Bug 308757 - brightness keys don't change brightness
Summary: brightness keys don't change brightness
Status: RESOLVED MOVED
Alias: None
Product: solid
Classification: Unmaintained
Component: powermanagement (show other bugs)
Version: 4.9.2
Platform: Ubuntu Linux
: NOR minor
Target Milestone: ---
Assignee: Dario Freddi
URL:
Keywords:
: 309106 (view as bug list)
Depends on:
Blocks:
 
Reported: 2012-10-21 14:10 UTC by maho+kde
Modified: 2013-08-14 21:47 UTC (History)
13 users (show)

See Also:
Latest Commit:
Version Fixed In:
Sentry Crash Report:


Attachments
kded4 log (76.71 KB, text/plain)
2012-10-27 12:54 UTC, madcatx
Details

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Description maho+kde 2012-10-21 14:10:58 UTC
In my Toshiba Portege, brightness keys (fn-f6 , fn-F7) don't change screen brightness. 

I remember that it worked before upgrade. 

Reproducible: Always

Steps to Reproduce:
1. open KDE session
2. press Fn-F6 
Actual Results:  
Nothing happends

Expected Results:  
Brigtness of screen should change a bit and brightness change indicator should show up.
Comment 1 madcatx 2012-10-27 12:54:51 UTC
Created attachment 74830 [details]
kded4 log
Comment 2 madcatx 2012-10-27 12:58:23 UTC
I'm having the very same problem on my Toshiba Qosmio X300. I can still adjust backlight through "/sys/class/backlight/acpi_video0", so I'm quite sure it's a KDE problem. I remember the backlight adjustment working perfectly in 4.9.0.
I have an nVidia 9800M card with 310.14 proprietary drivers.
Comment 3 maho+kde 2012-11-02 14:23:38 UTC
Additional (and confusing) info: brightness keys started working again. There was no upgrade between.
Comment 4 long.lvnh 2012-11-09 17:24:58 UTC
I am having the same problem, I am using the following:

Fedora Linux
kernel    : 3.6.6-1.fc17.x86_64
nvidiabl : 0.80
KDE       : 4.9.2

I can control it using the interface file "/sys/class/backlight/nvidia_backlight/brightness" with the "echo" command, previous to 4.9.2 version of KDE, I had a problem with the kernel's module pata_acpi and I could not start up the system for about 2 weeks, just recently I was able to start it again, everything works but KDE's hotkeys for monitor brightness.
Comment 5 Marc Collin 2012-11-09 21:14:45 UTC
can you try with other kernel

for me with kernel 3.4 that work and stoped to work with 3.6

i have a toshiba z830
Comment 6 ajaxas 2012-11-10 17:36:59 UTC
There were changes in nvidia driver 304.60 that broke brightness control on laptops:
"Added support for the "Backlight" RandR output property for configuring the brightness of some notebook internal panels."

Discussions of the problem:
http://phoronix.com/forums/showthread.php?74441-NVIDIA-310-14-OpenGL-4-3-Threaded-Optimizations/page7 (top post on page 7)
https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=151119
http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=2579087

The bug was fixed in 304.64:
"Fixed a regression in backlight control functionality on some notebook configurations."
- so brightness control via ACPI (/sys/class/backlight/...) works now, but KDE plasma (?) applet and hotkeys don't work.

So it's reasonable to say the problem lies in KDE/nvidia interaction and not in the kernel.

I don't know where to look from here, but I hope this helps.
Comment 7 ajaxas 2012-11-10 17:44:38 UTC
Um, yeah, forgot to mention: we have KDE 4.9.3 in archlinux already, and the problem persists.
Just in case.
Comment 8 Lev Lybin 2012-11-11 18:18:36 UTC
Don't work fn + up/down keys

It's work:
echo 0-7 > /sys/class/backlight/acpi_video0/brightness

Kernel: 3.6.6
Archlinux
Nvidia: 304.64
Comment 9 Marc Collin 2012-11-11 18:41:17 UTC
does this happen without a suspend 2 ram?

i got this problem only after a suspend 2 ram
Comment 10 Lev Lybin 2012-11-11 18:43:38 UTC
(In reply to comment #9)
> does this happen without a suspend 2 ram?
> 
> i got this problem only after a suspend 2 ram

Yes, always, after reboot too.
Comment 11 Lev Lybin 2012-11-11 18:48:17 UTC
My notebook samsung R730. In Gnome all works, for example.
Comment 12 Marc Collin 2012-11-11 18:57:10 UTC
 Screen:
The fn keys that control the brightness work as long as the laptop does not get suspended. If the laptop is suspended then upon resuming the fn keys no longer work. The fix is as follows:
add

acpi_backlight=vendor

to /etc/default/grub under GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT, then run update-grub. After rebooting, this will remove the acpi_video0 from /sys/class/backlight/ leaving you just with intel_backlight and toshiba. Upon resuming with these settings the screen will be completely black with no means of making it brighter. To fix this one needs to create and add the following to /etc/pm/sleep.d/restore_brightness:

#!/bin/bash
case "$1" in
   suspend|hibernate)
      #do nothing
   ;;
   resume|thaw)
      echo 7 > /sys/class/backlight/toshiba/brightness
   ;;
   *)
      exit 1
   ;;
esac
exit 0

Don't forget to chmod +x the script. You should now have a trouble free laptop :)
Comment 13 Lev Lybin 2012-11-11 19:08:47 UTC
But I have a problem that does not work control even in the power manager.

