How to Roll Back a GPU Driver (NVIDIA, AMD, Intel)

To roll back a GPU driver on Windows 11, open Device Manager → Display adapters → right-click your GPU → Properties → Driver → Roll Back Driver; if that button is greyed out, download the previous version from NVIDIA, AMD or Intel and install it with the clean-install option, then stop Windows Update from reinstalling the newer one. The whole process takes about 10 minutes.

New GPU drivers occasionally ship with regressions: lower average FPS in one engine, worse 1% lows, shader-cache stutter, flickering or crashes. Rolling back to the last driver that worked is the fastest fix, and it is completely reversible.

Roll back now, or wait for a hotfix?

Before rolling back a GPU driver, check the driver’s release notes. NVIDIA lists Open Issues, AMD lists Known Issues and Intel lists Known Issues for every release. If your game and symptom are listed there, the regression is confirmed and you know rolling back will help.

Situation	Best move
Crashes, black screens, game won’t launch	Roll back now
Heavy stutter or a big FPS drop in a game you play daily	Roll back now
Your issue is in the release notes’ open/known issues	Roll back now, update again when the fix ships
Small FPS change (under ~3%) in one game	Wait: that is within run-to-run noise
A hotfix driver is already announced for your issue	Wait a few days, or install the hotfix
You updated for a new game’s launch-day optimizations	Test that game first; roll back only if it is also worse

NVIDIA and AMD usually ship a hotfix driver within one to three weeks of a widely reported regression. If you need the new driver for a specific game, waiting is reasonable; if you don’t, rolling back costs you nothing.

Method 1: Roll Back Driver in Device Manager (fastest)

Device Manager’s rollback restores the exact GPU driver you had before the last update. It is the quickest method and keeps your settings in most cases.

1. Press Win + X and click Device Manager.
2. Expand Display adapters.
3. Right-click your graphics card (for example NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 or AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT) → Properties.
4. Open the Driver tab and note the Driver Version and Driver Date.
5. Click Roll Back Driver, pick a reason (e.g. My apps don’t work with this driver), and click Yes.
6. The screen flickers or goes black for a few seconds while the older driver loads. Restart the PC when it finishes.
7. Reopen the Driver tab and confirm the version number changed.

Why is Roll Back Driver greyed out?

The Roll Back Driver button is greyed out when Windows has no previous GPU driver package to return to. Windows keeps only the one driver installed immediately before the current one, so the button is unavailable when:

• The current driver was installed with a clean installation (NVIDIA), Factory Reset (AMD) or after a DDU wipe, which removes the old package.
• This is the first driver on a fresh Windows install or a new GPU.
• You have already rolled back once; Windows does not keep a chain of older versions.

If the button is greyed out, use Method 2 or Method 3.

Note on driver version numbers: Device Manager shows Windows’ internal version (e.g. 32.0.15.6614), not the marketing version. For NVIDIA, the last five digits read as the release number: ...5.6614 is 566.14. AMD and Intel versions are easier to match in their own control panels.

Method 2: Install a specific older driver

Installing a known-good older GPU driver works every time, including when Roll Back Driver is greyed out, and lets you choose exactly which version to go back to. Only download drivers from the GPU maker’s official site, never from third-party driver mirrors.

Pick the right version: go back to the driver you used before the problem started. If you don’t remember, choose the release immediately before the current one, and check its release notes for your game.

NVIDIA (GeForce)

1. On NVIDIA’s official Drivers page, open Advanced Driver Search (also linked as Beta and older drivers).
2. Select your product series, product, Windows 11 and Game Ready Driver (or Studio Driver if you use that branch), then search. The results list older releases with their dates.
3. Download the version you want.
4. Run the installer and choose NVIDIA Graphics Driver (add the NVIDIA App only if you use it) → Custom (Advanced).
5. Tick Perform a clean installation, then install and restart.

A clean installation resets NVIDIA Control Panel settings, so screenshot your global and per-game profiles first. Our NVIDIA Control Panel settings guide has the values to restore.

AMD (Radeon / Adrenalin)

1. On AMD’s official Drivers and Support page, select your Radeon GPU and Windows 11.
2. On your GPU’s driver page, open Previous Drivers to see older Adrenalin releases.
3. Download the Adrenalin version you want and run it.
4. In the installer, choose Factory Reset (under the install options). Factory Reset removes the current AMD driver and its settings before installing the older one.
5. Install and restart.

Factory Reset wipes Adrenalin profiles, including any undervolt or fan curve, so note them first. Re-apply your tuning with the AMD Adrenalin settings guide.

Intel Arc

1. Open the Intel Arc & Iris Xe Graphics - Windows driver page in the official Intel Download Center.
2. Use the version selector on that page to choose an older release, and read its release notes.
3. Download and run the installer. If it offers a clean-installation option, tick it.
4. Restart and confirm the version in Intel Graphics Software (or Arc Control on older releases).

