When Apple released iOS 9.3.1, it removed the ability to keep Night Shift and Low Power Mode enabled simultaneously. The ability to turn on both features was already hidden and only possible by using Siri, but the iOS 9.3.1 update made it so that Siri would disable one of them before enabling another.
We’ve found a workaround that once again allows you to use both modes at once. It’s not as easy as it once was, but it’s still fairly straightforward for those of you who desire to use Low Power Mode and Night Shift mode at the same time.
Step 1: Enable Low Power Mode via Settings → Battery
Step 2: Invoke Siri and ask to enable Night Shift. Siri will reply with the following: In order to turn on Night Shift, I’ll have to turn off Low Power Mode. Shall I continue?
Step 3: Reply with a “yes” and before the response is confirmed, press the sleep button on your iPhone. You should then hear Siri’s confirmation beep.
Step 4: Unlock your iPhone, and if you timed the sleep button press correctly, you should see Low Power Mode and Night Shift enabled at the same time.
Video walkthrough
Note that the Night Shift switch in both Control Center and Settings → Display & Brightness will both be greyed out. Despite this, it will be very evident that Night Shift is enabled by looking at the color temperature of the screen.
As you can see from our video walkthrough, this trick definitely works, but you may have to give it a few tries to get the timing just right. Did it work for you?
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The stupidest change Apple has ever made. So ffffffffff mad at them. They better come to their senses and reverse this change before Taylor writes another song or letter. Who wants to jump through hoops & loops just to enable the two most useful features together. Seriously, Apple, give us a damn break.
I don’t get it, it was enabled right through all the betas of 9.3 until around beta 5, and thats when you couldn’t have both. Surely night shift means a dimmer screen and thus works with low power mode?
Night shift doesn’t make the screen any dimmer at all. It shifts the displays color spectrum to warmer colors easier on the eyes, which might make it feel dimmer. In actuality, it’s kind of like a constant screen filter. I really don’t think this impacts battery and don’t think it shouldn’t be allowed on low power mode, but if I had to guess why, maybe it does take a small amount of process in the background, and for it to work on a sunrise to sunset schedule, it’ll be using your location services.
Is this really an issue for most people or is it just an issue because some people don’t like that they can’t do something. I mean how many people are really needing to use low power mode and night shift at the same time? I’ll bet most iOS users aren’t even using night shift as most people can’t be bothered to figure out/use new features.
Some make the argument that the primary time to use Night Shift mode (at night) is the same time that they’d need Low Power Mode.
Really? I use night shift most when I’m at home and have access to power. Anyway I’ll bet this isn’t an issue for 99.9% of users and the ones who do have an issue with it its more the fact that they’re annoyed Apple isn’t allowing something than anything else.
Apple is wierding out. They’re doing increasingly more stupid things like this. I have been with Apple since 1981, I have run Apple service centers, sold the legal clones, built Mac-only software companies from scratch, was an ACN until a year ago, was a major product evangelist for decades, but the time is fast approaching that I’m going to jump ship. It won’t be to Android, my GOD what a mess, but Apple’s stupidity and lack of care for the user is creating a market opening for a 3rd major platform to exist.
Apple believes they can just do what they want without consequence, and right now they can because very few will move to Android as it’s even worse, but the Golden Age is over for Apple. The software is complicated with -terrible- UIX, I mean, iTunes, WTF is that sh*t?? Photos!! Apple simply no longer has the UIX talent they had in the past and it really shows. Lingering bugs that last for multiple generations of the product. Being unaware of market trends like removing podcasting from GarageBand just as podcasting makes a massive resurgence.
For 16 years Apple has had online services, iTools, MobileMe, .Mac, iCloud, and in 16 years they have never gotten it working right, while DropBox gets it right from day 1. And I could go on and on. Apple is now sailing from the wind Steve Jobs put in their sales, but now they are rudderless. Tim Cook is a nice guy, but he’s not a CEO and he needs to step down. I’ll be frank, I would make a much better CEO for Apple than Tim, and I believe many others would too. Someone needs to step up and create a platform that uses Swift as its main language and create Insanely Great products that delight the user once again. Today’s products don’t delight, they frustrate.
Why do I need to go into setting, select WiFi, wait for the WiFi networks to load, select one and get back out? WTF IS THAT?? Even on the Mac it’s a simple drop-down menu and yet the iPad and iPhone are FAR more of a mobile transient device that requires fast and immediate WiFi selection. Selecting a WiFi network on an iOS device is proof positive of the total failure of UIX at Apple today, and yet it’s one of hundreds of examples. Apple, go home, you’re drunk.
I type this an iPad Pro 9.7, my 6s Plus is beside me, and my MacBook Air is in my bag beside me. I’m 100% Apple. Today.
I couldn’t agree more. Tim Cook has no passion for the products and Jony Ive is out of control. The Operating Systems and software are just getting buggier and more user abuser. Nightshift? Who wants to look at a screen that looks like it came from the dead sea scrolls just because it’s after sundown. Thank god this bug has an off switch.
Apple’s going to sink without new management.
Um, Craig Federighi runs software at Apple not Jony Ive.
Federighi isn’t the one responsible for the flattening of the OS, color palettes and loss of contrast. Federighi is guilty of his own deeper sins.
You’re kidding right? Nightshift is a long overdue feature. Blue light is a big problem and is linked with insomnia. I’m surprised it took Apple this long to release the feature. If you don’t like it don’t use it.
mzaur8, Nightshift should track the temperature of the ambient light, not the time of day. I have bright high temperature lights throughout my home so Nightshift is mostly annoying. It’s nice outdoors in the evening, but that requires turning it on. It’s a terrible implementation of a good idea.
