How I Fixed Brightness & Night Light Issues on My Dell Latitude

I recently started using a new laptop and immediately noticed a problem: the screen was extremely bright, and the brightness slider wouldn’t go higher than the lowest setting. On top of that, the Night Light option was greyed out.

After some troubleshooting, I managed to fix it — here’s exactly how I did it, step by step.

Step 1: Identify the Problem

The first thing I did was check the Device Manager:

1. Press Windows + X → Device Manager
2. Expand Display adapters

If your system shows Microsoft Basic Display Adapter, like mine did, this is usually the reason:

• Brightness slider may not work

• Night Light is disabled

This happens because Windows isn’t using the proper Intel graphics driver, even though the hardware is present.

Step 2: Download the Intel Graphics Driver

To fix the issue, I used the Intel Driver & Support Assistant, which automatically finds and installs the correct Intel graphics driver for your laptop:

1. Go to the official Intel page: Intel Driver & Support Assistant
2. Download and install the assistant on your laptop
3. Open the tool and let it scan your system
4. When prompted, download the recommended Intel HD Graphics 520 driver

This tool ensures Windows uses the proper Intel graphics driver so brightness and Night Light can work correctly.

Step 3: Install or Repair the Driver

If you already have Intel Driver & Support Assistant installed, choose Repair when prompted.

If it’s a fresh install:

1. Double-click the .exe file
2. Accept the license agreement
3. Keep all options default and follow the prompts

💡 Tip: During installation, Windows may ask “Are you sure you want to cancel?” — always choose No / Continue until the installation completes.

Step 4: Restart Your Laptop

After installation:

1. Restart your laptop
2. Open Device Manager → Display adapters

Important: Sometimes Intel HD Graphics 520 may not appear immediately. If that happens:

• Right-click Microsoft Basic Display Adapter → Uninstall

• Restart your laptop again

Once this is done, Intel HD Graphics 520 should show up and fully control brightness and Night Light.

Step 5: Adjust Brightness and Night Light

1. Go to Settings → System → Display
2. The brightness slider should now work fully
3. Night Light should be clickable and follow the Sunset to Sunrise schedule

On my laptop, Night Light was already scheduled from 6:00 PM – 6:00 AM, which works perfectly for eye comfort at night.

Optional Tips for Eye Comfort

You don’t need any extra software to improve eye comfort:

• Keep Night Light on during the evening

• Reduce contrast slightly in apps or enable dark mode in browsers

• This ensures long hours of work or learning are easy on your eyes

Conclusion

Many laptops experience display driver issues out of the box. Installing or repairing the Intel HD Graphics driver fixes:

• Brightness control

• Night Light

• General screen comfort

Pro tip: Even if Device Manager still shows Microsoft Basic Display Adapter, focus on functionality — as long as brightness works and Night Light is available, your display is fine.