How to Switch Anthem to Other Monitor: My Messy Guide
Crashing right before that epic boss fight because your game decided to yeet itself onto your secondary monitor is, frankly, infuriating. I’ve been there, staring at a blank primary screen while the action plays out on some random, less-ideal display. Honestly, the amount of garbage advice online about how to switch Anthem to other monitor is mind-boggling.
It’s like everyone assumes you’re a tech wizard or that your setup is somehow magically perfect from the get-go. My own journey involved more than a few frantic Alt+Tabbing sessions that ended with me just restarting the damn game after my fourth attempt at fiddling with settings.
This isn’t some corporate-approved, fluff-filled guide. This is what actually works, learned the hard way, so you don’t have to.
Why Your Game Just Jumped Ship
So, what’s actually going on when Anthem decides to take a vacation on your other screen? Usually, it’s a combination of Windows display settings and how the game itself interprets your primary display at launch. Sometimes it’s just a stubborn glitch that defies logic. For a while there, I was convinced my graphics card was actively trolling me, specifically targeting Anthem because it hated my taste in loot.
The frustrating part is that it’s rarely a hardware failure. It’s almost always a software handshake that goes wrong. Think of it like trying to hand a delicate teacup to someone who’s got their hands full and is looking the other way; it’s bound to end up on the floor.
The ‘official’ Way (and Why It Sucks)
The standard advice you’ll find everywhere is to go into your Windows display settings and make sure your primary monitor is set correctly. You know, right-click desktop, Display settings, drag the little monitor icon to where you want it, check the “Make this my main display” box. Sounds simple, right? For some people, it works. For others, like me for a significant chunk of time, it’s like trying to explain quantum physics to a goldfish.
Then there’s the in-game settings. Most games, including Anthem, have a display mode option: Fullscreen, Windowed, or Borderless Windowed. Fullscreen is supposed to take over the entire display, but even then, it can get confused. Windowed or Borderless Windowed are often more stable when dealing with multi-monitor setups, but sometimes they introduce their own weirdness, like input lag or graphical tears. I once spent around $180 testing different monitor cables and display drivers, convinced that was the issue, only to realize the game itself was the culprit. (See Also: How To Put 144hz Monitor At 144hz )
My Go-to Solution: Borderless Windowed Ftw
Look, everyone loves the immersive feel of true fullscreen, but when you’re wrestling with how to switch Anthem to other monitor, it’s often more trouble than it’s worth. My personal antidote, the one that has saved me countless hours of frustration and prevented many rage quits, is using Borderless Windowed mode. This setting makes the game *look* like it’s fullscreen, but it behaves more like a window. This often tricks Windows and the game into behaving much more predictably, keeping it locked to your chosen primary display.
Seriously, I can’t stress this enough. If you’re having trouble, find the graphics or display settings within Anthem and switch to Borderless Windowed. You might sacrifice a frame or two in performance compared to pure fullscreen, but for stability and sanity, it’s a trade-off I’ll happily make. It’s like choosing a reliable sedan over a temperamental sports car when you just need to get to work without a fuss.
After I switched to Borderless Windowed, the mysterious monitor hopping stopped almost entirely. The game respects my primary display setting almost every single time now. It’s not a perfect fix for everyone, of course, but it’s the closest thing I’ve found to a guaranteed solution.
When Windowed Mode Isn’t Enough
Sometimes, even Borderless Windowed can be a bit of a diva. If the game still insists on launching on the wrong screen, don’t panic. There are a couple of other tricks up my sleeve.
Firstly, try this little dance: launch Anthem in Windowed mode first. Once it’s up and running on your desired monitor, *then* switch it to Borderless Windowed or Fullscreen from within the game’s settings. This sequential approach can sometimes force the game to recognize the correct display. It’s a bit of a workaround, but it has a surprisingly high success rate. It feels like coaxing a stubborn cat into its carrier – a little patience and the right technique go a long way.
Secondly, consider your Windows display scaling. If you’re running different scaling percentages on each monitor (e.g., 100% on one, 125% on another), it can confuse applications. Windows officially recommends using the same scaling for all displays for optimal compatibility, especially with older games or applications that aren’t as good at handling mixed DPI settings. I once spent three solid hours troubleshooting a different game that kept flickering, only to find out it was the wildly different display scaling between my 1080p and 4K monitors causing the headaches. According to NVIDIA’s own documentation, consistent display scaling is important for optimal rendering performance and avoiding visual anomalies across multiple monitors. (See Also: How To Switch An Acer Monitor To Hdmi )
Advanced Troubleshooting: Display Driver Shenanigans
If you’ve tried everything else and Anthem still insists on being difficult, it might be time to look at your display drivers. Outdated or corrupted drivers are a notorious source of weird graphical and display behavior. I’m not just talking about Anthem here; this applies to a lot of software that interacts heavily with your GPU.
