Update PowerToys to kill the annoying theme changing bug

When Microsoft released PowerToys 0.95.0 recently there was excitement that it included a new module – Light Switch. But the excitement quickly turned to disappointed and confusion because of a bug that has managed to slip through the net.

Microsoft was fairly quick to acknowledge that when it added the new Light Switch module to PowerToys, it should not have been enabled by default. But as it was enabled by default, many people wondered what on Earth was happening when their computer started randomly changing between Light and Dark Mode.

Now, with the release of PowerToys 0.95.1, Microsoft has addressed this oversight as well as fixing other problems with the recent utility release. The Light Switch module was designed to automatically switch Windows between Light Mode and Dark Mode depending on the tie of day – the thinking being that many people prefer Light Mode in the daytime, and Dark Mode at night.

But, equally, there are plenty of people who stick with one or the other, and unexpected changes are worrying regardless of which is your preference. At the time, Microsoft said:

Hello all, this is Jaylyn from the PowerToys team.

We never intended to have Light Switch be turned on by default - this is actually a bug and we are working on a fix rolling out ASAP.

Thanks for reporting and sorry for any confusion this may have caused!

UPDATE: Hotfix is currently in review: #42434

And it is the hotfix mentioned in this message which is included in PowerToys 0.95.1:

• #42434: Fixed bug where Light Switch was enabled by default

The release notes for this particular update also include the following advice:

NOTE: If you encountered issues with light/dark theme switching before this update, try turning Light Switch off and back on to reset it.

The Light Switch issue is not the only thing that is fixed in PowerToys 0.95.1. Microsoft says of this release:

This patch release fixes several important stability issues identified in v0.95.0 based on incoming reports.

The full release notes look like this:

Light Switch

⚠️ NOTE: If you encountered issues with light/dark theme switching before this update, try turning Light Switch off and back on to reset it. ⚠️

• #42434: Fixed bug where Light Switch was enabled by default
• #42434: Fixed bug where Manual time schedule was being overridden by sunset calculations
• #42434: Renamed "Manual" mode to "Fixed Hours" for clarity
• #42434: Created a new "Off" mode that disables the schedule but still allows the shortcut to be used
• #42434: Fixed a bug which allowed the taskbar to be the accent color in light mode (this should only be allowed in dark mode)
• #42774: Fixed a bug where light/dark times where not updating when switch between modes (Specifically manual back to Sunset to Sunrise mode).

CmdPal

• #42467: Fixed crashes on pages using filters (e.g., Windows Terminal profiles, Windows Services) when built with trimming or AOT by removing runtime bindings from the FiltersDropDown control.
• #42405: Fixed an issue where window style changes (such as WS_EX_TOOLWINDOW) were not properly applied by ensuring cached window data is refreshed.

Find my mouse:

• #42774: Fixed bug that would cause the window to lose focus
• #42774: Fixed bug that would cause the mouse to go busy (hourglass)
•  

Installer:

• #41975: Removed WiX v3 infrastructure and migrate exclusively to WiX v5, cutting build times.

Bug report:

• #42399: Improvements to the bug report system

You can upgrade to PowerToys 0.95.1 by using the in-app update option, or you can head over to the Git Hub repository and download the latest PowerToys installer here.