How to Disable Unnecesary Windows 10 Animations

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These handy tricks can speed up Windows 10 experiences

Written by Darlene Antonelli, MA

Last Updated: March 9, 2025 Fact Checked

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• Disabling All Animations via Settings
|
• Disabling Animations Individually
|
• FAQ
|
• Video
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• Q&A

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Animations add eye candy to the clean and modern design experience that Windows 10 provides. Unfortunately, they may negatively impact some people and devices. People who need to remain focused on a task or people with certain mental/visual disabilities may be negatively affected by animations. Additionally, they slow down devices with lower or older system specs. Luckily, Windows 10 makes it easy to turn off all animations at a flick of a switch, but you can also choose to disable specific animations.

Quickly Disable Animations in Windows 10

To disable all animations, press Win + U to open the "Ease of Access Center" and click the toggle next to "Show animations in Windows" to turn it off. Individual animations can be disabled in Advanced system settings in the Control Panel.

Steps

Section 1 of 3:

Disabling All Animations via Settings

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1. 
   1
   Press ⊞ Win+U. This opens the Accessibility menu in Settings.
2. 
   2
   Click the toggle next to "Show animations in Windows" to disable it. The switch will be grey and pointing left when off.

   • Not all animations you see while using your computer will be disabled. For example, animations on websites you visit will not be affected.
   • Although most websites and desktop programs do not allow animations to be turned off, you can check the site/program's "Settings/Preferences/Options" page to see if there's any setting that allows animations to be turned off.
   • All animations in Microsoft programs will also be disabled on your computer, including animations in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook.
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Section 2 of 3:

Disabling Animations Individually

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1. 
   1
   Open Advanced System Settings. You can get here multiple ways:

   • The easiest way is to search for advanced system settings and click the "Control Panel" result.
   • You can also open Control Panel, and go to System and Security > System > Advanced system settings.
   • In File Explorer, right-click My Computer/This PC > Properties > Advanced system settings.
2. 
   2
   Click Settings under the "Performance" header. This will pop out a menu so you can pick and choose which animations you want to disable.
3. 
   3
   Select the Custom radio button. Uncheck the boxes of effects that you would like to disable, and put a check in the boxes of the ones you would like to enable.

   • Animation options are the sentences that start with the following words: animate, fade, and slide.
   • To enable all animations (and visual effects), click the radio button next to "Adjust for best appearance". Note that this might reduce performance on low-power devices.
   • For the best performance, click the radio button next to "Adjust for best performance". All animations (and visual effects) will be turned off.
   • To balance performance and appearance, click the radio button night to "Let Windows choose what's best for my computer". Windows will automatically enable or disable specific settings to balance good performance and appearance.
4. 
   4
   Save your changes and exit. Click or tap the gray OK button at the bottom of the Performance Options window to save your new settings and close it. The new settings you chose will apply immediately.
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Section 3 of 3:

FAQ

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1. 1
   Does turning off animations in Windows improve performance? Turning off animations makes launching and opening windows much snappier, which might be a performance boost to older systems.

   • This may not be what you're looking for if you have a new computer since the improvements might be so minimal on modern hardware.
2. 2
   How do I optimize my computer for performance? To optimize your computer for performance, you can select that in the "Advanced Settings" window in the second section, or you can disable all animations.
3. 3
   Does turning off animations in Windows 10 save battery? It can. If you select For the best performance, your battery might last longer since it's not expending energy to animate objects in Windows 10.
4. 4
   How do I turn off animations in Windows 11? Windows 11 users can utilize the same steps mentioned here.
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Community Q&A

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• Question

  Why hasn't Microsoft provided more advanced visual effects options in the Settings app instead?

  

  Community Answer

  Settings are still being moved from the Control Panel to the Settings app. Microsoft is focusing on moving other more general settings first.

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