Changes in v26.06.12

Features

• Builder Mode — build a Winhance config file or autounattend.xml without changing anything on the PC you're sitting at. Flip the new mode switcher to Builder, set everything the way you want it, and save the result as a Winhance config or an autounattend file ready for deployment on other machines.
• Sponsors & Supporters page — the exit donation dialog is gone. In its place, an in-app page (heart icon or the More menu) recognizes the businesses and individual supporters who keep Winhance free. It works offline and is fully localized.
• Change History — Winhance now keeps a receipt of everything it does. ChangeHistory.txt records every setting change (before and after values) and every app install or removal, with clear headers for config imports and bulk actions. Open it from the More menu.
• Hebrew language support — Winhance is now available in 29 languages.
• New Explorer customizations: desktop icon visibility toggles, This PC folder visibility, an icon cache size setting, and automatic thumbnail cache cleanup.
• New "All apps view" setting for the redesigned Windows 11 Start menu, and the Windows 11 system tray icons setting is now a dropdown with more control.
• App-local UI zoom — press Ctrl +/-/0 or use Ctrl+MouseWheel to scale the whole app, just like a browser.
• New External Apps: EA app, Ubisoft Connect, Battle.net, Rockstar Games Launcher, PowerShell, and Helium Browser.

Bug Fixes

• Layouts no longer clip when the Windows text size slider is set above 100%.
• Accessibility: Narrator now announces setting names on toggles and dropdowns, previously unlabeled buttons are labeled, and progress updates are announced.
• Silent updates now respect your custom install location instead of reverting to the default.
• Cancel in Review Mode no longer clears your app selections.
• OneNote is now detected correctly for Win32 Click-to-Run installs.
• Clean Start Menu applies more reliably by also writing the group policy path.
• WinGet errors are no longer silent — error details now show in the terminal output.
• Fixed a startup crash on older Windows builds caused by a .NET runtime regression.
• Config import now converts power setting values correctly and no longer re-applies an already-active power plan.

Improvements

• App icons load noticeably faster and cover almost everything now, including legacy capabilities and optional features — they come from a dedicated, checksum-validated icon repository and are fetched in parallel.
• Software & Apps polish: per-icon tooltips, extra table columns, an app sort dropdown, relocated search, and a cleaner compact view.
• A warning now appears when the Connected Devices Platform Service is set to Manual or Disabled, since some Windows features depend on it.

Installation

Download from winhance.net or directly from this release and support the project.

Beta build testing a workaround for the CETCOMPAT issue causing silent launch crashes on some Windows installs - see #648 and #356 for context.

📥 Installation

Install directly from this release or run the code below in PowerShell (Admin):

irm "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/memstechtips/Winhance/dev/Winhance-Beta.ps1" | iex

Changes in v26.05.22

Features

• App icons throughout Software & Apps. Windows Apps and External Apps now show real product icons instead of generic placeholders. Icons are resolved automatically from installed app packages, app binaries, WinGet, and the Microsoft Store, then cached locally so they load instantly on later visits.
• New view modes for Software & Apps. Alongside the existing compact and table views, you can now switch to a Card view to browse apps the way you prefer.
• Refreshed status badges in Software & Apps. The install-status badges and icons across Windows Apps and External Apps now use a single, modernized style.
• System Restore toggle. A new toggle in Optimize lets you enable or disable Windows System Restore (System Protection) directly from Winhance.
• DNS over HTTPS. The DNS Server setting now includes DNS-over-HTTPS options for encrypted DNS lookups.
• Disable Autoplay toggle. A new Explorer customization turns Autoplay off, and restores the Windows default when switched back.
• More granular control. Hardware Overlays and the Telephony Service have each been split into their own settings so you can control them independently.
• New external apps. Playnite has been added to the Gaming category, and App Installer is now available under Windows Apps.
• Persian (Farsi) language support, with right-to-left text rendering fixes for both Persian and Arabic.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed the Windows Apps tab occasionally getting stuck on a loading spinner because of startup race conditions.
• Fixed settings incorrectly showing a "Custom" badge on a fresh Windows install — settings with no value set in the registry now correctly resolve to their default option.
• Fixed the Import Config button staying disabled after exiting config review mode.
• Removed a faulty internet-connection check that could block app installs even when you were online.
• Large app installs no longer time out prematurely — the timeout now tracks installer activity instead of a fixed time limit.
• Winhance now detects and can uninstall external apps that were installed from the Microsoft Store.
• Winhance no longer offers to reinstall Microsoft Store apps that Microsoft has retired.
• Quick Actions and the per-card "Reset to Defaults" now use the same logic and behave identically.
• Home and Gallery are now correctly hidden from the Explorer navigation pane on Windows 11 25H2.
• Fixed Start Menu Bing Search not being disabled on Windows 11 25H2.
• Improved detection of XnView, Steam, and Visual C++ runtimes as installed external apps.
• Fixed Russian navigation labels overflowing the sidebar buttons.
• Fixed text rendering in the Power > Multimedia settings.
• Fixed a locale-dependent issue with power-setting values on systems that use non-English number formats.
• Improved Narrator and keyboard accessibility across Software & Apps, Power Plan, the sidebar navigation, WimUtil, and quick-set buttons.
• WimUtil now auto-expands the remaining steps once ISO extraction finishes.
• Cleared stale Chocolatey records and improved handling of bundled metapackages.
• Fixed the broken License link.

