Installing any version of Windows, such as Windows 11, is a process that takes time and that does not end with the installation itself. Next comes the time to customize your operating system, check that the configuration is adequate. Or if you upgraded from Windows 10 to Windows 11, make sure the settings are still what you want and Microsoft hasn’t done their thing. In short, after installing or updating, it is convenient to configure Windows 11 to your liking.
I don’t just mean changing the background or placing your shortcuts and files wherever you want. There are important details, such as the windows 11 privacy, the applications installed by default and that you may want to remove, certain settings such as notifications and advertising, new features that you want to activate from day one, etc. Come on, there are many things to do after installation.
Next we collect 11 changes and settings that you may want to consider if you update or install Windows 11 on your computer. The purpose is to avoid problems and annoyances, to make your PC more friendly and safe for you and to get rid of certain aspects of Windows 11 that should be avoided.
Turn off Windows 11 advertising
Windows 11 integrates advertising in the operating system itself. Disguised as recommendations, they can be games and applications or directly advertisements. It is what your computer has to be Conected to internet constantly. But it has a solution.
If you don’t want to see advertising, just go to Settings> Privacy and security. In the section general you must uncheck the four options, activated by default. As you can read, one by one, they have to do with showing advertising in applications and / or in the web browser when searching. Even in the start menu advertising appears by default.
Turn off annoying notifications
Although Windows 11 wants to help you, sometimes that help can be annoying. I mean the Windows notifications. If you go to Settings> System> Notifications you can customize the behavior of notifications. But there are two options that you should disable to avoid notifications that you may not want to see on the screen. We are going to configure Windows 11 to be as less annoying as possible.
The first option to change is “Offer suggestions on how I can configure my device.” And the second, “Get tips and advice when using Windows.” They may be useful at first, but if you consider that you already know everything you need to work with Windows 11, you can turn off those notifications.
Disable OneDrive and Microsoft Teams from startup
On the one hand, it is very good that your operating system offers you other applications and services from the same manufacturer. In this case, Microsoft, during the installation of Windows 11, asks you if you want to configure OneDrive, install Office 365 and a long etcetera. The problem is that, by default, some of these applications are loaded at Windows startup even if you are never going to use them.
In my personal experience, Cortana appears disabled at startup. Well. But Microsoft Teams and OneDrive load at startup. Instead, Windows Terminal, which would be more useful to me, is disabled. No problem. From Settings> Applications> Start it is possible to activate and deactivate these options to load at the beginning only what you really need.
Uninstall what you are not going to use
It already happened in Windows 10. You install or update the operating system and you find yourself with a myriad of applications that you may not know or need. Spend some time on that list to see what to use and what not. Especially if we talk about promoted games that take up space. Or applications like OneDrive or Microsoft Teams, which together occupy more than 270 MB.
From Settings> Applications> Applications and features you will see the applications installed by default in Windows 11. You will be able to uninstall them one by one if you are not going to use them. In the future, you will already have a chance to recover them.
Change your default browser and apps
By default, Windows 11 gives us the opportunity to surf the web with Microsoft Edge. Based on Google Chrome, it has improved a lot over its predecessors. But that does not mean that you want use your own browser default.
Normally, when you install a external browserLike Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox or Brave, to name several examples, the browser itself asks you if you want to configure it by default the first time you open it.
Also, you can make it your default browser and change the rest of those options from Settings> Applications> Default applications. And it is that configuring Windows 11 is easy if you know where to look.
There are several changes in Windows 11 regarding the taskbar and the Start menu. The taskbar is still there, as always, but the icons are displayed in the center instead of on the left. That for one thing. On the other hand, the Start menu has changed to be closer to a search engine to use than a mere list of applications and folders.
Changes you can make in your Start menu. First, disable added apps and the recently opened items. You will find these two options to deactivate in Settings> Personalization> Start. By the way, you can add the folders that you use the most in that revamped Start menu.
Regarding the taskbar. As usual in Windows for several versions, you can show or hide the icons of the system tray. This and everything you want to change from the taskbar you will find it in Settings> Personalization> Taskbar. You can hide items from the taskbar, hide or show the icons in the right corner, hide the taskbar, etc.
Activate advanced gestures for your trackpad
There are those who cannot live without the mouse, but I am an unconditional fan of the trackpad. In particular, thanks to the possibilities offered by moving several fingers across its surface, thus creating touch gestures to streamline tasks or actions onscreen.
Windows 11, like Windows 10, incorporates additional touch gestures to take advantage of your laptop’s trackpad. You can activate, customize and configure them to your liking from Settings> Bluetooth and devices> Touch panel. If the trackpad is properly configured, the section should appear Advanced gestures or similar.
Advanced gestures involve use three or four fingers at the same time with different combinations. Next to each combination, you can choose an action to be triggered when you make that gesture on the trackpad.
Use a local account and not a Microsoft one
A topic that we have been dragging from Windows 10. Microsoft wants you to use their Microsoft account for everything. But you might just want create a local account. Without depending on the internet connection and associated services. Moreover, during the installation of Windows 11 there is no clear way to create that local account.
However, once you have Windows 11 installed, you can create that local account. For this we will go to Settings> Accounts. Within Your information, you will find the option Account Settings> Microsoft Account. There is a link for Sign in with a local account instead. Click on it and follow the instructions to have a local account and forget about the dependency on your Microsoft account.
Synchronize Clipboard on Windows and Android
One of lime and another of sand. If, on the other hand, you want to take advantage of all the advantages of using a Microsoft account in Windows 11, one of those advantages is that of synchronizing the Clipboard between Windows and Android. So what cut, copy and paste on your phone or computer you can do the same on the other device.
Windows 11 integrates this feature. You will find it in Settings> System> Clipboard. The option that interests you is the second: Share between devices. Synchronization can be manual or automatic. On the other hand, on your Android you must install the application Microsoft SwiftKey keyboard and log in with the same Microsoft account as in Windows.
Check the privacy of Windows 11
In the previous tips to configure Windows 11 we have already seen the menu Privacy & Security. But it is convenient to dedicate time, since there you will find everything you need to customize Windows 11 regarding permissions, histories and behaviors susceptible to collect our usage data.
From Settings> Privacy and security, it is advisable to go apart by device, especially in the sections Windows permissions. And later, as you install applications and games, you should do the same in Application permissions.
Take a look at the Battery options
Finally, if you have a laptop with Windows 11, the battery is one of the components that we should give the most affection to. Windows has long offered additional options, some automatic, others manual, so that you battery lasts longer changing the behavior of Windows.
On Settings> System> Power and battery you will see the behavior of your battery. Percentage of charge, estimated time, battery levels in the last hours … What interests us most is the section Power mode. By default, it is set to Balanced. If you need, change it to Better energy efficiency to make the battery last longer, or Maximum performance for tasks that require your computer to give it its all, such as video editing or online gaming.
It is also advisable to have the Battery saving. By default it is activated when the battery is at 20%, but you can change it to another level or activate it manually. From there and / or from the lower right corner, by clicking on the battery icon. In the drop-down, you will see an icon with the legend Battery saving.