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Request Desktop View in Apple Safari on iPhone & iPad

Need to request a desktop site view in Safari on your iPhone and iPad? Learn how to access the desktop version of websites while browsing on your phone or tablet devices.

Most websites today are developed in a responsive design that adjusts according to the screen resolution. However, a few sites are still old-age, which get trimmed in the mobile screen and need a desktop browser.

The Safari browser on iPhone and iPad offers a feature that automatically loads the desktop view on the mobile screen.

View Mobile and Desktop Site Mode on Safari browser

When browsing websites on a mobile device, we often feel that some options are unavailable and don’t look familiar compared to a desktop experience. Hence, we log in to the same site using our desktop computers.

What if I say you no longer need to start your computer for this purpose? Yes, that’s true. The Safari browser does support a feature called Request Desktop Site view. Sounds interesting, right? When using the Safari browser on your iPhone, you can quickly request the site’s desktop version.

The Safari browser will quickly reload the website page and display the site’s desktop version on the mobile phone.

Request Desktop Site

The built-in feature within the Safari browser running on iOS or iPadOS can request desktop site safari on small screens. The feature is convenient when used smartly. Perhaps, this will also eliminate desktop computer usage in some cases.

Here are the steps to open the desktop site view on mobile:

  1. Launch the Safari app on iPhone or iPad.
  2. Open the Website URL that you want to request a desktop website.
  3. Tap on the AA icon within the URL bar.
  4. From the available list, select the Request Desktop Website option.
    Request Desktop Site from Safari on iPhone and iPad

This will reload the website page and load the site’s desktop version. You may not be able to see significant differences on the iPad, though, but on iPhone, you will notice the UI changes.

You can also disable the desktop site view by tapping the Request Mobile Site under the same reading icon. The request desktop site safari is helpful when you do not have a computer or laptop handy to load a desktop site.

Bottom Line

The Request, the Desktop site view on the Safari browser on iPhone or iPad, is a great feature. It comes in handy when desktop site features are unavailable on mobile sites.

Requesting a desktop site on the Safari feature will eliminate our urge to access desktop computers for immediate work. Now we can do that from hand-held mobile devices with complete ease.

I use the desktop site view when the content within the mobile site is trimmed. For example, tabular data not visible on the phone can be loaded on a full-screen computer site view. This way, I’m able to read the trimmed-out data.

Similarly, you can also request the mobile site on a safari mac computer using the developer tools. The developer tools allow us to manage the screen size and watch website changes in real-time.

Let us know your thoughts about getting a desktop site view on your iPhone. Isn’t it cool to use this feature?

Lastly, if you've any thoughts or feedback, then feel free to drop in below comment box. You can also report the outdated information.

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Kushal Azza

Kushal Azza

Kushal Azza is a Google Certified IT Professional, Digital Content Creator, and Go-To Digital Marketer. He has over a decade of experience solving tech problems, troubleshooting, and creating digital solutions. Follow him on Twitter and LinkedIn.

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