Improvements

• PowerShell-based settings now run in-process instead of launching an external PowerShell session — faster, more reliable, and with no dependency on the system's PowerShell.
• Winhance now uses its bundled WinGet by default for installs and uninstalls, so it works consistently even when the system's WinGet is missing or outdated.
• Winhance now has a warning label for uninstalling items like Microsoft Edge and App Installer, since removing it can destabilize Windows.
• Improved detection of apps installed via WinGet, Chocolatey, and Windows app packages.

Installation

Download from winhance.net or directly from this release.

Changes in v26.04.21

Features

• Page Up and Page Down keys now scroll the Optimize and Customize pages a page at a time, skipping past disabled inner scrollers so the main page always responds.
• New Show .lnk File Extension toggle in Explorer customizations.
• Added AutoHotkey v1, AutoHotkey v2, and LosslessCut to External Software.

Bug Fixes

• Disabling Windows Search or SysMain now shows a warning, and option-specific warnings are preserved when toggling Selection settings.
• Config Import Review Mode no longer shows a false diff for the active power plan when the imported value matches the current one.
• Autounattend payloads that write to HKCU are now routed to the FirstLogon user pass so per-user settings actually apply on first login.
• Saved window positions are now validated against the currently connected displays on startup, so the app no longer opens off-screen after switching or disconnecting monitors.
• Added a warning that disabling System AI Models Access will break Snipping Tool OCR (Text Extractor).

Installation

Download from winhance.net or directly from this release.

Changes in v26.04.17

Features

New settings and tweaks

• New AI Privacy groups for Windows AI, Microsoft Edge AI, and Microsoft Office AI to give users control over AI-related telemetry and features.
• New AI taskbar pin toggles, AI app removal entries, and AI service/scheduled task controls in Gaming & Performance.
• Smart App Control selector with Off, On, and Evaluation modes.
• VBS and Memory Integrity (HVCI) toggles in the Security section.
• DNS Server selection dropdown for picking a DNS provider.
• Developer Mode and PowerShell Execution Policy settings.
• Driver Co-Installers toggle to block vendor bloatware during device installation.
• Six new Regional Format settings on the Explorer Customize page.
• Shortcut arrow overlay icon can now be removed or restored.
• Per-Monitor Auto Color Management toggle.
• Connected Devices Platform Service toggle in System Services.
• SvcHost split threshold setting.
• Mouse Hover Time and Taskbar Auto-Hide Hover Delay settings.
• MPO (Multi-Plane Overlay) disable and minimum frame rate settings.
• Legacy Notepad file handler toggle for Windows 11.
• Classic auto-login option in netplwiz toggle.
• Disable WebView2 in Windows Search toggle.
• Show All System Tray Icons setting for Windows 11.
• Taskbar Behavior settings from Windows Personalization.
• Show Duplicate Removable Drives navigation pane setting.
• Context menu additions: Compress To, CHKDSK with drive letter prompt, SFC /SCANNOW, Repair Windows Image, and Edit/Run PS1.
• Collapsible parent-child settings for Explorer Navigation Pane folders, plus Downloads and OneDrive options for the Open File Explorer setting.
• Improved touch keyboard service controls and a new Tapi Service registry setting.
• PDFgear, Wise Disk Cleaner, IObit Uninstaller, and Revo Uninstaller added to External Apps with proper registry-based detection.

