The dark mode is not a new feature. Microsoft introduced this through a Windows 10 Anniversary update in April 2016. To use it, however, you must have an Activated license. The dark mode in Windows 11 is a more refined version of its predecessor. The process to enable dark mode in Windows 11 is very simple. And what’s more, it’s even easier to switch back to Light mode if you don’t feel like it. I am going to describe the steps below to turn this feature on and off to personalize your desktop.
When Should I Enable Dark Mode
Here are some of the cases where Dark Mode proves useful:
How to Enable Windows 11 Dark Mode
You can enable or disable dark mode on Windows 11 from its Colors Setting. But there are also other ways to achieve the same effect as the dark mode. For this, you can use a dark theme or the high contrast theme.
Change Color Mode to Dark
This is the default method to enable dark mode on Windows 11. Here are the necessary steps: The Windows mode only affects the Taskbar and its components like Start Menu, WinX menu, and so on. And the App mode affects all apps’ and features’ windows. But some third-party apps have their own color scheme that overrules such settings. You can also change the color scheme and transparency options in the Colors settings. The process to turn off Dark mode is the same as above. You just need to set the drop-down box to Light.
Customize Dark Theme
You can also set darker background and lighter icons and texts using a dark theme. So, for all intents and purposes, you can consider it as a method to enable dark mode. Here’s how you can set a dark theme on Windows 11:
Enable Contrast Theme
A Contrast theme uses limited colors to set up the interface. It’s like setting up dark mode, but with very high contrast. You can’t choose transparency options with such themes, so it may not suit everyone’s taste. But you can still try it out using the steps below:
Can’t Enable Dark Mode in Windows 11
Here are the possible solutions you need to carry out if you can’t enable dark mode on Windows 11.
Change Group Policy Settings
You can’t enable dark mode or change themes if there are restrictions in your policy settings. Follow the steps below to check and revert the relevant policies: Restart the PC and check if you can enable Dark Mode this time.
Enable Dark Mode from Registry
If you haven’t activated your Windows, you can only enable dark mode from your registry. It doesn’t change your theme but allows you to switch the color mode for your system and apps. Here’s how you can enable dark mode using the Registry Editor:
Which apps are affected by dark mode?
Since this is an OS-wide feature, dark mode affects all the apps that come in default with Windows 11. Even the ones that you install later will change their color scheme to match that of dark mode.
Can I configure dark mode for individual apps?
Only if the app supports it. Most apps are designed to work with whatever mode the OS provides. Newer apps have the option to switch between light and dark mode regardless of what mode Windows 11 is on.
Is dark mode better for eyes?
With dark mode enabled the contrast between the text and the background increases. This reduces the strain on the eyes and thus makes it easier to read. The dark mode is ideal for prolonged screen exposure under low light conditions. But, dark mode increases eye fatigue under bright light conditions. The text also appears washed out. This makes it more difficult to read long pieces of content or text and thus increases eye strain specially on the dark.In short, the dark mode does have health benefits for the eyes. But, we need to switch to light mode depending on the lighting conditions. The best option is to set up the night light option and adjust the strength to your liking.
Does dark mode consume more battery?
If you have an OLED screen, enabling dark mode saves more battery than light mode. OLED technology lights up each pixel and the black pixels aren’t lit up at all. This means reduced battery consumption, resulting in longer battery life. This has a positive impact on the environment as well. Now having said that, most laptops and monitors don’t have an OLED screen. Instead, they use LCD screens which use the same amount of power for both light and dark pixels. This still means that dark mode has no effect on battery consumption on your Windows 11 machine. . And this is a good thing even if you are only interested in design aesthetics.
Does Dark Mode Affect System Performance and Power Usage?
As far as System Performance goes, your color mode has no impact on it. But if we are talking about Power Usage, Dark Mode does decrease power usage for OLED Monitors. On OLED monitors, the dark pixels remain Off, so only the light pixels consume any power. But for LCD or backlit LED screens, a full-screen light source in the background lights up all pixels. So, the energy usage remains the same regardless of the color mode.
Is dark mode affecting my productivity?
In recent days, most of the dark mode users have increasingly accused the feature responsible for affecting productivity. But there is no right answer to this. Cause it usually depends on the type of work you are doing and the lighting condition of your office. If your job demands you to stare at the long list of words and numbers for hours, there might be a slight chance dark mode is affecting your eyes and hence your productivity. Otherwise, you are completely fine. Also, there is always the fact that, once dark mode is on we are less conscious of our screen time. Thus we spend hours doing nothing but staring at the screen.
