144Hz monitor stuck at 60Hz
Buying a 144Hz (or 165/240Hz) monitor doesn't automatically get you 144Hz — Windows and macOS both default new displays to 60Hz until you tell them otherwise, and the cable in the box may not even carry more. Work through the setting, the cable, and the driver below, then confirm the real number with the live test.
Step-by-step fix
- On Windows 11, open Settings → System → Display → Advanced display, pick the monitor from the dropdown at the top, and check the Choose a refresh rate field — it's per-monitor, so a second display can silently stay at 60Hz even after you fix the first one.
- On macOS, go to System Settings → Displays, select the monitor, and open the Refresh Rate menu — it only appears once a compatible resolution is selected, so try the monitor's native resolution first.
- Check the cable if the option is missing entirely: an old HDMI cable is the single biggest cause of a "stuck at 60Hz" monitor. HDMI 1.4 can't sustain 144Hz reliably even at 1080p — use a cable rated HDMI 2.0 or newer, or switch to DisplayPort, which has carried high refresh rates natively for longer.
- Rule out the port and adapter too: a dock, KVM switch or passive adapter in the chain can silently cap bandwidth even with a good cable at both ends. Plug directly from GPU to monitor to test.
- Open your GPU's control panel (NVIDIA Control Panel, AMD Software, or Intel Graphics Command Center) and check for a custom resolution or refresh rate entry that's overriding Windows — a mismatched custom setting can force the display back to 60Hz regardless of the OS setting.
- On a laptop, dynamic refresh rate and battery-saver modes deliberately drop the panel to 60Hz to save power, especially unplugged. Check Settings → System → Display → Advanced display for a dynamic refresh rate toggle, and plug in or disable battery saver before testing.
- Confirm the real number with the CheckMyMic refresh rate test — it measures what your browser is actually rendering, not just what the OS claims. If it still reads 60 after all of the above, see the screen tearing guide for what a stuck-at-60 panel does to motion smoothness.
Frequently asked questions
Why does my new 144Hz monitor default to 60Hz?
Windows and macOS both play it safe with a brand-new display and start at 60Hz until you manually raise it, and some GPU, cable and monitor combinations won't even offer higher options until the connection can prove it supports them. It's a setting, not a fault — check the per-monitor refresh-rate dropdown on the device that's stuck.
Can a cable really limit my refresh rate?
Yes, and it's the most common cause. Older HDMI cables cap out well below 144Hz at most resolutions, so a cable that shipped in the box can silently limit you to 60Hz even on a perfectly capable monitor and GPU. Use HDMI 2.0 or newer, or DisplayPort, and the higher options should appear.
My second monitor is stuck at 60Hz but my main one is fine — why?
Refresh rate is set per display, not globally, so fixing one monitor does nothing for the other. Open the display settings, select the second monitor specifically from the dropdown, and raise its refresh rate and check its cable the same way you did for the first.
I've tried everything and it's still stuck at 60Hz — what now?
Test the monitor and cable on a different computer if you can — a 60Hz ceiling that follows the monitor everywhere points to the panel or its port; a ceiling that only happens on one PC points to that GPU, driver or cable. Confirm the real rate with the CheckMyMic refresh rate test, and if the number is technically correct but motion still looks rough, see our screen tearing guide.