The Adaptive Brightness feature can be found on smartphones and the top Android tablets. It automatically adjusts your screen's brightness based on the ambient lighting conditions. Ideally, it makes reading on your phone in different lighting conditions easier, and as a bonus, it can help you conserve the phone's battery life.
Adaptive Brightness uses on-device machine learning to figure out your preferences as you tweak the brightness slider in different lighting conditions. Your device remembers how bright you like your screen in the sunlight, while you're indoors, and as you doomscroll your way to sleep. Then, it integrates it into your preferences. It sounds like a really good idea.
However, Adaptive Brightness may not always work as intended. It can become glitchy, making your screen too bright in a dark room or too dim outside. If you've given it a few days and it's still messing up, there are three things you can do to recalibrate the feature.
Reset the Adaptive Brightness settings on your phone
The first thing you should try when Adaptive Brightness misbehaves is to take it back to its factory default state. Here's how:
- Open the Settings app.
- Go to Apps.
- Tap See all apps.
- Scroll through your app list and tap Device Health Services.2 Images
- Select the Storage & cache option.
- Tap the Manage space button.2 Images
- Tap the Reset adaptive brightness button.
- Select OK to save and confirm your choice. The feature reverts to the factory default settings.2 Images
This is a quick and easy way to recalibrate Adaptive Brightness. From here, the device learns your lighting habits all over again and hopefully works better. It isn't a guaranteed fix, but it's worth recalibrating to find out if it improves your experience. This setting is hidden from the average user.
The example screenshots show a Google Pixel phone. However, most modern Android devices have an Apps section. Each manufacturer might list it in a different location, so search the settings menu for "apps" or "all apps" to find it.
Clear your Adaptive Brightness data
If the reset method doesn't work properly, clear the app data. Navigate to your app list and select Device Health Services. Then, instead of tapping the Reset adaptive brightness button, tap the Clear all data button followed by OK.
When you select Clear all data, everything in the Device Health Services app, including battery stats, is deleted. So, only go this route if the reset option fails.
Clearing the data is your only option if you own a Samsung device. There isn't a button that resets adaptive brightness.
Check for updates to Android
If none of these tips worked for you, keep an eye out for software updates that include fixes to the auto-brightness feature. Although Google usually lists Adaptive Brightness bug fixes in update logs, it occasionally omits details that affect some users.
These issues can cause problems beyond what you can troubleshoot yourself. If that's the case, you'll likely have to wait for an official fix from your device manufacturer. Make sure the issue is listed on the manufacturer's forums and mention the problem on social media, as manufacturers tend to step up the pace when there's a lot of visibility around a bug.
Turn off Adaptive Brightness
As a last resort, you can turn the feature off completely if you're done with the whole Adaptive Brightness struggle. You'll have to adjust your brightness settings manually for every lighting condition, but that may be preferable to dealing with a glitching feature.
- Open Settings.
- Tap Display.
- Flip the toggle next to Adaptive brightness to the off position.2 Images
Brighten up your Android experience
Adaptive Brightness is a great feature when it works correctly. You don't have to adjust the illumination when you're outside on a sunny day or worry about your phone blinding you when you're in a dim room. But it can be frustrating when it doesn't work as intended.
Hopefully, you won't have to turn off the feature entirely. This guide can save you from the drudgery of setting the brightness yourself. Once you have Adaptive Brightness in check, tweak your device a little more by customizing your Material You theme.