How To Fix iPhone 12 Pro Max Dimmed Screen Issue (Low Brightness)
Last updated on June 24th, 2021 at 06:20 pm
iPhone 12 dimmed screen fix.
You’ve just unboxed your brand new iPhone 12 Pro Max device, powered it on and noticed that the screen is much dimmer than your older iPhone? Don’t worry, the iPhone 12 dark screen problem can be fixed by tweaking some iOS 14 settings.
5 Ways To Fix iPhone 12 Screen Too Dim
This issue has been reported to us for occurring since day 1 on an iPhone 12 Pro Max unit. However, it could also happen on any other new model iPhone 12 mini, 12 or 12 Pro. Here is what you can do to fix it:
1. Adjust Brightness Manually
The natural thing to start with is to manually adjust brightness. Swipe-down from the top-right corner of the screen to unveil the Control Center and use the Brightness toggle.
Tip: Long-press the Brightness controls to open up the expanded view. Use your finger to increase Brightness. Also make sure that Dark Mode and Night Shift aren’t enabled.
Fact: If you set Brightness to maximum and your iPhone 12 isn’t as bright as your previous iPhone, proceed with the next step.
2. Disable/Enable Auto Brightness
Your next option is to make sure that Brightness on your iPhone is set to automatic. Even if it is, you can disable and re-enable this setting to make sure that a minor glitch isn’t stopping it from working properly:
- Open the Settings app.
- Scroll for Display & Brightness.
- Check the status of the Automatic setting. If it’s enabled disable it, force restart your device and re-enable it after the iPhone reboots.
3. Reduce White Point
The iPhone 12 dimmed screen could be caused by an Accessibility setting that’s role is to reduce the intensity of bright colors, to help users with visual impairments.
- Open Settings.
- Scroll for Accessibility.
- Tap on Display & Text Size, in the Vision section.
- Scroll for Reduce White Point and disable the option.
Tip: You can also use the control bar to set how strong the intensity of the strong colors is reduced.
(Updated May 17)
4. Disable Low Light Zoom Filter
There is one more Accessibility feature that could cause the iPhone 12 dimmed screen issue. It’s found in Settings -> Accessibility -> Zoom. Tap on Zoom Filter and if it’s set to ‘Low Light’, switch for ‘None’!
When enabled this will cause your iPhone’s screen to display with low brightness when you use the zoom mode.
Credits: Many thanks to Maryann for sharing this fix in the comments section! Did it help you out? Don’t hesitate to comment!
Fact: We’re still waiting for confirmations, but apparently and iOS 14 bug, could automatically trigger the Reduce White Point setting, without the user being aware of it. If you’ve also experienced this problem and your brand new iPhone 12 or 12 Pro model don’t hesitate to use the comments section and share your feedback.
(Updated June 24)
5. Upgrade To iOS 15
Is it just me or the iPhone 12 Pro screen is much brighter in iOS 15? I’ve noticed this while testing the first Developer Beta.
Important: At the time of writing, iOS 15 beta testing is in its early stages. Although the Developers Beta is very stable I don’t recommend you to install it on your main device.
How To: Follow this step-by-step tutorial if you want to try out iOS 15! Use the comments section and let us know if it fixes the iPhone 12 dimmed screen issue!
Fix iPhone 12 Dimmed Screen Video Guide
We’ve recorded a video tutorial with the most common ways to troubleshoot the iPhone 12 dimmed screen problem.
iPhone 12 Low Brightness Causes?
Apparently the Automatic Brightness setting could in fact be the trigger of the iPhone 12 low brightness issue! As noticed by reader Gustavo the screen of the new iPhone displays less bright when Automatic Brightness is ON and the same level of brightness is set. Below is a quote from his comment:
“I have an iPhone 12 pro max with this behavior :
– Screen brightness set at 100% with Auto Brightness ‘ON’ and then turn AB ‘OFF’ the screen at exactly same 100% is much brighter!
