How to Enable Group Policy Editor in Windows 11 Home Edition

The Group Policy Editor on Windows can be used to manage and modify Group Policy Settings. However, the management console is not available for the Windows 11 Home Edition, as opposed to the previous versions. If you are thinking to upgrade to Windows Pro or Enterprise just to gain access to the Group Policy Editor, there is no need to do that. Today, we will let you in on our little secret! Read below to learn about Group Policy Editor, its uses, and how to enable it in Windows 11 Home Edition.

How to Enable Group Policy Editor in Windows 11 Home Edition

How to Enable Group Policy Editor in Windows 11 Home Edition

On Windows, the Group Policy Editor can be used to manage and modify Group Policy Settings. However, if you have not heard of it, you probably do not need it. It is quite useful, especially for network administrators.

  • Users can use this software to configure access and restrictions to special programs, apps, or websites.
  •  It can be used to configure Group Policies on both, local and network computers.

Check if Group Policy Editor is Installed

Here are the steps to check if your PC already has the Group Policy Editor installed or not.

1. Press Windows + R keys together to open Run dialog box.

2. Type gpedit.msc and click on OK to launch Group Policy Editor.

Run dialog box. How to Enable Group Policy Editor in Windows 11 Home Edition

3. The following error, if displayed, indicates that your system does not have the Group Policy Editor installed.

Group policy editor missing error

Also Read: How to Install XPS Viewer in Windows 11

How to Enable Group Policy Editor

Here’s how to enable Group Policy Editor on Windows 11 Home Edition:

1. Click on the Search icon and type Notepad.

2. Then, click on Open, as shown.

Start menu search results for Notepad

3. Type the following script.

@echo off
>nul 2>&1 "%SYSTEMROOT%\system32\cacls.exe" "%SYSTEMROOT%\system32\config\system"
REM --> If error flag set, we do not have admin.
if '%errorlevel%' NEQ '0' (
echo Requesting administrative privileges...
goto UACPrompt
) else ( goto gotAdmin )
:UACPrompt
echo Set UAC = CreateObject^("Shell.Application"^) > "%temp%\getadmin.vbs"
echo UAC.ShellExecute "%~s0", "", "", "runas", 1 >> "%temp%\getadmin.vbs"
"%temp%\getadmin.vbs"
exit /B
:gotAdmin
if exist "%temp%\getadmin.vbs" ( del "%temp%\getadmin.vbs" )
pushd "%CD%"
CD /D "%~dp0"
pushd "%~dp0"
dir /b %SystemRoot%\servicing\Packages\Microsoft-Windows-GroupPolicy-ClientExtensions-Package~3*.mum >List.txt
dir /b %SystemRoot%\servicing\Packages\Microsoft-Windows-GroupPolicy-ClientTools-Package~3*.mum >>List.txt
for /f %%i in ('findstr /i . List.txt 2^>nul') do dism /online /norestart /add-package:"%SystemRoot%\servicing\Packages\%%i"
pause

4. Then, click on File > Save from the menu bar at the top left corner of the screen.

5. Switch the save location to Desktop in the Address bar as depicted.

6. In the File name: text field, type GPEditor Installer.bat and click on Save as shown highlighted.

Saving the script as batch file. How to Enable Group Policy Editor in Windows 11 Home Edition

7. Now, close all active windows.

8. On the desktop, right-click on GPEditor Installer.bat and select Run as administrator, as illustrated below.

Right click context menu

9. Click on Yes in the User Account Control prompt.

10. Let the file run in Command Prompt window. Once the process is finished, restart your Windows 11 PC.

Now, try checking for Group Policy Editor by following the instructions laid down in the beginning of this article.

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