Help Browser Screen Brightness Dims KITKAT

[ggranath]

Verizon just told me there was a software update for my Note 2 (4.4.2 - named kitkat I believe) and I foolishly installed it without looking on these forums to see if it was clean.

Now when I open the default browser, screen brightness decreases to about 50%. I have manually set the brightness to max.

While in the browser, if I touch the Menu icon (lower left) and select Brightness, it tells me that brightness is manually set to max.

While in the browser, if I then press the Home key, brightness momentarily reverts to max before I'm taken to the home page.

I find nothing similar in other threads about browser brightness. Is this a known problem? Have I stepped in something unpleasant?

 

[andygu3]

Clear the browser's data and cache in settings, see if that helps

 

[ggranath]

Clearing data and cache didn't help. I have a little more detail.

If I directly open the Google app and enter the search term for a video, Google opens at max bright and the video I searched for plays at max bright.

But if I open the browser, the display goes dim as soon as it's open, and then if I access google.com by entering that URL in the browser's address box, the display stays dim after the Google Web site opens and stays that way as I enter the search term.

Only after I click Go and the target video starts do I get max brightness again. So it appears that the dimming happens every time the browser is involved.

Any further ideas?

 

[icemanag84]

Yes.This is happening on my GS3 phone.��

 

[ggranath]

Just noticed that this also happens on my wife's Note 2.

Did some research and I only understand 50% of the android-expert lingo, but it sounds like at some point (4.4.2 - KITKAT?) the default browser stopped being used. Now there's something about Chrome WebView and HTML5 that I don't care to understand, but it clearly means something to sombody somewhere.

I googled and found that both the Dolphin and Opera browsers are highly rated by users so I installed both and am evaluating. There'll be a learning curve but at least the screen stays bright enough for me to see in outdoor light.

Here's a link to one of the sites where I found clues:

Android 4.4 KitKat, the browser and the Chrome WebView | Breaking the Mobile Web

GGR

 

[icemanag84]

Ok. Changed my default browser. Problem solved.

 

[ggranath]

You'd think the providers of this browser would have done some usability testing before GAing the product. This bug "floats on the surface," really hard to miss.

 

[Lahari]

This is because your phone is power saving mode. Just turn it off by going to Settings > My Device > Power saving mode. Option also available when you pull down the notifications bar.