September 1, 2026

Shorten Auto-Lock so the screen does not stay on

Settings > Display & Brightness > Auto-Lock. Thirty seconds is the impatient setting.

• Privacy & Security
• Easy · 1 min
• iPhone on iOS 18 and iOS 26
• Fix: change Auto-Lock on iPhone
• Cheat sheet

How to do it

1. 01

   Open Settings > Display & Brightness > Auto-Lock.

2. 02

   Pick 30 seconds if you want the screen to sleep quickly. Pick a longer time if you read on the phone.

3. 03

   Then open Settings > Face ID & Passcode, or Touch ID & Passcode, and set Require Passcode to Immediately.

Auto-Lock never fires while you are looking at some navigation and video screens. If the phone stays on during a map, that is the app, not a broken timer.