How to Install Fonts on an iPhone & iPad

Final product image — What You'll Be Creating

Looking to find out how to add fonts to iPad or to add fonts to iPhone? Then you're in the right place! In this tutorial we'll go over various methods available to us to install fonts on an iPhone and how to install fonts on an iPad.

Something to keep in mind before we get started is that installing fonts on your iOS device will only allow you to use fonts within apps that support custom fonts. This is not a method to change the fonts universally within the OS. It's important to note that every method for installing fonts on iPhone and iPad comes with limitations. You will only be able to use custom fonts in specific programs in various situations. Sadly, there is no simple way to install system-wide fonts like you may be used to with macOS or Windows. We'll have to wait and see if Apple ever makes this a feature in the future!

Please keep in mind that this guide was made as of iOS 14, and the process may be subject to change for future updates.

While Apple has now included more font options, to install fonts with iPhone and iPad you will have to use third-party applications. We'll be going over some of the other options at the end of the tutorial.

What You'll Need

iPhone or iPad with iOS 13 or later.
iFont (a third-party app to load our fonts)
Brownie Quest (or any font file you wish to use)

For our method, we'll be using iFont, which is a free app that will let us not only find fonts on the web, but also install custom fonts just like we would on a desktop OS.

We'll also be using the Brownie Quest font from Envato Elements. Of course, you can also use any font available to you! You'll want to make sure your font is in a place where you can access it through your iPhone or iPad. How to get fonts on your iPhone or iPad is really up to you—I would suggest using iCloud if you're not sure.

Brownie Quest

Before we get started with installing our font, it's a good idea to find your font area in the Settings. You'll see how to do that next.

1. How Do I Find the Font Settings on an iPhone?

Step 1

Before we cover how to get different fonts on an iPhone, let's start off by opening the Settings app. The icon looks like a set of gears.

Step 2

Once the settings are open, scroll down and select General.

Step 3

Then select Fonts.

Step 4

And then you'll be presented with this rather curious notice.

So what's all this about? As the notice suggests, there is no built-in app which will install fonts to your iPhone. So how do you change the font on an iPhone?

We can install and use third-party apps which will let us install fonts to our iPhone and iPad. Let's go over one app and the technique that we can use to install fonts.

Keep note of this area for later so we can check our installed fonts!

2. How Do I Find the Font Settings on iPad?

Step 1

Finding the font settings is a similar experience on iPad. To start off, open the Settings app. The icon looks like a set of gears.

Step 2

Once you have opened Settings, scroll down to the General section.

Step 3

From here, select Fonts.

Step 4

At this point, you will be presented with this notice.

As we mentioned earlier, there is no built-in app which will install fonts to your iPhone or iPad. We can, however, install and use third-party apps which will let us install fonts to our iPhone and iPad.

Keep note of this area for later as some of the techniques we cover make use of this area once we've installed some fonts. You'll also want to keep note of this if you want to download fonts to iPad.

3. How to Install Fonts on iPhone

Step 1

We'll be using Brownie Quest, a wonderful font you can find on Envato Elements. Of course, you can use any font you wish!

Before you get started here, you'll also have to ensure that your font file is located somewhere where your iPhone can access the file. This can be on your cloud drive or on your phone's hard drive. Use your preferred way to store files here; you'll need to locate those font files in the coming steps.

We'll be using an app called iFont. You can find iFont by going to the App Store and searching for "iFont". The page on the App Store should look something like this!

Step 2

Go ahead and download and install the app to your device. The great thing about this particular app is that you can use it both to find fonts and to install existing fonts.

Once you've installed the app, go ahead and open it up! You should be able to find it on your home screen, where you usually find newly installed apps. Once it's open, you will find a variety of different options and settings. There are some paid premium options, but for this tutorial, everything we need is free to access.

The main page of iFont should look a little something like this!

Go ahead and select the Find Fonts to Install button near the bottom to find out how to add fonts to iPhone.

