My iPhone Screen Is Too Dark! Here’s The Brightness Fix.

You look down at your iPhone and it’s so dark that you can barely see the screen. Is the brightness too low? Maybe — but maybe not.

In iOS 14, there are two settings on your iPhone that can cause the screen to go almost completely dark, not just the brightness setting we’ve been using for years. In this article, I’ll show you what to do if your iPhone screen is too dark to see and how to make your iPhone brighter, even if the brightness level is all the way up. 

Help! My iPhone Screen Is Too Dark!

Prior to iOS 10, there was only one Brightness setting on your iPhone. Now 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.

Note: If you can’t see anything on your iPhone’s display, check out our article called My iPhone Screen Is Black! to learn how to fix it. If it’s really, really dim, read on.

1. Check Your iPhone’s Brightness Level

You can adjust the brightness of your iPhone in Control Center. If you have an iPhone X or newer, swipe down from the upper right-hand corner of the screen. If you have an iPhone 8 or older, swipe up from the very bottom of the screen. Look for the vertical brightness slider and slide one finger up to increase the brightness of your iPhone.

use brightness slider in iphone control center

You can also adjust display brightness in Settings. Open Settings and tap Display & Brightness. Drag the slider under Brightness to the right to increase the brightness of your iPhone.

adjust iphone brightness in settings

If your iPhone is still too dark, it’s time to look at a new setting that Apple introduced with iOS 10: Reduce White Point.

2. Check Your iPhone’s White Point Settings

Reduce White Point is an Accessibility setting on iPhones that reduces harsh colors and makes your the screen noticeably dimmer. Accessibility settings are designed to make it easier for someone with a disability to use their iPhone. Problems occur when Accessibility settings get turned on accidentally or by a mischievous friend.

My iPhone Is Too Dark But Brightness Is All The Way Up! Here’s The Fix:

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Tap Accessibility.
  3. Tap the Display & Text Size.
  4. Look at the bottom of your screen and find the option labeled 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.

iphone reduce white point

More Troubleshooting For Dark iPhone Displays

1. Try Turning Off Auto-Brightness

Your iPhone has an Auto-Brightness setting automatically adjusts the brightness of the screen to give you the most ideal level based on surrounding light. Sometimes this setting can be a bit unhelpful as it’ll adjust the brightness to a level that’s too bright or too dark.

To turn off Auto-Brightness, open Settings and tap Accessibility -> Display & Text Size and turn off the switch next to Auto-Brightness.

turn off auto brightness on iphone

Keep in mind that turning off Auto-Brightness can make your iPhone’s battery drain faster. If you plan to turn off Auto-Brightness anyway, check out our other article for several iPhone battery-saving tips.

2. Make Sure Zoom Isn’t On

If you recently used the Zoom feature in Settings -> Accessibility -> Zoom and left it on accidentally, it may be the reason why your iPhone screen is too dark! Using the Zoom setting, you can actually make the iPhone display darker than you’re able to with the Brightness slider.

3. Reset All Settings

If your iPhone’s screen is still too dim, go to Settings -> General -> Transfer Or Reset iPhone -> Reset -> Reset All Settings. to eliminate the possibility that something in the Settings app is causing your iPhone’s screen to be too dark.

reset all settings ios 15

This reset restores everything in the Settings app to the factory defaults. It’ll be as if you were opening the app for the very first time. You’ll have to set up your wallpaper again, reconnect your Bluetooth devices, reenter your Wi-Fi passwords, and more.

4. DFU Restore Your iPhone

A DFU restore is the deepest kind of restore you can do on an iPhone. If your iPhone’s screen is still too dark, a DFU restore is the last troubleshooting step you can take before exploring repair options. This special type of restore wipes both software and hardware settings, so make sure to back up your iPhone, and then follow our DFU restore guide to give it a try.

4. Repair Your iPhone

If after following all of these steps you find that your iPhone’s screen is still dark, it may be time to repair your iPhone. Check out my article about the best places to get your iPhone for repaired for a list of the most reliable repair sources.

iPhone Brightness, Restored!

You’ve fixed the problem and your iPhone is bright enough to see again. Make sure to share this article on social media with your friends, family, and followers. Leave a comment below about which solution worked for you!

About Author

I'm Andrew Kunesh, a technology writer and IT professional from Chicago. My goal is to help you fix the many errors and problems your Apple devices may face. Thanks for checking out our work!

