Microsoft added Night mode to Xbox consoles with a system update, so now you can save your eyes when playing in the dark if you find yourself especially sensitive to bright light. Here’s how it works and what you can customize.
What Does Night Mode Do?
Night mode was added to the Xbox Series X|S consoles and original Xbox One lineup in the October 2021 system update. It won’t show up until you update your console under Settings > General > Updates.
With the mode enabled your Xbox gains the ability to automatically dim the display and, on Xbox Series consoles, filter out blue light. HDR can also be automatically disabled when Night mode kicks in since this mode is often dazzlingly bright in dark environments.
You can also finally adjust perhaps the most distracting aspect of using your console at night: the white Xbox logo lights on your controller and the console itself.
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Enable Night Mode in Xbox Settings
You will find Night Mode on your Xbox Series and Xbox One console under your console’s Settings menu. Press the Xbox button, then navigate to the “Profile & System” tab and launch Settings from there.
Head to General > TV & Display Options and choose Night Mode. Select the Night mode drop-down box to choose between On, Off, or Scheduled. If you leave the setting on all of the time, your Xbox will always treat your environment as a dark one (perfect for cinema rooms or other dark living areas).
If you choose Scheduled you can check the “Switch at Sunrise and Sunset” option which will use time data on the internet to decide when to switch between Night mode and standard mode.
To the left of this area, you can fine-tune your settings including how much to dim the display by and how much blue light to filter out (under Display), whether to disable HDR (set “Allow” to leave HDR on), the theme your console uses, as well as settings for dimming the lights on your controller and console.
Each of these settings can be disabled entirely, so if you’d rather Night mode only dim the controller light, or you want to disable blue light filtering, Microsoft has provided you with the settings to get things looking exactly the way you’d like.
Night Mode Affects Dashboard, Games, and Apps
When enabled, Night mode doesn’t just affect the Xbox dashboard but any games you play and apps you use. This means that if you choose to disable HDR or dim the screen, games will also be affected.
Night mode won’t affect any screenshots you take on your console or game clips you record. If you have a 4K television and an Xbox Series console, you may also notice that the dashboard has been updated to true 4K resolution too.
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