– Screen AB on at 100% in darker room is less brighter than screen at 100% with AB on in bright room!
If I test exactly the same way with other values in the brightness screen like ( 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%), the same happens!”
Can you replicate the same issue, is this the cause for the dimmed screen issue on your iPhone 12? Use the comments section to share your feedback!
We’re trying to find out if the dimmed screen problem is caused by a bug that automatically enables Reduce White Point in iOS 14, or a bug that is triggered by the Automatic brightness setting. Either way the situation has been reported to Apple and this article has been attached to the report.
Related: Other day-1 problems reported for the iPhone 12 lineup are:
– iPhone 12 Pro Max not charging wirelessly with MagSafe
– iPhone 12 mini Lock Screen issues
– iPhone 12 No Service and poor cellular coverage
– iPhone 12 yellow screen problem
I’m having this issue. I disable it because sometime my screen gets very low light
Pedro, thanks for confirming.
Mine also automatically triggered the reduce white points and the factory version of my iOS was 14.4 so they must be intentionally turning it on automatically a it’s still not fixed. I’m on iOS 14.5.1 now and it was still set on automatically. I had to turn it off after I came to this page because my Oneplus 6 was way brighter than my iPhone 12 as mac brightness even though the iPhone 12 is supposed tu have higher nits. It also significantly hurt the HDR experience.
Thanks for confirming that this is still a thing with recent iPhone models.
I have a iPhone 12 Pro. I noticed shortly after I just updated the software the screen seem dimmer. Messed around with brightness settings still didn’t fix it. Then I realized white point was on and set at 80%. I don’t think I accidentally turned it on.
Mike, thanks for reporting. Good that you found the cause and fixed it. Let us know if Reduce White Point is triggered automatically again on your device.
Reduced white point turned out to be the source of my dim-screen (12 mini) issue as well – Thanks for the article!
Erik, you’re welcome. Thanks for confirming.
Thank you for writing this, the white point was the issue for me and fixed my problem.
Cmacattack, thanks for confirming this fix. Enjoy your new iPhone!
Hello I recently purchased iphone 12 pro max as well and I also noticed the huge difference with the brightness. When i compared to my old iphone XS max the iphone 12 pro max appears to be more dimmer. The white colour appears to be dirty white. Its nothing compared to my iphone xs max. It seems like im using an old tech phon2z
Howell, thanks for your feedback. I assume that you already checked if Reduce White Point is enabled, to fix it?
Hi, I have the exact same issue. Just bought an iPhone 12 Pro and there is a huge difference in brightness (also experiencing the ‘dirty white’ appearance Howell mentions).
I’ve already tried the solutions in this post, but doesn’t seem to work. Any other ideas?
Jose, thanks for your feedback. You can also check some of the tips listed in the iPhone 12 yellow screen topic: https://www.iphonetricks.org/how-to-fix-iphone-12-yellow-screen-display/
My iPhone 12 max pro dims several times a day and last for about an hour. It’s so dim you can barely see in daylight. The slider for brightness control does not work when this is happening. Also phone seems a little hot but even putting phone near a/c vent doesn’t help! Contacted Apple, went through Settings and no help.
Perry, have you tried to open the Camera app when this happens? Do you get the ‘Flash is Disabled’ temperature warning prompt? The overheating that you mention could be related to an app overloading issue that we’ve reported here: https://www.iphonetricks.org/iphone-12-pro-max-overheating-issue/
The dimmed screen might be a protection measure to prevent your iPhone from getting even hotter. Can you confirm this?
Have you figured it out yet. I have two pro max in my house hold. Mine does it but the wife’s don’t. Any insight. Should I return it.
That fixed it. Thanks so much1
Mark, you’re welcome. Thanks for confirming.
I have an iPhone 12 pro max with this behavior :
– Screen brightness at 100% AB on and then turn AB off the screen at exactly same 100% is much brighter .
– Screen AB on at 100% in darker room is less brighter than screen ar 100% AB on in bright room .
