How to disable rounded corners in Windows 11

Some users would like to disable rounded corners of open windows on Windows 11, as the prefer the sharp shapes of its predecessor. They do better with screenshot taking apps, align better on the screen, and make it easier to place windows side-by-side. Finally, you may simply like the classic square corners more than the modern ones.

With release of Windows 11, Microsoft heavily reworked its user interface. There are plenty of things changed. Fonts, colors, icons are all new. The OS includes the expanded set of colorful emojis of the fluent design style.

Windows 11 welcomes the user with a modern taskbar with centered app buttons, Windows Spotlight applied to the Desktop, and much more.

One of the visual changes is the new style of window frames. Running apps have rounded corners, which sets Windows 11 apart from the look Microsoft introduced back in Windows 8. While they look modern and fresh, some people aren't happy with the new style.

Rounded corners on the screen take up space and can be unpleasant for users with small monitors or when using multiple windows. Also, it is hard to capture a single window with rounded corners, as they leave a few pixels with your wallpaper around them. Even third-party tools don't always help.

Finally, some Windows 11 apps and dialog boxes still have square corners. If often deal with such components and apps, their appearance may annoy you with a visual inconsistency.

Disable rounded corners in Windows 11

The now-famous developer Valentin Radu has created a tiny and easy-to-use app, Win11DisableRoundedCorners. The app is open source and is available on GitHub. Its core is a smart algorithm that downloads debug symbols from Microsoft for the uDWM.dll file. By using the downloaded data (the uDWM.pdb file), the app finds the appropriate place in DLL and patches it, reverting the code to the Windows 10 style. This dynamic mechanism allows it to support all Windows 11 versions, including the most recent Insider Preview builds! Here's how to use it.

To disable rounded corners in Windows 11, do the following:

1. Download Win11DisableRoundedCorners from its home page on GitHub.
2. Extract the app from the ZIP archive to any folder of your choice.
3. Double-click the Win11DisableRoundedCorners.exe file to launch it. The app will download the symbols, patch DWM and restart it.
4. Voila, you now have sharp square corners everywhere on Windows 11.

That's it! To undo the change, it is fine enough to launch Win11DisableRoundedCorners.exe one more time. It will restore the patched system file, restart DWM, thereby restoring the rounder windows.

Alternatively, you can use another app, ExplorerPatcher, from the same developer. You may be already familiar with it. The app allows fine grain tuning of many options for the Windows UI, e.g. to bring back the classic taskbar and Start menu.

Here's how to use ExplorerPatcher to disable rounded corners on Windows 11.

Remove rounded corners using ExplorerPatcher

1. Download ExplorerPatcher from its website.
2. Run the downloaded ep_setup.exe file; it will install and launch the app.
3. Once the screen flashes, right-click the taskbar and select Properties, a new item added by ExplorerPatcher.
4. In the Properties dialog, click on Other on the left.
5. On the right side, click the Disable rounded corners for application windows option.
6. Confirm the UAC prompt, and you now have sharp square window corners!

Note: You can uninstall ExplorerPatcher like any other app if you decide to get rid of it. Open Settings (Win + I), navigate to App > Installed apps, and select Uninstall from the menu for the ExplorerPatcher entry.

Finally, last but not least, one more method needs to be mentioned. This is a registry tweak that turns off the rounder corners of the window. However, this no longer applies to Windows 11 22H2 and above. It only works with original Windows 11 release, Build 22000.

💡You can quickly find what build and version of the OS you have installed by pressing Win + R, typing winver in Run, and pressing Enter. The About Windows dialog will provide you with all necessary information.

Registry tweak to disable rounded corners on Windows 11

1. Launch the Registry Editor with the regedit.exe command. Type it in the taskbar search box, and select the app from the search results.
2. In the Registry Editor, go to the following branch on the left: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\DWM.
3. Now, right-click the DWM key in the left pane, and select New > Dword (32-bit) value from the menu.
4. Name the new value UseWindowFrameStagingBuffer. It will be set to zero by default, so don't change it.
5. Restart Windows 11, and you are done.

That's it. To undo the change later, remove the UseWindowFrameStagingBuffer you created earlier, and restart the OS to apply the modification.

The reviewed methods give you some choice for customizing the OS look. They are great for those who prefer a different appearance other than Microsoft provides. If you decide to turn off rounded corners in Windows 11, you now know what to do.

However, the tools and tweaks aren't official, and neither supported or recommended by Microsoft. Keep in mind that they may eventually stop working, or break the things with forthcoming OS updates. If you aren't sure if the tools support your Windows version, contact the developer, try them in a virtual machine, and/or create a backup of your important data.

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