Download Auto-Brightness Not Working on iPhone? 8 Ways to Fix It (2022) for free
Automatic brightness has long been a remarkable iOS feature. Equipped with an ambient light sensor, iPhone automatically adjusts the screen brightness to match your current lighting conditions. For example, when you go to a dark location, the sensor will detect that and lower the screen brightness. And when you move to a brightly lit room, it boosts brightness for an enhanced viewing experience. Not only that, this feature also reduces unnecessary battery consumption. That said, it’s not always perfect. Sometimes the sensor cannot read the environment correctly, causing the screen to either be too dim or too bright. But don’t worry if you face auto-brightness issue on your iPhone, because here are some helpful tips to help you fix auto-brightness feature not working on iPhone.
Fix Auto Brightness Not Working on iPhone (2022)
What Causes Auto-Brightness Not Working Issue on iPhone?
There are several reasons that can cause auto-brightness to stop working on your iPhone. For example, the problem may be due to a defect or crack screen protector, dust clogging the ambient light sensor, or a cheap third-party iPhone screen replacement. Besides all these reasons, a miscellaneous software bug can always cause the ambient sensor to fail and auto brightness not working issue on your iPhone.
Top Tips to Fix Auto-Brightness Not Working on iPhone
1. Clean the notch area of the iPhone
The first thing to do to fix the malfunctioning environmental sensor on your iPhone is to clean the area around it. The built-in ambient light sensor is located at the top of the iPhone’s screen in the True Depth Face ID camera system (also known as the notch). YOU can use a soft lint-free cloth to clean the screen to make sure there is no gunk on/around the sensor.
If a dirty ambient light sensor was the cause of the auto-brightness issue on your iPhone, it should now be fixed.
2. Enable/Disable Auto Brightness
Sometimes a soft reset is all you need to fix the auto-brightness issue on your iOS device. So be sure to try this simple yet efficient trick. Here’s what to do:
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone and navigate to Accessibility -> Screen and Text Size. Now scroll down and enable the “Auto brightness” switch.
- After that, reboot your iPhone and navigate to the same settings page in the above step. Then, turn on the auto brightness switch again.
3. Hard reset your iPhone
Deleting random cache and temporary files often fixes a hard reset common iOS issues causing software features like auto-brightness may not work as intended on your iPhone. So make sure you try this handy hack too.
- On iPhone 8 or later: Press and quickly release the volume up button. Then press and quickly release the volume down button. Then press and hold the Power button until you see the Apple logo on the screen.
- On iPhone 7/7 Plus: Press and hold the Power button and the Volume Down button at the same time until the Apple logo appears on the screen.
- On iPhone 6s/6s Plus or earlier: Press and hold both the Home button and the Power button until the Apple logo appears on the screen.
4. Remove the screen protector
None of the solutions above helped to fix the auto-brightness issue on your iPhone? Try removing the screen protector. Not many screen protectors come in laser-cut dimensions (especially the cheaper ones). If the problem persists, there is a possibility that it is due to your screen saver.
After you remove the screen protector, check if the screen brightness is automatically adjusted according to the lighting conditions of your environment. If so, your screen protector and not your iPhone was to blame. And if you’re looking for a new screen protector, check out the best screen protectors for iPhone 13 and iPhone 12 lineup here.

5. Try to disable Night Shift
If the auto-brightness issue is not solved on your iPhone, we recommend that you disable Night Shift as the next reliable solution. It may interfere with the auto-brightness function. For the uninitiated, Night Shift automatically shifts the colors of your iPhone’s screen toward the warmer end of the color spectrum at night.
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone, navigate to Display & Brightness -> Night Shiftand enable the “Switch on manually until tomorrowswitch. The iPhone screen should now revert to cooler color tones and the auto-brightness not working issue should be resolved.

6. Buy an Original iPhone Display Replacement
If you recently had your iPhone screen repaired by an unauthorized service provider, make sure that the screen is not causing the problem. Many times, third-party iPhone screens (especially the dual ones) prove to conflict with things like: Face ID (which stops it working), True Tone and Auto Brightness. So contact your service provider for information about the display and ask if they can use an original one if necessary.
7. Reset all settings on your iPhone
If nothing seems to work so far, try clear the existing settings and factory reset them all on your iPhone. This workaround comes in handy when dealing with complex iOS software issues. So we will rely on it to solve the frustrating auto-brightness issue on our iPhone.
- In iOS 15 or later: Open Settings app on your iPhone -> General -> Transfer or Reset iPhone -> Reset -> Reset All Settings.

- In iOS 14 or earlier: Navigate to the Settings app on your iPhone -> General -> Reset -> Reset All Settings.
8. Update software on your iPhone
Given the bugs that have been recent iOS updates, you should never rule out the possibility that a software bug is causing the ambient light sensor to stop working as intended. If so, it might cause the auto-brightness feature on your iPhone to go haywire. Therefore, if auto-brightness continues to misbehave on your iPhone, update the iOS software.
- Go to the Settings app on your iPhone and navigate to General -> Software Update. Then download and install the latest version of iOS without any problems.

[Fixed] Auto-brightness issues on iPhone
It actually is! Is the auto-brightness feature back to normal on your iOS device? I hope that one of these eight solutions has helped you solve this frustrating problem on your iPhone. Let us know the trick that helped you solve this problem. And if you know of any other efficient hacks or workarounds that can help fix the auto-brightness issue on iPhone, be sure to mention them below.