7 Ways to change screen brightness on Windows 11

• To change the brightness on Windows 11, open “Quick Settings” (Windows key + A) and use the “Brightness” slider to increase or lower the intensity level.
• Alternatively, open Settings > System > Display and adjust the brightness by using the “Brightness” slider.
• You can also use the “fn” (function) key + “Adjust brightness f1,” “Adjust brightness f2,” or “Adjust brightness f3” key to change the screen brightness.
• To adjust the brightness of an external display, you must use the monitor’s on-screen display (OSD) menu. 
• It’s also possible to lower or increase the brightness from the Mobility Center and Command Prompt.

On Windows 11, you can change the monitor’s brightness in more than one way, and in this guide, I will outline the steps to complete this configuration in six ways. If you have a laptop or desktop computer, you may need to adjust the brightness level of the display to improve the viewability of the screen in specific environments with different lighting conditions, make it easier on the eyes, or match the brightness intensity on different displays on a multi-monitor setup.

Regardless of the reason, on Windows 11, you have multiple ways to adjust the brightness level, including the on-screen display (OSD) menu or keyboard keys, or in the operating system, you can use the Settings app, Quick Settings flyout, Mobility Center, or Command Prompt.

In this guide, I will teach you how to change the screen brightness on your Windows 11 laptop or desktop.

Change brightness on Windows 11

On Windows 11, you have multiple ways to change the brightness level of your monitor without using third-party tools or the Control Panel application from your graphics card manufacturer.

• 1. Adjust brightness from OSD menu
• 2. Adjust brightness from keyboard
• 3. Adjust brightness from Quick Settings
• 4. Adjust brightness from Settings app
• 5. Adjust brightness form Battery saver
• 6. Adjust brightness from Mobility Center
• 7. Adjust brightness from Command Prompt

1. Adjust brightness from OSD menu

To adjust the brightness on an external monitor through OSD menu, use these steps:

1. Click the OSD menu button.

   Quick note: This button should be on the monitor. Depending on the manufacturer and model, the button could be on the back or front.

2. Navigate the menu to the picture setting.

3. Use the available controls to adjust the brightness.

   

2. Adjust brightness from keyboard

To change the brightness level on Windows 11 through the keyboard, use the dedicated function keys, or you may need to press the “fn” key and the assigned function key in the top row of the keyboard.

The keys assigned to lower or increase the brightness can be different depending on the keyboard, but usually, the key mapping is assigned to “Adjust brightness f1” and “Adjust brightness f2” or “Adjust brightness f2” and “Adjust brightness f3.”

3. Adjust brightness from Quick Settings

To adjust the screen brightness level from the Quick Settings, use these steps:

1. Open Quick Settings by clicking the network icon or using the “Windows key + A” keyboard shortcut.

2. Use the slider to change the screen brightness on your device.

   

   Quick note: If the brightness slider is missing, it’s likely because you’re using an external monitor. Usually, the slider setting will be available on laptops.

4. Adjust brightness from Settings app

To change the brightness level from the Settings app, use these steps:

1. Open Settings.

2. Click on System.

3. Click the Display tab.

4. Use the “Brightness” slider to increase or lower the intensity.

   

   Quick note: If the brightness slider is missing on the “Display” page, it’s likely because you’re using an external monitor. Usually, the slider setting will be available on laptops.

5. (Optional) Click the Brightness setting.

6. Configure the “Change brightness based on content” setting to “Off,” “Always,” or “On Battery Only.”

   Quick note: This option allows the system to change the brightness and contrast automatically based on the content to preserve battery life.

5. Adjust brightness from Battery saver

To lower the brightness automatically while in battery saver mode, use these steps:

1. Open Settings.

2. Click on System.

3. Click the Power & battery tab.

4. Click the “Battery saver” setting.

5. Turn on the “Lower screen brightness when using battery saver” toggle switch.

   

6. Adjust brightness from Mobility Center

To increase or decrease the screen brightness from the Mobility Center on laptops (only), use these steps:

1. Right-click the Start button.

2. Select the Mobility Center option.

   

3. Use the “Display brightness” slider to adjust the intensity.

   

7. Adjust brightness from Command Prompt

To change the brightness on a Windows 11 laptop from Command Prompt,  use these steps:

1. Open Start.

2. Search for Command Prompt and click the top result to open the app.

3. Type the following command to change the Windows 11 brightness and press Enter:

   powershell (Get-WmiObject -Namespace root/WMI -Class WmiMonitorBrightnessMethods).WmiSetBrightness(1,75)

   

   In the command, change “75” for the level you want to use on the display.

If you’re in PowerShell, you can run the (Get-WmiObject -Namespace root/WMI -Class WmiMonitorBrightnessMethods).WmiSetBrightness(1,75) command to adjust the settings.

Once you complete the steps, the monitor should reflect the newly selected brightness level on Windows 11.