The brightness setting on Android is lower than the system one. Customize your smartphone display right now

It often happens that even the minimum brightness level of a mobile phone or tablet screen is too bright for comfortable use of the device. This situation may arise when you want to save battery power or, being in complete darkness, want to lower the display brightness below the minimum available through the settings.

After purchasing a phone, the owner, as a rule, strives to make it as convenient as possible for himself. Some purchase various gadgets and accessories for their gadget, others focus their efforts in the field of software configuration and customization. Today we will look at the question: How to lower the display brightness below the minimum.

There are several ways to reduce the brightness of your Android device's display below the default minimum brightness level. We suggest you take a look at three of the best apps that allow you to do this, regardless of whether your device is rooted or not.

1.Screen Filter

With over a million downloads, Screen Filter from developer Brett Slatkir is something of a classic, and for good reason. The app doesn't have any additional features or settings than necessary, which means it's quite easy to use.

Install Screen Filter for free from Google Play Store. Once installed, the home screen icon will act as a switch, automatically dimming the display when tapped. To access the settings, pull down your notification panel and tap on the Screen Filter notification.

In the application settings, you can select the brightness level that is applied when you click on the icon. As a precaution, if you select a brightness level that is too low, you will be prompted to confirm the setting. Without confirmation, the app will automatically disable the last installation, which is very convenient if you accidentally turn your display completely black.

2.Lux Lite

Lux Lite from developer Vito Cassisi is not as simple as Screen Filter, which is why most users like it. In addition to the various settings available, the app provides several profiles that allow you to adjust different brightness levels and then switch between profiles depending on the ambient light.

Install Lux Lite from Google Play Store. To easily customize the app, tap the icon and select brightness. You can specify the profile and brightness level corresponding to it. The profiles preset by the developer are certainly well designed.

By clicking on the gear icon, you can access the many settings that Lux Lite has to offer. Fine-tuning the app allows it to function the way you want with all your additional preferences, such as dynamic backlight adjustment or the Shake to Brighten option.

For those of you who have a rooted device and want to use an additional brightness slider in the notification bar to lower the brightness level below the minimum, you can use the Screen Filter module from the Xposed library.

While all of these apps are useful when you're in bed late at night, they won't make falling asleep any easier. If you struggle with insomnia, pay attention to the Twilight app or the CF.Lumen root option. These apps gradually filter out the blue light emitted from your device's screen, which causes eye strain. By replacing it with another color that is easy to perceive, the application thus makes falling asleep easier.

And interesting features hidden from prying eyes.

Why are they hidden? Firstly, so that an inexperienced user does not break anything, and secondly, they are needed in especially rare cases and are not used regularly. Today we will talk about the engineering menu - a section for programmers, testers, geeks, experienced users and those who want to get into the very “heart” of gadget settings.

What is an engineering menu?

We are talking about a special program or system section that developers usually use at the final stage of configuring the software platform of a mobile device. With its help, they make final changes to the operation of the device, check the functioning of various sensors and test system components. Also, the hidden functionality of the service menu is used to obtain a large amount of system information, conduct various tests (about 25 pieces) and configure any Android parameters - various sensors, mobile networks, equipment, etc.

The engineering, service or system menu is available on smartphones and tablets running on a MediaTek processor. On the Qualcomm chipset it is either reduced or absent altogether.

Attention! This section is intended for experienced users who bear full responsibility for the consequences. Careless actions can harm the file system and render the smartphone unusable.

How to enter the engineering menu?

To enter the engineering menu, you need to enter a special command in the dialing application: *#*#3646633#*#*. On some versions the code *#*#4636#*#* or *#15963#* may work.

If the engineering menu code on Android does not work, or there is no dialing application on the phone (relevant for tablets that do not support calls), the MobileUncle Tools or MTK Engineering applications, which can be downloaded for free via Google Play, will help.

After entering the command or launching the application, the desired section will open. It may close immediately - you need to have “Developer Mode” activated on your smartphone. To do this, go to the gadget settings, find the kernel version there and quickly click on it 5-10 times in a row.

Engineering menu functions

The engineering menu is divided into several categories, each of which will be discussed separately.

Telephony. All settings related to mobile communications are located here. For example, you can activate or disable certain BandModes (frequencies for 2G/3G/4G operation), check the operation of SIM cards, and even disable mobile data transfer in the background.
Connectivity: Configure Bluetooth, Radio, Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi CTIA settings. For example, in the radio settings you can specify the radio wave, antenna type (you need to use headphones) and sound format (mono or stereo). The radio will play straight from this section.
Hardware Testing. In this section, you can configure the operation of various components of the device, in simple words, hardware: sound levels of headphones and speakers, adjusting microphone sensitivity, various camera parameters (photo aspect ratio, adjusting ISO, HDR, focusing and much more), operation of the touchscreen, sensors (calibration right there) and so on. This category is very large and global; you need to understand each section separately and have serious knowledge and skills.
Location. In this category, you can configure GPS operation, see how many satellites the gadget has picked up, and simply conduct testing.
Log and Debugging. Here, logs (logs) of the battery are kept (percentage of charge, voltage, operating time, temperature) and other functions little known to the average user.
Others. Contains two functions also unknown to the average user.

