Why is my flashlight not working?

It can be incredibly frustrating when the flashlight on your phone stops working and you need it for pictures or you are in a dark place. Now the flashlight dies not commonly stop functioning and if does then chances are that there’s some type of physical damage. Why is my flashlight not working? But before reaching that conclusion, we will see all the possible solutions for fixing the flashlight.

Learn how you can identify the problem in under 10 minutes and tell if the problem is software or hardware related. See how you can fix the problem in a few steps and save money in the process. We have already covered Blink My Flashlight and Turn on flashlight on devices.

If you are an iPhone user then skip to the next section, since in the first section we will see solutions for Android.

Android Flashlight Not Working?

When it comes to Android, you should not panic since sometimes there can be a bug or OS internal conflict that is causing the flashlight to not turn on. Flashlights are very robust and do not damage even if we hit them with a hammer. This is why the chances are that the problem with the flashlight is software-related and not hardware-related.

In this article, we are going to see how we can solve the flashlight not turning on the problem. But remember that there’s not always the same bug causing the flashlight not to turn on. This is why we need to try all the possible solutions before we can conclude that its physical damage.

Follow the steps mentioned below to try all the solutions for fixing it:

Restart your phone

This should be your first instinct when anything goes wrong with your smartphone. Most of the time, restarting the phone resolves the problem since Android OS will restart every process. This process also includes the one which the Android OS uses to turn the flashlight on & off. Press the power button for 10 to 15 seconds until a menu opens. Pick the “Restart” from the menu and wait for your phone to start again.

It’s very highly likely that your problem will be solved after a hard restart, but if not then move to the next solution.

Delete the default Camera app data

If your flashlight is not working while in the Camera app only, then the problem may be with the Camera app. However, keep in mind that if your phone battery is below 15 or 20%. Then the phone automatically disables the flash to prevent the battery from completely draining. But even if your problem is not limited to the camera app, this is still worth trying.

Follow the steps mentioned below to delete the camera app data:

1. Open your smartphone and go to “Settings” and then look for “Applications“.
2. Tap on it and search for “Camera” from the list of apps.
3. Open the app and you should be able to see different options. From those options, tap on “Clean data” and give confirmation.

NOTE: If you choose the clear the app data, all your custom settings will be gone. And the camera app will go back to the default settings it came with when you first opened it.

4. Now restart your device for the safe side and now the flash should be working correctly.
   Your problem should be fixed now, but if not then move to the next solution.

Try Android safe mode

If you feel like recent changes may have caused the flashlight to stop working. Then you can try to start your phone in safe mode and see if it works or not. If your flashlight starts working in the safe mode, then it means that some recently installed apps may be causing problems with the flashlight. And then you can simply remove those recently installed apps and see if it worked. NOTE: When you put your phone in safe mode, only the apps which are required will run. And all the third-party apps will not be allowed to run. This is very helpful when you are trying to start only the native apps and test something.

Now we have different ways of entering the “Safe mode” and we are going to see one of them. Follow the steps mentioned below to start your phone in safe mode:

Reset app preferences

If you feel like you have done recent changes in the settings and the flashlight may have stopped working because of it. Then it’s worth giving it a try since this can solve the problem if it’s with the app settings. The app preferences include permissions, disabled apps, default apps, and more. NOTE: If you have done settings change in apps or disabled some of the apps. Then all of your custom app setting changes will be reverted to the default once and you will lose those settings. This means you will have to make those changes again in the apps after you follow these steps.

Follow the steps mentioned below to reset the app preferences:

1. Open your phone and go to the “Settings” app and then look for “Applications“.
2. Now tap on it and from the new screen, tap on the three vertical dots located at the top-right corner of the screen.
3. After you tap on the three dots, a new menu will open with different options. Tap on “Reset app preferences” and you will be asked to provide confirmation.
4. Provide confirmation and your app preferences settings will be set to default.

Now open the camera app or start the flashlight from the quick access menu. If the flashlight starts working then it means the problem was with the app settings. But if now then move to the next solution.

Use a different flashlight app

This solution is not likely to solve the problem, but still worth giving a shot since it takes relatively less time. The default flashlight functionality may have some problems due to which it’s not working. In such a case, we can download any third-party app from Google’s Play Store and try it out.

If the flashlight works then it means that there’s a bug in your Android OS’s current version. This means that you need to wait out for a new software update or revert to the previous Android OS version. Till you change the version of the Android OS, you will have to use a third-party app to use a flashlight. But if your problem is still not resolved then you need to move to the next solution.