Modern InfoBadge system

• Replaced the old dot indicators with modern pill-style InfoBadges that show Recommended, Default, New, and Preference status with icons and tooltips.
• Settings can now display multiple badges side by side (for example Recommended + New).
• Added a Preference badge for subjective or locale-dependent settings (regional, theme, sound, gaming, etc.) so they no longer suggest a single "Recommended" choice.
• Added a "NEW" badge to highlight recently added settings, with a NEW Badges toggle in the View menu and an automatic reset on version upgrade.
• Recommended and Default options inside ComboBox dropdowns are now highlighted with pill backgrounds.
• Numeric range settings have one-click buttons to jump to the Recommended or Default value.

Quick Actions and View menus

• Added View menu and Quick Actions dropdowns on the Optimize and Customize pages, replacing the old Technical Details toggle.
• Bulk apply all recommended settings or reset all settings to defaults in one click.
• Overview badge pills on feature cards summarize how many recommended changes are pending per section.

Technical details overhaul

• Rewrote the technical details panel with dedicated sections per setting type instead of a flat list.
• Now displays PowerShell scripts, registry content, current and default AC/DC power values, scheduled task default state, and setting dependencies.
• Section headers, dependency names, and inline GUIDs are now localized.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed the app hanging on startup during software detection.
• Edge removal no longer creates a broken MSEdgeHTM registry key, and the protocol redirect has been improved to prevent broken file associations.
• Xbox Game Bar removal now redirects the ms-gamebar protocol so Windows no longer prompts to reinstall it from the Store.
• Added a 30-second timeout to DISM capability and feature detection to stop the app from hanging.
• Background App Permissions converted to a Selection control with corrected registry values.
• Fixed toggle state detection for binary registry values and for settings whose registry keys do not exist.
• Fixed badge rendering and toggle state for inverted-policy settings.
• WIMUtil XML card logo is now theme-aware.
• Corrected autounattend binary byte formatting and per-subkey enumeration.
• Badge labels now refresh correctly when the language is changed.

Improvements

• The system restore point on first launch is now optional instead of forced.
• All new strings translated across 27 supported languages.
• Winget binaries updated to the latest stable release.

Installation

Download from winhance.net or directly from this release.

Changes in v26.03.12

Features

• Added CCleaner to the External Apps catalog.
• Winhance now ships as a self-contained .NET deployment, so users no longer need to install .NET separately. The PowerShell installer also now offers a portable install option.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed scroll performance on the External Apps tab, which could feel sluggish with many apps listed.
• Fixed app uninstall to correctly use the WinGet package ID when available, with a proper fallback progress indicator when the Microsoft Store ID is used instead.
• Fixed missing translation keys across all localization files to prevent fallback text issues and add tests for localization files to ensure all languages work at runtime.

Improvements

• Cleaned up the build script and reorganized internal packaging files.

Installation

Download from winhance.net or directly from this release.

Changes in v26.03.11

Bug Fixes

• Fixed in-app update flow with overhauled silent install support, portable mode detection, and improved installer page ordering.
• Fixed update downloads failing to launch the installer due to a file lock from undisposed download streams.
• Fixed web search redirect failing to detect the default browser after Microsoft Edge is removed.
• Fixed bloat removal failing when the PowerShell runspace pool encounters errors, by adding a sequential fallback.
• Fixed battery notification toggles being inverted in power settings.
• Fixed ISO creation failing with "The path is empty" error due to missing working directory guards in WIM utility steps.
• Fixed ghost or corrupt Winhance Power Plan blocking new plan creation and activation.
• Fixed uninstall from Add & Remove Programs being broken due to an uninstaller rename.
• Fixed startup update check being silently skipped when the ViewModel was not yet initialized.
• Fixed installer post-install launch failing with elevation error 740.
• Fixed installer scripts not creating shortcuts or auto-launching after silent install.
• Fixed WinGet AppInstaller upgrade progress indicator showing when no update was available.
• Fixed preference JSON deserialization error and restore point creation proceeding without verification.

Improvements

• Desktop and Start Menu shortcuts are now enabled by default for regular installations.

Installation

Download from winhance.net or directly from this release.

