Hate Windows 11? Here’s how you can make it work more like Windows 10

I wrote the original version of this post when Windows 11 was still less than a year old, after reading a ton of feedback from early adopters. I didn’t have to spend a lot of time in support forums and other community sites to hear a steady stream of criticism from people who were annoyed by the changes Microsoft made in the Windows 10 user interface they had grown comfortable with.

Enough time has passed since the original Windows 11 release that some of those changes have become second nature. Over that time, I’ve noticed that those complaints have mellowed somewhat, but there are still plenty of people who would prefer the old, familiar interface.

Also: Your complete Windows 11 upgrade guide

This isn’t a unique phenomenon, of course. Every new version of Windows brings out its share of negative reactions from people who wonder why Microsoft felt it necessary to change things up for no obvious reason. Windows 11, however, seems to have kicked that reaction up to, uh … 11, especially with the decision to remove some features that power users took for granted.

The root of the problem is Microsoft’s decision in Windows 11 to discard a huge amount of legacy code and rewrite key features, including the taskbar, the Start menu, and File Explorer. The old code in many cases dated back to the Windows 95 era, and I am sure there are program managers who have agonized over PowerPoint decks to explain just why those rewrites make sense from an architectural point of view.

Also: 7 quick ways to make Windows 11 less annoying right now

The good news is that Microsoft has responded to some feedback with fixes that address some of the most prominent complaints. For annoyances that aren’t yet resolved, there are often workarounds. In addition, there’s a thriving community of developers building utilities to restore the features Microsoft took away.

Feedback leads to (a few) fixes

With the help of two big feature updates (and some smaller changes delivered as part of monthly update packages), Microsoft has tweaked some of those design changes so they’re no longer quite as annoying. Version 22H2, for example, restored the Task Manager option to the shortcut menu that appears when you right-click the taskbar. It also removed the floating search bar and improved the Search options on the taskbar.

Also: This hidden Windows 11 setting adds an ‘End task’ option to every task on your taskbar

More recently, File Explorer got a much-needed design change in Windows 11, version 24H2. The Cut, Copy, Paste, Rename, Share, and Delete icons in the right-click context menu now include labels that make them easier to identify.

If you can’t get used to the taskbar and Start button being in the center of the screen, you can move them back to the left side. But the single most upvoted feedback item for Windows 11 is the option to move the taskbar from its location on the bottom of the display to the top or either side, as you could in previous Windows versions, and there’s no sign that Microsoft is working on adding that feature.

And then there’s the Start menu, which is probably the second biggest source of complaints. Windows Insiders are currently testing a major redesign of the Start menu that should arrive late this year or early in 2026 for the general public. You still can’t resize the Start menu, but you now have the ability to scroll quickly through all installed apps in category, grid, or list views, without having to use a separate menu. Here’s what that looks like on my Windows Insider test system.

There’s a shortcut for that  

In some cases, the fix for common annoyances is to learn a keyboard shortcut. Are you bugged by File Explorer’s new, streamlined shortcut menus, which require an extra click to get to the complete menu? Microsoft added a Show More Options shortcut, but there’s a shortcut that lets you skip the extra steps: Hold down the Shift key as you right-click.

And what about the decision to remove the ribbon from File Explorer? That makes it more difficult to show or hide the Detail pane and the Preview pane, which are now buried three menus deep: View > Show > Details Pane/Preview Pane.

Also: My favorite keyboard shortcut of all time (and it works on every browser)

There’s a shortcut for that, too: Alt+P to show or hide the Preview pane, and Alt+Shift+P to do the same with the Details pane. After you’ve used those shortcuts a few times, muscle memory takes over.

Do you find the new widgets feature annoying? It’s easy enough to hide them. Go to Settings > Personalization > Taskbar and flip the Widgets switch to the Off position. (You can always make the Widgets pane appear by using its keyboard shortcut: Windows key + W.)

But some Windows 11 annoyances don’t have an easy fix. If you want to move the taskbar to the top of the display or snap it to either side, you’re not going to find a solution in the official Settings app. That’s where those third-party apps come in handy.

Third-party customization apps

With the right tools, you can undo Microsoft’s changes and turn the Windows 11 interface into something more familiar, even reworking the Start menu into its Windows 7 appearance. Before you get started, though, consider the possible complications you’re letting yourself in for if you choose one of these options.

Also: 6 things I always do after setting up Windows 11 – and why you should too

Because these utilities are attempting to take over functions that are normally handled by the operating system, there’s the possibility that one of Microsoft’s monthly updates will cause the installed version to stop working properly until the developers release an update of their own.

There’s also a risk they’ll be detected as malware, which could prevent them from working properly or could block Windows itself from updating. That already happened last year with two popular customization tools.

If you’re OK with those caveats, I can recommend these four options, two of which are completely free: 

• ExplorerPatcher: This free, open source project lets you replace the Windows 11 taskbar with the Windows 10 version, disable the Windows 11 context menu and command bar in File Explorer, and tweak the Start menu and search box. There’s a full list of features in the project’s wiki. 
• Open Shell: Longtime Windows users might remember a utility program called Classic Shell, whose original purpose was to restore the Start menu to Windows 8. That project was abandoned years ago, but a group of volunteers picked up the codebase and turned it into the free Open Shell. Its biggest claim to fame is the ability to restore the Windows 7 Start menu and the Windows Explorer toolbar. 
• Start11: This commercial product from Stardock offers a 30-day trial; after that, you’ll need to pony up $6 for a single device or $15 for a license that works on up to five devices. Its customization options allow you to replace the Windows 11 Start menu with the Windows 7 or Windows 10 version, move the taskbar to the top of the display, restore the taskbar context menu, restore the ribbon to File Explorer, and much more. 
• StartAllBack: The bold promise of this commercial tool ($5 for a single device, with discounts for additional installations) is to “unsweep [the] classic UI from under the rug.” The list of tweaks includes the ability to drag and drop items onto taskbar icons, improvements to Start, File Explorer, and context menus, and “lightweight styling and UI consistency.” Like Start11, it offers a 30-day free trial. 

Is there something on your Windows 11 annoyance list that Microsoft hasn’t addressed? Leave a note in the comments and let’s see if we can find a solution.