After suspend it's ok:
lybin-R730 lybin # ls /sys/class/backlight/acpi_video0/
actual_brightness  bl_power  brightness  device  max_brightness  power  subsystem  type  uevent
Comment 14 ajaxas 2012-11-12 14:39:19 UTC
(In reply to comment #12)
Well, it doesn't work even after shutdown or restart, not only after suspend, so that guess is off the table.

Also, everything works with KDE/nvidia-304.51, but doesn't with KDE/nvidia-304.60 and 304.64.
It *could* be nvidia bug, but users of other DE report everything works just fine, so this must be a matter of how KDE works with newer nvidia versions.
Comment 15 ajaxas 2012-11-12 14:41:49 UTC
(In addition to comment #14)
When I say everything works with KDE/nvidia-304.51, I mean everything works *without* kernel hacks or lousy scripts.
Comment 16 Lev Lybin 2012-11-12 15:16:53 UTC
I had a problem when the updated xorg, in gnome 3.4 do not work Fn Key.
Maybe this is the problem? In GNOME 3.6 fixed.

==> Package upgrade only (new release):
extra/xf86-input-evdev 2.7.3-1 1 -> 2
extra/xf86-input-synaptics 1.6.2-1 1 -> 2

==> Software upgrade (new version) :
extra/xorg-server-common 1.12.4-1 -> 1.13.0-2
extra/xorg-server 1.12.4-1 -> 1.13.0-2
Comment 17 madcatx 2012-11-12 18:57:39 UTC
This has nothing to do with the Fn keys. The Fn keys presses are detected fine, but KDE's PowerDevil fails to set the backlight. It does not matter whether you use Fn keys or the slider in the battery widget. Perhaps this bug would better be reported to PowerDevil maintainers?
Comment 18 Lev Lybin 2012-11-12 19:14:18 UTC
In PowerDevil too, most likely you are right. Thx
Comment 19 Lev Lybin 2012-11-12 19:23:21 UTC
https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=296403
Comment 20 maho+kde 2012-11-13 00:55:33 UTC
(In reply to comment #17)
> This has nothing to do with the Fn keys. The Fn keys presses are detected
> fine, but KDE's PowerDevil fails to set the backlight. It does not matter
> whether you use Fn keys or the slider in the battery widget. Perhaps this
> bug would better be reported to PowerDevil maintainers?

Maybe my bug is a bit different to yours, but when my fn-f6 and fn-f7 don't work, slider in battery widget - does. 

And, keys sometimes works, sometimes not.
Comment 21 madcatx 2012-11-13 12:45:30 UTC
(In reply to comment #20)
> (In reply to comment #17)
> > This has nothing to do with the Fn keys. The Fn keys presses are detected
> > fine, but KDE's PowerDevil fails to set the backlight. It does not matter
> > whether you use Fn keys or the slider in the battery widget. Perhaps this
> > bug would better be reported to PowerDevil maintainers?
> 
> Maybe my bug is a bit different to yours, but when my fn-f6 and fn-f7 don't
> work, slider in battery widget - does. 

To make it perfectly clear, for me it "works" like this. Moving the slider in the battery widget brings up the backlight percentage indicator, but the backlight intensity does not change. Pressing the Fn buttons does not even bring up the indicator, but as far as I can tell from the acpi_listen the keypresses are being registered.
Comment 22 maho+kde 2012-11-16 16:52:19 UTC
(In reply to comment #21)
> (In reply to comment #20)
> > (In reply to comment #17)
> > > This has nothing to do with the Fn keys. The Fn keys presses are detected
> > > fine, but KDE's PowerDevil fails to set the backlight. It does not matter
> > > whether you use Fn keys or the slider in the battery widget. Perhaps this
> > > bug would better be reported to PowerDevil maintainers?
> > 
> > Maybe my bug is a bit different to yours, but when my fn-f6 and fn-f7 don't
> > work, slider in battery widget - does. 
> 
> To make it perfectly clear, for me it "works" like this. Moving the slider
> in the battery widget brings up the backlight percentage indicator, but the
> backlight intensity does not change. 

So my case is different. When I move the slider - indicator brings up and backlight really changes.  But on battery - it's often returns to base (20%?) value in few seconds (in indicator, and in real). 

And now when I'm writing it, keys works. Yesterday - they didn't.
Comment 23 russell 2012-12-03 11:34:20 UTC
(In reply to comment #17)
> This has nothing to do with the Fn keys. The Fn keys presses are detected
> fine, but KDE's PowerDevil fails to set the backlight. It does not matter
> whether you use Fn keys or the slider in the battery widget. Perhaps this
> bug would better be reported to PowerDevil maintainers?

