If the Flashlight button isn’t on your iPhone’s Lock Screen, there are three usual reasons: it was swapped for another control when the Lock Screen was customized, your iPhone has a Home button (those models don’t show the two Lock Screen controls), or Control Center is turned off under Allow Access When Locked. The fixes for each are in the troubleshooting section below.
To turn on the flashlight without unlocking, wake the iPhone and press and hold the Flashlight button in the bottom-left corner of the Lock Screen. You can also open Control Center and tap Flashlight, or say “Siri, turn on the flashlight.”
The flashlight is the LED flash next to the rear camera, kept on as a steady light. The steps below follow Apple’s current iPhone User Guide and its support article Turn the flashlight on or off on your iPhone or iPad Pro.
Which method to use
| Method | Works while locked? | What you need |
|---|---|---|
| Lock Screen button | Yes | An iPhone that shows the Flashlight control on the Lock Screen |
| Control Center | Yes, if Control Center is allowed on the Lock Screen | The Flashlight control in Control Center |
| Siri | Yes, if Siri is allowed when locked | Siri turned on |
| Action button | Yes | An iPhone with an Action button, set to Flashlight |
| Back Tap | Yes | Back Tap set up in Accessibility settings |
How to turn on the flashlight from the Lock Screen
This is the shortest route when the phone is locked. It does not ask for Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode.
- Wake your iPhone. Raise it, tap the screen, or press the side button once. The Lock Screen shows the time and two round controls near the bottom corners.
- Find the Flashlight button in the bottom-left corner.
- Press and hold the button for a moment, then let go. A quick tap is not enough.
- Check the back of the phone. The LED next to the camera should be lit.
- To turn the light off, press and hold the same button again.
Apple’s guide says this works “if your iPhone has” the Flashlight control on the Lock Screen. If yours does not show it, see the troubleshooting section below. When the light won’t switch off, or the button seems stuck, there are several ways to turn off the flashlight on iPhone.
How to turn on the flashlight from Control Center
Control Center is the panel of quick controls for things like Wi-Fi, volume, and the flashlight. It opens from the Lock Screen, the Home Screen, and inside most apps.
- On an iPhone with Face ID, swipe down from the top-right corner of the screen. On an iPhone with a Home button, swipe up from the bottom edge.
- Tap the Flashlight button. The button changes appearance to show it is on, and the LED on the back lights up.
- Tap the Flashlight button again to turn the light off.
- Close Control Center by swiping up from the bottom center of the screen, or by pressing the Home button.
Remember to turn the flashlight off when you are done. For more on this panel, learn how to use Control Center on iPhone.
How to turn on the flashlight with Siri
Siri is the hands-free option. Apple’s examples include “Siri, turn on the flashlight,” “Hey Siri, turn on my flashlight,” and “Hey Siri, turn off my flashlight.”
Siri has to be set up first, and to use it on a locked phone, Siri must be allowed on the Lock Screen. Check both in the Siri section of the Settings app and under Allow Access When Locked in Settings > Face ID & Passcode.
The Action button is a small physical button that replaces the Ring/Silent switch on supported models. It is available on iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, and later models. Older iPhones with a Ring/Silent switch cannot use this method.
Before you start: the Action button does one job at a time. Its default is Silent Mode, so choosing Flashlight means the button will no longer silence the phone. You can still change the ring setting in Control Center or Settings.
- Open the Settings app.
- Tap Action Button. A picture of the side of the iPhone appears with a row of action icons.
- Swipe through the icons until Flashlight is named below the dots.
- Leave Settings. Press and hold the Action button to turn the flashlight on.
- Press and hold it again to turn the flashlight off.
To undo this, go back to Settings > Action Button and swipe to Silent Mode or another action. The full walkthrough is in how to set the Action button on iPhone, and every available action is on Apple’s Use and customize the Action button on iPhone page.
Back Tap: an optional shortcut
Back Tap is an accessibility feature that runs an action when you double-tap or triple-tap the back of the phone. Flashlight is one of the actions you can assign, and it works with the phone locked.
- Go to Settings > Accessibility > Touch > Back Tap.
- Tap Double Tap or Triple Tap.
- Tap Flashlight in the list of actions.
Because taps on the back can happen by accident, the light may come on when you set the phone down. To turn Back Tap off, return to the same screen, choose Double Tap or Triple Tap, and tap None.
How to make the flashlight brighter or dimmer
- Open Control Center.
- Press and hold the Flashlight button until a larger control appears.
- Drag the slider up for a brighter light or down for a dimmer one.
