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Home » Windows Tips & Tricks » How to Toggle Auto Dark Mode on Windows 10 PC?

How to Toggle Auto Dark Mode on Windows 10 PC?

By WILLIAM GOHEEN

Dark mode or dark theme has been popular among the main devices like Windows 10, macOS, iOS and Android 10 in recent years. But the difference is, compared with the auto night mode switching functions on macOS 10.15 and iOS 13, the auto dark mode on Windows 10 PCs seems not to be perfect. Users have to manually change the light theme to a dark theme, which is annoying and troubling. To solve this problem, here are two simple ways introduced to help you switch light and dark mode on Windows 10 PCs. 

windows-10-dark-mode.jpg

Use the Newest Auto Dark Mode Version 2.3.1 on Windows 10

Windows auto dark mode is a third-party program designed to solve the automatically change between dark and light mode issue for Win 10 users. And recently the newest Auto Dark Mode version 2.3.1 has been released. Before we show how to apply it on Windows 10 PCs, let’s have a look at what’s new features added to it. 

  • New (default) option that you can disable old UWP Edge theme switch completely.
  • App-Icon now kinda has a higher resolution.
  • Added donation reminder that popups randomly at app UI startup.
  • Fixed several issues in the previous versions like a crash when startup with the region set to the US, crash while applying theme on LTSB and LTSC machines in lack of MS Edge;
  • Shortened task scheduler task names to avoid crashes. 

It's said that, due to the usability and convenience of the auto dark mode on Windows 10, Microsoft may consider adding this app to Microsoft Store, just to bring it to more Windows 10 users. The following part will show you how to toggle night mode on Windows 10 PC automatically with this app. 

Step 1: download the newest Auto Dark Mode version 2.3.1 from Github. Then run the AutoDarkMode_Setup.exe file to install it. During this process, you may receive a security warning to inform you of the issues caused by downloading this software, just click ok, nothing need to worry about since my installation experience. 

download auto dark mode on windows 10.png

Step 2: click the Auto Dark Mode app and choose the “Enable the automatic theme switching” that lies on the left top. Following the tips and select the time you preferred for both light and dark mode, then click the "Apply" button to finish the setting. Please note that in the new Windows auto dark mode version 2.3,  it can support the 12-hour clock. Therefore, you should enter the specific time format.

set time when toggle night mode on windows 10.jpg

Step 3: To make the automatically toggle between night mode and light mode on Windows 10 PCs work timely, you can enable the function of "Location service" that show which city you are, and help you set the windows theme according to the correct region time. 

Step 4: to make the night mode on your Windows 10 more perfect, you can customize the desktop backgrounds in this app. Just click the configure the desktop background option, and you can set the wallpapers you preferred in the new popups as you like. 

congfigure desktop backgrounds on windows 10.jpg

When all the configurations are done, the toogle night mode on your Windows 10 will work in the next time you open your devices. 

Toggle Night mode on Windows 10 with Task Scheduler

Compared with the use of the Windows auto dark mode app, using the Task Scheduler on Windows 10 to toggle the night mode is more complex. But if you do not want to install a third-party app, this method is a good choice. Here is the detailed guide about how to automate tasks on Windows 10. 

Step 1: Open the task Task Scheduler. Press the Windows button and type "Task Scheduler" in the search bar. Click the Task Scheduler in the result. A new popup will appear.  open windows 10 task scheduler.png

open windows 10 task scheduler.png

Step 2: click the "Create Basic Task" on the right side, and you need to name this action. To explain it clearly, here you can name this action as "toggle night mode" or "switch light to dark mode" as you like. Then click the Next to go on. 

create basic task on windows 10.png

Step 3: choose the "Daily" option. And then go ahead. 

auto dark mode on windows 10.png

Step 4: You need to choose the specific time to switch to dark mode. Please note that fill the data in the format according to your PC. Here on my Windows 10 computer, it's a 12-hour clock. Some Windows 10 PCs may use the 24-hour clock, so just make sure the correct time of your computer. And the recur every as "1" day. Now, click the Next bottom to go on. 

set dark mode time on windows 10.png

Step 5: choose the option - "Set a program". Enter "reg.exe" in the Program/script, and copy the following specifications in the arrguments bar. "add HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Themes\Personalize /v AppsUseLightTheme /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f" . Then click Next botton to go ahead. 

set auto dark mode on windows 10.pngset auto dark mode on windows 10.png

Step 6: For Windows 10 v1909, in this step, you need to check all the settings you made in the previous steps. After the check, click the Finish button to end the configuration. Then the switch light to dark mode on Windows 10 will be finished. 

switch to dark mode on windows 10.png

If you want to change the dark mode to a light one automatically, just do the same setting mentioned above again. But for the light mode settings, you should paste a different command: add HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Themes\Personalize /v AppsUseLightTheme /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f. By setting the two basic tasks on Windows 10, the auto dark mode and light mode on Windows 10 can be realized easily. 

Experience Both the Light and Dark Mode on Windows 10 

Our guide shows how to toggle the dark mode on Windows 10 automatically. In the two different ways, I have applied the Auto Dark Mode program on my Windows 10 PCs because of its simplicity. Of course, you guys can choose the method you like.

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