Step 3

From here, you can choose different sources. If you choose Google Fonts or one of the other methods, you'll also see options here that can help you download fonts on your iPhone. In our case, however, we want to install a custom font from our own files. You'll be able to use what you learn here to figure how to download fonts on iPhone later!

Next, go ahead and select Open Files.

Step 4

Now you'll be presented with a dialog window. Find and locate your font. How to get fonts on your iPhone is really up to your personal preference. You can use iCloud, or if you downloaded the font online, you can simply access it directly from your iPhone or iPad. In my case, I placed my fonts in a Fonts folder on my iCloud account.

Browse to find your font and then press the font file. This is how to add fonts to iPhone.

Step 5

To see the installed fonts, we'll have to go back to the main page.

On the bottom left, select the Installer button.

Step 6

Go ahead and press Install next to the font you just selected.

Step 7

You will now be presented with this page. As you can see, it includes detailed instructions on how to allow the app to access font settings and install fonts. You'll have to follow this process for each font you want to install.

Go ahead and press Allow.

Review Instructions for How to Add Fonts to iPhone

Step 8

Once you click Allow, the profile will be downloaded, and you will be given a notice.

Go ahead and press Close.

Step 9

Now go to the Settings app, and you should see the option Profile Downloaded. If you do not see this option, repeat steps 6, 7, and 8.

Then click Profile Downloaded.

Step 10

Now you are presented with the Install Profile for the font.

Go ahead and press Install.

Step 11

Once you press Install, you will have to input the passcode for your device. Enter the passcode, and then you will be given this warning that the profile is not signed.

Go ahead and press Install.

Step 12

Now the profile for the font is installed!

Now you can press Done to finish.

Step 13

Now we can check if our configuration file was successfully installed.

Go to Settings > General > Configuration Profiles.

Now you know how to install fonts on iPhone.

You can also check out installed fonts in the Fonts area of your general settings. Check out the first part of the article if you need some visual aid! You should now have a good understanding of how to use fonts on iPhone.

Check Profiles of Downloaded Fonts to iPhone

4. How to Install Fonts on iPad

Step 1

As mentioned at the start, we'll be using the Brownie Quest font from Envato Elements. You are free to use any font you wish, though!

Before you get started here, you'll also have to ensure that your font file is located somewhere where your iPad can access the file. This can be on your cloud drive or on your iPad's hard drive. Use your preferred way to store files here; you'll need to locate those font files in order to add fonts to iPad.

We'll be using an app called iFont. You can find iFont by going to the App Store and searching for "iFont". The page on the App Store should look something like this!

Step 2

Download and install the app on your device. The great thing about this particular app is that you can use it to both find fonts and learn how to download fonts on iPad.

Once you have installed the app, go ahead and open it up! You should be able to find it on your home screen, where you usually find newly installed apps. Once it's open, you will find a variety of different options and settings. There are some paid options, but for this tutorial everything we need is free to access.

The main page of iFont should look a little something like this! Select the Find Fonts to Install button at the bottom of the left column.

Step 3

From here, you can choose different sources. If you choose Google Fonts or one of the other methods, you can actually find and download new fonts. In our case, however, we want to install a custom font from our own files.

As you can see, there are options which give us the opportunity to download fonts to iPad, but we're going to focus on our custom font.

Next, select Open Files.

Step 4

Now you'll be presented with a dialog window. Find and locate your font. You can use iCloud, or if you downloaded a font online you can simply access it directly from your iPhone or iPad. In my case, I placed my fonts in a Fonts folder on my iCloud account.

Browse to find your font, and then press the font file.

Step 5

To see the installed fonts, we'll have to go back to the main page.

On the bottom left, select the Installer button.

Step 6

Go ahead and press Install next to the font you just selected.

Step 7

Go ahead and press Allow.

Review Instructions for How to Add Fonts to iPad

Step 8

Once you click Allow, the profile will be downloaded, and you will be given a notice.

