Why Does My Brightness Keep Changing By Itself?

Question

Lets say that my brightness settings are at 30%. If I put my laptop to sleep (usually by closing the lid or pressing the power button), when I turn the laptop back on, the brightness always gets reset to 50%. My brightness has also sometimes reset when I turn on the laptop, manually lower the brightness, only to revert to ~50% later (when I'm still using it) by itself. How do I get my laptop to stay on my past brightness setting? I've shut off the adaptive brightness option on my display settings (though I don't see this option when editing my power plans)

Answer 1

Hi, I'm Henry, and I'd love to share my perspective on this issue.

I understand the brightness on your laptop keeps resetting. This is often caused by a power-saving feature in the graphics driver that overrides the standard Windows settings. Since you haven't provided your laptop's make and model, I'm offering my recommendation based on my experience.

1. Disable Graphics Card Power Saving

• For Intel Graphics:**
  • Search for and open the Intel Graphics Command Center from the Start Menu.
  • Go to System on the left menu.
  • Select the Power tab at the top.
  • Turn OFF the setting named Display Power Saving (or similar wording).
• For AMD Graphics:
  • Open the AMD Radeon Software.
  • Click the Settings (gear icon) > Display.
  • Disable Vari-Bright.

2. Double-Check Advanced Power Plan Settings

• Press Windows Key + R, type powercfg.cpl, and press Enter.
• Click Change plan settings next to your active power plan.
• Click Change advanced power settings.
• Expand the Display section.
• Expand Enable adaptive brightness.
• Ensure it is set to Off for both "On battery" and "Plugged in". Click Apply.

3. An outdated driver can cause this behavior. Do not rely on Windows Update for this.

• Go to your laptop manufacturer's website (e.g., Dell, HP, Lenovo).
• Find the support/drivers page for your specific model.
• Download and install the latest graphics (VGA) driver listed.

Hope this helps you.