Engineering menu settings

The engineering menu opens up enormous possibilities for customizing the phone; we will consider the most interesting ones in detail.

SAR Test - determining the level of harmful radiation from a smartphone or tablet.
Connections - testing available wireless connection types: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, WLAN CTIA and FM receiver.

Audio - adjusts the sound in the speakers, microphone and headphones. About how to increase the Android volume through the engineering menu.

Camera - configure various camera settings.

Turning on the current camera - the operating current of the camera is displayed (in our tablet it is 2 mA).
Load test of the CPU (central processing unit) - checking the stability of its operation, identifying errors in the operation of the processor-memory channel, testing the cooling system and power supply of the processor.
Device Manager - activate automatic SMS registration, manage configuration parameters.
Disable detection - adjust the signal frequency.
Display - Sets the pulse width modulation indicator cycle, which affects the perceived brightness of the screen by quickly turning the backlight on/off; backlight adjustment; controller behind the vertical and horizontal lines of the display.

Wake mode - its activation will not allow the device to “go” into sleep mode.
IO - management of data input/output operations.
Memory - detailed information about the RAM module.
To a certain extent - detailed information about the battery (the strange name of the section is most likely due to errors in the automatic translation of names in the application, but there is no option to switch to English).
SD card test - the name of the tab speaks for itself.
Touch screen - checking the sensitivity and response of the display when pressed, as well as setting its additional settings.
USB - testing the operation of the USB port.

UART/USB switch - switching between two data transfer modes.
Sensor - calibration (adjusting clarity and sensitivity) of the touch screen. Standard methods.
Location - testing the GPS performance and determining the exact location.
Battery log - detailed information about the battery and the ability to activate the recording of battery consumption information.

MTKLogger - collection of system logs (MobileLog, ModemLog and NetworkLog).
Temperature sensor - shows the battery and processor.
Font parameter - change the font size.

When installing the application, some features may not be available without .

Xiaomi engineering menu

Despite the fact that our test Redmi 2 runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 processor, it also has the functionality that interests us. To enter it, you need to tap on the “Kernel version” item several times in a row.

The menu is represented by five items:

Automatic Test. Automatic test of all device parameters.
Single Item Test. Each of the 25 tests is taken separately. We will talk about this in detail below.
Test Report. Report on the completed texts and their results.
SW add HW version. Information about the smartphone version, IMEI and other numbers.
Device View. Smartphone hardware data.

Of course, the most interesting point is the Single Item Test, where you can take a huge number of tests.

Let's make a reservation right away that there was no way to configure anything in the device we tested - only a functionality test. At the end of each procedure, you need to note its status: successful (success) or not (failed).

Key - functionality of physical buttons. Interestingly, it was not possible to complete it successfully, since when checking the power button, the smartphone turns off.
Backlight - display brightness.

TouchPanel. The touch screen test includes two procedures: “Crossed calibration” and “Touch panel calibration”. The first one checks so-called “swipes”, the second one checks single taps on the screen. An easy way to calibrate your display.

TFlash. Testing a memory card with two results: either everything is fine, or the card is damaged.
Bluetooth. Searches for available devices.
SIM Card. Test for the presence of SIM cards.

Vibration. The gadget vibrates - everything is ok.
RTC (Real Time Clock) - operation of the built-in clock.
Speaker. Testing the conversational speaker. We didn’t understand how to get through it. We will be grateful if you can tell us in the comments.
Receiver. Translated as receiver, receiver, but music plays during testing.
Headset Testing the 3.5mm jack to detect headphones, play sounds, and support headset control buttons.

LED. Notification indicator, everything is obvious here.
FM (radio). Click Search, and if you hear noise in the headphones, then everything is working properly.
Camera. Everything is obvious: a test of the main and front optics, as well as the flash.
Battery. An informative section with information about the correct operation of the USB cable (charging), the condition of the battery, its charge level and temperature. Similar data can be obtained more.

Wi-Fi. Detection of nearby access points. There are no settings.

Torch (flashlight): shines/does not shine.
The loopback test includes a test of the spoken microphone. First, click Recording, then Playing.
LCD. Screen colors.
GPS. Detection of available satellites.
Gyro (gyroscope). Three parameters - X, Y, Z - change depending on the position of the device in space.
G-sensor (Accelerometer). Rotate the gadget in all planes and turn it over. The three parameters should be ok.
Proximity Sensor. It is usually located near the speaker and is designed to dim the gadget screen during a conversation, thereby eliminating accidental clicks.
Optical and Magnetic Sensor (optical and magnetic sensors) - points we don’t understand, share your knowledge in the comments.

