Switch your Mac between Dark Mode and Light Mode

Why it happens

Your Mac has one Appearance setting that decides whether windows, menus and the Dock are light or dark. Auto switches between them as day turns to night, which can feel like it's changing by itself. A separate style setting only darkens icons and widgets, which confuses a lot of people.

How to fix it

1. Open the Apple menu and choose System Settings, then click Appearance in the sidebar.

2. At the top of the page, choose Dark for dark windows with light text, Light for the bright look, or Auto to follow the time of day.

   macOS 26 Tahoe Appearance

   macOS 27 Golden Gate Appearance›Appearance

3. Look at Finder or System Settings itself. The change shows straight away, no restart needed.

On macOS 27, the row with Light, Dark and Auto at the top of the Appearance page is itself labelled Appearance. On macOS 26 you'll find the same three choices at the top of the Appearance page.

Still not fixed?

1. If your Mac keeps going dark in the evening, Auto is selected. Pick Light or Dark instead to keep it fixed.

   macOS 26 Tahoe Appearance

   macOS 27 Golden Gate Appearance›Appearance

2. Only icons and widgets look dark? That's Icon & widget style, lower on the same page. Choose its default style if you want light icons, and use the top row for the windows.

   Appearance›Icon & widget style

3. If everything looks like a photo negative, that isn't Dark Mode. Turn off Invert colors in Accessibility settings.

   Accessibility›Display›Invert colors

4. Some apps and websites pick their own colours. If one app stays light, look in that app's own settings for a theme option.

5. If the setting won't stick after a restart, or System Settings won't open, contact Apple Support. That's a software problem worth a proper look, not a hardware one.