While playing your favorite games on a Windows 11/10 PC, does your screen dim or get darker? Well, it’s not only you who is annoyed by this issue. At times, when playing games on full screen, the screen may start looking a lot darker or than you need, and you will have squint your eyes only to realize it’s an issue with the monitor or the display. In this post, we are looking at various ways to fix the problem to resolve the screen dimming issue in full screen on Windows.
Why Does The Screen Dim When You Are Playing Games On Windows?
There can be many reasons. A recent Windows Update, a driver issue, or it can be your monitor or laptop settings that drop the brightness.
Auto-Dimming Feature: The first probable reason, although not the common one, is that it can be because of the auto-dimming attribute found on your computer screen. The monitor has an auto-dimming feature that automatically adjusts the monitor’s brightness the moment you start playing your game. This generally happens when the game is optimized for lesser brightness settings or if your screen recognizes that you may not need the extra brightness for that game.
Ambient Sensor in Laptops: It is more common with laptop users because some gaming laptops have a light sensor that recognizes the light requirement and dims the screen. So when you are playing a game in the dark, it will lower the brightness to optimize and balance the surrounding light level with your screen. The laptop also tries to conserve your battery to play longer because games consume more battery power.
GPU Settings: For your Windows 11/10 PC, if you are using a separate graphics card, it can also be an issue because of the graphic card’s settings. At times, the settings are configured so that when you start a game, it will display a completely different color, making your screen look less bright than it should be.
Windows Update & Drivers: Finally, the most common reason is your Windows 11/10 drivers. After updating your Windows PC, the drivers may need an update to work with the OS. At times, older drivers cause the dimming because of configuration mismatch. Make sure to update the driver and configure the settings through the GPU software.
Any of the above-discussed issues can be a probable reason for the dimming of the screen while playing. The only way to decide the main cause is by implementing quick fixes and troubleshooting to resolve the issue.
Fix Screen Dims when playing Games on full screen on PC
If your screen dims when playing games, whether on full screen or not, on Windows 11/10, then follow this post to troubleshoot this issue.
- Disabling Adaptive Brightness
- Monitor’s Auto-Dimming Features
- Installing Pending Window Driver Updates
- Rolling Back Or Reinstalling Your Display Driver
- Graphics Card Settings
- Disable Night light mode and Game Bar.
Here are some ways by which you can stop the screen from dimming while playing games on your Windows 11/10 computer:
1] Disabling Adaptive Brightness
Most laptops come with an adaptive brightness feature that allows them to change the brightness based on the ambient light. You can change that.
You need to access Control Panel, go to Power Options > Change Plan Settings > Change Advanced Power Settings. Find Display, and look for Enable adaptive brightness under it. Check if the Adaptive brightness feature was turned on; disable it. You may need to disable it for both On battery and Plugged states.
If the adaptive brightness is because of your computer’s power-saving mode, go to Power Options and switch the computer’s power mode to the standard settings. If you are using a laptop, you can do the same at the battery icon on the system tray.
If you cannot find the adaptive brightness setting in the Power Options or Display Settings, it is not supported on your laptop.
2] Monitor’s Auto-Dimming Features
If you think that the main reason for auto-dimming is the monitor itself, as it comes with an auto-dimming feature, you can confirm it by using another monitor. If the problem is resolved, then the original monitor has an active auto-dimming feature. You can read the monitor’s manual or check out its settings to disable the auto-dimming feature.
You can change it using the monitor software or using the hardware button at the bottom of the monitor that brings up the menu on the screen.
3] Installing Pending Window Driver Updates
If you have updated your Windows 11/10 computer, some of the drivers may not have been updated. Windows now offer OEM driver updates as optional, and you need to install them manually.
Go to Settings > Windows Update > Advanced Options > Optional Updates. Look for the graphics card driver. If available, install and reboot. Another approach would be to download from the OEM website and install it manually.
4] Rolling Back Or Reinstalling Your Display Driver
You may need to roll back the driver if your new display drivers are incompatible with the old game because the screen dims when you play the game. To do this, go to Device Manager > Right-click on the Display Adapters > Select Properties.
Switch to the Driver tab, and select rollback if the option is available for you. This option is usually available for few days after the recent update. It will roll back the driver to a previous version that may be compatible with the game you are playing. Make sure to restart once.
5] Graphics Card Settings
If there is an issue with graphics card settings, go to the graphics card’s settings page to find the issue. Every OEM offers an application that allows changing GPU settings. Once you figure it out, it will be easy to find the settings causing your screen to look dimmer. For example, NVIDIA offers Video Color Settings where you can change the brightness levels.
6] Disable Night light mode and Game Bar
Folks have reported that disabling Night light mode and Game Bar has helped them. Try it and see.
Open your Windows settings and select System. From the Display settings, toggle the Night Light option off if you have it enabled.
Similarly, in order to turn Game Bar off, visit the settings homepage and select Gaming.
From there, in Xbox Game Bar, you’ll see the option to disable it upfront. Toggle it off, close settings, and check if the issue has been resolved.
These are some of the measures you can take if you ever find yourself in a scenario where your Windows computer’s screen dims while playing games.
Many people buy computers for many reasons, but playing games form a big reason for this investment. You can find custom gaming PCs & laptops, and people build their PCs with the required configurations to play their favorite games comfortably. But still, if the screen turns dark, it isn’t delightful.
I hope the suggested solutions worked for you, and you were able to enjoy gaming as you always expected.
Read: Why does laptop display dim automatically?
Why Does The Laptop Screen Darken When Unplugged?
Since laptops run on battery, every time they are unplugged, it switches the power profile to a mode where the battery can last longer. As the screen is one of the major components that consume most battery power, the brightness is reduced.
If you want to keep the brightness level the same, go to Power Options of battery settings, and disable dim the display settings. In a laptop, dimming the screen is normal when the charger is unplugged. Go to Control Panel > Power Options. Click to open the Power Plan, and then select Advanced settings. Scroll to the ”ON battery” setting. Then, disable dim the display setting.
Read: Windows computer screen brightness flickering or flashing.
Is It Good For Your Eyes To Lower The Brightness?
It is not a good idea to use the PC or Laptop at an extremely lower brightness. It will only strain your eyes. However, to make your eyes comfortable and keep them safe from long-term effects, you should lower the brightness to a level that is comfortable enough.
The question points to a problem that occurs when playing in the dark, and the screen’s low brightness can be a problem when practiced daily. The best way to sort this problem is to keep a light on the back of your monitor to reduce the stress.
You can also try features like Night Light, F.LUX which change the temperature or the screen’s color, but when it comes to gaming, these can turn off the gamers’ mood.
Read: Windows Brightness Control not working or changes automatically.
