How to Fix iPhone Auto Lock Not Working in iOS 12/11/10

If the iPhone Auto Lock feature is not working on your iPhone model, follow this guide as it offers some of the solutions to the issue and helps you get rid of the Auto Lock not working issue on any of your iPhone model. Read on to learn how.

Author Avatar Joy Taylor Last Updated: Mar. 21, 2023

Auto Lock on your iPhone automatically locks your device after a certain time period of inactivity. It does so to save your battery juice as well as protect your device from any unauthorized usage. Some of the users complain that the iPhone Auto Lock feature is not working for them. Their iPhones do not get automatically locked even after a certain time period of inactivity.

If you are in this situation, you are probably looking for ways to get rid of the Auto Lock not working on iPhone issue. The following guide offers some of the methods that you can apply to fix the lock issue on your device. At the end of the post, you will have an iPhone with a working Auto Lock feature.

Fix 1: Make Sure Auto Lock is Enabled on Your iPhone

In case you or someone else has disabled the Auto Lock feature, your phone will obviously not get locked no matter how many minutes or hours have passed since you used your device. You can verify the status of the Auto Lock feature and enable it if it’s disabled by following the following steps.

  1. On your iPhone, launch the Settings and tap on Display & Brightness followed by Auto-Lock.
  2. On the screen that follows, you will find multiple time durations for the Auto Lock feature. Tap on the one that you think is suitable for you and the feature will be enabled.

Make sure not to choose the Never option or your iPhone will never be locked automatically. It is just like you have disabled the feature on your device.

Turn on Auto Lock on your iPhone

Turn on Auto Lock on your iPhone

Fix 2: Disable the Low Power Mode on Your iPhone

If the iPhone 8 Plus Auto Lock is not working or if the feature is not working on any other variant for that matter, it could be that the battery saving mode is enabled on your device. The battery savings mode prevents many features from fully functioning on your device and disabling the mode should fix the issue for you.

Turn off Low Power Mode on iPhone

Turn off Low Power Mode on iPhone

To disable power savings mode:

  1. Open Settings on your iPhone > Tap on Battery.
  2. On the following screen, you will find a toggle that says Low Power Mode. Turn the toggle to the OFF position and the battery savings mode will be turned off on your device.

Fix 3: Turn Off AssistiveTouch on Your iPhone

The AssistiveTouch feature on your iPhone often causes issues with other features on your device. The Auto Lock not working on iPhone 6 or any other model could be the consequence of enabling the AssistiveTouch feature on your device. So what you can do is turn off the feature and that will get the Auto Lock feature to start working on your iPhone.

Disable AssistiveTouch on iPhone

Disable AssistiveTouch on iPhone

To disable the AssistiveTouch feature: Open the Settings app on your iPhone and head to General > Accessibility > AssistiveTouch and turn the toggle for AssistiveTouch to the OFF position. The feature will be disabled on your iPhone.

Fix 4: Hard Reboot Your iPhone

Sometimes all that your iPhone needs is a hard reboot to fix issues and there is no harm doing it on your iPhone. It’s easy, quick, and helps fix a number of issues including the Auto Lock not working feature on your device.

Hard Restart your iPhone

Hard Restart your iPhone

To hard reboot your iPhone:

  1. Press and hold down the Home and Power buttons together for about ten seconds.
  2. After these seconds have passed, you will see the Apple logo on your screen. Let go of the buttons and your iPhone will reboot.

Fix 5: Reset All the Settings on Your iPhone

Usually, the incorrectly configured settings are the main cause of broken features and perhaps that is the reason why the Auto Lock feature is not working on your iPhone. The solution to this issue is to reset all the settings to the factory ones and then see if that helps fix the issue.

Reset All Settings on iPhone

Reset All Settings on iPhone

To reset settings on your device:

  1. Open the Settings app and tap on General followed by Reset.
  2. On the following screen, tap on the option that says Reset All Settings and follow the on-screen instructions to reset your iPhone’s settings.

Fix 6: Toggle the Passcode Feature on Your iPhone

Some of the users suggest toggling the Passcode feature to fix the Auto Lock issue and this has worked for many users. It is pretty easy to enable and disable the Passcode feature on your device and the following is how you do it.

  1. On your iPhone, open the Settings app and tap on Touch ID & Passcode. Enter in your passcode.
  2. On the following screen, tap on Turn Passcode Off and turn off the feature.
  3. Press the Sleep button for a few seconds and drag the slider to turn off your iPhone.
  4. Press the Sleep button once again to turn your iPhone back on.
  5. Head to Settings > Touch ID & Passcode and tap on Turn Passcode On.
Disable and Enable Passcode on your iPhone

Disable and Enable Passcode on your iPhone

Disabling the Passcode, rebooting the device, and then enabling the Passcode has fixed the Auto Lock issue for many iPhone users and it should work for you, too.

Bonus Tip: How to Fix iPhone System Issues

If your iPhone got problems caused by software issues, you tried lots of ways but no use. For example, you may encounter iPhone Auto Lock not working after updating, iPhone stuck on the lock screen, iPhone battery drain and other iPhone system problems. It’s time to use iOS system repair tool to get your iPhone back to normal with ease.

Here we’d like to share you with professional and complete software, which is AnyFix. It is designed to fix 130+ iOS/ iPadOS/tvOS problems to save your Apple devices. So if you got any system problems, AnyFix can help you. Now, get the latest version of it on your computer and follow the steps below to fix iPhone problems:

Free Download

Free Download

* 100% Clean & Safe

Free Download * 100% Clean & Safe

Step 1: Install AnyFix and connect your iPhone with computer > Tap on System Repair from the home page.

Tap on System Repair

Tap on System Repair

Step 2: Choose iPhone Problems.

Choose iPhone Problems and Start Now

Choose iPhone Problems and Start Now

Step 3: Select a repair mode that’s suitable for your situation. Generally, Standard Repair can fix the most common system issues and no device data will be erased.

Choose One Repair Mode

Choose One Repair Mode

Step 4: Tap Download button to get a matching firmware > When firmware downloaded, click Fix Now to continue > If your iPhone didn’t enter recovery mode, then you need to put iPhone into recovery mode before repairing.

Step 5: After that, AnyFix will start repairing automatically. Once it’s finished, you will see the Repair Completed page.

Besides, if you got any problems when using iTunes, AnyFix can also help you. What’s more, it allows you to upgrade/downgrade iOS, enter/exit recovery mode as you need, reset devices.

The Bottom Line

If your iPhone is not getting automatically locked after you have left it idle for some time, you have issues with the Auto Lock feature and the above guide should help you sort out the issues on your device.

Author Avatar
Joy Taylor Twitter Share Facebook Share

Senior writer of the iMobie team as well as an Apple fan, love to help more users solve various types of iOS & Android-related issues.

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