Develop Bugs

Screen brigthness, negative value?

This is a two part question. What screen brightness do you usually leave your phone at? I leave mine on what seems to be 0 (see next paragraph for explanation) and my screen still always uses around 60-70% of my battery. I don't understand how it can use that much without the backlight on.
Next question - When adjusting the screen brightness and the slider is all the way to the left is that 0? I'm asking because every widget out there when set to 0 is a a few times brighter than when I manually move the slider all the way to the left. Also, after using a widget to toggle to 0 and I check in the display settings, the slider isn't all the way to the left.
So I'm wondering what is true 0? What the widgets set it to or with the slider all the way to the left? Could the slider being all the way to the left actually be hurting my battery life?

No zero on the slider is technically not zero. You can confirm this checking your brightness sysfs file. You have to decompile framework and adjust some numbers. We can take it down to true zero or slightly above which would be much dimmer.
I did this for the atrix. Im surprised it hasnt been done yet for the nexus.

I know it is not actually 0 because if it was I wouldn't be able to see anything on the screen.
Is there anyone that has insight on my questions though?

I dont understand your question. Zero is not true zero unless we mod the framework. So your backlight is not "off". I dont know why youre getting so much drain.
But we should mod this anyway. Use root explorer and go to sys/devices/omapdss/display0/a6e8aa0 and open the brightnesd file. Note that value with your slider at zero and you will see a reading of 30 (0-255). So we can lower that down to maybe 5-10 and zero on the slider will be much dimmer = battery saving.

I have a similar problem. The max brightness is piercing and the min brightness is just a tiny bit too dim.
I have tried used root explorer to change the maximum brightness from 255 to 100 hoping that the slider may be more granular after. For some reason however I cannot update the max brightness file. I have ensured that it is r/w mounted and tried changing the permissions too. It says that the changes have been made and the original backed up. When I reopen the file it hasn't changed.
BTW, my 'brightness' file is at 10 when placed at the minimum brightness.

Try the newest AOKP.
Brightness controls.
I actually have NEVER used auto brightness...even back in my OG days.
And my X days.
Even when custom auto-brightness options were around I ignored them.
I'd simply keep it at around %20 of the default lowest value.
BUT...this is slightly annoying when you step into the sun and can't see anything.
With the newest AOKP you can even set the amount of brightness changes.
I set up four values.
I've mine set up for a pitch black room to lowest.
Average room to my previous 20%ish.
Bright (sunny) to 100/255
SUPER sunny to 240/255.
I didn't notice any added drain today.
But this was my first test.
I think this feature was actually kanged from CM9, but I'm not certain.

So far I have resisted the temptation to get flash happy and I am on stock 4.0.2 but rooted. Do I have any options without changing ROM?

aidanbree said:
I have a similar problem. The max brightness is piercing and the min brightness is just a tiny bit too dim.
I have tried used root explorer to change the maximum brightness from 255 to 100 hoping that the slider may be more granular after. For some reason however I cannot update the max brightness file. I have ensured that it is r/w mounted and tried changing the permissions too. It says that the changes have been made and the original backed up. When I reopen the file it hasn't changed.
BTW, my 'brightness' file is at 10 when placed at the minimum brightness.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We cant change that brightness file with root explorer, even mounted, unless we mod the driver first. It will likely just revert right back to its previous value.
However it is possible i bet to edit the driver. Would be a cool project. You could also try to echo your desired value in terminal. ie echo 255 > brightness. But you prob will get the same result as using root explorer.
Maybe ill look at the driver with my limited skills heh. Or the alternative is to mod the framework which is def possible to fix this, and easier. We did exactly this on the atrix. And the sgs2 had it done too.
Edit: i think i found the code for your granular request. Check lines 30 or so.
https://github.com/ogdobber/android...0/include/linux/platform_data/panel-s6e8aa0.h
Still would be easier to do in framework instead.

[Q] How to lower minimum screen brightness?