IF you test exactly the same way with other values in the brightness screen ( 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%…..) works the same.
My old LCD iPhones don’t do that .
** My reduce white point is disable .
Can you help me ?
Thanks
Gustavo, thanks for pointing this out. We’ve updated the main article with your info and we asked other readers to confirm if they experience the same issue. Let’s see if this gets confirmed. There’s nothing much that you can do at this moment, except of using the iPhone 12 Pro Max with Automatic brightness disabled and manually adjust the screen intensity to suit your needs.
P.S.: I assume that you attempted to force restart your iPhone to see if it makes any difference.
Thank you . Monday i’ll make an appointment with an Apple technician in an Apple authorized store here in Brazil where i live to see if this is a defect screen or is normal .
Thank you again to post my comment.
Gustavo, no problem. Thanks for sharing valuable info. Please let us know what Apple officials have to say about this. Good luck.
My wife and I are both having this issue. I’m on an XS Max and she is on an 11.
Has been happening since last update. Screen is quite dark and the brightness isn’t changing the brightness at all, even at 100%.
White point is not on.
Ben, have you tried to enable / disable the Auto-Brightness setting, that’s available in the Display & Text Size, Accessibility settings, below Reduce White Point?
Same issue. Just got a new iPhone 12 and it felt abit dim to what I was expecting. Mind you I am coming from a iPhone 7. When I compared 2 same videos of youtube the iPhone was dimmer. Then saw this article Disabled Reduce White point and now it is more bright than the iPhone 7.
Thanks!
Roko, thanks for confirming. Glad we could help.
I also had the same issue. But after turning off auto brightness, the issue was solved.
Thanks
Harsh, thanks for confirming. Glad we could help.
I just got my 12 Pro and wondered why my screen seemed dim. I went to the Reduce White Point setting and it was off, so I turned it on and it didn’t seem to make any difference, but when I turned it back off, my screen lit up. It’s like the setting was set, but not reflected in Settings. Turned it back in and it looked dim like before.
Clair, thanks for sharing. Glad that it worked out. Enjoy your iPhone 12 Pro!
Yes, Reduce white point WAS set, perhaps copied wrongly from old iPhone 6s plus.
Thanks for confirming. Glad that it’s sorted out now.
Hi there, I bought the 12 pro for my partner for early Christmas. We were scratching our heads wondering why the dim screen! All normal Brightness settings were covered so we really didn’t know.
Thanks to this article I went into Accessibility settings. The white point setting was actually fine BUT the auto-brightness setting right underneath the white-point one was set to Auto.
Annoying that auto-brightness appears in both Brightness settings and Accessibility – if it weren’t for this article I never would’ve checked accessibility.
Anyway, turned it off, and now the screen is perfect! Thank you.
Jen, thanks for sharing. Glad that we could help. Enjoy your new iPhone!
I turned off ALL the settings that have to do with the screen brightness, truTone, etc etc and. that helps, but the screen still dims about once per day for a few minutes to 80% or so, then a few minutes later it brightens back up. My wife has lost faith in all iPhone 12s now, so it’s going back.
William, I also noticed this behavior. I found that it helps to lock the iPhone and unlock it back to bring back the screen to normal brightness. It’s annoying indeed. She could wait it out a couple of days more. iOS 14.3 is coming on December 14: https://www.iphonetricks.org/ios-14-3-gm-version-doesnt-fix-important-bugs/
Very interesting. It also might be a loose or bad connector inside the unit
I don’t think so because it started happening on iPhone XR and iPhone XS too, right after iOS 14.2 update. It has to be software related.
Just got my 12 pro max today. And when restore the phone got warm and my screen dimmed for 5-8 mins then went back. Is this the same issue
Joseph, did your iPhone got warm or hot? If it overheated it’s normal for the Brightness to go down automatically to protect the device from overheating any further.
I got IPhone 12 pro max . But this big disappointment except I have feeling iPhone. People need come out phobia of iPhone. This is not worth for price we paid. Screen display is big issue.
