Database Info

Brightness lower limit?

I was trying to lower the brightness very low to test how it would affect battery drain and it seems that the phone won't let 3rd party apps lower the brightness lower than what you can set it to, in the phone's settings. I tried an app called timerrific that lets you schedule various settings changes, but the phone seems to be overriding it. When I set the brightness to go down to 15% via the app, it does go very dim, but then immediately bounces back up to lowest level the phone's settings let's you set it at. Also, I had auto brightness off and the power saving mode off.
Has anyone been able to get the phone to go to very low brightness?

Thats a good question and would like the answer too... to me, the lowest brightness which must still HOG the battery as sometimes it seems to drain very fast with usage (and I have it on the lowest setting)... seems overly bright. I would without a doubt use it at a lower brightness to conserve energy depending on what I was doing at the time.

hey maybe its just the screen that makes it look bright

labbu63 said:
hey maybe its just the screen that makes it look bright
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure what you mean? For example, if I set the brightness to go down to 5% through the app Timeriffic, the screen will dim down to where I can barely see anything, but then it immediately raises back up to the lowest setting you can set in the phone's normal settings, which seems to me to be about 25-30%.

Yep
labbu63 said:
hey maybe its just the screen that makes it look bright
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is actually correct, the screen is what makes the "Automatic" brightness setting on the SGS phones look brighter than their LCD brethren. As we all know, currently all AMOLED displays use some kind of Pentile Matrix. All HTC devices (The N1 included) currently use RG:BG Pentile Matrix.
Do a google search on: "RGBG Pentile" and Samsung's site details it.
The SAMOLED display Samsung has made uses a new Pentile Matrix called RGBW:
Do a google search on: "nouvoyance" and it's the first site (sorry for the odd instructions, won't let new users post links )
Using the new RGBW, a white subpixel is introduced on top of the standard RGB stripe. From my reading, this allows the screen to achieve the same resolution to the eye with 33% less subpixels and is a brighter display in the process.

Asori said:
This is actually correct, the screen is what makes the "Automatic" brightness setting on the SGS phones look brighter than their LCD brethren. As we all know, currently all AMOLED displays use some kind of Pentile Matrix. All HTC devices (The N1 included) currently use RG:BG Pentile Matrix.
Do a google search on: "RGBG Pentile" and Samsung's site details it.
The SAMOLED display Samsung has made uses a new Pentile Matrix called RGBW:
Do a google search on: "nouvoyance" and it's the first site (sorry for the odd instructions, won't let new users post links )
Using the new RGBW, a white subpixel is introduced on top of the standard RGB stripe. From my reading, this allows the screen to achieve the same resolution to the eye with 33% less subpixels and is a brighter display in the process.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good explanation, but are saying that no you can't dim it to low levels because it makes it look brighter than it is? If so, I don't buy it. I see it being dimmed to a low level. It just doesn't stay there.

Aldiko reader can get the screen even more dim
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

Also since there is less air gap in the new display, it is brighter.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

This is just me speculating, but I'm thinking maybe the brightness setting is universal to android devices, except that it's calibrated to normal lcd. So the same voltage(or however they regulate the display brightness) on an LCD will look brighter on the Super AMOLED. For me, the dim setting on the auto-brightness seems too bright.

One thing I've noticed is I can take the brightness down to its lowest setting and it still seems bright..however on almost every phone I've used its like this.
The weird thing is on the Captivate I can open the browser, men then scroll down to settings and it has a brightness toggle there that takes it lower.

nbohmer said:
One thing I've noticed is I can take the brightness down to its lowest setting and it still seems bright..however on almost every phone I've used its like this.
The weird thing is on the Captivate I can open the browser, men then scroll down to settings and it has a brightness toggle there that takes it lower.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah that does take it down lower than the home screen by a small amount. I put the browser brightness on the lowest setting and the global brightness on the lowest. Both auto brightness and power save are off. When I switch from the browser to the home screen, it brightens up a touch. So, it does go lower, but not all that much though, and it's only for the browser.

pjs2004 said:
Good explanation, but are saying that no you can't dim it to low levels because it makes it look brighter than it is? If so, I don't buy it. I see it being dimmed to a low level. It just doesn't stay there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can totally dim it more. In doing so, it will use even less power than an LCD screen at the same brightness setting.

