Have you not yet activated Windows 10 or 11? Your Microsoft Edge settings may soon be completely blocked
Users with an unactivated version of Windows 11 (or Windows 10) may need to consider activating their operating system – as it looks like Microsoft will be cracking down again, starting with the Edge web browser.
According to Windows reportthe change is currently limited to Edge Canary, a build of Edge that Windows Insiders can access to try and test potential upcoming changes, and it appears that Insiders have noticed a lockup of the Microsoft Edge settings.
The browser will probably still work on unactivated Windows, and normally you can use Windows 10 and 11 without having to activate your license key, but with limitations. People who use non-activated Windows will likely often see a prompt to activate in their settings and have limitations with their personalization options.
While this is inconvenient, it at least allows people to use their machines without activating Windows 10 or 11 – a far cry from previous Windows releases where you couldn’t install the operating system without a valid product key. However, if this change in the way Edge works makes it past the Insiders development stage, it’s possible that all your settings related to Microsoft Edge will be completely locked, presumably until you activate your version of Windows.
Cruel but fair?
Why would Microsoft want to take such a hard approach to getting people to activate their operating systems? Without activation, you’re likely to miss out on security updates, protect yourself from viruses and cyber threats, and be constantly bothered by pop-ups. Activation also proves that you paid for that version of Windows and that it is legitimate.
With all the new AI improvements packed into Microsoft Edge, there are probably many more people using Edge now than before, and this could be a good opportunity to force as many people as possible to activate their Windows by threatening to tamper with their newly beefed up, feature-packed web browser.
I understand why the tech giant wants to encourage people to make their devices more secure by activating them, while ensuring people aren’t using pirated or ‘cracked’ versions of its software.
Hopefully, if we see this development made public, Microsoft will give users time to activate their operating systems, rather than taking everything down first and expecting users to find out later.