Introduced in iOS 15, “Visual Look Up” is designed to let you retrieve the desired information about art, plants, pets, landmarks, statues, and more. Leveraging advanced machine learning, it shows the available information about an item so that you are not left wondering or scratching your head about something that catches your eye while scrolling the camera roll. While this photo feature is quite efficient and works as expected, it’s not perfect and does tend to misbehave at times. For this very reason, we’ve lined up some of the best tips and tricks to fix Visual Look Up Not Working in iOS 17 on iPhone.
How to Fix Visual Look Up Not Working on iPhone
Before going on to try the viable fixes, let’s briefly discuss the possible reasons why the Visual Look Up is ill-functioning on your iPhone!
Why is Visual Look Up not working on my iPhone?
Aside from a hidden software bug, you should keep in mind device compatibility and lesser-known information. Though the “Visual Look Up” has vastly improved in terms of accuracy, it does tend to go awry once in a while. So, you should be aware of the downsides.
From what I have experienced, the Visual Look Up excels in recognizing famous landmarks and statues. However, when dealing with something that doesn’t have much recognition, it shows less trusted results. The reason why I’m bringing light to these shortcomings is that they will offer a fair idea about what the Visual Look Up is capable of and where it fails to deliver the goods.
1. Make Sure You Have a Compatible iPhone
To begin with, you should know the fact that the “Visual Look Up” supports only modern iPhones. Therefore, be sure you have a compatible device to use this smart feature.
- iPhone SE 2nd Generation
- iPhone SE 3rd Generation
- iPhone XR
- iPhone XS
- iPhone XS Max
- iPhone 11
- iPhone 11 Pro
- iPhone 11 Pro Max
- iPhone 12 mini
- iPhone 12
- iPhone 12 Pro
- iPhone 12 Pro Max
- iPhone 13 mini
- iPhone 13
- iPhone 13 Pro
- iPhone 13 Pro Max
- iPhone 14
- iPhone 14 Plus
- iPhone 14 Pro
- iPhone 14 Pro Max
- iPhone 15
- iPhone 15 Plus
- iPhone 15 Pro
- iPhone 15 Pro Max
2. Force Quit the Photos
Force kill the Photos app and launch it again. If the stock photos app is faced with a momentary glitch, force quitting may resolve the problem and bring the Visual Look Up back on the trick.
- On your iPhone with Face ID: Swipe up from the Home Bar to access the app switcher. Now, swipe up the card of the Photos app to force kill it.
- On your iPhone with the Touch ID: Double-press the Home button and then you need to swipe up the card of the Photos app.
Now, launch the Photos app -> open an image of a popular landmark or plant -> hit the Info button at the bottom -> Look Up “Name” to check if you have overcome the problem.
3. What If the “Info” Button Doesn’t Show Up? Do This!
If you open an image of a landmark or animal (or anything that is recognized by the Visual Look Up feature), the “Info” button appears at the bottom. Tapping on this button reveals the available information.
But what if the info button itself is missing? In that case, you should be fully aware of the fact that the “Visual Look Up” has failed to recognize the object in the image. In this situation, you can’t do anything but blame the “Look Up” feature. Why not try Google Lens as it’s far more capable and excels in offering better results.
4. Reboot Your iPhone
If the visual lookup continues to misbehave, reboot your iPhone. If the issue is due to a minor glitch, a soft reset will let you get rid of the problem.
- On iPhone without the Home Button: Press and hold the volume up button and the side button at once -> drag the power off slider to shut down your iPhone. Now, wait for a few seconds, and then press and hold the power button to restart your device.
- On iPhone with the Home Button: Press the power button and then drag the power off slider to turn off your device. After that, hold down the power button again to reboot your device.
5. Disable/Enable Look Up
If the Photos app is struggling to recognize pets and other things, disable/enable the “Look Up” for Siri & Search.
- To do so, go to the Settings app -> Siri & Search -> turn off the toggle next to Show in Look Up.
- Then, reboot your device. Once your iOS device has restarted, head back into the Settings app and turn on the toggle for Show in Look Up.
6. Update Software
Should the visual lookup problem is due to a software bug, a software update can let you resolve the issue. Ensure that your iPhone has at least 50% battery life and is connected to a stable internet connection.
- On your iPhone, open the Settings app -> General -> Software Update.
7. Sign Out Of Apple ID and Sign Back In
If the lady luck has not yet smiled on the “Visual Look Up” feature on your device, sign out of Apple ID and sign back.
- On your device, open the Settings app -> Apple ID -> Sign Out -> make sure to keep a copy of everything that is important -> confirm the action. After that, sign in using your Apple ID and password.
8. Factory Reset Your iPhone
If you still can’t use the visual lookup feature, go for the factory reset since it is exceptionally effective in fixing persistent issues. But before you do that, be fully aware of the fact that it will remove all the custom settings on your device, bringing the entire settings to the original state.
- Open the Settings app on your device -> General -> Transfer or Reset iPhone -> Reset -> Reset All Settings.
Fixed Visual Look Up On iPhone..!
There you go! I hope “Visual Look Up” has started to work as usual or come back on track. Feel free to share your thoughts about this photo feature and the tip that has helped you fix it.
Read more: Tips to Customize and Use the iPhone 15 Pro Action Button
