Tutorials

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's Flashlight.

All iPhones that Apple has manufactured, starting with the iPhone 4, have 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 the iPhone is enabled.

  1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
  2. Scroll down and tap the ‘Control Center’ option.
  3. If you don’t already see Torch under the ‘INCLUDED CONTROLS’ list, enable it by tapping the green colored + sign next to the Flashlight control under the ‘MORE CONTROLS’ group.
  1. You have now enabled the Torch Shortcut on the 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 your iPhone. Let’s take a look at how to do this.

How to instantly enable the flashlight on iPhone from Control Center

Once you have enabled the Torch Shortcut above, it’s straightforward to enable the Flashlight on your iPhone quickly. Here’s how:

  1. Follow the steps detailed above to ensure that the Flashlight Shortcut is enabled in Control Center.
  2. If you’re using a modern iPhone with no Home button, swipe from the bottom of the screen to access the Control Center shortcuts.
  3. 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.
  1. Tap the Flashlight/Torch icon to instantly enable/disable the flashlight on your iPhone.
  2. 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 your iPhone, let’s answer some common questions.

  1. 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 your iPhone, scroll up to read the steps detailed above.

  1. Why is my iPhone's flashlight not working?

Some common reasons why your iPhone's flashlight may not be working are:

  1. You may have not enabled the iPhone's flashlight toggle in Settings.
  2. You may have not turned on the iPhone's flashlight.
  3. There is something wrong with your iPhone's 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.