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starfield how to turn on flashlight

To turn on your flashlight in Starfield, you just need to hold your scanner button (not tap it).

Starfield: How to Turn On Flashlight

Quick answer

  • On PC: Hold the F key to toggle the flashlight on or off. Tapping F only opens the scanner, holding it turns on the light.
  • On Xbox controller: Hold LB (left bumper). Tap = scanner, hold = flashlight.

You don’t need to pick up a separate item; the flashlight is built into your space helmet.

If your light “doesn’t work,” make sure you actually have a helmet with a flashlight mod as part of your current outfit/loadout.

Mini guide: step-by-step

1. Make sure you have a flashlight

  • Flashlights are part of space helmets , not separate gear in your inventory.
  • As long as a helmet with a light is equipped in your spacesuit/outfit, you automatically have a flashlight.

Example: You put on a spacesuit; the game auto-equips its helmet. That “outfit” now includes the flashlight, even if the character visually hides the helmet in cities.

2. Turn the flashlight on and off

  • Keyboard & mouse (PC)
    1. Aim where you want to see.
    2. Hold F to turn on the flashlight.
3. **Hold** F again to turn it off.
  • Xbox controller
    1. Aim your camera.
    2. Hold LB (left bumper) to turn the flashlight on.
3. **Hold** LB again to switch it off.

Key detail:

  • Press (tap) = opens the hand scanner.
  • Hold = toggles flashlight.

3. Changing the flashlight button (optional)

If you don’t like the default key or it conflicts with another bind:

  1. Open the game Menu.
  2. Go to Settings.
  3. Open Bindings / Controls.
  4. Find Hand Scanning/Flashlight.
  5. Rebind it to a more comfortable key or button.

This changes both the scanner and flashlight toggle, since they share the same input (tap vs hold).

4. When the flashlight “won’t turn on”

If nothing happens when you hold F or LB:

  • Check that a helmet with a flashlight is part of your current gear set.
  • Try equipping a different spacesuit/helmet in your inventory and test again.
  • Some players report rare bugs; swapping helmets, updating drivers, or clearing shader cache has helped in a few cases.

5. Smart use in dark areas

  • Use the flashlight to explore caves, ruins, and underground facilities , where visibility is otherwise very low.
  • Be careful in stealth : the bright cone of light can give away your position to enemies, so many players turn it off during sneaking sections.

SEO-focused extras

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Meta description suggestion:
In Starfield, your flashlight is built into your space helmet. Hold F on PC or hold LB on Xbox (tap for scanner, hold for light) to explore dark caves and ruins.

TL;DR:
Hold F on PC or LB on Xbox (don’t just tap) to turn the flashlight on or off in Starfield, as long as you have a space helmet equipped with a light.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.