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Help Watch goes dim on me...

The_Chief

The_Chief

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Okay, this HAS to be an Android Wear issue because it's happened on two different model smartwatches.

First it was the Moto 360. I had it set to Brightness 3. And after awhile it would default to brightness 1 and I could barely make out the screen, even in low light. I would have to go to Settings --> Adjust Brightness and reset it to 3.

Disgusted, I sold my Moto 360 and bought a Huawei Watch. Never looked back... great watch! But it has the same issue! Every so often, I'll barely be able to see the screen - and it's back into Settings to adjust brightness to 3 again.

Am I the only one experiencing this? Is there a fix? Does anyone know if Google is working on it?
 
I set my Moto 360 to '3' a few weeks ago, I just checked and that's where it still is.
Once it had changed itself to 'Auto', but I'd been messing about in the Android Wear app so I just figured I'd changed it and not realized it.
Maybe some misbehaving app on your phone?
 
I set my moto 360 on one, and it has stuck so far.

Some wild guesses;

Do you have an interactive watch face built by someone else? Maybe it has tappable actions to change brightness that you are activating without noticing. Do you have autowear for tasker? (it can change watch brightness)
 
I'm using one of the watch faces that came stock with the Huawei Watch. So far today it has behaved. I sent a bug report to Google, but they kicked it back and said that I needed to report it to the OEM. That's a cop-out, because it happened on my Moto 360 as well. Not sure what app on my phone would be affecting the brightness control: I have a brand new Moto X Pure Edition phone and not that many Wear apps.
 
It seems to happen only when I get a Gmail notification... but not every time. But when a new Gmail notification comes in, one time in 15 or so, it'll default to minimum brightness and I have to guess my way into Settings --> Adjust Brightness to set it back up.
 
That's a weird one all right. Google search doesn't seem to reveal anything similar.

One thing that caught my attention was that your description of brightness levels seems different than my experience. I leave my 2014 Moto 360 on brightness 1 (lowest of the 5) and it is enough to read any screen easily indoors. With brightness level 1, I can even read the time outdoors in sunlight (at any angle other than the one that reflects sun directly to my eyes) when I use watchface that has time in large white numerals on black background (although I couldn't read other small-detail screens outside in direct sunlight).

It probably has nothing to do with your problem... just thought it was weird that you were describing problems reading the screen on brightness level 1.
 
Still does it. Did it twice today. Only when I get a notification... one was a text with Messenger and one was a Gmail notification. It goes super dim... well below brightness 1. This is crazy!
 
Almost a year later and it's STILL doing this! Am I really the only person this is happening to?

I got a Gmail notification on my Huatch. As soon as I tilt my wrist to my face, the display brightens up and then IMMEDIATELY - I'm talking within half a second - goes super-dim. REALLY dim, below brightness level 1. I'm talking level 0.5 here. I had to literally guess what I was selecting, because I couldn't see the display to select Settings, then Adjust Brightness. Once I'm in that menu, though, the display pops right back bright again and I selected 5.

I guarantee you that before this week is out, I'll get another Gmail notification and it'll happen again. My only hope at this point is that whatever bug this is was fixed in Android Wear 2.0, which I will install on the 25th when my Huatch's primary warranty expires.

Next time it happens I'll try to video it and show you folks what I'm talking about.
 
No, but I really don't see how that could possibly be the problem considering I've experienced it across two different watches from two different manufacturers. But if you think it might solve the issue, I'd be happy to try it...
 
It still happens. It happened today, driving down the interstate. I think it was a text notification... I turned my wrist to look at it and the watch went from ambient to super, super dim again. In the daylight, it was essentially black. So I pressed the button, guessed at the location of Settings and Adjust Brightness, and set it back to 5. AGAIN.

o_O
 
Man, that is weird! Just curious (maybe I missed it) have you reset the watch?
I know you've stated it's happened on other watches, so I'm kind of guessing here what the issue is.

Funny you should mention this issue, as my Huawei watch sometimes goes completely black for no reason (I have ambient mode on) but in my case, the button press lights it up fine again. :confused:
 
Yes, it's a requirement that when you change phones you HAVE to factory reset the watch in order to pair it with a new phone. Which is STUPID, Google! Anyway, I reset it in August when I retired the Moto X Pure and got the Note 7. Then in late September, I had the privilege of resetting it AGAIN with the replacement Note 7. And - joy of joys - I reset it a THIRD time last month when the replacement was also recalled. Even though I had previously paired it with the Moto X Pure, it would not connect again without a reset. Which is ALSO STUPID, Google!

As I have previously indicated, this happened with my Moto 360 watch paired to the Note 4. So this can't possibly be a manufacturer issue: it HAS to be something buried in the Android Wear code. But it's crazy intermittent, with no pattern to it at all. I'll go 5 or 6 days, getting Gmail and text notifications all day, every day... and then I'll get one on Day 7 and BAM! Dark screen. If I turn the watch away, ambient mode works normally and it's all fine. But if I tilt my wrist inward to actually LOOK at the watch, it dims.

BIZARRE!
 
Just a thought, do you have a screen protector on it?
I know I'm throwing out ideas here but perhaps the ambient light sensor is getting messed with?
 
Okay folks, it happened AGAIN and I had the wherewithal to video it. Here's my repeating dilemma:


I'm open to suggestion here. It happened on the Moto 360, it's happening on the Huawei Watch. It HAS to be an Android Wear bug, not a manufacturer issue. And repeated watch resets don't resolve it.
 
It's worse than sleep because you can see that it dims way below even Brightness Level 1. I have no idea what's causing it. I reported it to Google, but they blew it off as a manufacturer bug (even though I told them two different brands of watch were involved). I'll try reporting it again with the video. Maybe Android Wear 2.0 will fix it, but that's a long way off.
 
I'll have to experiment with mine this weekend as far as different settings on the watch.

What version of Android Wear are you on ? I'm assuming the latest.
My Android Wear App version is 2.0.0.138705214.gms
 
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