Does your iPhone screen have a yellow tint? This could be because a feature called Night Shift is turned on, but if your handset is one of the iPhone 12 series it may well be part of a wider problem.
Shortly after the iPhone 12 release, we started to hear about an issue with the iPhone 12’s screen. Reddit users, posters on Apple’s support forums, and members of the MacRumors forum report that the screens on their iPhone 12 or 12 Pro handsets have a yellow tint, or cast.
The iPhone 12 (right) has a yellow cast. Picture courtesy of Reddit user ValyrianStyle
True Tone or Night Shift?
We’ll warn right away that if you think you’re experiencing something similar, you should check the Settings first before rushing to the nearest Apple Store: the effect could be caused by Night Shift or True Tone. You can turn off these functions under Settings > Display & Brightness.
Night Shift is a setting that filters out blue light from the iPhone screen – blue light being the enemy of sleep. You can easily turn the feature off by opening Settings > Display & Brightness then tapping on Night Shift to enter the settings page for that feature. Here you can see Night Shift is turned on and stop the setting activating.
True Tone could be another culprit. True Tone is a feature of iPhones, iPads and even Macs that changes the colour and brightness of the screen to suit the ambient light. It should mean that the screen is easier on the eyes.
The problem is that True Tone can cause a yellow cast to the screen. One way to fix the iPhone Yellow Screen problem is to adjust the True Tone setting: Open Settings > Display & Brightness. Now tap on the button beside True Tone to turn the feature off.
How to fix iPhone 12 yellow screen
If having turned off True Tone and checked that Night Shift isn’t on you find that the display of your iPhone still has a yellow cast, it’s possible that your iPhone is affected by the iPhone 12 yellow screen problem. In that case here’s what to do:
Update the iPhone software
This issue is thought to be related to software so it’s likely that the fix will come as a software update – indeed iOS 14.5 (which is in beta at the time we are writing this) is said to fix the iPhone 12 yellow screen bug. Read more about that here: What’s in iOS 14.5.
In the summer of 2020 many users complained about a green tint on the iPhone 11 series display, especially in dark environments, but this was a software error related to iOS 13.5.
If you want to try something else while waiting for the software update, or if that doesn’t solve the problem, try this:
Change Colour Tint
- Open Settings.
- Tap on Accessibility.
- Display & Text Size.
- Tap on Colour Filters.
- Tap on the button beside Colour Filters to turn it on.
- Select Colour Tint.
- Drag the Hue and Intensity sliders until you feel that there is less yellow.
Reduce White Point
You could also try reducing the white point – which is another option in Display & Text Size. If you tap on Reduce White Point you can drag the slider until you feel that the white is how you want it to be.
Contact Apple
If these tweaks don’t solve the problem for you should contact Apple as soon as possible and try to exchange the device for one with a more accurate screen output. Read: How to book an appointment at an Apple Store’s Genius Bar.
The good news is that these complaints relating to the iPhone 12 models (including the iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max) seem to be isolated cases. But it remains difficult to assess whether or not we’re talking about a consistent production error.
If you are concerned about the screen problem with your iPhone we discuss everything you need to know about getting Apple products repaired separately.
Author: Karen Haslam, Managing Editor
Karen has worked on both sides of the Apple divide, clocking up a number of years at Apple's PR agency prior to joining Macworld more than two decades ago. Karen's career highlights include interviewing Apple's Steve Wozniak and discussing Steve Jobs’ legacy on the BBC. Having edited the U.K. print and online editions of Macworld for many years, more recently her focus has been on SEO and evergreen content as well product recommendations and buying advice on Macworld.com.