Your iPhone display is too dark and you don’t know why. Even when you turn the screen brightness all the way up, your iPhone screen is still dark. In this article, I’ll explain why your iPhone screen is too dark and show you how to fix the problem for good!
Help! My iPhone Screen Is Too Dark!
There are two Settings that can cause your iPhone’s screen to be too dark: Brightness and White Point. I’ll walk you through both and show you how to change both settings below.
I’ll also show you how to fix the problem if your iphone screen is very dark and the"brightness" is all the way up.
Note: If you can’t see anything on your iPhone’s display, check out our article on how to fix iPhone black screen issue. If it’s really, really dim, read on.
1. Check Your iPhone’s Brightness Level
You can check your iPhone’s screen brightness using the Control Center or the Settings app.
To make your iPhone screen brighter, do one of the following:
- Open Control Center, then drag the Brightness button up.
- Go to Settings > Display & Brightness, then drag the slider.
2. Check Your iPhone’s White Point Settings
The display on your iPhone, like most displays in your home, has a white point, which refers to the color temperature of the white that your display produces. The white point setting affects how all colors on your display appear: a higher white point produces a cooler, blue-ish white, while a lower white point gives you a warmer, yellowish white.
How does that affect your iPhone’s brightness? If you reduce your display’s white point, you also reduce the intensity of bright colors, which makes your display more dim by default.
My iPhone Is Too Dark But Brightness Is All The Way Up! Here’s The Fix:
- Go to Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size.
- At the bottom of the screen, you’ll see the option called Reduce White Point. If the setting is turned on (the slider is green), turn it off by tapping the slider to the right of the option. The brightness level of your screen should then return to normal.
More Troubleshooting For Dark iPhone Displays
1. Try Turning Off Auto-Brightness
Yes, this may seem a bit obvious, but you should make sure that you have automatic brightness disabled in your settings. The feature is pretty self-explanatory — it automatically adjusts your brightness depending on the light in your environment. If you do not want your iPhone to automatically dim, turn off Auto-Brightness. Here is how:
- Go to Settings > Accessibility > Displays & Text Size.
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- Turn off Auto-Brightness.
If your brightness continues to automatically adjust, there’s another setting you need to disable.
2. Turn off True Tone
If you have an iPhone SE (2nd gen) and later, the True Tone feature measures the color temperature and brightness in your environment and then adjusts its display to match it. True Tone is useful when you want it — it not only helps show more accurate colors across various lighting situations, but it’s also easier on the eyes, which you need if you’re constantly reading on your phone.
Again, if you don’t care about the feature, don’t use it or are simply annoyed that your brightness continues to automatically adjust, you need to disable it. Here’s how:
- Go to Settings > Display & Brightness.
- Turn off True Tone.
3. Don’t let your iPhone overheat
Your iPhone has several ways of protecting its internal components, and that includes automatically dimming your display. Even if you have both auto-brightness and True Tone turned off, if your iPhone is overheating, it will automatically adjust the display intensity.
According to Apple, to help prevent this from happening, you should use your iPhone in temperatures between 32 to 95 degrees F (zero and 35 degrees C) and store it in temperatures between 4 and 113 degrees F (between minus 20 and 45 degrees C). If you leave your iPhone in your car or on the sidewalk on a hot day, or even if you try to use it by the pool or beach on a hot day, there’s a good chance that it will overheat and cause your display to automatically dim.
Overheating doesn’t occur only because of a sunny day. A faulty battery can also cause your iPhone to overheat: Go to Settings > Battery > Battery Health and check if your battery needs to be replaced.
4. Make Sure Zoom Isn’t On
The Zoom feature has a hidden filter which can make your iPhone display darker than you’re able to with the Brightness slider. If you recently used the Zoom feature and left it on accidentally, it may be the reason why your iPhone screen is too dark! To turn off Zoom, follow the steps below:
- Go to Settings > Accessibility > Zoom.
- Tap to turn Zoom off.
5. Restart
Simply restart your iPhone. Here is how you can restart your iPhone:
- iPhone X and later: Press and hold the volume up (or down) and the side buttons together until the power off screen appears. Then drag the slider. Wait for your iPhone to turn off fully. Then press and hold the side button until the Apple logo appears.
- Other iPhone models: Press and hold the power button (side or top) until you see the power-off screen. Then slide the slider. Wait for your device to turn off. Press and hold the power button again to turn it on.
6. Update
Another reason why your iPhone screen is too dark could be buggy software. Ensure that your iPhone has the latest version of iOS. You can update your phone by going to Settings > General > Software Update.
7. Reset all settings
If your iPhone’s screen is still too dim, try resetting all settings. This will erase all of the settings, returning them to the defaults. This will not delete your data such as your photos, apps, etc. To reset all settings, go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Reset > Reset All Settings. Then follow the onscreen instructions.
8. Repair Your iPhone
If your iPhone’s screen is still too dark after trying the above solutions, it’s time to consider repair options. It’s more likely than not your iPhone is experiencing a hardware problem, or has a manufacturing defect.
We highly recommend taking your iPhone to Apple, especially if it is still covered by AppleCare+. Apple provides support online, over the phone, through the mail, and in-person. Make sure to set up a Genius Bar appointment before bringing your iPhone into a physical Apple Store, otherwise you could spend several hours waiting for help!
iPhone Brightness, Restored!
You’ve fixed the problem with your iPhone, or you’re prepared to get it repaired by Apple. Make sure to share this article on social media to teach your friends what to do when their iPhone screen is too dark! Leave a comment down below if you’ve found any other fixes for this problem.