Screen Turns Off During a Presentation

Nothing derails a talk faster than your phone going dark mid-sentence. Here’s how SpeakerView prevents that, and what to check if it’s still happening to you.

SpeakerView should keep your screen on automatically

There’s a setting called Keep Screen Awake, and it is on by default. When it’s on, SpeakerView tells your iPhone not to auto-lock or dim the screen for as long as you’re inside a presentation. This setting turns itself back off automatically the moment you exit the presentation, so it won’t drain your battery when you’re not actively presenting.

If your screen is still turning off, check these

Confirm the setting is on. Tap the gear icon on the home screen and check that Keep Screen Awake is toggled on. It’s possible to have turned it off previously without remembering.
Check Low Power Mode. iOS’s Low Power Mode can more aggressively manage screen behavior on some devices. Go to Settings → Battery and turn off Low Power Mode before you present, if it’s on.
Make sure you’re actually inside the presentation view. The “keep awake” behavior only applies while you’re in full-screen cue card mode (after tapping Start Presentation) — the home screen and Settings will still auto-lock normally.
Check your iPhone’s Auto-Lock isn’t set to “Never” causing confusion elsewhere, or conversely extremely short — Settings → Display & Brightness → Auto-Lock. SpeakerView overrides this while presenting, but it’s worth confirming nothing else on your device is fighting it.

If you’d prefer normal auto-lock behavior

Some presenters intentionally turn Keep Screen Awake off — for example, if they’re pairing SpeakerView with another app that also manages the screen. You can toggle it off in Settings any time; just know that with it off, your phone will dim and lock on its normal schedule, including mid-presentation.

Still going dark?

If Keep Screen Awake is confirmed on and Low Power Mode is off, but the screen still sleeps during a presentation, reach out through our support page — please mention your iPhone model and iOS version, since screen management can behave slightly differently across devices.