How to Enable Dynamic Lighting in Windows 11

In this guide, I will show you how to enable dynamic lighting in Windows 11. We’ll go over all the settings available for configuring dynamic lighting and list all the compatible RGB lighting devices.

The dynamic lighting feature allows the users to control their RGB devices in Windows Settings. You can use this feature on devices running Windows 11 version 23H2 and later. You can control the devices both individually or as a group through Windows Settings.

According to Microsoft, only the HID LampArray devices are compatible with dynamic lighting. HID LampArray devices give Windows access to their LED data, including position, enabling Windows to make intelligent use of device layouts for best results. Examples of HID LampArray devices include mouse, keyboards, game controllers, etc.

You can use the third-party app that the hardware vendor provides to apply lighting effects when you connect an RGB lighting device to your Windows 11 PC. For instance, when I connected a Razer keyboard to my PC, I immediately saw a toast notification to install the Razer Synapse software.

The advantage of using these third-party apps is they let you create a color profile and apply it to all your RGB devices and even Windows accent color. They also offer additional customization options and settings to manage the RGB devices. However, if you want to apply simple RGB lighting controls for your devices, you only need the Settings app built into Windows 11.

Prerequisites

• Before using the RGB lighting feature, make sure that your Windows 11 device is equipped with compatible hardware, such as RGB-enabled keyboards, mice, or other peripherals.
• Make sure that the RGB device’s firmware drivers are up-to-date and that the most recent Windows 11 updates are installed.
• If you experience bugs with your app, turn off dynamic lighting using the steps described in this guide until the app is updated with dynamic lighting support.

Enable Dynamic Lighting in Windows 11

Enabling Microsoft’s Dynamic Lighting feature on your Windows 11 device is a straightforward process that can be accomplished with these steps.

Step 1: Open the Settings app on your Windows 11 device by pressing the Windows key + I or by searching for “Settings” in the Start menu.

Step 2: In the Settings menu, navigate to the “Personalisation” section and select the Dynamic Lighting option on the right side.

Step 3: Turn on the “Use Dynamic Lighting on my devices” toggle switch. This will activate the dynamic lighting feature on your Windows 11 system.

Windows 11 Dynamic Lighting Settings

When you turn on the option to use the dynamic lighting on your device, there are additional options that you can configure. Remember that the changes that you apply here will affect all connected RGB devices.

Use Dynamic Lighting on my devices

This setting turns dynamic lighting on or off for a user. If you want to disable the RGB lighting on your device, just toggle the switch to Off. When Dynamic Lighting is off, devices should function with their default non-Dynamic Lighting behavior.

Compatible apps in the foreground always control lighting

With this option, you can set the default Dynamic Lighting app behavior to On or Off. When this feature is turned off, a background app can control devices even when a foreground app that wants control is active.

Background light control

As I had mentioned earlier, you can use the third-party apps to configure the dynamic lighting for RGB devices. The background light control setting lets you prioritize installed apps that have registered themselves as ambient background controllers.

If you have installed these apps, they will appear in this section. To prioritize the app, all you need to do is drag the app to the top of the list. This will ensure that it can control devices before other apps in the list.

Brightness

This setting lets you change the brightness of your lights. There is a toggle that allows you to adjust the LED brightness on your devices between 0 and 100.

RGB lighting Effects

Dynamic lighting includes a built-in set of basic effects. Selecting this will open a dropdown that lets you select colors and effects for your devices. The RGB lighting effects include:

• Solid Color
• Breathing
• Rainbow
• Wave
• Wheel
• Gradient

Note: The default RBG color effects are limited in Windows 11. You may want to explore third-party software solutions like Razer Synapse, PredatorSense, or Corsair iCUE, which offer advanced features for managing and synchronizing lighting effects across a diverse range of compatible hardware.

Dynamic Lighting compatible devices

The table below lists all the vendors and their apps for using the dynamic lighting feature on Windows 11. These apps are required to manage your Dynamic Lighting devices in Windows. I recommend going to the hardware vendor’s website and checking the devices (models) that support the dynamic lighting feature.

Vendor Name	Software
Acer	PredatorSense
ASUS ROG	Armoury Crate
Corsair	Corsair iCue
Dell	Alienware Command Center
HP	OMEN Gaming Hub
HyperX	HyperX Ngenuity
Logitech	Logitech LIGHTSYNC RGB
Razer	Razer Synapse, Razer Chroma
SteelSeries	Prism RGB Illumination
Twinkly	Twinkly App

Turn off Windows 11 Dynamic Lighting

You can use the below steps to disable the dynamic lighting if you would prefer to use a third-party app on Windows 11.

• Open the Settings app on your Windows 11 by pressing the Windows key + I key.
• Navigate to the “Personalisation” and select the Dynamic Lighting option on the right side.
• Toggle the switch to Off for the “Use Dynamic Lighting on my devices” setting.