In the near future, Windows 11 will prevent you from customizing the Edge browser if the OS is not activated. It will be similar to how it currently blocks the Settings options, mostly related to the Personalization section. Blocking the OS-specific options are not new to Windows 11, the same approach can be found in earlier releases. But blocking the browser options are definitely a new thing.
The company is testing this change in current builds of Microsoft Edge in the Canary channel.
If Windows is not activated, the Edge settings page shows a new notification.
We have noticed that your Windows is not activated, some customizations has been limited
It will appear on top of all Edge settings sections and pages. Currently, it prevents you from changing only a few options. Specially to mention, it blocks the option to restore tabs from your previous session when you launch Edge, which means Edge will always open to its start page.
It is possible that in the future Microsoft will introduce additional restrictions in Edge for users of non-activated versions of Windows.
Finally, it is not yet known when the change will appear in the stable branch. Microsoft may reverse the changes if it faces a wave of criticism.
Image and credits: Ghacks
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