Then don’t use it? Most people have lower temperature lightbulbs. Nightshift works just like flux does. You set a schedule of sunset to sunrise and, if you’re a normal person with normal light bulbs, the screen temperature matches your ambient light temperature just fine which helps prevent strain on eyes and is less activating for the brain helping with sleep issues
mzaur8,
That’s why I don’t use it. Its flux is based on time of day, not on ambient light temperature. If it did change color temperature based on ambient lighting then it would be a useful feature. As it’s currently designed it’s a nuisance. With two cameras the phone has the ability to measure ambient color temperature. How hard would it have been to implement this feature properly? Apple just took the lazy way out and used the internal clock.
It’s shortcuts like this that make me wonder about the competence of the management.
Apple sells way more products now than with Jobs, and all those 16 years where those services didn’t work were with Jobs.
You would suck as a CEO.
iTunes was made under Jobs. The new Photos is much better than the old one that was made… under Jobs.
Your example with wifi is really funny, knowing that it takes 3 seconds to get to the screen and that you don’t need to change it every day, even when moving.
There’s a huge difference between quantity and quality. Quantity has increased, quality has decreased. Like Israel Anderson I’ve been with Apple since the 80s. I guess this provides a longer perspective, but the current regime reminds me of the Sculley/Gassee days.
“The new Photos is much better than the old one”
the worst problem for apple today: idiotic and uncritical fanboi comments like yours
(how irritating if apple evolves its software on such incompetent opinions?)
3 seconds to select WiFi? We’re not all doing Meth.
I just timed myself jumping out of Safari here, swiping two screens to find settings, waited for WiFi networks to be found, thankfully this time it was fast, selected one, and then jumped back here. That was 17 seconds , I timed it, and I know exactly what I’m doing. I travel, all the time. I have to do this several times every day, and usually I’m stuck in settings waiting for WiFi networks to load sometimes taking over a minute, usually needing to toggle WiFi off and back on to get them all to show up. Go back to you pipe.
Could not agree more. I am 100 percent Apple today. I am typing this on my iPad Pro 12 inch, my Apple Pencil resides in my case, my 6 plus is beside me, my Mac air is charging next to my late 2015 5K iMac, my iPad Air is in the hands of my daughter and my iPod touch sits in my bag, all connected via wifi to my 3GB airport time capsule.
Point being, is that I love Apple, but am becoming increasingly frustrated with their many decisions, and control. In my opinion, they are becoming the corporation they rallied against in 1984. Everything that commercial spoke against can now be applied to Apple.
Adding Israels list of WTF is 3D Touch. This function has existed with Apple since the first iPhone and iOS 1.1.3. Here is a function that never evolved, or ever innovated. Much of 3D Touch today can be accomplished with a long press. I see no reason why older devices can not have this function with the long press, while arranging icons can be done in a new innovative way.
Just seems to me Ive and Apple management have run out of ideas. Or truly are holding back features only to introduce them in a new model. Why introduce an iPad Pro 12 inch, only to include a few better features in the smaller iPad Pro? To sell the smaller model. Yet leave the bigger brother a bit outdated in just a few months. Can’t record 4K, no tru tone screen, to name a few. Yes the bigger iPad Pro has more ram, and better use 3 speeds, but why the trade offs? The next 12 inch iPad Pro will have the features of the smaller brother. Then there’s the charging block with iPad Pro. The USB C charging block that should have come with the purchase. But why should Apple include it when their customers will just purchase it seperatly?
I just wish us Apple fans can be rewarded once in awhile for spending so much money with Apple. A bone here and there would be nice.
For wifi access if u have 3d touch (6s and 6s+) you can see the wifi option but if you dont you will have to do it the way u described.
I’ve been trying to do this for at least 15 minutes running beta 1 of iOS 9.3.2 & I can’t. Any confirmation whether this update has patched this?
THERES AN EASIER WAY, you could first go to the night shift screen in the settings menu, bring up Siri and ask to turn on low power mode, the toggle to turn night shift on should not be greyed out so you can just turn it on then. After you leave that page in settings it will grey out, but at least there is no fiddley timing involved :)
Awesome. Even better.
With the iPad Pro 9.7 I just wish there was a true tone switch in control center next to night shift. There are moments I need color accuracy only shortly, so it’s very annoying to go into settings each time you quickly want to edit an image for instance.
I don’t really feel the need to comment… like…Ever on forums. But upon stumbling on this particular subject, I couldn’t help but wonder the level of entitlement that seems to be ever growing in our society today regarding our personal devices. And to this point, if said devices don’t “magically” operate or function to suite each individuals unique needs, than the company “MUST” be failing, or loosing their way. I mean after all, I’m certain Cook, Schiller, Federighi, and Co. are up burning the midnight oil trying to address all these Top Priority concerns so we may feel more “at one” with our devices and sleep better at night.
First world problems Folks.
I’d love to see any one of us step into their shoes and attempt to continue to think forward and make consumers like “US”….Happy and help our lives at the same time. Look, I’m no saint. I just know that the business of making these devices is slightly more complicated than just posting what we might think would make them better, and having Apple sit by, read these posts and say “WOW…Ok team… we’ve got work to do!”. I’m no different, I have my flaws. I just feel better knowing that the job of the ever changing tech industry will NEVER please us all. Get used to change, It’s nothing to fear. If you don’t like it, don’t engage in it. Perhaps we should be a little more concerned with interacting with our fellow humans and tackling real world issues instead of complaining about certain features on our iPhones. We have a choice…We always have.
First World Problems…
Lots of Yay and Nay in the comments here. As always. :)
Just wanted to ask if Apple has given any reasons to NOT allow low-power/nigh shift at the same time ? I.e some technical or “soft” reason why
they patched the loop hole, or implement the XOR to start with.
BTW, this still works in the latest iOS beta, 9.3.2. I just tested it myself.