Fix: Sons of the Forest Not Changing Resolution or Full Screen / Borderless Window Not Working

1. Change Sons of the Forest Resolution

First, you should try changing the Sons of the Forest game resolution from its settings menu by following the steps below. Sometimes a misconfiguration of the game settings may cause such issues.

Launch the Steam client > Go to Library.
Click on Sons of the Forest and click on PLAY to open it.
Head to System > Goes to the Graphics (Monitor icon).
Under the Resolution option, change the Settings to 1920 x 1080 or whatever display resolution you use.
Change your Screen Mode to Fullscreen or Borderless Windowed, whatever you want.
Once done, close the game, and relaunch it.

2. Adjust Windows PC Resolution

The second thing you can do is to adjust the Windows PC resolution by following the steps below because the game screen window may not work properly if the resolution mismatches.

Press the Windows+I keys to open Windows Settings.
Now, click on System from the left pane > Click on Display.
Click on the Display resolution drop-down menu > Select the 1920 x 1080 resolution setting.
You might be prompted to Save Changes. Just click on it to apply.
Finally, you can try rebooting the PC and check for the issue.

3. Use Keyboard Shortcuts

You should also use the keyboard shortcuts to forcefully enter/exit the Sons of the Forest game in full-screen mode. To do so:

[Once in the game interface, press and hold the Fn+F11 keys to get into the full-screen mode.
If, in case, your keyboard doesn’t have an Fn (Function) key, then press and hold the F11 key.
Otherwise, try pressing the Alt+Enter keys to do the same.

4. Edit the Graphics Config File

Another thing you can do is to change your graphic settings in-game. You can easily edit the configurations by following the steps below:

Open File Explorer > Click on the three-dots icon.
Select Options > Click on the View tab.
Now, go to search for Hidden files and folders from the list.
Then click on Show hidden files, folders, and drives to select it.
Click on Apply and then OK to confirm changes.
Next, head to the directory where the Sons of the Forest game is installed. [C:\Users\Username\APPDATA\EldenRing\GraphicsConfig.xml]
So, here you’ll have to search for the GraphicsConfig.xml file.
Just open specific file in Notepad and check if the </span>FULLSCREEN</ScreenMode> line is present or not.
- If the mentioned line isn’t present inside the file then make sure to add it.
Press the Ctrl+S keys to Save the changes > Close the File Explorer window.
Finally, reboot the PC to apply changes, and launch Sons of the Forest to check for the issue.

5. Set Launch Options in Steam

If, in any case, the Sons of the Forest game keeps reverting the screen resolution from full-screen to normal windowed mode quite often even after following the above methods then you can try setting up the launch options in the Steam client by following the steps below. It’ll always forcefully run the Sons of the Forest game in fullscreen mode.

Open the Steam client > Go to Library.
Right-click on Sons of the Forest from the left pane > Select Properties.
Head over to the Launch Options section and type in -fullscreen inside the box.
Finally, exit the menu, and run Sons of the Forest.

6. Disable Fullscreen Optimizations

It seems that disabling the fullscreen optimization option did work for some users. You should also try it out. To do so:

Open the Steam launcher > Click on Library.
Right-click on Sons of the Forest > Click on Manage.
Select Browse local files > Go to Sons of the Forest installed location.
Now, right-click on EldenRing.exe > Select Properties.
Click on the Compatibility tab > Click on the Disable fullscreen optimizations checkbox to enable it.
Once done, click on Apply and then OK to save changes.

7. Run Sons of the Forest in the Compatibility Mode

Sometimes issues with the compatibility mode of your game file to run on the PC may also cause screen resolution conflicts. You should always run the game in compatibility mode if your Windows OS version is much higher. To do that:

Right-click on the Sons of the Forest exe shortcut file on your PC.
Now, select Properties > Click on the Compatibility tab.
Make sure to click on the Run this program in compatibility mode for: checkbox under the Compatibility mode option to enable it.
You can select Windows 8, 10, and 11 from the drop-down menu and click on Apply.
Finally, click on OK to save changes.

8. Update Graphics Driver

You should try checking for the graphics driver update on your Windows PC and installing the latest version to ensure no update is pending at your end. An outdated or missing graphics driver can trigger issues with the game launching or running in the fullscreen window mode. To do that:

Right-click on the Start Menu to open up the Quick Access Menu.
Click on Device Manager from the list to open the interface.
Now, you’ll need to double-click on Display adapters to expand it.

Device Manager Update Display Adapter

Then right-click on the dedicated graphics card name you’re using to bring the context menu.
Next, click on Update driver > Choose Search automatically for drivers.
The system will automatically check for the available update.
An update will automatically download and install the latest version if available.
Once done, make sure to restart your PC to apply the changes.

If you cannot find any update, then make sure to head over to the official graphics card website and search manually for the latest update. If a new version is available, download the file on your PC and install it. Whatever graphics card you use, jump to the link below as per the manufacturer.

9. Switch to a Dedicated GPU

You should also ensure that you use the dedicated GPU on your Windows computer instead of the integrated HD graphics. To do so:

For Nvidia GPU:

Right-click on the desktop screen to open the context menu.
Now, click on Nvidia Control Panel to open it.
Head over to 3D Settings > Select Manage 3D Settings.
Open the Program Settings tab and choose Sons of the Forest from the drop-down menu.
Next, select the preferred graphics processor for this program from another drop-down menu.
Finally, your Nvidia GPU should show as High-Performance Nvidia Processor.
Save the changes and reboot the PC.

For AMD GPU:

Right-click on the desktop screen to open the context menu.
Now, open Radeon Settings > Navigate to Additional Settings.
Go to Preferences > Select Power > Choose Switchable Graphics Application Settings.
Select Sons of the Forest from the list of installed applications. [If the game isn’t in the list, you can select Add Application and include the game exe file]
Finally, select High Performance from the Graphics Settings, option > Reboot the PC.

10. Verify and Repair Game Files

The PC’s corrupted or missing game files can eventually trigger multiple issues with the game launching or performance. To do so:

Launch the Steam client > Click on Library.
Right-click on Sons of the Forest from the list of installed games.
Now, click on Properties > Go to Local Files.

Click on Verify Integrity of Game Files.
You’ll have to wait for the process until it gets completed.
Once done, restart your computer.

11. Reinstall Sons of the Forest

If none of the methods worked for you, try reinstalling the Sons of the Forest game on the PC to check if that helps you fix the fullscreen not working issue.

Open the Steam client on your PC.
Go to Library > Right-click on Sons of the Forest.
Select Uninstall > Click on Delete to confirm.
Wait for the uninstallation process to complete > Exit the Steam client.
Now, open the File Explorer application > Copy-paste C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common on the address bar and hit Enter to search for the location.
Go to the Sons of the Forest folder > Delete the folder completely.
Reboot the PC to apply changes > Finally, open Steam and Reinstall the Sons of the Forest game again.

That’s it, guys. We assume this guide was helpful to you. For additional queries, you can comment below.

Fix: Sons of the Forest Not Changing Resolution or Full Screen / Borderless Window Not Working