Asori said:
You can totally dim it more. In doing so, it will use even less power than an LCD screen at the same brightness setting.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, that's what I thought was cool about this type of screen, but I still don't know how to to dim it below the the lowest setting in the phone's control panel (which isn't very low). 3rd party apps I've tried don't really work, or they work, but the phone immediately raises it back up. Are you saying you've dimmed it down to where you can barley see the screen, like 5-10 percent? That's what I'm looking for confirmation on. If so, what app did you use?

pjs2004 said:
Yeah, that's what I thought was cool about this type of screen, but I still don't know how to to dim it below the the lowest setting in the phone's control panel (which isn't very low). 3rd party apps I've tried don't really work, or they work, but the phone immediately raises it back up. Are you saying you've dimmed it down to where you can barley see the screen, like 5-10 percent? That's what I'm looking for confirmation on. If so, what app did you use?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have used this app and seems to be pretty good, makes the brightness lower than system brightness.
http://www.androlib.com/android.application.com-curvefish-widgets-brightnesslevel-jDiB.aspx

i use brightness level too but the brightness goes back to the highest level when you plug the phone in and you cant use the presets on the widget anymore

sfernandez said:
I have used this app and seems to be pretty good, makes the brightness lower than system brightness.
http://www.androlib.com/android.application.com-curvefish-widgets-brightnesslevel-jDiB.aspx
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried this app, and while it's a good app, it still doesn't make the screen go super dim. It looks to me like the lowest level (0%) is the same as lowest setting from the control panel. Zero percent should really be totally black.

Screen Filter
Here is your 100% working solution.
It doesn't work with the bright level, it applies a shade/filter to the screen. No matter what app you're using.
Set the bright to the lowest with your default system settings, because if you use a third party that goes below normal, with some apps like explorer, it set it to minimum allowed be system or whatever you set and then you will notice a setp up, shaded but a change.
I'm using it weeks ago and I found it's the best choice to suft the web at night. Also you can turn off softkeys lights
http://www.appbrain.com/app/screen-filter/com.haxor

flash speedmods new kernel.

[Q] Auto-brightness

Anyone else's auto-brightness not working? Mine doesn't

how?
How do you know? Or what have you noticed?
Rio

I don't think that mine works either, one of the first things I noticed.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk

rio911 said:
How do you know? Or what have you noticed?
Rio
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well it never seems to change. To confirm I put it on the lowest and then on auto, it stayed on the lowest. I then tried putting it on the highest setting and then putting it on auto but again it stayed the same.
Surprised it took me so long to realise..

It takes an average reading of the light it senses over about 30-45 seconds when it's on auto and responds accordingly on mine. To check yours put a torch on over the sensor for about 30 secs and if nothing changes yours definitely isnt working properly. However I normally have it set to a manual amount instead of auto to save on battery etc.
Edit: Just tested again with a torch and this time it took 45 seconds to change... odd.

Where is the sensor located? Does it use the front camera?
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk

brachiopod said:
Where is the sensor located? Does it use the front camera?
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's the thing just over an inch to the left of the front camera.

I see it now. I put a bright LED flashlight over it while in a darkened room for a couple minutes and the screen did not change brightness. However, it does appear to have an IR filter over it, so maybe it is mostly sensitive
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk

Oops not used to the kb, sensitive to Sunlight.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk

With it on full brightness (before changing to auto) I had my finger over it for a while but it didn't change. Then I left it on full brightness for about 10 minutes in a fairly dim room and no change either.

Just tried with an led torch here as well and it did sod all this time. Nothing changed. Try with another light source if you get the chance. The update rate on the auto setting is too slow really tbh. There are loads of apps in the market to test the sensors too btw.
@Case0
If it's not on auto mode it wont change at all.

Possibly it only checks at certain times, such as when an app starts. I bet that it reads IR so only certain light sources might work.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk

I installed a couple of sensor tester applications, and none of them can report a value from the sensor. Sensor list 2.1 detects the sensor as a lite-on al3000a ambient light sensor, but no value is returned. Not sure if this means that it is not working, or if these apps just can't read that particular sensor.

It doesn't work for me either, although I haven't tested it since the new firmware upgrade. Maybe we have a bad batch.

I never was a fan from autobrightness. I always set it to middle.
Until I got a Nexus S and noticed how awesome it is that it changes the brightness, since otherwise you can not read the display outside. It also changes instantly.

