screen dims to black so I can't turn off autobright

[ricopan]

Last week I accidentally hit autobright on my Nexus 7 (2012) -- I had troubles with it before so avoided. Within seconds the screen dimmed (stepwise) to black. Can't read it with flashlight, doesn't make any difference if shine light at it or in sun or dark, or whether charger or usb cable plugged in. When I turn it on, the white Google appears brightly, then fades stepwise. I see the first moments of the starting animation before the screen dims completely.

Out of desperation I just restored to factory image (nakasi-kot49h) following androidcentral instructions here: http://forums.androidcentral.com/go...1477-guide-nexus-7-factory-image-restore.html .

I thought this would solve the problem by resetting everything, but no -- still stepwise dimming to black, so I can't read screen (can read bootloader screen -- nice and bright).

Could autobrightness be on by default and something up with my light sensor?
Can I remotely turn off autobright?

 

[ricopan]

Well the screen is now bright again. Don't know if restoring to factory image had anything to do with it, but seems likely. Occasionally on starting screen has dimmed again, but now I've learned to squeeze the top of the case near the light sensor. Maybe something shaken loose, or maybe just witchcraft. Anyway, back in business. Hope Google hurries up with that mysterious next Nexus 7 or 8, because this one is feeling like it is on its last legs.