7 Ways to Fix iPhone Screen Colors Messed Up or Distorted Issue

The ability to show vibrant colors and crystal-clear pictures is probably one of the biggest reasons consumers buy the iPhone. However, you might not get the full experience if your iPhone’s screen colors appear messed up or distorted. If this is also happening with your device, keep reading as we look at 7 ways to troubleshoot this issue.

Your iPhone has several settings and functions that can help adapt the screen colors according to your surroundings and usage. However, some can make your iPhone’s screen colors appear messed up or distorted. In this case, you can disable these settings or use them to fix the screen colors manually. For more details, here’s a step-by-step look.

1. Turn off Color Filters

Using different color filters, you can customize your iPhone’s screen colors. However, when enabled, certain filters like Grayscale can make the iPhone’s screen look washed out or discolored. In this case, disable these filters from the Accessibility menu. Here’s how to do it.

Step 1: Open Settings and tap on Accessibility.

Step 2: Here, tap on ‘Display & Text Size’.

Step 3: Scroll down and tap on Color Filters. Then, turn off the toggle for Color Filters.

2. Restart Your iPhone

If your iPhone’s display shows weird colors due to a bug or temporary glitch, a device restart should help take care of it. To do that, first, turn off your iPhone. Then, use the Power button to restart the device and check again. Here’s how to do it.

Step 1: Depending on your device model, follow the below steps to turn off your iPhone:

• For iPhone SE 1st gen, 5s, 5c, and 5: Long-press the top button.
• For iPhone SE 2nd gen onwards, 7, and 8: Long-press the side button.
• For iPhone X and above: Long-press the power and any volume buttons simultaneously.

Step 2: Once the slider appears, hold and drag it till the end. Wait for the screen to go completely blank.

Step 3: Now, press and hold the Power button until the Apple logo appears.

Wait for your device to finish restarting. Then, see if the screen colors are back to normal. If the issue persists, continue to the next fix.

3. Manually Adjust the Color Balance

If your device’s color temperature is set to a warmer or lighter tone and auto-adjust is turned on, it might cause the screen colors to appear messed up. To fix it, turn off True Tone to stop your iPhone from automatically adjusting the display colors. Then, proceed to adjust the overall color balance manually. Follow the below steps to do it.

Step 1: Open the Settings app and tap on Display & Brightness.

Step 2: Here, turn off the toggle for True Tone. Then, tap on Night Shift.

Step 3: Now, use the Color Temperature slider to adjust the screen color temperature manually.

Once done, it should change your iPhone’s screen color back to normal.

4. Turn Dark Mode On or Off

Using Dark Mode not only helps make the screen comfortable to view, especially during continuous sessions, but also helps reset the screen colors to an extent. It does this by turning the entire screen dark. After a while, you should see your screen colors back to normal even if you switch to Light Mode. Here’s how to do it.

Step 1: Open the Settings menu and tap on Display & Brightness.

Step 2: Here, tap on Dark.

Now, proceed to use your device for a while. Once enough time has passed, use the above steps to turn off Dark Mode on your iPhone. This should allow your screen colors to appear normal, even when using Light Mode.

5. Check for Software Updates

If the screen colors appear distorted due to a software issue, there’s a good chance an update is available to fix it. If so, use the below steps to check and install the relevant software update on your iPhone.

Step 1: Open Settings and tap on General.

Step 2: Then, tap on Software Update.

Once the update appears, download and install it on your iPhone. Then, use your device to see if the screen colors are normal.

6. Reset All iPhone Settings

While resetting your device settings might seem like an overkill, it is an excellent way to fix most device issues, especially if you still haven’t pinpointed the exact cause. Once done, it will delete all previous device settings, like Wi-Fi passwords, privacy settings, screen color configurations, etc., and reset it to factory default. Device data will not be affected.

Follow the below steps to give it a try.

Step 1: Open Settings and tap on General.

Step 2: Scroll down and tap on ‘Transfer or Reset iPhone’.

Step 3: Here, tap on Reset → Reset All Settings.

Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the process. Once done, it should fix the iPhone screen discoloration issue.

7. Contact Apple Support

If your iPhone’s screen colors are still distorted or the issue has occurred after a drop or damage to the screen, you can contact Apple Support for further assistance. Here, you can use the live chat feature to talk to a representative or schedule an in-store appointment to get your device checked out.

Fix Discoloration on iPhone Screen

The inability to display colors as is can spoil your overall user experience. So, we hope this article helped you fix the iPhone’s screen colors appearing messed up or distorted. You can also check our other article if you notice signs of screen burn on your iPhone’s display and would like to fix or prevent it from spreading further.