Brand new Ultra2 dims at night to the point of being unreadable
Steps I’ve taken:
Brightness is at max
Theater mode is off
Latest software on phone and watch
Unpaired and restarted watch
Restarted phone
Display is so dim I can’t read it.
Have to go to a well lit room to be able to see the display
[Re-Titled by Moderator]
Apple Watch Ultra 2, watchOS 10
The issue is the same with or without “Always On”
Same with Low Power Mode
Pressing the side button does nothing
Changing the font size and boldness made a very minor change
Changing to a watch face with a white field helps with the Home Screen but all the other functions are not usable due to being so dark
Unfortunately anyone with even minor vision issues can’t use this watch at night in its current state
Thank you for sharing what you tried that has made a difference for you!
Re: "I would like more control over it, like a brightness slider".
From the Apple Watch User Guide :
For Watch OS 10:
Open the Settings app 
on your Apple Watch, then tap Display & Brightness to adjust the following:
You can also make these adjustments on your iPhone. Open the Apple Watch app on your iPhone, tap My Watch, tap Display & Brightness, then adjust brightness and text. More info: For WatchOS 10: (or select your WatchOS from the top of articles:) Adjust brightness, text size, sounds, and haptics on Apple Watch - Apple Support
Maybe Adjust text size and other visual settings can help.
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Re: "I wish Apple didn’t make us jump through obscure hoops just to be able to see better!"
You may want to let Apple know:
Web-form for feedback:
Re: Screen illegible at night
Apple support's online articles may help:
Adjust text size and other visual settings on Apple Watch Ultra - Apple Support
says
Reducing transparency increases legibility with some backgrounds.
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Wondering if low-power mode is on or off when display is too dim:
Use Low Power Mode on your Apple Watch - Apple Support
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Also for changing text size / boldness in Settings
Adjust brightness, text size, sounds, and haptics on Apple Watch Ultra - Apple Support
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you may want to experiment / on or off / with this battery-saving feature;
Use the Always On feature with your Apple Watch - Apple Support
says
When your display is dimmed: You can also raise your wrist, press the Digital Crown, or press the side button to bring your watch to full brightness.
Thank you for patiently checking, and also for letting others in the community know of your experience, and your "white field" tip, via your replies.
You may want to send feedback to Apple. If others are experiencing this issue too, there will likely be an update to address that before long. (Feedback can help Apple see the extent of an issue, which Watches / Watch Os versions etc. are affected etc.)
Web-form for feedback:
eceived the Ultra 2 for Christmas and currently have an Apple Watch 8. Took hours to set up and then when nightfall came I was unable to make any adjustments to make it brighter without turning on a light. My Apple Watch 8 is much brighter and readable. I have just returned the watch at Best Buy and will wait till a new one comes out with a brighter screen or buy a Garmin. Very disappointed as I love all my Apple products and this should be a no brainer software fix to allow users to override The built in software dimming that Apple deems necessary. All you have to do, which I did is google Ultra 2 dim display and you will see 40 pages of complaints, then I went to media like Wired and others and saw more. Guy at Best Buy was shocked when I returned the watch and told him about this- isn’t this for camping remote with no lights? Oh well, they obviously made a decision for their customers without asking.
Same problem here. I said “Hey Siri, turn off Auto Dimming” and believe it may have had some effect. Siri replied that she had done so and displayed a brief “Auto Dimming” setting (that I was unable to find in settings) which confirmed that she had.
I also enabled Minimum Brightness under Settings/Accessibility/Minimum Brightness and while I was under Accessibility settings, I also enabled Reduce Transparency. Since I enabled Minimum Brightness and am concerned for battery life, I disabled Always On (under Settings/Display & Brightness) and Double Tap.
I find that it does make a difference in my viewing the Apple Watch face; however, I wish Apple didn’t make us jump through obscure hoops just to be able to see better! Also I would like more control over it, like a brightness slider.
I’ve got the same problem with the Series 9 I bought yesterday.
Ultra2
How to adjust display brightness on Ultra2 for better visibility?
