Why Your iPhone's Flashlight Isn't Working (And How To Fix It)

Remember when flashlights used to be entirely separate devices and not a built-in smartphone feature? Well, they still are, but since many people carry their phones around more often than a flashlight, there's a better chance you'll find yourself reaching into your pocket rather than digging through a drawer when you need to peek into dark areas.

And using the flashlight on your iPhone is extremely straightforward, to be sure. However, you might turn it on one day and find that the reappropriated camera flash isn't working properly. Thankfully, with how iPhones are built, your flashlight problems are more likely to be the result of a software hiccup rather than hardware failure.

The problem may not even be a glitch in the first place. When the flashlight icon is held down from the Command Center menu, it opens a slider that allows you to control the brightness. If you see the flashlight brightness slider on your screen, it's probably just on the lowest setting, and sliding a finger up the screen should increase the brightness (and turn the flashlight on). If you're not using the manual brightness adjustment feature, however...

Before attempting to restart or restore your iPhone for the sake of the flashlight, try these steps instead:

1. Swipe down from the top-right corner of the screen (the iPhone can be locked or unlocked) to open the Control Center, then tap the flashlight icon a few times to ensure it's not turning on.
2. If the flashlight isn't turning on, open the Camera app and tap the flash icon in the top-left corner of the screen to toggle the flash on and off — you may want to repeat this step a couple of times just to be sure.
3. Close the Camera app and test the flashlight again.
4. If you still can't turn the flashlight on, open the Settings app and select Control Center (below General).
5. Tap the Minus (-) sign next to Flashlight in the Included Controls section to remove the flashlight from Control Center.
6. Restart your iPhone and then return to the Control Center menu in Settings.
7. Swipe up to More Controls and tap the Plus (+) sign next to Flashlight to add it back to Control Center.
8. Re-open Control Center and tap the flashlight button to test the flashlight again.

At this point, your iPhone's flashlight should be up and running once more. If it still won't turn on, now is the time to try more drastic measures, such as erasing and restoring it or taking it to an Apple Store.