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Blurry and Pixelated Icons in Windows 10: 5 Solutions to Use

Check out the solutions others confirmed to work!

5 min. read

Updated onOctober 4, 2023

updated onOctober 4, 2023

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A clean and uncluttered desktop is usually the ideal way to go, but how would you react when the desktop icons look blurry even after putting in all effort?

This is a common problem faced by users on almost all iterations of the OS, but Windows 10 seems more likely to be affected. So, let’s find out how to fix blurry icons in Windows 10.

Why do my icons look blurry?

Here are some of the reasons the desktop icons look appear blurry:

How do I fix blurry desktop icons?

How do I fix blurry desktop icons?

Before we head to the slightly more complex solutions, let’s first try a few quick ones:

If nothing worked, let’s head to the other solutions.

1. Change the View settings

In many cases, it was a problem with the app icon’s resolution, which started to blur when it increased beyond a specific limit. So it would be best if you had them set to aSmall iconfor the best results.

2. Update the graphics driver

That’s it! The graphics driver should be updated now, and desktop icons shouldn’t be blurry in Windows 10.

In case Windows can’t find a newer version, navigate to the manufacturer’s official website and look it up:

If you don’t want to download the drivers manually, you can always download them automatically using a third-party tool.

The significant advantage of using such a tool is that it finds compatible versions and works on your system.

Thus, it keeps you away from damaging your PC by downloading and installing the wrong driver versions.

Outbyte Driver Updateris a simple tool that can automatically update all your drivers with just a single click, so if you don’t want to search and download the drivers manually, be sure to try this tool.

Its interface is straightforward to use, and once the scan is completed, the tool will compare your current drivers with the ones found in its built-in database.

Afterward, Outbyte Driver Updater will fix and update any missing or broken drivers.

Outbyte Driver Updater

3. Modify scaling

Scaling is probably the reason behind pixelated desktop icons if it wasn’t for the drivers. Some users reported that scaling was set to a higher level on their PC, resulting in blurry desktop icons, and putting it to 100% did the trick.

4. Adjust Visual Effects for the best appearance

This is another viable solution suggested by one of the users who had blurry text with high resolution in Windows 10.

You can optimize yourPCto perform better without theUIvisual effects. However, remember that this might affect your system performance, mainly if you use a low-specPC.

5. Create a new user profile

If nothing else has worked, it’s likely a corrupt user profile to blame for blurry desktop icons. And the simplest solution, in this case, is to create a new one, either Microsoft Account or a Local Account.

Once done, use areliable backup toolto transfer data between the two profiles.

By now, the blurry desktop icons would be visible, and the root cause of the problem would be eliminated. Also, the solutions listed here would work for blurry taskbar icons in Windows 10.

Besides, find out the bestdisplay settings for enhanced Windows graphics.

Drop in the comments section if you have any queries or know of another solution.

More about the topics:icon,windows 10 fix

Aleksandar Ognjanovic

Aleksandar’s main passion is technology. With a solid writing background, he is determined to bring the bleeding edge to the common user. With a keen eye, he always spots the next big thing surrounding Microsoft and the Windows OS.

Focused on Windows errors and how to solve them, he also writes about the OS’s latest features as well as its interface.

In his free time, he likes to read, listen to music, and enjoy the nature. Hiking is one of his newly found passions.

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