After passing all tests, you can go to the Test Report section. As you can see, our “animal” is in excellent shape and has passed all the tests, which is very pleasing.

conclusions

Above we have listed the main sections of the engineering menu available on the tested devices. Now let’s summarize what features the user gets during installation:

Formatting, restoring to factory settings.
Testing the operation of individual elements of a smartphone or tablet, such as sensors, touch screen sensitivity and calibration accuracy.
Detailed information about the device and its parts. For example, you can track battery consumption since the last charge and view statistics on the programs used.
Energy optimization. Alternatively, unnecessary frequency ranges are turned off. In Russia, the standard indicators for working in 2G and 3G networks are 900 and 1800 MHz, while in the USA they are 850 and 1900 MHz.

Day after day, many of us spend dozens of hours staring at the screens of our mobile devices. The most important display parameter, brightness, not only affects the battery drain rate of our smartphones, but it is also one of the most common causes of eye fatigue. Today we have prepared a list of six Android apps that will help you prevent eye fatigue and extend the battery life of your phone or tablet.

Cobrets (short for Configurable Brightness Preset) is a free app that allows you to switch between different brightness presets using a small (1×1 size) widget on your home screen. Cobrets has several predefined brightness modes: Minimum (8%), Quarter (25%), Medium (45%), Maximum (100%), Auto, Night, and Day.

You can edit the minimum brightness values for the modes: Minimum, Cuarter, Medium and Maximum. Auto mode uses Android's automatic brightness settings. Night mode sets the brightness to zero and applies a black, translucent filter to the screen area, so you'll get a brightness level even lower than the system default. Finally, Day mode uses a yellow filter overlaid on the display to ease the strain on your eyes. Cobrets allows you to manually change the brightness level and parameters of applied filters, including filter colors and opacity levels. Cobrets gives you the ability to directly enable or disable any of these modes, so you don't have to switch between them all.

In some cases, when your device's display is faulty, you can use this app to adjust the colors displayed. However, given the prices of displays, it may be easier to change it. For example, the price for the original display for Prestigio from Mobilife is quite affordable. The display can be replaced either at a service center or independently.

IntelliScreen is a free app that allows you to customize the screen timeout based on your device's position, lighting conditions, and currently running apps. The app will first ask you to set a normal screen timeout value, which will be the default. With IntelliScreen you can set any time interval, even exotic values like 2 minutes 15 seconds. You can then set custom rules for applications. It is possible to keep the screen always on while an application is running in the foreground, or set a screen timeout for each application.

IntelliScreen also allows you to use device sensors to control screen timeout. You can completely disable the timeout when you hold the device in a certain position (portrait or landscape orientation), which is detected using the accelerometer. You can also use a light sensor. This allows you to automatically turn off the screen when you put the device in a dark place (such as a pocket), and turn on the screen when light shines on the device. However, this option is only available if you decide to upgrade IntelliScreen to the premium version (€1.99).

Finally, you can choose when your settings will be applied: always or only when the device is docked in a car dock, desktop dock, or connected to a charger.

Lux Auto Brightness is a popular Android app that makes it easy to adjust screen brightness to the optimal level, thereby reducing eye strain and saving battery power. Lux Auto Brightness is a small pop-up window with a slider that is used to adjust the brightness.

The most interesting feature of Lux Auto Brightness is the ability to not only create abstract profiles such as "Night" and "Day", but also adjust the display settings according to a certain actual ambient light intensity. By default, Lux Auto Brightness will only adjust the brightness level when the device wakes up, so you won't be distracted by changing the screen brightness. However, you can change this behavior and choose from several configuration modes: Ascending, Periodic Dynamic, or Manual.

The Lux Auto Brightness app is available in two versions. There is a free Lux Lite version that includes the most important uses. If you like the app, you can purchase the full version of Lux Auto Brightness for $3.80.

Night Mode is a very simple application that will override your system's display settings so that you can reduce the screen brightness below normal levels. Night Mode uses filter overlays that act as a dimmer to darken the screen so that it is comfortable on the eye. This is especially useful when you use your phone in low-light environments, such as in a movie or theater. Night Mode is a free application, without any built-in advertising.

Twilight is an app that adjusts the color temperature of your device's display according to your current location and time of day. Twilight is based on the idea that overexposure to bright blue light can trigger the secretion of the hormone melatonin at night, thereby causing an inability to fall asleep. Bright blue light sources, such as natural sunlight or LED displays, inhibit the creation of melatonin in the brain, which signals the body to start the day. The program filters the blue spectrum of your mobile phone or tablet display and protects your eyes with a soft red filter. The application allows you to adjust the color temperature and intensity, as well as the screen backlight level.

