How To Change Display Scaling in Windows 11

Want to change the display scaling of your monitor in Windows 11? Here’s how you can do it using the Settings app in simple steps.

Unlike the older versions, Windows 11 is good at detecting your display size and resolution to set up the scaling appropriately, thanks to the default graphics driver. With the correct display scaling, all the elements on your screen, be it text, menus, images, application windows, text fields, etc., appear at the correct size and without blurring. That means, in general, you don’t have to touch the display scaling settings.

However, if you think Windows default display scaling is not good or the display elements are too big/small, you can manually change the display scaling using the Windows 11 Settings app. In fact, you can either choose predefined scaling options or set a custom scaling for granular control. For example, Windows 11 might sometimes set low display scaling on high-resolution monitors. In that case, all the elements on the screen will appear small and out of place. To fix it, you need to increase the display scaling.

In this quick and easy guide, let me show you how to change the display scaling in Windows 11 using the Settings app. Let’s get started.

Quick navigation links:

• Change display scaling in Windows 11
• Set custom display scaling in Windows 11
• Change text size in Windows 11
• Reset display scaling

Change Display Scaling in Windows 11

As with many settings, you can change Windows 11 display scaling via the Settings app. Here’s how:

1. Launch “Settings” with the “Start + I” shortcut.
2. Select “System” on the sidebar.
3. Click the “Display” option on the right page.
4. Select a scaling option of your choice from the “Scale” dropdown menu.
5. The scaling will change instantly.
6. Close the Settings app.
7. With that, you have modified the display scaling in Windows 11.

Detailed Steps (With Screenshots)

First, open the Windows 11 Settings app by pressing the “Windows key + I” shortcut. You can also click the Settings icon on the Start menu.

Can’t find the settings icon in the Start menu? Here is how to add the Settings icon to the Start menu in Windows 11.

After opening the Windows 11 Settings app, go to the “System” > “Display” page. As you can tell from the page name, this is where you will find all the display-related options, including but not limited to screen resolution, scaling, multiple displays, HDR settings, Night Light, Graphics, and more.

On the Display settings page, select a predefined scaling option from the “Scaling” dropdown menu. You cannot set scaling below 100% or above 175% (the upper limit depends on your monitor size and resolution).

Once you select a scaling option, Windows 11 will change the scaling instantly. All the elements will increase or decrease depending on the setting you chose. Some applications might need a restart to work correctly. If you see blurry elements on the screen, I recommend you reboot the computer.

Set Custom Display Scaling in Windows 11

If you are not satisfied with the predefined scaling options or want to fine-tune the display scaling, you can do that with the custom display scaling option. Here is where to find the custom scaling option how to find it.

Note: Windows 11 will apply that scaling to all connected displays when setting a custom scaling. Only follow the below steps if you are absolutely sure you need to set a custom scaling.

1. Open the Windows 11 Settings app by pressing “Windows key + I“.
2. Select the “System” tab on the sidebar.
3. Click the “Display” option on the main page.
4. Click the “Scaling” option.
5. Type a scaling value between 100 and 500 in the “Custom Scaling” field.
6. Click the “Save” icon (checkmark) next to the field.
7. With that, you’ve applied custom display scaling in Windows 11.

Detailed Steps (With Screenshots)

Launch the Windows 11 Settings app with the “Windows key + I” shortcut. Go to the “System” > “Display” page in the Settings app. You will find all the display-specific options that you can change and customize.

Here, click on the “Scaling” option to open the additional advanced Scaling options.

Type a scaling value between 100 to 500 in the “Custom Scaling” field. For example, you can set 129% as the custom display scaling. Keep in mind that the upper limit is based on your monitor’s size and resolution.

Though Windows lets you set any value between 100 and 500, I recommend, you don’t put anything higher than 200. Doing so might make the on-screen elements too big and unreadable. So, be careful while setting a custom scaling.

Change Text Size in Windows 11 (Alternative to Changing Scaling for Bigger Text)

If your main use case is bigger on-screen text then instead of changing the display scaling, you can increase the text size. If you don’t know, Windows 11 has a neat little accessibility feature called Text Size that lets you increase or decrease text size yet not affect other window elements.

I’ve already written a detailed guide on how to change the text size in Windows 11. Follow the link to learn how. If you just want the shorter version, follow the below steps.

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Select “Accessibility” on the sidebar.
3. Click the “Text Size” option.
4. Use the Text Size slider to increase or decrease the text size.
5. Click the “Apply” button to save changes.
6. Close the Settings app.
7. With that, you’ve changed the text size in Windows 11.

As I said earlier, changing the text size will not increase the scaling of other elements. So, it shouldn’t cause display problems like blurry apps.

Reset display scaling in Windows 11

If you ever want to reset the scaling, choose the “Recommended” scaling option from the dropdown menu. In my case, the recommended display scaling is 100%. For you it might be different. Here is how to do it in simple steps.

1. Open the Windows 11 Settings app using the “Windows key + I” shortcut.
2. Go to the “System” > “Display” page.
3. Select the “Recommended” option from the Scaling dropdown menu.
4. With that, you are done resetting the display scaling in Windows 11.

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That is all. It is that simple to change the display scaling settings in Windows 11. If you have any questions or need help, comment below. I’ll be happy to assist.