Change iPhone Display Color: Full Guide

What You’ll Need

An iPhone running iOS 13 or later (most color settings are in Accessibility)
Your iPhone passcode or Face ID to unlock settings changes
Nothing else—all adjustments are built into iOS

Step-by-Step

Open Settings – Tap the gray gear icon on your home screen. This is the app that controls all iPhone preferences.
Go to Accessibility – Scroll down and tap “Accessibility.” It’s usually in the third group of settings, near “General.”
Select Display & Text Size – Under the “Vision” section at the top, tap “Display & Text Size.” This is where most color-related toggles live.
Turn on Color Filters – Tap “Color Filters” and toggle it on. You’ll immediately see a preview of the effect on your screen.
Choose a filter type – Pick from Grayscale, Red/Green (for protanopia), Green/Red (for deuteranopia), or Blue/Yellow (for tritanopia). The names refer to types of color blindness, but you can use any filter to change the overall tint.
Adjust intensity and hue – If you picked a color filter other than Grayscale, drag the Intensity and Hue sliders to fine-tune the exact color cast. Move them slowly to see live changes.
Try Smart Invert – Back in Display & Text Size, tap “Smart Invert.” This reverses colors except for images, media, and some apps that use dark styles. Toggle it on to see if you prefer this look.
Set Dark Mode (optional) – For a global color change, go to Settings > Display & Brightness and select “Dark” under Appearance. This changes the system interface to dark colors, which is different from inverting colors.

Common Mistakes

Not turning off Color Filters before trying other options – Color Filters and Smart Invert can conflict. If Smart Invert looks weird, check that Color Filters is off.
Confusing Dark Mode with Color Filters – Dark Mode changes the interface to dark backgrounds, but it doesn’t alter the colors of photos or videos. Color Filters changes the actual color output.
Adjusting the wrong slider – The Intensity slider controls how strong the filter is; the Hue slider shifts the color spectrum. If you only move Hue, you might get a rainbow effect that looks odd.
Forgetting to turn off the filter after troubleshooting – If your screen suddenly looks gray or weird, check that Color Filters is off. It’s easy to toggle on accidentally.

Tips

Use the accessibility shortcut – Go to Settings > Accessibility > Accessibility Shortcut and select Color Filters, Smart Invert, or Dark Mode. Then triple-click the side button (or home button on older models) to toggle your chosen feature on and off quickly.
Preview before applying – The Color Filters screen shows a live preview of your home screen, so you can see exactly what you’ll get before you exit Settings.
Combine with Reduce White Point – If you want dimmer, warmer colors, use Reduce White Point in Display & Text Size to lower the brightness of bright whites. This is useful for nighttime reading.
Create a custom filter – With Color Filters on, you can use the Hue slider to create a sepia or blue-light filter effect, even if you don’t have color blindness. Many people use this to reduce eye strain.
Use Dark Mode per-app – Some apps have their own dark mode setting that overrides your system choice. Check each app’s settings if Dark Mode doesn’t seem to work everywhere.

Troubleshooting

Screen looks gray or washed out – This usually means Color Filters is on with Grayscale selected. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size > Color Filters and toggle it off, or switch to a different filter.
Colors look inverted but you didn’t turn on Invert – Check if Smart Invert or Classic Invert is on. Classic Invert is in the same Display & Text Size menu. Turn it off if you don’t want it.
Dark Mode doesn’t affect some apps – Many third-party apps don’t support Dark Mode. You can force Dark Mode for those apps by going to Settings > Display & Brightness > Appearance and toggling “Always Dark” (if available), but not all apps will respond.
Changes don’t stick after restart – Color Filters and other accessibility settings are saved automatically. If they reset, it might be due to a software glitch. Restart your iPhone again, and if the problem persists, update iOS to the latest version.
Can’t find the settings – On older iOS versions, the path might be slightly different. Look for “Display Accommodations” instead of “Display & Text Size” on iOS 12 or earlier. If you’re on iOS 13 or later, the path is as described.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I change the color of my iPhone screen to black and white?

Go to Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size > Color Filters, toggle on, and select “Grayscale.” The screen will immediately turn black and white.

Can I set a custom color tint for the whole screen?

Yes. Turn on Color Filters, choose any filter (like Red/Green), then adjust the Intensity and Hue sliders to create a custom tint. You can make it warm, cool, or any color you like.

Why does my iPhone screen look weird after I turned on Color Filters?

Color Filters are designed to help with color blindness, so they change the entire color palette. If you don’t need them, turn them off. If you want a subtle change, use the Hue slider with low Intensity.

What’s the difference between Smart Invert and Classic Invert?

Smart Invert reverses colors except for images, media, and some apps that already use dark styles. Classic Invert reverses everything, including photos and videos, which can look unnatural.

Does Dark Mode save battery?

On OLED iPhones (X and newer), Dark Mode can save battery because black pixels are turned off. On LCD iPhones (SE 2nd gen and older), the effect is minimal.

How do I reset all display color settings to default?

Go to Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size and turn off Color Filters, Smart Invert, and Classic Invert. Also set Appearance to Light in Settings > Display & Brightness.

Sources: Apple Support. Menus and buttons can differ slightly by version. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.