1. Try Alternative Methods to Disable Dark Mode 

If you are unable to turn off dark mode from the Settings app, you can try alternative methods to disable dark mode on your iPhone.  To disable dark mode via Control Center, swipe down from the top right corner of the screen. Long press on the brightness slider and tap the Dark Mode button in the bottom left corner to disable it. Another way to disable dark mode on the iPhone is via Apple’s digital assistant—Siri. For that, press and hold the Sleep/Wake button to wake up Siri and say the following command: turn off dark mode.

2. Force Restart Your iPhone

Force restarting your iPhone is a tried-and-tested way of resolving temporary iOS-related glitches. Doing so closes all the background processes and gives your iPhone a fresh start. To force restart your iPhone, press and release the Volume Up button, then press and release the Volume Down button. Then, press and hold the Sleep/Wake button until the Apple logo appears. Wait for your iPhone to restart and then try to turn off dark mode again.

3. Make Sure the App Supports Light Mode

Although the majority of modern-day apps provide support for both dark and light modes, there are still some exceptions. For instance, the Stocks app on your iPhone does not support light mode yet. Spotify is another popular app that isn’t available in light mode. Such apps may lead you to believe that your iPhone is stuck in dark mode. So, if the issue is limited to just one or two apps, you should check the description of those apps on the App Store and confirm whether they support light mode. 

4. Disable Automatic Dark Mode

On iOS, you can schedule the dark mode to activate automatically during specific times of the day. If you have previously enabled this option, your iPhone will switch to dark mode as per your configured schedule. To prevent this, open the Settings app and tap on Display & Brightness. Then, disable the toggle next to Automatic. 

With iOS 16, Apple brought the ability to enable dark mode on your device whenever you activate a specific focus profile. While this can be convenient, it might result in your iPhone going all black whenever you enable the linked focus profile. Here’s what you can do to stop that.

  1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone and tap on Focus.
  2. Tap on your focus profile, and scroll down to the Focus Filters section. If you see Appearance (Set to dark), tap on it.
  3. Tap on Delete Filter and select Delete Filter again when prompted.
  4. Repeat the above steps to delete the Appearance filter for each of your focus profiles.

6. Check Accessibility Settings 

Your iPhone includes several accessibility features to accommodate individuals with visual impairments. If you have recently tweaked any accessibility settings on your iPhone, one of those features might be the reason why your iPhone is stuck in dark mode. Here’s what you can do to fix it. 

  1. Open the Settings app and navigate to Accessibility > Display & Text Size.
  2. Toggle off the switches next to Smart Invert and Classic Invert.
  3. Tap on Color Filters and toggle it off from the following menu. 

7. Install iOS Updates

A buggy iOS build could cause your iPhone to remain stuck in dark mode indefinitely. If the issue is indeed caused by a bug, it shouldn’t take long for Apple to release a fix. To check for pending iOS updates, open the Settings app and head to General > Software Update. Download and install any pending updates and see if that fixes the issue.

8. Reset All Settings

If installing iOS updates does not help, your last option is to reset all the settings on your iPhone. Don’t worry, this process won’t affect any of your personal data.

  1. Open the Settings app and head to General > Transfer or Reset iPhone. 
  2. Tap Reset at the bottom and select Reset All Settings from the list of options. 

Escape the Darkness

It’s no fun when your iPhone gets stuck in dark mode for no reason. In most cases, it’s temporary glitches or misconfigured settings that cause the problem. In any case, one of the above fixes should help you fix the underlying issue for good.