How to Change Display Scaling in Windows 11

Display Scaling allows you to set how big or small the on-screen elements are. Here is how to change the display scaling in Windows 11.

Unlike the older versions, Windows 11 is good at detecting your display size and resolution to set up the scaling appropriately, thanks to the automatic default video drivers. With the correct display scaling, all the elements on your screen, be it text, menus, images, application windows, text fields, etc., appear in the correct size and without being blurred. You don’t have to touch the display scaling settings for the most part.

However, if you think the display elements are too small or big, you can change the display scaling in Windows 11 to fix it. 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. On the other hand, reducing the display scaling will fix the problem if the elements are too big.

Changing the display scaling is also helpful for people with low-vision problems. For example, increasing the display scaling can help the elderly.

Thankfully, it is straightforward to modify the display scaling in Windows 11. You have to open the Display settings and select a predefined display scaling percentage. Alternatively, you can also manually set a specific display scaling using the “Custom scaling” option.

On the other hand, if you just want to increase the text size without modifying the entire display scaling, you can do that too. I will show all three things. Follow the one you like.

So, without further ado, let me show you how to change the display scaling in Windows 11 operating system.

Jump to:

• 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 things, you can change the Windows 11 display scaling from the Settings app. Follow the below steps to find and modify the scaling option.

1. Launch “Settings” with the “Start + I” shortcut.
2. Select “System” on the sidebar.
3. Click on the “Display” option on the main 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 scaling.

Same steps in a bit more detail and screenshots:

Launch the Windows 11 Settings app. You can either right-click on the Start menu and select “Settings” or press the “Windows key + I” to open it. You can also click the Settings icon on the Start menu if you want to.

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 are 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 lower than 100% and go over 175% (the higher value 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 and decrease in scaling. 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.
2. Select the “System” tab on the sidebar.
3. Click on the “Display” option on the main page.
4. Click on the “Scaling” option.
5. Type a scaling value between 100 and 500 in the “Custom Scaling” field.
6. Click the “Save” icon next to the field.
7. With that, you set a custom display scaling in Windows 11.

Detailed steps with screenshots:

Launch the Windows 11 Settings app with the “Win + 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.

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. If you want the on-screen elements to be bigger, I recommend following the below section to change the text size instead of modifying the display scaling.

Change text size in Windows 11

If you don’t want to increase the display scaling but want to improve the reading experience, you must 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 on 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 from the dropdown menu. In my case, the recommended display scaling is 100%. Here is how to do it in simple steps.

1. Open the Windows 11 Settings app.
2. Go to the “System > Display” page.
3. Select the “Recommended” option from the Scaling dropdown menu.
4. With that, you reset the display scaling in Windows 11.

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That is all. It is that simple to change the display scaling in Windows 11.

I hope this simple Windows 11 how-to guide helped you.

If you are stuck or need some help, comment below, and I will try to help as much as possible.