Many users have faced the frustrating issue of their iPhone flashlight not turning on. For example, you might have seen problems like your iPhone flashlight not working after an iOS update, the flashlight button grayed out, or your flashlight not turning on while the iPhone is overheated or locked.
So, how can you fix the flashlight and get it working again? Follow this troubleshooting guide to find out.
1. Charge Your iPhone
If your iPhone’s battery is almost empty, the flashlight may not work. So, the first thing you should do when your iPhone flashlight is not working is to charge it.
Simply plug your iPhone to power. The flashlight feature should start working again once your iPhone has sufficient power.
2. Check Your iPhone Isn’t Too Hot
When your iPhone gets too hot, the flashlight may stop working. It’s not advisable to continue using an overheating iPhone. If your device exceeds a particular temperature limit, it will eventually shut down until it cools off. You’ll also see a warning appear on your screen if the temperature gets too high.
To allow your device’s temperature to drop naturally, place your iPhone in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight. Do not attempt to put your device into the fridge, though, as this will cause damage to it. Just find somewhere that’s naturally cool and shady. Once your device cools down, your iPhone flashlight should start working again.
3. Close the Camera app
If your phone’s camera app is open, the flashlight won’t be able to take control of the LED.
Swipe up and hold on the center of the screen, then swipe up to close the Camera app.
4. Turn On Your Flashlight Using the Camera Flash
If your iPhone flashlight won’t turn on from the Control Center, a workaround is to turn it on in the Camera app by activating the flash function. Here’s how:
In the Camera app, go to Video mode.
Swipe up from the bottom menu (on the word, Video) to bring up more options.
Tap the Flash icon. Select On.
5. Toggle the Flash in Your iPhone’s Camera App
To get rid of glitches that stop your iPhone flashlight from working, you can also try turning your camera flash on and off. The steps are the same as the workaround to turn on your iPhone’s camera flash, as discussed in the previous solution. But instead of leaving the Flash set to On, toggle between On and Off a few times.
6. Ask Siri to Turn On Your iPhone’s Flashlight
If your iPhone flashlight is not showing up, you can use Siri to enable it. Siri can help you turn on your iPhone flashlight even if the icon is grayed out.
Activate Siri by long-pressing the Side button on your iPhone or saying, "Hey Siri." When Siri starts listening, say, "Turn on the flashlight." Your flashlight should turn on instantly, and Siri will also say that it’s on now.
7. Update Your iPhone’s iOS
iOS updates usually come with fixes for performance bugs and various glitches. So, perhaps all you need to do to fix your iPhone flashlight is to update your iPhone to the latest version of iOS.
Go to Settings > General > Software Update to see if an update is available for your iPhone. Make sure your iPhone is charging or has more than 50% battery before you proceed with the update process.
8. Restart Your iPhone
If the above methods don’t solve the problem and your iPhone flashlight still isn’t working, the next step you should try is restarting your iPhone.
You can restart your iPhone by going to Settings > General > Shut Down > Slide to power off. Then, hold the Side button to restart your iPhone once it powers off.
9. Restore Your iPhone to a Previous Backup
Besides updating and restarting your iPhone, you can also try restoring your iPhone to a previous backup from when the flashlight was still working as usual. However, when you use this method, keep in mind that you will also lose any new data that was added to your device since you made that backup.
10. Reset All Settings on Your iPhone
If your iPhone torch still isn’t working, the last solution you can attempt is to reset your phone’s settings by going to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone. Tap Reset and choose Reset All Settings from the pop-up menu. You won’t lose any data from your iPhone; all this does is revert your iPhone’s settings to factory default values.
Take note that the reset process can take a long time, especially if you have a lot of data on your iPhone. So, if you’re stuck in the dark and urgently need a flashlight, don’t rely on resetting your iPhone right there and then!
Make sure you don’t accidentally choose Erase All Content and Settings from the Reset menu. Doing that would delete all the data on your device.
Effective Solutions When Your iPhone Flashlight Is Not Working
If you’ve been stuck wondering why your iPhone flashlight is not working, we hope this list of fixes has helped you resolve the problem effectively.
However, if the issue persists, it’s best for you to contact Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider. This is especially true if your iPhone flashlight is greyed out. A technician will then examine your device and determine the potential hardware repairs that are needed.
