How Do I Turn Off HDR on My Monitor?

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HDR is the latest craze in visually appealing, pristine imagery for your computer devices. But you’ve also heard negative things about it. So, let’s turn it off. But how do I turn off HDR on my monitor?

Turning off your HDR settings on your Windows-based monitor is pretty easy. Navigate to settings and toggle the HDR settings on or off.

Although it sounds like an easy solution, sometimes the HDR toggle is grayed out and cannot be turned off. So how do you go around it?

Don’t worry. We’ll go through this scenario so you’ll understand everything you need to do to get the job done.

In the following paragraphs, we’ll also tackle if you should leave your HDR on or off and other workarounds you need to know if you cant turn off your HDR.

How Do I Turn Off HDR on My Monitor?

HDR is a pretty unique setting. It allows your images to pop as you’ve never seen before. But sometimes, you don’t want it on. So how do you turn off HDR on your monitor?

Let’s go over a couple of different things you can do if you’re trying to turn off HDR, but for some reason, you can’t.

Turning Off HDR on Your Windows 10

The first thing we need to know is what version of Windows we’re running. If you’re not sure, navigate to your Windows Specifications settings to find out.

Now, let’s find the HDR settings and turn off our HDR.

Navigate to the Start button on the bottom left corner of your monitor’s display.

• Click on Start. 
• Find and select Settings.
• Click on Display.

From here, the settings will ask you which monitor settings you wish to modify. Select the appropriate monitor. If you only have one monitor, you can skip this.

• Now, navigate to Windows HD Color Settings.
• Under the Display Capabilities, see if the word YES appears next to Use HDR.
• Turn On or Off your HDR settings.

Pretty simple, right? But now you’ve run into a problem. The HDR toggle is greyed out. It will not allow you to turn it on or off. What gives?

There’s no need to panic. There’s an easy solution to this problem.

It’s important to realize that Windows has a default setting that will automatically turn off HDR, but many users are unaware of this action.

If you have a laptop as a monitor and do not have the power cord plugged in, the HDR settings will turn off.

That’s one workaround if you wish to turn off your HDR settings quickly.

However, this presents another problem. If you previously had your HDR settings On and wish to turn it Off, you will not be able to.

So, how do you work around it?

Turning On or Off HDR Settings on a Windows 10 Laptop

To turn off your HDR settings on your windows-based laptop, we’ll have to navigate through its settings again.

Let’s click on the Start button in the bottom left corner of your display.

• Click Settings.
• Look for System and click on it.
• Then, find Display.

Select the proper monitor you’re working on within the Display settings.

Find the setting called Windows HD Color Settings.

Next, find Battery Options.

There should be a check box near a setting that says “Don’t Allow HDR Games and Apps on Battery” ensure it’s checked to un-grey the HDR on/off toggle.

There’s one more thing we should let you know. The toggle will remain greyed out until you plug in your laptop.

Plugging it in is essentially the final step.

Now that you’ve plugged in your laptop feel free to unplug it and watch as HDR stays on and your on/off switch is NOT greyed out.

If you wish to turn it off now, feel free to do so.

Turning Off HDR on Your Windows 11

Windows 10 and Windows 11 are not too different from one another. But sometimes, any difference in menus and settings might leave us confused. 

So, let’s walk you through turning off your HDR on your Windows 11.

• The first step is familiar enough. 
• Let’s navigate to the Start button and click on the Settings menu option.
• Next, we’ll find Settings. From within the Settings menu, click on Display.
• The Display menu will ask you to choose which monitor has HDR capabilities, but only if more than one monitor is connected.
• Now you can turn your HDR settings On or Off.

Windows 11 Laptop HDR Monitors

If you’re using a Windows-based HDR laptop as your monitor, here’s how you turn off HDR settings.

As we mentioned above, Windows turns off HDR settings if your laptop is not plugged in. You must change this default setting if you personally want to control when HDR is on or off.

The first step is to plug in your laptop before doing the following steps.

• Next, navigate to the Start Button and find the Settings menu.
• Now, select System.
• Click on Display.
• Then click on Use HDR.
• Select Battery Options.
• Check the box next to “Allow HDR Games, Videos, and Apps on Battery.” It might also say, “Allow Streaming HDR Video on Battery.”

As a sidenote, HDR takes up a lot of battery power and will often reduce the lifespan of your battery.

Turning Off HDR on Your MAC Monitor

To turn HDR on or off on your MAC, this is what you can do.

First, ensure you’ve updated your MAC to the latest OS. Some MAC HDR features only run on the most current OS.

• Next, click on the Apple icon on the top left corner of your monitor.
• Navigate to System Preferences.
• Now, click on Displays.
• Within the Displays menu, ensure HDR is checked.

As a side note, this check box will only display on monitors that are HDR10 compatible.

• To turn off your HDR settings, uncheck the box.

And now you know how to turn off your HDR settings on a MAC monitor.

Should I Leave HDR On or Off on My Monitor?

HDR is such a fantastic feature. Many of us want it on all the time. But should you keep it on or leave it off on your monitor?

Truthfully, HDR only functions appropriately if all connected electronics (and videos) have HDR. So if you have an old version of Windows but use an HDR-compatible Dell monitor to stream HDR YouTube videos, your HDR will not appear as it should.

In this situation, leaving HDR off on your Dell monitor is better. Not only will HDR not work, but it might also desaturate the colors, which will leave your images looking worse.

However, let’s say all of your devices are HDR compatible, and you know HDR will function. Should you leave it on or off?

A good practice to use is to keep HDR off. Only turn on your HDR when you are going to watch or play HDR-compatible visuals.

Turning Off your HDR Monitor Made Easy

As you can see, turning off your HDR on your monitor is easier than you think. Even with Windows not allowing you to turn off HDR on your laptop, there is a workaround.

We hope we answered your question thoroughly and now understand how to turn off your HDR monitor. But we also hope you understand that keeping your HDR off is a good practice.

Have any questions for us? Please leave them in the comments.

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