The key combiations are not detected here.  If I run xev in a terminal and press FN+F2 or FN+F3 (the brightness controls on my Toshiba Satellite C870) I get no response.  The FN key combinations for volume control do give a keycode response.

It looks as if there is an X11 problem as well as a KDE problem.

Russell
Comment 24 Anne-Marie Mahfouf 2012-12-03 19:02:57 UTC
For me on KDE 4.10 beta 2 the Fn keys work: the brightness bar appears but after a few presses on the Fn keys the bar goes crazy and stays, trying to fix a value. The percentage value changes from 60 to 70 and the slider moves accordingly.

Not sure what the bug should be considering you guys run 4.9 (and me 4.10 beta) and the problems addressed in this report are various.
Comment 25 madcatx 2012-12-05 07:31:17 UTC
I still experience this issue with KDE 4.10 beta 2. There has been no change in behavior since I first observed the bug. I'm currently on kernel 3.6.5 and nvidia drivers 310.19.
Comment 26 Synthetic451 2013-01-06 20:31:24 UTC
I have a slightly different issue. I am not sure if its related. My brightness keys work, but KDE does not realize that the brightness is changing, so no slider pops up. KDE also has no control over the brightness itself, so different battery profiles have no effect on the brightness. I am running Kubuntu KDE 4.10 RC2 with Nvidia 310.19.

The Xorg config option "RegistryDwords" "EnableBrightnessControl=1" used to work for me in previous versions of kde, but it does not work anymore with RC2.
Comment 27 Szentandrasi Istvan 2013-01-08 08:19:47 UTC
Benjamin: I have the same issue, but I believe it's because the brightness is not changed at all. I don't know exactly how it works inside, but I think the popup only shows up, if kde thinks the brightness have changed and not when you press the keys. But again, I'm just guessing.
Comment 28 Alex Fiestas 2013-03-03 17:42:35 UTC
*** Bug 309106 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
Comment 29 maxime.haselbauer 2013-03-10 11:01:22 UTC
Same thing here on a Samsung N150 Netbook Kubuntu 12.04 KDE 4.10.00 32 bit
I have this Notebook since kubuntu 11.10 

I was first affected by the brightness going crazy (keep going up and down) bug288852
This bug is still confirmed, although for unknown reasons it disappeared for me
This prevented me from touching brightness from november 2011 to ~ march 2012

Brightness control then went good. I then upgrade to 12.04 and upgrading kde regularly as well as kernel as soon as they get proposed by the update manager

I am affected by this bug243108 since november 2012.
Out of 17 month using kde, it is 10 month without brightness control.

This bug seems to be a complicated one, it ha been around for about 2 years (I believe it is also related to  bug243108), and I don't expect brightness control to be solved within the next 2 or 3 years, also I would like to make the following suggestion

From what I understand, problem is due to interaction between kde/bios/.
As bios control appear to handle well the brightness, is it possible as a workaround, to simply switch off every operations that kde try to carry out when fn +brightness up/down keys are being pressed? (and let the bios act alone ?)

If it is not yet possible, is it thinkable to develop it for the next kde release ? ( I mean just a quick option that let you switch off the kde brightness control ?)

Thanks

@Anne-Marie Mahfouf "the bar goes crazy" : you mean like bug288852 ?
Comment 30 Szentandrasi Istvan 2013-04-06 09:35:44 UTC
Everything workes fine here finally with kernel 3.8.5, nvidia 313.30 and kde sc 4.10.2 on archlinux.
Comment 31 Alex Fiestas 2013-07-28 22:22:24 UTC
This bug has become a little mess, I don't think we can continue with it and be productive. 

We've got some people that got it working, some don't, the original reporter says that it is working some times... We are clearly facing different issues here.

So, I'm going to close this bug, but PLEASE each of you still affected by this bug test if you can reproduce it with 4.11 (use a livecd/usb), and if so open a new bug.

It is important to test with 4.11 before creating a new bug, we modified a bunch of things for that release that might have fixed your issue.

Thanks ! we really appreciate all the feedback.
Comment 32 Brandon Watkins 2013-08-14 21:43:56 UTC
@Alex

I am running the new KDE 4.11, but KDE still does not "realize" when I use my laptops brightness fn keys to change the brightness. The brightness will change but KDE doesn't realize it has changed and still shows the old brightness. Its a system76 lemur ultra and I'm usning the latest kernel 3.8. Should I report a new bug for this?

It works totally fine in gnome and XFCE, its only KDE that does this to me. It does it in 4.8, 4.10, and 4.11 on this laptop.
Comment 33 Brandon Watkins 2013-08-14 21:47:59 UTC
Yeah I think this is the wrong bug, because KDE can change my brightness (the automatic brightess changing works), its just that kde doesn't realize any change when I use my fn key. Will report new bug, sorry for the noise!