How to Turn On Dark Theme (Dark Mode) on Android

You want your Android phone to use a dark color scheme instead of bright white backgrounds.

Why: Dark theme dims the system and most Google apps to dark backgrounds with light text — easier on the eyes at night and gentler on battery for OLED screens. It’s one switch in Display.

Settings paths vary by maker (Samsung One UI vs Pixel). Wording below follows Google’s generic Android and Pixel docs.

Step 1: Turn on Dark theme in Settings

This is the main toggle that switches the whole system.

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Tap Display (Samsung: Display; Pixel may show Display & touch).
3. Turn Dark theme on. The change is instant — no restart needed.

Step 2: Add the Quick Settings tile for one-tap switching

Once the tile is there, you can flip dark mode on and off without digging into Settings.

1. Swipe down twice from the top of the screen to open full Quick Settings.
2. Tap the edit / pencil icon.
3. Drag the Dark theme tile up into the active tiles, then tap Done.
4. From now on, just tap the Dark theme tile to toggle it.

Step 3: Schedule dark theme automatically

You can have dark mode turn on by itself at night so you’re not toggling it every day.

1. Open Settings > Display and tap Dark theme.
2. Tap Schedule.
3. Choose Turns on at bedtime (Pixel, Android 13+, ties it to Bedtime mode) or Turns on from sunset to sunrise, depending on what your phone offers.

If your phone shows no Schedule option, your Android version doesn’t support it — use the Quick Settings tile from Step 2 instead.

FAQ

Some apps are still bright white. Dark theme isn’t available for every app — some have opted out or are on the maker’s block list. Those apps may have their own dark setting under their Settings > Theme or Display.

My phone went dark on its own and I didn’t turn it on. Battery Saver can switch dark theme on automatically. Check Settings > Battery > Battery Saver and turn it off, or set its schedule to No schedule.

Is dark mode better for battery? On phones with OLED screens, yes — dark pixels use less power. On older LCD screens the savings are minimal.

How do I turn dark theme back off? Tap the Dark theme Quick Settings tile, or go to Settings > Display and switch Dark theme off.

Sources: Android Help — Change to dark theme or adjust the color scheme on your Android device