The problem with adjusting the screen brightness can occur in both Windows 10 and Windows 11. Typically, users complain that they cannot increase or decrease the screen brightness on a Windows laptop from the Control Panel or with the keyboard functional keys (Fn + F5/F6/F11/F12).
In most cases, the problem with adjusting the brightness in Windows is related to the display or video card drivers (most often the problem occurs on devices with Intel Graphics and AMD Radeon graphics cards). However, there are other reasons as well. Let’s take a look at a few simple ways to fix the problem when you can’t adjust the brightness on a laptop running Windows 10 or 11.
Contents:
- How to Change Screen Brightness in Windows 10 and 11?
- Enable Generic PnP Monitor on Windows
- Can’t Adjust Screen Brightness After Installing TeamViewer
- Update Your Video Card Driver
- FN Keys Not Working for Screen Brightness
- Enable Screen Brightness Control with Registry Tweak
- Unable to Change Screen Brightness on a Laptop with Intel HD Graphics
- Check Windows Adaptive Brightness Settings
How to Change Screen Brightness in Windows 10 and 11?
First, check if you can change the screen brightness using the standard Windows brightness adjustment tools.
Option 1. Adjust the Screen Brightness from Windows Settings
In Windows 10 and 11, you can change the display brightness from the Settings panel. Go to Settings -> System -> Display (you can open this Settings item by running the ms-settings:display or desk.cpl command). Use the Brightness slider to adjust the screen brightness.
Option 2. Change display brightness from Windows Quick Settings
On Windows 10 and 11, you can use the quick settings (action center ) to change the screen brightness. Click on any system icon in the taskbar (Wi-Fi, sound, battery, or press Win + A). Adjust the display brightness using the slider.
If the brightness slider is missing or inactive:
- You may be using a computer with an external monitor (use the buttons on the monitor to change the brightness);
- Try updating your video adapter driver (described below).
Option 3. Adjusting Brightness with Function Keys
Most laptops have special function keys labeled 🔆 and 🔅. Press the Fn button + the brightness up/down function key and verify that the display brightness has changed.
Fn+F11 and Fn+F12 keys used on my laptop to adjust brightness. These combinations may differ from manufacturer to manufacturer.
Option 4. Screen Brightness Settings in Video Card Control Panel
You can change the screen brightness in the settings of the video card. In my example, this is the Intel HD Graphics Control Panel, accessible from the desktop context menu.
Option 5. Change Screen Brightness with PowerShell
The following PowerShell command allows you to set a specific display brightness level from the command prompt:
(Get-WmiObject -Namespace root/WMI -Class WmiMonitorBrightnessMethods).WmiSetBrightness(1,80)
The brightness is set as a percentage of the maximum in the range from 0 to 100. In this example, I set the brightness to 80%.
Enable Generic PnP Monitor on Windows
If you can’t change the screen brightness in Windows, check whether the Generic Pnp Monitor is not disabled on your device. This is the most common problem on Lenovo and HP Pavilion laptops.
Open the Device Manager (devmgmt.msc) and in the Monitors section check if the Generic PnP Monitor is enabled. If it is not, right-click and enable it.
Restart your computer and try to adjust the screen brightness.
In some cases, you need to try updating/reinstalling the Generic PnP Monitor driver in the device manager via Update Driver (right-click Generic PnP-Monitor -> Update Driver Software -> Search automatically for updated driver software).
Can’t Adjust Screen Brightness After Installing TeamViewer
There is a known issue that the screen brightness control stops working in Windows after installing TeamViewer. The fact is that TeamViewer installs its own Pnp-Monitor Standard display driver, which is used to compress graphics and optimize traffic.
Try to replace the driver for this device to “Generic PnP Monitor” (Right Click -> Update Drivers -> and select the “Generic PnP Monitor” from the list of already installed drivers).
Update Your Video Card Driver
The brightness issue may be related to the current graphics card driver. First, check that your display adapter is enabled in the device manager (similar to the method above). If the previous method did not help, try updating the video adapter driver automatically (if not disabled).
Open the Device Manager (devmgmt.msc console), expand the Display adapters section, and find your video card. Right-click it and select Update Driver Software. Then select Search automatically for updated driver software and wait till Windows 10 finds and installs the latest driver version (of course, your computer has to be connected to the Internet).
If the automatic driver update didn’t fix the brightness control problem, try removing the current driver and installing the latest driver version from the manufacturer’s website.
In some cases, on the contrary, you need to roll back the version of the video adapter to the previous one: Update driver -> Browse my computers for drivers -> Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer -> enable Show compatible hardware. Select the previous version of the display adapter driver.
If updating or rolling back the video driver doesn’t resolve the brightness issue, try switching to the default Microsoft Basic Display Adapter driver for your video card (see screenshot above).
