Enabling dark mode on your Android device not only enhances its aesthetic appeal but also has practical benefits, such as reduced eye strain and improved battery life. Although enabling dark mode on Android is easy, there can be times when your phone fails to transition to a darker color scheme. If you are experiencing a similar issue, work your way through the following fixes to resolve the dark mode not working issue on Android.
Table of Contents
1. Re-Enable Dark Mode
Your first course of action is to reapply the dark mode on your Android. If it’s just a temporary OS-related issue, disabling and re-enabling the dark mode should solve your problem.
Open the Settings app and tap on Display. Select the Light option, wait for a few moments, and then select the Dark option.
2. Disable Scheduled Dark Mode
On Android, you can schedule dark mode to turn on automatically at specific times. This feature can cause your Android to disable dark mode on its own after a certain duration, leading you to believe that dark mode is not working correctly.
To avoid any confusion, you may disable the scheduled dark mode option on your Android by following the steps below.
1. Open the Settings app and then tap on Display.
2. Tap on Dark mode settings and toggle off the switch next to Turn on as scheduled.
On some Android phones, enabling the battery-saving option can also cause the dark mode to activate automatically. To turn it off, open the Settings app and go to Battery and device care > Battery. Then, turn off the toggle next to Power saving.
3. Check Accessibility Settings
Changing the visibility enhancement options in the accessibility menu can override your dark mode preferences on Android. To overrule this possibility, you need to review the accessibility settings on your phone and make sure they are configured correctly.
1. Open the Settings app and navigate to Accessibility > Visibility enhancements.
2. Select Default under Display mode and hit Apply.
3. Tap on High contrast theme and select None.
4. Turn off the toggle next to Color inversion.
4. Switch to the Default Theme
Although most third-party themes for Android provide support for dark mode, not all of them do. If you’re experiencing issues with dark mode while using a custom theme, consider switching to the default theme and see if that solves the problem.
Note: The exact steps for resetting to the default theme may vary depending on the Android skin your phone is running. The following steps will work for Samsung phones running One UI.
1. Tap and hold anywhere on the empty spot on your home screen and select Themes.
2. Tap the Menu icon (three horizontal lines) in the bottom right corner and tap on My stuff.
3. Select the Default theme and hit Apply.
5. Enable Dark Mode Using In-App Settings
If the dark mode is not working only in a specific Android app, such as Facebook or Google Maps, you should check the in-app settings for that app and enable dark mode from there.
If you cannot locate the option to activate dark mode within the app, it is likely that the app does not support it. In case an app has recently received a dark theme feature, update to the most recent version of the app by heading over to the Play Store or Galaxy Store.
6. Clear App Cache
Another reason why apps on Android may fail to switch to dark mode is due to corrupt or outdated cache data. You can try clearing the cache data for the problematic app to see if that helps.
1. Locate the problematic app on your phone. Long press on its icon and tap the info icon from the menu that appears.
2. Go to Storage and tap the Clear cache option at the bottom.
7. Force Dark Mode in Apps Using Developer Options
Your favorite app doesn’t support dark mode yet? No problem. There is a hidden setting on your Android that you can activate to force apps to run in dark mode. Here’s how:
1. Open the Settings app on your phone and scroll down to tap on About phone.
2. Go to Software information and tap the Build number seven times. This will unlock the Developer Options menu on your phone.
3. Head back to the Settings page and tap on Developer options. Scroll down to locate the Force Dark mode option and enable it.
8. Factory Reset Your Android
Lastly, if nothing works, resetting your Android device may be your only option. Since this process resets all settings, you should only use this as a last resort.
1. Open the Settings app and tap on General management.
2. Scroll down to tap Reset and select Reset all settings from the following menu.
3. Tap on Reset settings and enter your device pin or password to proceed.
See the Light in the Darkness
By enabling dark mode on your Android phone, you can make it more comfortable and pleasant to use, especially in low-light conditions. We hope that one of the solutions mentioned above worked and that you are now able to use your phone in dark mode again.
AndroidDark modetroubleshooting
Pankil Shah
Pankil is a Civil Engineer by profession who started his journey as a writer back in 2016. He joined TechWiser in March 2021 as a freelance writer to cover buying guides, explainers, and tips & tricks for Android, iOS, Windows, and Web.
