How to Fix iPhone Keeps Dimming Screen Brightness

Can’t figure out why your iPhone keeps dimming your screen brightness?

Many users have reported that their iPhone’s screen dims automatically. This can be annoying when using your device outside on a sunny day. 

There are various reasons for this behavior, including auto-brightness, night shift, or battery-saving features. 

Additionally, your iPhone’s screen can also dim when it is too hot. 

Today, we’ll show you what to do if your iPhone keeps dimming your screen brightness. 

Let’s jump right in!

1. Check Auto-Brightness. 

Auto-brightness is a feature that sets the optimal screen brightness of your iPhone depending on where you are. 

If enabled, it can dim your screen if it detects low levels of light sources in your location. 

Follow the steps below to disable auto-brightness: 

1. Open Settings on your iPhone. 
2. Next, scroll down and tap on Accessibility. 

3. Tap on Display & Text Size. 
4. Look for Auto–Brightness and disable the feature. 

Use your iPhone normally and see if the problem is solved. 

Related: How to Fix iPhone Proximity Sensor Not Working

2. Restart Your iPhone. 

You can try restarting your iPhone if your screen still dims automatically. 

This should reload your system resources and resolve any temporary errors that occurred during use. 

If you are using an iPhone X, 11, 12, 13, 14, or later, here’s what you need to do: 

1. Hold down the Volume Down button and Side button until the ‘Slide to Power Off’ prompt appears. 
2. Now, drag the slider to the right and wait for 30 seconds. 
3. Press the Side button afterward to turn on your device. 

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For older models, follow the steps below: 

1. Locate the Power button on your device. 
2. Now, hold the button until the ‘Slide to Power Off’ prompt shows up.
3. Drag the slider to the right and wait for 30 seconds before turning on your device. 

Once done, increase the brightness of your screen to check if the problem is solved. 

3. Turn Off Attention-Aware Features. 

This feature automatically detects when you are not looking at your phone and dims the display to preserve the battery. 

If you don’t want this behavior, disable Attention-Aware features on your iPhone. 

Here’s what you need to do: 

1. Launch Settings on your iPhone. 
2. Next, go to Accessibility. 

3. Open Face ID & Passcode. 
4. Find Attention–Aware Features and disable the option. 

5. Restart your iPhone. 

Use your iPhone with the screen brightness maxed out to see if the display will automatically dim. 

4. Turn Off Low Power Mode. 

Low Power Mode is a smart feature that helps you save battery life whenever possible. 

However, this can reduce the max brightness of your display when your battery is running low. If you need to brighten your display, turn off Low Power Mode in the meantime. 

Here’s what you need to do: 

1. Open the Settings app on your phone. 
2. Now, scroll down and tap on Battery. 
3. Tap the toggle switch beside Low Power Mode to turn it off. 

Set your phone’s brightness to the max and observe if it will automatically dim. 

5. Turn Off True Tone. 

True Tone is a feature on newer iPhone models that adjusts your display depending on the ambient light to make things appear natural. 

However, this feature can override your current brightness settings to adapt your display’s color to your environment. 

See the steps below to disable True Tone on your iPhone: 

1. Swipe downwards from the upper right corner of your screen. 
2. Now, hold down on the Brightness slider until you see the options menu. 
3. Tap on True Tone to turn it off. 

Observe if you’ll still encounter the issue on your iPhone. 

6. Disable Reduce White Point. 

Reduce White Point is another feature that adjusts your phone’s display to decrease the intensity of bright colors. 

This causes an effect where your screen appears darker/dimmer than usual. 

See the steps below to check if the feature is enabled on your iPhone: 

1. Navigate to Settings > Accessibility on your iPhone. 
2. Tap on Display & Text Size. 
3. Look for Reduce White Point and turn off the feature. 

Adjust your screen’s brightness to check if the problem is solved. 

Related: How to Fix iPhone Yellow Screen After Software Update

7. Update Your iPhone. 

Software-related issues can also cause your phone’s screen to dim automatically. 

To rule this out, check if there are updates for your iPhone and install them to patch bugs and errors. 

Follow the steps below to update your device: 

1. Open Settings on your iPhone. 
2. Navigate to General > Software Update. 
3. If there’s a new iOS version available, tap Download and Install. 
4. Once the new software is ready, follow the prompts to install the update. 

Max out your iPhone’s screen brightness and see if it will dim after several minutes. 

8. Let Your Device Cool Down. 

iPhones heat up during heavy workloads, and it could cause your screen to automatically dim. 

This is a safety feature that automatically enables when your phone reaches a certain temperature. 

Disabling this feature is impossible since it prevents hardware damage on your iPhone. 

If your iPhone feels hot, stop whatever you’re doing. Remove any case that can restrict airflow, or lay your phone near a fan to let it cool down faster. 

9. Visit the Apple Store. 

If none of the solutions above worked, we suggest visiting the nearest Apple Store to have your iPhone checked. 

You might be dealing with a hardware issue, and your iPhone’s display or sensors need to be replaced. 

Before bringing in your device, check if it’s still covered by warranty. 

If you had your iPhone for less than 14 days, you can ask for a replacement or refund if you purchased your device directly from Apple. 

That ends our guide on how to fix your iPhone if it keeps dimming your screen brightness. 

For your questions and other concerns, please leave a comment below, and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can. 

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