distinct from two lookalikes you should avoid using as substitutes:

• The masculine ordinal indicator (º) — visually similar but semantically wrong
• A superscript letter "o" — not the same character and may render inconsistently

When accuracy matters — scientific writing, technical documents, code — using the correct Unicode character is important. Most casual use isn't strict about this, but it's worth knowing the difference.

How to Type the Degree Sign on Windows

Windows gives you several options, ranging from keyboard shortcuts to character tools.

Alt Code (Numeric Keypad Required) Hold Alt and type 0176 on the numeric keypad (not the top-row number keys), then release Alt. This inserts °. 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 as a one-time lookup, but slow for regular use.

Word Processor Autocorrect In Microsoft Word, you can set up an autocorrect rule so that typing something like deg or (deg) automatically replaces it with °.

Copy and Paste The most universally reliable method: copy ° from a reference source and paste it wherever you need it. Works in every application.

How to Type the Degree Sign on Mac

Mac has a clean built-in shortcut that works system-wide.

Keyboard Shortcut Press Option + Shift + 8 to insert ° directly. This works in almost every Mac application without any setup.

Character Viewer Press Control + Command + Space to open the Character Viewer, search "degree," and click to insert. Useful if you're looking for related symbols at the same time.

How to Type the Degree Sign on iPhone and iPad

The iOS keyboard hides the degree symbol behind a long-press gesture.

Long-Press the Zero Key On the standard keyboard, tap and hold the 0 (zero) key. A small popup appears with the ° symbol. Slide to it and release.

This works in any text field on iOS — messages, notes, emails, web forms — without switching keyboards or changing settings.

How to Type the Degree Sign on Android

Android behavior varies slightly by manufacturer and keyboard app, but the general approach is consistent.

On the Default Keyboard Switch to the numbers and symbols view (tap ?123 or similar), then long-press 0 or look for ° directly in the symbols layout. Some keyboards display it without a long-press.

Third-Party Keyboards Apps like Gboard give you direct access to special characters. In Gboard, long-pressing 0 in the numeric view reliably surfaces °.

How to Type the Degree Sign in Specific Contexts

🖥️ HTML and Web Use the HTML entity ° or the numeric reference ° to render ° in web pages.

CSS and Code In code, embed the Unicode escape. In JavaScript, 'u00B0' produces °. In Python, 'u00B0' or u'u00B0' works the same way.

Google Docs and Sheets Use Insert → Special Characters, search "degree," and insert. Or use the Mac shortcut if you're on Mac — it works inside Google Docs too.

Microsoft Excel The Alt+0176 method works in cells. Alternatively, use CHAR(176) as a formula to return the degree symbol as a text value — useful when building formatted strings dynamically.

Quick Reference by Platform

The Variables That Affect Which Method Works for You

Not every method works in every situation. A few factors determine what's practical:

Keyboard type — Laptops without a numeric keypad can't use the Alt code method on Windows. Desktop users with a full keyboard have that option available.

OS version and keyboard app — Older Android versions or non-standard keyboards may not support long-press on zero. Third-party keyboard apps often add or change this behavior.

Application context — Some applications intercept keyboard shortcuts for their own functions. What works in a plain text editor may not work in a specialized tool, game, or locked-down web form.

Frequency of use — Someone who types temperatures dozens of times a day benefits from learning the native keyboard shortcut. Someone who needs it once a month is better served by copy-paste or a character viewer.

Accessibility settings — On-screen keyboards and accessibility overlays sometimes change long-press behavior on mobile, which can affect whether the long-press-zero method surfaces the symbol as expected.

The right method isn't universal — it's the one that fits how you actually work, on the hardware you actually use. 🎯