M3 MacBook Air screen is dim after opening lid

waynescott wrote:

same thing happening with my 13" m3 MacBook Air. It only happens when it's plugged in. If you close the lid with the power not connected, leave it closed for about 5 seconds, then attach the power cable (while the lid is closed), wait a few seconds then open the lid the computer will wake with the screen dimmed every time. Does the same happen with you?? Were you able to get this issue fixed?

There is a System Preference/Setting which needs to be unchecked called "Slightly Dim Display while on battery power". If this setting is unchecked, then perhaps either the .plist configuration file is corrupt (not sure which file it would be these days), or the NVRAM configuration has been corrupted/stuck. See my post earlier in this thread for instructions for clearing the NVRAM (works for both Intel & M-series Macs).

Make sure you have nothing blocking the Ambient Light Sensor next to the camera. I had the exact same problem. I reset to erase all content and settings. Didn't work. Apple tech support didn't help. Then I decided to remove the sliding plastic piece that blocks and unblocks the camera and it fixed the problem.

Yeah I'm still getting it...I fix it by closing and opening screen... or unplugging the MagSafe....if all other fails I restart my Mac and that usually fixes it...it's very annoying...never had this happen on my other MacBooks ..I've owned 6 now...

Curious if this is a Flaw on the new 2024 MacBook Airs

I got 24 MacBook Air 13 inch screen M3 running Sonoma....

I'll comment when I find a permanent fix on this....

I have the same problem, although I could never solve it using the brightness button. Only a restart seemed to return the screen to its normal brightness.

After reading through this thread, I realized that the problem might be related to being on battery when opening the Mac's lid. So, I turned off the option to "Slightly dim the display on battery", closed the lid, connected the Mac to external power, opened the lid, and voilà, the brightness is back to its normal level, and the brightness button now works. Thinking back, I'm pretty sure the problem always occurred before when I was operating just on battery.

I have a 2024 Macbook Air M3 13 screen....

I fixed it by opening and closing the laptop a couple times...it instantly fixes the issue of dimming....

also make sure to turn OFF the "Slightly dim the display on battery"....AND "Automatically Adjust Brightness" OFF

Thank you Waynescott. I am having the same issue and the method you described helped me the screen brightness back up without having to restart every time this happens. I hope we can get a permanent resolution soon.

I have the same configuration, and had this problem again yesterday. I didn't want to restart, and read through all the comments.

So miraculously, after I unchecked the option "Slightly dim the display while on battery power", closed the lid, waited a few seconds and opened it again, the screen was back to normal. I've kept that unchecked.

As an added bonus, as recommended, the battery only charges to 80%. Before that it was always charging to 100%.

All is good!

So far, so good re: sudo  nvram  -c. and unchecked 'slightly dim display...'

Thank you! Worked perfectly

It's a frustrating issue. When my screen remains dark upon opening my laptop (M3), I move my bright desk lamp quite close to my screen and that helps to light up the screen. Odd, but it works.