4 Ways to Fix Adaptive Brightness Not Working on Android

Quick Tips

• Try restarting your phone and resetting the adaptive brightness feature to see if that helps.
• Ensure your phone’s screen protector isn’t covering the ambient light sensor above the display.
• Adaptive brightness may not work on your phone due to issues if your phone’s sensors are not working properly.

Try Basic Fixes

• Install Android updates: Software updates are crucial for any device. If the adaptive brightness feature is not working due to a bug within Android, installing pending software updates should help.
• Toggle adaptive brightness: You might have done this already, but it never hurts to try again. Go to Settings > Display > Adaptive brightness. Disable the toggle for a few moments and then turn it back on.

Fix 1: Reset Adaptive Brightness

Since adaptive brightness relies on your previous brightness habits, it may sometimes run into issues or adjust the brightness incorrectly. Thankfully, Android provides an option to reset Adaptive Brightness. Although the reset option is buried deep within the Settings app, you can follow the steps below to access it.

Step 1: Open the Settings app and go to Apps & notifications.

Step 2: Search for Device Health Services and tap it. On the app info page, select Storage & cache.

Step 3: Tap on Clear storage and then hit the Reset adaptive brightness button at the top.

Fix 2: Reset App Preferences

If you’ve recently modified any app permissions or disabled any system apps, you may encounter issues with adaptive brightness. To fix this, try resetting app preferences on your phone and start again.

Step 1: Launch the Settings app and navigate to System > Advanced > Reset options.

Step 2: Tap Reset app preferences. Select Reset apps when prompted.

Fix 3: Try Safe Mode

One of your third-party apps or games might be interfering with the adaptive brightness feature on your Android. Using Safe Mode can help you determine if that’s the case.

Step 1: Press and hold the physical power button on your phone.

Step 2: Long press on the Power off option and then tap the green checkmark to enter Safe Mode.

Once you’re in safe mode, use your phone for a few minutes to see if adaptive brightness is working properly. If it is, you’ll need to look for any recently installed apps on your phone and remove them. Once done, restart your phone to exit the Safe mode.

Fix 4: Check Phone’s Sensors

If none of the above solutions work, the issue could be hardware-related. If the sensors on your phone are not functioning properly, Adaptive Brightness may not work. Apps like Sensor Test and Sensors Multitool can help you verify your phone’s sensors. If these apps don’t help, it’s best to take your phone to an authorized service center.