Changes in Release 21 v26.03.06

Features

• Added Korean and Turkish language support.
• Added new external apps: CDBurnerXP, StartIsBack++ for Windows 10, and updated StartAllBack label.
• Added automatic fallback to Chocolatey when WinGet installation fails, along with direct download fallback URLs for more reliable app installs.
• Added DefaultValue column to Technical Details panel, now fully localized.
• Added Recommended section dependency for settings, showing suggested content and updated descriptions.
• Added task progress indicators to Windows image customization (WimUtil) steps.
• Added Microsoft OSCDIMG as a WinGet package for easier ISO creation tool setup.
• Installer now launches silently when run from the PowerShell script.
• Replaced privacy-related fields in the log header with useful technical diagnostics.
• Separated theme change and wallpaper notifications in config review mode for clearer feedback.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed config import crashes, group policy cleanup for Windows Defaults, and group policy state detection issues.
• Fixed config review badge not updating correctly on cancel, when fully reviewed, and during concurrent UI updates.
• Fixed context menu settings not detecting or displaying technical details correctly.
• Fixed registry detection for settings with multiple enabled/disabled values and null EnabledValue.
• Fixed Technical Details Current/Recommended/Default values not aligning across rows.
• Fixed dialog card borders not matching the current theme (light/dark).
• Fixed breadcrumb dropdown not updating localization on cached page navigation.
• Fixed remaining hardcoded dialog titles that were not localized.
• Fixed app installation status detection being unreliable in several cases.
• Fixed AllowTelemetry registry conflict with O&O ShutUp10++ and added AITEnable support.
• Fixed touchpad scrolling issues caused by nested scroll containers.
• Fixed "No Internet Connection" error for PPPoE and non-standard network adapters.
• Fixed Windows Spotlight disappearing from lock screen settings.
• Fixed hybrid sleep setting appearing when not supported by the system.
• Fixed duplicate progress bar and cancel behavior issues during app removal.
• Fixed Windows Defender ASR false positive by signing and renaming the uninstaller.
• Fixed SkipSystemBackup preference causing JSON deserialization errors.
• Fixed autounattend script failing due to HKCU registry remapping issues.
• Fixed SID lookup failure under Constrained Language Mode.
• Removed BITS service and PCA Patch Task settings that Windows automatically re-enables.
• Removed non-existent "Show all pins by default" Start Menu setting.
• Added missing GameDVR registry keys and Windows Defender warning to Take Ownership description.

Improvements

• Major internal code quality overhaul across 19 phases, improving reliability, thread safety, resource management, and performance throughout the application.
• Decomposed large services into focused, testable components for better maintainability.
• Added over 100 automated tests covering settings loading, config review, and integration scenarios.
• Added website icon to External Apps DataGrid view.

Installation

Download from winhance.net or directly from this release.

Changes in v26.02.20

Features

• Added a terminal output dialog that shows live, real-time progress during app installations and uninstallations.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed Over the Shoulder (OTS) UAC elevation registry detection accuracy, improved performance, corrected registry editor navigation, and fixed elevation running under the wrong user account.
• Fixed Winhance window theme not correctly following the logged-in user's theme when running under OTS elevation.
• Fixed WinGet uninstall reporting false-positives where apps were incorrectly shown as uninstalled. Added Chocolatey as a fallback uninstall method for apps that WinGet cannot remove.
• Fixed unnecessary Explorer restarts during config import.
• Fixed config review mode incorrectly counting settings that are hidden due to Windows version filtering.
• Fixed theme settings reverting unexpectedly and reduced excessive log output.
• Fixed inverted JavaScript Timer Frequency power setting values.

Installation

Download from winhance.net or directly from this release.

🚀 Changes in v26.02.18

• Fixed a bug where "Optimizations for windowed games" and "Variable Refresh Rate" were not applied correctly due to incorrect setting definitions.
• Added "Auto HDR" setting in Gaming and Performance (related to the two settings above)
• Bundle desktop VC++ Runtime DLLs with WinGet to fix missing file errors on startup of Winhance and remove unused _app.dll VC++ Runtime files from bundled WinGet in previous version (v26.02.17)
• Fixed hibernation detection, auto-enable hibernate start menu option, and restore AC/DC dual controls for laptops
• Update hybrid sleep config entries from toggle to combobox format with On & Off options to match Windows
• Fix Menu Show Delay toggle detection and update setting Name and Description including localization

📥 Installation

Download from winhance.net or directly from this release.