How to Use Night Mode for Samsung Phones

This article explains how to use night mode and the blue light filter on Samsung phones manually or by setting a custom schedule for either feature.

How to Use Night Mode

If you have a Samsung phone, you have two ways to make your phone easier to read at night—Samsung night mode and Samsung blue light filter. Both are easy to turn on in the Quick Settings menu. You can also schedule night mode to open automatically in Settings.

1. Open Settings > Display.

2. Tap the Night mode toggle on the right to turn Night mode On and Off.

3. If you want to schedule night mode to turn On and Off automatically, tap the words Night mode on the left. 

4. Tap the toggle Turn on as scheduled to allow Night mode to turn On and Off automatically.

5. Choose either Sunset to sunrise or Custom schedule to set your own time to turn it On or Off.

6. If you select a custom schedule, tap Start time and End time to change those times if you want to.

   You can always turn Night mode on and off manually, even if you have a schedule set.

How to Use the Samsung Blue Light Filter

You can also turn the blue light filter on and off in Settings.

1. Open Settings > Display.

2. Tap the toggle on the right for Blue light filter to turn the feature On and Off.

3. To set up a daily schedule for turning the Blue light filter On and Off, and adjust the opacity of the filter, tap the words Blue light filter on the left. 

4. If the blue light filter is on, you can adjust the Opacity of the filter to allow more or less blue light as you see fit.

5. To set a daily schedule for the filter, tap Turn on as scheduled, then select Sunset to sunrise or Custom schedule, as desired.

6. If you choose a custom schedule tap Start time and End time respectively to set times to turn the filter On and Off.

How to Turn On Night Mode or Blue Light Filter Manually

The easiest way to turn on night mode or the blue light filter is to simply swipe down the Notification shade. Swipe down a second time to show your Quick Settings icons — those are the icons that let you turn services On and Off on your phone (like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, your flashlight, etc.) Swipe right until you locate Night mode or Blue light filter and tap it once to turn it On. Tap it again to turn it Off. 

Difference Between Samsung Night Mode and Blue Light Filter

Night mode changes your phone's user interface elements to their inverse colors—white becomes black, etc. This utilizes Android night mode originally introduced in Android Pie. It can make your phone less bright during the night and easier to read. However, night mode does not work across all apps. For example, Amazon Shopping and even Samsung's own Samsung Health don't follow night mode's guidelines. Unfortunately, it's hit or miss as to what works and what doesn't.

The blue light filter affects the output of the screen itself. The benefit is it works universally because it doesn't rely on apps following a guideline. It just reduces blue light output regardless of what is on your screen. The blue light filter won't make your screen dimmer like night mode will, but studies suggest that filtering out blue light may help you fall asleep more easily and sleep better overall.

Both modes may help with eye strain and light sensitivity during dark hours.