Factory reset the phone

This is an extreme measure and we would not recommend using this since this will remove all of your data. Flashlight not working is not a major issue since you can work without but needing to set up your entire phone again is tedious. But if you still want to perform a factory reset on your device then we are going to see the steps. NOTE: As we have discussed before, performing a factory reset will remove all your data and settings. After the factory reset, your device will be just like how it came in the box. 

1. Open your smartphone and go to “Settings” and then tap on “General Management” or “System“.
2. Now tap on “Reset“, if you are not able to find it then tap on “Reset options“. From the reset options, tap on “Erase all data (factory reset)“.
3. Now you will be asked to provide confirmation and even asked to provide the PIN.
4. Once you start the factory reset process, your phone will restart multiple times and will take some time (5-10 minutes).

Once the process is completed, your phone will be as it came in new and the flashlight will work properly. But if the flashlight is still not working then it’s surely a problem with the hardware and you need to visit a repair center.

Why is My Flashlight Not Working On My iPhone?

The flashlight on the iPhone is a very handy feature that helps make our life easier. However, if it stops working then it can be incredibly frustrating. If the flashlight icon is grey or not clickable then it means that it’s unavailable at the moment. Flashlight generally doesn’t stop working on iPhones since there are rarely any bugs or problems related to it. But it’s still worth giving a shot to check for any software bug causing the flashlight not to work.

We will first see all the possible solutions and then only we will conclude that the problem is with hardware and not the software. We would not recommend going to the Apple store or third-party repair since they will try to pass it as a hardware problem.

Follow the solutions one by one and if it doesn’t work then move to the next one:

Close the Camera app

It’s possible that if the camera app is opened in the background and occupies the flashlight resource. This will create a conflict that will not allow you to turn on the flashlight alone.

Check if the camera app is open, if it is then close it and try turning on the flashlight. But if this does not solve your problem then move to the next solution.

Restart your iPhone

This should be your first solution when anything goes wrong with your iPhone. Restarting the iPhone will cause it to reset all the temporary settings and close the apps. This is very likely to solve the problem with the flashlight. But if this also doesn’t solve your problem then move to the next solution.

Perform a hard reset

Sometimes doing a simple restart may not be enough to solve any critical bug or problem. To solve such problems, we can perform a hard reset which will force all the temporary changes to reset.

Follow the steps mentioned below to hard reset:

1. Press and release the volume up and the same with volume down and then hold the power button.
2. Now you need to keep holding the power button while you see the Apple logo.

Reset your iPhone settings

If restarting is not working for you then we are going to use the reset iPhone feature to try fixing the problem. This is not very hard or critical as the name may suggest since none of the data is gone. However, your settings will be changed back to the default once. NOTE: We would recommend trying other solutions before this one. Since your custom settings will be gone.

Follow the steps mentioned below to reset iPhone settings:

1. Wake up your iPhone, go to “Settings” and then tap on “General Transfer” or “Reset iPhone”.
2. Now find “Reset” and tap on it, if you can’t find it then search for it.
3. From the options, tap on “Reset all settings” and then enter your passcode.
4. Give confirmation and we are done, the process will take some time to complete. Once the reset process is completed, then your flashlight should be working fine.

Restore the iPhone to the previous backup

If the previous solutions are not working for you then this may work and is worth giving a try. Restoring will repair lost or corrupted data and chances are that your flashlight will start working. The process is very straight forward and no data will be removed.

Restore the iPhone to factory settings

This should be your last option since all your data and settings will be gone and you will not be able to recover it. After the factory reset, your iPhone will be as it came in the box and everything will be reset. NOTE: We would not recommend resetting unless you feel like it’s necessary. Since you will have to back up your data and then set up the iPhone after reset.

Contact Apple support

If nothing is working for you then it means that the flashlight is not working due to physical damage. You should go to an Apple store or third-party repair shop and get it checked out. The reason should be either the flashlight connector is lost or the flashlight module is damaged.

Summary

Here we saw, how we can tell if the problem is with hardware or software. We would recommend going through all the solutions to make sure that the problem is software-related and not hardware. But if none of the solutions is working for you then you need to visit a repair store. Since the problem is more likely to be hardware related like a damaged flashlight module or lose connection or water damage.

If you have any queries related to your problem then feel free to drop them down in the comment section below. We are more than happy to help out our readers with the problem.