iOS 17 Standby Mode Not Working on iPhone? (Fixed)

Key Takeaway: Troubleshooting iPhone standby mode issues can be resolved by checking device compatibility, ensuring proper positioning on an upright charger, toggling standby settings, force restarting the device, and addressing power-related issues such as low battery, charger connection, low power mode, and app management.



Standby mode on iPhone is a great way when your eyes are set on tracking real-time information & time and glancing at memorable photos. As exciting as it sounds, you’ll get disappointed when you find a new iOS 17 Standby not working on your iPhone. But fret not; here’re are some fixes you must try to resolve standby mode problems on your iPhone. 

Best Tips & Tricks to Fix iPhone StandBy Mode Not Working

Before proceeding to the solution for iOS 17 standby not working, read our guide to check if you have followed the right procedure to set up & use standby on your iPhone. 

Solution #1. Does my iPhone support Standby Mode? Check in the below list

  • iPhone 15
  • iPhone 15 Plus
  • iPhone 15 Pro
  • iPhone 15 Pro Max
  • iPhone 14 Pro Max
  • iPhone 14 Pro
  • iPhone 14 Plus
  • iPhone 14
  • iPhone 13 Pro Max
  • iPhone 13 Pro
  • iPhone 13
  • iPhone 13 mini
  • iPhone 12 Pro Max
  • iPhone 12 Pro
  • iPhone 12
  • iPhone 12 mini
  • iPhone 11 Pro Max
  • iPhone 11 Pro
  • iPhone XS Max
  • iPhone XS

Solution #2. Make sure Your iPhone is locked

Remember, Standby mode activates only when your iPhone is locked and placed in the landscape orientation. Hence, ensure that you’ve ticked these requirements. 

Solution #3. Be Sure to Place Your iPhone on an Upright Charger

Next, you must ensure your iPhone is placed on an upright charger in landscape orientation. That’s because Standby mode doesn’t work on low-angle chargers.

Check Charging Status When Put on Stand… – You can try these best Standby Magsafe Chargers

iPhone must be on charge or Charging Status
iPhone must be on charge or Check the Charging Status

Solution #4. Make Sure You are using right pair of charger

If Standby mode is still not working on your iPhone, make sure your charger is up to the mark. For a better experience, you can purchase Magsafe-compatible upright charger. 

However, if you’re confused about which charger you should use, you can read our article on Best Standby supported wireless charger for iPhone.  

Solution #5. Disable and enable Standby

Now, try turning off and back on Standby mode on your iPhone. This is because you might be facing an app cache or bug that is preventing Standby from being enabled even after reaching all its requirements. Turning Standby off and on should help to fix the issue on your iPhone. Here’s how you can do it.

  1. Go to the Settings App.
  2. Select Standby.
  3. Toggle off Night Mode if you have turned on your iPhone.
  4. Toggle off Motion To Wake as well.
  5. Now, navigate back to the previous screen, and tap to toggle Standby off. 
  6. Wait for a while, and then re-enable the features back again.
Enable Standby on iPhone
Enable Standby on iPhone

After this, re-try using Standby mode, aka smart display mode on your iPhone. For this, connect your iPhone to a charger and then place it in landscape orientation. Standby mode should enable automatically in a few seconds. 

And if still Standby mode is broken, we suggest moving to the following solution. 

Solution #6. Force Restart Your iPhone 

If standby mode fails, then we suggest force restarting your iPhone. A force restart helps temporary files, clear cache, and restarts all background services. This one helps to fix most of the problems, including standby not working my iPhone. Here’s how

  • First, turn off Standby Mode. Go to Settings > Standby > turn toggle off standby mode. Right after this, follow the below steps to force restart your iPhone. 
  1. Press and quickly release the Volume High button.
  2. Press and quickly release the Volume Low button.
  3. Press and hold the Side Key.
  4. When the Apple logo appears, release the Side Key.

Once the procedure is finished, you can re-enable the feature and check if it’s working or not.

Solution #7. Make sure your iPhone is not running Low on Power

If your iPhone is running on low battery power, the standby mode won’t activate. Thus, you must first fully charge your iPhone and then try activating the Standby feature. 

Solution #8. Make sure your iPhone is rightly connected to a charger and the charging is powered on

Detach your iPhone from the charger. Now, securely connect your iPhone to a charger, prop it accurately in the landscape orientation, and ensure that your iPhone is being charged. Also, remember to read our article if your iPhone won’t charge.

Solution #9. Ensure Low Power Mode is turned off

Low Power Mode on iPhone interrupts certain features, including Standby on your iPhone. And that’s because the aim is to prevent battery draining by completely turning off various features of your iPhone. So if standby mode is broken, disable Low Power Mode if it’s enabled on your iPhone. 

