How to Instantly Turn your iPhone into a Flashlight
Turn on the iPhone Torch in just a few simple taps by following this easy to follow guide to enable the iPhone Flashlight.
All iPhones that Apple has manufactured starting with iPhone 4 have come a flash at the back of the phones, so that you can take incredible quality photos even when there is nearly no light on the subject. In recent iPhones, Apple has added a two-tone flash that gives you better colors for skin tones. But the flash at the back of your iPhone isn’t merely good for taking good photos or videos, it can also be used to repurpose your iPhone as a Flashlight. Here’s a handy guide to instantly turn your iPhone into a flashlight.
How to Enable the Flashlight Shortcut on iPhone in Control Center
As long as you’re running an updated version of iOS on your iPhone, you can enable a quick one-tap shortcut for the flashlight in the Control Center of your iOS device. Here’s how to make sure your flashlight shortcut on iPhone is enabled.
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
- Scroll down and tap on the ‘Control Center’ option, then on ‘Customize Controls’.
- If you don’t already see Flashlight under the ‘INCLUDE’ list, enable it by tapping on the green colored + sign next to the Flashlight control under the ‘MORE CONTROLS’ group.
- You have now enabled the Flashlight Shortcut on iPhone in Control Center.
With this, you can now instantly turn your iPhone into a flashlight, whenever you want. You don’t even need a flashlight app on iPhone. Let’s take a look at how to do this.
How to Instantly Enable Flashlight on iPhone from Control Center
Once you have enabled the Flashlight Shortcut above, it’s very easy to quickly enable the Flashlight on your iPhone. Here’s how:
- Follow the steps detailed above to ensure that the Flashlight Shortcut is enabled in Control Center.
- If you’re using a modern iPhone with no Home button, swipe from the bottom of the screen to access the Control Center shortcuts.
- If you’re using an older iPhone with a Home button, swipe down on your screen from the top right corner to access the Control Center shortcuts.
- Tap on the Flashlight/Torch icon to instantly enable/disable the flashlight on your iPhone.
- That’s it. This quick ‘Swipe & Tap’ action is all you need to instantly turn your iPhone into a flashlight.
Now that you know how to turn off the flashlight on iPhone, let’s answer some common questions.
- How do I find the flashlight on my iPhone?
The flashlight is located at the back of your iPhone, right next to the cameras. To turn on or turn off the flashlight on iPhone, scroll up to read the steps detailed above.
- Why is my iPhone flashlight not working?
Some common reasons why your iPhone flashlight may not be working are:
- You have not enabled iPhone flashlight toggle in Settings
- You have not turned on iPhone flashlight
- There is something wrong with your iPhone flashlight and you may need to take it to an Apple Service Center.
But what if there was a faster way to do this? If you have an iPhone Xs, iPhone Xs Max or an iPhone Xr, iOS gives you two handy shortcuts right on the lock screen of your phone. Simply tap to wake up the screen and press hard on the Flashlight icon available at the bottom left of the lock screen.
You don’t need to unlock your iPhone to enable the flashlight from the lock screen. It works just like a Physical button in the real world. All you have to do to turn on the flashlight from the lock screen is to wake up your iPhone screen and press hard on the flashlight icon.
Smartphones are the Swiss army knives of the 21st century. Whether we’re talking about iPhones or Android phones, they can do nearly anything you’d want a digital device to do, from playing music and videos to sending emails and browsing the web. Conveniently enough, they can also turn into flashlights, helping light your way in the dark. That said, it may not be obvious how to turn on the flashlight on an iPhone or Android device, since the actions or gestures vary from device to device.
This article explains how to switch on the flashlight on Android and iOS devices. It covers newer and older iPhones, and it also covers the vast majority of Android smartphones, including a special gesture for OnePlus smartphones.
Further reading
- How to factory reset an iPhone
- How to find your own phone number on iOS or Android
- How to track a phone using Android or iOS
How to turn on the flashlight in iOS
If you have an iPhone with Face ID (i.e. an iPhone X or later, but not an iPhone 8 or the 2020 iPhone SE), you can turn on the flashlight in iOS by doing the following:
- Swipe down from the top-right corner of the touchscreen. This opens the iPhone’s Control Center.
- Once in the Control Center and find the flashlight icon. It’s usually in the bottom half of the Control Center, although its exact position may vary from one iPhone to another.
- Tap the flashlight icon.
That’s it. If your iPhone has a Home button (i.e. the 2020 iPhone SE and iPhone 8 or earlier), the process is almost identical. Instead of swiping down from the top-right corner of the touchscreen, swipe up from the bottom of the touchscreen. Then follow the first two steps as described above.
To turn off the flashlight with iOS, repeat the above process. Tapping on the flashlight icon when the flashlight is on will turn it off.
Also, you can ask Siri to turn on your flashlight. Simply say, “Hey Siri, turn on the flashlight.”
If this isn’t enough, there are a number of third-party flashlight apps available on the Apple App Store, such as iHandy’s Flashlight Ⓞ and Lemondo’s Flashlight.
How to turn on the flashlight in Android
Turning on the flashlight on Android devices is also very easy. Assuming you have Android 5.0 or later on your smartphone, here’s what you do:
- Swipe down from the top of the touchscreen. This opens the notification bar.
- Once the notification bar is open, find the flashlight icon and tap it.
It’s as simple as that. As with the iPhone, you can also use Google Assistant to switch on your Android’s flashlight. To wake up Google Assistant, hold down on the Home button. Next, say, “Okay, Google, turn on the flashlight.”
If the two quick processes above don’t satisfy you, you can also find a variety of third-party flashlight apps on the Google Play Store. They don’t really make turning on the flashlight any quicker, but they may offer a range of different functions for the flashlight. Some of the most popular include Tiny Flashlight + LED and Brightest Flashlight Free.
Lastly, if you’re using a OnePlus phone, there’s a special gesture you can use to turn on the flashlight. Here’s how you activate and use it:
- Open Settings.
- Tap Gestures
- Tap Toggle flashlight.
- With Toggle flashlight enabled, you can now use your finger to draw a V on the touchscreen. This turns on the flashlight. Repeat the gesture to turn it off.
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