FAQ - Dark Mode

Since Nov. 21, 2019 some Samsung Galaxy devices repeatedly switch back to day mode. This not an issue with the Dark Mode app but with the Email app by Samsung.

The Samsung Email app overwrites the Android night mode settings which may switch your device back to day mode. This happens whenever the app is opened and sometimes even when the app is running in the background.

Solution 1 - Disable the Samsung Email app

1. Open your Android Settings
2. Click "Apps"
3. Select the Email app
4. Click on the settings ⋮ in the top right corner
5. Click on "Uninstall updates"
6. Click "OK" in the dialog
7. Warning: Now, the Samsung Email app can't be used anymore. You might have to connect your mail address to another Email app (Gmail for example).

Solution 2 - Disable the dark mode settings of the Samsung Email app

1. Open the Samsung Email app
2. Open the menu ☰ in the top left corner
3. Click on the settings ⚙️ in the top right corner
4. Enable "Night mode"
5. Now the Email app will still overwrite the Android dark mode settings but, instead of activating the day mode, it will activate the night mode.

Note: Keep in mind that there may be other apps on your phone which have similar issues.

Most likely, your phone manufacturer has disabled the Android dark mode on your phone. A number of phones are affected by this issue, for example, a few specific Samsung Galaxy and Xiaomi Redmi phones.

Unfortunately, there is nothing I can do to fix this. I'm sorry about that. 😔

If you are lucky, your phone manufacturer will enable the dark mode with a future update.

The Dark Mode app supports all apps that have a dark theme. If an app is not turning dark, this means that the app does not have a dark theme.

Unfortunately, there is no way for me to implement a dark theme for that app - only its owner can do so. If you really need the dark mode for that app, I'd recommend contacting its owner. Chances are they are already working on a dark theme for their app. 😊

Instagram got a dark theme in October 2019.

If your Instagram is still light, chances are your phone is too old to receive the latest Instagram updates.

1. Install the app again.
2. Select light mode.
3. Uninstall the app again.

There are multiple possibilities:

• You have selected "Auto" rather than "Night Mode". "Auto" may look dark at first, but it actually toggles the mode automatically depending on the current time: dark at night, light by day.
• The mode was turned off by another app that is overwriting the Android dark mode settings.
• The mode was turned off by whoever used your phone while you weren't looking. 🙈

The Auto mode enables the night mode in the evening and the day mode in the morning.

Unfortunately, some phone manufacturers changed or removed this behavior in their customized android versions.

In case the auto mode does not work on your device, your phone manufacturer has probably disabled this mode.

The Dark Mode app allows you to switch between the dark and light theme of your apps. These themes are provided by the apps themselves.

If an app "looks weird" after switching to dark mode, then that's because

• that's how the app was intended to look by its developers, or
• the developers of the app made a mistake when adding the dark theme to their app.

If you think the developers made a mistake, I'd recommend contacting them. Perhaps they are already working on fixing the issue. 😊

This is due to a (mis-)configuration by your phone manufacturer. Usually, switching to dark mode only affects your apps, but not your screen. Some manufacturers however couple switching to dark mode with dimming and tinting your screen. Presumably, this is done to reduce eye strain from blue light in the evening.

Starting with Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean), released in 2013, all recent Android versions up to Android 9 (Pie) are supported.

Devices that are running a more recent version of Android like Android 10 or Android 11 cannot make use of this app. These devices can usually activate the night mode in the phone's system settings without using an external app.

Your phone manufacturer has disabled the Android dark mode functionality in the new update.

Unfortunately, there is nothing the app can do to enable the dark mode again once it has been disabled.

I am really sorry for the inconvenience. Wish I could help. 😔

Old Android phones (up to Android 5.1 - Lollipop) do not support the Android Night Mode by default.

To activate the Night Mode, the Android Car Mode has to be activated first. Because of this, the Dark Mode app will automatically activate and deactivate the Car Mode on older devices.

Please be aware that activating the Car Mode may not work properly on all devices.