Prerequisites and compatibility
- Sign in with an administrator account before changing drivers or system services.
- Connect a laptop to AC power before installing a graphics driver.
- If you use multiple monitors, test the built-in display or a directly connected monitor first. Docking stations, DisplayLink adapters, remote-desktop sessions, and monitor-specific blue-light modes can change the result.
- Night Light is a Windows display-color feature; it does not have a separate “Night Light” service that should be manually enabled. The important components are the graphics driver and, for the sunset-based schedule, Windows Location services.
- If the Night Light switch is unavailable or grayed out, treat the display driver as the primary suspect.
Primary procedure
- Turn Night Light off, then back on, and raise its strength.
Windows 11
- Select Start > Settings > System > Display.
- Under Brightness & color, turn Night light Off.
- Wait 10 seconds, then turn Night light On.
- Select the > arrow beside Night light.
- Move the Strength slider to at least 50 for testing.
Windows 10
- Select Start > Settings > System > Display.
- Turn Night light Off.
- Wait 10 seconds, then turn it On.
- Select Night light settings.
- Set the Strength slider to at least 50.
Expected result: the screen should immediately take on a warmer, amber tint. If the effect is subtle, increase Strength temporarily to 80 or 100 to confirm that it is working.
- Disable the schedule while testing.
A schedule can make Night Light appear broken when it is actually waiting for its configured start time.
Windows 11
- Go to Settings > System > Display > Night light.
- Turn Schedule night light Off.
- Turn Night light on manually.
Windows 10
- Go to Settings > System > Display > Night light settings.
- Turn Schedule night light Off.
- Turn Night light on manually.
Expected result: Night Light should remain enabled. If it works manually, proceed to Step 3 to repair scheduling rather than reinstalling a driver immediately.
- Correct the schedule and Location settings if Sunset to sunrise does not work.
The Sunset to sunrise option needs Windows to determine the device’s location. If Location services are disabled, use a fixed schedule or enable location.
Windows 11
- Open Settings > Privacy & security > Location.
- Turn Location services On.
- If shown, turn Let apps access your location On.
- Return to Settings > System > Display > Night light.
- Turn Schedule night light On.
- Select either:
- Sunset to sunrise, or
- Set hours, then choose the exact Turn on and Turn off times.
Windows 10
- Open Settings > Privacy > Location.
- Under Allow access to location on this device, select Change and turn location access On.
- Turn Allow apps to access your location On.
- Return to Settings > System > Display > Night light settings.
- Turn Schedule night light On.
- Select either:
- Sunset to sunrise, or
- Set hours, then set the start and end times.
Expected result: With Sunset to sunrise selected, Windows displays local sunset and sunrise times. If it does not, use Set hours instead; this avoids dependence on location.
- Restart the graphics driver without uninstalling anything.
Press Windows logo key + Ctrl + Shift + B once.
The display may flicker briefly and you may hear a beep. This restarts the graphics subsystem without restarting Windows.
Expected result: Turn Night Light on again after the screen redraws. If it now works, restart the PC once and test again. - Check whether Windows is using a proper graphics driver.
- Right-click Start and select Device Manager.
- Expand Display adapters.
- Look for these warning signs:
- A yellow warning icon on the display adapter.
- Microsoft Basic Display Adapter instead of Intel, AMD, or NVIDIA hardware.
- An adapter marked Disabled.
- Right-click the graphics adapter and select Properties.
- On the General tab, confirm that Device status reports that the device is working properly.
- On the Driver tab, note the Driver Provider, Driver Date, and Driver Version.
Expected result: Your active adapter should normally be identified as Intel, AMD, NVIDIA, or your PC manufacturer’s display hardware. Microsoft Basic Display Adapter generally means Windows is using a fallback driver, which can prevent features such as Night Light from working correctly.
- Install pending Windows updates, including optional driver updates.
Windows 11
- Open Settings > Windows Update.
- Select Check for updates.
- Install available updates and restart if prompted.
- Return to Windows Update > Advanced options > Optional updates.
- Open Driver updates and install a graphics driver only if one is offered for your hardware.
- Restart the PC.
Windows 10
- Open Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update.
- Select Check for updates.
- Install available updates and restart if prompted.
- Select View optional updates, if present.
- Open Driver updates and install the graphics driver offered for your device.
- Restart the PC.
Expected result: After restart, Night Light should be selectable and should apply a visible warmer color when turned on.
- Update the graphics driver from the PC manufacturer if the issue remains.
For laptops and prebuilt desktops, use the graphics driver supplied for your exact PC model by the computer manufacturer. This is often safer than using a generic driver directly from Intel, AMD, or NVIDIA because manufacturer packages can include hardware-specific display, hybrid-graphics, and color settings. - In Device Manager > Display adapters, identify the graphics adapter.
- Record the PC manufacturer and exact model. To find the model, press Windows logo key + R, type the following command, and select OK:
msinfo32 - In System Information, note System Manufacturer and System Model.
- Download the recommended graphics driver for that exact model from the manufacturer’s support page.
- Close open applications and run the driver installer.
- Restart when the installer requests it, or restart manually when it finishes.
