There have been several instances of users reporting that their screens dim down while playing games on Windows 11/10. If you, too, are among those who have encountered this problem, then this article is for you. Today, we will discuss what may cause this problem to occur and how it can be resolved.
What causes the screen to dim while playing games in Windows?
There are several factors that can cause your monitor’s brightness to lower down during gameplay in Windows 10 like default-enabled auto-dimming settings, your power saver settings – or it could be a damaged GPU. Certain monitors have a pre-enabled auto-dimming feature in them, which adjusts the brightness of the monitors based on the surrounding lights and the environment in which the desktop is situated. On similar lines to this monitor feature, are Windows 10’s brightness adjustment settings. Much like the brightness adjustments in a monitor, these too seek to adjust your screen’s brightness so as to allow you a convenient and strain-free viewing experience. Think of these features like the ones we get to see in almost all smartphones these days. Another reason behind these screen dimming issues can be the power-saving settings that you have enabled on your PC. Most power-saving involves automatic deduction in a monitor’s brightness levels so as to make the battery backup last for long. This too, thankfully, can be easily reverted back. Other relevant factors are your graphic card’s configurations and probable outdated Windows 10 drivers. All these issues have been looked into and solved in the workarounds we will be discussing below.
Fix Screen dims when playing games on PC
If your screen to dim while playing games in Windows 11/10, try the following suggestions:
1] Disable Adaptive Brightness
If your power-saving settings are really at play here, what you can do is disable the adaptive brightness feature from the Control Panel. Here is how you can do that: Open your Control Panel and visit the Power options. In order to find the Power options easily, make sure that you have the options viewing setting enabled to Large Icons. Then, click on Change plan settings and further head over to Change advance settings. From the list of options that come under the umbrella of advanced settings, look for Enable Adaptive Brightness. Select that option and toggle it off to make sure your PC doesn’t make automatically adjust your monitor’s brightness to adjust it with the surroundings. Read: Why does laptop display dim automatically?
2] Install pending Windows driver updates
It is a very likely possibility for outdated and incompatible drivers to cause this error. Drivers that haven’t been updated can cause all kinds of issues, including the one under discussion here. What is key here is that you have all the latest, up-to-date drivers for your display installed, since our issue directly stems from that. There are a couple of ways for you to check for and eventually download the latest driver updates. One is via the Windows Optional & Driver Updates and, second, through the Device Manager. Open your Windows settings by pressing the Windows + ‘I’ key combination or searching for them from the start menu. Select Updates and Security and from the Windows Updates option on the left, you can check if there are any driver updates available for your computer. To accomplish the same task via the Device Manager, you just have to search for the Device Manager in the Start Menu. Here, look for Network adapters and double-tap on it. Now, verify your relevant display adapter. Right-click on that display adapter and click on ‘Update Driver‘. You will then be asked where the updated driver is to be searched for, followed by a couple more steps. Just follow through, reboot your PC and check if the screen continues to dim while playing games. You may not be able to successfully download the relevant drivers from here, in which case you will have to do so by visiting your computer manufacturer’s website. Read: Windows 10 Brightness Control not working or changes automatically.
3] Rollback or Reinstall your Display driver
Sometimes, while installing a Windows driver update, the download can get corrupted. This may lead to issues such as a dimmed screen while playing games. In this case, what you should do is uninstall and then download the latest driver for your display adapter. You may not have to uninstall it if your display adapter allows you to roll back the driver. In order to check if it does, follow the steps below: Open the Device Manager and click on the Display adapters. Then, right-click on the current display adapter and select Properties.
From the tabs available on the top, click on Driver and click on Roll Back Driver if the option isn’t greyed out.
In case it is greyed out, click on the same Display adapter that you have running on your system and uninstall it.
Now, visit the device manufacturer’s website and install the latest driver compatible with youDisplayr system’s build. Read: Windows computer screen brightness flickering or flashing.
4] Disable Night light mode and Game Bar
Folks have reported that disabling Night light mode and Game Bar has helped them. Try it and see. Open your Windows settings and select System. From the Display settings, toggle the Night Light option off if you have it enabled.
Similarly, in order to turn Game Bar off, visit the settings homepage and select Gaming. From there, in Xbox Game Bar, you’ll see the option to disable it upfront. Toggle it off, close settings, and check if the issue has been resolved.
These are some of the measures you can take if you ever find yourself in a scenario where your Windows 10 computer’s screen dims while playing games. We hope that one of these solutions was able to fix your issue.
