If you can’t change the Monitor Refresh Rate in Windows 11/10, then this post may help you. The refresh rate of your PC refers to the times the display can draw a new image per second. The refresh rate of your device may vary from 60Hz to 240Hz, depending on your device’s hardware. But recently, some users have complained that they can’t change the refresh rate on their devices.
Why can’t I change my refresh rate on Windows 11?
If you’re unable to change your device’s Refresh Rate, your monitor or graphics card may not support the setting. If you have an older monitor, it can be the cause. However, if that’s not the case, update the display driver and disable V-Sync on your device.
Can’t change Monitor Refresh Rate in Windows 11/10
If you can’t change your monitor’s refresh rate in Windows 11/10, update the graphics drivers and modify the display settings. However, if that doesn’t help, follow these steps:
- Check if your device supports a higher refresh rate
- Update Graphics Drivers
- Modify Advanced Display Settings
- Disable V-Sync
- Make the change in Safe Mode.
Now let us see these in detail.
1] Check if your device supports a higher refresh rate
Before getting started with different troubleshooting methods, check if your monitor supports a higher refresh rate. If your device isn’t capable, you won’t be able to increase or decrease the refresh rate. You can check this in the display settings or your device’s user manual.
2] Update Graphics Drivers
Outdated or corrupted graphics drivers can also be responsible for why you can’t change your devices refresh rate.
Update your device’s Graphics drivers and check if the issue gets fixed. Here’s how you can do it:
- Open Settings and navigate to Update & Security > Windows Update.
- Right under it, look for a clickable link—View optional updates.
- Under Driver Updates, a list of updates will be available, which you can choose to install if you are facing an issue manually.
You can also search for driver downloads for your system on the internet and then search for the driver’s name on the site. Visit your computer manufacturer’s website, or you may visit the graphics hardware manufacturers’ site.
You can also use free Driver Update software or tools like AMD Driver Autodetect, Intel Driver Update Utility or Dell Update utility to update your device drivers. NV Updater will keep NVIDIA Graphic Card Driver updated.
3] Modify Advanced Display Settings
Another thing you can try is changing the refresh rate by modifying the advanced display settings. Here’s how:
- Press the Windows key + I to open Settings.
- Navigate to System > Display > Advanced Display.
- Here, click on the clickable link – Display adapter properties for Display 1.
- The properties dialog will now open, here click on List all modes and select your desired mode.
- Click on Ok to save the changes.
4] Disable V-Sync
V-Sync is a feature in Windows that maintains stability by syncing the image frame rate of the application or game with your monitor’s refresh rate. Sometimes, if V-Sync is enabled, users may face difficulty increasing or decreasing their device’s refresh rate. Disable V-Sync and see if the error gets fixed.
Read: Refresh Rate changes automatically when unplugging the Charger
5] Make the change in Safe Mode
Boot your computer in Safe Mode. This ensures your operating system loads with minimal system files and device drivers. No programs or add-ons run in Safe Mode. Here’s how you can perform a safe boot:
- Press the Windows key + R to open the Run dialog box.
- Type msconfig and hit Enter.
- Navigate to the Boot tab and check the Safe Boot option.
- Under Safe Boot, check the Network option.
- Click on Apply and then Ok to save the changes.
- Restart your computer; once done, it will now boot into Safe Mode.
- Now try changing the refresh rate.
If still unable to do so, open the Task Manager and check which services and startup programs are loading. Disable or uninstall these as one of them may be causing the error.
Read: Cannot change Screen Resolution in Windows
We hope this post helps you.
How do I change the Hz on my monitor Windows 11?
To increase or decrease the refresh rate of your device, open Settings and navigate to System > Display > Advanced Display. Click on the dropdown beside Choose a refresh rate and select your preferred refresh rate.
