Set the UIViewControllerBasedStatusBarAppearance to YES in the .plist file.
UIViewControllerBasedStatusBarAppearance
YES
In the viewDidLoad do a [self setNeedsStatusBarAppearanceUpdate];
viewDidLoad
[self setNeedsStatusBarAppearanceUpdate];
Add the following method:
- (UIStatusBarStyle)preferredStatusBarStyle { return UIStatusBarStyleLightContent; }