I know this is possible in CM9's display settings, but I'm currently running AOKP. Is there any other way to lower the minimum screen brightness?
I've given Tasker root permissions, approved it as a device administrator, and approved it as an accessibility service. Still, when I use a task to lower the brightness to very low levels, the brightness will only hold for a fraction of a second before it ramps up to the factory minimum.
So is there some system component I can modify to allow lower brightness, or is this only available as a ROM control like in CM9?

byrong said:
So is there some system component I can modify to allow lower brightness, or is this only available as a ROM control like in CM9?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
FWIW the lowest possible brightness setting can't be altered via the CM9 settings, only the auto brightness levels, both sensor input levels ("bins") and the brightness level associated with that input/bin. The minimum value of 19 for the lowest slot can't be lowered further. There are other display parameters (related to brightness) that can also be altered in the CM9 settings, but it won't accept a value less than 19.
Edit: I see from a link in your sig that you're familiar with the custom levels

Yes we can do it in the frameworks to go lower than 19. I did it on other phones. I'm not sure why it hasnt been done yet for nexus, and ive been too lazy myself.
But we can even take it down to zero or 4-5 etc so its much dimmer at night. Its on my to do list.
Also i posted some kernel code in a similar thread where this question was already asked. But mod the framework is much quicker.

RogerPodacter said:
Yes we can do it in the frameworks to go lower than 19. I did it on other phones. I'm not sure why it hasnt been done yet for nexus, and ive been too lazy myself.
But we can even take it down to zero or 4-5 etc so its much dimmer at night. Its on my to do list.
Also i posted some kernel code in a similar thread where this question was already asked. But mod the framework is much quicker.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I should have clarified more clearly that my post above was regarding doing it via the CM settings.
I'll mod mine...at some point...but like you, too lazy for something that won't blow me away.

You want this app, works great https://play.google.com/store/apps/...yZy5wcm9qZWN0dm9vZG9vLmRpc3BsYXlmaWx0ZXIiXQ..
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus GSM using Tapatalk expect possible typos

I'm an idiot; I just found it in AOKP. It's in the custom backlight settings.
My experience does not mirror you guys. When I decrease the "screen dim level" in the custom brightness settings, it applies globally. I just did it in AOKP the same way I used to in CM9 and now with Tasker I've taken the screen all the way down to 1

Is there any way to decrease the minimum brightness on stock?

aidanbree said:
Is there any way to decrease the minimum brightness on stock?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes with above linked app. I confirm it works on stock
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

I've used a similar app called Screen Filter. My only problem with these types of apps is that I find the black/gray filter they use greatly decreases contrast at low brightness levels (more so than a "true" brightness level at an equivalent setting). Still, if you are running a setup in which they are your only option, they certainly beat having nothing.

The problem with using a screen filter is that it limits the maximum brightness when in sunlight.
I only want to affect the minimum as it is too bright.

Has anyone been able to do this on a stock rom? I too think that the minimum brightness is too high, but I don't want to use the above linked program because it also affects the maximum brightness too. I would like to be able to set custom light levels as per cm9/cm10 and pretty much any custom ROM right now, albeit with my stock ROM. Any flashable zips out there?
Cheers,
Dan

b112 - screen brightness problems

Hi,
anyone experienced issues with brightness level on B112? i bought the phone used on ebay, and it came with this firmware
if the brightness is set at the middle, it looks like is set at minimum, and if i try to set it below middle, the screen goes totally black ( 0 visibility )...also if i set the screen on auto brightness, the second it is set, it goes blank screen ( the screen is working, just the brightness is so low you cannot see anything )
also, should i consider upgrading from B112 to a newer firmware? performance wise, i am very happy with B112, because comparing with B125 ( on my second ascend p6 ) it runs smoother, no lag in menu at all ( so far ). i also get in antutu 15200-15700 scores with B112.
any thoughts are welcome

Sacerdot said:
Hi,
anyone experienced issues with brightness level on B112? i bought the phone used on ebay, and it came with this firmware
if the brightness is set at the middle, it looks like is set at minimum, and if i try to set it below middle, the screen goes totally black ( 0 visibility )...also if i set the screen on auto brightness, the second it is set, it goes blank screen ( the screen is working, just the brightness is so low you cannot see anything )
also, should i consider upgrading from B112 to a newer firmware? performance wise, i am very happy with B112, because comparing with B125 ( on my second ascend p6 ) it runs smoother, no lag in menu at all ( so far ). i also get in antutu 15200-15700 scores with B112.
any thoughts are welcome
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello,
Are you using the buttons at the pulldown menu or the phone settings menu to set the brightness ?
If it happens only when you are using the pulldown menu you can try the following (if you have a rooted phone) :
1.First of all, make a copy of build.prop and save it on your SD card !
2.Open build.prop (located in system folder in your device) with a root file explorer (like ES File Explorer on Google Play).
3.Look for this line "ro.config.disablesmbacklinght=true".
4.Replace "true" with "false".
5.Reboot the phone.
PS : You can save the changes in build.prop only if you mount your system like RW (see the ES File Explorer settings)

it happens all the time, doesn't matter how I get to screen brightness...it acts the same