The newest iPhone User Guide puts it a little differently: after you turn the flashlight on, an image of the flashlight appears on the screen, and you drag up or down on it to change brightness. If you see that image, use it. If you do not, the press-and-hold slider in Control Center is the route Apple’s support article gives.
On iPhone 14 Pro and later Pro models, Apple also lets you reshape the beam. Turn on the flashlight, tap the Dynamic Island (the pill-shaped area at the top of the screen), then touch and hold the Light icon and drag to change the width and length of the beam.
How to confirm the flashlight is on or off
- Look at the back of the phone. The LED beside the rear camera is lit when the flashlight is on.
- Open Control Center. The Flashlight button looks highlighted while the light is on.
- On the Lock Screen, the Flashlight button should also look different while the light is on.
Check that the light is off before you put the phone in a pocket or bag.
Wearing an Apple Watch? It can light up the screen as a small torch too. Here’s how to use the flashlight on Apple Watch.
The Flashlight button is missing from the Lock Screen
Recent iOS versions let you swap the two Lock Screen controls, so the flashlight may have been replaced with something else. To put it back, touch and hold the Lock Screen, unlock if asked, and tap Customize. Remove one of the controls, then add the control you want in its place. Choose Flashlight, then tap Done. Apple’s steps are in Create a custom iPhone Lock Screen.
iPhones with a Home button generally do not show these two Lock Screen controls. On those models, swipe up from the bottom of the Lock Screen to open Control Center instead.
The Flashlight button is missing from Control Center
Open Control Center and tap the edit button at the top of the panel, or touch and hold an empty area. Tap Add a Control at the bottom of the screen, find Flashlight in the controls gallery, and tap it. On older iOS versions, Apple’s support article gives a different path: go to Settings > Control Center and tap Flashlight in the list of available controls.
The same steps work for other tools, for example to add the Calculator to Control Center.
Control Center will not open on the Lock Screen
Go to Settings > Face ID & Passcode (or Touch ID & Passcode on an iPhone with a Home button), enter your passcode, and turn on Control Center below Allow Access When Locked. Before you change it, weigh the trade-off: anything you allow on the Lock Screen can be used by whoever is holding your phone, without unlocking it. For details on each switch, read Turn on Lock Screen features on iPhone.
Keep the passcode on while you do this, and read about what you lose by turning off the iPhone passcode.
The button is there but the light does not come on
Work through Apple’s checks from If the camera or flash isn’t working in this order:
- Remove any case, film, or accessory that could cover the flash.
- Try the Flashlight button in Control Center again.
- Restart the iPhone.
- Update to the latest version of iOS.
- If the flash still does not work, the phone might need service.
If the button looks dimmed, close the Camera app and try again. The camera and flashlight share the same LED, so the flashlight isn’t available while the camera is using it. When the light comes on only while you film, you can turn off the light when recording video on iPhone.
Frequently asked questions
Can someone turn on my iPhone flashlight without my passcode?
Yes. The Lock Screen Flashlight button works without unlocking, by design. It only controls the light and does not give access to your apps or data. If you would rather not have it there, swap it for a different control when you customize the Lock Screen. To learn about the other items you can change there, read about the icons that can appear on the iPhone Lock Screen.
Why does tapping the Lock Screen flashlight button do nothing?
The Lock Screen button needs a press and hold, not a tap. Hold your finger on the button for a moment and release. In Control Center, by contrast, a single tap turns the flashlight on or off.
Is the Camera shortcut the same as the flashlight?
No. Camera and Flashlight are two separate Lock Screen controls, one in each bottom corner. The Camera has its own shortcut, and you can open the Camera from the iPhone Lock Screen.
Do I need a flashlight app?
No. The flashlight is built into iOS, and every method in this article uses Apple’s own controls. There is nothing to download or pay for.
Next step
Try the Lock Screen button once now so the press-and-hold motion is familiar before you need it in the dark. If you use the flashlight often and your iPhone has an Action button, assigning Flashlight to it gives you a control you can find by feel. Related guide: how to turn rotation lock on or off on iPhone.
Matthew Burleigh is the founder, head writer, and editor of Solve Your Tech, which he launched in 2012. He has written technology tutorials since 2008 and worked in IT since 2003, including small-business support, IT management, and consulting. He holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Computer Science from Arizona State University.
Matthew writes practical guides for Windows, iPhone and iPad, Microsoft Office, Outlook, Google apps, and Android. Solve Your Tech’s guides are checked step by step against the device or app maker’s own documentation and tested on his own devices whenever he has the hardware or software, with clear steps, sources, and update dates.
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