Windows 11 could finally get a finished dark mode – but I can’t believe how long it’s taken
- Windows 11 dark mode has long been unfinished
- Microsoft brings dark mode to certain parts of the interface, based on clues identified in the tests
- This includes the dialog boxes for the file operation, as when copying files in front of one folder to another
If you use Dark mode in Windows 11, you may have noticed that it does not cover the entire operating system – but it seems that Microsoft finally fills the gaps.
Dark mode is an option that you can select in Windows 11 which, as its name suggests, provides a dark background for Windows and interface items (and some Microsoft applications in stock also). So, if you use your PC late at night, you can avoid the hardness of traditional white backgrounds, which can be a little blatant in low light conditions.
Windows 11 file dialog boxes (copy, refused access, etc.) finally obtain the support for dark mode! Here is what the dialogue boxes in dark mode look like at this stage, hidden in Build 26100.5061. Also note the light buttons at the top right, always a work in progress of course. pic.twitter.com/3d00lwijcnAugust 15, 2025
More specifically, these are the dialogue boxes for file operations that get a dark background when the dark mode is on – but the capture is that this work is not yet live in the tests. It is always hidden in the background of the preview version, and the leak activated it using a Windows configuration utility.
“File Operation file” refers to the parts of the interface that appear when you copy files opposite, for example, a USB stick to a folder on the desktop, and there are also dialog boxes when you delete files (to obtain confirmation). Another example is the warning box “ refused access ”, as you can see below – on which it seems that Microsoft is not quite finished working, because the buttons are always light gray.
Analysis: Dark Times
So, it is always a work in progress, and it is hidden in preview at the moment (which means that even the testers will not see it yet, unless they prevail as Phantomoftheth has done). However, even if it is not yet official, I do not see that Microsoft does not advance with this change – after all, the company must possibly apply the dark mode on the entire Windows 11 interface.
Indeed, the question is: why did it take Microsoft so long to implement a complete achievement of the dark mode in Windows anyway? Black mode has been introduced for the first time in Windows 10, since the middle of 2016 (as part of the anniversary update), but it was terribly incoherent at the time.
Since then, Microsoft has been working to incorporate the dark mode into more Windows 11 interface elements – there was a notable burst of activity in 2020 – but let’s face it, the progress has been painfully slow.
Hopefully it is a sign that Microsoft is back on the case, and that more final keys will finally be applied to Dark mode in Windows 11.
Given the duration of this, you might guess that the reason for the dark mode remaining in an unfinished state is because many people use it, but I cannot imagine that this is the case – I certainly use it. So, get your skates on Microsoft – it’s really not a good look that some songs from the Windows environment have been left out in the cold (or should it be left in the blatant light?) For so long.
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