How to use Light, Dark, and Automatic Modes on Apple

In this brief tutorial, we will show you how to have your Apple TV interface appear in Light Mode or Dark Mode, or set it to automatically switch between these two modes based on the time of day.

Apple TV in Dark and Light Modes

Note that your Apple TV must be on tvOS 10 or later to toggle on the dark interface. And if you want it to take it further and have it automatically switch between Light and Dark Modes based on the time of day, your Apple TV must be on tvOS 11 or later.

Use Light Mode or Dark Mode on your Apple TV

1) Open the Apple TV Settings app.

2) Navigate to the General > Appearance.

3) Choose the appearance of the user interface:

  • Light: It uses a light background with everything else in the dark, like black text on a whitish background.
  • Dark: Use a darker Home Screen background and menus to make movie posters, icons, and other information easier to read at night. You’ll love a dark UI if you watch movies or play games mostly at night or in a dark room.
  • Automatic: Set your Apple TV to shift its appearance from Light Mode during daytime hours to Dark Mode during nighttime hours.
Light, Dark, and Automatic Appearance settings on Apple TV

For “Automatic” settings to work properly

The “Automatic” setting switches between Light and Dark mode according to the time of day, so be sure to set the correct Time Zone or have your Apple TV set it automatically. You can do it from Apple TV Settings > General > Date & Time section.

Date and Time settings on Apple TV

Next, navigate to Apple TV Settings > General > Privacy & Security > Location Services. From here, make sure Location Services is turned on and the Time Zone option is set to Always so that the system is able to determine your local time.

Time Zone set to always access location on Apple TV

Tip: Don’t forget that you can also use Siri to quickly toggle Dark and Light Modes to save yourself from having to poke around the Settings app. Simply invoke Siri on your Apple TV and ask it to “Turn on Dark Mode” or “Turn on Light Mode.”

Asking Siri to turn on Dark Mode on Apple TV

Other Apple TV tips for you: