It’s tremendously useful having a flashlight on your phone. It takes away the need to have a separate flashlight, and you never know when one will be useful. Therefore it is helpful to know how to turn the flashlight on and off quickly. Here’s how to do it on the iPhone 13.
Read more: Apple iPhone 13 buyer’s guide — everything you need to know
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There are three ways to turn the flashlight on and off on an iPhone 13. The first is via the Control Center, the second is from the lock screen, and the third is by asking Siri to do it for you. You can also use iOS Shortcuts to add a flashlight to your home screen.
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From the Control Center
The first method of activating the flashlight is by accessing Control Center and tapping the flashlight icon. However, if you use a PIN code to lock your phone, you may find this method rather awkward and annoying. Just swipe down from the battery icon in the top-right corner to open Control Center. Tap the flashlight icon once to turn it on and again to turn it off.
If the flashlight icon is not there, go to Settings–>Control Center and enable the flashlight.
You can tap the icon to switch the flashlight on and off. But if you hold the icon down with your finger, then move it up or down, you can increase or decrease the brightness.
From the lock screen
If your screen is protected by a PIN, you may find it more convenient to access the flashlight from the lock screen. At the bottom of the lock screen is a flashlight icon, and you just need to long-press it to switch it on. Long-pressing it again turns it off.
By asking Siri
The third option is to ask your ever-helpful pal, Siri. She’ll do anything if you ask her nicely. For some reason, I find myself saying please to her. Obviously, she will turn the flashlight off again for you if you ask her.
In case you’re wondering, my phone is set to British English, and we say “torch,” not flashlight.
How to add the flashlight to the iPhone 13 home screen
Another possibility, and not really one you have to do considering your other options, is to put a flashlight icon on your iPhone home screen. For this, you’ll need the Shortcuts app. It should come pre-installed on all new iOS devices, but if not, you can download Shortcuts from the App Store.
To get started, tap the + icon in the top right-hand corner.
In the search box, start typing flashlight and it will appear under Scripting. If your phone is in another language, obviously type the correct word for a flashlight in that language. My British English phone has it listed as “torch.”
Tap the Turn word and a menu will pop up. Select Toggle from that menu.
An optional step is to tap the blue arrow next to Toggle torch. This displays the brightness slider.
Now tap the Settings which is the blue circular icon at the top-right.
Select Add to Home Screen.
If you want (but it’s not necessary), you can use an image from your phone or take a photo as your flashlight icon. Also, tap where it says New Shortcut and give it another name. Obviously, flashlight would be a good name, but it’s up to you. When it all looks good, tap Add.
The flashlight icon will now be on your home screen. Tap it once to turn it on and tap it again to turn it off.
