By default, some UI elements and components in Windows 11 have some transparency applied to them. This effect, along with an acrylic blur, makes the OS more visually appealing. Transparency effects make overlapping screen objects blend seamlessly with each other and the background instead of sticking out like a sore thumb, as is the case when they’re opaque.

But if you don’t like the transparency effects for some reason, you can disable them. And if you change your mind, it's just as easy to turn it back on again. Here are some ways to do it.

1. How to Enable or Disable Windows 11's Transparency Effects in the Personalization Settings

To turn transparency effects on or off via the Personalization settings, press Win + I to open the Settings app. Then, navigate to Personalization > Colors and click the toggle for Transparency effects to enable or disable them.

turning on transparency effects from the personalization settings

Doing this will make some windows and surfaces in Windows 11 translucent.

2. How to Enable or Disable Transparency Effects in the Accessibility Settings

You can also use the Accessibility settings to enable or disable transparency effects. You can get to them by pressing Win + I to open the Settings app and then clicking on Accessibility > Visual Effects. Then, click the toggle for Transparency effects to turn them on or off.

the visual effects window of the windows accessibility settings

Doing this will make a couple of backgrounds in Windows, mainly, those of the Taskbar, Start Menu, and Action Center, a bit transparent.

3. How to Enable or Disable Transparency Effects With the Registry Editor

When you use the Registry Editor to turn transparency effects on or off, it’s like using the Personalization settings (the first method we discussed). You’d probably want to do it this way if you haven't activated your copy of Windows yet, because unactivated copies don't let you access the Settings menu.

To open the Registry Editor, press Win + R to open Windows Run. Next, type regedit in the text box and click OK. Then, click Yes on the UAC prompt.

regedit

In the Registry Editor, navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER > Software > Microsoft > Windows > CurrentVersion > Themes. On the left side menu, select the Personalize key and then double-click on EnableTransparency on the right.

the enabletransparency entry in the windows registry

Once the dialog box opens, change Value data to 1 to enable the transparency effects or to 0 to disable them.

editing the enabletransparency dword in the windows registry

Once you click OK, the Registry Editor will apply the translucency systemwide.

4. How to Enable or Disable Transparency for a Specific Windows 11 Component

So far, we've talked about applying transparency onto the entire operating system. However, you can also select individual elements in Windows 11 and turn off their transparency instead. Here's how to do that.

1. Start Menu

If you want to make the Start Menu transparent on its own, you'll have to do it through the Registry Editor. So press Win + R to open Windows Run, type regedit in the text box, and hit Enter to open the Registry Editor. Then, click Yes on the UAC prompt.

Next, navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER > Software > Microsoft > Windows > CurrentVersion > Explore. Then, right-click the Advanced key, select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value and name it UseOLEDTaskbarTransparency.

the useoledtaskbartransparency entry in the windows registry editor

Double-click this new entry and change Value data to 1 to turn on translucency for the Start Menu. If you want to turn off the translucency, set Value data to 0.

the useoledtaskbartransparency dword in the windows registry

Click OK and restart your PC for the change to take effect.

2. Lock screen

You’ll notice that the lock screen already has some transparency and blur applied to it, which you can turn off if you like.

To do that, press Win + I to open Windows Run. Type regedit in the text box, and hit Enter to open the Registry Editor. When the UAC prompt pops up, click Yes.

In the Registry Editor, head to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SOFTWARE > Policies > Microsoft > Windows. Look for the System key on the left panel under the Windows key. If it’s not there, right-click the Windows key, select New > Key, and name it System.

adding a new key to the windows key in the registry editor

Select the System key on the left panel. On the right panel, right-click an empty space, select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value, and give it the name DisableAcrylicBackgroundOnLogon.

the disableacrylicbackgroundonlogon entry in the windows registry editor

Once created, the default value of Value data for the new entry will be 0, which you can confirm by double-clicking on it. This means that the lock screen’s transparency is currently turned on. To turn it off, set Value data to 1.

editing the disableacrylicbackgroundonlogon dword in the windows registry editor

Click OK to apply the changes.

Now press Win + L to go to the lock screen, and try to sign in. Immediately, you’ll notice that its background is fully opaque.

3. Command Prompt

To enable or disable transparency for Command Prompt, you need to open it first by pressing Win + R to bring up Windows Run. Type cmd in the text box and hit Enter.

Then, right-click Command Prompt’s title bar and select Properties.

selecting command prompt's properties from its title bar

Select the Colors tab and then drag the Opacity slider between a value of 30% to 100%.

cmd colors tab in the properties

The more you drag it towards 30%, the more it becomes transparent.

4. Windows Terminal

The background in Windows Terminal is opaque by default, but you can make it transparent in the app’s settings.

To do that, right-click Start and select Windows Terminal (Admin). Next, click Yes when the UAC prompt shows up. Once Windows Terminal opens, click the dropdown arrow in the title bar and select Settings.

opening the settings of windows terminal from the title bar

On the left side menu of Windows Terminal’s settings, click on Defaults, which is located immediately after the Profiles heading. Scroll down until you reach the Additional settings section on the right side, and click Appearance.

Scroll down to the Transparency section and drag the slider for Background opacity to the left to make it more transparent or to the right to make it more opaque. While you’re at it, click the toggle of Enable acrylic material to turn it on and give the transparency a nice translucent look.

the transparency section of the windows terminal default appearance settings

Click the Save button in the bottom right corner, and you’ll see that the background for Windows Terminal is now translucent.

Now You Can Enable Transparency Effects in Various Ways on Windows 11

Being able to tweak the transparency effects is one of the ways Windows allows you to add your own visual flair to the experience. Not to mention that they help seamlessly blend screen objects, making the effects practical as well. As you can see, you can turn them on or off for systemwide effect or specific Windows components.