How can I keep HDR enabled after reconnecting or restarting?

Enable HDR on the display, then turn on App Menu > [display] > Configuration Protection > HDR Status. This Pro feature saves the desired on/off state and attempts to restore it when the display configuration changes.

HDR Status is separate from HDR Color Mode, which protects the connection’s color format, and HDR Color Profile, which protects its color profile. Use the status setting when HDR itself turns off even though your preferred resolution and refresh rate return correctly.

BetterDisplay must remain running, and the current display mode and connection must support HDR. Protection cannot create a missing HDR capability or make an unsupported adapter/mode combination work. First confirm that you can turn HDR on manually in the setup you intend to protect.

If HDR is missing from the available choices, see HDR at different HiDPI resolutions and refresh rates. If a supported HDR mode works manually but will not stay enabled, review Configuration Protection, including its saved values and suspension conditions.

For the rendering background, see how macOS scaling, HiDPI and LoDPI work.

If macOS System Settings still shows the HDR state or color profile you tried to select before protection restored the saved value, leave the Displays pane and return to refresh it. Its visible selection can lag behind a change made by BetterDisplay. Check the current state in BetterDisplay as well. Repeatedly toggling HDR just to refresh System Settings causes additional display mode changes.