How to enable double-tap to wake on the Lumia 950

The 'Double-tap to wake' feature is now more readily available to Lumia 950 users, including AT&T subscribers in the United States. A recent firmware update brings the new feature, but it's not enabled by default — here's how to turn it on:

Update your Lumia 950 to the latest firmware

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Tap on Update & Security.
  3. Tap on Phone Update. Your phone will automatically check for available updates.
  4. Tap on Download.
  5. Tap on Install. The update will install and your phone will reboot.

Enable double tap to wake on your Lumia 950

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Tap on Extras.
  3. Tap on Touch.
  4. Under Gestures, turn on the option for "Wake up phone when I double tap on the screen."

How to use double tap to wake on your Lumia 950

  1. With the phone's display off, tap the screen twice. The lock screen will appear.
  2. Swipe up to unlock your phone.
    • If you have Windows Hello Iris login enabled, this will happen automatically.
    • If you are using a PIN code for security, you will have to enter it now.

That's it! Enabling the 'Double-tap to wake' option means you no longer have to press the power button on the side of the Lumia 950 to wake up the phone. You can now simply double-tap the display to see the lock screen. It's not a big difference, but we have notice that pressing the power button will wake the phone slightly faster that a double tap on the screen. But if it's just sitting on your desk and you want to check the time right or your next appointment with Glance right quick, just double tap away.

As a long-time Lumia user, I and many others missed this feature from the Windows Phone 8.1 days (the drivers had to be rewritten for the transition to Windows 10 Mobile and did not make the initial release for new Windows 10 phones). Will you be using 'Double-tap to wake' or do you prefer to use the power button? Let us know in the comments!

Mark Guim

Mark Guim is Video Editor at Windows Central. He switched to Windows because the MacBook Pro isn't Pro enough. You can follow him on Twitter at @markguim.