Many users have complained that the flashlight on their iPhone 12 accidentally turns on by itself. This happens while their phone is locked and, often, while it is in their pocket. Luckily for us, there are different ways to ensure that it does not happen to us again. Therefore, if the iPhone 12 flashlight turns on by itself , it is not a matter of magic … If not, it will be, for example, due to a configuration that we were not aware of. Read on to know the solutions.
On the iPhone Lock Screen, there is a (non-removable) flashlight button; the problem seems to be that this button gets accidentally pressed while in someone’s pocket. It is definitely an annoying sort of problem – cluelessly walking around with light beaming through your pants – and there is the secondary problem of battery drain caused by the flashlight being on for long periods of time.
If the tap happens when you place the iPhone in your pocket, or while you’re walking, the LED can remain ON for a long time. Obviously, every second of usage drains your iPhone’s battery and you can end up with an overheated phone with almost no battery left!
iPhone 12 Flashlight Turns On Randomly
I’m not sure if this happens because of a modified iOS 15 setting, or due to a change of sensitivity in the iPhone 12 models, but ever since I updated to iOS 15, I’m facing this issue.
It’s been particularly annoying during winter I was skiing a lot and I found that the iPhone 12 flashlight would turn on by itself almost daily. Sometimes, I could spot it right away thanks to the small vibration, while placing the device into the pocket of my winter jacket.
However, often enough the flashlight would stay enabled in my pocket for tens of minutes, if not hours and considerably deplete my iPhones battery!
How To Fix iPhone 12 Flashlight Turns On By Itself
The flashlight shortcut cannot be removed from the lockscreen, but there are several ways to quickly turn it off before you accidentally blind the wrong person. If the flashlight is turning on while inside your pocket, there are a few tweaks that you can apply. Here’s what you can do to prevent your iPhone 12 Flashlight from turning on by itself.
Note: information in this article apply to iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max.
1. Disable Tap To Wake
The iPhone 12 include a feature called Tap to Wake, which, much as it sounds, allows the locked iPhone screen to wake up with a tap anywhere on the screen. This makes a lot of sense because the device does not have a Home button to press and wake the screen, so a tap anywhere on the display sort of replicates that Home press function, but Tap to Wake may also lead to a lot of unnecessary screen waking, and theoretically any erroneous screen waking may lead to a accidental taps on the flashlight icon, available in the bottom-left corner of the Lock Screen.
Although not ideal, you can prevent the iPhone 12 flashlight from turning on randomly, by deactivating the Tap to Wake feature. This will prevent the screen from waking up when you tap it, thus prevent any accidental taps on the flashlight icon, available in the bottom-left corner of the Lock Screen.
To turn off Tap to Wake, go to Settings > Accessibility > Touch. Toggle the switch next to Tap to Wake. There is, of course, a downside to turning off Tap to Wake. A lot of people use this feature pretty often; anytime you want to quickly check the time on your phone, especially if you check the time while you are in bed, you just tap the screen. With Tap to Wake turned off, you will need to press the side button to wake your iPhone.
2. Disable Raise To Wake
“Raise to Wake” is a feature designed to make it quicker and easier to start using your phone after picking it up. It allows you to just lift your phone to start using it, rather than having to press any buttons. Generally, when you pick your phone up, you want to use it.
“Raise to Wake” means you don’t have to hold your phone in such a way that you can press the side button to turn it on. One of the downsides is that the feature creates the opportunity of accidental flashlight icon taps. To turn off Raise to Wake, go to Settings > Display & Brightness. Toggle Raise to Wake to OFF.
3. Place iPhone On The Opposite Side
I’ve noticed that the iPhone 12 flashlight turns on randomly when you place the device with the screen towards the outside of your pocket.
To prevent this try to store your phone with the display towards the inside. Does it help?
4. Disable Back Tap
The Back Tap feature allows iPhone users to quickly perform an action by double or triple tapping the back of their iPhone. Users can assign any action to Back Tap feature and perform that action by tapping on the back of their device. You can quickly turn on and off your flashlight with two or three taps on the back of your iPhone using Back Tap. Maybe the feature is activating the flashlight without you meaning to activate it, like when your phone is in your pocket or when you put it on the bed. The good news is, you can disable it in a jiffy. To disable Back Tap on iPhone:
- Open the Settings app and go to ‘Accessibility’.
- Tap on ‘Touch’ under the ‘Physical and Motor’ section.
- Scroll down to the bottom of the Touch settings and go to ‘Back Tap’.
- Open ‘Double Tap’ and ‘Triple Tap’ settings one by one and select ‘None’ for both of them. And Back Tap gestures will be disabled.
Conclusion
We hope you’ve fixed the problem and your iPhone 12 Flashlight is no longer turning on randomly. Are you also annoyed by accidental iPhone 12 flashlight taps? Did the above tips help out? Do you know a better solution? Drop a comment and let us know.