Personalization Enable or Disable Quick Settings in Windows 11


Settings_banner.png

This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable the ability to open Quick Settings for all or specific users in Windows 11.

This no longer works starting with Windows 11 version 24H2.



Quick Settings (Win+A) gives you quick access from the taskbar corner to commonly used settings and apps like Volume, Brightness, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Airplane mode, Rotation lock, Battery saver, Accessibility, Night light, Mobile hotspot, Nearby sharing, Cast, and Project. Directly above your Quick Settings, you will see media playback controls when playing music or videos in Microsoft Edge or streaming music in apps like Spotify.

Starting with Windows 11 build 22610, you can disable opening the Quick Settings flyout via group policy.


You must be signed in as an administrator to enable or disable the Quick Settings flyout.



Contents

  • Option One: Enable or Disable Quick Settings for All or Specific Users in Local Group Policy Editor
  • Option Two: Enable or Disable Quick Settings for All Users using REG file


EXAMPLE: Quick Settings flyout

Quick_Settings.png





Option One

Enable or Disable Quick Settings for All or Specific Users in Local Group Policy Editor


The Local Group Policy Editor is only available in the Windows 11 Pro, Enterprise, and Education editions.

All editions can use Option Two to configure the same policy.


1 Open the all users, specific users or groups, or all users except administrators Local Group Policy Editor for how you want this policy applied.

2 Navigate to the policy location below in the left pane of the Local Group Policy Editor. (see screenshot below)

User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Start Menu and Taskbar

Quick_Settings_gpedit-1.png

3 In the right pane of Start Menu and Taskbar in the Local Group Policy Editor, double click/tap on the Remove Quick Settings policy to edit it. (see screenshot above)

4 Do step 5 (enable) or step 6 (disable) below for what you want.

5 Enable Quick Settings

This is the default setting.


A) Select (dot) Not Configured, click/tap on OK, and go to step 7. (see screenshot below)​

Quick_Settings_gpedit-2.png

6 Disable Quick Settings

A) Select (dot) Enabled, click/tap on OK, and go to step 7. (see screenshot below)​

Quick_Settings_gpedit-3.png

7 Close the Local Group Policy Editor.




Option Two

Enable or Disable Quick Settings for All Users using REG file


1 Do step 2 (enable) or step 3 (disable) below for what you would like to do.

2 Enable Quick Settings for All Users

This is the default setting


A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 4 below.​

Enable_Quick_Settings_for_all_users.reg


(Contents of REG file for reference)
Code:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer]
"DisableControlCenter"=-

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer]
"DisableControlCenter"=-

3 Disable Quick Settings for All Users

A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 4 below.​

Disable_Quick_Settings_for_all_users.reg


(Contents of REG file for reference)
Code:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer]
"DisableControlCenter"=dword:00000001

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer]
"DisableControlCenter"=dword:00000001

4 Save the REG file to your desktop.

5 Double click/tap on the downloaded REG file to merge it.

6 When prompted, click/tap on Run, Yes (UAC), Yes, and OK to approve the merge.

7 Either restart the explorer process, sign out and sign in, or restart the computer to apply.

8 You can now delete the downloaded REG file if you like.


That's it,
Shawn Brink


 

Attachments

Last edited:
Brink,
Hello again sir. Can you verify that this still works in Windows 11 24H2 Build 26100.2894? When I apply this setting now, under non-admin users, it still shows the icons, but it looks like the links are still being blocked by the rest of my GPO. However, the icons are still there. Thank you for your time sir!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10
Brink,
Hello again sir. Can you verify that this still works in Windows 11 24H2 Build 26100.2894? When I apply this setting now, under non-admin users, it still shows the icons, but it looks like the links are still being blocked by the rest of my GPO. However, the icons are still there. Thank you for your time sir!
Hello, :alien:

It should still work, but it can only be done by an admin account.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self build
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING (11GB GDDR5X)
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G75 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3 wall mounted
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gbps Download and 35 Mbps Upload
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Surface Laptop 7 Copilot+ PC
    CPU
    Snapdragon X Elite (12 core) 3.42 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5x-7467 MHz
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15" HDR
    Screen Resolution
    2496 x 1664
    Hard Drives
    1 TB SSD
    Internet Speed
    Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
Hello, :alien:

It should still work, but it can only be done by an admin account.
Yes sir, the user that I set it under is an admin account, but I set it for all non-admin users using MMC > GPO > non-admin users and then
User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Start Menu and Taskbar > "Remove Quick Settings"
which does remove the flyout, however the icons are still there. I "used" to be able to just remove the Notifications Area from Windows 10, and it would just remove ALL of the icons (i.e. any installed apps icons, the hidden icons chevron, the 3 windows system icons, and the calendar, if I'm not mistaken. I used your other guide for that:

but apparently, things have changed since Windows 11. Do you know of a way to hide EVERYTHING for non-admin users in Windows 11 sir? =)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10
Yes sir, the user that I set it under is an admin account, but I set it for all non-admin users using MMC > GPO > non-admin users and then
User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Start Menu and Taskbar > "Remove Quick Settings"
which does remove the flyout, however the icons are still there. I "used" to be able to just remove the Notifications Area from Windows 10, and it would just remove ALL of the icons (i.e. any installed apps icons, the hidden icons chevron, the 3 windows system icons, and the calendar, if I'm not mistaken. I used your other guide for that:

but apparently, things have changed since Windows 11. Do you know of a way to hide EVERYTHING for non-admin users in Windows 11 sir? =)

I just did some testing, and this policy indeed no longer works in 24H2.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self build
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING (11GB GDDR5X)
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G75 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3 wall mounted
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gbps Download and 35 Mbps Upload
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Surface Laptop 7 Copilot+ PC
    CPU
    Snapdragon X Elite (12 core) 3.42 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5x-7467 MHz
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15" HDR
    Screen Resolution
    2496 x 1664
    Hard Drives
    1 TB SSD
    Internet Speed
    Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
Yes sir, the user that I set it under is an admin account, but I set it for all non-admin users using MMC > GPO > non-admin users and then
User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Start Menu and Taskbar > "Remove Quick Settings"
which does remove the flyout, however the icons are still there. I "used" to be able to just remove the Notifications Area from Windows 10, and it would just remove ALL of the icons (i.e. any installed apps icons, the hidden icons chevron, the 3 windows system icons, and the calendar, if I'm not mistaken. I used your other guide for that:

but apparently, things have changed since Windows 11. Do you know of a way to hide EVERYTHING for non-admin users in Windows 11 sir? =)
i'm curious.. what if you toggle it to the windows 10 style action center and then attempt to remove it via gpo?

 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro

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