Constant exposure to blue light from electronic devices can cause visual problems and ruin your sleep patterns. On Windows 10, the Night Light feature prevents digital eye strain and improves sleep quality by reducing the blue light emission from your computer display.
Despite the benefits, there are times when the feature does not work properly. If you are on this page because Windows 10 Night Light is not working on your Windows 10 computer, try the possible solutions mentioned below.
Table of Contents
1. Check the night light schedule
If you’ve configured Windows to activate Night Light automatically, but it doesn’t, check your Night Light schedule settings and confirm the hours. Go to Settings † System † Display and click Night light settings†
If you choose the preset Windows schedule “Sunset to sunrise”, it means that the nightlight will turn on at 7:30 PM every day and turn off again at 6:30 AM in the morning. If you choose to set your own custom hours, make sure to enter the correct time in the appropriate boxes.
2. Adjust the strength of the night light
Does your screen look the same after turning on Windows 10 Night Light? Does Windows not display a warm color when you turn on Night Light?
That may be because you have reduced the strength of the Night Light to the minimum. Go to Settings † System † Display † Night light settings and move the power slider to the right to increase the intensity of the warm color.
3. Enable Location Services
Night Light is one of many Windows features that require location access to work optimally. If the “Sunset to sunrise” scheduling option is grayed out, it’s probably because location access is disabled on your PC.
Go to Settings † Privacy † Place to check your device’s location settings. Click on the Change button and turn on Location access for this device†
Scroll to the “Allow apps to access your location” section and enable the option.
Return to the Night Light settings menu and check if you can use the “Sunrise to Sunset” schedule.
4. Check the date and time settings
A lot can go wrong on your computer if the date, time, or time zone settings are incorrect. Your browser may not be able to load certain web pages, Microsoft Store may not download apps, and so on. Other Windows apps and features (for example, Night Light) may also not work properly if your PC’s date and time settings are incorrect.
To prevent this from happening, go to Settings † Time & Language † Date Time and enable these two options: Set time automatically and Set time zone automatically†
Then click on the Sync now button in the “Synchronize your clock” section. That will activate your computer to get accurate date and time information from the Windows Time Server.
5. Restart your computer
If the problem is due to a temporary glitch with your operating system, restarting your computer can help bring Night Light back to normal. Before restarting your device, try logging out of your profile/account and logging back in: press the Windows button, click your profile icon and select Sign out† Restart your computer if Windows 10 Night Light still doesn’t work when you sign in again.
6. Update or reinstall the display driver
You may experience problems using Night Light if your computer’s graphics/display driver is outdated, broken, or has bugs. If the problem persists after trying the above recommendations, update or reinstall your graphics/display drive†
Remark: Windows 10 Night Light will not work on devices that use a DisplayLink graphics driver or Microsoft’s Basic Display driver. If you are using one of these drivers, visit your PC manufacturer’s website to download another graphics driver.
Right-click the Start menu icon (or press the Windows key + X) and select Device Manager in the Quick access menu.
Expand the Display adapters section, right-click on the graphics driver and select Update driver†
Click Automatically search for updated driver software†
Windows will scan your computer and the Internet for an updated version of your graphics driver. If Windows does not find an available update, go back to Device Manager and uninstall the graphics driver.
Don’t worry, you won’t break anything on your computer; Windows will automatically reinstall a clean, error-free copy of the driver when you restart your PC.
Right click on the driver and select Remove device†
Leave the option “Uninstall the driver software for this device” unchecked and click remove†
Restart your computer when prompted. Before clicking Yes, make sure to close all running programs so that you lose any unsaved data.
7. Reset Windows 10 Night Light Settings
Is the Night Light option grayed out in the action center and Windows settings? Have you tried all possible solutions but to no avail? Go to the Windows registry and reset the Night Light functionality.
Remark: The Windows registry is a database of sensitive files and settings. Corrupting a registry file can damage the Windows operating system and cause your computer to malfunction. That’s why it’s important to back up the registry before trying to make any changes to the registry. Consult this guide on how to backup and restore the Windows registry†
Launch the Windows Run window (Windows key + R), type regedit in the dialog box and click Okay†
Paste this path below into the address bar of the Registry Editor and press Enter†
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\CloudStore\Store\DefaultAccount\Cloud
Find and delete these two subfolders in the left sidebar: $$windows.data.bluelightreduction.bluelightreductionstate and $$windows.data.bluelightreduction.settings†
Right click on the folder(s) and select remove†
Close the Registry Editor and restart your computer.
8.Update Windows
Apparently there is one known bug in version 1903 of Windows 10 causing the night light to malfunction. Type winner in the Windows search bar and press Enter to check the Windows version installed on your device.
If you are using version 1903 (or older), go to Settings † Update & Security † Windows Update to update your computer.
Even if you are not using version 1903, you will still need to install an official update available in the settings menu. Keeping your computer up to date at all times can improve performance and fix other hidden issues.
Keep your eyes protected
If Windows 10 Night Light won’t turn off, your screen won’t warm up when it’s activated, or will come on randomly when it’s not supposed to, these troubleshooting techniques should get the feature working properly again.