Srini, thanks for sharing your feedback. Can you detail it please?
Thanks Patricia
Main problem is screen display. If I take photo from Front camera or view pics are very dark then usual
Turn off auto brightness .
While using my camera outdoors in direct sunlight. My screen went almost black making it impossible to see. I check AB it’s off White point was off the brightness was at 100% I could only see poor quality screen in darkness.
Scott, is it possible that you were using your iPhone in a hot environment? Or was your iPhone exposed to direct sunlight for a long time? If the device overheats, brightness will be automatically set to the minimum to help it cool down.
I’m having the same problem as Scott Coley. iPhone 12 Pro Max. AB – off. Reduce White Point – off. Brightness set to max. Only in broad daylight, the phone will start to auto dim. Incrementally until the screen is almost black. I can barely see the screen. This is the exact opposite of what the phone should be doing! Seems like a programming / code error and/or hardware issue. I keep the phone cool, so it’s not an overheating issue. Locking then unlocking does not / not help. Adjusting the brightness – nothing. The only thing that helps, only for a short time, is restarting the phone. All day long, I work outdoors and in my car, using my phone all the time, including for road navigation, so this is a major safety and work/profit issue for me. I’ve had the phone 5 weeks and I’ve been having the issue since day 1. I reported the bug to Apple online, but plan to call tomorrow. The phone is basically unusable during the day. I miss my iPhone X!
Sorry, not quite the same issue as Scott, since mine is independent of camera. But, it is a similar problem to Scott’s and what some others here describe. Also want to add that toggling the relevant settings does not help in my case.
Marko, thanks for detailing this. Yes, from what you describe it definitely looks that this is a bug and not normal behavior. Can you please mention if the iPhone also briefly loses brightness when you’re indoor, after you unlock it and you have to lock it back and unlock again to get normal brightness back? Or you’re only noticing brightness problems while you’re out in broad daylight?
P.S.: Is there a chance that you might be using a screen protector that interferes with the proper functioning of one of the sensors found in the notch area?
I have the same problem with my iPhone 12 pro thought its because of overheating powerful graphics or something, but my friend said he never had any issue like that. The I phone dim on its own randomly it’s very irritating as well couldn’t fix at all.
Anin, thanks for your feedback. Let’s hope that Apple will include a fix soon.
Thank you, the reduce white point on my brand new iphone 12 pro max was on. I updated to ios 14 as soon as I got it, so it must’ve automatically turned it on. Thanks to this article I could finally fix my dim screen. It was driving me crazy
You’re welcome. Thanks for confirming the fix.
I changed all the recommended parameters, but the phone screen is still dim after rebooting. It is pretty annoying to have a brand new phone which doesn’t work properly.
Samuel, I’m sorry to hear that our fixes did not help you out. Does iOS 14.4 make any difference?
Hi All
I tried everything and nothing helped
But then I performed Reset All Settings and I have not had the issue happen again (yet)
Harri thanks for sharing your fix.
White point as well was my problem for iphone 12., however the white appears slighlty warmer compared to my previous 11, Thank u guys for reporting the solutions
You’re welcome. Glad we could help.
Thanks. You saved my day.
My issue was auto brightness not giving the full brightness on iPhone 12 Pro.
I assume this will be fixed with an iOS update.
Glad that we could help. Enjoy your iPhone 12.
My screen gets so dark I can’t see the icons. I’ve done ask the recommendation for brightening the screen. After each I turn in the phone off, wait 5 minutes and turn the phone back on. It will be normal brightness until the phone is operational, 10 to 15 seconds, then goes dark again. I’ve had way too many issues with this IPhone 12 Max Pro. Nothing but headaches.
Sorry to hear about this Robert. Have you tried to turn automatic brightness off? and just update the brightness manually when you feel that you need to?
