Most of us use our computers in the typical landscape orientation, since that's what they're all designed around. That's especially true of laptops, which can't be rotated unless they're also tablets. However, convertible laptops are very common, and many monitors also support rotation (usually called pivot), meaning you can use them in portrait orientation.

However, what many of these screens don't support is detecting their orientation, so if you want to use them vertically, you have to manually rotate the screen in Windows 11. Even if your screen rotates automatically, you may want to turn that feature off. We're here to help with that.

How to rotate your screen in Windows 11

The typical method for rotating your screen on Windows 11 requires going through the Settings app. On Windows 10, you had the option to use a keyboard shortcut, but that's no longer possible natively. Here's how you can still do it:

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Choose System from the side menu.
3. Choose Display.
4. Click the dropdown menu next to Display orientation. You have four options:
   1. Landscape (default) - The standard orientation
   2. Portrait - Rotates your screen 90 degrees to the left.
   3. Landscape (flipped) - Rotates the screen 180 degrees (making it upside down)
   4. Portrait (flipped) - Rotates the screen 90 degrees to the right.
5. Windows will give you 15 seconds to confirm or revert your changes if it doesn't look right. Click Keep changes if it looks good.

Rotate your screen with keyboard shortcuts

Windows 11 doesn't natively support rotating your screen with keyboard shortcuts, and even on Windows 10, most recent PCs no longer allow this due to the feature being removed in graphics drivers. But thanks to third-party apps, you can still bring that functionality back, Here's how:

1. Download Screen Rotate from the Microsoft Store and launch the app.
2. You can now rotate the screen using the following keyboard shortcuts:
   1. Ctrl + Alt + R - Rotates the screen 90 degrees to the left. Keep pressing the shortcut to keep rotating all around.
   2. Ctrl + Alt + A - Rotates the screen 90 degrees to the left from the default position.
   3. Ctrl + Alt + D - Rotates the screen 90 degrees to the right from the default position.
   4. Ctrl + Alt + S - Rotates the screen 180 degrees so it's upside down (compared to the default position).
   5. Ctrl + Alt + W - Restores the screen to the default position.
3. If the shortcuts above aren't ideal for you, you can launch the Screen Rotate app and click the Cog icon.
4. Click the dropdown menu next to each option to choose one of the shortcuts for a specific rotation.
5. Close the window and you should be able to use the new shortcuts you selected.

Turn auto-rotate on or off

If your PC has the hardware to automatically rotate the screen, you can toggle whether it should rotate automatically or not. There are two ways to do this in Windows 11.

Using Quick Settings

The easiest method is to use the Quick Settings panel:

1. Click the battery, internet, or sound icons in the right corner of the taskbar.
2. If your PC has hardware to detect rotation, you should see a Rotation Lock button.
3. If it's colored, click the button to disable the rotation lock, allowing the screen to rotate freely.
   • If the button is colorless, click or tap it to enable the rotation lock and keep the screen in the same position.

Using the Settings app

You can also turn the rotation lock on or off using the Settings app:

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Head to the System section on the left.
3. Click Display.
4. Find the Rotation toggle and set it to On if you want the screen to rotate freely or Off if you want it to stay in the same position.

Use rotation to perfect your setup

Whether you have some monitors you want to use vertically or a 2-in-1 laptop, these steps can help you get the most out of your devices. It's also fairly easy to revert the process, so if you just want to play around, you have nothing to fear.