Stuck at 60Hz on a New 240Hz Monitor? DisplayPort 2.1 and the Cable Trap
Quick answer: If a high-refresh monitor is stuck at 60Hz, the higher rate is almost always blocked by the cable, a setting, or the driver — not a fault. With today's 240Hz-plus and 4K panels, cable bandwidth matters more than ever. Confirm what you are actually getting with the refresh rate test, then work the fixes.
Select the rate first
Often the higher rate is available and was simply never chosen. Go to Settings, System, Display, Advanced display, and pick the highest rate under "choose a refresh rate." On some setups you also have to enable it in the NVIDIA or AMD control panel.
The cable and bandwidth trap
Refresh rate, resolution and cable bandwidth are linked. A cable that runs 1080p at 144Hz may only manage 60Hz at 4K because higher resolutions eat bandwidth. For today's fast panels you generally want DisplayPort 2.1 or HDMI 2.1 — older HDMI 1.4 caps you at 60Hz at 1080p, and even some in-box cables underperform. Many 2026 OLED monitors specifically rely on DisplayPort 2.1 to hit their top modes, so a cable that isn't rated for that bandwidth quietly limits you.
Docks, adapters and drivers
Running through a docking station or an adapter frequently caps the rate — connect the monitor directly to the GPU to test. Update your graphics driver too, since an outdated one can hide the higher rates. And check the monitor's on-screen menu for an overclock or "OC" toggle that some panels require to unlock their full refresh.
Verify the fix
After each change, re-run the refresh rate test to confirm the display is genuinely running faster, not just claiming to. Our full guide on a monitor stuck at 60Hz covers the cable standards and bandwidth math in detail.