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5 Ways to Fix Night Light Not Working on Windows 11

Quick Fixes
  • Disable the Night light schedule from Settings > System > Display > Night light, and turn it on manually.
  • Correct your PC’s date and time from Windows Settings > Time & language > Date & time, and re-enable the Night light feature.

Common Fixes

  • Disconnect the Docking Station: If your PC is connected to monitor via a docking station, disconnect it, and connect the monitor directly to your PC to resolve Night light issues.
  • Check the Night light intensity: Open Windows Settings, select System from the sidebar, and click Display. Select Night light, and drag its Strength meter to adjust the Night light intensity.
  • Enable the location services: If location services are disabled on your PC, some Night light features such as ‘Sunset to sunrise’ schedule remains greyed out. Enable location services from Windows Settings > Privacy & security > Location, and turn on the Location services toggle.
  • Adjust the monitor display settings: Certain new-age monitors such as Samsung M7 and Benq models come with an in-built eye-saver mode which works similar to the Night light feature. Disable it from monitor settings to notice Windows 11’s Night light feature in action.
  • Update Windows 11: Open Windows Settings, select Windows Update from the left sidebar, and install available system updates.

Fix 1: Turn off the Night Light Schedule

If you’ve automated the Night light schedule before, the feature will only work at set times, which may seem like its not working accurately. Disable the Night light schedule and turn on the feature manually to experience it.

Step 1: Press the Windows + I shortcut to open Settings, select System from the left sidebar, and click Display.

1 open display settings

Step 2: Select Night light under ‘Brightness & color’.

2 select night light

Step 3: Turn off the Schedule night light toggle to disable it. Finally, enable the Night light toggle to activate it.

3 disable the night light schedule

Fix 2: Correct Device Date and Time

Wrong date and time settings on your PC can result in errors with default Windows functions such as Night light. Correct them using Windows Settings to restore normalcy.

Step 1: Open Windows Settings using the Windows + I shortcut, select Time & language from the sidebar, and click Date & time.

4 open date and time settings

Step 2: Toggle on Set time automatically to correct it.

5 correct device date and time

Fix 3: Disable ‘Override to Reference Mode’ in Nvidia Control Panel

If your PC has a dedicated NVIDIA graphics processor with ‘Override to Reference Mode’ enabled in its settings, it will ignore color adjustments from the OS such as Night light. Disable it from the NVIDIA Control Panel app to resolve the Night light not working issue.

Step 1: Press the Windows key, search NVIDIA Control Panel, and click Run as administrator.

6 run nvidia control panel as admin

Step 2: Expand Display, select Adjust desktop color settings, and disable Override to reference mode under the ‘Color accuracy mode’ section.

7 disable override to reference mode

Fix 4: Reinstall the Display Drivers

Corrupt or buggy display drivers can malfunction the Night light feature on Windows 11. Reinstall display drivers using the Device Manager app and try again.

Step 1: Search Device Manager in the Windows Search Menu and click to open it.

8 open device manager 1

Step 2: Expand Display adapters, right-click your adapter, and select Uninstall device.

9 uninstall display adapter

Step 3: Reboot PC and let Windows 11 automatically install new compatible display adapter drivers. If your PC has a dedicated graphics card, head to its product website to install the latest drivers.

Fix 5: Reset Night Light Settings

Lastly, if nothing works, tweak the Windows registry files to reset Night light settings, fixing issues preventing you from enabling it.

Note: Backup Windows Registry using File > Export in the Registry Editor app before making any changes.

Step 1: Press the Windows + R shortcut to open the Run dialog, type regedit, and press Enter.

10 open registry editor

Step 2: Paste the below path in the navigation bar, hit Enter, and locate two registry keys containing the name ‘bluelightreduction‘.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\CloudStore\Store\DefaultAccount\Cloud
11 select keys with night light feature

Step 3: Right-click the first key and select Delete. Repeat the action with the second key and reboot your PC to save changes.

12 delete the keys

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Last updated on 05 August, 2024

3 Comments

  1. None of these suggestions work – I’ve even completely reinstalled windows 11 Pro and this feature still does not turn itself on and off.

    Another broken windows feature.

  2. You’re listing the particularly obvious items in #1 and #2, and then going into obscure and usually irrelevant solutions after that — all while ignoring the most important question to ask: “Is the computer connected directly to the monitor via a cable, or is it connecting to a docking station?” If the answer is “I’m connected to a docking station,” then … ding-ding-ding … that’s your problem 99 times out of 100. No need to uninstall device drivers (how the heck are you supposed to see to reboot when you’ve just uninstalled your drivers and lost all visuals???), or edit obscure registry keys, or any of the other silly stuff. If you’re connecting via a docking station, even if you’ve been successfully using that docking station for awhile, just disconnect it and connect your computer directly to the monitor. Odds are that’s your problem every time. If you don’t use a docking station, then feel free to go down this list, but you should always check the most likely culprit FIRST and quit wasting people’s time and energy with the other stuff.

  3. Mine was absolutely the docking station. At first, though I disconnected & reconnected it before and after rebooting, it still didn’t work on the monitors or the laptop itself.
    I was about to start fiddling with the registry when I decided to try all the methods at the same time.
    I disconnected the docking station, then rebooted, then got it working on the laptop alone first, then reconnected the docking station & it started working again as normal… think Ill get a new station.

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