Dark Mode is one of the most requested features on the Android platform. And, although many OEMs have had a variety of dark UI theming for some time, it got better with the introduction of Android 10. Now just app developers need to incorporate it into their apps. Either way, even with all that, some users say that they are experiencing Dark Mode issues on Android 10, no matter what they try.
If you are among users who can’t enable Dark Mode, make sure to check the steps we listed below.
Table of contents:
- Make sure your system is up to date
- Check developer options
- Check individual app settings
- Update apps or get Beta APKs
Why is Dark Mode not working on Android 10?
Solution 1 – Make sure your system is up to date
One of the big breakthrough features introduced with Android 10 is the global dark mode, although many OEMs already have this feature on their Android 9 Pie skins. But, with Android 10, the global dark mode is not really an optional feature anymore but more a norm. Don’t mix it up with the Inverted colors option — it’s not the same.
So, updating to Android 10 should get you global dark mode that covers most of the system apps, UI (including Settings and Notification shade/Quick Access menu), and more. However, it seems that’s not really working for some users. That’s why we need you to check for system updates first and confirm that you are running an Android 10-based skin.
Once you can confirm that, navigate to Settings > Display and choose Global dark mode (or something along those lines) to force the Dark mode even on apps that don’t have it at the moment. Even if the dark mode is not available, this will trigger the string in the code and, voila, you got yourself the dark mode.
If this doesn’t work, make sure to continue with the steps below.
Solution 2 – Check developer options
Besides the usual global dark mode that’s easily accessible from Settings > Display > Dark mode, there’s also a similar option in Developer options. Now, if the Global Dark mode is not working as intended when enabled via the regular settings, make sure to check for the option in the Developer options.
Follow these steps to check Dark mode in the Developer options:
- To enable Developer options, navigate to Settings > System or About Phone.
- Tap on the Build number 7 times and insert PIN/Password when prompted.
- Now, open Settings > System > Developer options.
- Open the Dark theme and select Dark.
- Reboot your device and look for changes.
Solution 3 – Check individual app settings
If you are having issues with certain apps not having Dark mode even after the global dark mode, you should check the in-app settings. Now, the majority of apps these days come with the dark mode but some require premium access to unlock the dark mode.
Others, like Facebook, can be forced to use the dark mode but, due to a lack of optimized UI, the UI segments will be all over the place. Nonetheless, open the app that’s bothering you and look for Dark Mode (Dark Theme) settings. And make sure that the theme is set to System default or Dark.
Solution 4 – Update apps or get Beta APKs
Due to a dark mode frenzy, all major developers are certainly working on the dark mode for their respective apps. But, for some reason, some of them are rather slow with the integration so we can just wait.
What you can do is check online for the dark mode availability for a certain app and keep apps up to date. Additionally, Dark Theme for apps like WhatsApp is perpetually stuck in the Beta version. Now, since the official beta program for many apps is full, you can sideload the APK of the latest beta version and get the dark mode that way.
Google recently stated that there are dangers in sideloading apps but, as long as you stick to not-tempered APKs, there’s no reason to worry.
What you need to do is just navigate to APK Mirror or a different APK aggregating website and download the latest Beta APK. Uninstall the app you want to sideload from your device and install the APK.
With that said, we can conclude this article. Thank you for reading and don’t forget to share your dark mode issues with your specific device. That way, we might be able to provide some help or better insight. Post your comments in the comments section below.