Go ahead and press Close.

Step 9

Now go to the Settings app, and you should see the option Profile Downloaded. If you do not see this option, repeat steps 6, 7, and 8.

Then click Profile Downloaded.

Step 10

Now you are presented with the Install Profile for the font.

Go ahead and press Install.

Step 11

Once you press Install, you will have to input the passcode for your device. Enter the passcode, and then you will be given this warning that the profile is not signed.

Go ahead and press Install.

Step 12

Now the profile for the font is installed! You can press Done to finish.

Step 13

Now we can check if our configuration file was successfully installed.

Go to Settings > General > Configuration Profiles.

You can also check out installed fonts in the Fonts area of general settings. You can find this at Settings > General > Fonts. Check out the first part of the article if you need some visual aid!

Check Profiles of Downloaded Fonts to iPad

Check Out Custom Fonts on Envato Elements

If you're looking for a place to find professional quality fonts, Envato Elements has a large collection of just about any type of font you can think of. Now that you know how to change font on iPhone and iPad, you can expand your collection. Check out some of these amazing fonts for iPad and fonts for iPhone.

1. Candice (Fonts for iPad and iPhone) (OTF, WOFF)

Candice is an elegant font that can work great for both logos and body text. It comes in a variety of different formats. Now that you know how to download fonts to iPhone, this could be a great choice if you're looking for a stylish sans-serif font. Try this out on your next design project on your iPhone or iPad!

2. Olivia Sand (Fonts for iPhone and iPad) (OTF, WOFF)

Olivia Sand is a great option for any design projects now that you know how to get different fonts on iPhone. The cursive text is a really personal touch. The pack also comes with high-quality flower images which fit perfectly with the font itself.

3. Cyber Brush - Brush Font RS (OTF, TTF)

Looking for a cyberpunk flair for a document on your iPhone? This stylish font is perfect for adding some flair to a header or adding a dramatic touch to an illustration. It includes both OTF and TTF file formats.

4. Lovebirds Font (Fonts for iPhone) (OTF, TTF, WOFF)

Check out this adorable bubble sans font. This is a great fit for a header that really stands out. Great for adding a bold yet airy flair to your next design project.

5. Keep Humble Font (Fonts for iPad) (TTF)

Check out this stylish brush font! Really add some flair to your titles or perhaps you could create a logo that really stands out. Try out this font on your next iPad project.

Adobe Creative Cloud

Another option you have for installing fonts is Adobe Creative Cloud. If you need access to your Adobe fonts, this is a great solution if you need to download fonts on iPad or install fonts on iPhone. However, with this method you can only install Adobe fonts. Another downside to this approach is that getting full access to Adobe's font library requires a subscription, so this isn't very convenient for those who don't already have one.

Other Third-Party Options

If you're looking for free solutions to quickly get access to some fonts, Font Diner, AnyFont, and iFont are great examples of apps that work. With these apps, you can install fonts by creating provisioning profiles for each font you want to install. It sounds complicated, but once you go through the process once, it's easy to understand. You can also use these apps to learn how to download fonts on iPad and how to download fonts on iPhone.

Conclusion

Once you've installed your fonts, you can use them in apps which support custom fonts. If you're wondering how to use fonts on iPhone or how to use fonts on iPad, then the answer largely relies on the app you're using. Pages is a good app to try out your new fonts! Your fonts will also be available in any third-party application that makes use of custom fonts.

Just a note that many built-in apps such as Mail and iMessage do not support custom fonts in this way. You will have to use apps specifically targeted towards them if you wish to customize their appearance.

As you can see, the process for installing fonts can be a little cumbersome, but it's not unmanageable once you've got it figured out. You can install just about any font you want using the method above. Then you are free to use all your fonts in certain apps. You can also use these third-party apps to browse and install fonts you don't currently have.

Looking for more tutorials and resources for designing with iPhone and iPad?

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