How to enable new animation for Settings icons on Windows 11

Windows 11 brings joyful animations to the Settings app icons, and here's how to enable the feature.

Avatar for Mauro Huculak
@Pureinfotech
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Windows 11 Settings animated icons
Windows 11 Settings animated icons

Although Microsoft didn’t mention it, in addition to the new fixes and improvements, Windows 11 build 25188 also introduces a new set of animated icons for the Settings app. 

The feature is disabled by default, but when enabled, you will notice a specific animation based on the icon as you move between each section using the left pane, something that Microsoft describes as “delightful, unexpected moments of joy with purpose.”

If you want to get hands-on with the new dialog interface, you can use a third-party tool known as “ViVeTool” created by Rafael Rivera and Lucas on GitHub to enable the new experience on your computer.

This guide will teach you the steps to enable the animated icons for the Settings app on Windows 11.

Enable animated icons on the Settings app

To enable animated icons for Settings on Windows 11 build 25188, use these steps:

  1. Open GitHub website.

  2. Download the ViveTool-vx.x.x.zip file to enable the new Open With dialog.

  3. Double-click the zip folder to open it with File Explorer.

  4. Click the Extract all button.

    Extract ViveTool files

  5. Click the Extract button.

  6. Copy the path to the folder.

  7. Open Start.

  8. Search for Command Prompt, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.

  9. Type the following command to navigate to the Vivetool folder and press Enter:

    Cd C:\FOLDER\PATH\ViveTool

    In the command, change the path for the location of the ViveTool.

  10. Type the following command to enable the animated icons on the Settings app and press Enter:

    ViveTool /enable /id:34878152

    Settings icons animation enabled

  11. Restart the computer.

Once you complete the steps, close and reopen the Settings app, and as you navigate between the different sections from the left pane, every time you click one of the tabs, you will notice a distinct animation related to the icon.

Settings icon animations
Settings icon animations (Source: Pureinfotech)

If you don’t have Windows 11 build 25188, you need to enroll in the Dev Channel using the “Windows Insider Program” settings from the “Windows Update” section. Once you enroll the device in the program, you can download build 25188 from the “Windows Update” settings by clicking the Check for Updates button, and then you can follow the steps outlined above.

If you change your mind, you can revert the changes with the same instructions, but on step No. 10, make sure to use the vivetool /disable /id:34878152 command and then restart the device.

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 14 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 20 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].