How to enable new Xbox Full Screen Experience on Windows 11

The Xbox Full Screen Experience on Windows 11 allows handheld gaming PCs to boot directly into a console-style dashboard, optimizing for controller input, full‐screen gaming, and reduced background processes to improve gaming performance.
You can now enable the feature in the latest preview build of Windows 11 25H2 using ViveTool and the Registry.

On Windows 11 for handheld gaming PCs (such as the Asus ROG Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X as well as Lenovo Legion Go 2, among others), Microsoft plans to release the new Xbox Full Screen Experience, which is a launcher that allows handhelds to boot directly into this new gaming mode that replaces the traditional desktop interface with a more controller-friendly, full-screen dashboard, similar to a console interface.

However, it has been discovered that the “Full screen experience” settings can already be enabled in the “Gaming” settings on existing handheld gaming devices using the latest preview of Windows 11 25H2, available through the Release Preview and Dev Channels, using the ViveTool and a Registry tweak to configure this new gaming experience.

In this guide, I’ll outline the steps to enable the Xbox experience on your handheld gaming computer using the latest preview of Windows 11 25H2. Also, since you’ll be using the gaming device as a regular computer, you may need to connect a keyboard and mouse using USB peripherals or Bluetooth connection.

Enable the Xbox Full Screen Experience on Windows 11
Configure the Xbox Full Screen Experience on Windows 11

Warning: It’s important to note that modifying the Registry can cause serious problems if not used properly. Also, be aware that installing pre-releases of the operating system may include bugs and problems that can negatively affect your experience. It’s assumed you know what you’re doing and have created a full backup of your system before proceeding.

Enable the Xbox Full Screen Experience on Windows 11

To enable the Full Screen Experience for Xbox on Windows 11 for handheld gaming PCs, follow these steps:

Open Settings on Windows 11.
Click on Windows Update.
Click the Windows Insider Program page.
Click the Get started button.
Click the “Link an account” button.
Sign in with your Microsoft account credentials.
Click the Continue button.
Select the “Release Preview” or “Dev Channel” option under the “Pick your Insider settings” section.

Quick tip: If you choose the “Dev Channel,” you may notice better gaming performance, but you won’t be able to unenroll from the channel unless you perform a clean installation of Windows 11. Additionally, if you use the “Release Preview” option, the experience may feel slightly buggy.
Click the Continue button.
Click the Continue button to agree to the terms and conditions.
Click the Restart button.
Open Settings after the reboot.
Click on Windows Update.
Click the “Check for updates” button to install Windows 11 25H2.
Click the Restart button.
Open the GitHub website after upgrading to version 25H2.
Download the ViveTool-vx.x.x.zip file onto your computer.
Double-click the zip folder to open it with File Explorer.
Click the Extract all button.
Click the Extract button.
Copy the path to the folder.
Open Start.
Search for Command Prompt, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.
Type the following command to navigate to the ViveTool folder and press Enter:
```
cd c:\folder\path\ViveTool-v0.x.x
```
In the command, remember to change the path to the folder with your path.
Type the following command to enable the necessary components to turn on Xbox handheld mode on Windows 11 and press Enter:
```
vivetool /enable /id:52580392,50902630
```
Restart the computer.
Open Start.
Search for regedit and click the top result to open the Registry.

Open the following path:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\OEM

Right-click the OEM key, select the New submenu, and choose the “DWORD (32-bit) Value” option.
Name the new key DeviceForm and press Enter.
Right-click the recently created key and select the Modify option.
Change the value to 2e (Hexadecimal).
Click the OK button.
Restart the computer.

Once you complete the steps, the “Full screen experience” settings page will appear in the “Gaming” section of the Settings app to configure the feature.

Configure the Xbox Full Screen Experience on Windows 11

After turning on the settings in the operating system, you will have to configure the feature with the instructions:

Open Settings.
Click on Gaming.
Click the “Full screen experience” page.

Windows 11 open Full screen experience page / Image: @Gogsi123
Select the Xbox app in the “Choose home app” setting.

Enable Xbox experience / Image: @Gogsi123
Turn on the “Enter full screen experience on start-up” toggle switch to allow the system to start directly in this new console-like experience.
(Optional) Turn on the “Show accessibility control hits in Task View” toggle switch to display a one-button alternative to a combo button press.

After completing the steps, you can start using the Windows 11 handheld with a more Xbox console-like experience. You can now restart the computer to get started with the experience.

The idea behind this new gaming mode is to provide a handheld-friendly interface with an experience that feels more like a console, since you can control the interface more easily using the gaming controls. It also acts as a central hub for all your games, regardless of which storefront they were purchased from.

Furthermore, replacing the standard desktop experience, the system can also free up memory and other resources that would normally be used by background processes, leading to improved performance and battery life for gaming.