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To disable Auto Color Management (ACM) for a display in Windows 11 24H2, open Settings → System → Display → Color profile, select the monitor, and switch Automatically manage color for apps to Off. Restart affected applications afterward.
This disables Windows’ automatic color-management feature for that display. It does not disable HDR, remove ICC profiles, reset GPU color settings, or stop applications from applying their own color management.
The quickest way to turn off automatic color management
- Press Windows + I to open Settings.
- Select System, then Display.
- Open Color profile.
- If you use multiple monitors, select the display you want to change near the top of the page.
- Turn Automatically manage color for apps off.
- Fully close and reopen affected applications. If they still use the old color path, sign out of Windows or restart the PC.
Microsoft’s current instructions place the control under Color profile. Older Windows guides may instead show it under Settings → System → Display → Advanced display. The exact location can vary by Windows build and device support. Microsoft’s display-color documentation describes the current path.
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Auto Color Management is a Windows system feature designed to improve color consistency across applications, including applications that do not manage color themselves. It is particularly relevant to wide-gamut, HDR, OLED, creator, and calibrated displays.
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Turning it off does not disable every layer of the display pipeline:
| Setting | What it controls | Changed by disabling ACM? |
|---|---|---|
| Auto Color Management | Windows’ automatic color handling for applications | Yes |
| HDR | High-dynamic-range display mode | No |
| ICC profile | Monitor and application color-profile data | No |
| GPU color controls | Output range, format, bit depth, saturation, and related settings | No |
| Monitor picture mode | Hardware gamut, tone mapping, and modes such as sRGB or Native | No |
Applications that perform their own color management may continue using ICC profiles or application-specific settings after ACM is disabled.
If “Color profile” or the toggle is missing
Try these checks in order:
- Confirm that the system is running Windows 11 rather than Windows 10.
- Make sure the intended monitor is selected in Display settings.
- Check Settings → System → Display → Advanced display, particularly on older or differently updated builds.
- Install current graphics drivers from the GPU or computer manufacturer.
- Disconnect and reconnect the external display, or restart the laptop.
- Test the monitor directly on the graphics output instead of through a dock or adapter.
- Check whether HDR is active; some devices expose display controls differently in HDR mode.
ACM depends on supported display hardware and drivers. Microsoft’s reference documentation lists AMD RX 400-series and newer graphics, Intel 12th-generation integrated graphics or newer, Intel DG1 or newer discrete graphics, and NVIDIA Pascal-generation GTX 10-series or newer among supported GPU classes. These are reference requirements, not a guarantee that every current device or driver will expose the toggle. See Microsoft’s Auto Color Management documentation.
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Advanced method: change the per-user Registry value
Use this only if the Settings control is unavailable or does not persist. Microsoft does not present this as the standard supported consumer procedure; it is a community-documented workaround and may not behave identically on every Windows 11 build.
Before editing the Registry, create a restore point or export the relevant key. Incorrect Registry changes can damage Windows configuration.
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- Press Windows + R, type
regedit, and approve the UAC prompt. - Go to
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionColorManagement. - Find the DWORD value
AutoColorManagementEnabled. - Set its value to
0. If it does not exist, create a DWORD (32-bit) Value with that name and set it to0. - Sign out and back in, or restart Windows.
- Recheck the Color profile page.
The same community-documented change can be made from an elevated Command Prompt or terminal:
reg add "HKCUSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionColorManagement" ^
/v AutoColorManagementEnabled /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /fThis value may persistently disable ACM for the current user on some builds, but it is not a guaranteed permanent lock documented by Microsoft. Do not confuse it with HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlGraphicsDriversEnableAcmSupportDeveloperPreview. Microsoft documents that separate key for developer-preview behavior, not as the normal consumer off switch. The Registry method is described by ElevenForum.
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How to check whether ACM is really off
- Return to Settings → System → Display → Color profile.
- Confirm that the correct monitor is selected and the toggle remains off.
- Restart the affected application rather than merely minimizing it.
- On a multi-monitor setup, repeat the process for every display that needs the change.
- Move the application between monitors. If the problem follows the monitor, investigate its profile, HDR mode, cable, GPU output, or monitor settings. If it follows the application, inspect that app’s color or HDR options.
ACM, HDR, and ICC profiles
HDR is controlled separately at Settings → System → Display → HDR. Disabling ACM does not turn HDR off. However, HDR and Windows’ Advanced Color behavior can affect how applications retrieve and apply display color information. Some applications expose a compatibility option such as Use legacy display ICC color management when HDR is active.
Do not remove an ICC profile as the first troubleshooting step. A safer sequence is:
- Disable ACM.
- Restart the affected application.
- Verify whether HDR is on or off.
- Confirm that the correct monitor ICC profile is installed and selected.
- Only then test profile removal or recalibration if necessary.
Microsoft explains these interactions in its documentation on Advanced Color and HDR and ICC profiles with Advanced Color.
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If colors are still washed out or oversaturated
Disabling ACM may help in some configurations, but it is not a universal color reset. Reports of washed-out colors, brightness changes, desaturation, and fullscreen problems are configuration-specific rather than proof of a universal Windows 11 24H2 defect.
Check the display pipeline in this order:
- Quit and reopen the application.
- Verify HDR and, if appropriate, test HDR off and on.
- Check the active ICC profile and Windows HDR Calibration profile.
- Inspect NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel settings, including RGB range, color format, bit depth, and saturation.
- Confirm that RGB output is not incorrectly set to Limited instead of Full.
- Compare the monitor’s sRGB, Native, Creator, Cinema, and HDR modes.
- Reset application-specific color settings.
- Disable Night light and accessibility color filters temporarily.
- Try another cable or port if only one external display is affected.
Compare the problem in screenshots, recordings, and photographs. If captured content looks normal but the physical display looks wrong, the cause is more likely the monitor mode, HDR path, GPU output, cable, or display profile.
Should you leave ACM disabled?
Leaving ACM on is generally preferable if you want more consistent color across mixed applications, use a wide-gamut display with ordinary software, or do not have a calibrated workflow. Microsoft describes ACM as an accuracy and consistency feature, not simply a visual effect.
Turning it off can make sense when a calibrated workflow depends on a particular ICC profile, unmanaged applications look excessively saturated on a wide-gamut monitor, or a specific game or professional application behaves incorrectly after an update. The best choice depends on whether you prefer Windows’ automatic handling or the appearance produced by your own ICC profile, monitor mode, and application settings.
For color-critical work, verify the complete workflow rather than relying only on the global ACM switch: monitor mode, calibration, ICC profile, HDR state, GPU output, and application color management all matter.
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