Top 8 Fixes for WhatsApp Dark Mode Not Working on Android and iPhone

After many prayers and wishes (so dramatic, right?) For lovers of the dark mode, Facebook has finally introduced the dark mode for WhatsApp. The functionality is available on Android and iOS. However, some users may not feel the joy of the dark as the dark mode is not available for multiple Android and iPhone users. Let’s see how to get dark mode on WhatsApp.

Even if the dark mode is not really dark on WhatsApp, it is magnificent. You get a dark gray background with off-white and green accents. Are you impatient to check it on your phone?

Without letting you wait any longer, let’s see how to get dark mode on WhatsApp on Android and iPhone.

1. Check software compatibility

On Android, the dark mode of WhatsApp works on all supported versions of Android, i.e. from Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich to Android 10. However, the same thing does is not true for iOS. On iOS, dark mode is limited to iOS 13 only. Older versions do not support it.

To check your software version on iOS, go to Settings> General> About. You will find the version number listed under Software Version.

2. Update WhatsApp

The first thing you need to do is update WhatsApp on your Android and iPhone to get the dark mode after checking the compatibility. To do this, open Play Store on Android and App Store on iPhone. Search for WhatsApp. Press the Update button. On Android phones, you should also update Google Play services for best results.

Point: Consult our guide to know if the applications should be updated on Android and iOS.

3. Close WhatsApp

Once you have installed the latest version of WhatsApp, you should immediately see WhatsApp in dark mode. However, you must use a dark theme on your phone. If this does not happen, you must activate the dark theme or kill the WhatsApp to start it again.

To do this on Android, go to Phone settings> Applications & notifications. Under All apps, find WhatsApp. Tap Force stop. Then relaunch WhatsApp.

On the iPhone, launch the recently opened applications screen. Then swipe up or down on WhatsApp to close it. Then restart it.

4. Check the settings

If you are not using the dark theme on your phone, you must activate the dark mode in the WhatsApp settings. However, you can only do this on Android. On iOS, dark mode is linked to your system settings. You must therefore activate the dark mode in the system settings so that it also appears in WhatsApp.

To activate dark mode in iOS (from iOS 13 and above), go to Settings, then Display and Brightness. Check the box under Dark. Then close WhatsApp and hopefully it will be dark when you launch it again.

Point: If the dark mode doesn’t appear on your iPhone, discover different ways to fix the dark mode that doesn’t work on iOS 13.

On Android, if you are using Android 10 and above, you can activate it from the system and WhatsApp settings. If you want to link it to system settings, go to Settings on your phone, then Display. Activate the toggle next to the dark theme.

On Android 9.0 Pie and below, you can activate dark mode only from WhatsApp settings. To do this, launch WhatsApp and tap the three-dot icon at the top. Select Settings. Go to Chats, then Theme. Select Dark in the Choose Theme dialog box.

Point: You can also use the same method in Android 10.

5. Disable automatic dark mode

While you check the system settings for dark mode, you should take a look at the automatic programming of dark mode on iOS. If it is enabled, disable it. And if it’s disabled, enable it, then disable it again.

6. Restart the phone

After following the above methods, if the dark mode still does not work, restart your phone. It is a good idea to restart your phone from time to time.

7. Clear the cache (Android only)

On Android, clearing the cache for WhatsApp will also help you activate dark mode if it doesn’t work. Clearing the cache will not delete your WhatsApp chats or media. This will only happen if you use the Clear Data or Storage button. So avoid that.

To clear the WhatsApp cache, do the following:

Step 1: Open Settings on your phone. Go to Applications and notifications or Application.

2nd step: Under All apps, tap WhatsApp.

Step 3: Tap Storage, then tap Clear cache.

8. Uninstall WhatsApp

Finally, if none of the above brings you to dark mode, try uninstalling WhatsApp. Before that, make a backup of your chats on Google Drive (Android) and iCloud (iOS). Also read what happens when you uninstall WhatsApp before performing this step. Once uninstalled, restart your phone and install WhatsApp.

Dark mode everywhere

Now that dark mode is available on Android and iPhone; we hope Facebook will also bring it for WhatsApp web. Fortunately, it could happen soon. Reports suggest that Facebook is working on the dark theme for both the WhatsApp web and the desktop tool.