Can't adjust screen brightness on Surface Pro 4? We have the fix

Reading time icon 3 min. read


Readers help support Windows Report. When you make a purchase using links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Tooltip Icon

Read the affiliate disclosure page to find out how can you help Windows Report effortlessly and without spending any money. Read more

Surface Pro 4 has been affected by a series of screen issues ever since its launch. We’re sure that most users still have vivid memories of all the annoying screen problems that they encountered.

Fortunately, there are many solutions available for most of these issues. However, there’s one bug that’s affecting screen brightness settings which is pretty difficult to fix.

If you can’t adjust screen brightness on your Surface Pro 4 device, you’re in the right place. In this article, we’ll show you how to quickly fix this problem so that you can customize your device the way you want.

How to fix Surface Pro 4 screen brightness adjustment issues

  1. Detach the keyboard
  2. Update your drivers
  3. Discharge the device

You can use this fix on all Windows 10 versions, including the Fall Creators Update. Indeed, Windows 10 version 1709 fails to fix this issue, forcing users to find a fix themselves.

1. Detach the keyboard

  1.  Turn on your Surface device and wait until the bootup process is completed the desktop or such alike.
  2. Detach the keyboard.
  3. Use the touch screen in order to perform a reboot.
  4. When at the desktop again, bring out the notification center. You can do that by swiping the screen from the right. Then use the touch screen to change the brightness level.
  5. Connect the keyboard and check if the issue persists.

If the option is still not available after you detach the keyboard, unplug all the other peripherals that you may have connected to your Surface Pro 4. Disable all peripherals connected via Bluetooth as well.

It seems that this issue often occurs when you close your Surface Pro without the keyboard attached and then attach it while in hibernating mode or after waking up the device.

2. Update your drivers

  1. Go to Start > search for ‘drivers’ > select ‘Update device drivers
  2. Go to Display Adapters > select Intel HD Graphics 520update surface pro 4 display driver
  3. Click the Driver tab > Update the driver.

Your device will install the latest display drivers and the brightness button should be fully functional now.

Moreover, you have the alternative to update any drivers on your PC, with the help of expert tools that can do it automatically.

So if you need to update your device driver individually or install the latest version of all drivers at once, you can simply perform this using the Outbyte Driver Updater solution.

3. Discharge the device

Finally, there might be a hardware issue and we suggest discharging the device. Just power off your Surface and remove the adapter and battery. Press and hold the power button for approximately 60 seconds. Re-attach everything and power up Surface Pro 4. After that, the problem should be resolved.

If you used other troubleshooting methods to fix this screen brightness adjustment issue, you can list the steps to follow in the comment section below.

More about the topics: windows 10 fix