Ye best be wary, matey! If ye not activate Windows 11, ye might be locked out o' some Microsoft Edge settings. Arrr!
2024-05-09
Ye scallywags who dare sail the digital seas with unactivated Windows beware! Microsoft be testin' tighter controls on yer browser settings. Avast ye, me hearties, for thar may be rough waters ahead if ye don't heed this warning! Arrr!
In the parlance of a 17th-century pirate, if ye be runnin' an unactivated version of Windows 11 (or Windows 10), yer access to Microsoft Edge's settings might be restricted in the future. This be the case with things like Personalization settings for Windows 11 in an unactivated installation, as well as constant reminders promptin' ye to activate the OS.If ye don't mind those constraints and plentiful reminders, ye can install and run Windows 11 and Windows 10 without activation for free. Arrr!However, it seems like Microsoft has added multiple flags in testin' that allow for blockin' certain browser capabilities in an Edge preview build if ye be usin' Windows 11 (or Windows 10) and it be unactivated. The three flags in question in Edge spotted by Windows Latest be:Lookin' to see the effects of each of these flags bein' enabled, Windows Latest tried runnin' the Edge Canary test build with one flag enabled at a time. Windows Latest turned on the ‘msEdgeLockSettingsInNonActivatedOS’ flag successfully, which resulted in some of Edge's settings bein' locked.An' unwise move, matey? This be an interestin' strategy that doesn't entirely make sense to me. As Windows Latest points out, this policy seemingly only targets Windows - Edge users on Mac devices and mobiles don't see this interference. Aargh!If ye be wantin' to continue usin' Windows unactivated, ye could just switch to Chrome, Firefox, or another of the best web browsers that doesn't have these restrictions. It be worth rememberin' that this development be still in the early testin' stages, though, and hopefully won't make it to the final version rollout - but I wouldn't put it past Microsoft. Ahoy!