On 22.04, laptop screen dims to 0 when unplugging power cable. With my old eyes, I can't see the screen to increase brightness again

Daniel Moore

4/28/24, 8:11 PM

Searched for answers, and there were very old posts that gave solutions that haven't worked now for many years. I'm using Ubuntu 22.04 on a Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 14-API.

When the screen dims to its lowest brightness, I can't even read it in a dark room. Why, Ubuntu?

Is there a solution to prevent screen dimming or any brightness adjustments when plugging or unplugging the laptop? I have the brightness set where I need to read it. Raising or lowering it should be for my readability sake, not power saving. What's the use in saving power if I can't see the screen? Granted, it's a medical issue with my eyes, for for accessibility sake, I need this resolved and hope someone here can help me. At some point, I need to take the laptop on the road, and I won't be able to call a family member over to turn up the brightness again when I unplug.

EDIT: Settings are set to never dim. It never times out to dim, only dims when unplugging power. Thanks for the suggestion, it was the first thing I tried.

Also, I rarely use the built-in keyboard. I use a special keyboard for accessibility, which doesn't have the option. The keyboard is usually folded behind the screen with the laptop on a stand and it just acts as a monitor for me.

EDIT: New information. I have discovered that if I unplug the laptop, then turn up the brightness, it will turn the brightness down again when I plug it back in. If I turn it up again after plugging it in, then the brightness will stay that way no matter how many times I unplug and plug, at least until I reboot, then it's back to going dim when I unplug again. There is a setting in a file somewhere, I just don't know where to look.

EDIT August 8, 2023: In case anyone else ever searches for a resolution to this issue, I finally fixed the issue by upgrading to Ubuntu 23.04 last month. The problem disappeared with this release. Don't know what caused it in 22.04 and I no longer care. It was something to do with my particular hardware configuration, I'm sure. Tested it using Debian 12 and did not have the problem, but I had the problem testing Debian 11. 99% sure it was a driver issue in the kernel and the kernel upgrade is what helped.

107

1 + 6

battery

brightness

power-management

screen

22.04

Will

4/28/24, 8:24 PM

I’m not certain how to prevent the screen dimming when you unplug the power, but you should be able to adjust it from the keyboard: for that laptop it seems to be Fn-f6 to increase brightness and Fn-f5 to lower it.

Organic Marble

4/28/24, 8:39 PM

You can set the power management settings to prevent the display from dimming. I don't know what desktop you use. On the MATE desktop, the setting is found in Power Management Preferences,

Daniel Moore

4/28/24, 10:07 PM

Thank you Will and Organic Marble for your replies. I have edited my original post to reflect. Power management is already set to never dim. Also, I have checked BIOS, and there are no settings for power management there that would dim the screen. Windows 8.1, 10, and 11 never dims the screen on unplug. AMD graphics on the system, if that makes any difference for anyone.

David

4/29/24, 8:18 AM

Battery is bad or near end of life?

Daniel Moore

4/29/24, 11:45 PM

No. Battery is great. Battery is at 93% of original capacity, which is great considering its age.

Score:1

Ubuntu

Daniel Moore

8/25/24, 10:21 PM

August 8, 2023: In case anyone else ever searches for a resolution to this issue, I finally fixed the issue by upgrading to Ubuntu 23.04 last month. The problem disappeared with this release. Don't know what caused it in 22.04 and I no longer care. It was something to do with my particular hardware configuration, I'm sure. Tested it using Debian 12 and did not have the problem, but I had the problem testing Debian 11. 99% sure it was a driver issue in the kernel and the kernel upgrade is what helped

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Elon Musk

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EN: On 22.04, laptop screen dims to 0 when unplugging power cable. With my old eyes, I can't see the screen to increase brightness again

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