Dark mode in Windows 11 still far from perfect, users say

Have you tried using dark mode in Windows 11? If you have, you might have observed that despite enabling it, certain pop-up dialogs still appear in light mode, so it doesn’t provide a complete blackout experience.

In a recent discussion on r/Windows11, users expressed frustration over the lack of an all-black interface in certain dialogs, especially on the file transfer screen. While the majority of the operating system features a dark theme, the file transfer dialog remains stubbornly white, leading to a mismatch in the user experience.

You might recall that the dark theme for all elements was present in Windows XP. It allowed for fully customizable themes that influenced every dialog and window. 

However, starting from Windows 8, Microsoft chose to remove this functionality for god-knows reasons, even though this specific dialog uses a similar technology stack as the previous version. You can still use third-party apps like StartAllBack though but still, it won’t ever be the same.

“Anyone who says how hard it is to design a dark theme for the so-called “legacy” applications should actually learn how themes used to work in pre-Windows 8 days,” one user writes. 

“Every new windows version is just a skin on top of the previous one. It’s like they are given 2 weeks to put it together and choose the most commonly used apps to skin,” another one chimes in. 

Despite the negative aspects of dark modes in Microsoft products, there are also positive developments. Recently, Windows 11’s native browser, Edge, received an exciting enhancement that makes it even darker. For fans of this mode, Microsoft discreetly introduced a toggle in the browser’s flags page users to automate dark mode for web content. 

Then, in Edge Canary, Microsoft experimented with a full black background for various elements such as the tab strip, toolbar, favorites bar, vertical tabs, and sidebar. 

What are your thoughts on dark mode in Windows 11? Are you satisfied with the feature? Let us know in the comments!