Live Tiles was one of the niche features in Windows 10 and only a small fraction of users found it productive. With the release of Windows 11, Microsoft chose to abandon Live Tiles altogether in favor of the new modern-looking centered Start menu. However, people who use live tiles heavily are not happy with the change and want to get Live Tiles back to Windows 11 in one way or another. So we did our testing and found a pretty neat way to use Live Tiles in Windows 11. So without further ado, let’s go ahead and learn how to create and undo live tiles in Windows 11.
Get Live Tiles in Windows 11 (October 2021)
In this article, you can learn all about live tiles, including what they are and how to use them in Windows 11. In the guide below, we’ve also included additional steps in case the simple method doesn’t work.
What is Live Tiles?
Microsoft introduced Live Tiles with the release of Windows 8.1 in 2021, forcing developers to implement the feature as part of the new Start menu design.
When you press the Windows button or open the Start menu in Windows 10/8.1, Live Tiles, view reviewable information without opening the app. For example, Live Tiles let you check the current weather or pending emails from your inbox, read the news quickly, or view your next calendar appointment from the Start menu. All this can be done with Live Tiles and it has helped people stay on top of things.
However, like other less-used Microsoft features and services, Live tiles have remained a favorite feature. among a very small fraction of users. Sure, the feature helped, but not many used it. It is similar to Android’s Snapshot feature where Google puts a lot of pressure on its users, but still not many rely on it for information. Maybe that’s why Microsoft chose to remove Live Tiles in Windows 11.
But don’t worry, we’ve discovered a nifty way to add Live Tiles to Windows 11 for enthusiast users who want to get their informative animated tiles back.
How to Create and Add Live Tiles in Windows 11
As you know, Microsoft blocked access to the classic Start Menu and Live Tiles in July. Therefore, we will not change any Registry settings or change system settings to bring Live Tiles back in Windows 11. Instead, we’ll rely on a third-party app called Live Tiles Anywhere that brings the same functionality but in a slightly different UI. Here’s how to do it.
1. First open and install Microsoft Store Live Tiles Everywhere (free) on your Windows 11 PC or laptop. It is a free app, does not bother you from time to time with in-app purchases. It doesn’t embed ads though, which is great.
2. Then open the program. To add the live tile of any installed program, click “All Apps“on the hill.
3. Now search for your favorite app, right click on it and select “create widget“.
3. This will create a live tile widget on your Windows 11 desktop. You can do move tile anywhere on the desktop and resize in four different sizes – just like you can with Windows 10 Live Tiles. So, instead of the Start menu, all your Live Tiles reside on the desktop. Press the Windows 11 keyboard shortcut “Windows + D” to browse through all the tiles and return to your active window by pressing the same key combination once again.
4. While the above steps work for most users, they will not work for all apps. In case a particular app does not support Live Tiles, you will need to create a custom tile. Click “Create a new custom tilePress the ” button to start.
5. After that, “Item to be played” section and select “Installed application” from the drop-down menu under “This application/command/file will be executed”. Next, “Choose an app“.
6. Here, select the application for which you want to show Live Tiles on your Windows 11 desktop. For example, let’s choose “Microsoft News” for this tutorial. After that, press the “Save” button.
7. Now, navigate to the “Tile by” section from the left pane and make sure the “Show a live tile if available” toggle is on. open. Finally, click on Save -> Save and close.
8. Next, right-click on the custom tile and select “create widget“.
9. You will now see Live Tile running smoothly for this application on your Windows 11 desktop. If you encounter any problems, I recommend restarting your PC.
Experience Live Tiles on Your Windows 11 Desktop
This is how you can enable and use Live Tiles in Windows 11. In my testing, I found the third-party Live Tiles Anywhere app to work well for most apps, including Your Phone and Finance apps. However, for some apps I needed to create a custom tile to see the feature in action. So if you are also facing issues, take the manual route and create your own Live tile. Anyway, that’s it for us. If you are looking for ways to customize the Windows 11 taskbar or want to get the old context menu back in Windows 11, follow our linked guides. Finally, if you have any questions, let us know in the comment section below.
