Many people have asked this question that some applications appear blurry when they switch monitors or change their display settings. Windows 10 usually fixes these blurry windows automatically. If they remain blurry, I'll explain some settings you can change to fix them. But for this you have to stay with us till the end.
Why Is the Text Blurry in Some Apps?
Here first you have to understand why this problem occurs in the first place. In most cases, the issue has something to do with scaling. This feature is quite beneficial for those who want an easy way to view and use navigation elements on their PC. However, in some cases, some apps may appear blurry due to scaling. This problem occurs when the program does not support scaling.
You should also note here that dual monitor users are more vulnerable to this problem. So, if you are facing the same problem, let us now talk about its solution. By the end of this article, you will know how to automatically fix blurry apps problem in Windows 10.
Have Windows 10 Automatically Fix Blurry Apps
Starting with Windows 10 version 1803, you can allow your computer to automatically fix your blurry apps. With version 1903, this option comes enabled by default, so you don’t need to toggle it on.
If any of your desktop programs are appearing blurry, it might be because you or someone else has disabled this option. You can verify whether the option is on or off as follows:
Open the “Start” menu, search for “Fix apps that are blurry,” and click the System Settings result with that name.
In the Fix scaling for apps section, you’ll see the “Let Windows try to fix apps so they’re not blurry” option. Turn this switch on if it’s off.
Fix a Blurry App by Changing Its DPI Settings
If only a single app appears blurry, you can change the app’s DPI (dots per inch) settings to try and fix the blurriness.
To do this, open the “Start” menu, search for your app, right-click your app in the search results, and select “Open file location.”
In the folder that opens, find your app, right-click it, and select “Properties.”
Click the “Compatibility” tab in Properties, then click “Change high DPI settings” at the bottom.
In the Properties window that appears, check “Use this setting to fix scaling problems for this program instead of the one in Settings.”
Also, enable the “Override high DPI scaling behavior” checkbox. Choose “Application” from the dropdown menu. Finally, click “OK” to save your changes.
Restart your computer (or sign out and sign back in) and reopen the app that appeared blurry. It should be fixed. If it’s not, try the other methods below.
Use ClearType Text Tuner to Fix Blurry Apps
ClearType Text Tuner is a utility on Windows 10 that makes the text that appears on your screen look sharper, clearer, and easier to read.
You can enable and configure this option to see whether it fixes your app’s blurriness.
To start, open the “Start” menu, search for “Adjust ClearType text,” and click the Control Panel result with that name.
Activate the “Turn on ClearType” checkbox in the window that appears, then click “Next.”
Windows 10 will set your monitor to its default resolution. When this is done, click “Next.”
You’ll now see two samples of text on your screen. Click the text that looks best to you, then click “Next.”
You’ll need to select the text that looks best to you five times.
On the last screen, the utility will say that you’ve finished tuning the text on your computer. Click the “Finish” button at the bottom to exit the utility.
Lower Your Screen’s Resolution
Some apps appear blurry because you’re using a high resolution on your screen. In this case, you can lower your resolution and see whether that fixes the problem.
If this doesn’t fix the issue, you can easily revert back to the old resolution.
To do this, open the “Start” menu, search for “Settings,” and click the first result. Another way to open Settings is to press Ctrl+i on your keyboard.
Click “System” on the following screen.
Select “Display” on the left, and look toward “Display resolution” on the right. From the dropdown menu here, choose a resolution that’s lower than your current one. You can start by choosing the second option from the top.
Note: Note your current resolution, and you can select it if you want to undo your change.
A prompt will appear asking whether you want to keep your new resolution. Click the “Keep changes” button.
You don’t need to reboot your computer. You can open the affected app right away.
Update Your Graphics Drivers
Your graphics card drivers define how your card works with your computer. If these drivers are faulty or obsolete, this can cause various display issues, including causing your apps to appear blurry.
Updating the drivers is a good idea to potentially fix this problem.
To do this, open the “Start” menu, search for “Device Manager,” and click on the utility.
In the window that opens, expand “Display adapters,” right-click your graphics card, and select “Update driver.”
Click “Search automatically for drivers,” and Windows will find and install the required drivers for you.
If that doesn’t work for some reason, you can manually download and install graphics drivers on your PC. You’ll need to visit the website of the company that manufactures your PC’s graphics hardware (NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel), download the latest driver installer package, and run it on your computer.
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If you’ve ever tried a monitor of a newer built or multi-display modes on any Windows OS, you’ve probably run into issues with display scaling and third-party apps.
In most cases, the interface is either too small or visible but blurry. However, some users report issues with Microsoft’s own UWP apps, as well.
Even though those are much better optimized for Windows 10 workflow, sometimes the scaling is wrong and they come out blurry.
We made sure to give our two cents on this topic, along with the 6 possible solutions. If even the Store apps look blurry, check the steps we provided below.
