System Turn On or Off Screen Rotation Lock in Windows 11


  • Staff
Rotation_lock_banner.png

This tutorial will show you how to turn on or off screen rotation lock in Windows 11.

A tablet and some hybrid laptop (ex: 2-in-1) devices are designed to rotate the built-in display automatically in a portrait or landscape orientation as you turn it so that what you see on the screen is always right side up.

If you like, you can turn on or off rotation lock in Windows 11 to allow (off) or prevent (on) the auto-rotation of your screen as needed.


Display orientation settings will be disabled and grayed out when Rotate lock is turned off.


Contents

  • Option One: Turn On or Off Screen Rotation Lock using Keyboard Shortcut
  • Option Two: Turn On or Off Screen Rotation Lock in Quick Settings
  • Option Three: Turn On or Off Screen Rotation Lock in Settings
  • Option Four: Turn On or Off Screen Rotation Lock using REG file




Option One

Turn On or Off Screen Rotation Lock using Keyboard Shortcut


1 Press the Win + O keys to toggle Rotation Lock on or off (default).




Option Two

Turn On or Off Screen Rotation Lock in Quick Settings


1 Open Quick Settings (Win+A).

2 Click/tap on the Rotation lock button to toggle it on or off (default). (see screenshots below)

If the Rotate lock setting is grayed out, then often you can just rotate your display to be able to turn on or off.

If you have a convertible (aka: 2-in-1) PC with a 360-degree hinge, rotation lock will be grayed out when it is in normal laptop mode.

If you have a device (ex: Surface) with a removable keyboard, rotation lock will be grayed out while the screen is connected to the keyboard. This is because, in standard laptop mode, the screen will never automatically rotate.


Rotation_lock_Quick_Settings-1.jpg
Rotation_lock_Quick_Settings-2.jpg





Option Three

Turn On or Off Screen Rotation Lock in Settings


1 Open Settings (Win+I).

2 Click/tap on System on the left side, and click/tap on Display on the right side. (see screenshot below)

Open Display settings

Rotation_lock_Settings-1.png

3 Turn On or Off (default) Rotation lock for what you want under the Scale & layout section. (see screenshots below)

If the Rotate lock setting is grayed out, then often you can just rotate your display to be able to turn on or off.

If you have a convertible (aka: 2-in-1) PC with a 360-degree hinge, rotation lock will be grayed out when it is in normal laptop mode.

If you have a device (ex: Surface) with a removable keyboard, rotation lock will be grayed out while the screen is connected to the keyboard. This is because, in standard laptop mode, the screen will never automatically rotate.


Rotation_lock_Settings-2.png
Rotation_lock_Settings-3.png




Option Four

Turn On or Off Screen Rotation Lock using REG file


You must be signed in as an administrator to use this option.


1 Do step 2 (on) or step 3 (off) below for what you would like to do.

2 Turn On Screen Rotation Lock

A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the REG file below, and go to step 4 below.​

Turn_ON_screen_rotation_lock.reg​


(Contents of REG file for reference)
Code: 
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\AutoRotation]
"Enable"=dword:00000000

3 Turn Off Screen Rotation Lock

This is the default setting.


A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the REG file below, and go to step 4 below.​

Turn_OFF_screen_rotation_lock.reg​


(Contents of REG file for reference)
Code: 
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\AutoRotation]
"Enable"=dword:00000001

4 Save the .reg file to your desktop.

5 Double click/tap on the downloaded .reg file to merge it.

6 When prompted, click/tap on Run, Yes (UAC), Yes, and OK to approve the merge.

7 Either sign out and sign in or restart the computer to apply.

8 You can now delete the downloaded .reg file if you like.


That's it,
Shawn Brink


Related Tutorials

 

Attachments

  • Rotation_lock.png
    Rotation_lock.png
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  • Turn_OFF_screen_rotation_lock.reg
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  • Turn_ON_screen_rotation_lock.reg
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Last edited:
Click to expand...
Hi Shawn,

I have an HP Pavilion x360 laptop running Windows 11.
I am having an issue with auto screen rotation. Ex: When I carry the laptop to another room the screen flips to portrait mode which is annoying - and then (usually, but not always) flips back to landscape (correct) mode. My Rotate Lock switch (Display setting) is grayed out in the ON position! So by my understanding, it should NOT be flipping - but it is. I've tried all 4 fixes shown here - and either I am unable to effect the change or simply do not see the option.

NOTE: the 4th option (RegEdit) works - but ONLY for the duration when it's applied - meaning: If I reboot or shutdown and restart later, things are wonky again - screen will rotate when tilted. I just want to (fairly permanently!) disable screen rotation.

As stated, the best relief (but not permanently) is gained through the registry key you did with Turn_OFF_screen_rotation_lock.reg . I'm just curious if you have any other ideas or if anyone else has run into this?

All the best and thanks for your time!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion x360
Kudzu Kid said:
Hi Shawn,

I have an HP Pavilion x360 laptop running Windows 11.
I am having an issue with auto screen rotation. Ex: When I carry the laptop to another room the screen flips to portrait mode which is annoying - and then (usually, but not always) flips back to landscape (correct) mode. My Rotate Lock switch (Display setting) is grayed out in the ON position! So by my understanding, it should NOT be flipping - but it is. I've tried all 4 fixes shown here - and either I am unable to effect the change or simply do not see the option.

NOTE: the 4th option (RegEdit) works - but ONLY for the duration when it's applied - meaning: If I reboot or shutdown and restart later, things are wonky again - screen will rotate when tilted. I just want to (fairly permanently!) disable screen rotation.

As stated, the best relief (but not permanently) is gained through the registry key you did with Turn_OFF_screen_rotation_lock.reg . I'm just curious if you have any other ideas or if anyone else has run into this?

All the best and thanks for your time!
Click to expand...

Hello Kudzu, and welcome. :alien:

Does anything in the note box under step 3 option 3 may apply for why the "Rotate Lock" button is grayed out?
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self build
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING (11GB GDDR5X)
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G75 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3 wall mounted
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gbps Download and 35 Mbps Upload
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Spectre x360 2in1 14-eu0098nr (2024)
    CPU
    Intel Core Ultra 7 155H 4.8 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5x-7467 MHz
    Graphics card(s)
    Integrated Intel Arc
    Sound Card
    Poly Studio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    14" 2.8K OLED multitouch
    Screen Resolution
    2880 x 1800
    Hard Drives
    2 TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD
    Internet Speed
    Intel Wi-Fi 7 BE200 (2x2) and Bluetooth 5.4
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
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