Had the same issue with my 12 pro max. Would dim after sleeping and different lighting even with auto turned off. Tried the white point adjustment and it has worked well. Didn’t think my screen could get so bright! Thanks for the help!
You’re welcome. Glad we could help. Thanks for sharing.
I also have had the same issue with my iPhone 12 Pro but I only noticed it in the last week and have had the phone since July. I have gone through all your fixes but the reduce white point was not on. Auto brightness was so I have turned off rebooted and turned back on. It seems to be keeping the brightness level now. Prior it was turning to half way every time my screen went off. Very annoying. Thanks so much for your comprehensive information.
Thanks for your report. You’re sure that you’re owning an iPhone 12 Pro? As it was released only in October 2020. If you own a device since July you might own the 11 Pro. Nevertheless, glad that you managed to solve the issue.
I also have a brightness issue on my 12 pro max: in broad daylight it is barely readable. Reduce white point is off, I tried with and w/o AB.
I can manually bump up the brightness to 100% in the settings or pull down settings slider and it is fine, but after a few minutes it goes down to 50% automatically after waking.
That’s strange. Did you contact Apple support about this?
iPhone 12 Screen is significantly darker than the IPhone 10 and I’m not sure if it is a bug, defective or new hardware. It’s sucks and I don’t like it. My screen was clearly dimmer than the one on Apple display in the store. They finally replaced my screen, but same issue. I commented on Apple’s social media and they haven’t responded. The quality has definitely changed. The reps in the store could see the brightness issue initially. I reset, played with all settings, still trying to figure this out. This dark screen hurts my eyes.
Have you checked the Reduce White Point setting described in this article?
I upgraded to 12 Pro Max from XS mainly for screen size to play COD Mobile game. I have AB off and accessibility settings OFF. I set max brightness before playing game with True Tone and Night mode off.
Within 15- 30 of playing this game screen goes dimmer and it goes back normal after i close the game and wait few mins.
This is normal behavior as iOS tries to protect your iPhone’s battery. When the device overheats, because of computing resource intensive tasks, like gaming, the iPhone is automatically lowering the brightness level, to decrease the strain on the system and help the device cool down. Unfortunately, there is not much that you can do about it. Play in a low light environment, avoid direct sun exposure and kill other tasks that might run in the same time on your device!
All of a sudden today my screenshots are dimmer than the original video or pic I took. I can’t seem to get this fixed – any ideas? I have tried all of the above resets except the reset all settings and nothing has worked. I have an iPhone 12 Pro Max. Will the 14.5.1 update fix this?
Thanks for reporting. What iOS version is your iPhone 12 currently running?
14.4.2 I haven’t done the 14.5.1 update yet
Do it and see if it fixes the issue for you. The other suggestion would be to restore your iPhone. So, the update is worth a shot! Is there any reason why you haven’t done it already?
On with Apple Support for same issue. They initially told me I got a bad iphone 12 pro max even though it was brand new. They sent me a replacement. Same issue, screen turns almost black in sunlight. I got this phone specifically to use for livestreams outdoors but it’s so bad I can’t see the chat. I can’t even find the small x at the top of the screen to end the livestream that’s how dark it is. Tried all settings, brightness toggles, reduce white point blah blah blah this phone was $1205 and is worthless to me. Apple needs to address this problem immediately. How on God’s green earth can you sell a phone for this price with one of the main selling points being screen size…when you can’t even SEE THE SCREEN?!
Terry, that’s annoying indeed. Can you please tell me if the screen dims from the start or after a while? I’m asking because a reason for this could be overheating. If you use the phone for live streaming and the device is exposed to direct sun in the same time you have a combo that will surly cause your device to overheat. When it does iOS protection kicks in and the screen is auto-dimmed to help it cool down! Does this make sense?
I tried everything. Nothing worked on brand new iPhone 12 Pro. Found out it is a setting under accessibility > zoom > low light (turned ON). When I turned it OFF, my screen returned to bright.
