How to Turn Off Smart App Control (SAC) in Windows 11

Smart App Control (SAC) can prevent some unsigned Windows programs from running.

⚠ Important: Smart App Control is a Windows security feature. Turning it off reduces protection against some untrusted applications. Only do this if you trust the program you want to run.

Microsoft states that SAC can block unknown or unsigned code when it cannot obtain a reliable security verdict. There is no button to allow only one specific application: to run an application blocked by SAC, you must either use a signed version or turn off SAC.

Step 1 — Open Windows Security

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Click the Windows Start button, then type:

Windows Security

Then open the Windows Security app.

Windows Security — App & browser control
Example of the “App & browser control” screen — screenshot published by Microsoft.

Step 2 — Open App & browser control

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In the Windows Security window, click:

App & browser control

You will reach a page that includes the Smart App Control section.

Step 3 — Open Smart App Control settings

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Under Smart App Control, click:

Smart App Control settings

The exact wording may vary slightly depending on your Windows 11 language and version.

Example of Smart App Control settings with On, Evaluation, and Off modes
Example of the SAC settings page. The interface may look different on your version of Windows 11.

Step 4 — Select “Off”

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In the Smart App Control settings, select:

Off

Windows may display a warning message. Read it and confirm that you want to turn the feature off.

Good to know: Evaluation is not the same as being turned off. In Evaluation mode, Windows continues to evaluate Smart App Control. To allow a program blocked by SAC to run, the setting must be Off.

Step 5 — Check that SAC is turned off

✔ Check: go back to Windows Security → App & browser control → Smart App Control settings. The displayed mode should be Off.

You can then run the utility that Windows previously prevented from starting.

Why is my utility being blocked?

If a program is not digitally signed, Smart App Control may consider the program untrusted and prevent it from running.

Turning off SAC does not mean that the program is dangerous. Only download and run programs from a source you trust.

⚠ About turning SAC back on

The behavior may depend on your version of Windows 11. Microsoft documents that manually switching SAC to Off may prevent it from returning to Evaluation mode, and that recent Windows updates can, in some cases, allow Smart App Control to be turned on again without reinstalling Windows.

Therefore, do not turn off SAC just for testing if you want to keep this protection. If your PC already has SAC enabled and you only need to use an unsigned program, consider using a signed version of the program when one is available.

Sources

The screenshots used on this page are examples; the interface may change with Windows 11 updates.