Cannot adjust brightness

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Klaud79
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Cannot adjust brightness

Post by Klaud79 »

Hi,
I start by saying that when it comes to Linux I am a complete newbie!! :)

I have installed Linux Mint 20.1 Ulyssa (Cinnamon), and I am unable to change the brightness settings. I understand that it is a common problem so I have searched for other posts and even Youtube videos beforehand (including installing brightnessctl from the Software Manager) but nothing seems to work.

I've seen some posts describing that updating the kernel may solve the problem, but I am running a quite old laptop.
To make sure I don't mess anything up and before updating kernel or doing anything else, could you please advise what options I could try? Thank you!!

Here is the output from my inxi (I hope it helps):

Code: Select all

System:    Kernel: 5.4.0-81-generic x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 9.3.0 Desktop: Cinnamon 4.8.6 wm: muffin 4.8.1 
           dm: LightDM 1.30.0 Distro: Linux Mint 20.1 Ulyssa base: Ubuntu 20.04 focal 
Machine:   Type: Laptop System: Sony product: VPCEH2Q1E v: C1068NA2 serial: <filter> Chassis: type: 10 serial: <filter> 
           Mobo: Sony model: VAIO serial: <filter> BIOS: INSYDE v: R0190Z9 date: 11/17/2011 
Battery:   ID-1: BAT0 charge: 0 Wh condition: 7.1/7.1 Wh (100%) volts: 2.5/0.7 model: N/A type: Li-ion serial: <filter> 
           status: Charging 
CPU:       Topology: Dual Core model: Intel Core i5-2430M bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Sandy Bridge rev: 7 L2 cache: 3072 KiB 
           flags: avx lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx bogomips: 19155 
           Speed: 798 MHz min/max: 800/3000 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 798 2: 798 3: 798 4: 798 
Graphics:  Device-1: NVIDIA GF119M [GeForce 410M] vendor: Sony driver: nvidia v: 390.144 bus ID: 01:00.0 chip ID: 10de:1055 
           Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.11 driver: nvidia unloaded: fbdev,modesetting,nouveau,vesa 
           resolution: 1366x768~60Hz 
           OpenGL: renderer: GeForce 410M/PCIe/SSE2 v: 4.6.0 NVIDIA 390.144 direct render: Yes 
Audio:     Device-1: Intel 6 Series/C200 Series Family High Definition Audio vendor: Sony driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel 
           bus ID: 00:1b.0 chip ID: 8086:1c20 
           Device-2: NVIDIA GF119 HDMI Audio vendor: Sony driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus ID: 01:00.1 chip ID: 10de:0e08 
           Sound Server: ALSA v: k5.4.0-81-generic 
Network:   Device-1: Qualcomm Atheros AR9285 Wireless Network Adapter vendor: Foxconn driver: ath9k v: kernel port: 4000 
           bus ID: 07:00.0 chip ID: 168c:002b 
           IF: wlp7s0 state: up mac: <filter> 
           Device-2: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet vendor: Sony driver: r8169 v: kernel port: 2000 
           bus ID: 13:00.0 chip ID: 10ec:8168 
           IF: enp19s0 state: down mac: <filter> 
           Device-3: Qualcomm Atheros AR3011 Bluetooth type: USB driver: btusb bus ID: 1-1.5:4 chip ID: 0cf3:3005 
Drives:    Local Storage: total: 299.97 GiB used: 25.19 GiB (8.4%) 
           ID-1: /dev/mmcblk0 model: SD02G size: 1.88 GiB serial: <filter> scheme: MBR 
           ID-2: /dev/sda vendor: Fujitsu model: MHZ2320BH G2 size: 298.09 GiB speed: 3.0 Gb/s serial: <filter> rev: 8909 
           scheme: MBR 
Partition: ID-1: / size: 27.37 GiB used: 22.02 GiB (80.4%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda6 
           ID-2: /home size: 13.42 GiB used: 1.29 GiB (9.6%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda7 
           ID-3: swap-1 size: 11.18 GiB used: 5.5 MiB (0.0%) fs: swap dev: /dev/sda5 
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 56.0 C mobo: N/A gpu: nvidia temp: 54 C 
           Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A 
Repos:     No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list 
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/official-package-repositories.list 
           1: deb http://ftp.icm.edu.pl/pub/Linux/dist/linuxmint/packages ulyssa main upstream import backport
           2: deb http://ubuntu.man.lodz.pl/ubuntu focal main restricted universe multiverse
           3: deb http://ubuntu.man.lodz.pl/ubuntu focal-updates main restricted universe multiverse
           4: deb http://ubuntu.man.lodz.pl/ubuntu focal-backports main restricted universe multiverse
           5: deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ focal-security main restricted universe multiverse
           6: deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu/ focal partner
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/spotify.list 
           1: deb http://repository.spotify.com stable non-free
Info:      Processes: 217 Uptime: 1h 08m Memory: 7.76 GiB used: 3.12 GiB (40.2%) Init: systemd v: 245 runlevel: 5 Compilers: 
           gcc: 9.3.0 alt: 9 Shell: bash v: 5.0.17 running in: gnome-terminal inxi: 3.0.38
Last edited by LockBot on Wed Dec 28, 2022 7:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Topic automatically closed 6 months after creation. New replies are no longer allowed.
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ralplpcr
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Re: Cannot adjust brightness

