Microsoft Plans to Transform the Death Screen in Windows 11: Goodbye Blue, Hello Black!

Developers of Windows 11 are planning to replace the blue screen of death (BSoD) with a black one in the 24H2 version, as well as remove the QR code and the sad emoji. In the preliminary build of the system, the BSoD features a revamped design in a green hue.

Microsoft has completely redesigned the death screen. On the black or green background, it simply states, «Your device has encountered a problem and needs to restart.» The black BSoD resembles the Windows Update Center screen, which can be somewhat confusing.

According to Windows Latest, the new design could complicate the work for IT administrators who typically assist newcomers with computer troubleshooting. As of now, there’s no certainty that this updated death screen will be implemented in stable versions of the operating system.

The blue screen of death has been around since the release of Windows 3.0 in 1990 and has seen little alteration since the advent of modern operating systems like Windows 7 and Vista. The BSoD has always been blue.

In earlier builds of Windows 11, there were experiments with a black death screen, but it never made it to production. This version displayed the same information as the traditional blue screen but on a black background. Additionally, the BSoD was shown in green in the preview builds of Windows 10. A red death screen was seen in the early version of Windows Vista (Longhorn).

It seems that Microsoft aims to change the blue screen of death to black for better consistency with the shutdown and startup screens in Windows 11. However, in 2021, the company abandoned this idea and retained the classic blue screen of death.

It’s worth noting that technically savvy users have the ability to change the color of the BSoD in Windows 11 themselves.