Microsoft is redesigning the Windows BSOD and it might change to black

Microsoft has announced that it’s overhauling its Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) error message in Windows 11. The new design drops the traditional blue color, frowning face, and QR code in favor of a simplified screen that looks a lot more like the black screen you see when Windows is performing an update. It’s not immediately clear if this new BSOD will remain as a black screen once Microsoft ships the final version of this update.

“We’re previewing a new, more streamlined UI for unexpected restarts which better aligns with Windows 11 design principles and supports our goal of getting users back into productivity as fast as possible,” explains Microsoft in a blog post about the change. “We’ve simplified your experience while preserving the technical information on the screen.”

Windows Insiders can try out the new BSOD in test versions of the Beta, Dev, and Canary Channels, but it will appear as a green screen in these test builds before it’s eventually shipped as a black or blue screen. It’s the first major change to the BSOD since Microsoft added a sad face to the screen in Windows 8. This new design includes the BSOD error or faulty driver, and simply states “your device ran into a problem and needs to restart.”

Microsoft did briefly turn the BSOD to a black screen in test builds of Windows 11 in 2021, but the company then reverted back to the blue screen it had been using since Windows 8. It looks like this new BSOD will be rolled out to the existing Windows 11 version 24H2 soon, and we’ve reached out to Microsoft for more information on whether it’s switching to a black screen instead of a blue one.