Why does my mouse pointer stay bright when I dim the display?

Overlay dimming can darken the desktop while leaving the mouse pointer bright. The pointer is drawn above the dimming layer, so it does not receive the same adjustment as the image underneath.

If your display supports hardware brightness control, use that to lower the display’s brightness instead. This changes the display’s light output, including the pointer, rather than placing a dark layer over the desktop. Software dimming may still be useful below the hardware minimum, but its overlay path can leave the pointer comparatively bright.

Color-table dimming is another software method and can affect the pointer as well, where supported. Availability depends on the display and configuration. See color-table compatibility before changing that setting, especially with a custom color profile. Turning off an overlay does not create hardware brightness support on an incompatible display.

See dimming below the hardware minimum for how the available brightness methods fit together.