Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Night Shift Missing
- Thread starter ganja24
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
What type of display are you using with your mini?
If the display is not supported, you won't see the Night Shift feature in your Displays pane.
For example, projectors or TVs are not supported by Night Shift. I suspect it won't work on a VGA connection, either, but I don't have any display that uses a VGA connection.
If the display is not supported, you won't see the Night Shift feature in your Displays pane.
For example, projectors or TVs are not supported by Night Shift. I suspect it won't work on a VGA connection, either, but I don't have any display that uses a VGA connection.
Either your Mac or the display would need some kind of sensor to measure the environment lighting. No sensor, no Nightshift. Get the f.lux app. https://justgetflux.com/news/pages/macquickstart/
Night Shift is based on time and sunset/sunrise data, not ambient conditions (perhaps you're thinking of True Tone).
OP, it is probably because you're using a TV. Night Shift is intended for monitors rather than projectors or TVs.
Yes. The settings pane for Night Shift (in your Displays pane) specifically states that Night Shift does not apply to connected televisions or projectors.
And, no sensors needed, as Night Shift is not controlled by ambient lighting. It simply adjusts the color temperature of the screen image, either on your schedule, or the standard settings of sunset to sunrise.
And, no sensors needed, as Night Shift is not controlled by ambient lighting. It simply adjusts the color temperature of the screen image, either on your schedule, or the standard settings of sunset to sunrise.
It's meant to be a feature. If you're using a TV or a projector with your Mac - rather than a monitor - then typically you will not be sitting very close to the screen, making Night Shift pointless, and will probably be using it for watching movies or TV shows, making Night Shift unsuitable.
The release version might add a manual override for people using TVs as monitors.
Night shift doesn't become pointless with larger screens farther away. It's just Apple's implementation limitation. Just continue using Flux. There are also issues and bugs in Night shift in the first beta, it's very possible there are kinks that will get fixed later. Try again with release version.
Apple’s executive responsible for iOS/macOS said last year that a feature like Night Shift can cause a ‘ghosting’ effect on LCD displays due to a discrepancy in a display’s response time to adapt to the colour changes, e.g. when scrolling a document or webpage. I am guessing, based on this, that Apple may be calibrating the feature for their own displays individually to make sure that this does not happen, which would explain why they don’t offer it for external displays (which they don’t control). f.lux has this problem too, they explain it on their website. f.lux ultimately doesn’t care about whether this can happen, but Apple tends to have higher standards.
Hmm...
I have been using Night Shift on my external display (a Dell). The support likely has to do with the capabilities of the individual display. However, I also have an old Viewsonic, limited to 1280 x 1024, and Night Shift functions on that, too. The only externals that are not supported, as far as I know, are those mentioned in the Displays pane - Projectors and televisions.
I have been using Night Shift on my external display (a Dell). The support likely has to do with the capabilities of the individual display. However, I also have an old Viewsonic, limited to 1280 x 1024, and Night Shift functions on that, too. The only externals that are not supported, as far as I know, are those mentioned in the Displays pane - Projectors and televisions.
MY 2012 13" MacBook Air doesn't have Night Shift available and I only use it with the native screen, nothing external. Is it possible that it isn't supported on older models?
MacDann
MacDann
if you're running a 10.12.4 beta, and it's not showing, then it's probably not supported. you are on the beta?
Yes, I am on the beta and the machine is registered in the public beta program, which is where the OS downloads have come from.
I'm just trying to find something that identifies the machines that aren't supported. I'm a little confused, since this particular MacBook Air was clearly identified as being supported for the beta program.
Thank you,
MacDann
As you can see, "supported by the beta" is not the same as "supports all the macOS features that might be included with a beta"
And, Night Shift possibly won't make it into the the final update. Some items get tested (it's a beta, after all), but don't ever get included in the "real" OS.
As my 2012 mini has the same graphics card as your Air (Intel HD Graphics 4000), which gets upgrades to the graphics memory when more system memory is available - I'm curious if your MBAir is a 4GB, or 8GB model.
If 4GB, maybe that's the difference!
And, Night Shift possibly won't make it into the the final update. Some items get tested (it's a beta, after all), but don't ever get included in the "real" OS.
As my 2012 mini has the same graphics card as your Air (Intel HD Graphics 4000), which gets upgrades to the graphics memory when more system memory is available - I'm curious if your MBAir is a 4GB, or 8GB model.
If 4GB, maybe that's the difference!
Having been in the both the dev and public beta programs for over 10 years, I'm all too familiar with this. Just wondering if there was anything stated anywhere, as I have not been able to find anything.
And yes, my MBA is a 4GB model, which may explain the reason...
Thank you,
MacDann
And yes, my MBA is a 4GB model, which may explain the reason...
Thank you,
MacDann