iPhone Screen Flickering When Typing In iOS 16? (Fix?)

Posted in Errors and Issues by Patricia on October 10, 2022

iphone screen flickering ios 16

iPhone screen flickering in iOS 16.


Is your iPhone screen flickering when typing after iOS 16 update? Does this happen especially when grey backgrounds are displayed or when screen is using low brightness levels? Flickers are noticeable when the stock keyboard is active, in Notes, Safari, Youtube, Translate, Alarm app and more!

iPhone Screen Flickering In iOS 16

This issues has been reported by Enzo:

“Screen flickers when typing and this hasn’t been fixed in iOS 16.0.2. please report!”

This problem seems to be widespread as we’ve found numerous other reports on Reddit and Apple’s Discussion forums.

Based on all these reports, the iOS 16 screen flickering bug occurs on most models including the iPhone 13, 12, 11 , XS and X Series! All of them are equipped with OLED displays!

Fact: The only models that don’t seem affected by this glitch are the LCD ones that use IPS technology: iPhone SE range and the iPhone 8 models.

How To Fix iPhone Screen Flickering In iOS 16

As one user suggests, this could be a PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) software bug that should be addressed by Apple in an upcoming software update.

Unfortunately, until then there’s not much that you can do about this. Here’s what you could try though:

1. Turn Off Auto-Brightness

auto-brightness turn off
The flickering occurs during low brightness levels. A workaround requires you to disable Auto-Brightness:

  • Open Settings and tap on Accessibility.
  • Go for Display & Test Size.
  • Scroll all the way to the bottom and disable Auto-Brightness.

2. Brightness Above 50%

Net, manually adjust the brightness levels above the 50% mark. This will drain the battery of your iPhone faster, but you’ll avoid the flickering:

  • Swipe-down from the top-right corner of the screen, to bring up the Control Center.
  • Use the Brightness slider to increase the levels above 50%.

3. Update To iOS 16.1

iOS 16.1 is currently developed and has reached Beta 4 version. You can update and check if the issue still occurs. Do perform a full backup before installing it.

A step-by-step guide is available here.

Have you managed to fix iPhone screen flickering after iOS 16 update? Do you have a better solution or other problems to reports? Share your feedback in the comments.

Related: For more iOS 16 issues and their workarounds please check our extended review.

Tags: