Night Light Not Working in Windows 11 Fix

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Night Light Not Working in Windows 11 Fix

Night light warms your screen colours in the evening. When it breaks, the toggle is greyed out, it won't switch on at the scheduled time, or the screen stays yellow even when it's off. The fix is almost always a setting, the clock, or the display driver. Here's how to find which.

How Night Light Should Work

According to Microsoft, you control it in Start > Settings > System > Display > Night light:

Turn on now / Turn off now switches it immediately.
Strength sets how warm the colours are.
Schedule night light offers Sunset to sunrise (based on your location) or Set hours (your own times).

You can also toggle it from Quick Settings (press Windows + A).

Step 1: Toggle It and Restart

Turn Night light off and on in Settings, then restart the PC (Start > Power > Restart). A restart reloads the display driver and clears many one-off glitches.

Step 2: Check the Strength

If Night light "turns on" but nothing changes, the Strength slider may be at or near zero. Move it to the middle and look again.

Step 3: Fix the Schedule

Night light turns on at the wrong time, or never:

For Set hours, check the on/off times - a common mistake is swapping AM and PM.
For Sunset to sunrise, Windows needs your location. If that option is greyed out, open Settings > Privacy & security > Location and turn on Location services. If you'd rather not share location, use Set hours instead.

Night light won't turn off: a schedule turns it back on at the set time. Switch Schedule night light off if you want manual control only.

Step 4: Check the Date, Time and Time Zone

The schedule follows your PC clock. If the time zone is wrong, Night light switches at the wrong hour.

Open Settings > Time & language > Date & time.
Turn on Set time automatically and Set time zone automatically (or pick the right time zone).
Select Sync now.

If the clock keeps drifting, see Windows 11 clock shows the wrong time.

Step 5: Night Light Greyed Out - Check the Display Driver

Microsoft notes that Night light may not be available with some drivers, such as DisplayLink or Basic Display, and may be greyed out when the display driver needs updating.

Right-click Start > Device Manager > Display adapters.
If it shows Microsoft Basic Display Adapter, install the real graphics driver from Settings > Windows Update > Advanced options > Optional updates or your PC maker's site. See how to update drivers in Windows 11 the safe way.
If Night light broke right after a driver update, open the adapter's Properties > Driver > Roll Back Driver (if available).

The same missing driver often breaks the brightness slider too - see laptop brightness not working in Windows 11.

Step 6: Monitors on a USB Dock

Monitors connected through some USB docks or USB display adapters use DisplayLink drivers, which may not support Night light. Connecting the monitor straight to the laptop's HDMI, DisplayPort or USB-C video port usually brings it back.

Step 7: Remote Desktop Sessions

When you're connected to a PC through Remote Desktop, you see the colours of the device you're sitting at. Change Night light on the local device, not inside the remote session.

Screen Still Yellow With Night Light Off?

Then Night light isn't the cause. Check:

The monitor's own menu - a "low blue light", "reading" or "warm" colour mode.
The graphics maker's control app (colour or "vibrance" settings).
Laptop maker apps that include an eye-care or colour profile mode.

Still Not Working?

Install all updates in Settings > Windows Update, restart, and test again. If the display also flickers, see laptop screen flickering in Windows 11 - a driver problem may be behind both.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Why is Night light greyed out in Windows 11?

Microsoft says Night light may be unavailable with certain display drivers, such as DisplayLink or the Basic Display driver, or when the display driver needs updating. Install the proper graphics driver and try again.

Why is 'Sunset to sunrise' greyed out?

That schedule needs your location. Turn on location services in Settings > Privacy & security > Location, or use 'Set hours' instead.

Why won't Night light turn off?

Check whether a schedule is turning it back on, then toggle it off in Settings > System > Display > Night light. If the screen stays yellow, a monitor colour mode or a graphics app setting may be the cause.

Does Night light work on an external monitor?

It usually works on monitors connected directly to the graphics card. Monitors on some USB docks that use DisplayLink drivers may not support it.