Why Is My iPhone Flashlight Turning Itself On & How to Quickly Turn it Off

Users report that the iPhone flashlight is turning itself on, or that they are accidentally turning it on frequently. While most of the reports point to the iPhone X, iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max, this is tied into an iOS update that added the flashlight shortcut to the iPhone lock screen.

This is what you need to know about the iPhone flashlight problem some users are complaining about and what you can do about it.

So far users are asking Apple how to remove the flashlight shortcut from the iPhone X lock screen and some users are asking, “How am I accidentally turning on the flashlight?” It’s also a running joke on Twitter where Nick Wiger says, “My fav feature of the new iPhone is how simple it is to accidentally turn on the flashlight”.

What you need to know about the iPhone flashlight accidentally turning on.

If you keep accidentally turning your iPhone flashlight on, or wondering if it turns itself on, you aren’t alone. Here’s what people are saying.

the iphone x is cool and all but the amount of times i catch myself accidentally with my flashlight on is too much

— ᴍᴀᴅɪsᴏɴ ᴍᴜsᴄᴀᴛ (@mads_broooke) January 29, 2019

i swear to god the fact the flashlight on the iphone x always goes off will be the death of me

— abigayle! (@abbeycasarez) January 28, 2019

The flashlight on the iPhone X turns on by itself. Then you have to turn it on and off to get it to go off. I’m so confused.

— Erica (@ericasaysyes) January 29, 2019

There is clearly an iPhone flashlight problem for some users, but the shortcut is also loved by many users. It’s the fastest way to open the flashlight and some users find it indispensable.

On a personal note, I often will accidentally hang up on someone when I take the iPhone out of my pocket. This is likely what is happening here, just with an accidental press of the flashlight button. You can try putting the iPhone in your pocket with the bottom of the phone at the bottom of your pocket, so that you are less likely to accidentally press the flashlight button when you take it out of your pocket.

You cannot remove the iPhone flashlight shortcut from the lock screen, but if there are enough users complaining to Apple, we could see an option added to the settings on iOS 13 or a smaller iOS update later this year. It would be surprising to see Apple completely remove the shortcut for all users, but an option would make sense.

In the meantime, you can quickly shut the iPhone flashlight off by swiping halfway to the right on the iPhone 8 and older, which activates the camera briefly, turning off the flashlight.

Another option is to open the camera app from the lock screen, but you can just as easily press the flashlight icon. You can also use Siri to turn off the flashlight. Say, “Hey Siri, turn off the flashlight.” or “Hey Siri, turn off the torch.

Finally, you can go to the Control Center to turn the flashlight off, or you can 3D touch into the flashlight icon in Control Center to change the brightness of the flashlight.

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