Drivers are software installed on the system to allow communication between your computer and hardware devices like the speakers, projector, external storage drive and many more. Microsoft will digitally sign each driver to confirm it is safe for use on Windows 11. In this guide, I will be showing you how to disable driver signature enforcement in Windows 11. Please see How to start HyperV VMs in safe mode, how to Install and use WonderFox Video Watermark, and How to Remove a profile on outlook.
Some unsigned drivers may contain malicious code that can harm your system by installing malicious software into it. Sometimes these unsigned drivers may be out of date and not work correctly with your computer and can crash your system.
Disable Driver Signature Enforcement
There may be a specific driver that you urgently need to install but may not have a driver signature, if this is the situation then you will need to disable the driver signature enforcement so that you will be able to go ahead to install the unsigned driver.
You can further read How to delete obsolete drivers from the Driver Store in Windows, How to Upgrade Driver Automation Tool using Windows Driver Management, How to import drivers in .exe format into Microsoft Deployment Toolkit using MDT Driver injection.
Step 1. Disable driver signature enforcement using Startup Settings
1: Press down the Shift key and click Restart to launch the Windows 11 recovery mode.
2. Click Troubleshoot after the recovery mode is loaded.
3. On the Troubleshoot page click Advanced Options.
4. Click Startup Settings.
5. On the Startup Settings page, click Restart.
5. On the Startup Settings page select Disable Driver Signature Enforcement.
Your system will reboot immediately, and you can now try to install the unsigned driver. To reverse the settings just restart your computer without holding down the Shift key.
2. How to disable driver signature enforcement in Local Group Policy Editor
1: Open Run and enter gpedit.msc and press enter or click OK.
2. Navigate to User Configuration and click Administrative Templates > System
On the right section double click on Driver Installation.
3. Under the Setting section double-click Code Signing for Driver Packages.
4. On the Code signing for the driver packages page select Enabled and, on the Options drop-down select Ignore and click OK.
After the above configuration, you can now install the unsigned drivers. If you want to reverse it you can just return it back to default settings.
Also, see how to update Printer Drivers on your Windows device, and how to locate directory file context and restore it with SELinux.
FAQs on Driver Signature Enforcement
Press down the Shift key and click the Restart button. As soon as the restart begins, keep pressing the F8 key to access the Advanced Boot Options. Use your arrow keys to move down the options and select Disable Driver Signature Enforcement.
By default, Microsoft blocks the installation of the unsigned driver due to security reasons. But if you need the driver, and you know it is safe then you can turn off driver signature enforcement and install the driver.
I hope you found this blog post on how to Disable Driver Signature Enforcement in Windows 11 Interesting and helpful. In case you have any questions do not hesitate to ask in the comment section.