When Microsoft ships a new feature to Windows 11, it rarely appears on your PC the moment the update lands. Instead, the company rolls it out in waves, testing with Insiders first and then gradually widening the net to more devices over days or even weeks. If you’re running a machine on the 25H2 or 26H2 release and you’re eager to try something before it reaches you, there’s a utility that can help: ViVeTool.
ViVeTool is a small, free command-line program that lets you toggle the hidden feature flags Windows uses to control which capabilities are switched on. In practice, that means you can enable certain Windows 11 features early — features that Microsoft has built into your build but hasn’t yet released to the general public. This guide walks you through downloading it, finding the right feature ID, and turning features on (and off again if you change your mind).
What ViVeTool actually does
Windows 11 stores thousands of optional features as configuration flags in the registry. Each flag has a unique numeric identifier, and Microsoft flips these flags on or off depending on your Windows version, your hardware, and which rollout stage you’re currently in. ViVeTool reads and writes these flags directly, giving you manual control over features that would otherwise stay locked behind Microsoft’s phased deployment.
The utility was created by developer @chr0mag and is distributed freely on GitHub. It doesn’t modify Windows itself — it only changes which feature flags are active, which is the same mechanism Windows Update and the Insider program use to stage rollouts. That’s why it’s a popular choice among power users who want to preview upcoming 25H2 and 26H2 capabilities without waiting for the official rollout.
How to enable Windows 11 features with ViVeTool
Before you run anything, you’ll need the tool itself. Download the latest ViVeTool release from the official GitHub repository, then extract the downloaded ZIP file to a folder you can easily find, like your Desktop. The archive contains a single executable named vivetool.exe.
Next, open a Command Prompt with administrator privileges. Press the Windows key, type cmd, right-click Command Prompt, and choose Run as administrator. You’ll need those elevated permissions because ViVeTool writes to system-level registry keys.
Then navigate to the folder where you extracted the tool. If you put it on your Desktop, the command looks like this:
cd /d %USERPROFILE%\Desktop
Run the tool to confirm it’s working before enabling anything:
vivetool /question
This lists the feature flags your current build supports. To turn on a specific feature, you use its numeric ID with the /enable switch. For example, using a feature ID like 38026256, you’d type:
vivetool /enable /id:38026256
After enabling one or more features, restart your PC for the changes to take effect. Some features may require additional steps, so it’s worth checking the feature’s documentation before you proceed.
Finding the feature IDs you need
ViVeTool doesn’t tell you what each numeric ID does — it only works with numbers. That’s where community resources come in. Several websites maintain up-to-date lists mapping feature IDs to their names and descriptions, and the ViVeTool GitHub repository often links to these in its documentation.
When you’re hunting for a 25H2 or 26H2 feature, search for its name on one of these lists, note the corresponding ID, and then use that ID in the /enable /id: command. Keep a written note of the IDs you enable and what they control, so you can disable them later if a feature misbehaves.
How to disable a feature again
If you enable a feature and decide you don’t like it, you can turn it back off with the same tool. Swap the /enable switch for /disable and use the same ID:
vivetool /disable /id:38026256
Restart your PC again, and the feature should be switched back off. There’s no guarantee every feature can be cleanly reverted, though — some changes may leave behind registry entries, so it’s wise to create a system restore point before you start toggling anything.
What this means for you
ViVeTool is a powerful shortcut to previewing Windows 11 features before they reach you officially, and it’s completely free to use. But it comes with real trade-offs. Because these features haven’t been fully tested for your machine, you could encounter bugs, instability, or features that don’t behave as expected. Enabling experimental flags is essentially putting yourself in a semi-Insider role without the safety net of an official preview channel.
For most everyday users, the safest move is to simply wait for Microsoft to roll the feature out normally. But if you’re a tinkerer who wants to explore what’s coming in 25H2 and 26H2, ViVeTool gives you that access in a matter of minutes — just be sure to back up your system first and keep track of what you’ve changed.
Source: Neowin
Over to you: Have you tried unlocking a Windows 11 feature early with ViVeTool, and did it hold up — or did you revert it?
