M2 MacBook Air not allowing brightness adjustment on Apple Cinema Display (2010)

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M2 MacBook Air not allowing brightness adjustment on Apple Cinema Display (2010)

I have an M2 MacBook Air (running MacOS 12.5, the latest) and I can't adjust the brightness of my 2010 Apple Cinema Display with the build in keyboard, an external keyboard, or sliders in the Display Settings screen (no slider appears).

-The USB cable is plugged into the laptop (a requirement for the brightness adjustment to work).

-The USB ports on the monitor work fine, I can charge and connect peripherals through it.

-The keyboards are set both to use the brightness buttons, not the Fn keys.

-I made sure the monitor was the main display in settings by dragging the white toolbar to it.

-No adjustment slider comes up for the monitor in Display Settings.

-The brightness buttons on the laptop keyboard and external keyboard don't do anything but change the laptop screen brightness.

-Closing the laptop lid and only running the main display does nothing to get the brightness slider to appear.

Has anyone run into this before? It works fine on my 16 inch MBP so I'm wondering if it's some weird M2 specific issue.

Posted on Aug 5, 2022 09:27 AM

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Answer 1

faith185

Community Specialist

Aug 6, 2022 04:33 PM in response to chrono1081

Hello chrono1081,

Welcome to Apple Support Communities. Although for a slightly different issue, the guidance from If your external display isn't detected or appears blurry when connected to your Mac can help you check your connections and may resolve this.

As far as connection goes, may be helpful to take a look at Connect a display to your Mac as well.

Keep in mind there may also be some compatibility issues since your Cinema Display will be considered vintage or obsolete depending on the model as mentioned in Obtaining service for your Apple product after an expired warranty.

If you have further questions about that or continue to experience issues, you can reach out to Apple Support.

Have a great day!

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M2 MacBook Air not allowing brightness adjustment on Apple Cinema Display (2010)

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