Auto HDR not working in Windows 11? Try these fixes

June 2024 · 8 minute read
What to do if Auto HDR not working Windows 11

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  • There is no reason to deny that Windows 11 has improved upon its predecessor in several key ways. 

    One of the features worthy of your attention is Auto HDR, which enables your PC to apply similar brightness boosting, color emboldening effects as HDR (High Dynamic Range) displays, but without needing to build a new display or having a monitor that supports it natively.

    HDR displays show off a richer, more vibrant color palette to make better use of those extra pixels on higher resolution displays, but only if your game supports it. 

    Microsoft’s latest operating system, Windows 11, will automatically adjust your videos and photos to give you the best possible picture.

    If a game or app isn’t able to take advantage of the increased color range, it will scale the picture down so it can be viewed on any device, thanks to the Auto HDR feature.

    What causes Auto HDR to appear washed out?

    SDR (Standard Dynamic Range) will limit the amount of light your device reaches to just that amount, which is recommended for old movie productions and low-budget programs.

    On the other hand, High Dynamic Range allows videos from 10 to 1000nit, with a color gamut reaching PC3 at its highest brightness.

    However, there are some instances where the HDR content displayed is not brighter compared to SDR. At times, its colors appear washed out or faded in Windows 11. 

    Source: DPP Film Tech

    The graphic shows that the exposure zones in an HDR image are not simply larger versions of the zones in an SDR rendering. The additional HDR zones are for information only and do not affect the rendering of the original zones.

    Moreover, they can be used to distinguish between dark and light areas. The difference between a white sheet of paper in the sun and an explosion is slight.

    Both are around 100 percent white. With a high dynamic range, on the other hand, brightness levels can be significantly different.

    The main causes of this issue may vary from using a non-HDR monitor, incompatible DisplayPort, or HDMI to improper Windows 11 settings among other factors. 

    Is 4K better than HDR?

    The Ultra HD 4K devices are the latest in the market currently, offering resolutions up to four times that of Full HD. By producing a clearer picture with millions of pixels on the screen, you’ll enjoy bolder, more detailed images. 

    Since each pixel on a 4K UHD device is smaller than the ones on 1080p Full HD computers, you’ll be able to sit closer to the screen and still see incredibly vivid detail.

    While HDR technology has been around for years, it was not until recently that we have had a lot of sources of high-quality content. 

    The exponential growth of content providers is quickening every year with Amazon’s Prime Video, Vudu, and Netflix streaming high-definition videos that are compatible with HDR.

    Technology is not enough on its own. HDR combines 4K and High Dynamic Range (HDR) to make your computer displays more luminous, colorful, and true to life than ever before. 

    Whether you’re playing games or watching your favorite film, you’ll enjoy a picture with exceptional brilliance and depth. 

    And, in select models, Four-View (4V) technology lets you see your content from four different angles at once, which is a thrilling new way to view movies and games with your friends and family.

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    HDR (High Dynamic Range) technology on Windows 11 provides a wider range of color contrast and allows you to enjoy more vibrant images, videos, and games. 

    For more details, also check out this list of best 4K monitors with HDMI 2.0. Some of them might surprise you.

    What can I do if Auto HDR is not working in Windows 11?

    1. Install a color profile for your monitor

  • Open the Start menu, and click on the Settings app.open
  • Type color profile in the search box and press Enter.type
  • Click on Color Management.
  • Select your monitor from the drop-down box next to the Device label.select
  • Select Add, then Browse to select the file you downloaded.Browse
  • Highlight the new color profile by clicking on it and select Set as Default Profile before you close the Color Management panel.
  • Gray-outs, washed-out, inaccurate colors, and many other problems related to auto-HDR are solved with a color profile. Note that a color profile saves you from the endless tweaking of the monitor’s brightness and contrast settings. 

    Ghosting can be so bad it steals details from the picture, while an auto-simple-HDR picture can be distorted to unnatural colors.

    Grey-out happens when the HDR algorithm can’t capture the full dynamic range of the scene: some part is completely white, some completely black but there’s nothing in between. 

    2. Adjust the settings to enable Auto HDR

  • Open the Settings App.open
  • Click Display Settings on the left.select
  • Then, click on Use HDR to ensure HDR is enabled.
  • Click HDR to open the HDR settings menu.menu
  • Ensure Auto HDR is enabled.enable
  • 3. Check the display and HDMI port

    Sometimes, the application you are watching or the graphics mode in your game can cause text to look jumbled together.

    If you are using multiple HDR-enabled displays to view or play the content, try connecting only your TV to your PC and enable HDR stream for that display.

    Windows 11 users may experience issues when trying to run HDR applications on HDR-supported hardware. The problem is caused by using an incompatible HDMI cable, which doesn’t support HDMI 2.0b. 

    With the use of the recommended cable, it will function as expected. It is worth noting that if your HDR stream option is missing, it may be due to your monitor or TV not supporting this particular technology.

    The Windows 11 Auto HDR not working is a problem that usually occurs due to a glitchy update or incompatible HDMI connection.

    Read more about this topic

    4. Use a display compatible with Auto HDR

    Obviously, to play HDR with sharp and bright colors on Windows 11, you have to meet some requirements for your monitor, HDMI and DisplayPort, and more.

    The built-in display needs to have a resolution of 1080p or more, and a recommended max brightness of 300 nits or more.

    For external displays, the HDR display or TV must support HDR10, and DisplayPort 1.4 or HDMI 2.0 or higher. We recommend displays that are DisplayHDR certified such as these gaming monitors.

    The Windows 11 device needs to have an integrated graphics card that supports PlayReady hardware digital rights management (for protected HDR content), and it must have the required codecs installed for 10-bit video decoding.

    Are all games supported by Auto HDR?

    With Auto HDR, you can see colors that previously only looked right in your imagination. A lot of today’s games look bright and vivid on high-end, big-screen monitors, but that’s not the case with all gaming PCs. 

    With the feature enabled, you get richer colors and more visual details regardless of the game or display. Unfortunately, there isn’t much you can do to force non-supported games to use the feature at this stage, and there isn’t an official list you can review, either. 

    It is enabled by default in supported titles and games that don’t support it will list it as an important feature.

    Microsoft recommends that many popular DirectX 11 and 12 games will work with Auto­HDR, including Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag, Call of Duty: Ghosts, Dying Light, Far Cry 4, Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, Just Cause 3, Mad Max, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Monster Hunter Online, ProjectCARS, and Rise of the Tomb Raider. Microsoft also says that more titles are currently in development.

    If you are curious to see which games support Auto HDR, you should know that most of the games on the Windows Store are eligible. Therefore, if you don’t have an HDR-ready monitor, use our article on the best PC monitors to browse through the products and get something you like.

    Alternatively, you can also go through our detailed guide on What to do if Windows 10 HDR won’t turn on to get more insight on what to do. Note that the same measures apply to Windows 11 even though the guide talks about Windows 10.

    Did the above methods help you resolve the issue? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below.

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