M3 MacBook Air screen is dim after opening lid

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Level 1

27 points

M3 MacBook Air screen is dim after opening lid

I have an M3 MacBook Air 2024, running Sonoma 14.6.1. When opening the lid, the screen is sometimes very dim/dark. I can barely see the apps and am able to interact with them - the keyboard and trackpad all seem to work fine. The only way I've found to restore the screen to its previous brightness (the brightness it was at before closing the lid) is to hit the brightness up (F2) key. I have "Automatically adjust brightness" turned on. I ran diagnostics and no issues were found. This doesn't happen every time I open the lid, but seems to happen more often when the lid has been closed for a longer time. I bought this MacBook in April, and the issue just started a couple weeks ago.

MacBook Air 15″, macOS 14.6

Posted on Aug 25, 2024 10:49 AM

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Answer 1

Sep 2, 2024 5:31 AM in response to kmarnold10

same thing happening with my 13" m3 MacBook Air. It only happens when it's plugged in. If you close the lid with the power not connected, leave it closed for about 5 seconds, then attach the power cable (while the lid is closed), wait a few seconds then open the lid the computer will wake with the screen dimmed every time. Does the same happen with you?? Were you able to get this issue fixed?

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Answer 2

HWTech

Level 9

60,080 points

Sep 5, 2024 9:48 AM in response to kmarnold10

kmarnold10 wrote:

I understand the M3 MacBook Air doesn't have NVRAM, so I haven't tried your suggestion to clear/reset it. Reset NVRAM on your Mac - Apple Support. Please let me know if I'm wrong about that.

There is no traditional PRAM Reset available for an M-series Mac. However, there is a Terminal command line method to do the same thing of clearing the NVRAM. I posted the instructions earlier in this thread. Those instructions to clear the NVRAM is safe to use even on an M-series Mac (I have personally used it multiple times to resolve some odd boot issues on M-series Macs).

Keep in mind that you should not actually try to configure any NVRAM settings you may find online using the command line since 99% of those instructions are for Intel Macs.....many of those configurations will not work on an M-series Mac and may prevent an M-series Mac from booting until the setting is deleted.

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Answer 3

HWTech

Level 9

60,080 points

Aug 26, 2024 6:56 PM in response to kmarnold10

Make sure to check/enable the option "Slightly dim the display while on battery power". This is an option in the Battery System Preferences/Settings. On macOS 13.x+, this setting is a bit hidden....it is easiest to locate if you use the System Settings' "search" feature.

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Answer 4

kmarnold10 Author

Level 1

27 points

Aug 27, 2024 6:25 AM in response to HWTech

Thank you for the response. I'm familiar with this setting and have it enabled. I've noticed this setting in action when I'm unplugged and the screen just barely dims. When it does, I can still easily work. However, I'm not sure how this setting might impact the problem I'm having. When I open the lid after being closed for some time, I'd say the brightness level of the screen is maybe 10%? While I can barely make out what's on the screen, I certainly can't work like that. I feel like it's a different situation.

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Answer 5

HWTech

Level 9

60,080 points

Aug 29, 2024 6:59 PM in response to kmarnold10

Oops, I meant that setting should be disabled or unchecked.

You can try clearing the NVRAM in case there is some display related setting is configured or corrupted. Use the following command in the Terminal app (safe for M-series Macs):

sudo  nvram  -c

This command will prompt you for your admin password. Nothing will appear on the screen as you type the password, so press the "Return" key to submit the password. Also, you may see a couple of keys that cannot be cleared due to permissions issues which is Ok....they are usually related to the computer name.

After issuing this command, you need to restart the laptop in order for the system to pull the default values from the NVRAM.

I'm not sure if the Display .plist preference/settings file could be corrupt (I'm not sure which file would possibly hold it). I guess you could try creating a new macOS user account, then log out of your main user account & log into the new user account to see how the laptop behaves. If this works, then there is some issue with your main user account.

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Answer 6

kmarnold10 Author

Level 1

27 points

Sep 4, 2024 12:40 PM in response to kmarnold10

I ended up talking to Support about this. We tried a few things, but ultimately a full reset to factory settings worked. They suspect some setting was out of whack, but nothing conclusive at this time. While setting up my Mac after the reset, I remembered a display setting I had changed a few weeks ago. I had increased the text size 1-2 sizes (System Settings > Displays). I hadn't thought to mention this to the support rep, but I did share that info with her afterwards. At this point, my Mac is restored and no longer having the dimming problem. However, I'm hesitant to increase the text size for fear of causing the problem again. I'd be curious if anyone on this chain who had reported a similar problem had recently changed their text size from the default.

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Answer 7

HWTech

Level 9

60,080 points

Sep 5, 2024 9:44 AM in response to waynescott

waynescott wrote:

same thing happening with my 13" m3 MacBook Air. It only happens when it's plugged in. If you close the lid with the power not connected, leave it closed for about 5 seconds, then attach the power cable (while the lid is closed), wait a few seconds then open the lid the computer will wake with the screen dimmed every time. Does the same happen with you?? Were you able to get this issue fixed?

There is a System Preference/Setting which needs to be unchecked called "Slightly Dim Display while on battery power". If this setting is unchecked, then perhaps either the .plist configuration file is corrupt (not sure which file it would be these days), or the NVRAM configuration has been corrupted/stuck. See my post earlier in this thread for instructions for clearing the NVRAM (works for both Intel & M-series Macs).

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Answer 8

Vinmcd59

Level 1

8 points

Oct 20, 2024 11:48 AM in response to kmarnold10

Make sure you have nothing blocking the Ambient Light Sensor next to the camera. I had the exact same problem. I reset to erase all content and settings. Didn't work. Apple tech support didn't help. Then I decided to remove the sliding plastic piece that blocks and unblocks the camera and it fixed the problem.

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Answer 9

kmarnold10 Author

Level 1

27 points

Sep 3, 2024 9:24 AM in response to HWTech

I understand the M3 MacBook Air doesn't have NVRAM, so I haven't tried your suggestion to clear/reset it. Reset NVRAM on your Mac - Apple Support. Please let me know if I'm wrong about that.

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