How can I fix blurry Microsoft apps in Windows 10:
- Enable built-in troubleshooter
- Change the DPI in Compatibility mode settings
- Manually regulate display scaling in Display settings
- Enable ClearType for blurry fonts
- Check display drivers
- Lower the resolution
1: Enable built-in troubleshooter
From the beginning, there were issues with Windows and DPI scaling on large-resolution monitors. Especially when the screen size is on the lower side.
For example, on the 15.6-inch monitor with Full HD resolution, the displaying interface will get blurry. This especially targets standard desktop (win32) programs which are outdated.
Outdated in the sense that the developer hasn’t optimized them for Full HD or even 4K UHD resolutions at the time. Reasonably, since those were introduced in the last couple of years and a lot of common applications are out of support for ages.
Albeit, all new UWP apps mostly regulate DPI and avoid blurriness, older apps (developed for Windows 8) still have issues on high-res screens.
For that reason, with Creators Update, Microsoft introduced a special troubleshooter which tackles this issue. It fixes blurry apps by automatically scaling the interface.
It’s to be found in Display settings and this is how to enable it:
- Right-click on the desktop and open Display settings from the contextual menu.
- Click on Advanced scaling settings.
- Under the “Fix scaling for apps” section, toggle on “Let Windows try to fix apps so they’re not blurry“.
- Restart your PC and look for improvements.
2: Change the DPI in Compatibility mode settings
Some users tried to replace the blurry UWP app with a Win32 alternatives. But, if the app fits the ‘legacy’ tag, you can be almost certain that it won’t work as intended on newer displays with ultra-high resolutions.
Besides the aforementioned built-in fix, we can also recommend tweaking the compatibility mode settings. This opposes the previous solution, as the Compatibility mode overtakes the screen DPI scaling.
Also, UWP apps can’t be tweaked this way, so this applies only for Win32 apps. Here’s how to access Compatibility mode and resolve scaling issues within an app:
- Right-click on the blurry application and open Properties.
- Choose the Compatibility tab.
- Select the “Change high DPI settings” option.
- Now, you can either stick with the fix from the previous solution or check the “Use this setting to fix scaling problems for this program instead of the one in Settings” box. You can select whether the optimization applies after the system boot or when you open the app in the drop-down menu.
- Additionally, in the same dialog box, you can override the high DPI scaling. You can enforce app’s scaling or system scaling. Just check the box and experiment with the options.
3: Manually regulate display scaling in Display settings
The issue is self-explanatory, but the solutions might differ. Basically, all of them are just workarounds, and only certain resolution would be a better-coded display scaling.
And even Microsoft can’t do that with its native Office applications. With that said, more times than not, you’ll need to trade the visibility for quality and vice versa.
The built-in values include 100% and enlarged 125% scaling. However, maybe the 125% is too blurry and, say, 115% is just a right fit. You can tweak this manually. Here’s how to do it:
- Right-click on the desktop and open Display settings from the contextual menu.
- Click on Advanced scaling settings.
- Under the ‘Custom scaling‘ section, insert any value from 100 to 125 and apply changes.
4: Enable ClearType for blurry fonts
Sometimes the blurriness mostly affects fonts, making reading much harder. Yes, you can enlarge the fonts and they’ll just be larger, but this will probably lack any aesthetic.
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What you can do, on the other hand, is use the Ease of Access settings and enable ClearType mode. This should make letters much more legible and reduce the blurriness in the legacy app.
Here’s how to tweak the font looks in a few simple steps:
- Type ClearType in the Search bar and open Adjust ClearType text.
- Enable it and follow the further steps until you successfully configure everything.
- Restart your PC and look for changes.
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5: Check display drivers
This is rarely the case, but the faulty display drivers might cause the in-app blurriness. Thing is, Windows 10 and its generic drivers provided via updates are too often subpar.
They just won’t cut it. What you’ll need to do is to get the official driver for your GPU. Those can be found on the official support website, provided by the OEM.
Here are the 3 main GPU OEMs:
Just navigate to one of those links and download the official display driver for your graphics card. If your GPU is older, there’s a chance that the support for Windows 10 is discontinued. In that case, look for legacy drivers.
They should perform better even if they originate from Windows 7 or 8.
6: Lower the resolution
Finally, even though this isn’t a solution, we must mention it. By lowering the resolution on your small-sized screen, you’ll reduce the blur in apps.
The DPI will drop and the look of the interface should improve. That’s just something we users need to deal with, as the legacy apps are just not adjusted for high-resolution displays.
Some of them might get updated and optimized, but only Microsoft’s UWPs (Store apps) will always fit perfectly. Sadly, they’re still far from perfect and the majority of users still favours win32 applications over them.
With that said, we can wrap up this article. In the end, we encourage you to share your ways to deal with screen scale causing blurriness in apps.
The comments section is below so feel free to post your thoughts or inquiries.
Disclaimer: The above information is for general informational purposes only. All information on the Site is provided in good faith, however, we make no representation or warranty of any kind, express or implied, regarding the accuracy, adequacy, validity, reliability, availability or completeness of any information on the Site.
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