After updating to iOS 16.2 on my new iPad Air M1 chip I have no flashlight, not even the icon. a search even returns no results and it's not there in settings in control center to add. it simply does not exist! A hard reset and resetting everything to factory settings and still nothing. Anyone else have this problem or know how to fix it! thanks.
iPad Air 5 Wi-Fi
Update to iPadOS 16.2 has nothing at all to do with loss of a feature that your iPad has never had…
Only those models of iPad that are fitted with a TrueTone flash (iPad mini6 and iPads Pro) have the flashlight feature and associated control in the Control Centre:
iPad mini (6th generation) - Apple Support
iPad Pro 11-inch (3rd generation) - Apple Support
iPad Pro 12.9-inch (5th generation) - Apple Support
No model of iPad Air has a TrueTone flash.
Update to iPadOS 16.2 has nothing at all to do with loss of a feature that your iPad has never had…
Only those models of iPad that are fitted with a TrueTone flash (iPad mini6 and iPads Pro) have the flashlight feature and associated control in the Control Centre:
iPad mini (6th generation) - Apple Support
iPad Pro 11-inch (3rd generation) - Apple Support
iPad Pro 12.9-inch (5th generation) - Apple Support
No model of iPad Air has a TrueTone flash.
To reiterate, none of the iPad Air models have a camera flash - and it is the camera flash that provides the flashlight feature. Your iPad Air has never had a flashlight feature.
No camera flash = No flashlight function
Here is an excerpt from the iPad User Guide:
The iPad User Guide is a rich source of frequently overlooked information about your iPad and iPadOS. The Guide is available both online using a web browser (such as Safari), or as an Apple Books download:
I don't even have a flash in my camera app either though, isn't that a standard feature for the camera?
Flashlight non existent after iPadOS 16.2 update
