How to Fix a Laptop Screen that is Too Dark (STEPS)

Why is my laptop screen darker than usual?

A laptop screen can appear darker than normal due to incorrect power settings, activated adaptive brightness feature, a outdated graphics driver or outdated BIOS. 

• Incorrect power settings
• Activated adaptive brightness feature
• Corrupted or outdated graphics driver
• Pressed brightness keys
• Outdated BIOS
• Loose power cord connection
• Hardware issue

 

Power Settings

The power settings are likely to have been set such that the screen brightness is towards the dimmer side.

 

Activated Adaptive Brightness Feature

If the adaptive brightness feature that balances the brightness of the screen is activated on your laptop, the screen may appear darker than usual.

 

Corrupted or Outdated Graphics Driver

A corrupted graphics driver can cause the screen darker than a usual issue. Sometimes, the darkness can also be the result of the graphics driver being outdated.

 

Pressed Brightness Keys

If the brightness control keys in the keyboard of your laptop have been pressed accidentally, the screen brightness tends to get darker than usual. This is usually the F2 key or the key with a small sun icon on it.

 

Outdated BIOS

One giveaway sign of the BIOS in your laptop being outdated is that the laptop screen is a dark screen issue of the laptop.

 

Loose Power Cord Connection

A dark laptop screen maybe because the power cord that connects the laptop to its wall socket hasn’t been connected properly or is loose.

 

Hardware Issue

In some cases, the screen of your laptop may have a hardware issue causing the screen to become dark. This could be due to instances such as a broken screen or a simple backlight failure.

 

How to adjust computer laptop screen brightness?

You can adjust your computer laptop screen brightness by using the brightness control keys, changing the display settings, disabling the adapted brightness feature or through the Action Center.

The brightness adjustment can also be done for the power plan of your system or enhancing the battery life.

 

The following steps walk you through the process of adjusting the computer laptop screen brightness.

1. Use the two brightness control keys to adjust the screen brightness. These keys are usually represented by a small sun icon and a large sun icon on any two Function keys. These two keys decrease and increase the brightness respectively. Sometimes, these keys appear with the sun symbol along with up and down arrows or + and – symbols respectively.
2. Click the Settings icon represented by a gear symbol followed by System and then Display. Move the Change brightness for the built-in display slider under the Brightness and color heading to your left or right to decrease or increase the brightness. You can also access Settings through the Start
3. Disable the adaptive brightness feature in your system. To do this, click Start and type calibrate display color inside the search box. Follow the instructions in the following screens to adjust the screen brightness to the desired level. This method works only if your laptop has an ambient brightness sensor.
4. Open the Activation Center window in your laptop by clicking on the Notifications icon to the right side of the system clock. This icon appears as a message symbol in some laptops. Move the brightness slider in the desired direction to set the brightness according to your preference.
5. Click Start and type control panel in the search box to open the Control Panel Click Hardware and Sound followed by Power Options. Click the Change plan settings link corresponding to the power plan. Move the Adjust plan brightness sliders under the On battery and Plugged in sections to set the brightness accordingly.
6. Activate the battery saver feature by clicking on Settings and then System followed by Battery. Select the percentage level at which you want the battery saver to get activated from the dropdown menu and select the Lower screen brightness while in battery saver
7. Right-click the Start button and select Mobility Center from the menu. In the Windows Mobility Center window, adjust the Display brightness slider in the Brightness

 

Updating the BIOS, uninstalling and reinstalling or updating the graphics driver and ensuring a proper and firm power cord connection are some other aspects you can consider to get the desired brightness if the screen continues to be dark after trying the above steps.

You can opt for an automatic adjustment or a manual adjustment. Opting for an automatic adjustment will not stop you from doing the adjustment manually whenever you feel like doing so.

 

 

Why is my laptop screen too dark on Windows 11?

Your laptop screen is too dark on Windows 11 because of the enabled adaptive brightness feature, enabled night light mode, activated game mode or an outdated graphics driver.

• Enabled adaptive brightness feature
• Enabled night light mode
• Activated game mode
• Outdated graphics driver

 

Enabled Adaptive Brightness Feature

If the adaptive brightness feature is activated, disabling it may reduce the darkness of your laptop screen.

1. Click on the Search tool in the taskbar and type edit power plan to open the Edit Plan Settings
2. Click the Change advanced power settings link to open the Power Options
3. Expand the Display node and double-click on Enable adaptive brightness.
4. Set the On Battery as well as Plugged in settings for adaptive brightness to OFF mode.
5. Press Apply followed by OK to quit from the Power Options

 

Enabled Night Mode

Check if the night light mode is activated and turn it off as the screen can appear to be dark if this mode is ON.

