My MBP screen keeps dimming!

[Sirolway]

Morning all

I have a 2009 13" MBP & the screen keeps dimming! It generally happens when I move from plugged in to battery - I'll sleep it when plugged in, then wake it up on battery to find the brightness way down to about 1 bar.

It's generally fine when I ramp up the brightness using F2, but today it seems to be all over the place - going brighter as well as dimmer, as I watch. It's turning into a bit of a visual roller coaster ride!

What are people's thoughts - is my display on the way out?
Worth replacing, or just making sure it's all backed up on a machine I can actually see the screen of?
Should I just go buy a MBA? (ok don't answer that - I think I know the answer ;-)

Obviously I'm way out of warranty :-(

 

[motoracer1486]

Go to system preferences, energy saver, and check both the battery and power adapter tabs. Are the right options selected?

 

[jvpython]

MacBooks have a light sensor that control the screens brightness. That might be why you have the impression your brightness changes. Plus the screen does indeed go dimmer when you switch to battery mode but that can be changed in the System preferences.

 

[Sirolway]

Go to system preferences, energy saver, and check both the battery and power adapter tabs. Are the right options selected?

Yes, it's all at defaults already

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MacBooks have a light sensor that control the screens brightness. That might be why you have the impression your brightness changes. Plus the screen does indeed go dimmer when you switch to battery mode but that can be changed in the System preferences.

I hear what you're saying, but this is more than just auto-dimming because it's on battery - it goes so dim it's barely visible.

And, as I say, this morning it seems to be yo-yoing around as I watch. The ambient light around me isn't changing so I figure it shouldn't be doing that ..

Seems to have settled down for the moment though .... I just waiting for that DOH! moment when it suddenly cuts out ... :-/

Ah well, can but wait & see I guess. Probably no point taking it to a genius bar (I'm in London so there are plenty) until it's so obvious I have something to show the Genius ...

 

[jvpython]

Your problem sounds more like a software problem than hardware. Luckily for you that should be fixable. Hopefully the people at the Genius bar live up to their name.

 

[Sirolway]

Your problem sounds more like a software problem than hardware. Luckily for you that should be fixable. Hopefully the people at the Genius bar live up to their name.

Ah, that sounds promising. If it gets any worse I'll take it in - worth trying...
As I said before, I probably need to make sure the issue is obvious enough that they can actually see it...

I've had a few Lion-related glitches, which makes me wonder if I should think about a clean install one of these days ...

That being said, my Mac mini still beach balls indefinitely with EyeTV even after a clean install, so it's obviously not the answer to everything

 

[jvpython]

Yeap you're right, a clean install only works for certain problems. But if you don't mind doing one, it could be worth a shot.