Released with iOS 17, the StandBy Mode turns your iPhone into a smart display that showcases glanceable information, like the time, weather, calendar, an incoming notification, and more. The mode activates automatically when your iPhone is locked and charging in landscape orientation.
Since it is a relatively newer iPhone feature, not many users know about it. Nevertheless, here’s a detailed guide on iPhone’s StandBy Mode, how to customize it, and how to turn it off (in case you don’t like it).
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What Does The StandBy Mode Do?
The StandBy Mode activates when your phone is locked and charging in a landscape orientation. Essentially, the mode makes use of the idle iPhone display (when the phone is plugged in) and turns it into an interactive screen that is capable of showing time (in more than one way), date, photos from the gallery (like an electronic frame), the world clock, or other useful information from the stock iPhone apps. it
It’s not a feature that you need or asked for, but just like the hundreds of hidden features in your iPhone, it improves the overall user experience and adds a new use case.
How To Use StandBy Mode On Your iPhone?
StandBy Mode is available on any iPhone running iOS 17 or later. It is enabled by default, so you don’t have to tweak a setting to activate it. The lock screen mode kicks in the moment you rest your iPhone in a landscape orientation while charging. It doesn’t matter whether you place your phone against the water bottle on your nightstand or a dedicated MagSafe wireless charger that holds the iPhone in place: StandBy Mode kicks in every single time without failure.
On the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro models, the StandBy Mode takes advantage of the always-on feature. However, on other iPhones, the display goes off every few seconds. Users can still wake up the display by touching the screen or nudging the surface on which their iPhone is.
- Your iPhone should be locked.
- It should be charging via a MagSafe, Lighting, or USB-C charger.
- It should be in landscape orientation (at an angle).
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How To Customize StandBy Mode Screens?
By default, StandBy Mode contains three screens. The first one shows two widgets side by side, the second showcases photos from the gallery, and the third shows a large clock on the screen.
- On the first screen, which contains two widget stacks, you can swipe up or down on the widgets to change them.
- Press and hold on a widget to enter the editing mode.
- On the following screen, you can edit and reorder the current widgets in the stack.
- You can also turn on/off features like Smart Rotate or Widget Suggestions.
- If you wish to add more widgets to the stack, hit the plus sign at the top left corner and select the app whose widget you want to show up in the StandBy mode.
- Once you’ve made all the changes, tap “Done” in the top right corner.
The next screen showcases the pictures on your iPhone. Now, you can either swipe up and down to browse through the selected albums, or you can press and hold on the widget to customize the list of available albums.
The third StandBy Mode screen contains a large clock. You can swipe up and down to go through the different themes, which showcase the time in various fonts, colors, and styles. Again, you can press and hold on to the widget and see the list of available clock options. The editable options appear with a white circular button (toward the bottom right), pressing which, you can control the color (or other adjustable aspects).
All StandBy Modes Settings, Explained
To enter the StandBy Mode settings menu, head to Settings > StandBy.
- StandBy: the toggle allows you to turn the feature on/off.
- Display (on iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro models): allows you to set a display timer, toggle Night Mode on/off, and enable/display the Motion To Wake feature.
- Show Notifications: This displays crucial notifications in StandBy mode.
- Show preview on Tap Only: enabling this feature hides the preview of a notification unless users tap on it.
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Why Is The StandBy Mode On My iPhone So Dark?
If you’re using the StandBy Mode in a room with little or poor lighting, the iPhone’s ambient light sensor will detect it and enable the StandBy Mode’s dark/night mode. Further, everything on the screen will turn red, as the color is easily visible from a distance. If you don’t want the feature to enter Night Mode, go to Settings > StandBy > Display and disable Night Mode.
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