How can I disable auto-dimming of the screen?

Question

What I'd like to see:

• When idling, the screen turns off after the configured amount of time.

What I see:

• When I don't do anything, the screen dims a bit after ~23 seconds, then at 30 seconds it turns off as expected.

I have no idea why this dimming short before the screen timeout happens and where to disable it.

My settings:

• Automatic Brightness disabled, brightness set to the lowest level.
• Screen time-out at 30 seconds.
• Auto adjust screen power disabled.
• Timeout for lock screen is zero (Immediately).
• Use Power saving mode is enabled (it sets the screen brightness to 10% at less than 20% battery power left). Disabling it had no effect.

This happens with Android 2.3.6 (no idea if it worked before the update).

Answer 1

It's to alert you that the screen's about to turn off. It's more useful when your timeout is longer than 30 seconds, certainly. I would assume you'd need a custom kernel or at least to root and edit some config files in order to prevent this, I don't believe there's anything in Settings for it.

Answer 2

I suggest the Screen On app. I use it when I don't want the screen to dim or turn off, because I want to be able to instantly pause the playback on my audiobook without having to first hit the power button,then swiping the screen.

When you want it to revert to a more power-saving mode, you can turn the app off again from the notification bar. It isn't customizable to allow it to dim after a specified time, but it will keep it from dimming at all. Better than nothing!