My advice? Do a clean install of your graphics drivers. Most driver packages (NVIDIA, AMD, Intel) have an option for a “clean install” or “perform a clean installation.” What this does is uninstall the old drivers completely before installing the new ones, removing any potential lingering bits of old software that could be causing conflicts. It’s a bit more involved than a standard update, but it’s often the magic bullet when the usual fixes don’t cut it. When I did this after a particularly nasty driver update that broke several games, the difference was night and day. The whole process, from download to reboot, took me about twenty minutes, and that was after I had already wasted two hours trying other things.
Sometimes, even a clean install isn’t enough. If you’re experiencing persistent issues, I’ve found that rolling back to a previous, known stable driver version can be more effective than jumping straight to the latest one. The newest drivers aren’t always the best, especially if they’ve introduced new bugs that haven’t been ironed out yet. It’s a bit of a gamble, but if the current drivers are causing Anthem to misbehave, a stable older version might be your saving grace.
What If It’s Still Happening?
It’s rare, but sometimes the stars just align in the worst possible way. If you’ve followed all these steps and Anthem continues to launch on the wrong monitor, it might be a specific bug with the game itself, or a conflict with another piece of software running in the background. Antivirus programs, overlay software (like Discord or GeForce Experience), and even some system utilities can sometimes interfere with how games launch and manage displays.
My personal strategy in these rare instances is to do a systematic shutdown of background applications one by one, relaunching Anthem after each one. It’s tedious, I know. But when you find the culprit – and it *is* usually a culprit – you’ve solved the mystery. I once narrowed down a persistent crashing issue to a specific background utility that had been silently updating itself, completely unknowingly. The relief of finding the one thing causing all the misery is immense.
You can also check Anthem forums or community hubs. Sometimes, other players have encountered the same bizarre issue and found a niche workaround that isn’t documented anywhere else. The collective knowledge of a dedicated player base is a goldmine, even for games that aren’t exactly top of mind anymore. (See Also: How To Monitor My Sleep With Apple Watch )
Can I Force Anthem to Launch on a Specific Monitor?
While there isn’t a direct in-game setting to *force* it to a specific monitor, using Borderless Windowed mode in conjunction with your Windows primary display settings is the most reliable way to influence where it launches. Sometimes, launching in Windowed mode first and then switching can also work.
Why Does Anthem Keep Switching Monitors?
This usually happens due to a conflict between Windows display settings, the game’s display mode interpretation, or potentially outdated/corrupted graphics drivers. It’s a software handshake issue that can be tricky to pin down.
Does Changing My Primary Display in Windows Fix It?
For some users, yes. Ensuring your desired gaming monitor is set as the primary display in Windows settings is a foundational step. However, it doesn’t always solve the problem on its own, especially if the game or driver is misbehaving.
Should I Use Fullscreen or Borderless Windowed for Anthem?
For multi-monitor setups and to avoid the issue of Anthem switching monitors, Borderless Windowed mode is generally recommended. It offers a good balance between immersion and stability, and it tends to respect your primary display settings more reliably than true fullscreen.
Comparison Table: Display Modes for Anthem
| Display Mode | Pros | Cons | My Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fullscreen | Maximum immersion, potentially highest performance. | Most prone to monitor switching bugs, slower Alt+Tab. | Avoid if you have multi-monitor issues. |
| Windowed | Easy Alt+Tab, less likely to crash on launch. | Can have visual artifacts, input lag, not true fullscreen. | Good fallback if Borderless fails, but not ideal. |
| Borderless Windowed | Looks like fullscreen, behaves like windowed, better multi-monitor support. | Slight performance overhead compared to fullscreen, sometimes minor visual quirks. | My Champion. Use this first for Anthem. |
Final Thoughts
So, that’s the lowdown on how to switch Anthem to other monitor without tearing your hair out. My personal go-to, and the one I’d hammer home if I could only pick one solution, is the Borderless Windowed setting. It’s not always a magic wand, but it’s the most consistently effective trick I’ve found after years of digital warfare and software annoyances.
If that doesn’t do the job, try the Windowed-first launch, then switch, or dive into a clean driver install. These games are finicky, and sometimes you just have to speak their language through a series of fiddles and reboots.
Honestly, if you’ve tried all this and it’s *still* launching on the wrong screen, I’d almost suggest it’s a sign from the universe to play something else for a bit. Or, at the very least, accept that Anthem might just have a stubborn streak you have to live with until the next patch, if one ever comes.
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