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How to turn off Adaptive Brightness (change brightness based on content)

Anonymous
2024-11-30T01:48:36+00:00

Hi,

I think this is the name of the feature, though I'm not sure. The brightness of the monitor will change based on the content in focus. If I switch window, it can change (app not in focus will dim). But it can also change when video playback goes through scenes with different brightness. This is really not working for me and I'd like to turn it off

There is an article on MS website

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/change-display-brightness-and-color-in-windows-3f67a2f2-5c65-ceca-778b-5858fc007041

The problem I'm facing is that I can't find any way to turn this off.

  • I don't have Brightness in System -> Display, as in the above article
  • Game Mode is already turned off
  • Some mentioned Asus display has a control over it but I have an Acer monitor
  • Some mentioned HP has control over it but I don't have HP computer

Please help. It has made it impossible for me to work on Windows 11. Thanks

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Settings

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  1. Anonymous
    2024-12-01T14:03:39+00:00

    No, I still don't have Brightness in System -> display.

    I read somewhere before to put CABCOption = 0 under the same key. It did not have any effect (can't remember if I forgot to reboot).

    I installed Acer Display Widget and chose Standard. This disabled the adaptive brightness immediately. However, none of other options will bring it back so this appears to be a separate control.

    I think Microsoft really need to provide easy access to control this behavior. This will drive a lot of people crazy.

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  2. Anonymous
    2024-12-05T08:45:09+00:00

    Hello,

    Thanks for your feedback! So, Acer Display Widget can temporarily disable this Adaptive Brightness settings for your device. We sincerely invite you take some time to send feedback about this problem to Microsoft. To do this, just press the Windows logo key + F to open the Feedback Hub app. The Feedback Hub app lets you tell Microsoft about any problems you run into while using Windows. You can also send suggestions to help Microsoft improve your Windows experience.

    Best Regards,

    William.Y | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

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  3. Anonymous
    2024-12-01T04:50:16+00:00

    Hello redhonker,

    Welcome to the Microsoft Community.

    We noticed that you've posted some similar questions about the brightness settings on your device. Are you still unable to find the brightness settings now? Rota. Y has given you some advice in your prior thread, you can have a check for that.

    The feature you're describing, where the brightness of the monitor changes based on the content in focus, is likely related to the Content Adaptive Brightness Control (CABC) or a similar adaptive brightness feature in Windows 11. To turn off this feature, usually, the first method is to use Windows Settings. But since you mentioned that you cannot find brightness settings, this method may not be suitable for you. We will recommend you try to edit the Registry Editor, to set s Registry Key that disables the CABC feature. The steps are as below:

    • Press Windows + R keys simultaneously to open the Run dialog box. Type regedit and press Enter. If a User Account Control windows pops up, click Yes to continue.
    • Navigate to the following registry path: 
        HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\GraphicsDrivers
    • Right-click anywhere in the right pane and select the New > DWORD (32-bit) Value option.
    • Rename this newly created value to DisableCABC.
    • Double-click DisableCABC and type 1 under Value data.
    • Finally, restart your PC to save the changes.

    Disclaimer: Generally, modifying registry subkeys or work group is intended for advanced users, administrators, and IT Professionals. It can help fix some problems, however, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For further protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click this following link: How to back up and restore the registry in Windows - Microsoft Support 

    This will effectively disable Content Adaptive Brightness Control (CABC) in Windows 11. This way, Content Adaptive Brightness Control will be disabled and the screen brightness and contrast will no longer automatically adjust based on the content displayed. But we must notice that if your issue still persists after editing the Registry, it indicates that your issue is not related to this feature. Perhaps it's some third-party software causing the problem. You can check in Settings - "Installed apps" to try to find some possible applications that can have such feature.

    As a final method, if your issue persists and you cannot find anything useful, try to perform a clean install to get your computer back into a default condition. Please ensure that you backup any important data, including Documents, Pictures, Videos, and more. After that, you can find instructions on how to install Windows 10/11 in the following article by MVP Andre: How to: Perform a Custom Installation of Windows 11 and Windows 10 - Microsoft Community 

    Best Regards,

    William.Y | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

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