Check power plan settings to ensure brightness levels for battery and plugged-in modes are set correctly and consistently. 2. Disable adaptive brightness in Settings or Power Options to prevent automatic adjustments. 3. Update or reinstall display drivers via Device Manager or download the latest version from the manufacturer’s website. 4. Check for BIOS or firmware updates from your laptop manufacturer, as outdated firmware can disrupt brightness settings. 5. Use the registry editor to create or modify the Enabled DWORD value under the adaptive brightness feature key to ensure the system allows brightness persistence. 6. On work or school PCs, check Group Policy settings or contact IT, as brightness controls may be locked by administrative policies. Most brightness reset issues are resolved by adjusting power plans, disabling adaptive brightness, or updating drivers, and with these steps, Windows 10 can reliably retain display brightness settings.

Windows 10 not saving your display brightness settings can be frustrating — especially when you adjust it to a comfortable level, only to find it reset after a reboot or wake from sleep. This issue is common on laptops and some external monitors, and while it seems like a simple setting, several underlying factors could be causing it. Here’s what’s likely going on and how to fix it.

1. Check Your Power Plan Settings

Windows brightness settings can be overridden by your active power plan. Each power plan (like "Balanced" or "Power Saver") has separate brightness levels for battery and plugged-in modes.

How to fix:

• Press Win I to open Settings.
• Go to System > Power & sleep > Additional power settings.
• Click on Change plan settings next to your selected plan.
• Then click Change advanced power settings.
• Expand Display > Display brightness.
• Make sure the values for On battery and Plugged in are set to your preferred levels.
• Click Apply.

? Sometimes Windows resets these values if the battery level drops or charging status changes. Setting both to the same value can help maintain consistency.

2. Disable Adaptive Brightness

Adaptive brightness automatically adjusts your screen based on ambient light (if your device has a sensor). This feature can override manual brightness adjustments.

How to disable:

• Open Settings > System > Display.
• Turn off "Change brightness automatically when lighting changes".

Alternatively, via Power Options:

• In Advanced power settings, expand Display > Enable adaptive brightness.
• Set both On battery and Plugged in to Disabled.

?? Even if you don’t see a brightness sensor on your laptop, some models still have one or simulate the feature — so it’s worth disabling.

3. Update or Reinstall Display Drivers

Outdated, corrupt, or incompatible graphics drivers (especially Intel, AMD, or NVIDIA) often cause brightness settings not to persist.

Steps to update:

• Press Win X and choose Device Manager.
• Expand Display adapters.
• Right-click your graphics driver (e.g., Intel UHD Graphics) and select Update driver.
• Choose Search automatically for updated driver software.

If that doesn’t help:

• Right-click the driver again and choose Uninstall device.
• Check "Delete the driver software for this device" if available.
• Restart your PC — Windows will reinstall the driver automatically.

? Sometimes Windows Update delivers more stable drivers than the manufacturer’s website. But if the issue persists, try downloading the latest driver from your laptop manufacturer’s support page (e.g., Dell, HP, Lenovo).

4. Check for Firmware or BIOS Updates

Some laptops rely on firmware to manage brightness settings. If the firmware or BIOS is outdated, it may not communicate properly with Windows.

• Visit your laptop manufacturer’s support website.
• Enter your model number and check for BIOS or system firmware updates.
• Follow their instructions carefully to install the update.

?? Updating BIOS carries risk — only do this if you’re confident and your battery is fully charged (for laptops).

5. Registry Fix (Advanced)

In rare cases, a missing or misconfigured registry key can prevent brightness settings from saving.

? Back up your registry first before making changes.

Steps:

• Press Win R, type regedit, and press Enter.
• Navigate to:

  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\FeatureStore\FeatureData\Microsoft.Windows.Device.Display.AdaptiveBrightness\0

• Look for a value named Enabled.
• If it’s missing or set to 0, right-click in the right pane > New > DWORD (32-bit) Value > name it Enabled.
• Set its value to 1.

? This key controls whether adaptive brightness is allowed at the system level. Some clean Windows installs or upgrades miss this entry.

6. Group Policy or Registry Lock (For Work/School PCs)

If you're using a work or school laptop, your brightness settings might be locked by group policy.

• Open Run (Win R), type gpedit.msc (if available), and press Enter.
• Go to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Power Management > Video and Display Settings.
• Check if "Enable display battery savings" or similar is enforced.

? If gpedit.msc isn’t available (Home edition), or you’re on a managed device, contact your IT admin.

Final Thoughts

Most brightness retention issues come down to adaptive brightness, power plan settings, or outdated drivers. Start with the simplest fixes — disable auto-brightness and double-check your power plan — before moving to driver or registry changes.

If none of the above work, consider performing a Windows 10 repair install (in-place upgrade) to refresh system files without losing your data.

Basically, it’s not your imagination — Windows 10 should remember your brightness, and with a little tweaking, it usually can.

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