Fortunately, you don’t have to be an installation specialist to solve this problem, although it involves a few minor technical edits. We will go through these fixes one by one, from the most obvious solutions to the registry editing steps.
What Is the “This Setting Is Managed by Your Administrator” Issue?
Contrary to the way it sounds, “This setting is managed by your administrator” has nothing to do with whether or not you are logged in as an administrator. It has more to do with certain unpredictable errors which affect Windows Defender. There are different indications of this error. For example, when you launch “Windows Security” settings from the search box menu and go to “Reputation-based protection,” some of the options will be grayed out. Here, one of the settings, “Check apps and files,” has been disabled. This is a very important setting, as SmartScreen checks for unrecognized apps and files, and you can’t manage your PC without accessing this control. On Windows 11 devices, when the toggle is off, the system will display a “Check apps and files is off. Your device may be vulnerable” message. Windows 11 devices also have built-in “Exploit protection” for added security. If any of its settings are turned off by default, the system will immediately prompt you for a restart. Similar settings may be disabled for “Real-time Protection” or “Automatic Sample Submission.” To solve these issues, we are exploring various troubleshooting steps.
1. Check for Windows Updates
The first thing to do is to check your system for any pending Windows updates. When many of these updates accumulate, there are chances that it may affect some of the programs – including Windows Defender. Go ahead and finish these updates, which will clear the system of any legacy errors. To see whether you have any new updates pending go to “Settings -> Windows Update.”
2. Disable Other Antivirus Software
If you have a third-party antivirus, it may be affecting Windows Defender, as the latter’s Real-time Protection feature will be turned off by default. You may need to disable or uninstall the antivirus temporarily to remove the error. You can reinstall it later. Consider that Windows Defender itself is a very reliable antivirus and compatible with existing Windows 10 and 11 systems.
3. Solve Using Registry Editor
If the first two steps do not solve the issue, then one of the best ways to solve “This setting is managed by your administrator,” is to tweak the registry for Windows Defender. We will be temporarily deleting the registry files for Windows Defender.
4. Disable Any Windows Defender Configurations in Local Group Policy Editor
The Local Group Policy Editor in Windows allows you to configure administrator settings that were accidentally turned on/off. Only Windows Professional (Pro) and higher edition users can access this tweak.
Issue Resolved: “This Setting is Managed by Your Administrator”
Restart your system and go back to the “Reputation-based protection” menu. You will see that you can now enable/disable the SmartScreen freely, as the “Check apps and files” screen is now active once again. Also, under “Virus & Threat Protection Settings,” Real-time and Cloud protection are re-enabled. “Memory integrity” in “Core isolation” should also appear enabled in Windows 11 and supported Windows 10 hardware. It may require a restart to achieve it. We had deleted the registry files of Windows Defender to achieve the results. Now it’s time to restore them. For that, go back to the backup folder and double-click on the parent Windows Defender registry file first. You’ll get a warning screen asking whether you want to add files to the registry. Click “Yes” to continue, and the older registry files for Windows Defender will return. Image credit: geralt via Pixabay All screenshots by Sayak Boral If you don’t have access to the Local Group Policy Editor app, contact a system administrator for help fixing the problem.
