How to show hidden themes in Windows 11

 

The Windows 11 system already contains a set of great themes that can be applied instead of the default theme to deviate from the usual colors and shape of the desktop, there are about 4 themes in addition to the dark theme for the blue Bloom background, and the user can download new themes directly from the Microsoft Store. However, there are other themes hidden within the system that is specially designed for the educational version of Windows 11, specifically Windows 11 SE. It is possible to show and use these themes in any of the regular versions of Windows 11, whether Pro, Home or Enterprise, by making a simple modification to the registry. So if you are interested in trying out these hidden themes, just follow the steps in this article.

 

In all, no fewer than six new hidden themes can be shown on Windows 11; These themes are called "Flower", "Planets" and "Sunset" and each theme is available in the bright and dark version. So, in addition to the basic features, you have 12 themes to change between in Windows 11. But before explaining the steps to show these hidden features, it is necessary to make sure that the copy of Windows 11 on your device is updated to the latest version (Windows 11 22H2) and also save a backup copy of the registry to retrieve it if you encounter problems After making the modifications mentioned below. In the event that you do not want to update or use Windows 10, you can download the themes through this link and add them manually to the system.

 

Enable hidden educational features on Windows 11

 

First, we need to launch the Registry Editor tool in Windows 11. Then you will open the tool either by searching for it by pressing the Win + S keys, or by opening the Run window by pressing the Win + R keys together, then writing the command [regedit] and pressing Enter to open the utility window. After the Registry Editor window appears, use the left sidebar to move to the following path, or copy and paste the path into the address bar above, then press Enter:

 

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\PolicyManager\current\device

 

After accessing the Device folder, right-click on it, then from the menu point the mouse pointer over the “New” option, and from the drop-down list select “Key” as shown in the attached image, to create a new subfolder and it must be named “Education” (without the two signs quotes).

 

After creating the Education folder, select it and then right-click in any empty place on the right side, then click on "New" and then "DWORD Value" to create a new value that must be named "EnableEduThemes" as shown in the attached image above. After completing this step, double-click on the new value until a pop-up window appears, adjust the Value data to 1 instead of 0, then press OK. You can now restart your computer, but make sure that you have an internet connection on the device so that Windows can download the hidden and new themes in the background.

 

After restarting the computer, open the Settings application through the Start menu or by pressing the Win + I (e) keys together, then go to the "Personalization" section from the left side menu. You should see the new Windows 11 SE educational themes in the "Select a theme to apply" section, and there are, as we mentioned, 6 great themes with consistent and attractive colors. All you have to do now is click on any theme to apply it right away! Or if you want to keep the backgrounds only, press Win + R and enter the following path in the Run window, then press Enter:

 

%localappdata%\Microsoft\Windows\Themes

 

In the window that appears, you will find the folders belonging to each of the hidden themes in Windows 11. You can open them and extract the background from them in the original resolution and keep them in another folder or share them.