Intel Arc drivers change game performance more between releases than NVIDIA or AMD drivers do, especially in older DirectX 9/11 titles, so it’s worth testing two or three versions if one rollback doesn’t fully fix a game. See Intel Arc best settings to re-apply your setup.

Method 3: Clean rollback with DDU

A DDU rollback is the thorough option: Display Driver Uninstaller removes every trace of the current GPU driver in Safe Mode, then you install the older version onto a clean system. Use DDU when:

• A normal rollback didn’t fix stutter or crashes.
• You’ve been stacking driver updates on top of each other for months.
• You’re switching between NVIDIA, AMD and Intel GPUs.

Download the older driver first, then follow our step-by-step DDU clean install guide and install that older driver in step 3. Keep the PC offline until the older driver is installed, or Windows Update may install its own GPU driver first.

Method	Speed	Keeps settings?	Works when Roll Back is greyed out?	Best for
Device Manager Roll Back	~2 min	Usually	No	One bad update, quick fix
Older driver + clean install	~10 min	No	Yes	Choosing an exact version
DDU + older driver	~20 min	No	Yes	Persistent stutter/crashes, brand switches

Stop Windows Update from reinstalling the newer driver

Windows Update can replace your rolled-back GPU driver with a newer one it considers better, sometimes within hours. How aggressive this is varies by Windows build and by whether the newer driver is offered as an automatic or optional update, so use more than one of these.

1. Turn off automatic device driver installs (all editions)

1. Open Settings → System → About.
2. Click Advanced system settings under Related links.
3. On the Hardware tab, click Device Installation Settings.
4. Choose No (your device might not work as expected) → Save Changes.

This setting mainly controls automatic driver and device-app downloads for hardware. On some Windows 11 builds Windows Update can still offer driver updates afterward, so pair it with one of the options below.

2. Exclude drivers from Windows Update (Windows 11 Pro, Education, Enterprise)

1. Press Win + R, type gpedit.msc and press Enter.
2. Go to Computer Configuration → Administrative Templates → Windows Components → Windows Update → Manage updates offered from Windows Update.
3. Open Do not include drivers with Windows Updates, set it to Enabled, click OK, and restart.

This is the most reliable switch, but it blocks all driver updates from Windows Update, not just the GPU driver. Remember it’s on, and update your GPU driver manually from now on.

3. Pause updates or hide the specific driver

• Pause updates: Settings → Windows Update → Pause updates for 1 week, and extend it (up to several weeks) while you wait for a fixed driver.
• Leave optional drivers alone: under Windows Update → Advanced options → Optional updates, don’t tick the GPU driver.
• Hide one update: Microsoft’s older Show or hide updates troubleshooter (wushowhide.diagcab) can hide a specific driver update so Windows Update stops offering it. Microsoft no longer promotes the tool and it doesn’t work on every build, so treat it as a bonus, not the main fix.

4. Turn off auto-update in the GPU app

The NVIDIA App and AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition can download new drivers on their own, separately from Windows Update. In each app’s settings, turn off automatic driver downloads or installs until you’re ready to update again.

How to tell if the rollback actually helped

A GPU driver rollback has helped only if the same game runs better under the same conditions, so test it properly instead of judging from one match:

1. Use the same game, same map or scene, same in-game settings and resolution.
2. Play or run the same route for 3 to 5 minutes, at least 3 sessions on each driver.
3. Compare average FPS and especially 1% lows, which is where driver regressions and stutter show up first. See what 1% lows are and how to read them with an FPS overlay.
4. Treat differences under about 3% as noise; consistent gains in 1% lows across sessions are the real signal.

Tier1Suite records 1% lows for each game session automatically, so you can compare sessions before and after a driver change without setting up a benchmark.

If the older driver doesn’t help either, the driver probably wasn’t the cause. Work through shader cache clearing, the NVIDIA stutter fix or AMD stutter fix, and the best tools to fix stuttering in games.

Summary

• Fastest: Device Manager → Display adapters → Properties → Driver → Roll Back Driver.
• Greyed out? Windows keeps only one previous driver. Install the older version from NVIDIA, AMD or Intel with a clean install / Factory Reset.
• Still broken? Do a DDU clean install of the older driver.
• Keep it: block driver installs from Windows Update and turn off auto-update in the NVIDIA App or Adrenalin.
• Move forward again once the release notes show your issue fixed.

Related guides

• How to Clean Install GPU Drivers with DDU
• Best Tools to Fix Stuttering in Games
• How to Fix Lag Spikes & Stutter on NVIDIA GPUs
• How to Fix Lag Spikes & Stutter on AMD Radeon GPUs
• What Are 1% Lows in Gaming?