How to use Dual screen w/ Extra wide monitor without stretched screen

Hi Shana,

The stretched look happens when Windows is duplicating your laptop screen to an ultrawide at a non‑native aspect ratio. Try to use Extend and set the ultrawide to its native resolution.

Press Windows+P and choose Extend. Open Settings > System > Display. Click Identify so you know which rectangle is the ultrawide, select it, then under Scale and layout set Display resolution to the value marked Recommended. On most ultrawides that will be something like 2560x1080, 3440x1440, 3840x1600, or 5120x1440.

If text looks too small, adjust Scale to 125% or 150%. That changes size but not shape. If it still looks stretched, use the monitor's on‑screen menu and set Aspect to Original or 1:1 and turn off options like Fill or Overscan.

If you try Duplicate, expect the ultrawide to show black bars on the sides at a 16:9 resolution. For normal proportions, Extend with the native resolution is the best approach.

If you share your monitor model and your Windows version, I can give the exact settings to pick.