Sacerdot said:
it happens all the time, doesn't matter how I get to screen brightness...it acts the same
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have the Smart Backlight option ON in the phone settings menu > Display ? Try to disable it !
It is possible that you have a preinstalled application like Screen Filter (by the last owner)? If yes, try to uninstall it !
Best regards,

vigitall said:
Do you have the Smart Backlight option ON in the phone settings menu > Display ? Try to disable it !
It is possible that you have a preinstalled application like Screen Filter (by the last owner)? If yes, try to uninstall it !
Best regards,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
smart backlight is OFF
there is no app preinstalled, as i have factory reset the phone...no other funky app either
i was thinking maybe there is a system file that can be tweaked with, to edit a maximum and a minimum parameter for the brightness ...

Sacerdot said:
smart backlight is OFF
there is no app preinstalled, as i have factory reset the phone...no other funky app either
i was thinking maybe there is a system file that can be tweaked with, to edit a maximum and a minimum parameter for the brightness ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have the possibility to check if it is a software problem using Lux Dash application (do a search on Google Play).
"Lux is a third-party app that allows you to easily calibrate your phone’s brightness sensor".You could try it !

vigitall said:
You have the possibility to check if it is a software problem using Lux Dash application (do a search on Google Play).
"Lux is a third-party app that allows you to easily calibrate your phone’s brightness sensor".You could try it !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i tried Lux, and it works, but it does not have any calibrate function, it is a good alternative to default screen brightness tho...
I was hoping for a fix for the default ( built in ) screen brightness setup menu...anyway, this will do the trick for now
thanks

[Q] Z1compact: getting minimum brightness LOWER

Hello Everyone,
I have a problem with my amami and I doubt I am the only one but for some reason people do hardly complain: the brightness even at lowest possible setting is still too bright.
I had this back when I had original FW and I am having the same issue with CM11 (latest nightlies). Using manual control or auto-brightness doesn't make much difference, i.e. in a totally dark room the ambient light sensor reports 0Lux and the screen is still too bright.
I found a workaround already (the ScreenFilter app that people recommend all over the internet) but it sucks because it heavily reduces the picture quality, i.e. visibly reduces contrast and especially the gray color resolution. And it also doesn't reduce power consumption like real brightness value change would do.
I looked around for possible solutions and there is a trick with writting a new value of current limit to Linux settings (some mA value between 0 and 20 to some max_current file in procfs). And this really helps but also impacts the maximum brightness, the screen is hardly ready in sun light with reduced current.
Is there a silver bullet? I am thinking about writing an app for that but it would require SU permissions and is kinda dirty to implement. Can anyone recommend a better solution?

have you tried the xposed Modul "minimum brightness" ?

Install Lux Brightness. from play store.
You can overboost it or make the screen so dark that you can't even see it.
Another great screen mod is Twilight which basically dims the screen red based on clock so it helps fall sleep faster when using phone before bed.

New Folder said:
Install Lux Brightness. from play store.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, another vote for Lux. It lets you set brightness to negative levels, mine is usually around -50%. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vito.lux&hl=en

Vote for Lux here too.
Nothing comes close

camaro322hp said:
Yes, another vote for Lux. It lets you set brightness to negative levels, mine is usually around -50%. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vito.lux&hl=en
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the hint. I tried the Lite version and AFAICS it simply uses the same trick as ScreenFilter and other "sub-zero" regulators, putting an alpha overlay on top of the image stack.
You can identify this kludge easily by looking at the button areas, they don't get darker anymore. And you can see the black level not getting real black, i.e. the power consumption is not reduced.
However, Lux seems to be one of the better toys because of the plugin interface. Unfortunately there is no HW plugin for Sony devices but judging by the quick look at the Nexus-4 plugin (it's open source!!) it should be possible to adopt this method to Z1 as well. So, maybe when someone could eventually implement that.

