Have you not activated Windows 11 yet? You may no longer have access to certain Microsoft Edge browser settings
If you’re using an unactivated version of Windows 11 (or Windows 10), your access to Microsoft Edge settings may be limited in the future. This is already the case when it comes to things like personalization settings for Windows 11 in an unactivated installation, as well as constant reminders asking you to activate the operating system.
If you don’t mind these limitations and abundant reminders, you can install and run Windows 11 and Windows 10 for free without activation.
However, it appears that during testing, Microsoft added multiple flags that could block certain browser capabilities in an Edge preview build – if you’re using Windows 11 (or Windows 10) and they aren’t activated. The three flags in question were spotted in Edge by Windows Latest Are:
- msEdgeActivatedStateCheckAndUpdate
- msEdgeNonActivatedOSTrigger
- msEdgeLockSettingsInNonActivatedOS
To see the effects of enabling each of these flags, Windows Latest tried running the Edge Canary test build with one flag enabled at a time. Windows Latest successfully enabled the ‘msEdgeLockSettingsInNonActivatedOS’ flag, which resulted in some Edge settings being locked. When Edge’s settings page opened, a banner was displayed that read:
“We notice that your Windows is not activated, some adjustments are limited.”
Going further, Windows Latest examined other parts of Edge settings and also discovered that the ‘When Edge starts’ panel (which allows you to configure what happens when the browser starts) was blocked because Windows 11 was not activated.
An unwise move?
This is an interesting strategy that doesn’t quite make sense to me because, as Windows Latest points out, the policy apparently targets Windows only. Edge users on Mac devices and mobile phones will not see this type of interference. That makes me think: Microsoft is considering this move simply because it can, and if you want Windows enough to install it, then you want the operating system to tolerate enough measures like this.
Considering how clearly Microsoft is desperate to get more people to use Edge, after aggressively pushing users multiple times to make Edge their browser of choice, this strategy is even more puzzling because it could drive people away (after they finally have gotten what Microsoft wants, apparently!).
If you want to continue using Windows unactivated, you can simply switch to Chrome, Firefox or any other of the best web browsers that do not have these limitations. It’s worth remembering that this development is still in early testing and will hopefully not make it to the final version rollout – but I wouldn’t put it past Microsoft.