Where Is the Degree Symbol on iPhone: A Complete Guide

Typing the degree symbol (°) on an iPhone isn't obvious — it's not printed on any key, and there's no dedicated button for it. But once you know where to look, it takes less than two seconds to insert. Here's exactly how it works, plus why some users find it in different places depending on their setup.

The Degree Symbol Is a Hidden Character on iOS

Apple's iPhone keyboard hides dozens of special characters behind long-press gestures. Instead of cluttering the keyboard with every possible symbol, iOS tucks less common characters beneath the keys you'd most logically associate with them.

The degree symbol lives under the zero (0) key.

How to Type the Degree Symbol on iPhone

Method 1: Long-Press the Zero Key (Fastest)

1. Open any app where you can type — Messages, Notes, Mail, etc.
2. Tap the numbers keyboard by pressing the 123 button in the bottom-left corner
3. Press and hold the 0 key
4. A small popup will appear showing °
5. Slide your finger onto it and release

That's the primary method and works on virtually every iPhone running a modern version of iOS.

Method 2: The Text Replacement Shortcut

If you type temperatures or angles frequently, a text replacement shortcut saves time:

1. Go to Settings → General → Keyboard → Text Replacement
2. Tap the + button in the top-right corner
3. In the Phrase field, paste or type °
4. In the Shortcut field, type something easy like deg
5. Save it

Now whenever you type deg and hit space, iOS automatically replaces it with °. This is particularly useful for people who dictate with Siri or type quickly without wanting to navigate menus.

Method 3: Copy and Paste

A low-tech but reliable fallback — search "degree symbol" in Safari or Notes, copy the ° character, and paste it where needed. Not elegant, but it works in a pinch and doesn't require any setup.

🔍 Why Some Users Find It in a Different Spot

A few variables can shift where — or how — the symbol appears:

Keyboard language settings play a significant role. If you have multiple keyboards enabled (for example, English plus a language that uses different character sets), the long-press behavior can vary slightly. Some language keyboards surface different special characters on the same key.

Third-party keyboards like Gboard or SwiftKey have their own symbol layouts. On these keyboards, the degree symbol may be under a different key, in a dedicated symbols panel, or accessed through their own long-press logic. The zero-key method described above applies to Apple's native iOS keyboard specifically.

iOS version matters less here than with many features — the long-press method has been consistent for many years — but very old versions of iOS (pre-iOS 9 or 10) may have slight differences in how the popup menu renders or responds to gestures.

Where Else You Might See It

The Siri dictation option is worth highlighting separately. If you tap the microphone on the keyboard and say "seventy-two degree symbol Fahrenheit," Siri will often insert 72°F directly. Results can vary depending on accent, phrasing, and ambient noise, but it works reliably for many users typing temperature-related content.

✏️ A Note on Formatting: Degree vs. Masculine Ordinal

One distinction worth knowing: the degree symbol (°) and the masculine ordinal indicator (º) look nearly identical but are different characters. The ordinal (used in some languages as a superscript letter) sits slightly higher and is used in contexts like "1º" in Spanish or Portuguese. On iPhone, the long-press on 0 typically surfaces the true degree symbol — but if you're pasting from a document or website, it's worth confirming which character you actually have, especially for technical, scientific, or international writing.

Factors That Shape Your Experience

How smoothly this works in practice depends on several things specific to your setup:

• Which keyboard app you use — native vs. third-party changes the entire interaction model
• How often you need it — casual users may be fine with the long-press method, while frequent users benefit from a text replacement shortcut
• Whether you use Siri dictation — voice input can bypass keyboard navigation entirely
• Language and region settings — users with non-English primary keyboards may have different symbol placements
• Accessibility settings — features like AssistiveTouch or custom keyboards can change how input works at a system level

The method that's fastest and most reliable for typing ° on an iPhone is straightforward in the general case — but which approach actually fits your workflow depends on how your device is configured and how often you need the symbol. 🔧