Brightness on my Air Unibody won't go all the way up!

[skornii]

My Macbook Air is doing something pretty strange..

This is as far as my brightness will go up. This is using the keyboard brightness thing on F1 and F2. When I go into the system preferences, I can drag the brightness to the top, but as soon as I release the mouse, it automatically flicks back to where it was before without getting any brighter.

Does anyone have any ideas as to the cause?

The model number of my macbook is A1342 if that helps.

Thanks

 

[spinnerlys]

Have you by any chance "Automatically adjust brightness as ambient light changes" enabled in System Preferences > Displays?
Have you tried an SMC reset?

 

[skornii]

Have you by any chance "Automatically adjust brightness as ambient light changes" enabled in System Preferences > Displays?
Have you tried an SMC reset?

There are very few options under displays in system preferences as you can see in the image below.

I am unaware what SMC is. I just did a quick Google search on it and I think I'm going into unknown territory. I will do it if you think it will fix the problem though, by going off instructions from:

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3964

 

[spinnerlys]

SMC Reset:

Resetting the SMC on portables with a battery you should not remove on your own

Note: Portable computers that have a battery you should not remove on your own include MacBook Pro (Early 2009) and later, all models of MacBook Air, and MacBook (Late 2009).

• Shut down the computer.
• Plug in the MagSafe power adapter to a power source, connecting it to the Mac if its not already connected.
• On the built-in keyboard, press the (left side) Shift-Control-Option keys and the power button at the same time.
• Release all the keys and the power button at the same time.
• Press the power button to turn on the computer.

Note: The LED on the MagSafe power adapter does not change states or temporarily turn-off when you reset the SMC.

I thought the MBA would have had an Ambient Light Sensor, thus the setting I hinted at. Hmm. Try the SMC reset and see if it appears in System Preferences.

Btw, a restart hasn't remedied that behaviour, has it? If the SMC reset does not work, create a new account and see if the problem occurs there.

 

[skornii]

SMC Reset:


I thought the MBA would have had an Ambient Light Sensor, thus the setting I hinted at. Hmm. Try the SMC reset and see if it appears in System Preferences.

Btw, a restart hasn't remedied that behaviour, has it? If the SMC reset does not work, create a new account and see if the problem occurs there.

SMC reset didn't work, and I checked another account I have and it still fails to get to the full brightness.

 

[DewGuy1999]

Try resetting the PRAM/NVRAM:

Resetting PRAM and NVRAM

1. Shut down the computer.
2. Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command, Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step 4.
3. Turn on the computer.
4. Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys. You must press this key combination before the gray screen appears.
5. Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.
6. Release the keys.

Your computer's PRAM and the NVRAM are reset to the default values. The clock settings may be reset to a default date on some models.​