How To Disable Auto-Brightness in Windows 10

Windows laptops and tablets often come with an auto-brightness feature that causes the screen to dim or brighten, dependent on your surrounding lighting conditions. While this function is helpful, it can be problematic, too, leaving you with a screen that is too dark and difficult to view.

If you find this feature frustrating and would like to disable it, this article is for you. In this guide, we discuss how to turn off adaptive brightness in Windows 7, 8, and 10 in a few simple steps.

How To Disable Auto Brightness in Windows 10

A Windows laptop or tablet uses sensors to detect ambient lighting levels. The auto-brightness feature works in conjunction with these sensors to monitor changes in the surrounding lighting and adjust your screen’s brightness accordingly.

The easiest way to disable this function in a Windows 10 computer is through the computer’s settings. This is how you do it:

1. Navigate to the “Start” button and click it.
   
2. Type in “Control Panel,” and when this option comes up, click it.
   
3. Find the “Hardware and Sound” option and select it.
   
4. From the menu that opens, click on “Power Options.”
   
5. In the “Power Options” window, find “Change Plan Settings” to the right of the screen. Click on it.
   
6. From the menu that opens, select “Change Advanced Power Settings.”
   
7. Scroll to the bottom of the window that opens until you see “Display.” Click on the “Plus” icon to the left to open the drop-down menu.
   
8. Below “Enable Adaptive Brightness” click “Setting” and set it to “Off.”
   

The auto-brightness feature is now disabled, and you can navigate back to your home screen.

Not all Windows 10 laptops give the option to disable auto-brightness. In these instances, you can create a new Power Plan to keep your display brightness consistent. Here is how to do this:

1. Click on the “Start” button and navigate to the “Control Panel.”
   
2. Navigate to “Hardware and Sound” and click on it.
   
3. Select “Power Options.”
   
4. In the window that opens, choose “Create a Power Plan” from the left pane.
   
5. Select from the three options available: “Balanced (recommended),” “Power Saver,” and High Performance.”
   
6. Name your new plan and click “Next.”
   
7. Configure this plan to best suit your needs, and when you’re done, click “Create” and close the windows.
   

How To Disable Auto Brightness in the Windows 10 Registry

If you find that disabling the auto-brightness through “Settings” is not working, you can always try manually disabling it through the Registry Editor. Working with the Registry can be tricky, and incorrectly modifying it can lead to serious problems. We suggest you back up the Registry first before proceeding.

This method will permanently disable the auto-brightness feature on your Windows 10 device. Here are the steps to follow:

1. Locate the “Windows” key on your keyboard and press it together with the “R” key. Doing this opens the “Run Command” line.
2. Type in “Regedit” and press “Enter.”
   
3. Navigate to “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Intel\Display\igfxcui\profiles\media\Brighten Movie”.
   
4. In the right-hand panel, locate “ProcAmpBrightness” and right-click on it. From the pop-up menu, choose “Modify.”
   
5. An “Edit String” box will open. Under “Data Value,” type in “0” and then click “Ok.”
   
6. Next, locate “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Intel\Display\igfxcui\profiles\media\Darken Movie” and look for “ProcAmpBrightness.” Right-click it, and select “Modify.”
   
7. In the box that opens, input “0” under “Data Value” and then press “Ok.”
   
8. Exit the Registry and then restart your Windows computer.
   

How To Disable Auto Brightness in Windows 7

Only Windows 7 Professional, Ultimate, and Enterprise support Adaptive Brightness. If you own a device with one of these editions of Windows and you want to disable the auto-brightness, this is the method to follow:

1. Click on the “Start” button and navigate to “Control Panel.”
2. In your “Control Panel,” locate “Hardware and Sound” and select it.
3. From the window, choose “Power Options.”
4. Next to your computer’s currently active plan, on the right-hand side, find “Change Plan Settings” and select it.
5. Choose “Advanced Power Settings.”
6. From the list that pops up, find “Display” and expand this option.
7. Scroll to find the “Enable Adaptive Brightness” option and expand this too.
8. Next to both “On Battery” and “Plugged In,” make sure the setting is switched to “Off.” Close the windows.

How To Disable Auto Brightness in Windows 8

Turning off auto-brightness on a Windows 8 device is relatively straightforward. This is how you go about it:

1. Press “Start” and locate the “Control Panel,” then click on it to open the window.
2. Once in “Control Panel,” choose “Hardware and Sound.”
3. From the menu that opens, select “Power Options.”
4. Under the currently active power plan, to the right of the screen, you will see the option to “Change Plan Settings.” Click on it.
5. In the “Edit Plan Settings” window that opens, select “Change Advanced Plan Settings.”
6. Scroll down to find “Display” and expand it.
7. Expand “Enable Adaptive Brightness.”
8. Two options will appear, “Plugged In” and “On Battery.” Make sure the setting for both of these is switched to “Off.” Auto-brightness is now disabled.

Can you Adjust Auto Brightness with the Windows 10 Camera?

Although it is in the pipeline, Windows 10 has yet to release a function to enable or disable Adaptive Brightness on a webcam or camera. However, you do have the option to adjust the brightness and contrast of your webcam. Here is how you adjust these settings:

1. On your keyboard, locate the “Windows” button and the “I” key. Press these down together. The “Settings” window will then open.
2. From this window, navigate to “Devices” and click on it.
3. In the left pane, locate the “Camera” option and click on it.
4. In the “Camera Settings” window, you will see a list of all the installed cameras. Select the camera you want to adjust.
5. On the next screen, scroll down until you come to sliders that allow you to adjust both “Brightness” and “Contrast.” Move the slider on both options until you are satisfied with the chosen brightness and contrast, and close the window.

Auto Brightness Disabled

Disabling the auto-brightness on your Windows device is relatively straightforward once you know the steps to follow. Stick to the methods in this guide, and soon you will be turning off this feature with ease.

Have you disabled auto-brightness on your Windows device before? Did you use a method similar to those shown in this guide? Let us know in the comments section below.