On Windows 10, you can change the brightness levels in at least five different ways, and in this guide, I will show you how. Sometimes, depending on the lighting, you may have to increase or reduce the screen brightness on Windows 10 to make everything more visible or comfortable. In addition, reducing brightness can always save battery.
If you have to change the brightness settings on your display manually, automatically when the device is plugged in or unplugged or through an ambient sensor, on Windows 10, you can adjust the settings through Action Center, Settings app, Control Panel, and through features like battery saver or using the monitor settings.
In this guide, I will outline the steps to increase or reduce brightness manually on your computer’s display on Windows 10.
Change brightness on Windows 10 from Action Center
To change the brightness on Windows 10 through Action Center, use the steps:
- Open Action Center on Windows 10.
Quick tip: You can use the “Windows key + A” keyboard shortcut or click the “Action Center” button in the notification area.
- Increase or decrease the brightness intensity using the brightness slider.
Alternatively, on many laptops and desktops, you can simply change the brightness directly from the keyboard. Usually, you can do this using one of the function keys. For example, you can use the “Function key + F11” to reduce or the “Function key + F12” keyboard shortcut to increase the brightness.
Change brightness on Windows 10 from Settings
To change the brightness intercity from Settings, use these steps:
- Open Settings.
- Click on System.
- Click on Display.
- Use the slider to change the display’s brightness level using the “Brightness and color” settings.
Also, note that if your laptop or monitor includes a light sensor, you can check the “Change brightness automatically when light changes” option, which will override the manual configuration.
Lower brightness on Windows 10 from battery saver
The device can conserve battery by letting Windows 10 lower the brightness automatically while battery saver is enabled.
To lower brightness automatically during battery saver, use these steps:
- Open Settings.
- Click on System.
- Click on Battery.
- Check the “Lower the screen brightness while in battery saver” option.
However, it’s important to note you can only turn the option on or off, as there is no way to adjust the brightness level with the battery-saver mode.
Change brightness on Windows 10 from Control Panel
You can also use the Control Panel to manually reduce the screen brightness when your laptop is plugged in or running on battery. However, this option may or may not be available on every device.
To change the screen brightness on Windows 10 through Control Panel, use these steps:
- Open Control Panel.
- Click on Hardware and Sound.
- Click on Power Options.
- Click the “Change plan settings” option of the active power plan.
- Use the sliders to adjust the plan brightness when your laptop runs on battery or is plugged in.
- Click the Save changes button.
After you complete the steps, you only need to remember to adjust these settings again if you ever change the power plan.
Change brightness on Windows 10 from external monitor
The above instructions will only work for laptops and desktops with a single monitor. If you have an external monitor, unfortunately, Windows 10 doesn’t provide a way to adjust brightness for secondary displays.
If you have multiple monitors, you’ll need to use the controls available in the display itself to change the brightness settings.
Usually, you’ll find these controls next to the display’s power button, or you’ll need to access the main menu to adjust the brightness, similar to how you would change this setting on your TV.
Update January 12, 2024: This content has been updated to ensure accuracy and reflect changes to the configuration process.