Velis Auto Brightness is an application that gives you complete control over the automatic brightness level settings on your Android device. When running Velis Auto Brightness for the first time, a simple seven-step wizard will guide you through the initial setup.

The main screen of the program displays a customizable curved graph of ambient light brightness along the X-axis, and screen brightness along the Y-axis. Drag the red marker to change the screen brightness under different ambient light levels. You can save several settings at once as different profiles.

There are many other settings you can adjust using Velis Auto Brightness. You can create a list of applications that will not apply existing settings, change sensor sensitivity, and so on. Some additional features (Tasker support, Widget) are available as premium content through in-app ordering.

Instructions for setting screen brightness in Lux:

Launch the application, you will see the current light level, indicated by lux (lx), and a slider for adjusting the screen brightness. Set the slider to the maximum comfortable brightness and click on the chain icon, and then on the “Communication” button. The application remembers how bright the screen should be in this lighting. The rule is simple: the brighter the light around, the more the screen will be illuminated.

Do the same thing several times in other conditions: outside on a sunny day, on a cloudy day, in the evening, at night with the lights off, and so on. Now, every time you unlock the screen, the application will measure the light level with a sensor and change the screen brightness accordingly. The smoothness of the brightness change is indicated in the settings; there will be no sudden changes.

If you don't want to take measurements manually, you can go to the application settings, select the profile editor and restore the default values.

Lux can measure light in the background at different intervals, but this will increase battery consumption. Light detection can be disabled in the settings, then you will have to change the screen brightness manually using the slider. The brightness range in Lux is higher than that of the standard settings - you can completely darken the screen if desired.

Lux also allows you to adjust the screen color temperature for comfortable reading in semi-darkness or complete darkness. These settings may be applied automatically based on the time of day or sunrise and sunset times. Color temperature changes smoothly.

We are used to not parting with our smartphones throughout the day until we go to bed. Many people can even spend the entire night reading books from their phone or tablet, so scientists, who have always sounded the alarm about spending excessive time on a computer or phone screen, recommend at least always setting the image brightness to a comfortable level to reduce eye fatigue.

Of course, in Android There is a built-in brightness adjustment, which also supports automatic brightness change based on light sensor data. But it suffers not only from an almost complete lack of settings, but also from the fact that manufacturers often overestimate the minimum brightness of the device screen. We have all at least once encountered the fact that the screen light hurts our eyes even at the minimum brightness level in the settings, but we did not know how to reduce the screen brightness - the standard Android settings do not allow this.

But today we will open for you several useful applications that will increase the convenience and provide flexibility in controlling the brightness of the screen of your Android tablet or smartphone: Lux LIte, Twilight, Velis and Backlight Widget.

Lux LIte

The most convenient and fastest application that performs the same function as the native brightness control for Android, but at the same time provides control and configuration options, for example:

change the brightness when the screen is unlocked, at any time, at specified watch- to choose from
a convenient widget in the “blind” that allows you to quickly change profiles and adjust the current brightness with an accuracy of 5%,
ability to reduce screen brightness below the standard minimum value,
control the color temperature of the screen (this is necessary to interact with human circadian rhythms, which we will discuss below),
and much more.

All features can be used in the free version, but you can automate the inclusion of some of them only in the full version.

Twilight

This application from the famous developers Urbandroid Team (they, for example, released the best alarm clock for Android) reduces the negative impact of glowing mobile device screens on a person’s sleep.

The fact is that humans have such a physiological feature as circadian rhythms. Scientists have found in numerous studies that prolonged exposure to or observation of cold shades of light (blue, blue) upsets the biological circadian rhythm, leading to problems falling asleep. Therefore, like the f.lux computer program, Twilight softens the light of the screen of mobile devices, gradually turning them into red-orange shades in the evening and at night. If you correctly specify your geographic location when starting, the filter will work automatically based on sunset time data.

Velis Auto Brightness

Velis Works propose to completely replace the standard Android OS settings with their application, which at first glance looks like an airplane control cabin - it has so many different options. But if you go through them carefully, you will have in your hands an excellent means of controlling the brightness of the screen at any time and under any conditions.

This application not only supports brightness profiles, but also knows how to not change it when exception applications are active. In addition, it integrates with Locale and Tasker, automation tools popular among Android users.

Backlight! Widget

Speed up control Brightness can be achieved using a simple Backlight widget! on the desktop, which differs favorably from the standard one in that you can adjust the brightness level you need for each switch position.

Regardless of which of these applications you find most convenient and useful, do not neglect the importance of a comfortable brightness of your mobile phone screen if you spend a lot of time with it.