Whenever Microsoft rolls out a major feature update for Windows 11, the operating system attempts to highlight the changes. Upon rebooting after the installation, instead of seeing your familiar desktop, Windows completely hijacks your screen. It automatically launches the “Get Started” app (often titled “Welcome to Windows” or “Let’s finish setting up your PC”) in an un-closeable full-screen window, forcing you to click through several slides of marketing material about new edge features, OneDrive subscriptions, and Microsoft 365 trials.
If you use your PC for work and simply need to get back to your spreadsheets immediately after a mandatory reboot, this forced, multi-screen tutorial is incredibly frustrating and wastes valuable time.
You can tell Windows 11 to never show you this post-update welcome screen again.
How to Disable the Post-Update “Welcome” Experience
You can turn off this marketing overlay directly within the Windows notification settings.
- Open the Settings app on your PC (press Win + I on your keyboard).
- In the left-hand sidebar, click on System.
- In the right pane, click on Notifications.
- Scroll all the way down to the very bottom of the Notifications page.
- Click on the section labeled Additional settings to expand it.
- You will see a checklist of three different options. Look for the checkbox labeled Show the Windows welcome experience after updates and occasionally when I sign in to highlight what’s new and suggested.
- Uncheck this box.
- While you are here, it is highly recommended to also uncheck Suggest ways to get the most out of Windows and finish setting up this device, as this prevents random full-screen popups that try to force you to link your smartphone or subscribe to OneDrive months after you installed the OS.
From now on, when Windows completes a major update and restarts, it will boot directly to your login screen and take you straight to your desktop, exactly as it should.