  We present NICER observations of accreting X-ray pulsar 1A 0535+262 during
its faint state ($\lesssim 6\times10^{36}$ erg/s) observed in several type I
and II outbursts. We discovered a transition of temporal and spectral
properties around the luminosity $L_{\rm t}=3.3\times10^{35}$ erg/s, below
which spectra are relatively soft and the pulse profiles have only a narrow
peak. The spectra are harder and a secondary hump gradually appears in pulse
profiles when $L \gtrsim L_{\rm t}$. We discuss possible physical mechanisms
for this transition, including different Comptonization seed photons, the
disappearance of gas shocks on the neutron star surface, and the combination of
plasma and vacuum polarization effects.
