Find out why your Apple Watch screen is too dim and learn about some quick ways to make the display brighter again.
My new Apple Watch got stuck on the Apple logo, and after I fixed this issue, I noticed that my Apple Watch screen was dim. In other words, the screen brightness went considerably lower than I remembered, and it was easily noticeable.
I was worried, thinking my new watch was a defective unit, the display was faulty, or that the fixes for getting out of the stuck logo had messed it up.
Thankfully, none of my worries were true, and I was able to fix my Apple Watch’s dim screen using these solutions. These fixes apply to all models, including the Apple Watch Series 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, SE (both 1st and 2nd generation), and Apple Watch Ultra 1 and 2.
1. Manually turn up the brightness
Apple Watch auto brightness takes care of the display luminance and adjusts it based on the light around you. However, if you find the brightness is consistently too low, you can manually adjust it directly from the watch or the paired iPhone.
- Press the Digital Crown to view all your watch apps, then tap the Settings icon.
- Scroll down and tap Display & Brightness.
- Tap the sun icon on the right to crank up the screen brightness.
You can also change the Apple Watch screen brightness using the Watch app on your iPhone. Simply tap Display & Brightness and drag the brightness slider to the right.
2. Restart your Apple Watch
Your Apple Watch screen can become stuck on low brightness due to temporary glitches. Turning your watch off and back on should help fix the issue.
3. Use your iPhone flashlight or go outside into the sun
To be entirely straightforward, the manual method I mentioned above to increase brightness didn’t work for me, nor did restarting.
Even after turning the brightness to the maximum, I knew that this wasn’t bright enough. I was confident that initially, my Apple Watch display used to go brighter than this. Again, my concerns about receiving a defective Apple Watch with a faulty screen began to trouble me. But soon, the steps below put my mind at ease:
- Wear your Apple Watch on your wrist and unlock it.
- Go outside in the bright sun or turn on your iPhone flashlight.
- Now, point the light onto your Apple Watch display. Make sure to keep the distance between the flashlight and the watch screen very close. If needed, adjust the position of the light source by moving it a few centimeters. You’ll see that your Apple Watch screen brightness now cranks up to the maximum.
As soon as I witnessed this, my mind was relaxed. Immediately after this, I went outside my room in the sun, and the watch display looked beautiful at its maximum brightness and colors. In other words, my watch was in good working condition. It wasn’t a defective unit. Here’s what I concluded:
Even if you have manually set the Apple Watch brightness to its maximum, the screen can appear dim or dark when indoors in low to moderate light. To have the Apple Watch display brightness set to its maximum, ensure you are in a well-lit environment.
4. Update your Apple Watch
Issues related to Apple Watch screen brightness can be attributed to some problems in watchOS. If your Apple Watch is not updated, install the latest version of watchOS on it. This will ensure you have the perfect software Apple currently has for you.
5. Let your Apple Watch cool down
Is your Apple Watch too hot? In that case, it can have issues performing to its fullest capacity. To address this, remove the watch from your wrist, switch it off, and let it cool down for 5 minutes.
6. Use a white watch face
When my Apple Watch screen went dim, one of the things I did was switch to a white watch face. Using a non-black watch face isn’t a solution to increase the brightness, but it may help you see the display better even when it’s dim.
Similarly, to view things more clearly on your Apple Watch, even with a dark screen, you can increase the text size, enable bold text, and set a longer wake duration by going to your Apple Watch’s Display & Brightness settings.
Related: How to automatically change your Apple Watch face based on time or location
7. Set up your Apple Watch again
The above solutions should have fixed the low brightness issues on your Apple Watch. If none helped, consider unpairing your Apple Watch, which will erase it. After that, set it up again.
8. Get your Apple Watch checked
Ultimately, if the Apple Watch display continues to display poor brightness, it is best to take it to an Apple Store or an authorized service center for inspection. In case there is a hardware fault in the screen or the watch, Apple will fix it for you.
On a related note: 15 ways to make your iPhone screen brighter