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Stephanie
1 year ago

Thank you, it was driving me nuts. It was zoom. I am truly greatful for this info.

Kathi west
1 year ago

Yea! Swiped up…worked perfectly! Thank you!

Nad
1 year ago

Thank You. Turning off my Zoom did it.
a massive thanks. I’ve been into two Apple stores with no luck.

Charles
1 year ago

Thank you! I went through each of your suggestions. Turning off Auto Brightness worked for me. Took a minute to readjust but it worked! My phone was so hard to see outside in the sun.

Adrienne
2 years ago

Thank you for posting this article Andrew. Solution #3 worked for me. After dropping my iPhone yesterday the screen kept going dark in a well-lit area. Resetting all settings seems to have done the trick. Thanks again!

Keren
2 years ago

Was the zoom setting! Tried so many times to sort it but to no avail. Thank you!

Susanna
2 years ago

Turning off Reduce White Point in Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size did it for me. THANK YOU! I worried that my phone was dying.

SherryB
2 years ago

THANK YOU!!!

Pat
2 years ago

You are a legend,
been trying for weeks to find out was was wrong and it is was the zoom was still on, fantastic article?

Wendy
2 years ago

Thank you! Zoom was the issue. I can see again!

Axel
2 years ago

iPhone 13 Pro Max: Turning the “Reduce White Point” off fixed my problem. Thanks !!!

Carol
2 years ago

Thank you. This was so frustrating and am so glad it’s back to normal. No one liked using my phone (including me) and I had just bought it six months ago. Again, thank you.

Guy Hodgson
2 years ago

I tried all these and had no success but then I noticed an option to choose a filter in the zoom menu and found that I had inadvertently selected low light mode. Removing this solved the problem; I just wish that I had discovered this before resetting my Home Screen and giving myself the chore of putting it back to the way I like it… I suppose I should be glad that I didn’t reset everything.

Ron
2 years ago
Reply to  Guy Hodgson

Thank you so much. This was my issue as well. Thank god I didn’t reset my phone

Steve
2 years ago

It was my Zoom enabled that caused me so much pain and suffering on many beaches. Thank you so much!

20 other websites I checked never suggested the Zoom setting was the issue.

Anne Marie
2 years ago

Great! The White Point worked! I was so anxious about having to deal with the Apple Store.
Thank you!

Buzz
2 years ago

I tried all of these but no joy. Then, I found another article saying check the Zoom filter and set it to None. Bingo! Back to normal. You should add this to your article.

Dane
2 years ago

Thank you so much. Thought I was loosing my sight. Nope, just had to reset my iPhone. You rock!

JoAnn M Lakes
2 years ago
Reply to  Dane

I’m probably much older than you but I also thought it was me!!!

Mark P. Henry
2 years ago

This actually helped unlike most of the internet. My issue was w/zoom. Who knew that would affect brightness, thank you!

Nancy
2 years ago

Can’t see the screen at all to try any fixes!

Liz
2 years ago

Thank you very much. That was very helpful.

Fred
2 years ago

Thank You! For me it was the ‘Zoom’ thing. I switched it off and the brightness immediately went to max. The Zoom is annoying anyway, so I’ve turned it off now for good.

Chan
2 years ago

THANK YOU! The white point was exactly the problem.

Margaret Sandbach
2 years ago

Thank you. My screen is now bright.

Simone Emile
2 years ago

Got a recent iPhone 12 Max that keeps dimming when by the pool. None of these solutions worked for me. What to do?

Jo S
1 year ago
Reply to  Simone Emile

Did this ever get this fixed? If so, how? My iPhone 12 mini screen goes very dim when it’s in brightly lit environments like on the windshield navigating directions, etc. and I am not able to figure out why. These article suggestions are common fixes which will not help resolve my issue for some unknown reason.

David
2 years ago

Went to accessibility screen and fixed it there!

Oscar Cury
2 years ago

Thank you! It worked on an iphone 8 my brother gave me,

Admin
David Lynch
2 years ago
Reply to  Oscar Cury

You’re welcome! Glad to know this article helped you fix the problem.

Whitney Shea
2 years ago

Awesome, Andrew- thanks so much. Have a great day!

In Him,
Whitney

Rick
2 years ago

Another setting. Three finger double tap on screen. Select choose filter, none.

Larry Nickerson
2 years ago

Thank you. I must have hit something by accident and was amazed that my phone screen faded to black in a matter of seconds. I had to go through the steps and it resolved at step 4.

