Some Samsung Galaxy Phones Quietly Changed Dark Mode - Here's How To Fix It

Dark Mode on iPhone and Android devices isn't just a cosmetic option that helps you quickly switch between a dark or light user interface. The feature offers practical advantages. Dark Mode makes it easier to consume content in dimly lit environments, and can also help save battery life on OLED displays, as these panels don't consume energy to show true black.

A Dark Mode malfunction appears to be affecting various Samsung Galaxy phone users who've updated their devices to One UI 8.5. Galaxy S25 devices and other Galaxy handsets may display lighter blacks or gray colors in various apps when Dark Mode is enabled. This behavior appears to be a bug that Samsung is aware of and may correct in the future. Until then, there are unofficial ways to fix the broken Dark Mode on devices, which should tide users over until Samsung releases an official patch.

Why google play and google message dark mode look ugly on One Ui 8.5? pic.twitter.com/sfQf58SL9T

— Firdaus Mustaffa (@mhdfirmus) May 11, 2026

Galaxy phone users complained online, on Reddit, X, and Samsung's own forums, about the changed Dark Mode colors that appeared after Samsung began rolling out the stable One UI 8.5 update in early-May. The software was released on the Galaxy S25 series in Korea initially, before expanding globally. Samsung has also started pushing out the software update to the Galaxy S24 series, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Fold 6, and the Galaxy Z Flip 7 and Flip 6 models, though availability may differ by region. Affected users posted screenshots online showing the broken Dark Mode and the inconsistent blacks appearing in certain apps, as seen in the X post above. Some UI elements may appear in gray tones mixed with pitch-black elements.

While there's no official position from Samsung on the Dark Mode inconsistencies, some of the affected users describe it as a bug instead of a feature. Samsung may have inadvertently changed Dark Mode with the One UI 8.5 update. Redditor MohamedElngar21 explained that One UI 8.5 creates a conflict between the Material You design and Samsung's own color palette. Material You is Google's design language for Android that supports dynamic color theming.

"OneUI 8.5 has messed with the default color palette and decided to hurt our eyes with this sharp gray coloring," they wrote, adding that both Dark Mode and Light Mode are affected. Users are more likely to observe the Dark Mode issues considering the sharp contrast seen in some of the screenshots posted online. Various apps are affected, including the dialer app and Google apps, like Messages.

Redditor just_IT_guy shared an alleged screenshot of a conversation with Samsung customer care representatives indicating that Samsung is aware of the issue and will issue a fix in a future update. While that's not an official announcement from Samsung, it suggests one way to handle the issue. Affected users can submit similar feedback to Samsung about the Dark Mode issues, so the company can get an idea of how widespread (and upsetting) the problem is.

In addition to submitting feedback to Samsung, Galaxy phone owners who've experienced the gray colors in Dark Mode have two unofficial fixes at their disposal. The simplest way to get the previous Dark Mode appearance back appears to be using the Color Palette feature in the Settings app, under the Wallpaper and Style menu.

More experienced Android users can use the Shizuku and ColorBlendr apps, as described by MohamedElngar21. The process involves installing these apps from GitHub to fix the Dark Mode coloring issues. ColorBlendr will let users choose a color style, including the default One UI 8 Tonal Spot style, which will restore the original Dark Mode colors.

After the fix is applied, users can remove Shizuku and ColorBlendr without losing the color styling made previously. However, the Redditor warns that using the Color Palette feature in the Settings app after fixing Dark Mode will bring back the bug. In other words, these fixes are only temporary solutions to a problem that Samsung may have introduced.