Why Is My Laptop Screen So Dark?
Anything from a buggy display driver to a faulty screen can be the cause behind a dim screen. The most common reason, however, is the wrong screen brightness setting in Windows 10. But before you get down to brighten your screen, do look around at the ambient lighting and any sources of glare. Sunlight is the primary source of ambient light during the day.
Change your location to test the effect of ambient light on your screen display. Also, anti-IR/anti-UV films can degrade the brightness by casting a tint.
How Do I Make My Screen Brighter?
A Windows laptop gives you different ways to brighten your screen. In the steps below, we will cover bother manual and automatic ways to tweak a dull screen.
Use the Action Center
This is the quickest way to adjust the screen brightness. The slider is present in all Windows 10 PCs updated to version 1903 and beyond.
Select the Action Center icon on the right side of the taskbar. Move the Brightness and color slider to adjust the light levels.
Use Windows 10 Settings
You can also access the brightness slider from Display Settings.
Go to Settings > System. Under Display settings, move the slider for Brightness and color. Note: You can also change the strength of the Night light. Select Night light settings and adjust the Strength with the help of the slider in the next screen.
Use the Windows 10 Mobility Center
The Mobility Center is designed for quick access to common Windows 10 mobile settings. One of those is the Display brightness slider.
Tap the Windows key + X shortcut and select Mobility Center from the menu. Move the Display brightness slider to tweak the laptop screen’s brightness. Tip: You can also open the Mobility Center from the Start menu search and via a right-click on the battery icon.
Use Battery Saver Settings to Adust Brightness Levels Automatically
The Battery saver settings won’t automatically brighten your laptop. But it’s important to know about this automatic adjustment and disable it if necessary for a brighter screen. Windows 10 automatically lowers screen brightness when the battery falls below a certain level. You can change the battery power percentage and thus manage the screen brightness.
Select Windows key + I to open Settings. Go to System > Battery. Select the dropdown for Turn battery saver on automatically at and choose a battery percentage. Enable (or disable) the checkbox for Lower screen brightness while in battery saver.
What Is the Shortcut Key to Adjust Brightness?
Most laptops will have a dedicated key to brighten or dull the screen. The special keys are usually located with the function keys on the top row. Do note the hotkeys can differ on laptops of different makes and even between models from the same manufacturer. Commonly, look for an icon that resembles a sun.
For instance:
On a Dell XPS 13 tap the two brightness keys located with the F11 and F12 keys. You don’t have to activate the Function keys when you tap to adjust the display. A brightness slider on the screen serves as a visual indicator for the level of brightness. On some Lenovo laptops, you must activate the Function keys first. Press Function key + Home to increase the brightness or the Function key + End to decrease brightness.
Refer to your laptop’s manual for the exact keys on the keyboard.
