How-To

How to Disable Driver Signature Enforcement in Windows 11

By Adam Davidson

Published August 9, 2023

Do you need to use a driver that isn’t digitally signed? Here’s how to disable driver signature enforcement in Windows 11.

Drivers are a crucial part of your Windows 11 computer. They’re small software programs that allow your computer to communicate with hardware devices such as graphics cards, network adapters, keyboards, and more.

Microsoft digitally signs drivers that are safe to use with Windows 11 so that you can be certain that the drivers are secure. There may be circumstances, however, when you need to install a driver that isn’t digitally signed.

By default, Windows 11 won’t allow you to do this—you’ll see an error message warning you that the driver isn’t digitally signed. It is possible to tweak your settings, however, so that you can install drivers even without a digital signature.

Here’s how to disable driver signature enforcement in Windows 11.

Should You Disable Driver Signature Enforcement on Windows?

Driver signature enforcement is a Windows security measure that only allows drivers to be installed on your Windows PC if they’ve been digitally signed by Microsoft to certify that they are safe to use. If a driver has been digitally signed, then you know that it is from a trustworthy source and isn’t going to contain anything harmful or malicious.

Sometimes, however, the driver that you need may not have this digital signature. If this is the case, then it is possible to disable driver signature enforcement to allow drivers to be installed even if they haven’t been digitally signed.

This is not something that you should do without being aware of the potential consequences, however. An unsigned driver may be out of date and not work correctly with your computer. It could even cause your computer to crash and potentially lead to data loss.

In addition, unsigned drivers may contain malicious code that can install malware on your computer, putting you and your data at risk.

The steps below will allow you to install unsigned drivers on Windows 11, but you should do so at your own risk.

How to Disable Driver Signature Enforcement in Startup Settings

If you want to disable driver signature enforcement in Windows 11, you can do so through the startup settings.

By using the advanced startup options, it’s possible to allow the installation of unsigned drivers.

To disable driver signature enforcement on Windows 11:

1. Click the Start icon in the toolbar.
   
2. Click the Power button.
   
3. Hold down the Shift key and click Restart to launch the Windows 11 recovery mode.
   
4. Once the recovery mode has loaded, click Troubleshoot.
   
5. Select Advanced Options.
   
6. Click Startup Settings.
   
7. On the Startup Settings page, click Restart.
   
8. On the Startup Settings options page, press 7 to select Disable Driver Signature Enforcement.
   
9. Windows will boot up. You should now be able to install your unsigned driver.
10. To turn driver signature enforcement back on, restart your computer without holding down Shift.

How to Disable Driver Signature Enforcement in Local Group Policy Editor

It’s also possible to disable driver signature enforcement by using the Local Group Policy Editor tool in Windows 11.

However, this tool doesn’t come pre-installed in Windows 11 Home Edition, so you’ll need to be using a different edition of Windows 11 to use this method.

To disable driver signature enforcement in Local Group Policy Editor:

1. Press Windows + R to open Run.
2. Enter gpedit.msc and press Enter or click OK.
   
3. Double-click Administrative Templates under User Configuration.
   
4. Double-click System.
   
5. In the main panel, double-click Driver Installation.
   
6. Under Setting double-click Code Signing for Driver Packages.
   
7. In the window that opens, select Enabled.
   
8. From the drop-down, select Ignore.
   
9. Click Apply to apply the settings and then click OK.
   
10. You can now install unsigned drivers.
11. This is now the default setting. To enable driver signature enforcement again, repeat the steps, and select Warn or Block from the drop-down in step 8.

How to Use Advanced Boot Options to Disable Driver Signature Enforcement

Another method to disable driver signature enforcement that works on all editions of Windows 11 is to use the advanced boot options to start Windows 11 with the feature disabled.

To disable driver signature enforcement in Advanced Boot Options:

1. Click the Start icon.
   
2. In the bottom left-hand corner, click the Power button.
   
3. Without holding down Shift select Restart.
   
4. As soon as the restart begins, keep pressing the F8 key to access the Advanced Boot Options.
5. Use your arrow keys to move down the options and select Disable Driver Signature Enforcement.
   
6. Press Enter.
7. Windows 11 will boot. When Windows 11 has booted, you should be able to install unsigned drivers.
8. To revert to the original settings, restart your computer without entering Advanced Boot Options.

Learn More About Windows 11

Learning how to disable driver signature enforcement in Windows 11 allows you to install drivers that aren’t digitally signed. However, you should do this at your own risk, as unsigned drivers can put you at risk of installing unstable or even malicious drivers that could harm your computer.

There are plenty of other useful Windows 11 tips and tricks that it’s worth knowing. If you have an HDR monitor, you can learn how to enable HDR on Windows 11. If you’re having trouble gaming, you can learn how to fix Windows 11 not detecting your Xbox controller.

However, if things are really going wrong, learn how to use emergency restart on Windows 11 next.