What Is God Mode In Windows 11, And How Do I Use It?

Wondering how to use God Mode on Windows 11 or previous versions of Windows? Here’s how to enable it and what you can do with it.

On Windows 11, the way to change most of your system settings is to use the Settings app. This is the method Microsoft wants you to use, with the most modern design and newest features being there. However, it’s not perfect, and it’s actually missing a few options from the old Control Panel. If this bothers you, God Mode may just be the feature you’re looking for.

God Mode is a (clearly exaggerated) term for a folder that contains links to all kinds of system settings directly on your desktop (or wherever you choose to create it). Despite its intimidating name, God Mode is very easy to set up, and there’s almost no risk to it, aside from making important settings easily accessible.

Window with light shining through and Windows 11 text

Windows 11: Everything you need to know

Windows 11 is the latest and greatest operating system from Microsoft, and it packs a ton of changes. Here’s what you need to know.

How to create a God Mode folder in Windows 11

Create a new folder on your desktop. To do this, right-click an empty area of the desktop, hover over New, and then choose Folder.
Name the folder GodMode. {ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}. If you’ve already created the folder with a different name, right-click the folder and choose Rename to change it.
Once you hit Enter after changing the name, that name will disappear, and the icon should change into a Control Panel icon.
You can now open the folder to access all the settings inside. You’ll find settings for everything from AutoPlay, user accounts, disk optimization, and so on. There are a total of 207 items, but that can vary depending on what version of Windows you’re running.

In some cases, the setting you want to use may have been completely replaced by the Settings app, and the shortcut will open that app instead of the classic Control Panel.
Because it’s a standard folder, you can also easily copy settings shortcuts directly onto your desktop for even quicker access. Simply drag and drop the setting you want, and it’ll be accessible directly on the desktop.

If you find that having all of those options on the desktop isn’t useful for you, you can simply delete the God Mode folder to get rid of it. All the options will continue to be available through the usual means; you’re only deleting shortcuts.

Why use God Mode?

If you want to access some of the old-school settings in Windows 11, God Mode is the easiest way to do it, especially with Microsoft pushing the classic Control Panel further and further into the depths of the OS. Many settings are now hidden behind complex navigation and different pages, so having a folder with everything laid out right there and then can be very helpful.

Of course, as Microsoft moves more and more options away from Control Panel, it’s possible that God Mode will become that much less useful, but for now, there’s still a lot you can do with it. It’s an especially great tool if you’ve been using Windows for a long time and don’t want to learn new ways of doing certain things.