The new Standby Mode introduced in iOS 17 is an exciting feature that turns your iPhone into a smart display when placed horizontally on a charger. It shows glanceable information like widgets, photos, clocks, and more. However, Standby Mode currently only activates when your iPhone is connected to a power source like a MagSafe, Qi wireless, or Lightning cable charger.
Many users have asked if there is a way to use Standby Mode without having your iPhone plugged in.
Can You Use Standby Mode Without Charging?
Unfortunately, it is not possible to use Standby Mode on iOS 17 without connecting your iPhone to a power source.
As explained on Apple’s support page, “Standby will turn on when iPhone is placed on its side while charging to show information like widgets, photo frames or clocks.”
Enabling Low Power Mode, changing orientation, or tweaking other settings does not trigger Standby Mode unless the iPhone detects it is charging. This charging requirement allows the display to remain active without excessively draining your iPhone’s battery.
Multiple Reddit threads and YouTube videos have tested activating Standby Mode without a charger plugged in. But ultimately, they found it impossible on current iOS 17 builds.
Standby Mode is hard-coded to require power delivery over Lightning, MagSafe, or Qi wireless charging. So you cannot trick iOS into enabling it while running solely on battery power.
Workarounds to Activate a Pseudo Standby Mode
While you cannot use the official Standby Mode without charging, there are some workarounds to display a similar always-on experience:
Access Control Center
Swipe down from the top-right corner of your iPhone’s screen to access Control Center. Then tap the Orientation Lock icon to lock your iPhone in landscape view.
Benefits:
- Displays widgets, music controls, notifications, etc in landscape mode
- Works on any iPhone running iOS 17
Drawbacks:
- Not identical to Standby Mode. You need to manually wake the display.
- Drains battery life faster than Standby Mode would
Invert Colors
Go to Settings => Accessibility => Display & Text Size and toggle on Invert Colors. This makes the iPhone display black with white text/icons, mimicking Standby Mode’s dark background.
Benefits:
- Makes display darker to simulate Standby Mode at night
- Works on any iPhone running iOS 17
Drawbacks:
- Inverts every color, so images/videos look very unnatural
- Still not identical to Standby Mode. The display turns fully off after a timeout.
Use Accessibility Shortcuts
You can set up an Accessibility Shortcut (Settings => Accessibility => Accessibility Shortcut) to enable/disable Invert Colors, Zoom, VoiceOver, or other modes with a triple-click of the side button.
This lets you quickly toggle between normal display mode and faux dark mode.
Benefits
- Adds a quick shortcut to toggle display modes
- Works on any iPhone running iOS 17
Drawbacks
- Accessibility modes may impact usability for seeing content
- Still not identical to Standby Mode
Tips to Save Battery Life
Since Standby Mode requires charging to activate, you’ll drain the battery faster if you use the above workarounds. Here are some tips to preserve battery life if you want your iPhone’s display active for long periods:
- Turn on Low Power Mode
- Lower screen brightness
- Disable background app refresh
- Turn off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth when not in use
- Disable auto-lock to keep the display on
- Close battery-draining apps when not in use
- Avoid extreme hot or cold temperatures
- Replace old batteries to regain battery capacity
Will Apple Allow Using Standby Mode Without Charging?
Hopefully, Apple will expand Standby Mode’s capabilities in future iOS versions to work without charging.
Experts believe that Apple currently requires charging to avoid battery drain complaints. But since Standby Mode is limited to recent iPhone models, battery life impact may be less of a concern.
For now, Standby Mode remains exclusively a “charging mode” that activates when horizontal orientation and power delivery conditions are met. But workarounds can deliver a similar always-on display experience if you’re willing to sacrifice some battery capacity.