Bug 17569 - Auto display dimming broken
: Auto display dimming broken
Status: NEW
Product: SB Radio
Classification: Unclassified
Component: Display
: Include FW version in comment
: Macintosh MacOS X 10.6
: -- major with 3 votes (vote)
: ---
Assigned To: Unassigned bug - please assign me!
:
Depends on:
Blocks:
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Reported: 2011-09-14 13:16 UTC by scdupont
Modified: 2011-10-02 16:35 UTC (History)
1 user (show)

See Also:
Category: ---


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Description scdupont 2011-09-14 13:16:59 UTC
Radio Firmware 7.6.1-r9482
SS: 7.6.1 - r33110

Display will dim manually, but when set to automatic will not dim when ambient room light changes.  a factory reset does not  fix issue.  Diagnostic tests show the screen value changing, but the screen itself will not dim.  Manual dimming works just fine.
Comment 1 Russell Craig 2011-09-26 12:22:06 UTC
*** This bug has been confirmed by popular vote. ***
Comment 2 Russell Craig 2011-09-26 12:24:55 UTC
7.6.1-r9482 and autodimming is nerfed.  Sorry to grumble but this one is
literally giving me sleepless nights then my wife says during the day "why is
your clock on the floor I can't see the time any more?".  Please save my
marriage by fixing this bug :)
Comment 3 Felix Mueller 2011-09-28 06:36:06 UTC
Hmm, I am unable to reproduce. Automatic dimming works just fine on my SB Radio.

Could you please verify that the minimal brightness setting isn't set somewhere close to the maximum. This would cause this effect - diagnostics value ok, but display stays bright.

On the device: Settings - Brightness - Minimal Brightness (Auto)

Also make sure you are using auto brightness by selecting Automatic Brightness in Settings - Brightness - Brightness Control

Thanks
Felix
Comment 4 scdupont 2011-09-28 07:42:53 UTC
(In reply to comment #3)
> Hmm, I am unable to reproduce. Automatic dimming works just fine on my SB
> Radio.
> 
> Could you please verify that the minimal brightness setting isn't set somewhere
> close to the maximum. This would cause this effect - diagnostics value ok, but
> display stays bright.
> 
> On the device: Settings - Brightness - Minimal Brightness (Auto)
> 
> Also make sure you are using auto brightness by selecting Automatic Brightness
> in Settings - Brightness - Brightness Control
> 
> Thanks
> Felix

Hi Felix,

Thanks for investigating.  Yes, Minimal brightness is set to ~40%, and Automatic Brightness is also selected.    this bug seems was present in earlier builds, was apparently fixed, but seems to have reasserted itself.  see this thread:

http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=82309
Comment 5 Felix Mueller 2011-09-28 08:33:14 UTC
Thanks for the feedback.

I've checked the automatic brightness on my SB Radio running 7.6.1 r9482 (MSP
1463) and it works as it should. Hmm.

What MSP version is reported on your SB Radio in Settings - Advanced - Diagnostics - Power?

Thanks
Felix
Comment 6 scdupont 2011-09-28 11:18:49 UTC
(In reply to comment #5)
> Thanks for the feedback.
> 
> I've checked the automatic brightness on my SB Radio running 7.6.1 r9482 (MSP
> 1463) and it works as it should. Hmm.
> 
> What MSP version is reported on your SB Radio in Settings - Advanced -
> Diagnostics - Power?
> 
> Thanks
> Felix

MSP is 1463.
Comment 7 Felix Mueller 2011-09-29 09:40:44 UTC
Thanks again. Unfortunately I am running out of ideas.

I see it work here when I cover the ambient light sensor for about 5 to 6 seconds with my hand. The sensor is located above the preset 1 button. It does a bit of dimming immediately then the full dimming after about 6 seconds.

Thanks
Felix
Comment 8 scdupont 2011-09-29 12:35:29 UTC
(In reply to comment #7)
> Thanks again. Unfortunately I am running out of ideas.
> 
> I see it work here when I cover the ambient light sensor for about 5 to 6
> seconds with my hand. The sensor is located above the preset 1 button. It does
> a bit of dimming immediately then the full dimming after about 6 seconds.
> 
> Thanks
> Felix

thanks- I've done that, and it doesn't dim.    however, if I go to Settings-->Advanced-->Factory Test-->Ambient Light Sensor and repeat the same test, the display *will* dim, and the value changes accordingly.

very weird.
Comment 9 Russell Craig 2011-09-30 08:24:02 UTC
(In reply to comment #2)
> 7.6.1-r9482 and autodimming is nerfed.  Sorry to grumble but this one is
> literally giving me sleepless nights then my wife says during the day "why is
> your clock on the floor I can't see the time any more?".  Please save my
> marriage by fixing this bug :)


Correction... user error.  I had forgotten doing a factory reset.  The minimum brightness just needed change.  Ignore my contribution and sorry.
Comment 10 beltraj 2011-10-02 16:35:19 UTC
I've got two Radios, one exhibits the problem and one that does not. The one exhibiting the problem was purchased about 10 months ago, the one not exhibiting the problem about 4 months ago. The one exhibiting the problem used to work, but stopped working at some point following a firmware upgrade.

Vitals on *both* radios appears to be the same:

Firmware 7.6.2 r9482
MSP 1463
Server 7.6.1 - r33110 

Factory reset (several times now) has *not* resolved the issue for the non-functional radio. When using the Factory Test for the light sensor under identical lighting conditions (side by side on a desk) the sensors on both radios report the same value (~18-25).

When covering the functional radio's sensor it rapidly drops to ~11k, plateaus for a few seconds, the display begins to dim and then the sensor rapidly drops to 100k accompanied by rapid dimming. Repeating this test from the home screen and from the clock with the radio "off" yields identical results for this radio. 

When covering the problematic radio's sensor it rapidly drops to ~4.5k, plateus for a few seconds, dims slightly, then verly slowly drops to ~25k, dims again, and then drops to 100k. Repeating the test from the home screen (without rebooting) yields the same dimming behavior. *However* the test *fails* when repeating the test with the radio "off" but without rebooting, i.e. pressing "power" to get the clock and repeating the test yields no dimming whatsoever. 

So it seems that something in the dimming logic, or the sensor polling, gets locked out or turned off when powering the radio "off". I'm suspecting that either something in an interim version of the firmware is not getting overwritten by subsequent releases, or something in the factory reset is incomplete. (Well, I know the factory reset is "incomplete" because the alarm settings are not reset following the reset, although the wallpaper, home screen, and brightness settings are reset). 

Love the radio, am perplexed by the dimming problem. I never realized how bright the clock was until it stopped auto-dimming - now it's unbearable and I have resorted to manual dimming.