diff --git a/selfdrive/common/framebuffer.cc b/selfdrive/common/framebuffer.cc
index 788b812997..7bea565d59 100644
--- a/selfdrive/common/framebuffer.cc
+++ b/selfdrive/common/framebuffer.cc
@@ -126,8 +126,11 @@ extern "C" FramebufferState* framebuffer_init(
 
   // set brightness
   int brightness_fd = open(BACKLIGHT_CONTROL, O_RDWR);
-  const char brightness_level[] = BACKLIGHT_LEVEL;
-  write(brightness_fd, brightness_level, strlen(brightness_level));
+  if (brightness_fd != -1){
+    const char brightness_level[] = BACKLIGHT_LEVEL;
+    write(brightness_fd, brightness_level, strlen(brightness_level));
+    close(brightness_fd);
+  }
 
   if (out_w) *out_w = w;
   if (out_h) *out_h = h;