Night light not working in Windows 11: how to fix it

Applies to: Windows 11 laptops, tablets and desktop PCs. This guide covers a grayed-out toggle, a schedule that never kicks in, Night light with no visible effect and a warm tint that won’t go away. If the problem is screen brightness rather than color, see brightness not working in Windows 11.

Match your symptom

What you see	Likely cause	Go to
Night light is on, but the screen looks the same	Strength set low, or the monitor overrides color	Fix 1, Fix 4
The Night light toggle is grayed out	A driver that doesn’t support Night light	Fix 2
Night light never turns on in the evening	Schedule off, wrong clock or no location	Fix 3
Only one of two screens turns warm	The second screen runs through a dock or adapter	Fix 2, Fix 4
The screen stays yellow during the day	Schedule hours, or the monitor’s own filter	Fix 5
It stopped working after an update	A new display driver or update	Fix 6, Known issues

Fix 1: Turn it on and raise the strength

Start by confirming the feature is actually on, from both places Windows offers. Microsoft’s brightness and color page describes them:

1. Select the network or speaker icon on the right side of the taskbar, scroll the quick settings panel if needed, and select Night light.
2. Or open Settings > System > Display and turn on Night light.
3. Select Night light itself (not just the switch) to open its page, and move the Strength slider. Microsoft says this slider sets how much blue light is reduced.

A low strength value can make Night light look like it does nothing, especially in a bright room. Push the slider well to the right for a moment; if the screen turns orange, the feature works, and you can bring it back to a level you like. If the switch won’t move at all, go to Fix 2. A quick restart is also worth one try before going further, since it reloads the display driver.

Fix 2: The Night light toggle is grayed out

A grayed-out switch means Windows can’t apply Night light to your display. Microsoft states that Night light isn’t available if your device uses certain drivers, like DisplayLink or Basic Display, and recommends updating the display driver when the toggle is unavailable.

DisplayLink is used by many USB docks and USB display adapters. If your screen is plugged into one, try connecting it directly to the HDMI, DisplayPort or USB-C video port on the PC instead, if it has one. For the PC’s own graphics, check the driver:

1. Right-click Start and select Device Manager.
2. Expand Display adapters and read the name. If it says Microsoft Basic Display Adapter, or shows a yellow warning icon, the proper graphics driver isn’t loaded.
3. Right-click the adapter, select Update driver, then choose the option to search automatically.
4. Restart and look at the Night light switch again.

If Windows finds nothing, download the driver from your PC or laptop maker’s support page, or from the graphics chip maker. Our guides on how to check what graphics card you have and how to update drivers in Windows 11 walk through both. On a remote desktop session or a virtual machine, the display usually runs on a generic driver, so the switch may stay unavailable there; that’s our reasoning based on Microsoft’s driver note, not a separate Microsoft statement.

Fix 3: Night light doesn’t start on schedule

Turning Night light on by hand and having it start at night are separate settings. On the Night light page, Microsoft lists a Schedule night light switch with two choices:

• Sunset to sunrise follows the local sunset and sunrise times.
• Set hours lets you type your own on and off times.

If the schedule switch is off, Night light only runs when you turn it on yourself. With it on, work through these checks:

1. Check the clock and time zone. A schedule depends on the PC knowing the right time. Open Settings > Time & language > Date & time and confirm the time and zone. If the clock keeps drifting, see Windows time not syncing.
2. Check location for Sunset to sunrise. Microsoft’s Night light page doesn’t say how Windows works out sunset, but sunset times depend on where you are, so location is a reasonable thing to check. Go to Settings > Privacy & security > Location and turn on Location services. Microsoft’s location and privacy page says an administrator controls that setting and that you can set a Default location for when a more exact one can’t be found. The same page says that if you aren’t an administrator on the device, you won’t see the Location services setting, so sign in with an admin account if it’s missing.
3. Switch to Set hours. If you’d rather not use location at all, pick Set hours and enter fixed times. It doesn’t rely on knowing where you are.
4. Toggle the schedule off and on. Turning Schedule night light off, then on again, makes Windows reapply it. This is a general troubleshooting step, not one from Microsoft’s page.

If the PC was asleep or switched off when the start time passed, give it a moment after you wake it before deciding the schedule failed.

Fix 4: Night light is on but nothing changes

If the switch says on and the strength is high but colors look the same, something else is likely controlling color on that screen:

• Monitor picture modes. Many external monitors have their own color presets, game modes or reading modes. Some of these can mask or replace what Windows sends. Try the monitor’s standard preset from its on-screen menu. Settings vary by model and aren’t covered on Microsoft’s page.
• Graphics control panel color settings. Intel, AMD and NVIDIA control apps let you change color, gamma or digital vibrance. If you’ve changed these, reset them to default, then try Night light again.
• Other blue light apps. A third-party screen filter running at the same time can fight with Night light. Close or uninstall it while you test.
• A screen on a dock. If only one of two screens changes, the other may be connected through DisplayLink; see Fix 2.

HDR can also change how Night light looks on supported screens. If you’ve turned on HDR under Settings > System > Display and Night light seems weaker, try once with HDR off to compare. That’s a test to narrow things down, not a documented limit.

Fix 5: The screen stays warm or yellow

When the tint won’t go away, first rule out Night light itself, then look elsewhere:

1. Open the Night light page and select Turn off now. If the screen returns to normal, the feature was simply on.
2. If it keeps coming back, check Schedule night light. With Set hours, make sure the off time is correct and isn’t set earlier than you expect. With Sunset to sunrise, a wrong time zone or location can shift the hours, so check Fix 3.
3. If Night light is off and the screen is still warm, the tint is coming from somewhere else. Check the monitor’s low blue light or eye care mode, the graphics control panel color settings and any filter app from Fix 4.

Laptop makers sometimes add their own eye comfort or color profile tools. If yours has one, check its settings too; names and options differ by brand.

Fix 6: It broke after an update

If Night light worked until a recent driver or Windows update, the display driver is a good place to start. In Device Manager, right-click the display adapter, select Properties, open the Driver tab and select Roll Back Driver if it’s available. You need an administrator account, and the screen may go blank briefly, so save your work first.

If there’s nothing to roll back, select Uninstall device in the same menu, restart, and let Windows reinstall the driver. Then install the current driver from your PC maker if Windows only puts back the basic one. Our driver update guide covers when to update and when to hold back.

Some guides suggest deleting Night light registry keys to reset the feature. Microsoft’s Night light page doesn’t mention this, so we don’t recommend it; if you try it anyway, back up the registry first.

Known issues

As of November 2026, Microsoft’s Windows 11, version 25H2 known issues and notifications page, last updated on November 11, 2026, lists no issue with Night light, display color or display drivers.

If Night light stopped after a monthly update and none of the fixes help, check that page again, since Microsoft adds issues as they’re confirmed.

Related guides

• Brightness not working in Windows 11: how to fix it
• How to update drivers in Windows 11 (and when not to)
• How to check what graphics card you have in Windows 11
• Windows time not syncing? How to fix the clock in Windows 11 and 10

Official sources

• Microsoft: Change display brightness and color in Windows
• Microsoft: Windows location service and privacy
• Microsoft: Windows 11, version 25H2 known issues and notifications