With due respect to “Live Stickers” and FaceTime reaction effects, “StandBy” mode is one of the most loved iOS features. In more ways than one, it’s Apple Watch’s “Nightstand Mode” that has managed to find its way into iOS. Depending on your preference, you can fine-tune this new Lock Screen to show your favorite widgets like weather, calendar, photo, and more when your iPhone is charging and placed in the landscape mode. Sadly, for some users, the nightstand mode is not working on their iPhones after the iOS 18 software update. If it’s also malfunctioning on your device, read on to fix it for good…
Best Tips to Fix Nightstand Mode Not Working on iPhone
What is causing the nightstand mode on your iPhone to malfunction? Having been on the receiving end of this frustrating issue many a time, I can say that it’s the lack of proper understanding about how this mode works that tends to hurt the most. Apart from this major culprit, software glitches and a few jealous features could be stopping the nightstand mode from functioning.
1. Make Sure to Get the Basics Right
To begin with, be sure to get all the basics right. Otherwise, the nightstand mode might fail to kick in and won’t work as expected.
A. Ensure That Your iPhone is Plugged Into a Power Source and Charging
To begin with, make sure your iPhone is securely connected to a power source and charging. Keep in mind that this Lock Screen mode is activated only when your iPhone is charging. Well, that sounds a bit weird but it’s something you must tick off right from the word go.
B. Be Sure to Position Your iPhone Correctly
For the nightstand mode to activate, ensure that you have correctly positioned your iPhone. Additionally, ensure that you have an upright charger. Yeah, you read that right! This mode doesn’t work when the iPhone is placed on flat chargers.
Not sure how to get the most out of the StandBy mode? Bother not, we’ve lined up the best tips & tricks to customize and use the iPhone StandBy mode. Hence, be sure to check the detailed guide to unlock the full potential of this feature.
2. Ensure That the Portrait Orientation Lock is Disabled
If you are unable to invoke the nightstand mode even after checking off all the essential boxes, be sure that the portrait orientation lock is turned off.
- Bring up the control center by swiping down from the top right corner of the screen and hitting the Portrait Orientation Lock icon to disable it.
- Now, lock your iPhone -> plug it into a power source, and place the device in the horizontal orientation. The nightstand mode stand should come into action.
3. Disable the Low Power Mode
Haven’t got the better of the problem as yet? If you have enabled the Low Power Mode on your iPhone, I suspect this noted power-saving mode could be causing the problem or blocking the nightstand mode from kicking in.
- To disable it, fire up the Settings app on your iPhone -> Battery -> turn off the switch next to Low Power Mode.
4. Disable/Enable the StandBy Mode
Should the StandBy mode continue to ill-function, I would suggest you disable/enable this feature.
- To do so, go to the Settings app on your iPhone -> StandBy -> turn off the toggle next to StandBy.
- Now, restart your iOS device and then turn on the StandBy mode. Additionally, make sure that Night Mode and Motion to Wake (available only on the latest top-tier models) are also enabled.
5. Hard Reset Your iPhone
At times, force reset/hard reset is all you need to do to resolve a common iPhone issue.
- To get going, press and release the volume up button -> press and let go of the volume down button -> hold down the side button until the Apple logo takes center stage.
6. Update Your iPhone
For all being feature-rich, iOS 17 is plagued with too many bugs. So, I won’t hesitate to put the blame for this iOS 17 issue on a bug. But no need to lose sleep over it as iOS keeps coming with bug fixes and performance enhancements.
- To update your compatible iPhone, dive Into the Settings app -> General -> Software Update -> download and install the latest iteration of iOS.
7. Reset All Settings
In most cases, you won’t have to factory reset your iPhone in order to fix the nightstand mode issues. However, if the problem persists, it would be worth having a go at this mighty effective solution that puts all the settings back to the default state – thereby wiping out the custom ones in the process.
- To factory reset your iPhone, launch the Settings app -> General -> Transfer or Reset iPhone -> Reset -> Reset All Settings.
Signing off…
That’s it! Assuming the nightstand mode on your iPhone has come back on track, feel free to share your feedback and the trick that has fixed this issue for you. If something else (not mentioned in this guide) has come to your rescue, do not forget it shoot that via the comments section below.
Read more: 19 Ways to Fix Double Tab Gesture Not Working on Apple Watch 9/Ultra 2
