The reason your phone keeps dimming even with auto-brightness off

There are multiple possible causes.

By David Engle Nov. 7, 2026 1:15 pm EST Lucigerma/Shutterstock Add Engadget on Google: Google Discover

Whether you're texting, scrolling through your socials or playing a game, a phone screen that keeps dimming can be a major annoyance. Why does this keep happening when your auto-brightness feature is turned off?

There are a few possible reasons your phone screen is dimming, and there are also a few ways you can try to fix the dimming problem yourself.