Randomly today my phone’s Home Screen began showing this dim gray block behind the time and widgets. It doesn’t matter what color the font is or what my background image is, I can’t get it to go away.
When I’m in wallpaper-selection mode, it’s not visible in the examples until I select one. Any insight?
[Re-Titled by Moderator]
iPhone 16 Pro, iOS 18
Just wanted to provide an update that this has been resolved!
It went away after I turned the phone off and back on again… twice. 😂 The classic solution.
dearnatali wrote:
Also, for what it’s worth. The gray box stays whether I’m logged in/showing my face or not. If I turn my phone off and then back on and face a wall, it’s still there.
You likely have the Control Center set to Allow Access When Locked, which regardless of the iPhone's Lock/unlock status, it would still allow opening the Control Center. I would suggest you change that in Settings > Face ID and Passcode > Scroll down to Control Center and uncheck it for Allow Access when Locked, for the reasons above I mentioned. That's also the intended purpose of this feature, to let you know when the Control Center can be accessed by anyone.
dearnatali wrote:
This didn’t work. Still a big grey block. :(
It moves up and down as if it’s part of the clock and widgets, when I swipe up on the Home Screen.
(BTW - thank you for the quick responses and help, despite my frustration haha)
The advice I provided above doesn't permanently disable it, only when it's locked. There's no way to permanently disable that feature. Take care and you're welcome.
It’s simply an indicator showing Control Center can be accessed by swiping down from that corner. Similar to the bar at the bottom of your screen.
How interesting, I never noticed that line until now you just said it.
From what I've noticed and read, it's a privacy indicator and lets you know that when you see it (usually unlocked), you can access the Control Center. If you don't see it (usually locked), you cannot access the Control Center.
This is an important feature and cannot be disabled. In the worst case scenario that a thief steals your iPhone, they could access the Control Center and turn on Airplane Mode, preventing you from tracking it. So this lets you know when it's locked or not.
But this didn’t exist before today? Surely there’s a better way to identify this that doesn’t involve ruining my home screen aesthetic 😂
There’s really no way to turn it off? Is there an update that was announced regarding this?
dearnatali wrote:
But this didn’t exist before today? Surely there’s a better way to identify this that doesn’t involve ruining my home screen aesthetic 😂
There’s really no way to turn it off? Is there an update that was announced regarding this?
Sometimes Apple is sneaky with updates, and I can see why they wouldn't want to make a big announcement about this privacy/security feature. It was introduced around December 2017. I wouldn't let it bother you and you'll probably forget about it soon. I didn't even notice it all these years until I read your post!
This didn’t work. Still a big grey block. :(
It moves up and down as if it’s part of the clock and widgets, when I swipe up on the Home Screen.
(BTW - thank you for the quick responses and help, despite my frustration haha)
dearnatali wrote:
Here’s some more screenshot evidence on a clearer wallpaper, while I swipe up.
https://discussions.apple.com/content/attachment/9aee726a-bb7b-4d37-a83d-f7c4ab8e6c6e
Yes, it means that you unlocked your iPhone and as a result the Control Center is now accessible.
Also, for what it’s worth. The gray box stays whether I’m logged in/showing my face or not. If I turn my phone off and then back on and face a wall, it’s still there.
Here’s some more screenshot evidence on a clearer wallpaper, while I swipe up.
Don’t be surprised if it shows up again. But hopefully it doesn’t. 🤞
Glad to hear. Take care.
Why is there a dim gray block on my iPhone Home Screen?
