How to fix no Run Anyway option on SmartScreen on Windows 10
When you run an app that Windows 10 doesn’t recognize, even if it’s signed by the developer, SmartScreen blocks it. SmartScreen, or more precisely Windows Defender blocks these apps to keep you safe. Of course, it does get a lot of false positives and often apps that users trust end up getting flagged by the anti-virus. When the SmartScreen blocks an app, you can still bypass it by clicking the ‘Run anyway’ option however, if there is no Run Anyway option to click, there might not be much you can do without it.
You can whitelist an app or a file in SmartScreen but if that doesn’t work and you need the ‘Run Anyway’ option to appear on the block message, there’s a pretty simple way to get it to show up.
No Run Anyway option on SmartScreen
The options that the SmartScreen presents to you depend on your Windows Defender settings. If you don’t see the Run Anyway option, you’ve set Windows Defender to be particularly vigilant to the point that it’s not letting you exercise your own judgement when an app is blocked.
To fix the problem, open Windows Defender and go to App & Browser Control. Under ‘Check apps and files’, select the ‘Warn’ option instead of the ‘Block’ option.
When you next encounter the SmartScreen, click the See more option. This will reveal the Run Anyway button that you can click to run the app in question.
If you prefer to keep Windows Defender on its strictest settings, but still need to run an app that’s being blocked by it, you can whitelist the app or the file. There’s also the option to change Windows Defender’s settings back to blocking apps after you’ve run the app you need to.
Windows Defender might still block an app from running if it considers it malicious. Some apps, while safe, may be blocked because of what they do and no amount of user permission will allow the app to run. If you’re absolutely sure that the app is safe, you can disable Windows Defender and run/install the app. Make sure that you enable it after you’re done. Windows Defender is meant to protect you and it shouldn’t be left disabled.
If you’re using an anti-virus other than Windows Defender, you will not see the SmartScreen at all. If apps are being blocked on your system, you will have to tweak the settings for whichever anti-virus app you’re using. Check if it has a whitelisting option, or if you can temporarily disable it to run a trusted app.
