How to Enable or Disable Sandbox in Windows 11? (3 Ways)

Windows 11 Sandbox

Windows Sandbox was first introduced in Windows 10 19H1 and now it is also a part of Windows 11. It is designed to create a secure environment to isolate running apps from the main systems, without accessing files, Windows registry, and critical parts of the main Windows system. That is, programs installed in Windows Sandbox keep “sandboxed” and run separately from the host machine.

This feature is fairly helpful, especially when you download an executable file or an app from risky sources and install it in Sandbox. This won’t damage your PC.

Windows Sandbox is temporary. When you close this tool, all the apps, files, and settings will be deleted. The system will restore to its original and clean state next time you run Sandbox.

To use Windows Sandbox, you need to enable it on your PC. Well then, how to enable Sandbox in Windows 11? Try the methods below.

3 Ways to Enable Sandbox Windows 11

Enable Windows 11 Sandbox in Settings via Windows Features

Here is what you should do:

1. Press Win + R keys on the keyboard to get the Run dialogue, type exe to the text box and press Enter to open the Windows Features interface. Alternatively, you can search for Turn Windows features on or off to the search box and click the result to open Windows Features.

2. Locate Windows Sandbox and then tick the box of this feature and click OK.

3. Click Restart now to finish installing the requested change.

To disable Windows Sandbox in Windows 11, uncheck the option – Windows Sandbox in the Windows Features window.

Enable Sandbox Windows 11 via PowerShell

You can also follow these steps below to turn on Sandbox using PowerShell.

1. Right-click on the start icon and choose Windows PowerShell (Admin) to run this command tool with admin rights.

2. To enable Sandbox, type Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName “Containers-DisposableClientVM” –All and press Enter. To disable Sandbox Windows 11, type Disable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName “Containers-DisposableClientVM” –Online and press Enter.

Enable Sandbox Windows 11 via Command Prompt

In addition, you can use another command tool – Command Prompt to turn on Sandbox in Windows 11. Follow the guide below:

1. Launch Command Prompt (CMD) in Windows 11 with admin privileges.

2. Type Dism /online /Enable-Feature /FeatureName:”Containers-DisposableClientVM” –All in the CMD window and press Enter to enable Windows Sandbox.

If you need to disable Sandbox, use this command – Dism /online /Disable-Feature /FeatureName:”Containers-DisposableClientVM” and press Enter.

Final Words

That’s all the information about how to enable or disable Sandbox in Windows 11.

After enabling Windows Sandbox, it is easy to run it, just the same as run other programs or apps. Go to find Windows Sandbox from the search menu and select it to open it. If a prompt appears to ask for an administrator’s permission, click Yes. Drag and drop files or apps to Sandbox when needed. After exiting this tool, any changes you have made will be deleted.