Cannot turn off Developer mode - "managed by your organization"

Hello everyone,

I need assistance from someone who is knowledgeable. I'm setting up a brand new home laptop for my senior parents who only use it for browsing internet.

Windows 10 HOME edition - Build 1803

The setting "For Developers" is turned on and has the "Some settings are hidden or managed by your organization" notice, so I cannot turn it off. There is no "organization." This is a personal computer, new out of the box (unless someone else returned it?). How did this setting get turned on? It's perplexing. I did not turn it on. I discovered it when I was customizing all the settings. This setting should NOT be turned on for two elderly people who are nearly computer illiterate and only browse the internet.

I have not found any other threads that deal with the "managed by your organization" problem specifically affecting the developer mode settings, therefore I do not know what to do.

What I've tried so far:
-Created new profile using only default windows settings - same problem in that profile
-Uninstalled software that was possibly taking control of that setting, specifically Norton AV, which came preinstalled. I did not install it.
-Checked registry - sub-keys that supposedly turn this setting on don't even exist
-Updated from 1709 (installed when it arrived) to 1803 in hopes this might fix it - no change
- This is Windows 10 HOME edition, not Pro - group policy doesn't exist, so no way to edit that
-Changing diagnostic and usage data from Basic to Enhanced or Full (which is not wanted), does absolutely nothing

I've already read everything I could find on the web - no solution found. There's a thread on this forum about registry edits for developer settings that claims to tell how to turn it on/off in registry, but it did not specifically say how to edit registry to turn this OFF. Or maybe I didn't understand it:
Turn On or Off Developer Mode in Windows 10

If I need to edit the registry to turn this off, I will need detailed instructions on what to add to turn it 'off' and how, since the registry editor is something I have minimal experience with.

Am I going to have to install a fresh copy of Windows? I hope not. I've read reports of people reinstalling windows only to have the problem reoccur, so that might be a huge amount of wasted time and effort. I've spent a lot of time getting it set up and this is the only remaining obstacle.

Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much!

Thank you for responding, dalchina. I was starting to worry that this problem was too difficult for anyone here.

You are correct that the fact it's in the developer settings is what makes this unusual. I only found one other report of this online involving the Home version, and the person had not found any solutions. It certainly should be off by default. It's very odd that this one isn't.

I'm on a different computer at the moment, but in the morning I will get back on the laptop that has the problem and do some further checking using your suggestions. I'm pretty sure I tried the first suggestion already and clicked no, but will double check. It is currently set on "sideload apps."

"Don't use developer features" that is shown in one of the images at your first link is an option that does not exist on my Home version. And almost all other options in the developer panel are grayed out or cannot be changed.

Regarding the registry key, the one you show is the one I've checked and it looks just like yours, as I recall, which is perplexing. I will resume this tomorrow. Thank you again!

salsa said:

"Don't use developer features" that is shown in one of the images at your first link is an option that does not exist on my Home version...

If you watch the video it's clear that this was a screenshot from an old version of Windows 10 when the wording was different. The version shown pre-dates 'Apps' being moved out of 'System' and getting a section of its own which means it must be 1607 or earlier.

...almost all other options in the developer panel are grayed out or cannot be changed.

Now that is odd and suggests a registry 'tweak' somewhere.

FYI, I have just turned on Developer mode in a clean install of Home 1809. There's no 'some settings are managed...' and I can freely switch back to 'Sideload apps' or 'Microsoft Store apps'.

dalchina said:

A specific possibility:
- Microsoft Community

Thanks for trying, dalchina. I appreciate it. I've seen that on the web and was going to try it, but the Network ID option is grayed out.

I have tried ticking the developer mode box as you suggested, then ticking "no" in the box, but nothing changes, as I recall I'd tried before. Also, AppModelUnlock is the same as yours. Here's a screen shot:



I'll try Brink's suggestion next.

Bree said:

If you watch the video it's clear that this was a screenshot from an old version of Windows 10 when the wording was different. The version shown pre-dates 'Apps' being moved out of 'System' and getting a section of its own which means it must be 1607 or earlier.

Yes, I figured something like that but didn't look closely. I just wanted to point out that there was no setting to turn it off, to make sure I was as detailed as possible.

Now that is odd and suggests a registry 'tweak' somewhere.

FYI, I have just turned on Developer mode in a clean install of Home 1809. There's no 'some settings are managed...' and I can freely switch back to 'Sideload apps' or 'Microsoft Store apps'.

I agree it's very odd. The Microsoft Store apps is grayed out for me. I'm starting to think someone had this laptop and returned it, even though it looked brand new with factory packaging in perfect shape. There just doesn't seem to be any other explanation.

salsa said:

I'm starting to think someone had this laptop and returned it, even though it looked brand new with factory packaging in perfect shape. There just doesn't seem to be any other explanation.

Yes, that seem the most likely explanation. Take it back and ask for it to be replaced/fixed?

Brink said:

Hello salsa, and welcome to Ten Forums.

I found the Allow all trusted apps to install group policy that could disable and gray out developer mode settings if configured.

Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\App Package Deployment

Since you have Windows 10 Home, you won't have gpedit.msc above available, but you might check the registry for its settings below to see if you may have them. If you do, delete the Appx key or AllowAllTrustedApps value and restart to see if that may help.

Code:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Appx]
"AllowAllTrustedApps"=dword:00000000

In addition: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/win...nable-a-device

Thanks for the welcome, Brink. I think you might be onto something. I've checked as you suggested and found this:



Does that point to the problem? One of the keys is there and it's set to value 1. Is it best to delete the entire Appx key or just the AllowAllTrustedApps key? Would changing the value be another way to deal with it? I want to make sure I get rid of the "managed by organization" problem. I will make sure I back up registry before any changes. I have to leave for a while, but when I get back I'll check to see if the screenshot gave you any clues. Also, thanks for the link. I'll read it thoroughly.