Fix washed-out or wrong colours on your Mac screen

Why it happens

Your Mac uses a color profile to know how your screen shows colour. If it's set to a generic or wrong profile, colours look dull, too strong or tinted. True Tone, Night Shift and colour filters also change colours on purpose, and they're easy to forget about.

How to fix it

1. Open System Settings and click Displays. If you have more than one screen, click the one that looks wrong.

2. Open the Color profile pop-up menu and choose the profile named after your display. On a MacBook that's usually Color LCD; on a monitor it's usually the model name.

   Displays›Color profile

3. On a Mac with an XDR display you'll see a Preset menu instead. Choose the Apple XDR Display preset that's the default for everyday use.

4. On an HDR monitor, turn off High Dynamic Range in Displays if everything looks pale or grey. Turn it back on when you watch HDR films.

   Displays›High Dynamic Range

5. Turn off True Tone to see standard colours all the time. True Tone warms the screen to match the light in the room.

   Displays›True Tone

6. Click Night Shift… and make sure it isn't on, or scheduled to turn the screen orange in the evening.

   Displays›Night Shift…

7. Open Accessibility > Display and check that Color filters is off.

   Accessibility›Display›Color filters

Still not fixed?

1. On an external monitor, reset the picture using the monitor's own buttons, and try a different cable or port. A poor cable can give a pink or green tint.

2. After a macOS update, check the Color profile again. If it now shows a generic profile, choose your display's own one.

3. Photos looking a little different on your iPhone is normal. Screens differ, and True Tone or Night Shift may be on one device and off on the other.

4. If the built-in screen still has a tint, patches or lines with all of these off, contact Apple Support or a repair shop. That points to the display hardware.