1. Click Start followed by Settings to open the Settings
2. Click System and then Display from the list given below.
3. In the Brightness and color section, set the Night light toggle button to OFF mode.

 

Activated Game Mode

Turning OFF the game mode if it has been activated can lower the darkness of the monitor of your Windows 11 laptop.

1. Open the Settings window and select Gaming from the list.
2. In the Gaming window, select the Game Mode
3. Set the Game Mode toggle button to OFF mode.

 

Outdated Graphics Driver

Check if your graphics driver is outdated and do an update if needed. If the driver is already updated, you may want to uninstall it and reinstall it again.

1. Right-click the Start button and select Device Manager from the menu.
2. Expand the Display Adapters node and right-click on the graphics driver.
3. Select Update Driver from the menu and follow the instructions in the subsequent screens.

 

Clean Boot

1. Press the Windows and R keys together to open the Run
2. Type msconfig in the textbox and press Enter to open the System Configuration
3. Click the General tab and select the Selective startup
4. Clear the Load startup items
5. Select the Load system services and Use original boot configuration
6. Click the Services
7. Select the Hide all Microsoft services
8. Press Disable all followed by Apply and then OK.

You can also check if your laptop monitor has an auto-dimming feature and disable it.

 

Why is my laptop screen so dark when playing games?

Your laptop screen is so dark when playing games due to an auto-brightness setting, wrong graphics card settings or an outdated driver.

• Auto-brightness setting
• Wrong graphics card settings
• Outdated driver

 

1. Check if the auto-brightness setting in the laptop is activated and disable it. This setting changes the brightness of the screen according to the light in the surroundings.
2. Check the settings of your graphic card and see if any setting has been configured for the graphics card to display a different color when you start playing a game. If so, turn off this setting as it can make the screen appear less bright than intended.
3. Check if the device drivers are outdated and update them if needed. Outdated drivers can make the games look a bit dull even if you haven’t changed the brightness settings of the screen.

 

Why is my Sceptre laptop screen so dark?

Your Sceptre laptop screen is so dark due to hardware/software changes, outdated graphics and chipset drivers, an activated HDR setting or a damaged panel.

• Hardware/software changes
• Outdated graphics and chipset drivers
• Activated HDR setting
• Damaged panel

 

1. Check if the screen has started appearing dark after you made any hardware or software changes. If so, reverting those changes to the old settings should help you get rid of the dark screen.
2. Open the Device Manager window and check if the graphics and chipset drivers are outdated. Updating them to their latest version may help to serve as a fix.
3. If the screen appears dark when displaying black or dark colors, it’s likely that the HDR setting has been activated. Deactivate this setting and check if the problem persists.
4. Inspect the screen for signs of breakage or cracks in the panel. If so, you will have to change the screen to be free of the darkness problem.

 

Why is my Samsung laptop screen so dark?

Your Samsung laptop screen is so dark because of the brightness and color setting, a failing LCD inverter or a defective motherboard.

• Brightness and color setting
• Failing LCD inverter
• Defective motherboard

1. Check the brightness and color settings in your laptop. To do this, click System in the Settings window and then click Display in the left pane. Move the brightness slider for the display towards the right.
2. Check if the LCD inverter in the laptop has failed and get it replaced if needed. This inverter is responsible for the backlight functioning on your screen. It’s advisable to get the assistance of a professional to help you in this regard.
3. Seek help from an expert to check whether you have a defective motherboard or a motherboard on the verge of failure if you’re not able to determine this yourself. If so, changing the motherboard should resolve the problem.

Some other issues mentioned earlier such as outdated drivers and/or BIOS and incompatibility of existing driver version may also be the reasons for a dark Samsung laptop screen. 

 

Why is my LG laptop screen so dark?

Your LG laptop screen is so dark due to a driver issue, a color display setting or a brightness slider adjustment especially if your system has just got updated with a later version of Windows.

• Driver issue
• Color display setting
• Brightness slider adjustment

 

1. Update the display driver on your laptop to the latest version. If this doesn’t work, uninstall the driver and reinstall it once again from the manufacturer’s website. The uninstalling and reinstalling option is a good idea if your driver is corrupt. In some cases, a rollback to an earlier version may fix the problem.
2. Adjust the display setting with the help of the inbuilt color calibrator. This helps you to restore the lost brightness of your laptop screen.
3. Check the position of the brightness sliders for the selected power plan through the Power Options If they are towards the left, move them to the right until your screen has the desired brightness. You can access this window by performing a right-click action on the Start button and choosing Power Options from the menu followed by clicking the Additional power settings link.