Washed out colors after update

Help
1

Hi,
I recently updated my KDE Neon (after quite a while) and the white seems …too white. All the colors seem extra bright, but its not a brightness issue, it’s almost like the gap between white and dark increased. I looked it up and tried some things like loading the ICC profile of my laptop for sdr but I don’t think it helped much. I am ignorant on this, can someone please tell me what’s going on?

2

Play with the Gamma system settings, you might find some improvement.

I have a small login script for that:

#!/usr/bin/bash

# sets gamma for HP 250 internal screen

GAMMA=0.4

xrandr --output eDP-1 --gamma $GAMMA:$GAMMA:$GAMMA

You can set the color gammas separately, the $GAMMA:$GAMMA:$GAMMA is actually three gammas, for R:G:B. For details see man xrandr.

The settings are lost after waking up from suspend. I’m looking for a way to have the script run then again, but it’s a low priority.

Also, it would be nice to have it run for every current user with a graphical session. Again, low priority.

3

I used to use a similar setup for x11, but I don’t think xrandr gamma works in Wayland, - you can apply ICM profiles, but there isn’t an element for gamma control yet.

1 Like
4

Hey, thanks for replying!
Unfortunately as mentioned above I use wayland so the xrandr command doesn’t work, but also I switched to X11 and changed the gamma but the issue kind of remained in the sense, if I reduce it by a lot the normal stuff seems really dim and hard to read but the bright stuff, while not as bad, stays bright. As I mentioned, it felt like the gap between bright and dark increased and things are either too bright or too dark. What could have caused the change from the update? I tried changing a couple of ICM profiles as given in my laptop but didn’t seem to cause too much effect. Thanks for your time, and I would be grateful if you could tell what is going on, and what I could do.

5

Hi! Depending on how long it was since your last update, you might be running into something like 482667 – SDR colors look washed out when HDR is enabled ?

Which type of graphics card - Intel, AMD, Nvidia - do you have your monitor connected to?

6

Well, if gamma settings bring no improvement, I’m at the end of my wisdom. It could have been that either light or dark parts had been lumped together and after the update were more differentiated, resulting in a subjective impression of a broader black-white-range. But that seems not to be the case.

A HDR bug, or a general driver issue is not implausible – you could test with older kernels, or, if you have extra drivers installed, remove/disable them temporarily.

Good luck, and have a great 2025!

7

For sh**s and giggles I copied your OP (everything after the “Hi,”) as prompt into perplexity.ai, followed up with prompts “other causes and solutions” and “more causes and solutions”.

(I tentatively use this engine, because it backs its statements with links to real web pages that you MUST check for correctness, and SHOULD read for better understanding. It does come up with misleading generalizations and silly answers (e.g., one earlier answer to your issue was to turn on night light, or reduce window shadows to reduce glare, and there’s duplicates and nonsense not pertaining the your OP below), and answers to a question are not reproducible, but it does give goot ideas.)

Here is a digest of the answers of the above prompts, with copy-paste garbled formatting (I tried to fix it some). Numbers had been source links:

Possible Causes

HDR-related bug: Your issue might be related to a bug where SDR colors appear washed out when HDR is enabled3. This could explain the perceived increase in brightness and contrast.

Graphics driver update: The update may have included changes to your graphics drivers, potentially affecting color rendering.

System settings changes: Some system settings related to color management or display calibration may have been reset or altered during the update.

Electron-based applications: Some users report color issues specifically with Electron-based apps like Discord and VSCode3.

X11 vs. Wayland: Color management issues may differ between X11 and Wayland sessions2 3.

Incompatible color management systems: The colord-kde functionality may be limited on Xorg, and there are known incompatibilities with Wayland’s color management system2.

Configuration file corruption: Incorrect or corrupted configuration files can lead to color scheme issues11.

Environment variables: Certain environment variables, like QT_STYLE_OVERRIDE, can interfere with color settings11.

Incompatible themes: Custom themes or the Manjaro Breath theme may cause color application problems11.

Permissions issues: Incorrect permissions on color scheme folders can prevent proper application of themes12.

Potential Solutions
Adjust Gamma Settings
Try adjusting the gamma settings for your display. While this might not completely solve the issue, it could help mitigate the problem:

Open System Settings
Navigate to the Display and Monitor section
Look for Gamma or Color Correction settings
Experiment with different gamma values to find a more comfortable setting

Check for HDR Settings
Verify if HDR has been enabled inadvertently:

Go to System Settings
Look for Display or Monitor settings
Check if there's an HDR option and ensure it's disabled if you don't intend to use it

Update or Rollback Graphics Drivers
If the issue persists, you might want to consider updating your graphics drivers to the latest version or rolling back to a previous version if the problem started after a driver update.

Color Management
KDE offers color management tools that might help:

Install the colord-kde package if it's not already present4
Use the Color Management settings in System Settings to calibrate your display or load a different color profile

Consider Switching to X11 Temporarily
If you’re using Wayland, some users have reported that switching to X11 temporarily can help diagnose or resolve color-related issues3

Check application-specific settings:
For Electron apps, investigate if there are app-specific color settings that might be causing the issue3.

Switch between X11 and Wayland:
Try switching between X11 and Wayland sessions to see if the issue persists in both environments3.

Use KDE’s built-in color correction:

    Go to System Settings
    Select Desktop Effects
    Navigate to the Advanced tab
    Check "Enable color correction"
    Click Apply6

Verify color management functionality:
Install and run qcmsevents

Check if the icon in the system tray is colored (functioning) or gray (disabled)6

Investigate Kvantum theme interference:
Check if you have any environment variables set for QT_STYLE_OVERRIDE
Remove any Kvantum-related overrides if present10

Reset KDE configurations:
Try running plasmashell --replace and kbuildsycoca5 --noincremental
Log out and log back in after running these commands10

Check for conflicting themes:
Ensure you’re using a compatible theme, such as Breeze, instead of custom themes that might interfere with color settings10.

Reset Plasma shell and rebuild system configuration:
Run the following commands and then log out and back in:

plasmashell --replace
kbuildsycoca5 --noincremental

Check for environment variables:
Look for any QT-related environment variables, especially in application .desktop files, that might be overriding system color settings11.

Use default Breeze theme:
Switch to the default Breeze theme to see if the issue persists11.

Verify file permissions:
Ensure that the color scheme folders (e.g., ~/.kde/share/apps/color-schemes) have the correct user permissions12.

Fake desktop environment:
Set the DG_CURRENT_DESKTOP environment variable to KDE or GNOME to potentially resolve color application issues12.

Check application-specific settings:
For Dolphin and other apps, verify that there are no custom launch commands in their .desktop files that might override system color settings11.

Reinstall color management packages:
Try reinstalling packages like colord-kde and gnome-color-manager8.

If none of these solutions work, you may want to consider reporting the issue to the KDE Neon developers, as it could be a bug introduced in the recent update. Provide them with details about your system, including your graphics card model and the specific KDE Neon version you’re using.

8

Thank you for your replies! I just observed that it goes away when I plug my charger in and then found out that this is an issue(supposed to be a feature) with the kernel.
bbs arch pid 2172730 (cant paste links apparently, but this should work i think)
for future reference. Simply changing power mode to balanced also works.