Have you ever wondered how to get a dark theme on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch running iOS? A partial dark mode that darkens the dock and menu bars has been on Macs since OS X Yosemite,^[1][2] but Apple hasn't yet added an official dark mode/theme to its mobile operating system, iOS. Dark mode makes the screen more comfortable on your eyes, especially at night—considering it has a black background with light text.

Edit10 Second Summary

EditEnabling Smart Invert (iOS 11)

1. Update to iOS 11. Go to (Settings > General > Software Update).
2. Open Settings if not already.
3. Tap General.
4. Tap Accessibility.
5. Tap Display Accommodations.
6. Tap Invert Colors.
7. Slide "Smart Invert" to the "On" position.

EditEnabling Regular Invert Colors

1. Open Settings.
2. Tap General.
3. Tap Accessibility.
4. Tap Display Accommodations.
5. Slide "Invert Colors" to the "On" position.

EditSteps

EditEnabling Smart Invert (iOS 11)

1. Update to iOS 11 or a later version. Go to > > > wait for your device to check for updates > tap or . Smart Invert was added in iOS 11, meaning you'll need to be running it to turn it on.
   • Always perform a backup in advance of an iOS update. Read one of the following wikiHow articles to learn how to update your device: How to Back Up Your iPhone (and iPod Touch), or How to Back Up an iPad.
2. Open the Settings app. Locate and tap the gray gear icon with the word "Settings" right below it. It's located on the home screen, usually on the very first page.
   • To access and navigate the home screen, press the Home button (the physical round button at the bottom of your device). Swipe left and/or right to switch home screens until you find it.
3. Go to the section. It's usually pushed to the left pane and selected by default on iPads, but your settings app was left open, you may be taken to a different section of the Settings app.
4. Go to the Accessibility settings. Tap from the list of settings pages. This section of the Settings app contains options and features that make your device easier to use.^[3]
5. Go to the Display Accommodations settings. Tap from the list of settings pages. The Display Accommodations section offers specific vision settings, mainly for users with visual challenges such as visual disabilities and visual impairments.^[4]
6. Tap . This section comprises both the classic invert colors setting and the new Smart Invert setting.
7. Toggle on "Smart Invert". The following official feature explanation given in the settings app tells what will happen: Smart Invert Colors reverses the colors of the display, except for images, media and some apps that use dark color styles.^[5]

EditEnabling Regular Invert Colors

1. Open the Settings app. Locate and tap the gray gear icon with the word "Settings" right below it. It's located on the home screen, usually on the very first page.
   • To access and navigate the home screen, press the Home button (the physical round button at the bottom of your device). Swipe left and/or right to switch home screens until you find it.
2. Go to the section. It's usually pushed to the left pane and selected by default on iPads, but your settings app was left open, you may be taken to a different section of the Settings app.
3. Go to the Accessibility settings. Tap from the list of settings pages. This section of the Settings app contains options and features that make your device easier to use.^[6]
4. Go to the Display Accommodations settings. Tap from the list of settings pages. The Display Accommodations section offers specific vision settings, mainly for users with visual challenges such as visual disabilities and visual impairments.^[7]
5. Tap on the section (iOS 11+ only).
6. Toggle on "Invert Colors" or "Classic Invert" on iOS 11+. Doing so will reverse all the colors on your screen, turning white to black. Since most of the iOS user interface has a white/light gray background, most of the backgrounds will become black.

EditTips

• You can modify settings to set a handy shortcut to enable Smart Invert when triple-pressing the home button. To do so, go to Settings > General > Accessibility > Accessibility Shortcut > and tap "Smart Invert".^[8]

EditWarnings

• Smart Invert doesn't work well with many third-party applications (non-Apple apps). For instance, it will invert the display's colors on an Instagram photo in the Instagram app, but photos in the default Photos app will appear identical to when Smart Invert is disabled.
• Enabling Smart Invert will disable Night Shift.

EditThings You'll Need

• iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch

EditRelated wikiHows

• Turn on Night Mode on Twitter on iPhone or iPad
• Turn on Night Mode on Twitter on a PC or Mac
• Activate Dark Mode in OS X Yosemite
• Activate the Dark Theme on YouTube
• Enable Dark Theme in Windows 10

EditSources and Citations

• https://www.cnet.com/how-to/how-to-enable-ios-11s-hidden-dark-mode/

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