Brightness set to 100% via Esper UI/Blueprint does not reach maximum brightness on Lenovo tablets

Android

When screen brightness is set to 100% in the Esper Console or a blueprint, certain Lenovo tablets do not reach their hardware maximum brightness.

Why this happens

Lenovo tablets use a non-standard brightness scale that goes up to 10000, rather than the 0–255 scale Esper's Console UI uses. When Esper translates 100% to a value of 255, the tablet treats this as far below its maximum. Sending the value 10000 directly via API bypasses this mismatch and instructs the hardware to reach full brightness.

What you need before starting

A valid Esper API bearer token
The Device ID (UUID) of your Lenovo tablet
Access to curl or an API client such as Postman

Steps

Retrieve your API bearer token. Navigate to Esper Console → API Key Management and copy an active token. This token authenticates your API request in the steps below.
Find your device's UUID. Navigate to Devices & Groups → [Device Name] → Device Details and copy the Device ID shown in UUID format.

Send the brightness command via API. Run the following command, replacing <TENANT>, <TOKEN>, and <DEVICE-UUID> with your actual values:

curl -X POST "https://<TENANT>-api.esper.cloud/api/commands/v0/commands/" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <TOKEN>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "command_type": "DEVICE",
    "device_type": "all",
    "devices": ["<DEVICE-UUID>"],
    "command": "UPDATE_DEVICE_CONFIG",
    "command_args": {
      "custom_settings_config": {
        "settings": {
          "system": [
            {
              "key": "screen_brightness_mode",
              "value": "0"
            },
            {
              "key": "screen_brightness",
              "value": "10000"
            }
          ]
        }
      }
    }
  }'

The screen_brightness_mode value of 0 disables adaptive brightness and ensures the explicit value you set takes effect. Without this, the device may override your brightness setting automatically.

Confirm the command was accepted. The API should return an HTTP 200 response. Navigate to Devices & Groups → [Device Name] → Activity Feed and confirm the UPDATE_DEVICE_CONFIG command shows a status of Success.
Verify brightness on the device. Physically inspect the tablet or review a screenshot. The screen should be at full hardware brightness. If brightness appears correct but you want to confirm the stored value, run:
```
adb shell settings get system screen_brightness
```
The returned value should be 10000.
Reboot the device to confirm the setting persists. Navigate to Devices & Groups → [Device Name], click Reboot, and check the brightness level again after the device comes back online.

Verify: After reboot, the tablet screen is at full hardware brightness and the Activity Feed shows the UPDATE_DEVICE_CONFIG command with a Success status. The ADB command adb shell settings get system screen_brightness returns 10000.

If this doesn't resolve it

Some Lenovo tablet models may use a brightness scale that differs from 10000. To identify the correct maximum value for your specific model, run:

adb shell settings get system screen_brightness

Set brightness to maximum manually on the device via Settings → Display → Brightness, then run the command above to read the value the device recorded. Use that value in place of 10000 in Step 3.

If brightness reverts after a sync or blueprint re-application, the blueprint's brightness setting may be overwriting the API value. Review the brightness setting in your blueprint under Apps & Configuration → [Blueprint Name] → Device Settings to check for a conflict.

If the issue persists after following these steps, contact Esper Support with the following information:

Lenovo tablet model and Android version
Device UUID
The full API response from Step 3
The output of adb shell settings get system screen_brightness

Still need help?

If you're still experiencing brightness issues on your Lenovo tablets even after setting brightness to 100% through Esper, please submit a support ticket and include your tablet model, Esper version, and whether the issue occurs through both the UI and Blueprint.