Try this. Download and install Advanced Task Killer, then Sensor Test by Atmoworker. Kill all processes to make sure the sensor isnt in use by something else. Then run the sensor test. If your value for the light meter doent move, then there's something wrong for sure, or it's in use by some process that wasnt killed by the task killer.

stuntdouble said:
Try this. Download and install Advanced Task Killer, then Sensor Test by Atmoworker. Kill all processes to make sure the sensor isnt in use by something else. Then run the sensor test. If your value for the light meter doent move, then there's something wrong for sure, or it's in use by some process that wasnt killed by the task killer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK. That app does seem to read the sensor, and it does change. I didn't have to kill any tasks for it to work. It gives three readings labeled 0, 1 and 2.
0 changes from 1.0 to over 100 outside. Probably some log scale. 1 changes from -27 to over 100. 2 sits at a very small number, about 10^-45
So the sensor does work, the tablet just isn't using it properly it appears. Or something.

Ok well yeah sounds like it does work, just doesnt function the way you want it to. There are lots of apps to deal with screen brightness on the market, some free, some not so. And then there are also a few which lets it change using the camera instead of light meter. Here's a link to one to show you what I mean. https://market.android.com/details?id=org.pbxes.light2&feature=search_result I'm sure there are free versions available if you do choose this option. Good luck in finding one you like.

Well, if by "just doesnt function the way you want it to" you mean does not do anything at all ever no matter what, then yeah, it isn't working the way I want it to. Thanks for the tip, I'll see if I can find an app that works.

OK, auto brightness DOES work. I spent some time messing with it to figure it out. The auto routine started working after I did the 10 second power button off on my machine.
1) The level that you set with the slider becomes the minimum level for the brightness under auto. That's also why I didn't think that it was working, I had brightness up all the way.
2) The auto routine will adjust brightness UP within a short period of time, 10-15 seconds, if you move into bright light.
3) The routine will NOT adjust brightness down (you move into dim light) except at three points a) right before the screen saver kicks in (goes blank) or b) right after returning from the screen saver. c) you power cycle the tablet.
This means that it is quick to respond to ambient light and increase brightness, but if you have your screen timeout set long, or you keep using the tablet, the brightness will be very reluctant to adjust down. The brightness will never be adjusted lower than you set with the slider though, but it can go up all the way.

Lower backlight

I've looked around and haven't found much, hopefully my Google skills aren't weak.
Other than using a screen dinner app, is there a way to actually decrease the backlight further? I can do some more complicated stuff like decompiling apks and what not. I just don't know if there's a way to make the range of auto brightness much lower.
I use my phone a lot at night, and turning the screen on is like getting punched in the eyes, andwhile I'm using it I feel my eyes strained.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda premium

try an app called lux. Its not free, but it did wonders for my battery life

Another option is JuiceDefender Ultimate... you can tweak the response curve to obtain lower brightness levels in low light conditions... it has a ton of options.

free app called screen filter, does what juice defender does, but its free. and it goes REALLY low .... to the point you will see "blots" of dots on the screen

fongz27 said:
free app called screen filter, does what juice defender does, but its free. and it goes REALLY low .... to the point you will see "blots" of dots on the screen
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Screen Filter just puts a filter over what your phone is displaying instead of actually physically lowering the backlight. It makes things look odd (to me) and it doesn't actually do anything for battery life unless I'm mistaken.
I mean something that actually allows you to lower the backlight further.

technically speaking becuz it's putting a software overlay on, the phone physically uses less power, so they do work. You lose some contrast between certain greys and farms though. I highly recommend u look into the "Lux" paid app I was telling u about. Its the way auto brightness should be, with user accessible custom config. The author is so good that if at anytime u decide the software isn't for u, u get a full refund, no questions asked, even if its a month after, let alone a couple minutes past the 15 min return period

icenight89 said:
technically speaking becuz it's putting a software overlay on, the phone physically uses less power, so they do work. You lose some contrast between certain greys and farms though. I highly recommend u look into the "Lux" paid app I was telling u about. Its the way auto brightness should be, with user accessible custom config. The author is so good that if at anytime u decide the software isn't for u, u get a full refund, no questions asked, even if its a month after, let alone a couple minutes past the 15 min return period
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure what you meant by becuz it's putting a software overlay.
I have realized that having the screen darker (even just displaying a darker image, like what Screen Filter does) uses less power because of the way that our screen works. On an LCD screen however, it would actually use more power.
I'm trying lux out right now, it seems promising.

