If you are using Windows 11 or even Windows 10 on a laptop and are having some issues with Adaptive Brightness not working correctly or at all. This article will show you several different things you can do to solve the problem and get everything working again. Normally it doesn’t take too much to solve so work your way through the easy to follow steps.

Related: How to stop the Print Screen Key from opening the Snipping Tool on Windows 11.

Adaptive Brightness is an essential feature of Windows operating systems that automatically adjusts the screen brightness based on ambient lighting conditions. While you would think a feature like this would be foolproof you are wrong! Nothing on Windows is safe from problems! Not even screen brightness! No one is quite sure why this feature random fails yet but it usually gets stuck at either max or minimum brightness and stops adjusting to ambient light changes.

The good news is that the issue is usually (99% chance) a software or update issue so can be fixed without too much drama. Through you will have to run through quite a few different things in order to find exactly what is causing the problem.

Run the Power Troubleshooter Adaptive Brightness Not Working on Windows 11.

The first step is to use the built-in troubleshooter in Windows to diagnose and fix any issues with the Power settings.

  • Type "troubleshoot" in the Windows search bar and press Enter.
  • Select "Additional troubleshooters" and then "Power."
  • Follow the prompts to run the troubleshooter and apply all recommended changes.

How to Fix Adaptive Brightness Not Working on Windows 11

Update Your GPU Drivers Adaptive Brightness Not Working on Windows 11.

Outdated or incompatible graphics drivers can interfere with the functioning of Adaptive Brightness. To fix this, you need to update your GPU drivers.

  • Type "Update" in the Windows search bar and press Enter.
  • Click "Check for updates" and wait for any updates to be installed.
  • If optional updates are available, install them, as this is where driver updates are located.
  • Restart Windows after updating.

Reinstall Your GPU Driver Adaptive Brightness Not Working on Windows 11.

If updating the GPU driver doesn't work, you may need to reinstall it.

  • Right-click on the Start menu and select "Device Manager."
  • Expand the "Display adapters" section.
  • Right-click on your graphics card and select "Uninstall device."
  • Tick the "Delete the driver software for this device" checkbox and click "Uninstall."
  • Restart your system.
  • Use one of the methods described in step 2 to install the latest drivers on Windows.

Tweak Video Playback Settings Adaptive Brightness Not Working on Windows 11.

Sometimes, tweaking the video playback settings can help fix issues with Adaptive Brightness.

  • Click Start and pick "Settings."
  • Go to the "Apps" section.
  • Turn on the "Automatically process video to enhance it" option.
  • If this option is already enabled, try switching it off instead.

Reset Power Plans to Default Adaptive Brightness Not Working on Windows 11.

If the Power Plan settings are incorrect, they can cause Adaptive Brightness to malfunction. To fix this, reset the Power Plans to their default settings.

  • Type "cmd" in the Windows search bar.
  • Right-click on the "Command Prompt" result and select "Run as administrator."
  • Click "Yes" when User Account Control shows up.
  • Copy and paste the following command: "powercfg –restoredefaultschemes"
  • Press Enter and close down Command Prompt.

Adaptive_Brightness_Fix

Disable Adaptive Brightness [Workaround].

If none of the above methods work, you can always disable Adaptive Brightness via the registry as a workaround. However, I recommend backing up the registry database before proceeding with this method.

  • Type "regedit" in the Windows search bar and press Enter.
  • Go to the following location:

Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Intel\Display\igfxcui\profiles\Media\Brighten Movie

  • On the right side, double-click the "ProcAmpBrightness" key and set its value to 0.
  • Next, go to the following location:​​

Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Intel\Display\igfxcui\profiles\Media\Darken Movie

  • Double-click "ProcAmpBrightness" and set its value to 0.