Why Does My iPhone Keep Dimming? (All The Possible Solutions)

8 Ways To Fix iPhone Screen Too Dim, Dark To Read Even With Auto Brightness  Off

Why does my iPhone keep dimming you may be asking yourself frustratingly? Your iPhone display keeps getting dimmer and you don’t understand why it's doing this. Even after you increase the brightness, your iPhone just becomes dim once again.

We'll explain the reason why your iPhone keeps dimming in this article and offer a number of permanent solutions that turns off dimming with auto brightness and fixes the iPhone's brightness problem.

 

How To Turn off auto brightness features

If you want to stop your iPhone from dimming, you must disable Auto-Brightness. Go to Settings and go to Accessibility, tap Display & Text Size. After that, deactivate the switch next to Auto-Brightness.

Why Does the Screen on My iPhone Keep Dimming in the Sun

Apple warns that disabling Auto-Brightness may shorten the battery life of your iPhone. In essence, your iPhone's battery will discharge more quickly if you leave it on maximum brightness all day than if you leave it on minimum brightness. 

However, if you've been having issues with the display brightness, this is the first suggestion that we would recommend. After all, you can always swipe down and adjust the brightness manually.

And these days, you don't need to have the iPhone screen keep dimming, because the battery life is already great.

Why Does My iPhone Keep Dimming

Your iPhone dims frequently because Auto-Brightness is turned on most of the time. The Auto-Brightness feature on your iPhone automatically dims the screen's brightness based on the ambient lighting.

Auto-Brightness will dim your iPhone brightness at night when it's darker so your eyes won't be flooded by bright light and what you're viewing on the screen, especially if there is a white background.

When you're at the beach on a bright, sunny day, Auto-Brightness will typically turn up the brightness of your display so you can actually see what's going on there!

Why Does the Screen on My iPhone Keep Dimming in the Sun?

Have you noticed that the screen on your iPhone keeps fading in the sunlight? That is undoubtedly a reason for plenty of frustration. But you should also worry when this happens. This is because when the device overheats, which happens quickly when left in the sun, the light dims.

If your iPhone feels hot to the touch after being out in the sun, it needs to be properly cooled down.

Here are some ways to effectively cool down your iPhone.

  1. Remove any protective covering.
  2. Switch it off
  3. Use a fan to cool it down
  4. Put it in the shade or somewhere cool

Is Night Shift Turned On?

Your iPhone may appear to be dimming continuously for another common reason if Night Shift is activated. After using your iPhone at night, the Night Shift feature can help you fall asleep more easily by enabling a warm color display that disables blue light. Blue light may keep you from falling asleep, so we would recommend using Night Shift.

If you have scheduled Night Shift on your iPhone, it will activate automatically at the specified time. The switch next to Scheduled can be turned off to stop Night Shift from starting up automatically at specific times of the day.

If your iPhone has iOS 11 or a later version installed, you can also turn off Night Shift using the toggle on / off from Control Center.

Swipe down from the top right corner of the screen on an iPhone with Face ID or swipe up from the bottom of the screen on an iPhone without Face ID to access Control Center.

Is Night Shift Turned On

Press and hold the iPhone screen brightness slider once more. Toggle it on or off by tapping the Night Shift button after that.

Is True Tone Turned On?

Based on the ambient lighting, True Tone automatically adjusts the color of your iPhone's display. It's possible that such color adaptation is giving the impression that the display on your iPhone is becoming dimmer.

Go to Settings > Display & Brightness. Make sure the switch is turned off next to True Tone.

Deactivate Low Power Mode

A number of iPhone settings are changed by Low Power Mode to extend battery life. A feature of Low Power Mode is a decrease in screen brightness.

Make sure the switch next to Low Power Mode is off. You can find this if you go to Settings > Battery.

Deactivate Reduce White Point

Reduce White Point decreases the brightness of vivid colors displayed on the screen. Your screen gets darker when Reduce White Point is enabled.

Open Settings and go to Accessibility > Display & Text Size. Check to see if the switch is on, scroll to the bottom to Reduce White Point. To stop Reduce White Point from working, tap the switch if it's on.

Drag the slider all the way to the left if you want to keep Reduce White Point enabled. The intensity of vivid colors is diminished by moving the slider further to the right.

Turn Off the Always-On Display

The Always On Display is a new feature that is available on the iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max. This feature dims the Lock Screen on your iPhone while keeping some widgets and time widgets visible.

The Always On Display is essentially a perpetually-on, darker version of the Lock Screen. When switching to Always On Display, your iPhone 14 Pro or Pro Max may appear to keep dimming.

Low light zoom filter

Low-light zoom filter

Another clever setting on your iPhone allows you to significantly reduce the screen brightness. To ensure minimal eye strain when checking your phone in the dark, it is hidden in the accessibility zoom settings.

