"Run As Different User" removed from Win 11 after latest update (8/13)

Question

Just hit the other side of patch Tuesday and found Win 11 PCs got the "run as a different user" functionality removed from the explorer context menu. I asked others in my dept to test it and couldn't open it either.

I use this function constantly as an admin to open ADUC, DNS, GPO, DHCP and other win tools as the domain admin in a multiple domain environment. Run as Admin doesn't work when I need to do something domain level. I used to be able to right click or hold shift or ctrl + the quick start shortcut to get explorer options to use different credentials to run the app so it can run in the domain and security context.

This better be a bug. PUT IT BACK!!!

*** Moved from Windows / Windows 11 / Windows update ***

Answer 1

It looks with with at least 24H2, if you enable it in Developer mode, Ctrl-Shift "Run as Different User" will work if you re-create the link from the updated Start Menu.

Answer 2

Hello,

It looks like after your Windows 11 refresh, the "Run As Different User" option disappeared. According to my research, this phenomenon is not a feature update.

Please first check that the following options are enabled in the system Settings:

For more information please refer to:

Add or Remove "Run as different user" context menu on Start in Windows 11 Tutorial | Windows 11 Forum (elevenforum.com) (Note that this website is not an official Microsoft website, please be careful to check the information when browsing).

I hope this helps.

Best regards

Jacen

Answer 3

Is there a way to re-enable the shift+right click context menu for items on the taskbar specifically? Currently whenever a user shift+right clicks an item the item just seems to open without the context menu and does not give the option to sign in as different user. The current workaround we have to perform is to shift+right click desktop shortcuts to get the context menu.

Answer 4

Thanks. I found it a different method via Local Group Policy to enable it. Searching these days for where it got moved in the system menu is not helpful when the UI changes significantly between major release. Local policy settings/registries - much more likely to be applicable for years.

That fixes items in the Start Menu or Windows Tools and desktop/app shortcuts. It does not fix it for pinned taskbar items. Right+click shift opens the program instead of displaying the context menu I had to go back to 1990s tech - desktop shortcuts.

Now, why did I have to re-enable this function? I see that it has been out for at least a year if not longer and I was using it previously.

Answer 5

Just hit the other side of patch Tuesday and found Win 11 PCs got the "run as a different user" functionality removed from the explorer context menu. I asked others in my dept to test it and couldn't open it either.

I use this function constantly as an admin to open ADUC, DNS, GPO, DHCP and other win tools as the domain admin in a multiple domain environment. Run as Admin doesn't work when I need to do something domain level. I used to be able to right click or hold shift or ctrl + the quick start shortcut to get explorer options to use different credentials to run the app so it can run in the domain and security context.

This better be a bug. PUT IT BACK!!!

*** Moved from Windows / Windows 11 / Windows update ***

Greetings. Im glad you posted this question. On my college - work laptop I also realized that I could not right click program icon on the taskbar, anymore, to get the option "Use as a different user", on Win 11. I did go to Settings> System> For Developers> File Explorer> Show option to run as a different user> toggle On (the feature). After that, there's another catch. You can "Run as a different user" if you (FIRST) right click (without holding down the shift key, as I used to do before too) the icon of the program from the taskbar that you need to run, then while the 'bubble" pops up with the name of the program, THEN you hold down Shift -Key and you right click (AGAIN) the name of that program from the bubble , and then you'll see another bubble popping up with the "Run as a different user" option.

• the other way is to press the Windows button on your keyboard and if you have the icon program pinned to the start menu , you can directly rightclick it there and you'll see the "Run as a different user" option again.
• I agree that this has been changed recently by Microsoft updates, because I didnt have to do any of these BEFORE, but i only held down the shift key while I right clicked on the taskbar icon and I would get the bubble with the "run as a different user" option, along with other options. Im glad though that we still have that option somehow (even though it's been modified by Microsoft recently). All the IT techs are using that option in a college enterprise, so Microsoft cannot say that "nothing was changed" :). There's a lot of witnesses. :)