Color Temperature Test

Compare one display-setting change on the same white reference, then restore the original setting and record what returns.

Go to test controls

This check opens a focused test surface. You can return with Escape. Review what this browser test can and cannot measure.

Before you start

  • Record the original Night light, color-filter, or picture-preset setting before changing it.
  • Keep the fixed white reference, brightness, room lighting, and viewing position unchanged; compare one setting A, B, then A again.
Step-by-step instructions

How to run this check

  1. Start the Color Temperature Test on the fixed white reference
  2. Record the original Night light, color-filter, or picture-preset setting as A
  3. Change only that setting to B while keeping the white reference, brightness, room light, and viewing position fixed
  4. Restore A and record whether the original appearance returns, or choose not assessed
  5. Optionally compare labeled tinted samples separately; neither task measures a physical Kelvin value

Does one setting change the same white reference?

  1. A — establish a baseline. Note your display preset, night-light setting, brightness, and room lighting. Start the fixed white reference below. It always sends RGB 255, 255, 255.
  2. B — change one real setting. Compare one night-light toggle or display preset while looking at that same white reference. Do not cycle the tinted samples during this comparison. Keep brightness, position, and room light unchanged.
  3. A — restore the baseline. Check whether the original appearance returns. If opening an OS setting exits fullscreen, the reference stays open in the browser window. Use the exit button when ready to record. A tint that follows the setting is useful evidence about that setting; it does not measure a white point.

Save the baseline, changed setting, direction of the visible change, and whether restoring A reproduced it. If the difference is unclear, record uncertainty. For an unwanted warm tint, this helps identify a setting worth reviewing before changing several color controls.

Compare fullscreen browser-rendered color references. Use arrow keys to navigate.

Optional: compare deliberately tinted RGB samples

These samples change the page's own color. That is different from keeping white unchanged while comparing a display setting. Use them to describe a relative tint, not to choose a correction that cancels it.

Coolest browser reference Most bluish
Cool browser reference Bluish
Slightly cool browser reference Subtly bluish
Neutral browser reference Balanced
Slightly warm browser reference Subtly warm
Warm browser reference Warm
Warmest browser reference Most yellowish

Browser RGB samples do not measure panel Kelvin or calibrated white point.

What your comparison can help decide

If a tint follows the setting from A to B and back, keep that setting in your troubleshooting notes. Restore your preferred baseline before investigating another control.

If both settings look alike or the comparison is uncertain, do not infer a failed display. Recheck the same reference in ordinary content and confirm which setting actually changed.

For color-critical work, use the target defined by the workflow and verify it with calibrated measurement in controlled viewing conditions.

🔍 What to Look For

  • ● Cooler: More bluish than your baseline
  • ● Warmer: More yellowish than your baseline
  • ● Most neutral: Your relative visual selection
  • ● Neutral reference: One browser-rendered comparison sample

What this browser test can tell you

Can help you check

  • Whether the appearance of one fixed white reference changes and returns when a display setting is changed from A to B and back to A; optional relative tinted-sample preference.

Cannot measure

  • This test cannot measure a physical Kelvin value or calibrated white point.

Interpret this observation

  • Save the actual A and B setting names and whether the original appearance returned. Leave the comparison unassessed if it was not repeatable; changing tinted samples is a separate preference exercise.
  • Exact white-point and correlated color-temperature measurements require a calibrated colorimeter or spectroradiometer.
Setup and sources

Recommended setup

  1. Record the original Night light, color-filter, or picture-preset setting as A; keep the fixed white reference, brightness, lighting, and position unchanged.
  2. Change only that setting to B, then restore A. If the OS exits fullscreen while settings are open, keep the same sample in the browser window.

Sources

Methodology reviewed: