Fix: Can’t Adjust Brightness in Windows Display or Monitor

Adjusting screen brightness is surely a useful feature. It allows you to put your monitor in a comfortable setting for viewing. But what if you can’t adjust brightness in Windows? This is one of the common problems that most users have been facing. The issue is more likely to appear after the system upgrade. But system upgrade isn’t the only reason.

Luckily, fixing the issue is not as complicated as it might seem. Instead, there are a few ways that you can use to get rid of the windows that can’t adjust the brightness on this display error on Windows 11, Windows 10 and any other version of Windows.

Fix: Can’t Adjust Brightness in Windows

There can be many reasons why the brightness adjusting feature may not work on your PC or Laptop. Also, for each type of error, there is a specific fix. So let me go ahead and talk about the available ways to fix the issue:

1] Update Display Driver

One of the first things that you can do is update the display driver. There is a high chance that you are using an outdated version of the display driver, not letting you adjust brightness.

So by updating your display driver, you might be able to adjust display brightness. And for this, you have to follow these steps:

1. At first, right-click on the start menu.
2. Click on Device Manager.
3. Next, expand the Display adapters list.
4. Right-click on the available driver and select Update Driver.
5. Next, click on Search automatically for drivers and let Windows search for any available updates and install it for you.
6. If Windows doesn’t find any update, click on the Search for updated drivers on Windows update.
7. After that, look for Windows updates by clicking on the Check for updates button.
8. If any update is available, then do follow all the on-screen instructions and install it.
9. Finally, check if you are still facing the same error. If yes, move to the other fixes listed down below.

2] Adjust Brightness Using Graphics Settings

You can also use graphics settings to adjust brightness on Windows. And for this, you have to follow these steps:

1. First of all, right-click on an empty face on your desktop.
2. Then launch Intel Graphics Settings or NVIDIA Graphics Panel
3. After that, go to Display > Color Settings in the control panel
4. Over here, adjust the brightness according to your preference, and then click on Apply.

That’s it. Your display brightness will get adjusted based on the changes you made. Also, in case if you don’t have the Intel HD Graphics Control Panel or NVIDIA Panel, then consider installing it on Windows.

3] Enable Generic PnP Monitor

1. At first, right-click on the start menu and go to Device Manager.
2. Then expand the Monitors menu and then right-click on Generic PnP monitor and select Enable.
3. After that, reboot your Windows computer, and you should be able to adjust your display brightness. 

4] Update Graphics Card Driver

Are you using a graphics card with your PC or have a built-in GPU? Then you should also update the graphics card driver. Also, there are two ways to update your GPU Driver, and you can follow them here:

1. At first, go to Device Manager by searching for it.
2. Then expand the Display adapters menu and right-click on your graphics card driver.
3. Select Update Driver Software and then follow all the on-screen instructions.

Apart from this, you can also manually download the latest driver software from your graphics card manufacturer’s website and install it manually.

5] Adjusting the brightness from Power Options

You can also fix the issue by tweaking some power option settings. For instance, if you have enabled power settings, then you will not be able to adjust brightness settings. However, here are the steps that you can use to adjust brightness using power options: 

1. At first, press Windows key + R to launch the RUN box.
2. Then type down powercfg.cpl and press enter to launch the Power Options Menu.
3. Next, click on Change plan settings and then click on the Change advanced power settings.
4. On the next screen, scroll down to Display, click on the + icon, and expand the dropdown menu.
5. After that, expand the Display brightness menu and manually adjust the values according to your preference.
6. Also, you have to repeat the same steps with the Dimmed display brightness settings. Also, make sure to check Enable adaptive brightness is turned Off. 
7. Once you are done making all the settings, click on the Apply button, and your display brightness should be adjusted based on the values you have added.

6] Use Monitor Settings

In case if you cannot use Window settings to adjust brightness, then you should consider using your monitor settings. Almost all monitors let you change the brightness, contrast, and other settings manually. So look for controls on your monitor and use them to adjust brightness on your monitor.

However, the only problem with monitor controls is that if you want to adjust brightness quite frequently. Then it will not be a headache. But most of the users set the brightness for once, and they are done. 

If your monitor has an ambient control, make sure to disable it.

After updating Windows, I am not able to adjust the brightness

To fix this error, you should enable the Generic PnP monitor. For this, right-click on the start menu and go to Device Manager. Then expand the monitor’s list and then right-click on Generic PnP monitor and select enable, and the issue should get fixed.

Why can’t I change brightness in Windows 11/10?

One of the main reasons why you cannot change brightness is because of missing display drivers. So make sure you are using the latest version of display and graphics card drivers. Also, the issue might appear because you have updated to a different version of Windows. In such a case, look for keyboard controls, and you should be able to change brightness in Windows 10.

How to change the brightness on my Asus monitor?

One of the easiest ways to change brightness on the Asus monitor is to use monitor controls. Do look at the rear panel or bottom panel of your monitor, and you should see monitor controls. Use them to adjust the screen brightness, contrast, and other settings.

So those were a couple of fixes for the cant adjust brightness in the Windows setting. Now go ahead and check these methods out and see which one is working for you. Also, if there is anything you wish to ask, do feel free to comment below, and I will help you out.