Thanks for sharing this. Your fix will be updated and highlighted in the main content of the article and we’ll see if it helps other users.
i repaired iphones once. iam also a good tech and have delt with iphones from model one . i owned a iphone 6 works great however wanted the newer 12 plus. nothing i do will fix the problum of this phone dimming often. its a total mess as i see it . ive serched the web many days . i think its a defective phone and iam returning mine going back to my iphone 6. if theres a return problum ill take it to court. thats only my openion. i could be very wrong and mean no harm to apple. i simply feal its not fixable with any softwear update and iam not paying the balance
Thanks for reporting. Please check the article again. We’ve updated it with a fix provided by Maryann. Does it help you?
At least a couple of times a day I have to manually adjust up the brightness, have done all the trouble shooting, disabled all functions, problem still there. Hard to believe Apple seems to still ignore this. But then what do you want for only a thousand bucks 😐
Are you using a case or screen protector that could mask the ambient light sensor and make the brightness act erratically? What if you disable Auto Brightness and you set the Brightness manually up to maximum? Are you still facing low brightness episodes?
Are you using your iPhone for intenssive gaming or other resource intensive tasks live video calling that could cause the device to overheat and automatically trigger low brightness as a measure of protection?
I have this issue on iphone12 mini and it only happens when I charge it and its warm e.g. sunlight shining on it. The fixes here dont work. Just have to unplug the charger and wait or restart to fix.
Thanks for reporting. That’s most likely the overheating protection that kicks in. If you charge your iPhone and the device is exposed to direct sunlight there are two sources that cause your device to overheat. The sun and the charging process. I assume that you’re fast charging it with a 20W charger. In this case iOS will automatically dim the screen, and try to lower device temperature.
Tip: Never charge or even leave your iPhone idle in a place that’s exposed to direct sunlight for a long time.
None of this has worked or will ever work. My phone auto dims by itself no matter the settings….. I’m about to go to Apple
Sorry to hear about this. Keep us updated please. Let me know what solution Apple support offered you.
Hello, i have noticed something. When am using phone intensively and it’s getting warmer (with all mentioned features off) screen is getting darker. When I remove it from the cover and let it cool down a bit, it’s quickly getting lighter again.
Please try this and let me know in comments if it also works with you.
Yes, this is normal behavior. When the iPhone overheats, iOS will automatically dim the screen to allow the device to cool down easier.
Same problem here I encountered with my iPhone 12 Pro Max. It’s been bugging me since the day I purchased the phone. Well, I followed all the steps, and to my surprise…my phone is not on dark mode, night shift and even true tone, reduce white point is disabled, and zoom filter is “none”…but still, it stays the same. I even tried to restart the phone, and nothing happened. Btw, I got iOS 14.6 though.
Thanks for sharing your feedback. I recently updated an iPhone 12 Pro to iOS 15 Developer Beta and noticed that the screen is brighter compared to iOS 14.6. Is it just me or has anyone else noticed the same?
P.S.: Although it’s very stable I don’t recommend you to update your main device to iOS 15 bet yet. You should wait for the Public Beta which is due in July.
Many thanks for posting this info and wish I had found it sooner. I bought an iPhone 12 Pro Max yesterday and noticed immediately that the brightness was significantly lower than the second one we purchased that day. We went back to the store and showed the associates in the store. After about 30 minutes of tweaking settings they concluded it was a hardware problem and initiated a return but needed to charge me another $70 to replace (restocking fee?) but the even newer phone was dimmer than the one I turned in. Angry and unwilling to pay even more I left the store angry that the products at the store were faulty.
After reading this article I discovered that the white points were set to 80% from the factory, (why?). Needless to say, I disabled that setting and can get proper brightness on my device.
Thank you again,
You’re welcome Mike. Glad we could help. Enjoy your new iPhone!
‘Low Light” was turned on in my zoom filter. Setting that to “None ” corrected my low brightness issue. I do not recall turning on the Low Light filter!
Thanks for confirming Les. Glad that we could help.