Does the screen of your PC appear to be rather pixelated or blurry after a Windows 11 update? This issue crops up due to a number of factors such as wrongly configured display settings, malfunctioning drivers, and software conflicts. But there is no need to lose sleep over it as there is a wide range of viable solutions to resolve the Windows 11 pixelated screen issue after the software update problem. Read on to…
How to Fix Pixelated Screen After Windows 11 Update
So, what has caused the distorted screen on your Windows PC? When up against this terrible issue, you need to be aware of the following usual suspects.
- Outdated Drivers
- Wrong Resolution
- Corrupted Drivers
- Refresh Rate Change
- Windows Bugs
- Scaling Issues
- Hardware Acceleration
- Faulty Cables
- Monitor Incompatibility
- Third-Party Software
The good thing is nabbing and eliminating the above-mentioned culprits is not a big deal. Moreover, you can go about the troubleshooting process without harming any of your media and data, which is a big plus.
1. Restart Your PC
On many occasions, a simple reboot can let you resolve the pixelated screen issue on your PC by reloading drivers and refreshing display settings. So, we should give this workable tip a chance.
- On your Windows device, click on the Start menu > Power > Restart and check if the pixelation is sorted out after rebooting.
2. Check HDMI or Display Cable
Keeping an eye on the loose or faulty cable is also equally responsible for causing pixelation and screen distortion. Therefore, ensure that your HDMI or the display cable is not spoiling your party.
- Simply, unplug the HDMI/DisplayPort cable from both the monitor and PC.
- After that, reconnect it securely and check for improvements. If possible, make sure to test with a different cable or port.
3. Check Display Resolution Settings
Be warned that Windows updates have the habit of resetting the display settings, resulting in a lower resolution that triggers a blurry screen or pixelation.
- To get it done, right-click on the desktop and choose Display settings.
- Under Display resolution, select the Recommended resolution.
- After that, make sure to apply the changes and find out if the screen clarity improves.
4. Adjust ClearType Settings
Note that the misconfigured font rendering settings may cause text and images to appear pixelated.
- On your laptop or desktop computer, press Win + S > type Adjust ClearType text, and open it.
- Now, check Turn on ClearType and run through the on-screen instructions to optimize text clarity.
5. Change Refresh Rate
Your latest Windows updates might have tweaked the refresh rate, invoking visual inconsistencies.
- Right-click on the desktop and choose Display settings.
- Scroll down and hit Advanced display settings.
- Under Refresh rate, select the highest available option for a smoother display.
6. Disable Hardware Acceleration in Apps
Do you know that apps (like browsers) take advantage of hardware acceleration to speed up intensive tasks? Though this enhanced acceleration is very helpful in boosting performance, sometimes, it has the habit of causing display-related issues.
- Open your browser (e.g., Chrome) > hit the menu icon at the top right > Settings > System.
- Now, you have to disable Use hardware acceleration when available and restart the app.
7. Update Graphics Drivers
Outdated might also be a major reason why the screen seems to be blurry after the Windows update.
- Press Win + X and choose Device Manager on your Windows update.
- After that, expand the familiar Display adapters section using the tiny drop-down menu and right-click your graphics card.
- Now, click Update driver in the menu > Search automatically for drivers and install the available updates.
8. Roll Back Graphics Drivers
If the blurred screen issue appeared after the recent update to the display driver, rolling back the graphics drivers will help resolve the issue.
- To begin with, open Device Manager (Win + X > Device Manager) > Using the tiny drop-down menu, expand Display adapters and right-click your graphics card.
- Now, select Properties > Driver tab and click Roll Back Driver (if available).
9. Reinstall Graphics Drivers
Should the screen pixelation or distortion continue to haunt your PC, reinstall the graphics drivers, flushing out the corruption from scratch.
- First off, fire up the Device Manager and go to Display adapters.
- Then, right-click your graphics card and select Uninstall device in the menu that shows up.
- In the end, be sure to restart your PC to allow Windows to automatically reinstall the driver.
10. Check for Windows Updates
Bother not! Having gotten to the root of the issue, Microsoft could have already rolled out patches to troubleshoot the display-related issues in recent updates.
- On your PC, press Win + I to fire up Settings on your PC.
- Navigate to Windows Update > Check for updates.
- Up next, install any pending updates, and restart your PC.
11. Reset Windows Display Settings
If nothing has worked in fixing the pixelated screen on your PC, reset the display settings to restore default configurations.
- To do so, press Win + X and select Terminal (Admin).
- After that, run the following command and restart your PC.
dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth 12. Run Windows Display Troubleshooter
The built-in troubleshooter has long been a pretty safe bet when it comes to detecting and fixing display-related issues automatically on Windows 11. Thus, it would be wise to bring on this noted troubleshooter and use it to detect and get rid of the issue.
- On your Windows 11 device, press Win + I to open Settings.
- Now, dive into the System tab > Troubleshoot > Other troubleshooters.
- Now, you need to run the Display or Video playback troubleshooter and go through the on-screen instructions to spot the roadblocks and eliminate them.
Wrapping up…
There you go! I guess the screen pixelation or distortion issue is gone. With various effective solutions ready to sort out the chaos, I don’t see any reason why the problem won’t go away.
