Tech Tips: Why Does My Computer Screen Keep Going Dim?

If you take your laptop with you to different places, you may notice that sometimes, your screen brightness changes on its own. In other cases, the default brightness setting may be darker than what’s ideal. For those asking, “Why does my screen keep going dim?”, this latest tech tip is for you!

In it, an Impact tech will navigate through three different options for adjusting screen brightness and changing your settings on Mac and PC.

Here are the steps covered in the above video:

Screen Dimming on Mac

Manually Adjust Brightness

Step 1: Open System Preferences

Step 2: Click Displays

Step 3: Drag the circle next to Brightness to adjust

Turn Off Automatic Brightness

Step 1: Open System Preferences

Step 2: Click Displays

Step 3: Uncheck the box next to “Automatically adjust brightness”

Turn Off Energy Saver

Step 1: Open System Preferences

Step 2: Click Energy Saver

Step 3: Uncheck the box next to “Slightly dim the display while on battery power”

Screen Diming on Windows

Manually Adjust Brightness

Step 1: Right-click the Start menu

Step 2: Select Mobility Center

Step 3: Drag the tab to adjust the Display brightness

Change Battery Status

Step 1: Right-click the Start menu

Step 2: Select Mobility Center

Step 3: Click the drop-down in the Battery Status box

Step 4:  Change to High performance or Balanced

Update Battery Settings

Step 1: In the menu search bar, type and select Battery

Step 2: Click the switch under Battery saver to turn it off

Step 3: Deselect the box for lowering brightness in battery saver mode

Update Ambient Light Settings

Step 1: Open the Start menu

Step 2: Click the gear in the left panel to open Settings

Step 3: Select System and then select Display in the left panel

Step 4: Uncheck the box for automatic brightness changes

About Tech Tips

Find the solutions to some of the most common desktop and device issues with these step-by-step walkthroughs led by Impact Service Desk experts.

You can also follow our hashtag, #TechTipTuesday, to stay up to date on new releases in the series.

This video features Alec England, Service Desk Analyst in Lake Forest, IL.