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Whether you have trouble finding your home keys in dark, or you want to brighten up your path, turn on your Android phone's camera flash and use it as a flashlight. We'll show you three different ways to do that.
The ability to use your phone's camera flash as a flashlight is already built into your system; you aren't hacking your phone to do it, and you don't need a dedicated flashlight app to do it.
Use Quick Settings to Turn On Android's Flashlight
A quick way to activate your phone's flashlight is to use a tile in the Quick Settings menu.
To do that, first, pull down from the top of your phone's screen. There, tap the "Flashlight" tile (which is, unsurprisingly, the icon of a flashlight).
If you don't see that tile, tap the pencil icon at the bottom of Quick Settings and add the "Flashlight" tile to your menu.
Your phone's flashlight is now turned on.
To turn the light off, then in Quick Settings, tap the same "Flashlight" tile.
And you're all set.
Ask Google Assistant to Activate Android's Flashlight
With Google Assistant, you can speak to your phone and ask it to turn on and off your phone's flashlight.
To use this method, first, launch Google Assistant on your phone using your preferred path. One way to do that is to launch the Google app and tap the microphone icon.
Ask Google Assistant the following to turn on your phone's flashlight:
Turn on the flashlight
To turn the flashlight off, ask the Assistant the following:
Turn off the flashlight
You're done.
Draw a Gesture to Power On Android's Flashlight
On Android phones that support gestures (like OnePlus phones), you can draw a gesture on your phone's screen to turn your phone's flashlight on and off. You'll have to first configure the gesture on your phone, as follows.
Launch Settings on your Android phone and choose "Buttons & Gestures."
Select "Quick Gestures."
In "Quick Gestures," from the "Screen Off Gestures" section, select the gesture you'd like to use to turn the flashlight on and off. Usually, these gestures include drawing an O, V, S, M, and W.
After choosing a gesture, select "Turn On/Off Flashlight."
To disable the gesture in the future, choose the "None" option.
Your gesture is now configured. To use it, turn off your phone's screen and draw your chosen gesture. When you do that, your phone will turn on its flashlight. Draw the same gesture again and your flashlight will turn off.
And those are some of the ways to activate and use your Android phone's built-in flashlight. Enjoy lighting up dark environments!
Did you know you can turn on the flashlight by tapping your Android phone's back? We have an article on how to set that up, so check it out.