15 Ways to Fix Brightness Not Changing in Windows 11 24H2

Is your Windows 11 device embroiled in brightness issues, preventing you from augusting the brightness to the desired level? Fear not! You are one of the many PC users who have recently complained that they can’t change the brightness level on their devices. While some have stated that the screen automatically dims to the lower side, others have reported that fine-tuning brightness through the keyboard doesn’t yield the desired result as this functionality seems to be entirely broken.

Taking into account several complaints and going to the root cause of the problem, I would like to share the 15 most effective ways to resolve Windows 11 brightness issues. Keep reading to…

Fix Brightness Not Changing in Windows 11 24H2

So, what has derailed the brightness setting on your Windows device? When faced with this irritating issue, you should keep in mind the following usual suspects –

  • Outdated drivers
  • Corrupt display settings
  • Disabled hotkeys
  • Faulty display adapter
  • Power plan issues
  • Windows update bugs
  • Disabled monitor driver
  • Registry configuration errors
  • Third-party software interference
  • Hardware connection problems

Having nabbed the real villains behind the Windows 11 brightness malfunctioning, it’s time to go ahead with the viable fixes. As always, kickstart the troubleshooting guide with the nifty hacks since they often succeed in flushing out the problem – in a jiffy.

1. Adjust Brightness in Action Center

More often than not, the brightness slider in the Action Center continue to function even if other methods malfunctioning. Therefore, we are going to give it a go – first up.

  1. Simply, press Win+A to launch the Action Center.
  2. After that, locate the familiar Brightness slider and adjust it.
Disable or enable Wi Fi on Windows

2. Restart Your Windows Device

For times when you are faced with a miscellaneous issue, always remember to bring the software reset into action. If the brightness problem has cropped up due to a temporary software glitch, a quick restart will let you troubleshoot it instantly.

3. Verify Power Plan Settings

Do note that the incorrect power plan configurations could cripple or restrict the brightness control – to the point where it will struggle to work.

  1. Open Control Panel on your PC and go to Power Options.
  2. Now, choose your active power plan.
  3. After that, select Change plan settings.
  4. Click Change advanced power settings and ensure display brightness is configured correctly.

4. Disable Adaptive Brightness

Adaptive brightness has a decent track record of interfering with manual brightness control. Therefore, try turning it off.

  1. Open Settings and go to System > Display.
  2. Expand Brightness & color and disable Change brightness automatically when lighting changes.

5. Update Graphics Card Software

Note that the manufacturer-specific software may control brightness. Hence, try updating the graphics card software on your PC.

  1. Launch the software like NVIDIA Control Panel, AMD Radeon Software, or Intel Graphics Command Center on your PC.
  2. Adjust brightness settings directly within the app.

6. Update Display Drivers

It’s no secret that outdated drivers can make brightness controls behave weirdly.

  1. Open Device Manager (press Win+X and select Device Manager) on your Windows 11 device.
  2. Now, expand Display adapters and then right-click your graphics adapter.
  3. Next, select Update driver.
  4. Choose Search automatically for drivers and proceed to update the display drivers on your PC.
Display drivers

7. Reinstall Display Drivers

The rightness control issues could be the byproduct of the corrupted drivers. In this situation, reinstalling the display drivers is the best way to go.

  1. Open Device Manager on your computer > expand Display adapters.
  2. Right-click your graphics adapter > Uninstall device.
  3. Reboot your PC in order to allow Windows reinstall the driver automatically.
Display drivers

8. Adjust Brightness via Settings

If the brightness keys are ill-functioning, try adjusting the brightness via the Settings app.

  1. Press Win+I to open Settings on your Windows 11 laptop/PC > System > Display.
  2. Now, you need to adjust the Brightness slider under the Brightness & color section.

9. Use Brightness Keys on the Keyboard

At times, tweaking brightness through physical keys could eliminate the issue.

  1. Head over to the brightness keys on your keyboard (often F1, F2, or similar) > Then, press the brightness up or down key.
  2. Just in case, it doesn’t work, make sure that the Fn lock key is not engaged.

10. Run Power Troubleshooter

Beware of the fact that the power settings misconfigurations can severely impact the brightness controls.

  1. Open Settings (Win+I) > dive into the System > Troubleshoot > Other troubleshooters.
  2. Scroll down to find the Power Troubleshooter and run.
  3. Once it has spotted the threads, go ahead with the suggestions to remove them without any delay.
Use Windows Update Troubleshooter

11. Check Windows Updates

Bear in mind that missing updates could also trigger compatibility issues with hardware.

  1. Open Settings app > Windows Update > Check for updates.
  2. Now, make sure to install any available updates.
  3. After you have successfully installed the update, restart your PC.
update software on Windows computer

12. Reset Display Driver

Display driver glitches are equally responsible for invoking the brightness issues on a Windows device.

  1. On your computer, press Win+Ctrl+Shift+B to reset the display driver.
  2. Now, your screen will blink briefly, thereby confirming that the display driver has been reset.

13. Enable Generic PnP Monitor

It’s also important to mention that if the monitor device is inactive, brightness controls may throw all sorts of tantrums and fail to work properly.

  1. Open Device Manager on your system and Expand Monitors.
  2. Next up, right-click Generic PnP Monitor > Enable device and restart your PC.

14. Recalibrate Monitor Settings

Wrongly configured monitor settings might be playing the spoilsport, overriding system brightness controls. Thus, it would be apt to recalibrate the monitor settings to ward off the misconfigurations.

  1. Bring up your monitor’s on-screen display menu.
  2. Up next, fine-tune the brightness settings manually through the menu.
  3. Once you have tweaked your monitor settings, restart your device.

15. Perform a Clean Boot

It’s worth pointing out that the third-party apps may conflict with brightness controls on your Windows 11 device. Therefore, try performing a clean boot to take control of the brightness issue on your PC.

  1. To get it done, press Win+R, type msconfig, and press Enter.
  2. Now, head over to the Services tab and check Hide all Microsoft services.
  3. Click Disable all, then restart your PC.
Hide all Microsoft services on Windows computer

Wrapping Up…

That’s all there is to it! I can feel your joy of having overcome this super annoying issue. But before you get into your usual chores, do not forget to share your invaluable inputs and the tips that have helped you restore brightness on your PC.

Posted by
Rashmi Mishra

Founder/CEO: Rashmi Mishra is a new-age entrepreneur and a die-hard tech lover. Though Rashmi has a special liking for iPhone, MacBook, and Apple Watch, she loves to take the hottest Android smartphones and Windows laptops for a spin. When she is not reading stories that are breaking the Internet, you will find her either crafting designs or fixing lives for good!

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