How to enable hidden themes on Windows 11

Here are the steps to enable the hidden Flowers, Planets, and Sunsets themes on Windows 11 22H2.

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Windows 11 enable hidden themes
Windows 11 enable hidden themes

Windows 11 has some hidden themes, but this isn’t an “Easter egg.” Instead, the themes have been designed to be only available for the education variant of the operating system. However, a simple Registry modification (via PhantomOcean3) can make them available on any device running version 22H2.

In total, there are six themes, including Flowers, Planets, and Sunsets, in both light and dark versions that feature colorful wallpapers and custom accent colors. These are in addition to the default themes already available on Windows 11.

If you want to refresh your desktop with new wallpapers, you can edit the Registry to enable these new colorful themes. The only requirement is that the computer must be running Windows 11 22H2.

This guide will teach you the steps to enable the secret education themes on Windows 11.

Warning: It’s important to note that modifying the Windows Registry can cause serious problems if not used properly. It’s assumed you know what you’re doing and you have created a full backup of your system before proceeding.

Enable hidden education themes on Windows 11

To enable the hidden themes on Windows 11 22H2, use these steps:

  1. Open Start on Windows 11.

  2. Search for regedit and click the top result to open the Registry.

  3. Browse to the following path:

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\PolicyManager\current\device

  4. Right-click the device key, select New and choose the Key option.

    Registry Education key

  5. Name the newly created key Education and press Enter.

  6. Right-click the newly created key, select New and choose the DWORD (32-bit) Value option.

    Registry EnableEduThemes DWORD

  7. Name the newly created key EnableEduThemes and press Enter.

  8. Double-click the EnableEduThemes key and change its value from 0 to 1.

    Enable hidden themes

  9. Click the OK button.

  10. Restart the computer.

Once you complete the steps, the hidden themes will enable on your computer. You can find and apply these secret Windows 11 themes from Settings > Personalization > Themes.

If, after restarting the computer, you don’t see the themes, wait a few moments until the themes populate. This happened to me, and it appears that the system needs to download the packages from the internet.

In the case that the instructions don’t work on your computer, you can download the themes directly from the Microsoft Store:

About the author
Avatar for Mauro Huculak

Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 15 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 21 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me. Email him at [email protected].