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rMPB brightness button to turn display off?

S

snapdragonx

macrumors regular
Original poster
Hey guys,

Please forgive what is probably an extremely newbie question.

But does anyone know if turning the backlight all the way down actually turns off the rMBP display, or is the backlight just turning off completely?

I ask because I usually use my MBP plugged into a larger monitor, so I don't want to be leaving the MPB display on and wearing it out unnecessarily.

Cheers for any info
 
I first wanted to say it turns off the display but I tried on my old Powerbook G4, I turned off the display by dimming the display all the way down, then I got a torch and lit the display, I was surprised to see I could still see the display was on without the backlight.
Be aware, this might have changed, this is an 8 year old Powerbook, you could do the same to see if it is still on.
 
All it does is turning the backlight off. Just try it and then turn the screen to a area with bright light. You'll be able to see what's on the screen.
 
justperry said:
I first wanted to say it turns off the display but I tried on my old Powerbook G4, I turned off the display by dimming the display all the way down, then I got a torch and lit the display, I was surprised to see I could still see the display was on without the backlight.
Be aware, this might have changed, this is an 8 year old Powerbook, you could do the same to see if it is still on.
Click to expand...

Hrmm yeah I tried the same thing, but even with a torch I can't see the display, so I'm thinking it must be off.. But if someone could confirm, that would be great.

Thanks again.

Edit. Ah.. Ok I did the torch test again and it is indeed still on.
 
It doesn't shut it off. Just turns the backlight off.

I turned mine all the way down and held a bright flashlight up to it and could read words on the screen.

You need to look at the screen on a big angle to see it, but sure enough it's definitely still on.

I'm actually glad I tried that, didn't realize how dusty my screen was haha...soon as I got the flashlight up to it I was shocked
 
I think it is actually kinda stupid, if the backlight is off why not turn off the Data to the display, this will use less resources like battery and GPU.
 
johnnnw said:
What do you mean Eject/Power? Do you mean you can use either the eject button or the power button? And this puts the display to sleep?
Click to expand...

rMBP doesn't have the optical drive so there is no Eject button like cMB, instead the same key serves as the Power button.
Yes, it turns off just the display.
 
tengtengvn said:
rMBP doesn't have the optical drive so there is no Eject button like cMB, instead the same key serves as the Power button.
Yes, it turns off just the display.
Click to expand...

Ahh of course, my mistake. Thanks for the clarification. I don't own a Retina myself but a family member has one, never noticed the lack of eject button😛
 
justperry said:
I am aware of this keyboard shortcut, this was not the question the OP asked, I think dimming the display to zero should do exactly the same as this shortcut, that was my point.
Click to expand...

Hey genius, I have a solution for you.
Dim the display all they way then press the key combination. Problem solved. LMAO 😀
 
tengtengvn said:
Hey genius, I have a solution for you.
Dim the display all they way then press the key combination. Problem solved. LMAO 😀
Click to expand...

You still don't get my point, my point is Apple should make it so that when the display is dimmed to it's maximum (Black screen) it should automatically send a command so that the (internal) screen is turned off by default.
 
justperry said:
You still don't get my point, my point is Apple should make it so that when the display is dimmed to it's maximum (Black screen) it should automatically send a command so that the (internal) screen is turned off by default.
Click to expand...

This isn't a mistake or oversight on Apple's part. There is a way to turn the display off and another to turn the backlight off. There actually are instances where someone might want to use the display without the backlight (i.e. a low battery and working in an area with bright lighting).
 
I keep my retina mac 15 inch open and connected to a TB display while having the notebook screen totally off by using a small magnet on the open laptop that tricks it into sleeping that display (using mountain lion).

Put the magnet right on the edge of the macbook pro above the headphone jack. Problem solved and my machine stays about 10 degrees cooler.
 
DangerClose said:
This isn't a mistake or oversight on Apple's part. There is a way to turn the display off and another to turn the backlight off. There actually are instances where someone might want to use the display without the backlight (i.e. a low battery and working in an area with bright lighting).
Click to expand...

Nobody uses a LCD without backlight, nobody.
 
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