Post by ralplpcr »

Open your power management settings.
Click on the "brightness" tab.
Adjust the slider right or left.

Does that do the job for you? If not, what happens?
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Klaud79
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Re: Cannot adjust brightness

Post by Klaud79 »

Hi ralplpcr,

Thank you for your reply. Unfortunately, that doesn't work either. Having the slider at 0% or 100% is the same thing.
By the way, the Fn keys actually change the brightness percentage levels but the actual screen brightness remains the same.

I've tried also some options which included running sudo commands the get the applet update from the repository and other suggested fixes but nothing works. In one such occasion I had to reinstall the system from scratch because something got messed up.

Could it be something related to the graphics card? I've seen some articles mentioning a fix where you need to edit an Intel configuration file for the backlight, but I have an Nvidia card.
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SMG
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Re: Cannot adjust brightness

Post by SMG »

Have you tried adding a kernel parameter such as acpi_backlight=vendor?

You can find instructions for temporarily or permanently adding a kernel parameter in this topic How to add a kernel parameter.
Image
A woman typing on a laptop with LM20.3 Cinnamon.
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ralplpcr
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Re: Cannot adjust brightness

Post by ralplpcr »

SMG wrote: ⤴Mon Oct 25, 2021 4:49 pm Have you tried adding a kernel parameter such as acpi_backlight=vendor?

You can find instructions for temporarily or permanently adding a kernel parameter in this topic How to add a kernel parameter.
If that also fails, there is a hack that can be attempted using xrandr. But SMG's method would be much better, if it can be made to work. :)
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SMG
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Re: Cannot adjust brightness

Post by SMG »

ralplpcr wrote: ⤴Mon Oct 25, 2021 5:13 pmIf that also fails, there is a hack that can be attempted using xrandr.
Given the OP mentioned the brightness value is changing when using the Fn key (even though the actual brightness is not), I'm not sure that the hack would produce different results. It seemed to me the hardware was not responding to the prompts coming from the OS. Often that is an issue related to ACPI.

I believe there are some other variations of the kernel parameter I mentioned which could also be tried if that one does not work.
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A woman typing on a laptop with LM20.3 Cinnamon.
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ralplpcr
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Re: Cannot adjust brightness

Post by ralplpcr »

SMG wrote: ⤴Mon Oct 25, 2021 5:23 pm Given the OP mentioned the brightness value is changing when using the Fn key (even though the actual brightness is not), I'm not sure that the hack would produce different results. It seemed to me the hardware was not responding to the prompts coming from the OS. Often that is an issue related to ACPI.

I believe there are some other variations of the kernel parameter I mentioned which could also be tried if that one does not work.
You're more than likely correct? I simply thought it *may* be worth a try, if the kernel parameter fails. ;)
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SMG
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Re: Cannot adjust brightness

Post by SMG »

ralplpcr wrote: ⤴Mon Oct 25, 2021 6:22 pm I simply thought it *may* be worth a try, if the kernel parameter fails. ;)
Definitely it is. :)
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A woman typing on a laptop with LM20.3 Cinnamon.
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Klaud79
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Re: Cannot adjust brightness

Post by Klaud79 »

Hi everyone,

Thank you for the advice. I haven't had the time to test it due to being busy with work and family, but I will check it out as soon as possible and report the results :wink:
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Pjotr
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Re: Cannot adjust brightness

Post by Pjotr »

You can try this progressive scheme:
https://easylinuxtipsproject.blogspot.c ... html#ID4.1
(item 4.1 and further)
Tip: 10 things to do after installing Linux Mint 21.3 Virginia
Keep your Linux Mint healthy: Avoid these 10 fatal mistakes
Twitter: twitter.com/easylinuxtips
All in all, horse sense simply makes sense.
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