To turn on Classic Invert on an iPhone or iPad, you use the Accessibility settings where Apple keeps its vision-related display options.

Quick steps (iPhone & iPad)

  1. Open the Settings app.
  1. Scroll down and tap Accessibility.
  1. Tap Display & Text Size in the Vision section.
  1. Scroll down until you see Classic Invert.
  1. Turn Classic Invert On using the toggle.

When it’s on, all colors on the screen are reversed (white becomes black, black becomes white, and images/videos are inverted too), which can help with eye strain or certain visual needs.

Optional: Make it quicker to toggle

You can usually add Classic Invert to an accessibility shortcut so you don’t have to dig through Settings every time:

  • Go to Settings → Accessibility → Accessibility Shortcut (at the bottom), then select Classic Invert so you can toggle it quickly (for example, via side/home button triple‑click on older iOS versions).

Classic Invert vs Smart Invert

  • Classic Invert : Inverts everything , including photos and videos.
  • Smart Invert : Tries to keep media and some UI elements normal while still inverting most backgrounds and text.

If you just want a “dark mode–like” look without weird-looking photos, Smart Invert or the system Dark Mode may feel more natural.

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Learn how to turn on Classic Invert on iPhone or iPad through Accessibility settings, plus how it differs from Smart Invert and how to add a quick shortcut for faster toggling.

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