Top 7 Ways to Fix Screen Rotation Lock Grayed Out on Windows 10/11
If you own a convertible Windows laptop or tablet, you can take advantage of the automatic screen rotation feature to switch between portrait and landscape modes quickly. However, as with all things on Windows, the rotation lock feature can occasionally stop working. So, if you’ve found yourself in a situation where the rotation lock option appears grayed out on yourWindows computer, we’ve compiled a list of solutions that’ll help.
Table of Contents
Before You Begin
When troubleshooting things, you should never rule out classic tricks that apply to almost every problem. Hence, you should start by restarting your PC, if you haven’t already. This should help fix any minor glitches with the system and set things straight.
Next, ensure that your PC is running the most recent version of Windows. This will help rule out any system-level issues caused by known bugs.
If you’re unable to access the screen rotation lock from the Action Center, you can try changing the display orientation manually by navigating toSettings>System>Displayto see if that works.
If the issue remains, then you can employ the following troubleshooting tips to fix the screen rotation lock grayed-out issue on Windows.
1. Disconnect Peripherals
If your convertible laptop or tablet is connected to a detachable keyboard, Windows may prevent you from accessing the screen rotation lock. Hence, you should start by disconnecting it.
Further, you should also unplug your laptop from any docking station or external monitor, as well as any other peripherals, to avoid interference from external devices.
After that, check to see if you can access the rotation lock on Windows.
2. Put Device in Tent Mode
Another solution is to put your laptop in Tent Mode and then access the rotation lock toggle. Surprisingly enough,this helped many usersfix the issue almost immediately. You can also give it a go.
3. Re-Enable Sensors From Device Manager
Issues with the current sensor drivers on your PC can also cause such anomalies. If it’s just a temporary glitch, simply disabling and re-enabling the sensor driver should resolve the problem.
1.Press theWindows key + Rto launch the Run dialog box. Typedevmgmt.mscin the box and pressEnter.
2.ExpandSensors, right-click on your driver and selectDisable device. Then, right-click on the sensor driver again and selectEnable device.
Check to see if you can access the rotation lock now.
4. Configure Sensor Monitoring Service
Sensor Monitoring Service is a crucial program that needs to run in the background for the screen rotation feature to work correctly. If the service isn’t starting automatically on boot, then you may encounter such issues. Here’s what you can do to fix it.
1.Press theWindows key + Rto open Run utility, type inservices.msc, and pressEnter.
2.Locate and double-click on theSensor Monitoring Service.
3.Change itsStartup typetoAutomaticand hitApply.
Reboot your PC after this and see if the issue is resolved.
5. Run Sensors Troubleshooter
Microsoft offers a dedicated Sensors troubleshooter that can help you fix issues with the location, motion, and other sensors on your PC. However, the troubleshooter doesn’t come pre-installed on Windows, so you’ll have todownloadit first.
Once downloaded, double-click theSensorDiagnosticTablet.diagcaband follow the on-screen prompts to run the troubleshooter.
Following that, you should be able to access the screen rotation lock as before.
6. Update Display Drivers
If the display drivers on your PC are outdated or malfunctioning, you may experience such problems with Windows UI elements. To overrule this possibility, you can try updating your PC’s display drivers by following the steps below.
2.ExpandDisplay adapters, right-click on your driver, and selectUpdate driver.
From there, follow the on-screen instructions to finish updating the driver.
7. Tweak Registry Files
If none of the solutions have worked, you can use the followingregistry trickto force-enable auto rotation on Windows.
Since registry files carry important settings for Windows and its apps, make sure you follow the steps carefully andcreate a backup of your registry files.
1.Press theWindows key + Rto open the Run dialog, type inregedit,and pressEnter.
- In the Registry Editor window, paste the following path in the address bar at the top and pressEnter.
3.On your right, double-click theEnableDWORD, change its Value data to 1, and hitOK.
4.Next, double-click theLastOrientationDWORD, change its Value data to0,and hitOK.
5.Lastly, double-click theSensorPresentDWORD and set its Value data to1. Then, hitOK.
Restart your PC after this, and you should be able to access the rotation lock now.
Portrait or Landscape
Such issues with the auto-rotation feature shouldn’t keep you from using your convertible laptop or tablet to its full potential. Hopefully, one of the above solutions has helped you fix the underlying issue for good and the rotation lock is no longer grayed out on Windows.
Pankil Shah
Pankil is a Civil Engineer by profession who started his journey as a writer back in 2016. He joined TechWiser in March 2021 as a freelance writer to cover buying guides, explainers, and tips & tricks for Android, iOS, Windows, and Web.
