5 Ways to Fix Brightness Not Working on Windows 11 Laptops

Quick Tips

• Make sure the automatic brightness feature is turned off on your laptop and update the display drivers.
• Switching to the Microsoft Basic Display Adapter can also resolve brightness-related issues in Windows 11.
• If the problem persists, consider running an SFC scan to repair system files.

Try Basic Fixes

• Adjust brightness from the Quick Settings panel or Settings app: If you can’t seem to adjust the screen brightness using the function keys on your keyboard, press the Windows key + A to access the Quick Settings panel and use the slider next to the brightness icon to modify it. Alternatively, go to Settings > Display to change the screen brightness.
• Install Windows updates: It’s possible that the brightness controls not working issue is due to a bug within the Windows 11 build your laptop is running. If that’s the case, installing pending updates should help.

Fix 1: Disable Auto-Brightness

Next, you should check if the auto-brightness feature is enabled on your PC. If it is, you may have trouble changing the screen brightness manually.

Step 1: Press the Windows key + I to open the Settings app and head to System > Display.

Step 2: Click on the arrow next to Brightness to expand it. Then, uncheck the boxes that read Change brightness automatically when lighting changes and Help improve battery by optimizing the content shown and brightness.

Fix 2: Update Display Driver

The display drivers on your PC can become outdated over time. When this happens, brightness controls may not work as expected in Windows 11. To fix this, you can update the display drivers by following the steps below.

Step 1: Press the Windows key + S to access the search menu. Type in device manager and press Enter.

Step 2: Expand Display adapters, right-click on your display drivers, and select Update driver.

Follow the on-screen instructions to finish updating the display drivers.

Fix 3: Use Microsoft Basic Display Adapter

If the brightness keys or slider do not work even after you update the display driver, you can try switching to Microsoft’s basic display adapter driver.

Step 1: Open Device Manager using the search menu.

Step 2: Expand Display adapters, right-click on your driver, and select Update driver from the list.

Step 3: Select Browse my computer for drivers.

Step 4: Click the Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer option.

Step 5: Select Microsoft Basic Display Adapter and click Next to install them.

Fix 4: Re-Enable Generic Monitor Drivers

Generic PnP (Plug and Play) monitor drivers on Windows help you connect external displays without requiring any additional setup. However, if you’re having trouble changing the brightness on your external monitor, you can try disabling the Generic PnP monitor driver and enabling it again.

Step 1: Open Device Manager using the search menu.

Step 2: Expand Monitors, right-click on Generic PnP Monitor, and select Disable device from the list.

Step 3: Restart your PC and follow the steps above to enable the Generic PnP Monitor.

Fix 5: Repair System Files

Such issues can also arise if some of the system files on your PC are damaged or missing. If that’s the case, running the SFC (System File Checker) scan will help fix the brightness problem on your Windows 11 laptop.

Step 1: Right-click on the Start icon and select Terminal (Admin) from the resulting menu.

Step 2: Type the command mentioned below and press Enter.

SFC /scannow

Wait for the scan to complete and then restart your Windows laptop.