Most of us spend hours in front of a computer every day. Having the correct screen brightness is one of the best ways to avoid eye strain while working on a PC or any other device that has a display.
On supported PCs, Windows 10 automatically adjusts the screen brightness, but most users disable auto or adaptive screen brightness to manually adjust the brightness level.
Thankfully, Windows 10 offers a couple of easy ways to quickly adjust the screen brightness.
In Windows 10, in addition to hotkeys, you can also use the Settings app as well as the Action Center to adjust screen brightness.
Please note that the following methods may not work on a desktop PC connected to an external monitor. If you are on a desktop computer, please refer to our how to change external monitor screen brightness in Windows 10 guide.
Method 1 of 6
Adjust screen brightness using hotkeys
Almost all notebooks come with dedicated keys to quickly adjust the screen brightness. For instance, on my ThinkPad laptop, Fn + F5/F6 can be used to change the screen brightness.
Have a look at your keyboard to see the brightness symbol on Function keys.
And if the hotkeys are not working, make sure that the display and keyboard drivers are installed.
Method 2 of 6
Use Action Center to display brightness in Windows 10
Step 1: Click on the Action Center icon in the taskbar to reveal the Action Center pane.
Step 2: Recent versions of Windows 10 have a slider at the bottom of the Action Center that you can use to adjust the screen brightness right from the Action Center. Move the slider to change the screen brightness.
Method 3 of 6
Use settings to adjust screen brightness in Windows 10
This is the best way to adjust the correct screen display brightness as you can increase or reduce the brightness one percent at a time.
Step 1: Open the Settings app by clicking on its icon on the left side of the Start menu.
Step 2: In the Settings app, navigate to System > Display page.
Step 3: The Brightness and color section has a slider to adjust the screen brightness of the display. Note that this method applies to the internal or primary monitor only. You can’t use it to change the screen brightness of the external monitor. Refer to how to change the external monitor screen brightness in Windows 10 guide for directions.
Note that the brightness level adjuster might not appear if you’re trying to adjust the screen brightness of a monitor connected to your PC.
Method 4 of 6
Adjust display brightness via Windows Mobility Center
Step 1: Launch Windows Mobility Center by typing the same in the Start/taskbar search field and pressing Enter key.
Step 2: In the Display brightness section, move the slider to the left of the screen to reduce and to the right to increase the screen brightness.
Method 5 of 6
Change screen brightness using keyboard shortcuts
If your laptop does not offer hotkeys to adjust the screen brightness, use the keyboard shortcuts provided by Windows 10 to adjust the brightness. Here is how.
Step 1: Simultaneously press the Windows logo and A keys to open the Action Center.
Step 2: Press Shift and Tab keys (Shift + Tab) to select the brightness slider.
Step 3: Use the left and right arrow keys to adjust the screen brightness.
Method 6 of 6
Use Control Panel to adjust brightness in Windows 10
UPDATE: This method does not work in recent versions of Windows 10
This is the classic way to manually adjust screen brightness in Windows 10.
Step 1: Right-click on the battery icon in the system tray of the taskbar and then click Adjust screen brightness option to open the Power Options window.
Step 2: At the bottom of the screen, you should see the Screen brightness option with a slider. Move the slider towards the left of the screen to reduce the screen brightness and towards the right to increase the brightness.
Let us know if there are additional ways to adjust screen brightness in Windows 10.
admin says
Sorry for the late replay. Looks like the display or graphics driver is not installed on your PC.
crox says
if you can’t find a built in option for a brightness slider you can try Twinkle Tray: github.com/xanderfrangos/twinkle-tray
gavin says
don’t have hotkeys, don’t have brightness tile, don’t have that after instructions, and i don’t have the battery icon.
Smile says
Thankyou notification method is eassy or good my laptop function keys are not working i dont know why….!
Maurie Thompson says
I have a win10 desktop with latest 1903 updates in place. I notice that there are several icons missing from the taskbar notification area including the brightness control, the Sun icon for instance. Can I reinstate these icons somehow?
Can some help please, I am an Octogenarian but not brain dead, just a little slow.
Thankyou MaurieT.
David W says
Thanks, all worked well on my laptop.
A PC with monitor is another story, you must use the hardware knob or whatever on the monitor. The methods above cannot over-ride it.
Isaac Kibirige says
Nothing worked out for me
Fitsum Abrha says
This is great solutions and I thank you!
Karabo-Ken says
Thank you! it was very helpful…
This screen was so bright, I felt like my eyes were being punched..
Again, much appreciated.
Amy says
Thank you
den says
no brightness control – non of the slides adjust the brightness
Hidayat says
respected Sir !
I am continually try all the given way to reduce my system brightness but …………. not effecting
its show 0% brightness but not reducing any Display
Nyirinkindi Jean Baptiste says
Hello?, I can’t see the brightness in all those methods
Liz says
Thanks. Had a small app that allowed me to quickly adjust brightness (for gaming mostly) but when computer crashed & Windows 10 was reinstalled the app had been “eaten” and I could not replace it. Wasn’t used to using function keys but after reading this I looked — and found a quick key combo that works just fine and is faster. Again, thx!
arriane says
my brightness adjustment is not working too, no changes even if you adjust by 0 to 100%.
please help me whats the problem of my laptop.
thanks
Muqaddas says
I used all of above mentioned methods and brightness level increase and decrease but actually brightness remains same
any solution please?
Max Hartzenberg says
This is for laptops.
Anonymouseeeesqueak lmao says
My brightness level shows zero percent but its like 100% its burning my eyes and i cant adjust it someone help me
Bob Price says
My Dell laptop suddenly had brightness issues. I could not solve the problem. I would start up and it would be a dim setting, other times a bright setting. This morning I downloaded updates, went to battery icon, right clicked and there I have an adjust screen brightness setting. There is a slide bar which I previously did not have and it is now working perfectly. I can adjust to any brightness I wish. begs the question why it was not there in the first place.
Nancy says
The only thing that shows on my computer under DISPLAY is night light…so I use this..much easier on eyes..all the other suggestions don’t work as none of those things are found.
Asad says
I tried all four the bar goes plus and minus in brightness but its the same
Jonathan says
Uhm,
This article is written for a laptop.
For all of those users wondering why it is 100% wrong on their computer, it is because they don’t have the same settings.
Might be nice to mention this, Dear Author?
terry norman says
I have tried all 4 of these alternatives and found the brightness percent is 100%. are there anymore suggestions?
Jase says
I’m on Windows 10 but I see none of these things
Julian Howe says
What if I don’t see any of these things?Then what do I do?
Juvawolf says
Thank you! The brightness control at settings didn’t worked and it showed 0% of brightness. I couldn’t remember the hotkeys. Now I know them! And it worked! Right now at least my eyes aren’t burning…
admin says
@ Sam,
Brilliant! I forgot about Mobility Center while compiling the post. Thanks again.
Sam Beckle says
Right-click on the battery icon in system tray of taskbar and then click “Windows Mobility Center” then use the Display brightness slider.