SmithinJapan
2 years ago

Thank you! None of the advice in the article fixed it, BUT the advice did lead me to a way that did. In the second step, the Reduce White Point step, it was already off. Alas… screen still dark. So, I tried turning it on, then reducing the 5% or whatever the setting was at when switched on to 0%, then when I turned off Reduce White Point the screen was brighter. So, I would add that even if your Reduce White Point is set to off you should turn it on, check that it’s at zero, and turn it… Read more »

natali
2 years ago

LIFE SAVER I HAD NO IDEA.
i’ve had zoom on for awhile and for some reason one morning the brightness was so low on my phone. it never got darker if i zoomed or anything but all of a sudden it did ? you are awesome thank you

Ayhan
2 years ago

Thank you so much, turning White Point off has helped me so much. Still cannot adjust to the iPhone after using a Honor(Huawei) phone. Those are so good. Got the latest iPhone as a gift though so here we go 🙂

Editor
Colin Boyd
2 years ago
Reply to  Ayhan

Glad we could assist with the transition! Enjoy the new phone!

Rebecca Sue
2 years ago

Thanks for helping me out of a dark screen scene!
I recently had enabled the zoom feature. Turned it off and my screen brightness returned!
thanks again!

Liam Shotwell
2 years ago
Reply to  Rebecca Sue

No problem! It happens more often than you might think. I’m glad we were able to help! ?

Magnus
2 years ago

What a relief! My screen problem is solved. Thanks!

Liam Shotwell
2 years ago
Reply to  Magnus

No problem! I’m glad we could help! ?

Phil
2 years ago

Solved a long-running annoyance- thank you

Marina
2 years ago

Thank you! I restored the brightness and saved my phone.

Patrick
2 years ago

Been battling with low brightness for ages whilst brightness has been on max and this has solved it. Genius.

Syverson Dian
3 years ago

Very helpful. The first suggestion worked. Thank you

Richard
3 years ago

your “Reduce White Point” solution returned my iPhone screen brightness to normal. Thanks for the solution / fix. I live in the Mojave desert and can now see my screen in bright sunlight. thank you, thank you, thank you.

Richard
3 years ago

My Apple Powerbook, which I purchased around 2013 or 14 does a normal POST, displays a normal screen and they suddenly goes BLACK SCREEN making the laptop useless. I went to an APPLE SMART (not so smart IMO ), tech ran a software diagnostic and declared the laptop normal with NO PROBLEM. The tech couldn’t find anything wrong and declared that I should pay $500.00 + to replace the entire mother board.
I’ve researched the problem and don’t find any useful information on my laptops problem. Do you have any recommendations on a fix ? ? ?
Thanks,
Richard Farrell

Liam Shotwell
3 years ago
Reply to  Richard

In my opinion you’re probably better off getting a new MacBook Pro. Although it might cost a bit more than the $500 to replace the motherboard on your current machine, you won’t have to pay a whole lot to get it repaired, especially if you get one with a warranty for the first year or two.

Jo S
1 year ago
Reply to  Richard

This happened to me I hope you’ve resolved this issue by now, but I simply replaced the backlights on my laptop myself. First I confirmed the issue using the flashlight technique on the black screen. I bought the led strips online super cheap. Save your money on a repair, always see if there are videos on your laptop issues.

Last edited 1 year ago by Jo S
Misc.
3 years ago

Thanks so much! It worked!

Ralph Ralphs
3 years ago

Tip #2 worked……barely because my screen was really dark. I was frustrated and near giving up.
I kept restarting phone and for a few seconds each restart it would be slightly mote illuminated.

Lyn Edwards
3 years ago

I tried both these tips, but managed to close the “Raise to wake” button and the light came back on.

Con
3 years ago

Great info. Only reset settings was required. . I was apprehensive to do so as I thought the content was going to be erased until I read this article. Thanks

Kelly Stone
3 years ago

Great article! It was my white point setting. Thank you!!

Joe
3 years ago

It was Accessibility, then Display & Text Size, then turn off “Reduce Transperancy.”

Joseph
3 years ago

White point – worked like a charm. Thanks!

Jennifer
3 years ago

This happened to me. It was a quick fix in Settings under Display & Brightness. Just disable truetone and enable again and my phone went back to normal.

JIM TROTTER
3 years ago

thanks a lot very helpful
why do apple updates give us features we don’t want which we then have to chase around to reverse ?

Dr Suresh
3 years ago

very helpful.