My solution to ambient light sensor problems with keyboard and display
*Problems covered:*
-> ambient light sensor not working at all
-> light sensor only works for keyboard illumination but not for display brightness
-> light sensor only works for display brightness but not for keyboard illumination
-> keyboard illumination works the wrong way round (ie. gets dimmed when room darkens)
Occurences:
-> after migrating an existing user account from another Mac
-> may occur on freshly installed MacBook Air with no account migration
-> after wake from sleep
Solution:
-> create a new user account named "test" with password "test"
-> make sure this user is allowed to administer the computer
-> log out and then log in as user "test"
-> open the Terminal and type this one line command:
*sudo cp ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.BezelServices.plist /Users/YOUR USERNAME/Library/Preferences/*
-> replace "YOUR USERNAME" with the short account name of the problem account
-> enter the admin password ("test") which will not be shown
-> log out and log in again using your own account
-> you may now delete the user account "test" if you want to
The ambient light sensor will now work properly on both the display and keyboard.
*How to test if your ambient light sensor is operating properly:*
-> make sure you are in a well lit (full daylight) room
-> make sure you enable "Automatically adjust brightness" in the Displays system preferences
-> make sure you enable "Illuminate keyboard in low light conditions" in the Keyboard system preferences
-> set display brightness to max using the F2 key
-> set keyboard brightness to max using the F6 key
-> hold your hand over the tiny holes to the left of the iSight camera
-> the screen will now slowly dim and the keyboard will now slowly light up
*Bug remaining:*
When putting the MacBook Air to sleep in a well lit room, and then waking in a dark room, the keyboard illumination will work the wrong way round. This should be solved by Apple in a future software update.
You can work around this by always waking and sleeping your MacBook Air in a well lit room.
Message was edited by: Colpolyp
-> ambient light sensor not working at all
-> light sensor only works for keyboard illumination but not for display brightness
-> light sensor only works for display brightness but not for keyboard illumination
-> keyboard illumination works the wrong way round (ie. gets dimmed when room darkens)
Occurences:
-> after migrating an existing user account from another Mac
-> may occur on freshly installed MacBook Air with no account migration
-> after wake from sleep
Solution:
-> create a new user account named "test" with password "test"
-> make sure this user is allowed to administer the computer
-> log out and then log in as user "test"
-> open the Terminal and type this one line command:
*sudo cp ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.BezelServices.plist /Users/YOUR USERNAME/Library/Preferences/*
-> replace "YOUR USERNAME" with the short account name of the problem account
-> enter the admin password ("test") which will not be shown
-> log out and log in again using your own account
-> you may now delete the user account "test" if you want to
The ambient light sensor will now work properly on both the display and keyboard.
*How to test if your ambient light sensor is operating properly:*
-> make sure you are in a well lit (full daylight) room
-> make sure you enable "Automatically adjust brightness" in the Displays system preferences
-> make sure you enable "Illuminate keyboard in low light conditions" in the Keyboard system preferences
-> set display brightness to max using the F2 key
-> set keyboard brightness to max using the F6 key
-> hold your hand over the tiny holes to the left of the iSight camera
-> the screen will now slowly dim and the keyboard will now slowly light up
*Bug remaining:*
When putting the MacBook Air to sleep in a well lit room, and then waking in a dark room, the keyboard illumination will work the wrong way round. This should be solved by Apple in a future software update.
You can work around this by always waking and sleeping your MacBook Air in a well lit room.
Message was edited by: Colpolyp
MacBook Air
