How to Turn Off Auto-Brightness on Your Phone

Tap a device to see how to set it up.

iPhone

Under Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size, turn off “Auto-Brightness” to stop the screen from adjusting on its own.

Android

In Settings under Display, turn off the “Adaptive brightness” switch to control brightness manually with the slider instead.

Windows

Under Settings > System > Display > Brightness, you can turn off the option to automatically change brightness when lighting changes.

Why some people turn it off

Some people find automatic adjustment doesn’t match the situation well and causes eye fatigue, or simply prefer working at one consistent brightness level, and choose manual control instead.

Keep the brightness exactly where you want it

Auto-brightness can be convenient, but plenty of people find it frustrating when their preferred brightness level keeps shifting on its own. Turning it off keeps the screen at a consistent level all the time.

Consider blue light filtering at night too

It is also worth looking into night mode or blue light filtering settings for more comfortable evening screen use.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does turning off auto-brightness drain the battery faster?

Keeping the brightness set high all the time can use more battery, so it’s worth manually lowering it when you don’t need a bright screen.

Why is auto-brightness sometimes inaccurate?

If the light sensor near the top of the screen is covered by a case or debris, it can’t accurately read the surrounding light, which can throw off the brightness adjustment.