How to Fix iPhone Flashlight Not Working

The flashlight on an iPhone uses your camera’s LED flash to provide a reliable light source whenever you need it. Whether looking for your keys under the couch or walking to your car in the dark, it’s never more than a few taps away. But what happens when it isn’t working?

Don’t be left in the dark. Let this article illuminate the many ways that you can get your phone’s flashlight working again.

Check Your Charge

Your flashlight can be a major consumer of battery power, depending on its brightness. If you can’t activate your torch, be sure to check the charge left on your phone. If it’s too low, the flashlight feature may be temporarily disabled by your iPhone.

Disable Low Power Mode

Low Power Mode is an iPhone feature that enables you to save your remaining battery power by cutting all non-essential functions and features. While you should be able to switch on your torch in Low Power Mode, it may be disabled by your phone by mistake. Try turning off Low-Power mode and see if it’s the culprit.

Here’s what you need to do:

1. Open Settings and scroll down to Battery.
   
2. Make sure that Low Power Mode is toggled Off.
   
3. Test your flashlight to see if it works.
   

Check for Overheating

If your device is overheating, then as many functions as possible will be cut to prevent damage to your iPhone, including your flashlight. If you can’t turn on the flashlight, then check your phone for overheating. If things get too hot, a temperature warning will appear on your screen and you’ll temporarily be locked out of your phone while it cools off.

Close Your Camera App

Your camera and flashlight both make use of the LED flash. If your flashlight isn’t working, it may be because the camera app is on, even if it’s only running in the background. Follow these steps to close it:

1. In your Home Screen, either double-click your Home button (if you have one) or swipe up from the bottom of your screen. This will bring up the App Switcher menu.
   
2. Swipe through your currently open apps until you find Camera. Swipe up on the window to close the app.
   
3. Your camera app should now be closed. Check to see if your flashlight is working.

Test Your Flash

If facing problems with your flashlight, it may also be a good idea to check that the issue isn’t with the LED flash itself. You can try taking a photo or video in the Camera app with the flash enabled. To do this:

1. Open the Camera app by tapping the icon on the Home Screen or swiping left on your Lock Screen.
   
2. The Flash icon can be found in the very top-left corner of your screen. Give it a tap.
   
3. Take a photo or video and watch for the flash.
4. If the flash doesn’t work, then try toggling the Flash icon off and on a few times before taking another shot.

If that still doesn’t get your flash working, then inspect the LED for any signs of damage. If it appears broken, and you’ve tried all other software solutions, then it may be time to take your iPhone to an authorized reseller or trusted Apple repair store.

Use the Video Flash

If your LED flash is still working, then a temporary solution to your lighting problem could be to use the video flash. Simply take a video with the flash enabled, and it should act just like your flashlight. It’s not a perfect solution, but it’ll work in a pinch.

Adjust Your Flashlight Brightness

Another way to test your flashlight’s functionality is via the widget in your iPhone’s Control Center. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Depending on your iPhone model, swipe down from the top-right of your screen (if there’s no Home button), or swipe up from the bottom to bring up the Control Center menu.
   
2. Tap on the Flashlight icon.
   
3. If your flashlight doesn’t turn on, then press and hold the icon to bring up the flashlight brightness menu.
   
4. You’ll see five bars, each indicating a different level of brightness. The gray bar will switch the flashlight off. Make sure the flashlight isn’t on this setting.
   
5. Swipe up and down on the bars to change the brightness of the flashlight.
   

While iPhones without the Home button include a torch widget on their Lock Screen, pressing and holding this icon won’t bring up the brightness menu.

If your flashlight still won’t work, then it may help to remove the flashlight from the Control Center and re-add it again. Here’s how to do so:

1. Open Settings and tap Control Center.
   
2. Under the Included Controls group, you should see Flashlight. Tap the red minus next to it.
   
3. Select Remove and the flashlight should be removed from the Control Center.
   
4. To re-add it, scroll down to More Controls and select the green plus next to Flashlight.
   

Ask Siri

If you suspect that your flashlight buttons are giving you grief, then you can always bypass them and ask your virtual assistant Siri to do it for you.

1. Activate Siri, either via voice prompt (“Hey Siri,”) or by button and voice prompt. For iPhone 10 and later, this button will be the Side button. For older models and SE, it’ll be the Home button.
2. Tell Siri to Turn on the flashlight.
3. Your flashlight should activate, with Siri telling you “It’s on now.”

If Siri won’t work properly, be sure to check your battery level and network connection.

Update Your Firmware

Out of date firmware can cause software havoc in many ways. It could also lead to various phone features like your flashlight not working properly. If so, it may be time to check if your iOS needs an update.

1. In Settings, tap General.
   
2. Select Software Settings and your phone will check for possible updates.
   
3. If a new iOS is available for your device, tap Download and Install to begin the update process.
   

Restart Your Device

Rebooting your iPhone every now and then can be a great way to troubleshoot problems and to stop it behaving erratically. If things start acting up, it’s always a good idea to restart. A hard restart is a good way to properly close all running apps and features and start afresh. It won’t delete any data, so don’t be intimidated by the name.

To hard restart your iPhone, do the following:

1. Press the Power button, then the Volume Down button.
   
2. Quickly press and hold the Side button (even on phones with a Home button) for about 15 seconds.
3. Ignore the Slide to power off slider that’ll appear and keep holding the Side button until the screen goes completely black.
   
4. When the Apple logo appears, your phone will reboot.

Reset All Settings

If you’re looking for a more comprehensive solution to fix your flashlight, then why not reset the settings? While this option won’t delete any data on your phone, it will reset all settings, key bindings, shortcuts, and widgets to their original factory state.

1. Open Settings, then General.
   
2. Navigate down to Transfer or Reset iPhone.
   
3. Tap Reset, then select Reset All Settings from the popup menu.
   
4. Confirm your choice and all settings should reset.
5. Check to see if this has fixed your flashlight.

Let There Be Light

It’s better to turn on your iPhone’s flashlight rather than curse the darkness. However, when problems occur, remember that the two main culprits will either be the software or battery power. But with the right tips and tricks at your disposal, you’ll be able to light your way to fixing your flashlight in no time.

Has your iPhone flashlight ever malfunctioned? If so, how did you fix it? Let us know in the comments section below.