iPhone 12 pro max keeps dimming

I have the iPhone 12 Pro Max and it constantly dims. I made sure the Automatic button was off, it still dims. I went to answer the phone and it had dimmed itself down to an almost completely dark screen. I am constantly having to reset the brightness back to where I can see the screen. Any "bright" ideas?

iPhone 12 Pro Max, iOS 14

Posted on Nov 24, 2020 8:04 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on May 25, 2021 9:10 AM

So.. I had my apple appointment yesterday, I made sure to video the screen dimming too before I went in, I showed them the videos and explained the issue I was having, to which they admitted was very strange, they said it’s most like software based to which I agreed, but i said, what are you going to do about it, to which they responded, there’s nothing we can do, other than try a screen replacement, so I said go ahead. Now, to do the screen replacement they have to plug the device into a diagnostic machine which will look for a fault and then allow them to do a repair, so they did this, and to both mine and the employees surprised, there were 5 faults with the device! It failed the screen test, the face I.D test, ambient lighting test and two other which I forget, but this meant that they couldn’t do a screen replacement as there were many more issues, so their solution… they straight up replaced my device there and then in the shop! I was gob smacked at this point as usual you’d hear horror stories of how they will blame you and send you away! So far it’s been 24hrs, no screen dim! I’ve even done the things I did before to make it happen, and nothing! So for now, I am happy, I hope this device continues to perform correctly and if I do experience any issues I will be sure to note them here!

my advise, video your issue on another device and head to your nearest apple store!

396 replies

Mar 27, 2021 6:35 AM in response to through_the_phone_lenz

I am facing similar problem in my iphone 12 Pro Max; Apple Team is requested to look into it and resolve at the earliest. It will impact their business if not able to resolve it. I am an Apple customer for last more than 10 years; I buy new phone every year. I am facing this problem in iphone 12 Pro Max.

My screen keeps dimming all the time! Auto brightness off, True Tone off and yet it still dims, literally 15/20 minutes of use .

Apr 15, 2021 11:04 AM in response to 12pmbrightness

Please point out where the auto-dim is.... like i have been saying, there is only ONE auto brightness setting and it is not in here, its is in text and display... and that is off. This is not the issue!! The screen brightness still displays a 100% even when the screen is dimming due to heat! Please stop with these Solutions that don’t work and are irrelevant to the issue

Apr 19, 2021 12:28 PM in response to rjm4261

This is happening to me too in sun even though phone is very cool to the touch. Restart resolves the issue temporarily, but it will come back a few days later. Very disruptive/dangerous when using the phone to navigate an unfamiliar area in the car. I never had this issue for years with an XS max. All autobrightness/accessibility features are disabled per recommendations.


Apple? Fix? Is this a malfuntioning hardware temp sensor or a software issue?

Apr 23, 2021 9:55 AM in response to through_the_phone_lenz

Lol.. I’m tempted to suggest you go into Accessibility, Display & Text, scroll down and turn off auto-brightness. 😂 People are killing me... Read the entire conversation before replying with a suggestion that’s been suggested numerous times.


I have the same issue with a brand new 12 Pro Max. Usually does it while I’m playing a game but not exclusively. No amount of setting adjustments or hard resets fixes the issue. I could replace the phone but my guess is it’ll do the same thing. How about some help Apple? 🙄

Apr 25, 2021 6:20 AM in response to rjm4261

I had to save and scrape all my cash together for months to get my iPhone X! Now that it’s here I’ve turned off auto brightness in both places in settings, and tru-tone as well, but the screen gets **** DARK when I’m using it. The top 50% of the brightness slider in Control Center doesn’t seem to affect brightness at all, it can be up all the way or at 50%- same brightness. Wtf!?! If it’s a heating issue, Apple should notify us so we can stop looking for a solution. Otherwise I’m going to be racking my brain looking for a fix to my phone going blind ten times a day!

May 5, 2021 4:57 PM in response to Krypto909

I have to take mine to the Apple Store and jump through the hoops. Probably get a new one that does the same thing.


If Apple acknowledges there’s a dimming issue then they’ll have to address it. So their policy is to ignore the problem.


Second time I’ve posted this reply. They proved my point.. lol


We removed your post "iPhone 12 pro max keeps dimming" because it was nontechnical or off-topic. We understand wanting to share experiences, but these forums are meant for technical questions that can be answered by the community


May 7, 2021 4:27 AM in response to rjm4261

My 3 month iPhone 12 mini has literally just started doing this. Taking the brightness down to practically zero, where I actually couldn’t see the screen. This is definitely a new issue and Apple need to recognise it. The new series of 12’s whether it be mini, pro, max etc are terrible and plagued with problems. However Apple won’t recognise any of anyone’s comments! I am an Apple lover, watch, MacBook, phone, pad and this has got to be THE worse product line they’ve ever launched!

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iPhone 12 pro max keeps dimming

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