Occasionally, after a major Windows 11 system update, you will boot up your computer, type in your password, and instead of seeing your desktop, you are blocked by a massive, full-screen prompt. This screen often says “Let’s finish setting up your PC” or highlights new features you haven’t used yet, such as linking your Android phone, signing up for Microsoft 365, or configuring OneDrive.
Microsoft refers to this as the “Windows Welcome Experience.” If you are in a rush to check an email or start a meeting, being forced to click through multiple “Skip for now” screens is incredibly frustrating. You can permanently disable these post-update promotional screens.
How to Disable the Windows Welcome Experience
You can turn off these post-update prompts directly from the Windows 11 Settings app.
- Click the Start button and select the Settings gear icon (or press Windows Key + I).
- In the left-hand navigation pane, click on System.
- In the main window, click on Notifications.
- Scroll all the way down to the very bottom of the Notifications page.
- Click on the section labelled Additional settings to expand it.
- You will see a list of checkboxes. Locate the box labelled Show the Windows welcome experience after updates and when signed in to highlight what’s new and suggested.
- Uncheck this box.
- While you are there, it is highly recommended to also Uncheck the box labelled Suggest ways to get the most out of Windows and finish setting up this device.
By unchecking both of these options, Windows 11 will respect your time. After the next major Tuesday patch or feature update, your PC will boot directly to your desktop immediately after logging in, without any marketing interruptions.