My new ASUS Zenbook was too dark. How I fixed it.
I just purchased a new ASUS Zenbook UX330UA-AH54 13.3-inch laptop. The first thing I noticed was how dark it seemed compared to my desktop and my Chromebook. See the image below.
In this photo, the brightness for the Zenbook is maxed out. I hit Control-F6 until it went as high as it could. The brightness levels for the other 2 machines were not maxed out.
After looking online for ideas and coming up short, I called ASUS. My rep was unhelpful. His only response was to reset the entire operating system. Even though I had spent an hour installing applications, I took his advice.
It had no effect.
A friend of mine told me that Zenbooks are known for having darker displays. But this dark? I was about to return the Zenbook, but first I had some friends look at the screen. They all felt the screen was too dark also.
Just when I was resigned to returning the laptop, a friend of mine figured out how to increase the brightness. This page lists the steps he took to fix the display. So if you are having the same problem or work for ASUS Support, read on.
#1 Edit Power Plan
Hit the Windows button and search on Power. Select Edit Power Plan. Once this screen loads click the link Change advanced power settings.
#2 Adjust Power Options
Here is where I found my Display Brightness set to 50% for both Battery and Plugged in. Why is this the default? I moved it to 90% and clicked OK.
#3 Change Display Setting
Hit the Windows Button and bring up Settings. The first button will be System. Select that. This will bring you to the Display screen. I was having issues where my Zenbook was overriding the brightness level I wanted based on the room lighting. Even though it was turned up, it would sometimes still go dark.
To fix that, uncheck “Change brightness automatically when lighting changes”.
Now I Can See!
I’m not sure why Zenbooks are shipped with such a dark display and I have no clue why the ASUS Support representative was unable to assist me. But, the good news is the brightness level of my Zenbook is now the same as my desktop and Chromebook.
** Thanks for reading and any claps!
** You can find my non-tech posts on my blog CriticalMAS.org. I also write for my coffee website INeedCoffee.com. Check them out if you are interested.