when you use the term "physically" i take it as you want a PHYSICAL mod to the phone; good luck with that. Screen filter does me just fine, it does the same effect as many other "battery savers" do.
any apks, apps, etc are all SOFTWARE mod to the display screen / brightness. You are venturing into a world of unknown if the apps aren't appealing to your taste.
Keep in mind, the SR is S AMOLED, not just a regular LED / LCD display.

fongz27 said:
when you use the term "physically" i take it as you want a PHYSICAL mod to the phone; good luck with that. Screen filter does me just fine, it does the same effect as many other "battery savers" do.
any apks, apps, etc are all SOFTWARE mod to the display screen / brightness. You are venturing into a world of unknown if the apps aren't appealing to your taste.
Keep in mind, the SR is S AMOLED, not just a regular LED / LCD display.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No. By physically lowering the brightness of the backlight I meant that....well the intensity of the backlight is actually physically lower as opposed to seeing everything through a grey mist (how I see the screen filter thing).
Also, try to contribute to the purpose of this thread instead of insisting screen filter is good when I've specified that's not the solution I'm looking for.
Speaking of useful contributions to the thread..
Lux is really nice. I like it. I can't tell if the sub zero brightness is the backlight actually being PHYSICALLY (by means of software, don't worry) less bright or if it is using a filter where I just can't tell. Either way, if I can't tell then it's not bugging me. Thanks for the tip, after a day of setting it up and whatnot it's really nice.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda premium

.uhm.... don't be decieved by the name "screen filter" ; that is just the given name; the method of adjusting brightness remains the same as many other "filters" and "brightness" controllers.
Searched "lux" on the market and a lot of them have poor reviews, screen filter has over 9,000 5-star reviews so I'm pretty sure it's working...
You try screen filter and drop that "filter" below 20%; so if it's not the "brightness" being adjusted? what is being adjusted? color? gamma? contrast? sharpness? color intensity?
Again, I'll let the reviews speak for themselves; my main point is, SOFTWARE = SOFTWARE. Android is the system; the software manipulates the settings of the system... so unless Lux is somehow hacking unknown system values / physical hardware, software = software.

Another vote for screen filter by me. Period.

fongz27 said:
.uhm.... don't be decieved by the name "screen filter" ; that is just the given name; the method of adjusting brightness remains the same as many other "filters" and "brightness" controllers.
Searched "lux" on the market and a lot of them have poor reviews, screen filter has over 9,000 5-star reviews so I'm pretty sure it's working...
You try screen filter and drop that "filter" below 20%; so if it's not the "brightness" being adjusted? what is being adjusted? color? gamma? contrast? sharpness? color intensity?
Again, I'll let the reviews speak for themselves; my main point is, SOFTWARE = SOFTWARE. Android is the system; the software manipulates the settings of the system... so unless Lux is somehow hacking unknown system values / physical hardware, software = software.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm glad that you are using the reviews for random apps with the name lux in them as grounds for proving your point. Just in case if you care (which I doubt given your hostility) the app that I'm using is Lux Auto Brightness. Very nice.
Oh, and don't worry. The reviews give it a 4.4, not as good as screen filter but that doesn't seem to me to fall under 'poor reviews'.
Again, I wanted to lower the BACKLIGHT. Which, in turn, means a lower brightness. I wanted an app that would allow me to decrease the physical brightness of the backlight. How can you not understand this? Screen Filter does not do this, it puts a filter over the screen.
It even says, right in the description for Screen Filter "Applies a shade that acts as a dimmer to ensure your eyes don't hurt."
That is NOT WHAT I WANT.
Lux Auto Brightness actually does what I wanted - it allowed me to lower the backlight even further, making my phone less bright WITHOUT putting a filter/shade/softwarewhatever over the STDOUT. Goodness.
Also, thank you for specifying that software = software, I have no idea what kind of mess I would have gotten into without knowing that.

[Q] Is the Auto-Brightness Functionality wonky on the Nexus5?