It's possible that you enabled iPhone Zoom by mistake and activated this feature, and now you're confused about why the iPhone screen keeps dimming. Here's how to see if this setting is active and, if it is, how to turn it off.

  • Select the "Settings" icon

  • Select "Accessibility," then "Zoom."

  • There are several options in this section, but you should choose "Zoom Filter."

  • Click "Low light."

My iPhone is still dimming!

Even after Auto-Brightness, Night Shift, and Low Power Mode have been disabled, your iPhone may still become dim. Your iPhone still dims either because of a hardware or software issue.

If your iPhone is still dimming, the procedures listed below will help you find a repair option and walk you through some simple software troubleshooting steps.

Restart your iPhone

Small software issues that could be causing your iPhone's display to dim can frequently be resolved by restarting the device. Depending on the model you have, here's how to restart your iPhone:

iPhones without Face ID: Hold down the power button while pressing it repeatedly until the words "slide to power off" appear.

Then, to turn off your iPhone, swipe the red power icon from left to right. Press and hold the power button once more until the Apple logo appears in the exact center of the screen to turn your iPhone back on.

iPhones with Face ID: Hold down the side button and either volume button at the same time until the words "slide to power off" appear on the screen.

Next, cross "slide to power off" with the red power icon by moving it from left to right. Press and hold the side button once more to turn your iPhone X or newer back on after a brief delay.

Is Your iPhone Hot?

When your iPhone gets too hot, the screen might dim. This is a safety feature included in the iPhone to help guard against hardware issues when your phone gets too hot.

Try setting your hot-to-the-touch iPhone down for a while in a shaded area to give it some time to cool down.

Update Your iPhone

Apple releases software updates on a regular basis to add new iPhone features and address problematic bugs and errors.

Go back to Settings and select General > Software Update. If a software update is available, select Download and Install.

Following the update, return to Settings -> Accessibility -> Display & Text Size and make sure Auto-Brightness is deactivated.

After updating iOS, this feature can occasionally be turned back on!

Backup Your iPhone

Make sure to save a backup of your iPhone before continuing. An iPhone backup is a copy of all the data on the device.

You should have a backup prepared in case our next step, a DFU restore, causes you to lose any data or personal information.

DFU Restore Your iPhone

The most thorough kind of iPhone restoration is the DFU restore. When you put your iPhone in DFU mode and restore, all the code is deleted and reloaded. This is the last action you can take to fully eliminate a software issue. 

Options for iPhone Repair

Your iPhone may be dimming due to a hardware issue with the display, though it's highly unlikely. If you have AppleCare+, make an appointment and take your iPhone to a nearby Apple Store.

If a repair is required, a Genius will be able to evaluate the damage and let you know.

Why Does My iPhone Keep Dimming FAQs

Why does the iPhone screen dim when the auto-brightness setting is off?

There are a number of other reasons why the iPhone screen keeps dimming. You can try these disabling these options: True Tone, Low Power Mode, and Night Shift. Additionally, make sure your device has the most recent iOS version installed and check for updates. The screen on your iPhone will automatically dim if it gets too hot to prevent hardware damage.

How can I stop my iPhone from dimming on its own?

Yes, you can prevent your iPhone from dimming by disabling auto brightness. You'll notice that when auto-brightness is enabled, the brightness slider on your device adjusts to the changing lighting conditions. Under Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size, you can enable or disable auto-brightness. Turning off and back on the auto-brightness feature will reset its settings.

How can I prevent my screen from randomly dimming?

Auto-brightness is the most frequent cause of screen dimming on Android devices. Your phone's auto-brightness feature will adjust the brightness in response to the surrounding light if it is enabled. Open the notification tray on your phone and disable auto-brightness to turn it off. If your phone has been left in the sun, it might be dimming with auto brightness to prevent overheating.

Is it a good idea to keep your phone's brightness at 100%?

You can choose to keep the phone's brightness at 100%. Although making that choice is entirely up to you, there are a few things you should keep in mind. The battery will be drained more quickly and the phone may overheat if the brightness setting on an iPhone is kept at maximum. Full brightness in a dim setting can also cause some eye strain or irritation. It's simple to use the manual brightness slider to manually dim the screen whenever you want.

About the Author
Daniel Luke
Daniel is a web designer and developer. He has been a developer for the last 10 years working with various WordPress themes that allows him to compare and contrast different themes, understand the strengths and weaknesses to develop factual, real-world reviews. He is also a mobile app developer and technology reviewer. Over several years, he has developed his own mobile apps, both on Android and iPhone. This hands-on specialisation in mobile and web development allows him to be an authoritative voices when it comes to technology reporting.

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