If your screen looks washed out, too blue, or strangely yellow, the problem is almost always a display setting that has been switched on — often by accident. Here is how to find it and fix it.
Night mode or night shift
The most common reason a screen looks yellow or orange is Night Mode (sometimes called Night Shift, Night Light, or Eye Comfort Shield). This feature reduces blue light in the evening to help you sleep, which turns everything on screen slightly warmer — like looking through amber glass. If your screen has looked yellow since yesterday evening, this is almost certainly the cause.
On an iPhone, go to Settings, then Display and Brightness, then Night Shift. On an Android phone, go to Settings, then Display, then Night Light or Eye Comfort Shield — the name varies depending on the manufacturer. On a Windows computer, go to Settings, then System, then Display, then Night Light. Turn it off and the colours should return to normal immediately.
Colour temperature setting
Separate from night mode, many devices have a colour temperature or warm/cool display setting. On a Samsung phone, go to Settings, then Display, then Screen Mode, and make sure Vivid or Natural is selected rather than a warm preset. On an iPad or iPhone, go to Settings, then Display and Brightness, then look for True Tone — turning it off sometimes helps if the colours look off in certain lighting.
Washed-out or faded colours
If colours look pale and washed out rather than yellow, the screen brightness may simply be too low, or a colour filter may be on. On an iPhone, go to Settings, then Accessibility, then Display and Text Size, and check whether Colour Filters is turned on. If it is, turn it off. On Android, go to Settings, then Accessibility, and look for Colour Correction or Colour Filters.
Blue or cool-looking screen
If everything looks very blue, the colour temperature may have been set to Cool. On a Samsung, go back to Screen Mode settings and try a warmer preset. On a computer monitor, look for the display or picture settings (often accessed by a button on the monitor itself, not on the computer) and look for a Colour Temperature option — set it to Neutral or 6500K.
When nothing works
If adjusting settings does not fix the problem and the screen has always looked slightly off, the display itself may have an issue. If the screen has recently been knocked or dropped and now shows patches of discoloration, that is physical damage to the display panel and will need repair. For a problem that appeared gradually over time, the display is simply ageing — this is normal after several years of use.