Share via

How to change my windows 11 black screen back to white

RB 0 Reputation points
2026-06-01T19:39:04.9366667+00:00

Recently on a flight I changed my display from a bright white to a darker black background and can't remember how to switch it back - anyone know? I'm in Windows 11 - Surface

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Settings
0 comments

3 answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Sin-D 10,125 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-06-02T07:01:05.1533333+00:00

    Hi RB,

    It looks like you accidentally switched one of the accessibility or display modes while traveling.

    Have you already tried the Q&A Assist suggestions? In addition, could you confirm:

    • Is everything inverted (white > black, black > white), or just darker overall?

    On Windows 11, pressing “Ctrl + Windows key + C” toggles Color filters (including Invert).

    • Try pressing “Ctrl + Windows key + C” once, this often immediately returns the screen to normal colors.

    If that doesn’t fix it, based on your description, the next most likely cause is High contrast mode being turned on by shortcut:

    1. Press “Alt + Left Shift + Print Screen”
    2. If prompted, choose “No” (to turn off high contrast)

    If the screen just looks dark (not inverted), you can switch back to the normal white/light theme as suggested by Q&A Assist:

    1. Open “Settings”
    2. Go to “Personalization” > “Colors”
    3. Set “Choose your mode” = “Light”

    If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".    

    Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

    Was this answer helpful?

  2. Deleted

    This answer has been deleted due to a violation of our Code of Conduct. The answer was manually reported or identified through automated detection before action was taken. Please refer to our Code of Conduct for more information.

    Comments have been turned off. Learn more

  3. AI answer

    2026-06-01T19:39:21.28+00:00

    There are a few different Windows 11 settings that can turn a mostly white screen into a mostly black one. On a Surface, the most common are color filters (including Inverted), contrast themes, and dark mode. Check these in order:

    1. Turn off color filters (including Inverted)
    2. Press Windows logo key + U to open Accessibility settings.
    3. Select Color filters.
    4. Turn Color filters off.
    5. If it is on and set to Inverted, switching it off will return normal colors.
    6. Turn off contrast themes / high contrast
    7. Press Windows logo key + I and go to Settings > Accessibility > Contrast themes.
    8. In Contrast themes, choose None from the drop-down.
    9. Select Apply and wait for the screen to switch back.
    10. Switch Windows back to light mode
    11. Press Windows logo key + I and go to Settings > Personalization > Colors.
    12. Under Choose your mode, select Light.
    13. If Custom is selected, set Choose your default Windows mode and Choose your default app mode to Light.

    If the whole display is just dimmer or warmer (not black), also check Night light:

    1. Go to Settings > System > Display.
    2. Under Brightness & color, turn Night light off.

    References:

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

    Was this answer helpful?

Your answer

Answers can be marked as 'Accepted' by the question author and 'Recommended' by moderators, which helps users know the answer solved the author's problem.