diff --git a/config/copy/etc/udev/rules.d/61-panama-ddc-i2c.rules b/config/copy/etc/udev/rules.d/61-panama-ddc-i2c.rules
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fed7cb2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config/copy/etc/udev/rules.d/61-panama-ddc-i2c.rules
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+# External monitor brightness (DDC/CI) on GPUs that are not "VGA".
+#
+# ddcutil ships 60-ddcutil-i2c.rules, which grants the seated user access to
+# the GPU's i2c buses -- but only when the GPU's PCI class is 0x030000 (VGA
+# compatible controller). An AMD iGPU that is not the primary boot display
+# enumerates as 0x038000 (Display controller) instead, so every DDC bus it
+# exposes stays root-only and the Brightness service reads EACCES. Same grant,
+# broadened to the class that hardware actually reports.
+SUBSYSTEM=="i2c-dev", KERNEL=="i2c-[0-9]*", ATTRS{class}=="0x038000", TAG+="uaccess"
diff --git a/config/dot/quickshell/scripts/panama-brightness b/config/dot/quickshell/scripts/panama-brightness
index 11a5f72..3c1ab5c 100755
--- a/config/dot/quickshell/scripts/panama-brightness
+++ b/config/dot/quickshell/scripts/panama-brightness
@@ -93,7 +93,7 @@ bus_for_connector() {
 cmd_list() {
     has_accessible_bus || emit_error 'no I2C bus is accessible. ddcutil ships a udev rule that grants this, but only to devices created after it was installed. Run: sudo udevadm control --reload-rules && sudo udevadm trigger --subsystem-match=i2c-dev --subsystem-match=drm'
 
-    local rows=() connector bus value path
+    local rows=() externals=0 connector bus value path
     for path in "$DRM_ROOT"/card*-*; do
         [[ -e "$path/ddc" ]] || continue
         [[ "$(cat "$path/status" 2>/dev/null)" == "connected" ]] || continue
@@ -102,6 +102,14 @@ cmd_list() {
         connector="$(basename "$path")"
         connector="${connector#card*-}"
 
+        # Internal panels (eDP, LVDS, DSI) use the backlight, never DDC/CI.
+        # Counting only external connectors lets the empty result below say
+        # whether anything is even plugged in.
+        case "$connector" in
+            eDP-*|LVDS-*|DSI-*) ;;
+            *) externals=$((externals + 1)) ;;
+        esac
+
         bus="$(bus_for_connector "$path")"
         [[ "$bus" =~ ^[0-9]+$ ]] || continue
 
@@ -119,6 +127,13 @@ cmd_list() {
     done
 
     if [[ ${#rows[@]} -eq 0 ]]; then
+        # Nothing external is connected at all: the normal state of an
+        # undocked laptop, not a problem to warn about. The error path is
+        # reserved for a monitor that is present but will not talk.
+        if (( externals == 0 )); then
+            printf '{"displays":[],"error":""}\n'
+            return 0
+        fi
         emit_error 'no connected monitor reports DDC/CI brightness. Some panels implement it only when "DDC/CI" is enabled in their on-screen menu.'
     fi
 
diff --git a/config/dot/quickshell/scripts/panama-doctor b/config/dot/quickshell/scripts/panama-doctor
index 8e57770..2756818 100755
--- a/config/dot/quickshell/scripts/panama-doctor
+++ b/config/dot/quickshell/scripts/panama-doctor
@@ -533,7 +533,10 @@ def check_brightness(config: DoctorConfig) -> Check:
     except (json.JSONDecodeError, KeyError, TypeError, ValueError):
         return Check("input.brightness", "input-media", "External monitor brightness", "warning", "DDC/CI probe returned an invalid result.", instructions)
     if error:
-        return Check("input.brightness", "input-media", "External monitor brightness", "warning", "No accessible DDC/CI bus.", instructions)
+        # The probe says what is actually wrong -- an unreadable bus and a
+        # monitor with DDC/CI switched off in its menu are different problems
+        # with different fixes, and one hardcoded string here hid that.
+        return Check("input.brightness", "input-media", "External monitor brightness", "warning", error.rstrip(".") + ".", instructions)
     if not displays:
         return Check("input.brightness", "input-media", "External monitor brightness", "unconfigured", "No DDC/CI display is configured.")
     return Check("input.brightness", "input-media", "External monitor brightness", "ok", f"{len(displays)} DDC/CI display{'s' if len(displays) != 1 else ''} available.")