If you install Windows 11 but choose not to purchase a product key, Microsoft allows you to use the operating system indefinitely. However, to incentivize you to pay, they disable personalization settings (like changing your wallpaper) and place a permanent, semi-transparent watermark in the bottom-right corner of your screen that reads: “Activate Windows. Go to Settings to activate Windows.”
This watermark floats above all other applications, meaning it remains visible while you are watching movies, playing full-screen video games, or giving a PowerPoint presentation. If the watermark is distracting, you can temporarily remove it by modifying the Windows Registry key responsible for triggering the notification overlay.
How to Remove the Activate Windows Watermark via Registry Edit
You must modify the PaintDesktopVersion registry value to force the desktop manager to hide the overlay.
- Click the Start button, type regedit, and click Run as administrator. (Click “Yes” on the UAC prompt).
- In the Registry Editor, look at the address bar at the very top of the window. Delete the current text, carefully paste the following path, and press Enter:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop - Ensure the Desktop folder is highlighted in the left sidebar.
- Look at the main panel on the right side of the window. Scroll down alphabetically until you find a value named PaintDesktopVersion.
- Double-click on PaintDesktopVersion.
- A small box will appear. Change the “Value data” from 1 to 0 (zero).
- Click OK.
- Close the Registry Editor.
To apply the registry change, you must restart your computer. When Windows 11 boots back up to the desktop, the “Activate Windows” watermark will be completely gone, giving you a clean, distraction-free screen.
Note: Because your copy of Windows remains unactivated, Microsoft’s background licensing service will eventually perform a routine check, realize the OS is unlicensed, and silently change the registry value back to 1. The watermark will usually return after a few days or weeks, at which point you will need to repeat this registry edit.