How to Enable the New Start Menu on Windows 11

Microsoft has introduced the first major redesign of the Windows 11 Start menu since 2021, bringing back a more unified and customizable experience. If you’re curious about how to enable this new Start menu on your Windows 11 PC, this guide will walk you through everything you need to know.

What's New in the Start Menu

The redesigned Start menu moves away from the separated layout of the original Windows 11 design, offering a more fluid and integrated experience. Here are the key improvements:

Unified, Scrollable Layout

The most significant change is the consolidation of your pinned apps and all apps list into one seamless page. You no longer need to click back and forth between different sections - you can simply scroll through everything in a continuous flow.

Enhanced All Apps Experience

The "All apps" list is now permanently visible and offers three distinct viewing options. The Category View automatically groups your applications into intelligent categories like "Productivity," "Creativity," and "Games." The Grid View arranges apps alphabetically in an efficient grid layout, while the List View maintains the classic alphabetical list from previous versions.

Complete Control Over Recommendations

For the first time in Windows 11, you can completely remove the Recommended section. By turning off all related toggles in Settings > Personalization > Start, you gain a cleaner interface with more space for your essential applications.

Improved Adaptive Design

The new menu dynamically adjusts its size to better utilize available screen space, showing more content on larger displays. It also features better Phone Link integration, providing quick access to recent notifications and messages from your connected device.

Enable the New Start Menu on Windows11

Since Microsoft is slowly enabling this feature for users, you can manually activate it using ViVeTool.

Step 1. Download ViVeTool

1. Get the latest version of ViVeTool from its official GitHub website. 

2. Extract the ZIP file's contents to an easily accessible folder, such as C:ViveTool.

Step 2. Open Administrator Command Prompt

1. Search for Command Prompt in Windows Search, right-click the result, and select Run as administrator.

2. In the Command Prompt window, change to the directory where you extracted ViVeTool using this command:

cd c:\folder\path\ViveTool-v0.x.x

3. Enter the following command to enable the Start menu and press Enter:

vivetool /enable /id:47205210

Step 3. Restart Your Computer

Close the Command Prompt and restart your PC. After rebooting, click the Start button to experience the new interface.

Reverting the Changes

If you encounter issues or prefer the previous design, you can revert by repeating the steps and running this command instead:

vivetool /disable /id:47205210

Conclusion

The new Windows 11 Start menu represents a significant improvement, offering a more intuitive single-page layout with highly requested features like a permanently visible app list and complete control over recommendations. By using ViVeTool, you can bypass Microsoft's gradual rollout and immediately experience this enhanced design.