Cannot disable Windows Security "This setting is managed by your administrator"

Question

I've recently purchased a new PC and a copy of Windows 11. Windows Security will not stop trying to delete apps that I'm trying to use. I'll go into Protection History and undo the changes but the apps will still disappear from my system. To stop this frustration, I wanted to disable Windows Security options however I'm being told that I can't disable Tamper Protection as "This setting is managed by your administrator".

I'm the only user on this PC and I'm definitely an administrator - why can't I disable this setting? It's very frustrating to have paid for and set up Windows only to have it lock me out of important settings.

The only thing that I think could have caused this is that I added my work account to the Windows Mail app, though it's hard to believe that doing this could cause me to lose control of my own PC to this degree.

I've looked around at other answers on here and attempted a number of fixes, including making changes in the registry and group policies - nothing has worked.

Any suggestions you have on what can be done would be much appreciated.

Answer 1

Hello Jacob Paris,

Thank you for posting in Q&A forum.

Here are a few steps you can try to regain control over the Tamper Protection setting:

1. If you have any third-party antivirus software installed, it might be interfering with Windows Security settings. Try uninstalling it and see if that resolves the issue
2. You can try enabling or disabling Tamper Protection through the Registry Editor. Here’s how:

• Press Win + R, type regedit, and press Enter to open the Registry Editor.

• Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Features.

• Look for a key named TamperProtection. If it exists, set its value to 0 to disable Tamper Protection or 1 to enable it.

• Restart your computer

3. If your work account has applied policies to your device, removing the account might help:

• Go to Settings > Accounts > Access work or school.

• Select your work account and click Disconnect.

4. Sometimes, resetting Windows Security can help resolve such issues:

• Open Settings > Apps > Apps & features.

• Find Windows Security, click on it, and select Advanced options.

• Click Reset

5. If your machine is in domain network, maybe domain policy controls this setting.

I hope the information above is helpful.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to let us know.

Best Regards,

Daisy Zhou

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