Are you looking at your phone screen and suddenly it gets dark from the sun? Don’t panic, this is normal and can be easily fixed. Find out the reasons why your phone screen can go dark when it’s sunny and how you can fix it.
Why can’t I see my phone screen under the sun?
Using your phone – Source: spm
It is common for Android and iPhone users to have trouble seeing their phone screen when the phone is exposed to strong sunlight in open places. To overcome this problem, most of the people tend to slightly cover their phone to access apps, check notifications, among other actions. But why does this happen?
This inconvenience affects mobile phones of all brands, but some models are more affected than others. Entry-level or mid-range devices tend to have low brightness, unlike high-end or premium smartphones.
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Mobile device screens contain polarizing filters that are sometimes misaligned. In some orientations, the visual portion of the screen may be blacked out, leaving a black surface while all light is filtered out.
Therefore, it is important to understand that the brightness of a mobile phone is an important factor in being able to see it in very bright places. If you’re having trouble seeing your phone’s screen, you can try slightly covering or shading it to improve visibility.
If you are at the beach, pool, or anywhere else outdoors, it is recommended that you turn off your phone’s automatic brightness and manually increase it to maximum. Although this will not solve the problem 100%, you will be able to see what is displayed on the screen better. However, it is important to note that this action (increasing the brightness) consumes your device’s battery faster.
Another way to fix this problem is to put an anti-glare screen protector on your smartphone. Currently, many brands offer these products that will not only prevent the screen from darkening in the sun, but will also protect it from bumps, falls and scratches that your equipment may suffer.
Using your phone in the pool – Source: spm
Smartphones have long had a built-in automatic adjustment that allows brightness to be regulated according to the amount of ambient light. However, there are other, more effective alternatives to improve the readability of your phone’s screen in direct sunlight. Check them out below.
First alternative to lightness: invert colors
This setting is initially intended for users who have difficulty viewing or locking their phone screen, but is also useful for improving screen readability in direct sunlight.
On Android and iOS, it is possible to do so. In Google OS, go to “Accessibility” in settings, find the “Vision” option, and there you will see a box called “Negative Colors”. When checking it, you will see how the colors are inverted and the contrast improves. It is a perfect option to improve the readability of the screen.
On iPhone it is similar, but the result is much more customizable. Go to Settings, then “Accessibility”, and in the first section, “Vision”, select “Screen and text size”. You will find many different options there. The ones that interest us are “Increase contrast”, to improve the distinction between backgrounds and colors, and “Smart invert”.
The former inverts all colors except those in images, videos, and some apps with night mode, while the latter applies settings indiscriminately. When you activate it, you will notice that the colors are completely inverted (the backgrounds and the texts).
Second alternative: increase the font size
There are options to enlarge the size of the font used on your cell phone. And while you may think it’s only for seniors, it can also be very useful in direct sunlight.
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On iOS, go to the “Accessibility” section, tap “Display and text size,” then tap “All text bold.” You can then adjust the font size. The larger it is, the easier the text will be to read, especially in news or web articles.
In addition, by activating the “Zoom” option you can enlarge the entire screen. So you have several options to make it easier to read on your phone, even in direct sunlight.
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