Follow these steps if your iPhone is not locking and going to sleep automatically after a period of inactivity.
Most people have the habit of pressing the Side button to manually lock the iPhone when they are done using it. However, some, especially older folks, don’t. They know that once they stop using their iPhone, the display will automatically turn off and lock itself.
This is made possible thanks to the handy Auto-Lock feature that locks the iPhone when it hasn’t been used for a while. But in some cases, the iPhone may not sleep automatically. This leads to battery drain and is a privacy risk, as others can get inside the unlocked phone and go through photos, contacts, messages, browsing history, wallet, etc.
Thankfully, fixing the failing Auto-Lock setting is easy.
Set the correct Auto-Lock duration
Your iPhone fails to automatically turn off the display and lock the device because of incorrect Auto-Lock settings. You can quickly fix this by following these steps.
- Open the Settings app and tap Display & Brightness.
- Tap Auto-Lock.
- Choose a shorter duration, like 30 seconds or 1 minute. If you select Never, your iPhone won’t go to sleep automatically.
Is the Auto-Lock option grayed out? Turn off Low Power Mode, and then you can get inside Auto-Lock settings to change it.
Is the Always-On display active on your iPhone
iPhone 14 Pro, 14 Pro Max, 15 Pro, 15 Pro Max, 16 Pro, 16 Pro Max, iPhone Air, and iPhone 17 lineup have the Always-On display feature that dims the Lock Screen but continues to show the time, widgets, unattended notifications, and wallpaper. This feature is enabled by default, and many people may get the impression that their phone is not locked.
Rest assured that when the Always-On display is active, your iPhone is locked, and your data is secure. However, if you find the Always-On screen distracting and useless, you can turn it off from iPhone Settings > Display & Brightness > Always On Display.
Turn off Attention Aware Features
iPhone with Face ID has the Attention Aware feature, which checks for your “attention” before dimming the display and subsequently locking it. By “attention,” we mean your iPhone uses Face ID sensors to figure out whether you’re looking at your screen or not before dimming the display, expanding notifications, lowering ringtone volume, etc.
If you don’t enjoy this feature, turning it off is easy.
- Open Settings and tap Face ID & Passcode.
- Turn off Attention Aware Features. From now on, your iPhone won’t look for your attention and will automatically sleep after the set Auto-Lock period of inactivity.
Learn about Raise to Wake and Tap to Wake
Raise to Wake lights up your iPhone screen when you lift your iPhone. And with Tap to Wake, your iPhone display turns on just by a single tap/touch. Both these settings are enabled by default.
As a result, you might think your iPhone isn’t locking and turning off the display, but that’s not the case. Your iPhone is auto-locking; it just wakes the screen when you lift your iPhone, fiddle with it, or even touch the display. If you like, you can turn both off.
Try quitting video apps like TV and VLC
Because of iOS glitches, your iPhone may stay awake even after you’re no longer inside the video app. To fix this, force quit the video app from the App Switcher.
Restart your iPhone
Several inconveniences may happen on your iPhone simply because you haven’t restarted it in a long time. To ensure a smooth experience, turn off your iPhone and turn it back on.
Install the latest version of iOS
If you’re on an old version of iOS, consider updating to the latest version from Settings > General > Software Update, which should have quashed the bugs.
Live with compromises or stop using iOS beta
Are you using the developer or public beta of iOS on your iPhone? If yes, you have signed up for inconveniences, and your iPhone not sleeping automatically could be one of those. To address this, you can switch back to regular iOS or consider updating to the latest iOS beta version.
Reset all iPhone settings
If your iPhone continues to fail to lock itself, go ahead and reset all settings. This will restore all settings to the default state and can fix your ongoing troubles.
Erase and restore your iPhone
Still no luck? First, back up your iPhone to iCloud or computer and then erase it. Once that’s done, restore the backup, and now you should have a perfectly functioning iPhone that automatically locks if you don’t use it for a while.
Contact Apple Support
Finally, if nothing helps, chat with Apple Support and set up a visit to your nearest Apple Store or Apple Authorized service center. They will inspect your device and fix the problem.
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