Many of the most popular apps and operating systems these days offer a dark mode. They usually change the background colors from white to black, which makes it easier on your eyes.
Microsoft finally added dark mode to Windows 10 in 2019, and of course the feature made it into Windows 11. The feature is relatively limited, but third-party software makes it much more powerful. Here’s everything you need to know.
How to Enable Dark Mode in Windows 11
Enabling dark mode in Windows 11 is very simple:
- Open settings
- Head to Personalization > Colors
- Click the drop-down menu next to “Choose your mode” and select one of “Light”, “Dark” or “Custom”.
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- If you choose the latter, select a default “Windows mode” (for things like the Start menu and taskbar) and an “Application mode”
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Underneath, you can also set a custom accent color from a wide range of options.
Any changes you make will be saved automatically and applied immediately, so you can try out all the options and see what works for you.
How to Schedule Dark Mode in Windows 11
By default, Windows 11 only lets you turn dark mode on or off. This means there is no option for it to be set to activate on a schedule, such as when bedtime is approaching.
To do this, you will need to download a third-party app, specifically Auto Dark Mode. Here’s how to set it up:
- Go to the Microsoft Store and download “Auto Dark Mode”. Alternatively, it is available via GitHub
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- Once installed, open the app. The “Time” section should already be selected, but click on it if it isn’t
- Instead of “Disabled”, choose one of the other three options
- For “Set custom times”, manually select start times for light and dark mode below
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- For “Sunset to sunrise”, you will be prompted to allow “Let apps access your location” and “Let desktop apps access your location” in the settings. This will be regularly updated to ensure the times are accurate
Anyron Copeman / Foundry
- Alternatively, “Sunset to Sunrise (geographic coordinates)” means you can enter specific latitude and longitude coordinates without having to keep your location data turned on. Coordinates for any location are available via Google Maps or Apple Maps. You can even compensate for this by activating it a certain number of minutes earlier or later.
Anyron Copeman / Foundry
As with system settings, all changes are saved automatically.