Brightness

The missing brightness control depends on the display type: use the monitor’s physical controls for an external screen, or repair the graphics driver if this is a laptop’s built-in screen.

If this is an external monitor

Windows 11 commonly does not show its Brightness slider for external monitors connected to a desktop or laptop. Use the monitor’s buttons or on-screen menu to adjust Brightness instead. ^1^

If this is the laptop’s built-in screen

Since the slider is completely absent and the keyboard/Quick Settings controls do not work, install the correct graphics driver:

1. Open Settings > Windows Update > Advanced options > Optional updates.
2. Open Driver updates, if shown.
3. Select available display/graphics drivers, choose Download and install, and then restart the PC. Optional drivers are not installed automatically. ^2^
4. After restarting, check Settings > System > Display for the Brightness control.

If no graphics driver is offered:

1. Right-click Start and open Device Manager.
2. Expand Display adapters.
3. Right-click the graphics adapter and select Update driver.
4. If it is listed as Microsoft Basic Display Adapter, or updating does not restore the slider, download and install the graphics driver provided for your exact PC model from the laptop manufacturer’s support site. A case matching a missing Windows 11 brightness slider recommends restoring the correct manufacturer driver when Windows is using the Basic Display Adapter. ^3^
5. Restart and check Settings > System > Display again.

If the correct driver is already installed

Reinstall it through Device Manager:

1. Download the correct graphics driver from the PC manufacturer first.
2. Open Device Manager > Display adapters.
3. Right-click the adapter and select Properties > Driver > Uninstall Device.
4. Select Attempt to remove the driver for this device, if available, and choose OK.
5. Restart the PC; Windows will attempt to reinstall the display driver.
6. Install the manufacturer’s downloaded driver if Windows does not restore the correct one. Administrator privileges are required to uninstall a device or driver package. ^4^

If this began immediately after a display-driver update, use Device Manager > Display adapters > adapter Properties > Driver > Roll Back Driver, and restart. The option is unavailable when Windows has no previous driver stored. ^4^

References

1. [Windows 11](https://support.microsoft.com/windows/hardware/display-graphics/change-display-brightness-and-color-in-windows#adjust-display-brightness)
2. [Windows 11](https://support.microsoft.com/windows/hardware/drivers/automatically-get-recommended-and-updated-hardware-drivers#summary)
3. How to fix Brightness and Night Light not working issue on Windows 11 - Microsoft Q&A
4. [Windows 11](https://support.microsoft.com/windows/hardware/display-graphics/troubleshoot-screen-flickering-in-windows#fix-your-display-driver)