xposed Modul "minimum brightness" works, i tested it for you. you can make the screen dim to complete black with your normal display brightness slider without grey or black overlay. it just sets down the minimum brightness level to 1 or 0 (default is 10 or 20), so it should also work with enabled auto brightness

chertVdetali said:
I looked around for possible solutions and there is a trick with writting a new value of current limit to Linux settings (some mA value between 0 and 20 to some max_current file in procfs). And this really helps but also impacts the maximum brightness, the screen is hardly ready in sun light with reduced current.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As far as i remember, /proc is only used to call upon information, not to set specific values. What you are looking for is placed within /sys.
To be precise in /sys/devices/leds-qpnp-ee125e00/leds/wled:backlight/. There you will find a file called max_current with which you can easily control the brightness and set it to a very low level. Note that this actually dims the screen and not just applies a filter like most apps do...
One drawback is that the value will change again after you restarted the device. I set up a little flow with Automate β that takes care of this for me. I find this solution a lot better than all the screen filter apps.
This is true for CyanogenMod 11 and GreatDevs Kernel. It might be different on Stock. I know that the path for my Nexus 7 is sys/class/leds/lcd-backlight.
I hope this helps you a little bit.

rob rich said:
xposed Modul "minimum brightness" works, i tested it for you. you can make the screen dim to complete black with your normal display brightness slider without grey or black overlay. it just sets down the minimum brightness level to 1 or 0 (default is 10 or 20), so it should also work with enabled auto brightness
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am wondering how you can claim that the result is complete black. Calling this black is like saying "TN monitors have good black values" (I know such people, they change their mind quickly when they see my Eizo with a VA panel at night).
No, seriously, the default was already 10 (see config.xml in cm11 repo) and the difference between 1 and 10 is hardly visible. It's still way too bright for work without eye strain in the darkness.
@Wooaarr: thanks, this is apparently the way to go, I just need to find time to configure it. And yes, of course, the file is in sysfs and not procfs (automated typing, when I grew up with Linux there was no sysfs out there ).

chertVdetali said:
I am wondering how you can claim that the result is complete black. Calling this black is like saying "TN monitors have good black values" (I know such people, they change their mind quickly when they see my Eizo with a VA panel at night).
No, seriously, the default was already 10 (see config.xml in cm11 repo) and the difference between 1 and 10 is hardly visible. It's still way too bright for work without eye strain in the darkness.
@Wooaarr: thanks, this is apparently the way to go, I just need to find time to configure it. And yes, of course, the file is in sysfs and not procfs (automated typing, when I grew up with Linux there was no sysfs out there ).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
when i disable autobrightness and push the slider to the left my screen goes completely off, so you wanna say that screen off isnt black? funny

chertVdetali said:
Thanks for the hint. I tried the Lite version and AFAICS it simply uses the same trick as ScreenFilter and other "sub-zero" regulators, putting an alpha overlay on top of the image stack.
You can identify this kludge easily by looking at the button areas, they don't get darker anymore. And you can see the black level not getting real black, i.e. the power consumption is not reduced.
However, Lux seems to be one of the better toys because of the plugin interface. Unfortunately there is no HW plugin for Sony devices but judging by the quick look at the Nexus-4 plugin (it's open source!!) it should be possible to adopt this method to Z1 as well. So, maybe when someone could eventually implement that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting information, I did not know that. You are correct, the navigation buttons are brighter than the rest of the screen at negative values. I had noticed that before but didn't know why. Works well enough for me though.

rob rich said:
when i disable autobrightness and push the slider to the left my screen goes completely off, so you wanna say that screen off isnt black? funny
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, you claim that it works for me because you tested it on your device. So... yeah, why not, I could say what you mentioned above just following the same logics. :silly:

Colour change at min brightness.

MY issue with the stock Rom, which has been bugging me for a while is that when I reduce the brightness to the minimum, the Contrast changes, or something of the sorts, this really annoys me and I would like to disable it. Can someone help me out? I really don't want to flash a custom ROM.

I think that's normal because of AMOLED display, I also noticed it on CM14.1

This is simply the way this particular screen works, can't be fixed with software.
You can only avoid it by not reducing brightness as much. According to "Lux" the color shift starts under 4% brightness.
Sent from my OnePlus 3 using Tapatalk

But why does the min brightness in mxplayer not have this issue?

Zeryth said:
But why does the min brightness in mxplayer not have this issue?
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Click to collapse
Because mx player doesn't set the brightness as low as you can set it manually using the brightness slider.
Select menu - display - settings - screen - untick "brightness". Now you can set your brightness manually to even lower using the brightness slider.
Other apps seem to work similarly (for example an third party brightness widget)... Not setting it to minimum... Like they don't recognize the "real" minimum brightness - which is lower. I don't have this "issue" on my tablet. Haven't looked much into it though.