How to Make Windows 11 Look Like Windows 10 (Built-In Settings and Tools)

You can make Windows 11 look a lot like Windows 10 with a few built-in settings. Move the Start button and taskbar icons to the left (Settings > Personalization > Taskbar > Taskbar behaviors > Taskbar alignment > Left), hide Widgets and Task view, bring back the full right-click menu, and switch to a classic-style theme. Windows 11 can’t bring back the Windows 10 Start menu or Live Tiles on its own, though. For that, you’d need a third-party app, which comes with trade-offs. For the folder tree, Details view everywhere and the third-party ribbon options in full, see how to make Windows 11 File Explorer look like Windows 10.

Below are all the built-in changes, in order of impact, plus what third-party tools can do and how to undo everything.

1. Move the taskbar icons to the left

1. Right-click the taskbar and choose Taskbar settings.
2. Expand Taskbar behaviors.
3. Set Taskbar alignment to Left.

2. Clean up the taskbar

In the same Taskbar settings page, under Taskbar items:

• Turn off Widgets and Task view. (Windows 10 had Task view, so leave it on if you used it.)
• Set Search to Search box for the Windows 10 look, or Hide to save space. You can still press the Windows key and type to search.
• Under Taskbar behaviors, set Combine taskbar buttons and hide labels to Never to show app names next to icons, like Windows 10 could.

3. Bring back the full right-click menu

Windows 11 shows a shorter right-click menu. Click Show more options at the bottom, or press Shift + F10, to see the classic menu. To make the classic menu appear every time: For every other way to change that menu, including removing app entries and undoing the classic setting, see changing right-click options in Windows 11.

1. Right-click Start and choose Terminal.
2. Paste this command and press Enter:

reg add "HKCU\Software\Classes\CLSID\{86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2}\InprocServer32" /f /ve

3. Restart your PC, or restart Windows Explorer from Task Manager.

This only changes a setting for your user account. To undo it, run reg delete "HKCU\Software\Classes\CLSID\{86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2}" /f and restart. Microsoft could change how this works in a future update.

4. Make the Start menu feel more familiar

The built-in Start menu can’t look like Windows 10’s, but you can make it less cluttered:

• Go to Settings > Personalization > Start. Choose More pins, turn off Show recommendations options you don’t want, and turn off recently added apps if you prefer.
• Click Folders on the same page to add shortcuts like Settings, File Explorer, and Documents next to the power button, similar to Windows 10.
• Pin your most-used apps to the top of Start by right-clicking them and choosing Pin to Start.

5. Change the look of windows and colors

• Theme: Go to Settings > Personalization > Themes and pick a theme, or set a Windows 10-style wallpaper under Background.
• Accent color on title bars: In Settings > Personalization > Colors, turn on Show accent color on title bars and window borders.
• Transparency: Turn off Transparency effects on the same page for a flatter look.

There’s no setting to turn off Windows 11’s rounded corners.

6. Make File Explorer feel like Windows 10

• Click View > Compact view to reduce spacing between files.
• Click View > Show > File name extensions if you had that on before.
• Click the three-dot See more menu > Options, and set Open File Explorer to This PC instead of Home.

The old ribbon toolbar can’t be brought back with a built-in setting.

Third-party tools: what they can do

Apps like Open-Shell (free), Start11 (paid), and ExplorerPatcher (free) can restore a Windows 10 or Windows 7-style Start menu, change taskbar behavior, or bring back older taskbar behavior. The same apps can also make Windows 11 look like Windows 7, though the built-in taskbar and color settings are the safer first step.

• Download only from the developer’s official site. Fake copies of these tools circulate on other sites.
• Expect breakage after updates. Tools that modify Windows can stop working or cause taskbar problems after major Windows updates. Microsoft Defender has also flagged some versions in the past.
• Create a restore point first and know how to uninstall the tool from Safe Mode if something goes wrong.

How to undo all of this

• Set Taskbar alignment back to Center and turn Widgets and Task view back on.
• Run the reg delete command above to restore the new right-click menu.
• Uninstall any third-party tools from Settings > Apps > Installed apps.

Related: Change the Windows 11 taskbar to Windows 10 style.

Frequently asked questions

Can I move the Windows 11 taskbar to the top or side?

Not with a built-in setting. Yes. Since the September 2026 update for Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2, Settings, Personalization, Taskbar, Taskbar behaviors has a Taskbar position option for top, left, right or bottom. It is rolling out gradually. See how to move the Windows taskbar. Third-party tools can move it, with the risks described above.

Can I get Live Tiles back?

No. Windows 11 removed Live Tiles entirely. Widgets (Windows key + W) are the closest replacement.

Should I just go back to Windows 10?

Windows 10 is no longer supported by Microsoft except through paid Extended Security Updates, so it’s safer to customize Windows 11 than to downgrade.