[Tip] How to Uninstall Mixed Reality Portal in Windows 10
Windows 10 newer versions come with a new feature called “Mixed Reality” (also known as Windows Holographic and sometimes incorrectly referred as HoloLens) which allows users to experience virtual reality and 3D environment using several built-in apps such as Mixed Reality Portal, Holograms and built-in simulators.
Mixed Reality apps and features can be used only if you have compatible hardware in your device and if your device fulfills the minimum hardware requirements.
If you don’t want to use Mixed Reality Portal and all Holographic stuff in Windows 10, this tutorial will help you in uninstalling and removing it from your computer.
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Actually Windows 10 allows users to uninstall Windows Mixed Reality feature using its settings page but if your computer doesn’t meet minimum hardware requirements to run Holographic stuff, the Mixed Reality settings page is set to hidden by default, so you can’t uninstall Mixed Reality since the page is hidden in Settings.
Don’t worry! Mixed Reality Settings page visibility is controlled by a registry key and you can show/hide the page using a simple registry tweak.
So first if the Mixed Reality settings page is disabled in your Windows 10 device, follow these simple steps to enable it:
1. Press “WIN+R” key combination to launch RUN dialog box then type regedit and press Enter. It’ll open Registry Editor.
2. Now go to following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Holographic
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3. In right-side pane, you’ll see a DWORD FirstRunSucceeded. Its value would be set to 0.
Actually if your Windows 10 device is compatible with Mixed Reality and meets the hardware requirements to run Holographic stuff, Windows 10 runs a configuration wizard at installation time which automatically sets value of above mentioned DWORD FirstRunSucceeded to 1 which enables Mixed Reality page in Settings app.
If your device doesn’t meed hardware requirements, Windows 10 sets value of FirstRunSucceeded DWORD to 0 which disables Mixed Reality page in Settings app.
- FirstRunSucceeded = 0 (hides Mixed Reality settings page)
- FirstRunSucceeded = 1 (shows Mixed Reality settings page)
PS: If you don’t see the DWORD in Registry Editor, you’ll need to create it manually.
Now double-click on FirstRunSucceeded DWORD and change its value to 1 and it’ll add the missing Mixed Reality page to Settings app.
4. Now launch Settings app from Start Menu or using WIN+I hotkey and click on Mixed Reality icon present on main settings page. You’ll find various tabs in left-side such as Audio and speech, Headset display and Uninstall.
5. To uninstall Mixed Reality, click on Uninstall tab and you’ll see a message “If Windows Mixed Reality isn’t running well, or if you want to free up some disk space, you can uninstall it”.
Click on “Uninstall” button, Windows will show a dialog box showing “This will remove Windows Mixed Reality” message, click on “Next” button. It’ll ask for restart your computer to finish uninstalling Windows Mixed Reality, Click on “Restart Now” button. After reboot, Windows Mixed Reality will be uninstalled from your Windows 10 computer.
UPDATE: Some users have reported that in newer Windows 10 versions, the “Uninstall” button doesn’t appear properly. Only a small grey box/bar appears without any word written on it and if you try to click on it, nothing happens. It seems a bug in Windows 10 newer versions and should be fixed in the next Windows 10 version.
Further Read:
[Tip] Disable or Remove “Mixed Reality Portal” App in Windows 10
[Windows 10 Tip] Disable Hardware Requirement Checks in Mixed Reality Portal
Also Check:
Awesome tip, thanks VG!
How do you get rid of the Start Menu entry?
^^ There is a way to remove entries from Start Menu but it removes all programs and apps shortcuts from Start Menu, only the “W” section remains intact. So its basically useless.
Ran through and managed to uninstall, but the mixed reality portal on the start menu is still there for all users.
^^ It’ll remain there to reinstall Mixed Reality stuff in Windows 10 but you can disable it from running:
https://www.askvg.com/tip-disable-or-remove-mixed-reality-portal-app-in-windows-10/
I followed your instructions for removing Mixed Reality portal and it worked, the only problem is that it is still on the start menu and I don’t know how to get rid of it. Please help.
Very useful. 🙂
Oh, darn, I really wish I hadn’t tried this. Not only does it leave the icon in the Start menu, plus a whole fat folder in Windows system apps, but now the icon has a dark background making it stand out and does try to execute something, basically a black window. I’d rather have a useless app than a dead end.
Very useful, thank you!
I agree with John Haber, it is a pain in the neck to have it in the start menu. Doesn’t anyone have a solution to this?
I was able to add it via regedit, but when I click anything in the Mixed reality window it closes :/
PS: If you don’t see the DWORD in Registry Editor, you’ll need to create it manually. How?
^^ Right-click in right-side pane and select new -> dword (32-bit) value option.
I went trough the deinstall routine as prescribed, but in the “Mixed reality window” the point “deinstall” s not ready to click.
I followed the above trick to uninstall the mixed reality portal. Mixed reality setting appears after changing registry key because my pc doesn’t meet hardware requirements but when I go to mixed reality setting, the setting page freezes and I cann’t do nothing. I tried this trick after many restarts of pc too but it doesn’t work for me. What should I do?
Same as Rob above – The settings app crashes instantly without explanation when clicking on the Mixed Reality item. Bummer…
My Settings does not have the uninstall button.
There’s just a small grey bar.
Actioning it does nothing.
I can’t stand MS when they do stuff like this.
I can’t get rid of Connect or Print 3D either.
Mine is the same as John.
The uninstall button is very small and unable to click Y_Y
I wish it worked but the Uninstall button on toward the center of YOUR screen is just a grey slit on mine, and clicking on it accomplishes nothing.
This looks like a simple procedure. I was able to make Virtual Reality visible in settings, but when I go to the ‘Uninstall’ option on the bottom left of Settings >Virtual Reality … all I see is a much thinner grey box without the word ‘Uninstall’ compared to the last image in your article.
This “perfect” method does not actually remove this forcedware from the system. If you want to do it properly:
1) execute
install_wim_tweak /o /l
install_wim_tweak /h /o /l
and locate all the holographic packages in Packages.txt that install_wim_tweak produces. (It can be found online.) You should have several, including Microsoft-Windows-Holographic-Desktop-Analog-Package…
2) install_wim_tweak /o /c Microsoft-Windows-Holographic-Desktop-Analog-Package /r
and reboot.
3) Go to step 1, and make sure you no longer have any holographic packages. If you do, repeat step 2 for each of them.
4) The 3dViewer (“Mixed Reality Viewer”) can be removed the usual way:
Get-AppxPackage *viewer* | Remove-AppxPackage
Yay eff that M$
I would like to know how to delete Mixed Reality Portal. I cannot see Mixed Reality aicon on Windows Settings screen. Please let me know.
Thanks.
Are you guys basically telling me that if I go through all this baloney on my PC … the ‘mixed reality portal’ icon will still remain in the Start Menu? It doesn’t budge?
Followed the instructions – and seem to have got nowhere – other than the fact that the “DWORD FirstRunSucceeded” option is no longer in the Holographic list.
Why does MS insist on adding so much bloatware?!
They know how to deal with their clients and how to satisfy them.
FYI, the method posted by meolite can now break Windows 10 modern functionality including updates if attempted. Using the method in the article works fine and is good enough. You don’t gain much in space or speed by being thorough.
OMG thank you that’s 6GB off of my PC hallelujah