Watching Facebook Live videos in landscape mode on your phone can provide a better viewing experience by utilizing more of your screen real estate. Here are some tips to make Facebook Live display in landscape orientation on your mobile device.
Check Your Phone’s Settings
The first thing to check is your phone’s display settings. On most phones you can find these in the Settings app under Display. Look for an option called “Auto-rotate” or “Rotation” and make sure it is enabled. This allows the screen orientation to automatically switch between portrait and landscape based on the content you are viewing.
If auto-rotate is already turned on, the issue may be with the Facebook app itself. Try updating to the latest version of the Facebook app in your phone’s app store to see if that resolves the issue.
Use Facebook’s Lock Screen Rotation
Facebook has a built-in control to lock the orientation of videos. To use this during a Facebook Live broadcast:
- Tap the screen once to bring up the Facebook Live control panel.
- Tap the lock icon in the top right corner. This will lock the broadcast to its current orientation.
Now the live video will stay in landscape mode as people view it, even as they rotate their phones. This ensures it displays properly for all viewers. The setting persists across videos too, so you can lock it in landscape for all your future live streams.
Force Landscape in Your Phone’s Settings
Another option is to force your entire phone into landscape mode while watching Facebook Live videos:
- Open your device’s Settings app
- Go to Display > Screen Rotation
- Choose “Landscape” mode
This will make your screen stay in landscape orientation regardless of how you hold your phone. All apps, including Facebook, will show in landscape until you switch the setting back to auto-rotate.
Use Airplane Mode
Oddly enough, some users have reported that enabling Airplane Mode on their phone allows Facebook Live videos to show in landscape. It seems to override the auto-rotation setting temporarily. To try this:
- Swipe down from the top of your phone’s screen to open Control Center
- Tap the Airplane Mode icon to enable it
- Open the Facebook app and view a live stream
- The broadcast should now fill the landscape screen
- Disable Airplane Mode when finished to resume normal phone functionality
While a bit unconventional, this workaround could help if other options aren’t fixing the issue. Airplane mode cuts off all network connections, which may disrupt the sensor data used to determine phone orientation.
Check App Permissions
Another possibility is that the Facebook app lacks the permissions it needs to properly rotate the screen. To rule this out:
- Go to your phone’s Settings
- Find the app permissions page (location varies by device)
- Select Facebook app
- Make sure permissions like “Camera” and “Sensors” are enabled
Granting these permissions allows the Facebook app to detect your phone’s orientation from its accelerometer and camera. If they are disabled, it can cause issues with screen rotation.
Update Your Facebook App
An outdated version of the Facebook app could also be the culprit. Facebook is constantly updating the app, which includes bug fixes and performance improvements. To ensure you have the latest version:
- Go to the App Store on your iPhone or Play Store on Android
- Search for “Facebook”
- Tap Update next to the Facebook app
- The newest version will download and install
Updating provides compatibility fixes that may resolve Facebook Live screen rotation problems. Be sure to install any available updates for the app.
Restart Your Phone
As with many tech issues, a simple restart of your phone can often resolve app problems like this. The reboot clears out any cached data and resets all running apps and services.
To restart an iPhone 8 or earlier, hold down the Power button until you see “Slide to power off”. Slide the arrow to turn off your phone. To turn it back on, hold down the Power button until you see the Apple logo.
For an iPhone X or later, hold either volume button and the side button until you see the power off slider. Slide to turn off, then hold the side button down to restart your iPhone.
On Android, hold down the power button and tap Restart when prompted. The phone will reboot and restart the Facebook app, hopefully fixing any orientation issues.
Delete and Reinstall the Facebook App
If you’ve tried all other troubleshooting steps, the nuclear option is to delete and reinstall the Facebook app. This gives you a clean slate in case any app data or settings were corrupted.
To uninstall Facebook:
- On iPhone, tap and hold the Facebook icon until it starts jiggling
- Tap the X icon to delete the app
- Confirm the deletion
On Android:
- Open the Settings app
- Tap Apps > Facebook
- Tap Uninstall
- Confirm the uninstall
Once deleted, visit the App Store or Play Store again to redownload and install a fresh copy of the Facebook app. Log in, go live, and check if videos now display in landscape orientation.
Adjust In-App Settings
The Facebook app itself includes a few settings that can affect video orientation and playback. It’s worth checking these options as well:
- Video Autoplay – Turned OFF can impact landscape video display. Enable it in Facebook Settings & Privacy > Media Settings.
- In-App Browser – Switching to Chrome or Safari browsers instead of using Facebook’s built-in browser can resolve display issues. Change in Facebook Settings & Privacy > Media Settings.
Toggling these settings back and forth may clear up any conflicts that are disrupting the screen orientation specifically within the Facebook app.
Contact Facebook Support
If all else fails, reach out directly to Facebook for further troubleshooting assistance. Here are some ways to get help from Facebook support:
- In the Facebook app, go to Settings & Privacy > Help Center. Browse support articles or contact options.
- Go to facebook.com/help on your computer. Click “Contact Us” to explain the issue.
- Send feedback directly from the Facebook app under Settings & Privacy > Help Center > Send Feedback.
Facebook’s own customer service team may be able to resolve the problem or escalate it to their developers if it appears to be an app bug. Be sure to include details like your phone model, Facebook app version, and any troubleshooting steps you’ve tried.
Use a Different Facebook Viewing App
If the main Facebook app is still not showing videos in landscape, try viewing Facebook Live via a third-party app:
Friendly for Facebook
Friendly is an alternative Facebook client for iOS and Android. It features a video viewer that forces landscape mode. Download Friendly for free and use it instead of the regular Facebook app.
Facebook Lite
Facebook Lite is a stripped down version of Facebook for Android in developing countries. The lightweight app can rotate Facebook Live videos properly in some cases where the main app fails. It’s worth testing as an alternate viewing option.
Swipe for Facebook
Swipe is another third-party Facebook client for iOS. It has its own built-in browser that may correctly display Facebook Live landscape video. Test it out as an alternative to the stock Facebook app.
Messenger App
You can view Facebook Live broadcasts directly within the Messenger app. Open a chat with the person who is live streaming and watch the video there. The Messenger app sometimes has better rotation support.
Use a Web Browser on PC/Mac
As a last resort, visit facebook.com on your computer’s web browser. Watch the Facebook Live video there, where orientation is not an issue. This ensures you can still view the broadcast even if mobile apps are failing.
Conclusion
Viewing Facebook Live videos in landscape orientation on your phone provides a better full-screen viewing experience. If auto-rotate is not working, use Facebook’s orientation lock, adjust app permissions and settings, force landscape mode, or try alternate viewing apps. Contact Facebook support if issues persist across apps and devices. With some debugging, Facebook Live broadcasts can fill your phone’s screen properly.