How to Disable Auto-Brightness on an iPhone

Have you ever noticed that when looking at your iPhone indoors, the screen automatically lights up if you go outside?

Apple introduced a new feature with iOS 11 called “Auto-Brightness”. A sensor placed near the earpiece detects changes in ambient lighting and automatically adjusts the brightness of your iPhone screen to counter these changes.

Auto-brightness also helps preserve your phone's battery life by dimming the brightness in the dimmer settings, which reduces power consumption.

Unfortunately, although this parameter can be useful, it is not always necessary. In this guide, we show you how to turn off your iPhone's auto-brightness feature.

Disable Auto-Brightness iPhone 10, 11 and 12 on IOS 14

Auto-brightness on your iPhone works well and is useful most of the time, but not all users appreciate this feature, especially when it dims while you are watching a video on your phone or playing a game on your iPhone. inside.

Apple has released several iPhone models and some variations in how settings are turned on and off. Take a look below to see how to turn off auto-brightness on an iPhone 10, iPhone 11, and iPhone 12 running iOS 14 software.

iPhone 10

Note: Keep in mind that iPhone 10 is also known as iPhone X.

1. Unlock your iPhone.
   
2. On the "Home" screen, locate your "Settings" icon - Apple usually represents this with an icon that looks like a gray cog or gear.
   
3. Tap the "Settings" icon.
   
4. Once the menu opens, scroll down until you find the “Accessibility” option and click.
   
5. Next, scroll down the “Accessibility” menu until you find “Display & Text Size”. Tap this option.
   
6. In the menu that opens, look for the Auto-Brightness option. You will see a toggle next to this header. Slide the toggle to the left to turn off auto-brightness. If the toggle turns gray, you'll know the setting is disabled. If the toggle is green, the feature is enabled.
   
7. Exit the menus and return to your "Home" screen.
   

iPhone 11

1. Open and unlock your iPhone using your ID or password.
   
2. Locate the "Settings" icon (represented by a silver gear icon) and tap it.
   
3. In the “Settings” menu, select “Accessibility”.
   
4. Then scroll down until you find "Display and text size". Tap this option.
   
5. Navigate down the menu until you find the "Auto-Brightness" toggle. When this function is activated, it is displayed in green. To turn off "Auto-brightness", slide the toggle to the left. It should then turn gray, which means you have disabled the setting.
   
6. Go back to your "Home" screen.
   

iPhone 12

1. Make sure your iPhone is unlocked and go to your "Home" screen.
   
2. Locate the "Settings" icon. A gray cog or gear is the symbol Apple uses to represent this feature.
   
3. Tap "Settings" and navigate the menu until you find the "Accessibility" option, then tap it.
   
4. In the menu that opens, scroll down until you find "Display and text size". Select this option.
   
5. Scroll down until you find "Auto-Brightness". The green toggle indicates the feature is enabled. To disable this setting, slide the toggle to the left. It will turn gray.
   
6. Go back to your "Home" screen.
   

Once you disable this feature, your iPhone should remain at the brightness you set. If you want to re-enable the auto-brightness setting on your iPhone, go through these steps and slide the toggle to the right.

Disable Auto-Brightness iPhone 6, 7, and 8

If you have an iPhone 6, chances are you are running iOS 12. When Apple released iOS 13, they kicked off the iPhone 6 and iPhone 5s from the list of phones compatible with this new software.

However, if you have an iPhone 6s, iPhone 7, and iPhone 8, they are all compatible with the latest iOS 14 software. These different operating systems mean that how you turn off auto-brightness will be slightly different. Let's take a look:

iPhone 6 with iOS 12

1. Go to the "Home" screen of your iPhone 6.
   
2. Locate the "Settings" icon (represented by a gray cog or gear icon) and tap it.
   
3. In the "Settings" menu, find "General" and select it.
   
4. Scroll down until you find "Accessibility" and tap on it.
   
5. Next, choose the “Show Accommodations” option.
   
6. Scroll down this menu until you find "Auto-Brightness". Next to this option you will find a toggle which when enabled is green. To disable this feature, slide the toggle to the left. It will then turn gray. You can now return to your "Home" screen.
   

iPhone 7 and 8 with iOS 14

1. Open and unlock your iPhone.
   
2. On the "Home" screen, navigate to your "Settings" icon, which is depicted as an image of a gear. Tap this icon.
   
3. Scroll down until you find "Accessibility" and select that option.
   
4. Find "Display and text size" and tap it.
   
5. Then scroll down until you find "Auto-Brightness". If enabled, the toggle will be green. To disable "Auto-Brightness", slide the toggle to the left and it will turn gray.
   
6. Go back to your "Home" screen.
   

Disable Auto-Brightness on iPhone Camera

If you find that your iPhone camera automatically adjusts the brightness or darkness of your photos, chances are you have a feature on your iPhone called "Auto Exposure." This setting will change the exposure or brightness of your photo depending on the ambient lighting surrounding the image or person you want to capture.

While handy in some cases, this feature can make your subjects look overexposed. Here are the steps to disable “Auto Exposure”:

1. Unlock your iPhone.
   
2. Go to "Settings".
   
3. Under "Settings", select "Camera".
   
4. In this menu, disable the following three settings by sliding the toggles to the left: "Scene detection", "Lens correction" and "Smart HDR".
   
5. Return to the “Home” screen.
6. Launch your “Camera” app.
   
7. Aim your camera at the subject you want to photograph. Lightly press or touch and hold the screen. This will activate "AE/AF Lock", which locks your "auto exposure" and "auto focus". A small yellow bar with "AE/AF Lock" will appear at the top of the screen, which means that this function is activated.
8. Tap the down-facing arrow at the top center of the screen to bring up the manual camera settings, which will show up as icons at the bottom of your screen. From there, you can adjust the brightness to whatever level you want.

You can now take your photo.

Additional FAQs

Why does my iPhone brightness keep changing with auto-brightness turned off?

If you notice that your iPhone brightness changes even though your auto-brightness is off, it could mean that your device is overheating. The phone automatically dims the screen to regulate its internal temperature, causing the screen brightness to adjust.

Your iPhone may also have a feature called "Night Shift" enabled, which may affect your screen brightness. This feature will automatically adjust the color warmth of your screen based on the time of day. Again, this is designed to make your screen readable in various lighting conditions. You can disable Night Shift by following these steps:

1. Navigate to your "Settings" icon and tap it.

2. Scroll down until you reach "Display & Brightness" and select this option.

3. Find “Night Shift” and drag the slider to the left to turn it off.

4. Return to your "Home" screen.

Auto-brightness off

Turning off auto-brightness on your iPhone is relatively simple once you know how. Going through these steps multiple times will have you controlling your phone's brightness like a pro.

Now you can sit back and enjoy your phone's features and settings the way you like them.

Have you ever turned off auto-brightness on your iPhone? Did you use a method similar to those described in this guide? Let us know in the comments section below.