Dynamic Lighting

Hardware makers, particularly those that serve video game fans, have long provided customizable multicolored RGB lighting capabilities in their mice, keyboards, game controllers, and other PC hardware so that customers can have a more immersive visual experience that extends past the screen. But these solutions are unique to each hardware maker, with each requiring a separate configuration app, making it difficult to mix and match peripherals from different companies.

Windows 11 version 23H2 introduces a solution to this fragmentation problem via a new Dynamic lighting feature that centralizes the management and control of the RGB lighting across all of your compatible devices. Now, you can easily apply the same RGB lighting effect to multiple devices at once, regardless of which company made each. And you can do so without installing any third-party apps.

Dynamic lighting requires hardware makers to make their products compatible with this feature. Microsoft maintains a list of compatible products on its Microsoft Learn website, but it’s always out-of-date, and so you are better off consulting with individual hardware makers. Leading RGB lighting companies like ASUS ROG, Razer, and others each have their own lists of compatible products.

Get to know Dynamic lighting

When you connect an RGB lighting device to your PC, the Settings app will display a notification banner if it’s compatible with Dynamic lighting.

You can then click the “Setup” button on the notification to open the Settings app and view the Dynamic Lighting page. But you can configure Dynamic lighting and any compatible devices at any time by opening Settings and navigating to Personalization > Dynamic Lighting.

Each compatible device is represented by a card at the top of this Settings page. You can click a device card to view and configure Dynamic lighting features for just that device. Or, you can access the same options under “Manage all dynamic lighting devices” to view and configure Dynamic lighting features for all connected devices at once.

Those options are:

Use Dynamic Lighting. This option is a toggle for Dynamic Lighting (globally or by device), and it is configured to “On” by default. If you only use RGB lighting products from a single manufacture and prefer their configuration software, you can change this to “Off.”

Compatible apps in the foreground always control lighting. This option determines how Dynamic lighting interoperates with the configuration app provided by your RGB lighting product maker, if installed. When set to “On,” Windows 11 will give precedence to the third-party app when it’s running alongside a game or other app, ignoring the Dynamic lighting configuration; otherwise the Dynamic lighting configuration will be used. But if it’s set to “Off” (and “Use Dynamic Lighting” is “On”), Windows 11 will ignore the third-party configuration app.

Background light control. Third-party RGB lighting apps can also run in the background so that users can control their device configurations at any time. This option, which expands to reveal a list of compatible apps when selected, can be used to determine which lighting controllers get precedence, the Dynamic Lighting Background Controller (the system), or whatever third-party app(s) you have installed. You can drag and drop them in place under “Background light control” to configure that precedence.

If you only see the “Dynamic Lighting Background Controller” item under “Background light control,” then you don’t have any compatible RGB lighting apps that can run in the background.

Brightness. This is a simple brightness slider, much like those you’ve seen elsewhere in Settings and Quick settings. Just drag the slider control until the device(s) are at the desired brightness.

Effects. This is where the magic happens: You can use this option to determine the color theme or effect used by the selected device(s), and its interface changes based on which choice you make in the drop-down. This option is important enough that it’s described in more detail later in the chapter.

Use Dynamic lighting with third-party RGB software

If you’re a fan of RGB lighting devices, you will eventually have to decide how you wish to control them. There are three choices:

• Disable Dynamic lighting in Windows 11 and stick with the manufacturer’s app(s). This one is simple enough: Just configure “Use Dynamic Lighting” to “Off” in the Dynamic Lighting page in the Settings app.
• Use only Dynamic lighting. Dynamic lighting is pretty basic compared to most third-party RGB lighting apps. But if it meets your needs, you can simply ignore or, if needed, uninstall any apps provided by your device makers and just use Dynamic lighting.

A> Each app is different, and you may need to prevent it from auto-starting when you reboot or sign in to Windows. Some apps also provide a setting to favor Dynamic lighting over its own control.

• Mix and match between Dynamic lighting and the manufacturer’s app(s). Many, including those still learning how Dynamic lighting works, will want to to run Dynamic lighting and your device maker(s)’s app(s) side-by-side. This way, you can access unique features that may only be in those apps as needed, but use the simpler and cross-compatible Dynamic lighting otherwise. In our experience, this can be a bit tricky, and you may need to fiddle with the settings in the RGB lighting app and/or rebooting to switch control between the two.

Configure a Dynamic lighting theme or effect

Dynamic lighting lets you configure a lighting effect on a per-device basic or globally for all of your compatible devices. Either way, the available options are the same.

Use the Solid Color effect

By default, Dynamic lighting is set to use a solid color, and that color is configured to be the same color as your system accent color.

You configure your accent color in the Settings app as well: Navigate to Personalization > Colors > Accent color if you wish to change this.

To use and configure a solid color effect, select “Solid Color” in the “Effects: drop-down on the Dynamic Lighting settings page if necessary and then click “Effects” to expand this setting and see its additional options.

If you don’t want to use your accent color, change “Match my Windows accent color” to “Off.” Then, you can click one of the available colors under “Main color” or click “Select” next to “Custom colors” to display a custom lighting color picker.

Use the Breathing effect

The breathing effect pulsates the RGB lights in a single color in stages between full brightness and off. You can configure the speed of this effect and which color to use.

The “Effect speed” setting can be configured to a value between 1 and 10, where 1 is the slowest and 10 is the fastest.

As with the solid color effect, the breathing effect uses the system accent color by default, but you can choose a main or custom color instead.

Use the Rainbow effect

The rainbow effect cycles the RGB lights through a series of rainbow colors.

You can configure the speed of this effect and the direction in which the colors cycle.

Use the Wave effect

The wave effect cycles the RGB lights between a main color and a second color using an animation that moves in one of four directions between the two. For example, here is an RGB keyboard configured to use the wave effect with red and blue colors moving to the right.

The “Direction” option can be set to animate to the right, left, down, or up.

And the “Second color” option presents a second set of color options, with both “Main” and “Custom colors” choices.

Use the Wheel effect

The wheel effect cycles the RGB lights between a main color and a second color using a circular animation that moves clockwise or counterclockwise.

The “Direction” option is used to set the direction of the animation to clockwise or counterclockwise.

Use the Gradient effect

The gradient effect utilizes two colors across the RGB lights in a horizontal, vertical, or outward layout. Here, an RGB keyboard is configured with blue and red colors and the gradient effect in the outward layout.

You configure the layout of the layout of the gradient using the “Direction” option.