How to Adjust Screen Brightness on Mac

Your Mac’s screen brightness is important. Too bright and your eyes hurt. Too dim and you can’t see anything. Luckily, adjusting it is super easy!

Using the Keyboard

If you have a MacBook or an iMac with a Magic Keyboard, this is the easiest way to adjust brightness.

• Look at the top row of your keyboard.
• Find the keys with the little sun icons.
• Press the one with the smaller sun (F1) to dim.
• Press the bigger sun (F2) to brighten.

Simple, right? But there’s more!

Using System Settings

Maybe your keyboard doesn’t have brightness keys. Or maybe you want more control. No problem!

1. Click the Apple menu in the top-left corner.
2. Select System Settings (or System Preferences on older macOS versions).
3. Go to Displays.
4. Use the Brightness slider to adjust.

Drag left to dim, right to brighten. That’s it!

Using the Control Center

Don’t want to dig into settings? Try the Control Center!

1. Click the little Control Center icon in the top-right corner (it looks like two switches).
2. Find the Display section.
3. Use the slider to adjust brightness.

This is a quick and handy way to change brightness on the fly.

Automatic Brightness

Your Mac can adjust brightness for you. It uses the ambient light sensor to match the lighting around you.

How to Enable or Disable Auto-Brightness

1. Go to System Settings.
2. Click Displays.
3. Look for Automatically adjust brightness.
4. Turn it on or off, depending on your preference.

If you’re in a bright room, auto-brightness makes your screen brighter. If you’re in a dark room, it dims the screen to protect your eyes.

Shortcut: Siri Can Help!

Want an even easier way? Just ask Siri!

Click the Siri icon or say, “Hey Siri, increase my screen brightness.”

Or, tell Siri to “reduce brightness” if it’s too bright. Simple!

For External Monitors

If you use an external display, things work a little differently. Your Mac’s brightness controls may not work. Try these instead:

• Use the monitor’s built-in buttons or menu.
• Check Display Settings on macOS.
• Use third-party apps like Lunar or MonitorControl to adjust brightness.

External monitors don’t always support macOS brightness controls. But these solutions help!

Final Tips

Here are some extra tips to keep things comfortable:

• Lower brightness at night to reduce eye strain.
• Use Night Shift (found in Display settings) to reduce blue light in the evening.
• Turn on True Tone (if supported) to adjust colors based on lighting.

Now you know how to adjust brightness like a pro. Happy computing!