FN Keys Not Working for Screen Brightness
If you find that adjusting the screen brightness through Windows settings works fine, but the function keys (Fn) for brightness control on the laptop keyboard don’t work, most likely you need to install additional software from the laptop manufacturer.
Each vendor has its own keyboard tool. Below are the names of the keyboard tools for popular laptop models:
- ASUS – ATK Hotkey Utility
- Sony Vaio – Sony Notebook Utilities
- Dell – QuickSet
- HP – HP Software Framework and HP Hotkey Support
- Lenovo – Hotkey Features Integration for Windows 10 or AIO Hotkey Utility Driver
Download the program from the manufacturer’s official website and install it. Try changing the brightness using the laptop Fn keys.
Enable Screen Brightness Control with Registry Tweak
You can enable screen brightness control in Windows by using the KMD_EnableBrightnessInterface2 registry parameter under the reg key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\Class\{4d36e968-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318}\0000.
Open the Registry Editor (regedit.exe), go to the registry key above, find the DWORD parameter KMD_EnableBrightnessInterface2 and change its value from 1 to 0
There can be several KMD_EnableBrightnessInterface2 parameters in the registry. So use the search (F3) and find all the other parameters named KMD_EnableBrightnessInterface. For all found parameters, you need to change the value from 1 to 0.
Reboot your laptop.
Unable to Change Screen Brightness on a Laptop with Intel HD Graphics
On Windows laptops with integrated Intel HD Graphics video cards, you need to disable brightness correction through the registry. Go to the reg key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\Class\{4d36e968-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318}\0000(0001 in some cases)and look for the FeatureTestControl DWORD parameter. Change its value from f000 to f008 and restart your computer.
Sometimes the value FeatureTestControl = fb20 helps.
Or use the following reg file:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\Class\{4d36e968-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318}\0000]"FeatureTestControl"=dword:0000f008"KMD_EnableBrightnessInterface2"=dword:00000000"KMD_EnableBrightnesslf2"=dword:00000000[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\Class\{4d36e968-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318}\0001]"FeatureTestControl"=dword:0000f008[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\Class\{4d36e968-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318}\0002]"FeatureTestControl"=dword:0000f008[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Services\intelkmd]"FeatureTestControl"=dword:0000f008Check Windows Adaptive Brightness Settings
Windows can use your laptop’s light sensors (available on almost all modern tablets and laptops) to adjust the screen brightness. The brightness of the screen is set according to the ambient light (adaptive brightness).
You can enable/disable adaptive display brightness from the System -> Brightness -> Change brightness automatically when lighting changes.
There is also another option used to reduce the brightness of the display if the device is running on battery (Help improve battery by optimizing the content shown and brightness). This feature is called CABC (Content Adaptive Brightness Control).
Also, you can disable adaptive brightness in Windows power settings: Control Panel -> Power Options -> in the properties of the selected power plan, click the Change advanced power settings -> Change advanced power settings -> expand Display.
In the Enable adaptive brightness item, you must disable the adaptive brightness for the “On battery” and “Plugged in” modes. If adaptive brightness is enabled, won’t be able to significantly increase the screen brightness
Also, try changing the brightness level under the items:
- Dimmed display brightness
- Display brightness
FAQs
Why can't I adjust screen brightness Windows 11? ›
If the brightness slider is not working on your Windows 11 PC, you are not alone, as several users have reported. You can try reinstalling the monitor driver, updating the graphics driver, and running the SFC scan.
Why is my computer not letting me change the brightness? ›Check Power Options. Go to Control Panel > System and Security > Power Options and check that your power options aren't affecting the brightness on your screen. While there, check that the brightness isn't automatically adjusted by your PC or laptop.
Why is my brightness level not working Windows 10? ›Often, the brightness setting in Windows 10 stops working due to a software bug. These can result from faulty Windows 10 updates, buggy display drivers, and/or wrong power management settings. Hardware issues can also affect the brightness setting on Windows 10, especially on desktop computers with dedicated GPUs.
How do I fix brightness control not working? ›- Update your Display Driver.
- Update your Drivers Manually.
- Update your Drivers Automatically.
- Enable Adaptive Brightness.
- Enable your PnP Monitor.
- Check your graphics card software.
- Use Microsoft Basic Display Adapter.
Just as stated in the above content, the volume key problem is probably due to a glitch in the keyboard drivers. So, you may fix it by do some changes to the drivers. Open Windows 11 Device Manager. Right-click on the keyboard driver and choose Update driver or Uninstall device.
How do I force my screen to brightness? ›To change the brightness on an external monitor, use the buttons on it. The Brightness slider appears in action center in Windows 10, version 1903. To find the brightness slider in earlier versions of Windows 10, select Settings > System > Display, and then move the Change brightness slider to adjust the brightness.
