When your iPhone is charging on its side, it doesn't have to sit there showing a blank screen. StandBy turns it into a bedside clock, a photo frame, or a full-screen widget and Live Activity display you can read from across the room. This guide follows Apple's iPhone User Guide.
Step 1: Start StandBy
- Go to the Settings app on your iPhone.
- Tap StandBy and make sure StandBy is turned on.
- Connect your iPhone to a charger and set it down on its side, keeping it stationary.
- Press the side button.
Step 2: Switch between views
StandBy has three kinds of view: widgets, photos and clocks.
- Swipe left or right to switch between widgets, photos and clocks.
- Swipe up or down to scroll through the options within each view.
Try each one. The photo view is a nice way to show off pictures on a desk; a clock is the obvious pick for a nightstand.
Step 3: Use Night Mode at night
Apple notes that when Night Mode is turned on for StandBy, the screen adapts to low ambient light at night and shows items with a red tint, so it isn't intrusive while you're sleeping. Look for the Night Mode option in Settings > StandBy.
Step 4: Choose when the display turns off
You decide how long the screen stays on while StandBy is active:
- Go to Settings and tap StandBy.
- Tap Display.
- Choose one of:
- Automatically: the display turns off when iPhone isn't in use and the room is dark.
- After 20 Seconds: the display turns off after 20 seconds.
- Never: the display stays on as long as StandBy is on.
Apple adds that on many iPhone models you can bring StandBy back by tapping the screen, gently nudging the table, or using Siri.
Use Siri
Activate Siri, then ask it to turn StandBy on or off. Useful when your hands are full at bedtime.
Set up different views in different rooms
Apple notes a neat detail: in each location where you charge with MagSafe, StandBy remembers your preferred view. For example:
- Kitchen: a MagSafe stand showing family photos.
- Bedside: a MagSafe stand showing a clock with Night Mode.
- Desk: widgets for calendar and weather.
Set each one up once and it comes back automatically the next time you place the phone there.
Ideas for each view
- Clock: pick a clock that's large and easy to read from bed.
- Photos: choose a view with images you'd actually like to see all day.
- Widgets: a calendar and weather pair works well on a desk.
- Live Activities: timers and live updates can show full screen too, according to Apple.
Troubleshooting
- StandBy doesn't start: check it's on in Settings > StandBy, the phone is charging, it's on its side, and it isn't moving. Then press the side button.
- Screen keeps turning off: change Settings > StandBy > Display.
- Too bright at night: turn on Night Mode for the red tint.
- Wrong view in a room: with MagSafe, switch to the view you want there and StandBy will remember it.
Going further with ScreenLux
StandBy covers your iPhone while it charges; your wallpaper covers the rest of the day. If you'd like motion artwork for your Lock Screen, ScreenLux is the app I built. ScreenLux: live wallpapers for iPhone and 4K video wallpapers for Android. All artwork is created with generative AI tools.
ScreenLux is free to download and preview; subscription unlocks the full catalog and removes ads.
My team specializes in advanced generative AI art and video, and WatchLux and ScreenLux are where we apply it to the watch and the phone.
- iPhone: ScreenLux on the App Store
Source: Apple Support, "Use StandBy to view information at a distance while iPhone is charging": https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/use-standby-iph878d77632/ios
Sean McCue, Founder, WatchLux and ScreenLux
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