To check whether Low Power Mode is enabled or not, you can check the battery icon of your flagship located at the right-top corner. If it’s Yellow in color, it means the Lower Power Mode is enabled, and that’s why StandBy mode wasn’t working on your device. To turn it off, access the Control Center and tap the Low Power Mode Icon to disable it.

Alternatively, you can disable via Settings. Go to Settings App > Battery > toggle off Low Power Mode.

Solution #10. Force-quit Apps running in the background

On your iPhone with Face ID: Swipe up from the bottom of the screen and hold in center. Then swipe up all app cards to force-quit. 

On your iPhone with Home Button: Double-press Home Button. Then swipe up all app cards to force-quit.

Solution #11. Turn Off the Rotation Lock

It’s rare, but the enabled device’s lock screen can affect Standby Mode. Turning off the same seems to fix the problem and get standby mode on your iPhone working again. To turn off the rotation lock, access the Control Center and tap the Rotation Lock Icon to disable it. 

After this, as usual, connect your iPhone to a charger and place it in the landscape orientation while locked to access Standby Mode. Hopefully, the Standby mode will start working again.

Solution #12. Reset your iPhone Settings

It’s now time to go with a high-end solution. It’s possible you are going through a bug with the current configuration in the settings app. This can eventually prevent the Standby mode to enable even the toggle next to the feature is enabled on your iPhone. In this scenario, the best solution is resetting all settings on your iPhone. Here’s how you can do it. 

  1. Go to Settings.
  2. Select Standby and turn off toggle next to Standby.
  3. Now, navigate back to the previous Settings Screen.
  4. Choose General.
  5. Swipe down and select Transfer or Reset iPhone.
  6. Tap Reset > Reset All Settings.
  7. Jot down the passcode, and select Reset All Settings for further confirmation.

That’s It!

Solution #13. Enable Always-On display if you have iPhone 14 Pro or later

If you’ve iPhone 14 Pro or later, try enabling AOD. Notably, iPhone with an Always-On display has a few more settings and options to customize the behavior of Standby mode. To do so, follow the steps below.

  1. Go to Settings.
  2. Select Display & Brightness > Always-On Display.
  3. Toggle to enable Always-On Display. 
  4. After this, toggle the following settings based on the Always-On behavior as you require.
always-on-display-settings-on-iphone-14-pro series
always-on-display-settings-on-iPhone-14-pro series

Show Wallpaper: Enabling this feature will make your Lock Screen wallpaper slightly visible while AOD is activated on your iPhone.

Show Notifications: Enabling this feature will allow pending notifications visible while AOD is turned on. 

  1. Navigate back to the main Settings Screen.
  2. Select Standby.
  3. Now, if you enabled AOD settings above, then toggle to enable AOS for standby. 

Note: Turn off this option, If you turn off AOD on your iPhone.

  1. At last, force restart your iPhone as a prudent move. For this, press the High Volume Button and then the Volume Down Button. Once done, long-press the Wake Button until the Apple Logo appears.

Solution #14. Enable Location Service

The smart display may not work on your iPhone if the location is turned off. Hence, enable the location service.

  1. Go to Settings.
  2. Select Privacy & Security.
  3. Tap on Location Services and the toggle to enable it.

Solution #15. Erase All Content and Settings

Usually, we won’t recommend this solution as the process is slightly tedious and possibly won’t resolve the Standby mode not working. It’s unlikely that you are facing issues with standby mode due to the corrupted installation of iOS 17 on your flagship. If this is causing an issue, you must try Erase All Content and Settings. But before that, make sure to back up all your data from the iPhone

  1. Go to Settings.
  2. Select General.
  3. Tap Transfer or Reset iPhone.
  4. Lastly, choose Erase All Content and Settings and follow the on-screen instructions to finish the procedure.

Once you do so, restore all data back to your iPhone. However, as a reference, you can read our article on how to take a Backup of Data from an iOS Device.

Solution #16. Wait for iOS Update

As of now, we’ve tried all possible solutions to resolve standby mode not working on your iPhone. We suggest waiting until the new iOS update is released. There are chances you might be facing an unknown bug currently being monitored and fixed by developers. 

Final Thought!

That’s It! This is how you can fix the Standby mode not working in iOS 17 on iPhone. If none of the mentioned solutions worked, it’s time to Contact Apple Support.

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Jaysukh patel

Jaysukh Patel is the founder of howoiSolve. Also self Professional Developer, Techno lover mainly for iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and iOS, Jaysukh is one of responsible person in his family. Contact On: [email protected] [Or] [email protected]

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