Fix Long Path Support Not Working in Explorer Even With Group Policy on Windows 11

You enabled the “Enable Win32 long paths” Group Policy setting on Windows 11, but File Explorer still refuses to open or create files with paths longer than 260 characters. This happens because the policy alone does not apply to the Windows Shell, including File Explorer, which has its own separate long path limitation. This article explains why Group Policy does not fully enable long path support in Explorer and provides the exact registry and configuration steps to make it work.

Why Group Policy Does Not Enable Long Path Support in File Explorer

The Group Policy setting “Enable Win32 long paths” was introduced in Windows 10 version 1607 and carried over to Windows 11. Its purpose is to allow Win32 applications to bypass the MAX_PATH limitation of 260 characters. However, File Explorer is a Windows Shell component, not a standard Win32 application. The Shell uses its own internal path handling logic that does not respect the Win32 long paths policy. This means that even after enabling the policy, Explorer continues to truncate or reject paths longer than 260 characters. To fix this, you must enable the long path support at the system level via the registry, which applies to both Win32 apps and the Windows Shell.

Steps to Enable Long Path Support in File Explorer on Windows 11

Follow these steps to enable long path support for File Explorer. You will need administrative privileges on your Windows 11 device. The registry method works on Windows 11 Pro, Enterprise, and Education editions. Windows 11 Home does not include Group Policy Editor, but the registry method works on all editions.

1. Open Registry Editor
   Press Windows + R to open the Run dialog. Type regedit and press Enter. Click Yes when the User Account Control prompt appears.
2. Navigate to the FileSystem key
   In Registry Editor, go to the following path:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem
3. Modify the LongPathsEnabled DWORD
   In the right pane, locate LongPathsEnabled. If it does not exist, right-click an empty area, select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value, and name it LongPathsEnabled. Double-click the value and set it to 1. Click OK.
4. Verify the Group Policy setting is also enabled
   Press Windows + R, type gpedit.msc, and press Enter. Navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Filesystem. Double-click Enable Win32 long paths, select Enabled, and click OK. This step is not strictly required for Explorer, but it ensures compatibility with other applications.
5. Restart your computer
   Close all open windows and restart your PC. The registry change and Group Policy update take effect only after a full system restart.
6. Test long path support
   After restarting, create a folder structure with a total path length greater than 260 characters. For example, create a folder named TestLongPath and inside it create subfolders with long names until the full path exceeds 260 characters. Then try to create a text file in the deepest folder. If Explorer allows it, long path support is working.

If Long Path Support Still Does Not Work in File Explorer

Even after applying both the Group Policy and registry changes, some users report that File Explorer still cannot handle long paths. This section covers the most common scenarios and their fixes.

File Explorer Shows Error “Path Too Long” After Registry Change

If you still see the “Path Too Long” error, the registry change might not have been applied correctly. Open Registry Editor again and confirm that LongPathsEnabled is set to 1 under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem. Also check that the value is a DWORD, not a QWORD. A QWORD on a 64-bit system can cause the setting to be ignored. If the value is a QWORD, delete it and create a new DWORD (32-bit) Value with the same name and set it to 1.

Third-Party File Managers Work but Windows Explorer Does Not

Some third-party file managers, such as Total Commander or Directory Opus, implement their own long path handling. If these tools work but Explorer does not, the issue is specifically with the Windows Shell. In this case, you need to enable the LongPathsEnabled registry key as described above. Additionally, ensure that the application manifest for Explorer includes the longPathAware setting. This is built into Windows 11 version 1607 and later, so no manual manifest editing is needed.

Long Path Support Breaks After Windows Update

A Windows Update can reset the LongPathsEnabled registry value back to 0. After installing a major update, check the registry key again and set it to 1 if it was changed. To prevent this, you can create a scheduled task that runs the registry modification after each system boot. However, this workaround is rarely needed because most updates do not affect this specific key.

Group Policy vs Registry: Long Path Support Behavior Comparison

Item	Group Policy Only	Registry + Group Policy
Applies to File Explorer	No	Yes
Applies to Win32 apps	Yes	Yes
Requires reboot	Yes	Yes
Works on Windows 11 Home	No (no gpedit.msc)	Yes (registry only)
Persistence after updates	May reset	Usually persists

You can now enable long path support in File Explorer on Windows 11 by applying the registry change to LongPathsEnabled and optionally the Group Policy setting. After a restart, Explorer will handle paths up to 32,767 characters. If you work with deep folder structures or long file names, consider using the \\.\ prefix in command-line tools for additional compatibility with older applications. For maximum reliability, always test long path operations with a backup of your data.