- Repeat Step 1.
Warning: do not uninstall the active display adapter as the first driver step. A bad or incomplete driver removal can reduce display resolution, disconnect external monitors, or leave the PC temporarily using the Microsoft Basic Display Adapter. Update or install the correct manufacturer driver first.
Verification of success
Use this short test after any repair:
- Open Settings > System > Display.
- Turn Night light on.
- Open its settings and set Strength to 80.
- Confirm that the screen becomes visibly warmer within a few seconds.
- Turn Night Light off and confirm that normal color returns.
- If you use scheduling, select Set hours and choose a start time two minutes ahead. Wait for the time to pass and confirm that Night Light turns on automatically.
Once confirmed, set Strength to a comfortable value and restore your preferred schedule.
Alternate method: roll back a newly installed graphics driver
Use this only if Night Light stopped working immediately after a graphics-driver update and it worked correctly with the previous driver.
- Right-click Start and select Device Manager.
- Expand Display adapters.
- Right-click the active Intel, AMD, or NVIDIA adapter and select Properties.
- Open the Driver tab.
- Select Roll Back Driver.
- Choose the reason that best matches the problem and select Yes.
- Restart the PC.
- Test Night Light again using the verification steps above.
Rollback: If the older driver causes screen artifacts, poor performance, missing displays, or other problems, install the current graphics package supplied by your PC manufacturer. If Roll Back Driver is unavailable, Windows has no previous driver package to restore; use the manufacturer-driver installation method instead.
Troubleshooting and escalation
The Night Light switch is grayed out
This most often indicates a display-driver limitation or a fallback driver.
- Open Device Manager > Display adapters.
- If you see Microsoft Basic Display Adapter, install the proper graphics driver from the PC manufacturer and restart.
- If the adapter has a yellow warning icon, open Properties > General and record the device error code before updating or reinstalling the driver.
- If this is a work or school PC, a device-management policy may be restricting display settings. Contact the organization’s IT administrator rather than changing policies or registry values.
Night Light turns on but the screen color does not change
- Set Strength to 100 temporarily.
- Disconnect or bypass a docking station, USB display adapter, or DisplayLink device if possible.
- Test the laptop’s built-in panel or a monitor directly connected to HDMI, DisplayPort, or USB-C video output.
- Turn off third-party display-control or color utilities temporarily, including GPU color profiles, monitor-management tools, blue-light filter software, and calibration applications.
- If you use HDR, go to Settings > System > Display, select the affected display, turn Use HDR off for the test, then test Night Light again. Re-enable HDR afterward if you need it.
If Night Light works on one display but not another, the issue is usually with that monitor’s connection, dock, adapter, driver, or color-management path rather than the Night Light schedule.
Night Light works manually but will not follow Sunset to sunrise
- Confirm Location services is on.
- Confirm Windows has the correct time, date, and time zone:
- Windows 11: Settings > Time & language > Date & time
- Windows 10: Settings > Time & Language > Date & time
- Turn on Set time automatically and Set time zone automatically if appropriate for your device.
- Restart Windows after enabling Location services.
- Use Set hours if location is unavailable, blocked by your organization, or inaccurate.
The Geolocation Service is disabled
Windows normally starts the location components when needed; it is not necessary for the service to remain running all the time. Check it only when the sunset schedule cannot obtain local times.
- Press Windows logo key + R.
- Type:
services.msc - Select OK.
- Find Geolocation Service.
- Open it and check Startup type.
Warning: changing service configuration can affect Windows location-based features, including automatic time-zone detection and Find my device. Do not disable unrelated services or change startup settings simply to fix a display-color issue.
If Startup type is Disabled, set it to Manual, select Apply, then select Start if the button is available. Restart the PC and test Sunset to sunrise again.
Rollback: Return to services.msc, open Geolocation Service, and restore its previous startup setting if enabling it does not resolve the problem or conflicts with an organization’s device policy.
Night Light broke after a driver installation and rollback is unavailable
Install the graphics driver package supplied by the PC manufacturer. If the screen becomes unusable after a driver update, start Windows in Safe Mode, then install the known-good manufacturer package or use Device Manager > Display adapters > Properties > Driver > Roll Back Driver if it becomes available. Avoid registry “Night Light reset” downloads and driver-cleaner utilities for this issue; they are unnecessary for most cases and can create a larger display problem than the original symptom.
References
- Official source: learn.microsoft.com
- Official source: support.microsoft.com
Change display brightness and color in Windows | Microsoft Support
Learn how to change display brightness and color in Windows.support.microsoft.com - Official source: learn.microsoft.com
How to rollback an update? - Microsoft Q&A
I just updated a nVidia display driver via Vista Update, but after that I got blue screens frequently. How can I rollback this update since I can hardly find the original driver. Thanks in advance.learn.microsoft.com - Official source: support.microsoft.com
How to use the Windows Camera app | Microsoft Support
Using a camera or webcam, take pictures, take videos, scan codes, scan documents, and scan whiteboards with the Windows Camera app. QR codes or barcodes can be scanned when scanning codes.support.microsoft.com
