When you connect your Mac to an external display, the system disables the brightness toggle. You can try accessing the brightness option from the Mac control center, but the option will be greyed out.
You can use your monitor’s physical brightness control buttons or a supplied remote to tweak it. But it’s not convenient and may be time-consuming at times. Here’s where third-party solutions come into play. While there are several paid options, MonitorControl is one such free software to change the brightness on a second monitor. Let’s check it in action.
Step 1: Go to the GitHub page and download the app file on your Mac. Then, follow the usual installation method and open the file on your Mac.
Step 2: When you launch the app for the first time, set it to open at system login.
Step 3: You may see the brightness icon in the Mac menu bar. Click on it.
You can use the brightness and volume slider on your external monitor to tweak them. You can also use the brightness button on your mechanical keyboard to change brightness and volume.
If the default brightness levels are too high, lower it and use the last saved settings from the Preferences menu. You must be completely fine with the default settings, but if you want more control, spend some time in the Preference menu to tweak the app experience.
Price: Free
Lunar is the best third-party monitor controller for Mac. Although it’s a paid app, the features on offer should justify its asking price. The app can control all the external displays connected to the Mac. You can tweak brightness and volume and set input hotkeys to switch to other HDMI, DisplayPort, or USB-C ports.
Sync Mode is another handy trick worth talking about. It ports your MacBook’s adaptive brightness to a connected monitor. If you keep the MacBook display open while working on a monitor, the built-in Ambient Light sensor kicks in based on the room environment and changes the brightness. Lunar syncs the same on the monitor, too.
Lunar is also capable of unlocking your MacBook Pro’s XDR display. macOS locks your MacBook’s display at 500 nits, and with Lunar, you can reach 1600 nits while working outside in direct sunlight. It may take a hit on your laptop’s battery, but it should offer an optimum experience.
The list of features extends to sub-zero dimming, which dims the display brightness below the screen limit; sensor mode, which brings adaptive brightness to any Mac (even when your MacBook lid is closed or on Mac Mini); the ability to black out the laptop screen with a single key, and more.
People taking video meetings late at night will appreciate the FaceLight add-on. Lunar increases your monitor’s brightness levels during a call to light up your face. Lunar is priced at $23 as a one-time fee. If you work with multiple monitor setups, you can’t go wrong with this one.
Price: $23 (one-time fee)
DisplayBuddy received a major update with the v2.0 build. You can control brightness, contrast, and volume on the external display. DisneyBuddy also supports creating presets, multiple display support, keyboard shortcuts, and more.
You can create presets like nighttime, gaming, movie, work, etc., and tweak brightness levels with a single click.
You can ask Siri to level up or down the brightness on all displays and let the virtual assistant complete the job quickly. DisplayBuddy v2.0 costs $17 as a one-time fee.
Price: $17 (one-time fee)
Tip: Check out the best second monitors for iMac M3 in 2024.
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