Contents
- 1 How to Turn Developer Mode On or Off in Settings
- 2 How to Turn Developer Mode On or Off via the Registry Editor
- 3 How to Enable or Disable Developer Mode in Local Group Policy Editor
- 4 How to Enable or Disable Developer Mode via Registry Editor
- 5 How to Sync Google Drive with Windows 11
- 6 How to Turn Windows 11 Hardware Accelerated GPU Scheduling On or Off
If you're a regular user, there are few reasons to turn on developer mode in Windows 11. In fact, most people will spend years with their OS without touching this setting. However, there are some scenarios where this mode is very useful – to developers, of course, but also to power users. Today we're going to show you how to turn on developer mode in Windows 11, and why you might want to.
What does developer mode do?
Windows 11 developer mode lets you install apps from any source, including loose files. This means that you can install Windows Store apps that aren't published on the Windows Store and don't even have a certificate. Developer mode also grants you some additional testing and debugging tools for apps, and some optimization options for Windows Explorer, Remote Desktop, and PowerShell.
For obvious reasons, we don't recommend enabling developer mode unless you have a legitimate reason to. Installing unsigned applications from random sources is a good way to end up with malware. If you're creating an app, however, you know that the application you created is not malicious and can use developer mode to test it without having to publish it on the Microsoft Store or get it signed.
There may be some cases where you can also consider using developer mode to install uncertified apps. Essentially, when you trust the creator. For example, you used to have to enable developer mode to use the Ubuntu Shell in Windows 10 (thankfully this is no longer necessary).
With that said, we're going to show you how to turn on developer mode using the settings app and Registry Editor. Of course, we'll also tell you how to turn it off again – which we recommend once you're finished with whatever you're doing.
We'll also be explaining how to enable or disable developer mode. Though it sounds the same, this is actually different – disabling developer mode turns off the ability to turn it on via other methods.
How to Turn Developer Mode On or Off in Settings
The easiest way to turn on developer mode in Windows 11 (or off) is through the developer settings menu. This should be your go-to unless you need to turn it on or off across multiple devices:
- Open Settings
Press Start and press the Settings cog on your Start menu. Alternatively, press Windows + I.
- Click “Privacy & security” in the sidebar and press the “For developers” heading in the main pane
- Turn developer mode on or off via the toggle
Switching the toggle under “Developer Mode” to the right will turn it on, while switching it to the left will turn it off.
- Press “Yes” to the security prompt
Make sure you carefully read the message so that you know what you're getting yourself into.
How to Turn Developer Mode On or Off via the Registry Editor
If you can't enable developer options via the usual method, you can utilize the registry instead. This will essentially perform the same changes, but behind the scenes. We'll be showing you how to perform the changes using our pre-made registry file, but we'll also show you how to do it yourself so you know for the future:
- Download and extract the registry .zip
Download our registry package here, right-click the .zip file, and choose “Extract All..” from the context menu.
- Browse to your extraction location and press “Extract”
You can extract the file anywhere that's convenient for you.
- Double-click “Turn_on_Developer_Mode.reg”
- Press “Run”
- Click “Yes” to accept the changes
- Press “OK” to the success prompt
Developer Mode will now be enabled on your device. You can turn it off again by repeating the same process with the “Turn_Off” registry file.
- OR: Make the registry changes manually
If you'd rather modify the registry yourself, instead open the Registry Editor by pressing the search icon, type “Regedit”, and click the top result.
- Navigate to the AppModelUnlock key and double-click the “AllowDevelopmentWithoutDevLicense” DWORD
You can find the DWORD by pasting the following into your Registry Editor address bar:
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\AppModelUnlockYou'll see the “AllowDevelopmentWithoutDevLicense” DWORD in the main pane.
- Turn it on: By typing “1” in Value data and pressing “OK”
- Turn it off: By typing “0” in Value data and pressing “OK”
How to Enable or Disable Developer Mode in Local Group Policy Editor
If you get the message “Developer mode is disabled on this device by system policy”, then you need to enable developer mode via the Group Policy Editor instead. This is only possible if you have Windows 10 Pro or higher and are an administrator. If you do, however, enabling or disabling developer mode is quite simple:
- Open the Local Group Policy Editor
Press the search icon, type “gpedit.msc“, and click the top result in your start menu.
- Navigate to the “App Package Deployment” folder and double-click “Allows development of Windows Store apps…”
You'll find the folder at
Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\App Package Deployment.
- Choose between “Not Configured”, “Enabled”, or “Disabled”
“Not Configured” will follow whether you choose in your Windows 11 settings app. “Enabled” will turn on Developer Mode, and “Disabled” will grey out the toggle in the settings app and stop the registry change above from working.
Press “OK” after you've chosen.
How to Enable or Disable Developer Mode via Registry Editor
If you don't have Windows 10 Pro, you can still enable or disable Developer Mode – you just have to use the Registry Editor instead. Here's how:
- Open Regsitry Editor
Press the search icon on your taskbar and type “Regedit”, then click the top result.
- Go to the “Appx” registry key and create a new DWORD
You can find the Appx key by pasting the following in your Registry Editor address bar:
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\AppxYou can then right-click the main pane and select “New > DWORD (32-bit) Value”.
- Name the DWORD “AllowDevelopmentWithoutDevLicense”
It's important the text is exactly as above, minus the quotes. That includes the capitalization and the American spelling of license if you speak British English.
- To Enable: Double-click it, type “1” for Value data, and press “OK”
- To Disable: Double-click it, type “0” for Value data, and press “OK”
- To set it to “Not Configured” – delete the DWORD
You can do so by right-clicking the DWORD in your registry editor and selecting “Delete” from the list.
How to Sync Google Drive with Windows 11
That closes this Windows 11 developer mode tutorial, but you may be looking for more ways to enhance your experience. Feel free to check out our guide to Google Drive syncing on Windows 11 so you can get access to your cloud files no matter where you are.
How to Turn Windows 11 Hardware Accelerated GPU Scheduling On or Off
Meanwhile, if you'd like to squeeze a little more performance out of your Windows 11 machine, you can follow our guide on how to turn Windows 11 hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling on or off.
