Your iPhone screen probably turns off after about 30 seconds or a minute of inactivity. This can be overridden when you are playing a game or watching a video, but normal usage patterns will cause the screen to turn off that quickly.
You can keep the phone screen on iPhone turned on by going to Settings > Display & Brightness > Auto-Lock > then choosing the Never option.
Under normal circumstances, the fact that your iPhone will automatically turn off the screen and lock the device is a benefit.
Reducing the amount of time that the screen is on will help you to get more life out of a battery charge, and it will also prevent accidental pocket dials and other problems that can occur when an iPhone is in a pocket or bag with an unlocked screen.
But situations can arise where you need the iPhone screen to stay on for a longer period of time because you are looking at the screen without physically interacting with the device.
Fortunately, you have control over the setting that causes your iPhone screen to automatically turn off and lock.
Our guide below will show you where to find this setting so that you can keep your iPhone screen on until you manually elect to lock it.
iPhone – Keep Screen On
- Open Settings.
- Choose Display & Brightness.
- Tap the Auto-Lock button.
- Select Never.
You can continue reading below for additional information on how to make the iPhone screen stay on for longer periods of time.
How to Keep the iPhone Screen On Until You Manually Lock It (Guide with Pictures)
The steps in this article were performed on an iPhone 7 Plus in iOS 12.3.1.
If you are using an older version of iOS and this setting is not located on the menu indicated in these steps, then continue to the next section where we will show you how to locate this option in some older versions of iOS.
Step 1: Touch the Settings icon.

Step 2: Scroll down and open the Display & Brightness menu.

Step 3: Select the Auto-Lock option.

Step 4: Tap the Never button to prevent your screen from turning off automatically.

As mentioned above, the section below will show you how to keep the iPhone screen on in the older versions of iOS.
Here is how to keep your iPhone screen from turning off (legacy iOS versions)-
- Open the Settings menu.
- Open the General menu.
- Select the Auto-Lock option.
- Select the Never option.
These steps are also repeated below with pictures –
Step 1: Tap the Settings icon.

Step 2: Scroll down and tap the General option.

Step 3: Tap the Auto-Lock option.

Step 4: Tap the Never option.

Our tutorial continues below with additional discussion on changing the iPhone auto lock setting.
More Information on How to Leave iPhone Screen On for Longer Periods of Time
Your iPhone screen will now stay on until you elect to manually turn it off and lock the screen. You can do this by pressing the Power button on the top or side of your iPhone. Note that keeping the iPhone screen on for long periods of time is one of the biggest ways to drain your battery.
The different amounts of time that are available for the iPhone’s auto-lock setting are:
- 30 seconds
- 1 minute
- 2 minutes
- 3 minutes
- 4 minutes
- 5 minutes
- Never
If you need to keep your iPhone display on for longer periods of time but are concerned about the added battery drain, then you can try reducing the brightness.
You can find a brightness slider on the Control Center, which is accessible by swiping down from the top-right corner of your screen. The Brightness option is a vertical bar with a sun icon on it. Moving the slider lower makes the screen dimmer, which uses less battery.
Since keeping the iPhone screen on all the time is not only a battery issue but a security issue as well, it’s very important to get in the habit of pressing the Power button to lock the screen manually when you are done using your iPhone.
if you don’t have a passcode set up for your device, or you haven’t enabled Touch ID or Face ID then you can do so by going to the Settings > Touch/Face ID & Passcode menu.
Have you been noticing that your iPhone settings change slightly when your remaining battery percentage gets low? Learn why your iPhone battery icon is yellow, and see what other settings are affected, as well as how you can turn this option on or off manually.
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Matthew Burleigh has been writing tech tutorials since 2008. His writing has appeared on dozens of different websites and been read over 50 million times.
After receiving his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Computer Science he spent several years working in IT management for small businesses. However, he now works full time writing content online and creating websites.
His main writing topics include iPhones, Microsoft Office, Google Apps, Android, and Photoshop, but he has also written about many other tech topics as well.
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