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WayDevn's avatar
WayDevn
Iron Contributor
Sep 01, 2026

Win11 The Reduce animations setting resets to Off after a system restart

After enabling the Reduce animations option in Settings → Accessibility → Visual Effects, the setting is disabled again after a system restart. Although the toggle in the settings interface still app...
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Jason_M's avatar
Jason_M
Brass Contributor
Sep 02, 2026

If the toggle still shows the correct setting but animations return after restarting, Windows is saving the preference but failing to apply it when you sign in. That is not expected behavior.

Try setting the same options through the older Performance Options window:

  1. Press Win + R.
  2. Enter SystemPropertiesPerformance.exe and press Enter.
  3. Select Custom under Visual Effects.
  4. Clear options such as Animate controls and elements inside windows, Animate windows when minimizing and maximizing, and Animations in the taskbar.
  5. Select Apply, restart Windows and test again.

Also open Settings > Accounts > Windows backup > Remember my preferences and temporarily turn off synchronization for accessibility or other Windows settings. This is worth checking if both installations use the same Microsoft account.

On Windows 11 Pro or Enterprise, you can enforce the setting through Group Policy:

  1. Open gpedit.msc.
  2. Go to User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Control Panel > Ease of Access.
  3. Enable Turn off all unnecessary animations (when possible).
  4. Sign out and back in.

If the setting still fails while its switch remains in the correct position, it is most likely a Windows sign-in or Explorer bug rather than the setting being reset. Report it through Feedback Hub with a short recording showing the state before and after restarting.