Ways to Disable Intel Display Power Saving Technology

👤 Diwas Poudel 🕒 27 Nov 2022 📁 TECH

Are you having problems with your brightness levels constantly changing on your PC? This is a common problem in multiple laptops. This "feature" (that is more a bug than a feature) acts usually when I'm watching a video. In my case, when the image is dark, it turns the screen even darker. If the ambient light at the moment is high, then I cannot see what is going on on the screen. The changes are not unnoticeable, they are quick and significant. This problem is usually caused by Intel Display Power Saving Technology (Intel DPST).

What is Intel DPST?
How does it work?
How to Disable DPST?
Conclusion

Intel Display Power Saving Technology (DSPT) is a power-saving feature in Intel’s mobile graphics chips. These chips reduce power consumption on a computer by altering the brightness of the display. This feature makes the computer brighter or less bright depending on the situation the computer analyzes or depending on the content it is displaying on the screen.

While a great feature on the surface level, it can be quite buggy. It also tends to be unpredictable from time to time. It comes enabled in a lot of Intel-based systems but it can be disabled.

What is Intel DPST?

Intel GPU models may include the Display Power Saving Technology. It is a feature that can save the computer's power consumption by optimizing picture contrast on the internal LCD.

In some systems, the Display Power Saving Technology feature is enabled as the factory default. If you want to disable this feature, you can disable it by following the methods shown below.

How does it work?

This technology controls the LED backlight of the screen. It reduces the backlight as needed when the computer needs to save power. This technology aims to automatically reduce the brightness while maintaining good visuals for the user to see. The key word there is “aims to”. It keeps re-adjusting the backlight according to the content displayed on the screen And to some users, it is quite annoying.

How to Disable DPST?

After facing the problem on one of my Dell laptops, I went to its forums. And there, I saw that this was a recurring issue in Dell Laptops. So, here’s how to fix it:

Method 1:From Intel Graphics Command Center

This intel feature can be disabled from the Intel Graphics Command Center. (These steps work on 6th-generation Intel Core processors and higher. For older systems, check out Method 2.) To do this, go through the following steps.

Open the Intel Graphics Command Center app. Search for the Intel® Graphics Command Center in the Windows Start Menu. Simply select the Intel® Graphics Command Center icon from the available options.
Next click on System (or 4 dots as shown in the image)
Click on Power
Check out the toggle button next to “Adaptive Brightness”

fig. Disable DSPT using Intel Graphics Command Center
If it is “on”, set it to “off”
Close the graphics command center
Restart the PC for good measure

Method 2: Intel Graphics Control Panel

For PCs with processors 5th Gen Intel core processors or lower, an app called Intel Graphics Control Panel is used. It is the predecessor to Intel Graphics Command Center. But, it has the same functionalities. If you have a system running such hardware, follow this guide:

Open the “Intel Graphics Settings” app by right-clicking on an open space on the desktop.
Click on the Power Option
Set the power source to “on battery”
Disable the “Display Power-Saving Technology” option
Apply the changes and exit the app

If this does not work, you can seek support from the computer manufacturer by contacting them directly.

Method 3: Windows Settings and Control Panel

Sometimes, it’s not Intel that is the problematic part but windows. This can be checked by visiting the control panel. It can change many settings as well as set the power options. This is what we’ll be looking into in this part of the article. Follow the steps below:

Go to System

fig. Goto System
Go To Power & Sleep
Head on over to Additional Power Settings (If you can’t see it, expand the window size and you’ll be able to see it on the Right Hand Panel)

fig. Power & sleep > Additional Power Options
Click on Change the plan settings link

fig. Click on Change the Plan Settings
Click on Change advanced power settings and then tweaks the settings as

fig. Change Advance Power Settings
Once you have scrolled down far enough to reach the "Display" area, click the plus sign to reveal the sub-menus that are available. To view its settings, you will need to click on the + sign that is located next to "Enable adaptive brightness."
Make sure the settings are set to off.

Method 4: Using Windows Regedit

The registry editor in windows is a good way to manage the system settings. This involves tapping into the registry of windows. Therefore, caution is advised before following the given steps.

Launch Regedit
(Press Windows + R, Type “Regedit”, and hit enter. It may ask you permission, just click on Yes )
Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4d36e968-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318}\0000
📚 If your computer is similar to mine in that it has two graphics cards, then the FeatureTestControl subkey might be located in either the 0000 or 0001 subkey.

fig. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4d36e968-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318}\0000
Find FeatureTestControl and copy its value after double-clicking it. Mine is 1200
Just go to this link. and paste the value in the hex field. Then click on Convert. It will generate its equivalent Decimal and Binary Numbers. You just have to focus on Binary Numbers. Mine is 1001000000000

fig. Convert Hex to Binary
Change the fifth bit from the end to 1. In my case, it is: 1001000010000
Again come back to the same link and select Binary in From Dropdown and Hex in To Dropdown and then paste above binary value and click on Convert. In my case I got 1210 in hex.

fig. Generate Hex From Binary
Just Copy this value to “FeatureTestControl” from step 3 and then Press Ok button.

fig. Paste Down the Generated Hex Value in FeatureTestControl
Reboot the system to apply all changes.

How can you determine whether the driver key is 0000 or 0001 or something else entirely?

Steps are as follows:

1. Goto run and type: devmgmt.msc and press Enter
This will open device manager.

2. Locate and use the Display Adapter.
3. Right-click on Intel HD graphics in the list and select Properties.
4. Select the "Details" tab.
5. From the Property Dropdown menu, pick "Driver Key."
6. Look for the driver key in the Value readonly field.

**fig. Driver Key for my Intel Graphics**

It is 0000 in my situation.

Method 5: Troubleshooter

In order to run the troubleshooter, you can go through the following steps:

Open the settings app
Head over to Update and Security

fig. Select Update & Security Settings
Go to Troubleshoot

fig. Click on Troubleshoot Link
If you see the option, click Power

fig. Power Option Link
If the option isn’t there, go to Additional Troubleshooters

fig. Additional Troubleshoot
Run the Troubleshooter

fig. Select Troubleshooter Option

Method 6: Take help from Official Support

If this does not work, you have the option of seeking assistance from the manufacturer of the computer by contacting them directly.

Method 7: Using Powershell and Bat File

Powershell scripts and bat files can be used to disable Intel display power saving technology with a single click. Simply follow this link to get started. Additionally, clone this repository with the following command.

git clone https://github.com/orev/dpst-control.git

When you open the folder, you will see a powershell script (ps1) and a bat file.

To disable DPST, simply double-click disable-dpst.bat.

**fig. Disable DSPT using Powershell and CMD**

Conclusion

The feature called “Intel Display Power Saving Technology” has been promoted as useful software. But, according to most anecdotes online, it’s more of a “feature” than an actual feature. It might be handy for people that don’t know how to navigate the basics of Windows. However, it’s not as good as it seems on the surface. And with the latest laptops and computers coming with great batteries, we don’t need to worry about the charge too much.