How to Turn On the Flashlight in Starfield

The flashlight is an underrated tool in Starfield. As you explore caves, ships, and other dark areas, having light to look into corners and under furniture can help you find potentially useful items. Imagine looking under a table, turning on your flashlight, and seeing food or bandages! To learn more, continue reading to discover how to turn your flashlight on and off in Starfield.

Starfield: How to Turn Your Flashlight On and Off

To turn on your flashlight in Starfield, hold down F on your keyboard or LB on an Xbox controller while wearing a helmet. If you just press it down, you’ll bring up your scanner instead, so make sure you hold it down until light appears. Similarly, hold down F/LB again to turn it off.

However, holding down F/LB will only work if you have a helmet equipped. Wear protective headgear before attempting to turn on your flashlight!

Related: How to Go to Venus in Starfield

Once you have your flashlight on, you can use it to see better in the dark. It’s especially helpful if you’re looking for items and need to check under tables, behind objects, or in a cabinet. The flashlight can also make it easier to move around at night if you want to make things extra immersive.

Why is the Flashlight Not Working in Starfield?

There are a few reasons why you may not be able to use the flashlight in Starfield:

• You are not wearing a helmet.
• You are only tapping F/LB instead of holding the buttons.
• You’re using an older controller, such as a PS4 one.
• Your graphics drivers are outdated.

While I touched upon the first two points earlier, the last two are slightly different. If you’re using an older PlayStation controller, you may have to swap to a PS5 or Xbox controller to get the flashlight to work.

Another potential reason your flashlight may not work correctly is outdated graphics drivers. When I first started playing Starfield, I encountered numerous issues due to this, including some odd lighting glitches. After updating them, many of my problems went away. It’s certainly worth keeping everything up to date for the best experience.

Starfield is available on PC and Xbox Series X|S. To learn more, check out how to show FPS in Starfield, or click the game tag below to explore our growing content collection.