In this article, I will show you How to Enable the New Start Menu in Windows 11 (26120.3671 and 26200.5518).
In the latest Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds for the Beta and Dev Channels, Microsoft is testing a New Start Menu Layout, which combines the Pinned, Recommended and All Apps Sections. In this article, I will show you how to enable it.
Thanks to phantomofearth for discovering this, follow them for more hidden features!
You will need to download ViveTool, which is a small app that will help us enable hidden features from Windows.
After you download ViveTool, you will need to extract the contents of the archive into a folder of your choice.
Right-click on the archive and then click on Extract all. Select Your Folder and then click on Extract. You will also need to provide some administrative privileges.
After you’ve done that, you will need to open CMD as administrator. Type the following command in CMD:
cd "your-location"Then copy and paste the following commands:
Enable New Start Menu Layout
vivetool /enable /id:49221331,47205210
vivetool /enable /id:48433719
vivetool /enable /id:49402389
vivetool /enable /id:55495322You will now need to restart your computer, for the changes to take effect.
After the restart, you will be able to see the New Start Menu Layout.
The Pinned Section is now limited to 2 rows, but can be expanded. Also in Start Settings, you can enable the Pinned Section to be always expanded.
The Recommended Section in Start can also be disabled if you Disable Show recently added apps, Show most used apps and Show recommended files in Start.
Additionally, Microsoft will now also allow you to quickly enable/disable the New Phone Sidebar with a New Button.
To enable companion support on the new menu, run vivetool /enable /id:55495322
— phantomofearth 🌳 (@phantomofearth) April 4, 2025
For a more in-depth tutorial, you can watch the video below from the youtube channel.
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