Start11 2.6 Now Available with Additional Controls for Deployments
More options for better control
Wednesday, January 28, 2026 by bdsams | Discussion: Start News
Today we are releasing an update for Start11 v2 that brings with it new controls for deployment scenarios as well as a few bug fixes and translation improvements. The update is rolling out now and will be available on your device within a week or you can manually search for an update from the About panel in the configuration window.
In this release, there is a focus on improvements for our deployment options to make it easier to rollout a menu with additional layers of controls that include the option disable the All Apps button, hide the shutdown menu entry option, static menu sizing, disable context menus in the Start menu, improvements to options when using RDP, and more – you can learn how to enable/disable these options with our deployment documentation.
Along with the new controls, there are updates to translations thanks to feedback from the community which includes refinements to tooltips. There are also updates to the way text appears when using dark mode to improve legibility and updates to the way thumbnail detection to not respond as expected in limited scenarios.
Much of this release was a rollup of many of the targeted implementations we have created for business customers during the last quarter who are rolling out Start11 to all of their endpoints which is why we see a heavy focus on deployment controls. Start11 v2 is the easiest way to deploy and manage a Start experience at scale with a single file that is easily updated and can push out configuration changes in near real-time.
If you haven’t tried Start11 v2, you can learn more about it on the app page and if you have any feedback, make sure to let us know as all of the updates in this release were either translations submitted by our community or direct feedback from business customers who needed additional layers of controls for their endpoints.
Reply #2 Wednesday, January 28, 2026 6:48 PM
Will I be able to keep all of my current settings without having to reset them??
Reply #3 Wednesday, January 28, 2026 7:13 PM
Hopefully, the picture in the email is correct. And it supports putting the task/start bar on the left side of the monitor.
Reply #4 Wednesday, January 28, 2026 8:06 PM
Hello,
Purchased today 1/28/26 and downloaded. Installed but the version keeps showing 2.56. Any help appreciated.
I have responded to your question in your own thread: https://forums.stardock.com/540740/
Will I be able to keep all of my current settings without having to reset them??
It should be able to load your current setting. But, to be sure, you could backup your setting first before updating.
Hopefully, the picture in the email is correct. And it supports putting the task/start bar on the left side of the monitor.
Not really sure what you mean on "picture in the email is correct". Please elaborate.
Support on left or right align taskbar position already included for sometime.
Thank you,
Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant
Reply #5 Wednesday, January 28, 2026 8:19 PM
Ah OK. I tried it a while back and it didn't have the capability. The promotional email sent out today had a picture with the taskbar on the left. Which is the deal breaker deal for me. Will give it a whirl. Thanks.
Reply #6 Wednesday, January 28, 2026 8:22 PM
Ah OK. I tried it a while back and it didn't have the capability. The promotional email sent out today had a picture with the taskbar on the left. Which is the deal breaker deal for me. Will give it a whirl. Thanks.
Yes, please do the 30days free trail and see if it work for you.
Thank you,
Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant
Reply #7 Saturday, January 31, 2026 4:55 AM
Ah OK. I tried it a while back and it didn't have the capability. The promotional email sent out today had a picture with the taskbar on the left. Which is the deal breaker deal for me. Will give it a whirl. Thanks.
Yes, please do the 30days free trail and see if it work for you.
Thank you,
Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant
You do need Win11 23h2 or later though. Some people are stuck on 22h2 for some reason and we do not offer it on that OS.
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Reply #1 Wednesday, January 28, 2026 4:33 PM
Purchased today 1/28/26 and downloaded. Installed but the version keeps showing 2.56. Any help appreciated.
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