Your iPhone’s flashlight can be a lifesaver when it’s dark and you’re struggling to find something. But it can also be frustrating if it stops working.

Thankfully, there are some easy ways to get it back up and running on your device. Learn how to turn it on and off from Control Center, the lock screen and even Siri.

Control Center

The iPhone’s flashlight can be a lifesaver in dark situations. Whether you’re looking for something in your bag or trying to catch a late-night bus, it’s important to be able to turn the light on as quickly as possible. Thankfully, the Control Center has several features to help you use your flashlight more effectively.

To access the Control Center, swipe up from the bottom of the screen on an iPhone 8 or later, or tap the Control Center button on an earlier model. On an iPhone X, press the top right corner of the screen to open it.

One of the best things about Control Center is that you can customize the items within it. For example, you can add an item that you find useful and remove one that you don’t want to see every time you pull up the Control Center.

You can also change the order of the controls in the Control Center, or add new ones altogether. Just tap an item’s name to open it, then drag it up or down to move it in the right spot.

If you don’t like the order in which the items are listed, or you’d just like to change it completely, head to Settings > Customize Controls and select Edit. Once you’ve made changes, your list will be back in the order you prefer.

Another handy feature in Control Center is a hidden slider for the flashlight’s brightness. This is a great way to set the brightness of your flashlight without lifting your finger from the screen, and it lets you adjust the brightness level between four different levels.

You can adjust the brightness of the flashlight in Control Center by tapping on the flashlight icon and dragging a segmented bar up or down to change the brightness level. Alternatively, you can also ask Siri to make the flashlight brighter or dimmer. It’s a handy option, and you can even ask Siri to turn the flashlight off if you need it shut down.

Lock Screen

You’ve probably turned on the flashlight on your iPhone by accident. If you’re using your phone for work or in a dark place, it can be useful to have the flashlight on.

However, if you’re going for a hike or other outdoor activity, turning on the flashlight could drain your battery unnecessarily. So you might want to turn it off, or disable it altogether.

In iOS 16, the “Raise to Wake” feature was introduced, which automatically activates the device when you raise it without tapping it. This is an extremely convenient way to access your notifications, time, control center and other features.

But, if you’re not into having the flashlight on all the time, you can turn it off easily from the Lock Screen or Control Center. And you can also set up a shortcut to quickly switch it on or off, and even link it to a back tap gesture.

To do this, open the Settings app and select Control Center. From there, you’ll see the flashlight button in the bottom left corner of the Lock Screen.

From there, you can enable the torchlight or turn it off by tapping the flashlight button. If you want to adjust its brightness, tap the flashlight icon again.

If you’re using an iPhone X, XS, XS Max or XR, you can also use the flashlight icon to turn on or off the flashlight directly from the Lock Screen. It’s a much faster way to do this, and you can also adjust the brightness of the flashlight from the Lock Screen, too.

Shortcuts

If you’re on an iPhone 8 or later and running iOS 14, there’s a way to turn on the flashlight with just a few taps. You’ll need to create a Shortcut and link it to a Back Tap gesture, but it’s pretty cool and worth trying out.

First, create a shortcut in the Shortcuts app that will toggle the flashlight. It only takes about a minute to set up, and you can use it to turn on the light whenever you want.

Launch the Shortcuts app on your iPhone and tap “My Shortcuts.” Then, tap the plus sign at the top right corner of the screen to add a new action. When you’re done, name the Shortcut and give it a description.

After you create a shortcut, tap the “Turn” button to change the action from “Set Flashlight” to “Toggle.” Now, select the shortcut and give it a title, such as “Flashlight Toggle.” It will appear in your list.

Next, link the shortcut to a Back Tap gesture by going to Settings and selecting “Accessibility.” Choose “Touch” and then “Back Tap,” and either double or triple tap on the back of your phone to toggle the flashlight on and off.

Alternatively, you can bring up Siri to turn on the flashlight. You can say “Hey Siri, flashlight on” or “Hey Siri, flashlight off.” If Siri is disabled or unresponsive, pressing and holding the power button will wake it up after a second.

You can also turn on and off the flashlight from the Lock Screen. You’ll need to navigate through the Control Center to get there, but it’s a quick and easy option.

The shortcuts aren’t available for older iPhones, but you can adjust the flashlight’s brightness by adjusting its shortcut on your device’s Control Center. It’s a good idea to turn off the flashlight after using it, as it will continue to drain your battery life.

Settings

If you need to find your way in a dark place, the built-in flashlight on an iPhone 8 is a handy feature. Its LED light is powered by your device’s camera flash mechanism. If your flashlight isn’t working, however, there are a few things that you can do to get it to work again.

First, make sure that your device’s flashlight isn’t on its “Shut Down” setting. If it is, restarting your device will likely clear the issue.

Next, if the problem persists even after updating to the latest iOS version, there may be a hardware error on your device. This is best resolved by contacting an Apple Authorized Service Provider.

Once you’ve contacted an authorized Apple Service provider, they can perform a diagnostic test on your device to find out the cause of the problem. If it is determined that the problem is in the flashlight module, the technician can repair or replace it, depending on the model of your device.

Another possible issue could be that your device’s temperature has exceeded a certain limit, which could prevent the flashlight from working. If this is the case, you can try placing your device in a cool, shady spot to allow it to cool off naturally.

Finally, you can try performing a hard restart on your iPhone to reset the flashlight to working status. This should resolve the issue if your iPhone is under warranty or has been previously checked by an Apple Authorized Service provider for a hardware problem that may have caused it to stop working.