Not sure if this is a Nexus5 or Android issue ...
Not sure if this is because I'm moving from an AMOLED to a IPS LCD ...
but I find the Auto-Brightness less of a function and more of a roller coaster ride.
- At home, in a well lit environment, the phone defaults to max brightness, which doesn't seem correct.
- In a dark room, upon wake of the phone, it correctly selects a lower brightness, yet will randomly ping up to max brightness, then settle back down.
The screen on the Nexus5 is absolutely gorgeous, but it just can't seem to select and lock onto the proper brightness level with respect to ambient light.
Is anyone else experiencing auto-brightness wonky-ness? Are there any potential fixes?

Everyone AFAIK suffers from it on nexus 5.
I have a horrible feeling it's a hardware fault, as none of the other Google devices on kitkat have this issue.

yeah the auto brightness seems to be too aggressive, but i'm sure custom roms will have the ability to tweak the auto brightness settings. i think even gravity box has some tweaks for the brightness

If you download Android Sensor Box, you can check the Light sensors. I think it may be bugged with Halogen lighting (correct me if I'm wrong). My home is ~ 18 years old, and we have some bulbs that have not been changed yet (yellow). Sometimes when I use my N5 under those lighting, the sensors go whack and don't register properly picking up 0lx, then spike up to 30000lx. Once I move to areas in the house with newer bulbs, the sensors work normal, picking up the right readings. I'm not sure if it's a rom issue or hardware issue, but my cousin also has a N5 and his worked fine. I tried flashing a new rom and mine still acted up fresh after boot (1st app installed after fresh flash was Android Sensor Box to test).

As a rule I don't use auto brightness. Just get something like lux or install exposed and enable a mod to let you adjust it by sliding your finger across the notification n shade. Easier and faster.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

I find that autobrightness will auto-turn on, even when i don't want it to.
There is something funky about it, I can either make the phone too dark (using lux) or too bright (using default settings)
I'm still not happy.
Tried Lux, tried adjusting the brightness tables via Gravity Box, used Twilight (to dim at night), no matter what, N5 just wants to be at full brightness all the time!

I had my Nexus 5 in the cinema the other day. The phone was sat in the cup holder by the chair for the most part of an hour when I quickly replied to a text. On turning the screen on it was on full brightness and what's worst is it took around 10 seconds for it to go down. There is definitely something not quite right with it.

Aria807 said:
Sometimes when I use my N5 under those lighting, the sensors go whack and don't register properly picking up 0lx, then spike up to 30000lx. Once I move to areas in the house with newer bulbs, the sensors work normal, picking up the right readings.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, I have been experiencing this as well, so I attempted to fix this at ROM level. The solution requires Xposed framework, so it works only on rooted devices (related discussion).

[Q] Auto brightness

What am i missing regarding screen auto brightness? I keep having to manually change brightness when going from light to dark places even though i have "adapt to lighting conditions" ticked?
It feels like im wasting battery having the screen so bright at night unless i turn it down, then I have to turn it up again in the morning.. Some secret setting?

jeremy_inc said:
What am i missing regarding screen auto brightness? I keep having to manually change brightness when going from light to dark places even though i have "adapt to lighting conditions" ticked?
It feels like im wasting battery having the screen so bright at night unless i turn it down, then I have to turn it up again in the morning.. Some secret setting?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here, Someone said that the screen does dim but it does so slowly so you barely notice it! Hoever iam not convinced! Iam almost certain mine is not adjusting at all

For normal day light conditions i feel the auto brightness adjusts very well. Its definitely better than the s4 i had. I have the auto brightness selected and the bar at 50%. I agree for night time reading i have to manually adjust the brightness may be its not as quick to adjust in very low light conditions compared to day light

I was using CM11 on the S4 which had very good brightness control, not sure about standard. I agree during the day I don't have problems at all, and the screen is very good. It's just when I'm somewhere with low brightness and I have to turn it down, and then when I go back into day I have to turn it back up again. Pretty annoying having to change it all the time.
I will get an app to do it for me for now, but this must be some sort of bug this action couldn't be on purpose.

*#*#7378423#*#*
Go to service test and test it your self.
Sent from my C6903 using XDA Free mobile app

I find the auto brightness not very good.
Sometimes when the lighting condition does not change, it will start to increase/decrease the brightness to the level which does not suit the lighting condition.
It also have the tendency to favor lower brightness.
Thinking of trying out Lux Auto Brightness instead.

electrash said:
*#*#7378423#*#*
Go to service test and test it your self.
Sent from my C6903 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know if you mean to test the sensor, but the sensor works absolutely fine (with other apps)

My auto brightness works just fine and i have mine on lowest possible setting.