How do I turn on Fn key for brightness? ›Fn + / (F5/F6)
Press the button repeatedly to adjust the LCD brightness of your computer screen. See Changing the LCD Brightness for more information. To decrease lighting intensity, press the Fn+F5 keys.
📲 On Android: Settings > Display > Tap the slider next to Adaptive brightness and switch it to the off position. Then, adjust the brightness bar until you've reached your desired level of brightness. Assuming your display isn't damaged, the most common culprit for a consistently darkened screen is power-saving mode.
Which driver should I install for brightness? ›Either the display miniport driver or the ACPI methods exposed by the system basic input/output system (BIOS) can support changing the brightness of an integrated display panel.
Which driver is responsible for screen brightness? ›A buggy GPU display driver living on your machine could be the reason why you're unable to adjust brightness on Windows 10. Most of the time, the Windows 10 brightness problem can be solved by simply updating the GPU drivers. So, follow the steps mentioned below: Open Start Menu > Type Device Manager and open it.
How do I reset the brightness? ›
- Open the Settings app, then go to Apps > See all apps.
- Scroll through your app info list and tap Device Health Services. ...
- Tap the Storage & cache section.
- Tap the Manage space button. ...
- Tap the Reset adaptive brightness button.
- First, turn off your PC.
- Now restart the device and repeatedly press the F10 key. ...
- Navigate to System Configuration menu > Action Keys Mode.
- Use the Enter key to enable or disable the features.
- Click Exit to save the changes.
Press Windows + i and click Display. Now adjust the slider for Brightness under Brightness & color. You will now have adjusted your brightness from the Settings app.
How do I fix my function keys on Windows 11? ›In most cases, this problem will appear after an accidental keys combination press that ended up disabling all the function keys. In this case, all you need to do is press the same shortcut key once again to re-enable the function keys' functionality.
How do I get my brightness slider back on Windows 10? ›Locate the Add or remove quick actions button below and click on it in order to open the list of all quick actions. Scroll down until you locate brightness and set the slider next to it to On.
Is there an app to make my screen brighter? ›Brightness Control & Dimmer is among the best brightness control apps for Android. With this screen dimmer app, you get a user interface that is easy to use and offers a tone of possibilities. There is a slider included that you may use to control the brightness.
Which F keys are brightness? ›Use function keys.
Brightness keys (F1, F2): Press. or. to increase or decrease the brightness of the screen.
The brightness function keys may be located at the top of your keyboard, or on your arrow keys. For example, on the Dell XPS laptop keyboard (pictured below), hold Fn and press F11 or F12 to adjust the brightness of the screen. Other laptops have keys dedicated entirely to brightness control.
What does Fn F7 do? ›With a single-color keyboard backlight keyboards, FN+F7 skips to the previous audio track or song in supported programs (e.g., Windows Media Player). With a multiple backlight colors (RGB) keyboard, FN+F7 adjusts the speed of a lighting effect.
How do I reset my dark screen? ›A black screen could also happen because Windows 10 will lose its connection with the display. Using the Windows key + Ctrl + Shift + B keyboard shortcut can restart the video driver and refresh the connection with the monitor.
What is adaptive brightness? ›
Adaptive Brightness helps your phone to learn your preferred screen brightness in different lighting. Your phone's screen brightness will be automatically set for you.
How do I adjust brightness on Windows 11? ›- Press “Windows + I” to open the Settings app instantly.
- Next, under the “System” menu, open “Display” in the right pane.
- Here, you will see the brightness slider at the top.
- By default, the brightness is set automatically by the phone based on the ambient light.
- By default, the brightness is set automatically by the phone based on the ambient light.
- Drag the brightness slider up and down.
You can also adjust your brightness in Windows 11 using the settings app. Follow the guide below to help you along with the process. Press Windows + i and click Display. Now adjust the slider for Brightness under Brightness & color.
How do I force my screen brightness? ›Use the keyboard shortcut Windows + A to open the Action Center, revealing a brightness slider at the bottom of the window. Moving the slider at the bottom of the Action Center left or right changes the brightness of your display.
Which function key controls screen brightness? ›Fn + / (F5/F6)
Press the button repeatedly to adjust the LCD brightness of your computer screen.
📲 On Android: Settings > Display > Tap the slider next to Adaptive brightness and switch it to the off position. Then, adjust the brightness bar until you've reached your desired level of brightness. Assuming your display isn't damaged, the most common culprit for a consistently darkened screen is power-saving mode.
How can I adjust brightness without using buttons? ›- Press Windows key + I to open Settings.
- Go to System > Display.
- Beneath Brightness and color, use the Brightness slider. To the left will be dimmer, to the right brighter.
Often, the brightness keys are function keys which have a special function if you press them while holding down the Fn key. The Fn key is usually located to the left of the spacebar. The brightness function keys may be located at the top of your keyboard, or on your arrow keys.