How to turn on dark mode on Windows 11 and Mac
Dark mode is easier on your eyes in a dim room, and it takes under a minute to switch on. Here are the steps for Windows 11 and for Mac, and the one-sentence way to ask Key.
Dark mode swaps the bright white backgrounds on your screen for dark ones. Many people like it in the evening, or in any room where a white screen feels like a flashlight in the face.
It is a single setting on both Windows 11 and Mac. Below you will find the steps by hand for each system first, then how to ask Key to do it.
Turn on dark mode on Windows 11
Windows keeps this setting in the Personalization area of Settings. You can reach it in a few clicks.
- Open Settings. The quickest way is to press Windows + I together. You can also click the Start button and choose Settings.
- In the list on the left, click Personalization.
- Click Colors.
- Find the line called Choose your mode.
- Pick Dark from the list.
The change happens straight away. You do not need to restart anything. The full path is Settings › Personalization › Colors.
Microsoft describes dark mode as colors designed to work well in a low-lit environment. It applies to the Start menu, the taskbar and the action center, and many apps follow it too.
What the three choices mean
- Light is the bright look that Windows starts with.
- Dark turns the system dark.
- Custom lets you mix the two, for example a dark Start menu and taskbar but light apps.
If you want to go back, return to the same place and choose Light.
Some programs have their own appearance setting and ignore the one in Windows. If a program stays white after you switch, look in that program's own settings for a theme or appearance option.
Turn on dark mode on a Mac
On a Mac, the setting lives in the Appearance part of System Settings.
- Click the Apple menu in the top left corner of the screen and choose System Settings.
- Click Appearance in the sidebar. You may need to scroll down the sidebar to see it.
- Choose Dark.
The path is System Settings › Appearance. The whole screen changes at once, including the menu bar, the Dock, Finder and most of your apps.
Light, Dark or Auto
- Light keeps the bright look all the time.
- Dark keeps the dark look all the time.
- Auto switches between light and dark for you, so your Mac is bright in the day and dark in the evening.
If you like the idea of a screen that follows the time of day, Auto is a good pick. You set it once and forget it.
A faster way on a Mac
You can also use Control Center. Click the Control Center icon in the menu bar at the top of the screen, click the small arrow next to Display, and choose Dark Mode. That is handy when you want to flip it back and forth during the day.
On an older Mac, the menus can look a little different from the steps above. If you cannot find System Settings, open the Apple menu and look for System Preferences, then choose General and look for the Appearance choices there.
Ask Key to do it for you
If you would rather not click through menus, you can ask Key. Key is a free personal assistant that lives on your computer. It works on Windows 10 and 11 and on a Mac with macOS 11 Big Sur or newer.
You can speak to it or type to it. Both do the same thing, and you can switch whenever you like. "Switch to dark mode" is one of the things people ask it. Half a sentence is enough.
Key opens the real Settings window and presses the real button, then tells you what it did. While it works, a small panel shows you what it is doing, and you can stop it at any point. Before it tells you the job is done, it reads the result back to check.
KeyVoiceSwitch to dark mode
Done, your screen is now in dark mode.
If you want to change it back, ask in the same way: say you want light mode again.
Dark mode is just one of many settings Key can handle. You can read more in How to change brightness, dark mode and other settings by voice, or see What can an AI assistant on your PC do every day? for other everyday jobs.
If dark mode does not look right
A few small things can make the change look half done. Here is what to check.
- One app is still white. That app probably has its own theme setting. Open its settings and look for words like Theme, Appearance or Dark.
- A website is still white. Websites decide their own colors. Some offer a dark option of their own, and some do not.
- The text is hard to read. Dark mode is a matter of taste. If it does not suit you, go back to Light. You can also ask Key to make the text bigger, which is another thing people ask it.
- You want it only at night. On a Mac, choose Auto. On Windows, the simplest approach is to switch by hand when the evening comes, or to ask Key.
A quick recap
- Windows 11: Settings › Personalization › Colors, then Choose your mode, then Dark.
- Mac: System Settings › Appearance, then Dark (or Auto).
- With Key: say or type "Switch to dark mode".
Whichever way you pick, you can undo it in the same place in a few seconds, so there is no harm in trying it for an evening.
Try Key free
Speak to it or type to it. It opens your apps, finds your files and changes your settings, then tells you what it did.
Free, no card. Windows 10 or 11, macOS 11 or newer.