It simply does not appear to work. Even when I go from a room with good sunlight to a completely dark closet/room/restroom/etc. I do not see the screen dim or become brighter.
Called them, then went to the Genius Bar, came back with a replacement and the problem still persists. I think it's safe to say that this is most definitely a firmware issue.
Exactly the same thing here. Can't imagine that something is covering the sensor...I am using the Apple case for my iPad. Seems either like a large batch of iPads got naff sensors, or a firmware issue. Let's hope for the sake of us, and apple, that it is fixable with a firmware update.
are setting the brightness to the maximum level? with that I saw that actually there is no change...try to reduce the brightness and then try, in a darker room, to point a flash (like one you find in mobile phones) directly in front of the sensor. Of course iPad must be in auto brightness mode.
It should change, at least you know it's not broken.
I've got the same problem: auto-brightness just doesn't seem to work at all. The Settings app says auto-brightness is turned on, but I always need to adjust the brightness myself (which can't be doing battery life any good, since once I turn it up to full brightness I usually leave it there until I'm in a very dark room).
I wish Apple could confirm whether this is a software problem or whether I should demand a replacement iPad the next time I'm near an Apple store.
I'm wondering to guys, with the much rumored auto brightness being linked to the wi-fi problems, if your all saying some are not working, would be very interesting to see if the people with light sensing issues have the wifi issues to.
Having said that, something does seem slightly not right were this sensor is concerned.
Most likely it's NOT broken. It's just the way the sensor works. It only really checks ambient light when you slide to unlock. To test this, place your thumb on top of the sensor and unlock the iPad. You should notice that the screen goes dim and if you move your thumb from the sensor it should brighten.
To me it seems like the screen will always brighten if the room gets brighter but it doesn't like dimming when you go into a dark room unless you just unlocked the device.
At first I thought my sensor was broken too but then i did testing and figured out how to test it.
I too have what I consider to be a problem with auto-brightness. Having said that, it was easy to replicate enderx's claim about the relationship between "slide to unlock" and auto-brightness.
Still, even with finally knowing how it works, I continue to think that the mechanism is a very cheap excuse for a sensor.