When you’re working an unactivated model of Home windows 11 (or Home windows 10), your entry to Microsoft Edge’s settings may be restricted sooner or later. That is already the case relating to issues like Personalization settings for Home windows 11 in an unactivated set up, in addition to fixed reminders prompting you to activate the OS.
When you don’t thoughts these constraints and plentiful reminders, you possibly can set up and run Home windows 11 and Home windows 10 with out activation totally free.
Nevertheless, it looks as if Microsoft has added a number of flags in testing that permit for blocking sure browser capabilities in an Edge preview construct – should you’re utilizing Home windows 11 (or Home windows 10) and it’s unactivated. The three flags in query in Edge noticed by Home windows Newest are:
- msEdgeActivatedStateCheckAndUpdate
- msEdgeNonActivatedOSTrigger
- msEdgeLockSettingsInNonActivatedOS
Trying to see the consequences of every of those flags being enabled, Home windows Newest tried working the Edge Canary check construct with one flag enabled at a time. Home windows Newest turned on the ‘msEdgeLockSettingsInNonActivatedOS’ flag efficiently, which resulted in a few of Edge’s settings being locked. Then, when Edge’s settings web page was opened, it displayed a banner that said:
“We discover your Home windows just isn’t activated, some customization has been restricted.”
Pushing additional, Home windows Newest explored different components of Edge settings and likewise found that the ‘When Edge begins’ panel (which permits for configuration of what occurs when the browser launches) was blocked attributable to Home windows 11 not being activated.
An unwise transfer?
That is an fascinating technique that doesn’t completely make sense to me, as a result of as Home windows Newest factors out, the coverage seemingly solely targets Home windows – Edge customers on Mac gadgets and mobiles don’t see this type of interference. That makes me assume, effectively, Microsoft is mulling this transfer just because it may well, and if you need Home windows sufficient to put in it, then you definately need the OS sufficient to tolerate measures like this.
Contemplating how clearly determined Microsoft is for extra folks to make use of Edge, having instigated a number of cases of aggressively pushing customers to make Edge their browser of selection, this technique is much more puzzling because it may drive folks away (having lastly gotten what Microsoft needs, apparently!).
If you wish to proceed utilizing Home windows unactivated, you can simply change to Chrome, Firefox, or one other of the finest net browsers that doesn’t have these restrictions. It’s price remembering that this improvement remains to be within the early testing phases, although, and hopefully received’t make it to the ultimate model rollout – however I wouldn’t put it previous Microsoft.