How to Add or Remove Mixed Reality Pane in Windows 11

Important Deprecation Notice: Windows Mixed Reality

Updating to version 24H2 stops the old Mixed Reality Portal from working entirely. Headset owners need to look into alternatives such as SteamVR or software from the headset’s manufacturer. Hiding or showing the pane in Settings does not change this. It only controls whether the menu item appears.

Mixed Reality Portal vs. Mixed Reality Link

Windows 11 previously offered a Mixed Reality Portal for VR. Now, a newer app called Mixed Reality Link helps connect specific hardware. If you own a headset, check which of these your hardware actually needs before you remove any settings.

Connecting Your Meta Quest 3

PC streaming with the Meta Quest 3 bypasses the old Mixed Reality Portal entirely. Meta Quest Link software or third-party streaming apps handle this task instead, and they deliver better performance than the legacy Windows tools. So if you use a Quest 3, you can hide the Mixed Reality pane without losing anything you rely on.

Manually Adding or Removing the Mixed Reality Pane

You add or remove the Mixed Reality pane by editing the system registry. Open the Registry Editor (a database that stores Windows configuration settings) and sign in with an administrator account, because standard accounts cannot save changes here. The process has two parts. First you find the correct registry key, creating it if it is missing. Then you create a specific DWORD value that controls whether the pane shows up in Settings.

If you want a safety net, back up the registry first. In the Registry Editor, choose File › Export before you start.

1. Open the Windows Registry by pressing the Windows key, typing regedit, and pressing Enter. If a User Account Control prompt appears, click Yes. The Registry Editor window opens, with a folder tree on the left and values on the right.
2. Navigate to this path: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Holographic. You can click through the folders on the left, or paste the path into the address bar at the top of the Registry Editor and press Enter. The folders you open should end at the last name in the path.
3. If you do not see the Holographic folder, right-click the CurrentVersion folder and select New › Key. Name the new key Holographic and press Enter. The new folder now appears under its parent in the left pane. If the folder already exists, skip this step.

4. Click the Holographic folder on the left, then right-click the empty space on the right side of the window. A small context menu opens.
5. Select New › DWORD (32-bit) Value. Choose this type even if you run 64-bit Windows. A new value appears in the right pane with its name highlighted for editing.
6. Name this new value FirstRunSucceeded and press Enter. Check the spelling carefully, because Windows ignores a value with the wrong name.
7. Double-click FirstRunSucceeded to change its settings. The Edit DWORD (32-bit) Value window opens.
8. Set the Value data to 1 to show the Mixed Reality button. Set it to 0 to remove the button. Click OK to save. The value now shows your number in the Data column. To undo the change later, come back here and switch the number, or delete the value.

Close the Registry Editor and reopen Settings to see your changes. Look under System. The Mixed Reality entry should now be gone, or back, depending on the value you set. If it has not changed, sign out and back in, or restart the PC, and check again. Also make sure you edited the key in the right place and spelled the value name exactly.

Summary

Registry edits control the Mixed Reality pane in Windows 11. You can hide it when you don't need it and show it again whenever you want. Because Windows Mixed Reality is being phased out, moving to newer options such as Mixed Reality Link, or the software from your headset's maker, will save you compatibility problems later.