How to remove the mica effect from Windows 11

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Windows 11 boasts of better graphics and a mica or acrylic effect on the dialog windows and pop-ups. The improved graphic display seeks to augment display for a better end-user experience of the Windows 11 users. However, there have been reports of lagging file explorer and degraded performance on the Windows 11 based computers. One of the most significant changes that can boost the performance of the file explorer on Windows 11 is the removal of the mica effect or the acrylic effect on Windows 11.

Remove mica effect on Windows 11

Here, we will discuss the instructions to remove the mica effect or the acrylic effect, or the silk effect from the new operating system of Windows 11.

To open the configuration details of augmented Windows visual effects and appearance, we will bring up the option of ‘Adjust the appearance of Windows’.

We can do so by searching for ‘Appearance’ on the search box located on the taskbar. This will allow you to immediately open the configuration settings for the ‘Adjust the appearance of Windows’.

By default, Windows 11 comes with a balanced visual effect configuration. The screenshot below captures the default appearance and visual effects settings on the Windows 11 computer. We need to alter this setting to improve performance and at the same time reduce the lag on the new file explorer.

You will notice that there are 4 different options to manage or tweak the appearance of Windows 11 visual effects.

  • Let Windows choose what’s best for my computer – this is the default setting for apperance and visual effects on a Windows 11 computer.
  • Adjust for best appearance – this setting is designed to improve apperance and visual effects on the Windows 11 computer. Noticeably, this setting will require additional compute and resources to offer the best apperance on your Windows 11 computer.
  • Adjust for best performance – to improve Windows 11 computer performance, the setting for ‘Adjust for best performance’ is the best option as it will reduce the visual effects and improve the system performance. To emove the mica or acrylic effect from the Windows 11 computer, we will choose this option – ‘Adjust for best performance’.
  • The last option is to define custom parameters for appearance on the Windows 11 computer.

As mentioned above, to remove the mica effect or the acrylic effect on the Windows 11 computer, we will choose the option of ‘Adjust for best performance’. Once we select the option, we will see the visual effect or appearance settings as per the screenshot below:

Upon making this change, you will notice that the rounded edges of Windows dialog boxes have reverted to the classic Windows corners. You will also notice that the mica visual effect is gone from the Windows 11 dialog boxes and windows.

Removing enhanced visual effects from Windows 11 computer is one of the suggested remedies for a slowing Windows 11 computer. It is also recommended as a performance boost on Windows 11 computers. Reducing visual effects will also have a direct bearing on the battery charge and life of the battery on a laptop computer.

Conclusion

To remove the mica effect or enhanced visual effects from a Windows 11 computer, we need to change the appearance settings on the Windows 11 computer. We will select the option of ‘Adjust for best performance’ on the visual effects configuration screen.

You may also like to read the related Windows 11 content below:

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Rajesh Dhawan

Rajesh Dhawan is a technology professional who loves to blog about smart wearables, Cloud computing and Microsoft technologies. He loves to break complex problems into manageable chunks of meaningful information.