Forum Discussion
Problem with PowerBI Desktop dark mode
Hi gbeikircher
Can you mention which buttons on the right side.
On the left side, it's Jan 2026 Power BI update where it is darker view for these
Report view
Table view
Model view
Hi gbeikircher ,
I’ve seen this happen a few times lately, especially with the newer January 2026 builds. It seems like the navigation pane icons (Report, Table, Model) sometimes get "stuck" in a high-contrast state even when the rest of the UI transitions to Dark Mode.
Try these two steps to force a UI refresh:
1. Toggle the Personalization Theme
Go to File > Options and settings > Options > Global > Report view. Look for the Personalization section. Even if it says "Dark," switch it to "Light," click OK (let the app refresh), and then go back and switch it back to "Dark." This usually forces the icon assets to reload.
2. Hardware Graphics Acceleration
If the buttons are still invisible/dark, go to Options > Global > Options > Security (or Advanced in some versions) and try unchecking "Use hardware graphics acceleration." Restart Power BI after doing this. Sometimes the UI rendering for these specific icons fails when the GPU isn't syncing with the theme overlay.
It’s a frustrating bug, but one of these usually resets the icon colors. Let me know if that brings your buttons back to life!
Hi AshokKunwar,
i tried the first Option.
After i setting to light the Button became Dark as well.
The second Option to disable the "Use hardware graphics acceleration" is not shown in the Options > Security or in other Options.
Hii gbeikircher
Thank you for trying those steps. Since the icons turned dark in "Light" mode too, it definitely looks like the UI resources are stuck.
Regarding Hardware Acceleration, Microsoft recently moved this setting. You can now find it here:
- Go to File > Options and settings > Options.
- Under the Global section, click on General.
- Look for the "Use hardware graphics acceleration" checkbox at the very bottom of that pane.
- Uncheck it, click OK, and restart Power BI Desktop entirely.
If that doesn't work, there is a "Deep Reset" for the UI cache:
Sometimes the local cache for the Desktop app gets corrupted during an update. Try this:
- Close Power BI Desktop.
- Open Windows Explorer and paste this into the address bar: %localappdata%\Microsoft\Power BI Desktop\
- Locate the folder named "User.config" and rename it to "User.config.old".
- Restart Power BI. (Note: This will reset your personal preferences like recent files, but it forces the app to rebuild the UI skin from scratch).
Let me know if unchecking the box in the General tab or the cache reset finally brings those icons back to the right color!
Hi AshokKunwar
in the Option there is no Section with General.
In the folder %localappdata%\Microsoft\Power BI Desktop\ there was no User.config but a User.zip. I renamed that and also cleared the Folder Cache.
But nothing changed - the Button still black.
After Starting PowerBI all startet on a new Startup - wich Style i would like