Low brightness, low power mode, low battery and overheating, camera app settings, dust buildup, and hardware damage can be attributed to the flashlight not working issue.
Hi, I’m Devansh. I use the in-built flashlight in my iPhone 13 quite often. In this article, I’ll first give you some basic troubleshooting steps which can get your iPhone’s flashlight working again, along with six in-depth reasons. Plus, I’ll also answer some common questions.
If your iPhone’s flashlight icon is either grayed out or just doesn’t work, keep reading!
Contents
First Steps
Before I talk about the six reasons, I recommend you implement these simple first steps. These might only take a couple of minutes, but they’re worth trying out to get the flashlight working again.
- Force restart your iPhone
- Update iOS in your iPhone
- Check if the iPhone case or an accessory is blocking the flashlight
In most cases, just going through these steps will do the trick. If these didn’t get your flashlight working again, don’t worry. Here are six possible reasons and corresponding solutions.
Possible Reason #1: Low Brightness
Did you know that you can adjust the brightness of the flashlight in your iPhone? It’s possible that you lowered the brightness by mistake. To increase it, open the Control Center by swiping down from the top-right corner of the screen (or swipe up from the bottom on an iPhone with a home button) and long-press on the flashlight icon.
You can increase the brightness level of the flashlight by dragging the slider up. If the flashlight icon isn’t visible or is grayed out in the Control Center, open the Settings app. Here, scroll down to Control Center and tap on Flashlight in the list. You can also add and remove it a couple of times to iron out any glitches.
Possible Reason #2: Low Power Mode
Low Power Mode can come in handy when you want to maximize your iPhone’s battery life. To achieve that, it disables several features of your iPhone. One of them is your iPhone’s flashlight. This could be why your iPhone’s flashlight is not working.
Although a pop-up to enable LPM appears once the battery level falls below 20%, it can also be enabled manually. Just check the battery status at the top-right corner of the screen. If it’s yellow instead of green, LPM is enabled.
To disable it, open Settings, go to Battery, and toggle off Low Power Mode. Now, try using your iPhone’s flashlight again. Learn more about Low Power Mode from this article.
Possible Reason #3: Low Battery and Overheating
When your iPhone’s battery is low on juice, iOS disables many features to keep it running as long as possible. If it is below 20% battery level at the moment, I recommend you connect it to a charger. Keep charging your iPhone until the battery level reaches 80% or above.
Moreover, the flashlight could also be disabled if the temperature of the iPhone is not between 32º to 95ºF (0º and 35ºC). When above or below these temperatures, your iPhone disables many features, which includes the flashlight. For steps to cool down your iPhone, check out this article.
Possible Reason #4: Camera App Settings
Since the LED flash is shared by the flashlight feature and the Camera app, there could be a conflict between the two. So, opening and closing the Camera app and tweaking the Flash settings could get your flashlight working again.
Open the Camera app and tap the flash button. You can also swipe up from the bottom and choose the flash icon. From here, you can toggle between Flash Auto, On, and Off a couple of times. Now, you can close the app and test whether the flashlight is working.
Possible Reason #5: Dust or debris buildup
Finally, it’s also possible that there’s a thick layer of dust or dirt above the camera and flashlight. To clean it up, use a dry microfiber cloth and rub it smoothly on the surface.
If you notice that there’s dust or debris inside the camera lens or the plastic cover of the flashlight, or if both appear misaligned in some way, that indicates a hardware issue. I would recommend you get in touch with Apple Support and consider service options.
Possible Reason #6: Broken Light
Last but not the least, it’s possible that your iPhone flashlight is not working because it’s been damaged or cracked. This could happen if it was dropped onto a hard surface, got liquid damage, or was stepped on. I would recommend you take it to a local repair shop or make an appointment with Apple Support.
FAQs
Here are some common questions related to the iPhone flashlight not working issue.
Can You Set Up Your iPhone Flashlight To Activate with Double Tap?
Yes! Open the Shortcuts app, tap the ‘+’ button and Add Action. From here, tap on Scripting, and select Set Torch under Devices. Now, modify the script from Turn to Toggle. After saving, head over to Accessibility in the Settings app and open Touch. Choose Double Tap, scroll down to the bottom to Shortcuts, and enable the Shortcut you created!
Now, you can just double tap at the back of your iPhone to toggle on or off the flashlight. In addition, you can also ask Siri to turn on or off the flashlight hands-free. You can say, ‘Hey Siri, turn on my flashlight.’
Can iPhone Flashlight Burn Out from Overheating?
No, that is unlikely to happen. Apple products generally have excellent build quality and the flashlight can last thousands of hours. It can only stop working if the battery dies out, if you physically break it, or there’s some software glitch. So, don’t worry if you need to keep using your iPhone flashlight for a long period, but be sure to keep an eye on the battery level.
Conclusion
Hopefully, your iPhone flashlight is working as intended! As I noted before, just performing simple actions like a force restart or updating iOS will probably solve it for most people. If it doesn’t work in your case, implementing the six above-mentioned solutions will help a lot too.
If it doesn’t, it’s best to get in touch with a technician through Apple Support. I wouldn’t recommend opening up your iPhone to diagnose and fix hardware issues since you can void your warranty and even damage your iPhone unknowingly.
Were you able to get your iPhone flashlight working again after applying these solutions? Feel free to let me know in the comments!
