Activating Emoji 15 Support in Windows 11

The Unicode Consortium releases a new set of emoticons every year to help us express ourselves better. The latest offering from Unicode is Emoji 15, which is expected to reach all major platforms by the end of 2023, including Windows 11.

However, you may not need to wait until the end of 2023 for Microsoft to enable access to Emoji 15 on Windows 11. If you are running Windows 11 Dev Channel Insider build 23500 or higher, you can now enable Emoji 15 on your Windows 11 PC.

What Is ViveTool, and Why You Need It to Enable Emoji 15?

ViveTool is an important piece of software for those looking to enable hidden features on Windows 11. It is particularly popular among Windows Insiders, but those running stable Windows 11 updates can also use it.

At the time of writing this article, Emoji 15 is currently hidden in Windows 11 Dev Channel build 23500. This is precisely why you will need ViveTool on your PC. We have a detailed guide on downloading and using ViveTool to enable new features .

For convenience, while setting up ViveTool on your PC, ensure the extracted content is in the folderC:/ViVeTool .

How to Enable Emoji 15 via ViveTool

After setting up ViveTool on your Windows 11 PC, you need to enable the feature ID specific to the Emoji 15 support. You can follow the below steps to enable the feature ID for the latest set of emojis from Unicode on Windows 11:

1. Open Command Prompt as an Administrator (see how to open Command Prompt as Administrator for steps).
2. Type the following command and hitEnter :
   cd C:\ViVeTool
3. Copy and paste the following command and pressEnter :
   vivetool /enable /id:40213648

Once completed, you will see a message on your screen that says, “Successfully set feature configuration (s).” The final step is restarting your computer so that the changes you just made can take effect.

After the restart, you will see on your emoji keyboard a bunch of new emoticons based on the Unicode 15 standard on your PC. The emoji keyboard will appear on your PC screen after you press theWin key +. (period key) on your keyboard.

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What Do You Get in Emoji 15?

According to the Draft Release Notes of Unicode’s Emoji v15, there are only 31 recommended emojis this year, significantly less than last year’s 112 recommendations. In fact, Unicode has never recommended a set of new emojis this small in its history. Also, it has happened for the first time that the recommended list does not include any new people emoji.

Image credit:Emojipedia

The 31 recommended emojis include:

• Shaking Face

• Pink Heart

• Light Blue Heart

• Grey Heart

• Donkey

• Moose

• Goose

• Wing

• Jellyfish

• Hyacinth

• Pea Pod

• Ginger

• Folding Hand Fan

• Hair Pick

• Flute

• Maracas

• Khanda

• Wireless

• Rightwards Pushing Hand

• Leftwards Pushing Hand

• Black Bird

• Rightwards Pushing Hand: Light Skin Tone

• Rightwards Pushing Hand: Medium-Light Skin Tone

• Rightwards Pushing Hand: Medium Skin Tone

• Rightwards Pushing Hand: Medium-Dark Skin Tone

• Rightwards Pushing Hand: Dark Skin Tone

• Leftwards Pushing Hand: Light Skin Tone

• Leftwards Pushing Hand: Medium-Light Skin Tone

• Leftwards Pushing Hand: Medium Skin Tone

• Leftwards Pushing Hand: Medium-Dark Skin Tone

• Leftwards Pushing Hand: Dark Skin Tone

Microsoft has its own design for all the 31 recommended emojis approved by Unicode.

When Will Microsoft Bring Emoji 15 to Every Windows 11 User?

Emoji 15 may remain an exclusive feature for Windows Insiders, at least until the release of the Windows 11 22H2 Moment 3 update. It is possible that Microsoft will begin rolling out the Emoji 15 support via Windows 11 Moment 3, due in April. Either way, when it is generally available to everyone, you will no longer need the ViveTool to access Unicode’s latest set of emojis on your PC.

Express Yourself in New Ways on Windows 11

Now that you know the steps to enable Emoji 15 on your Windows 11 PC, you can express yourself in new ways and spice up your conversations. However, do not expect everything to be perfect until Microsoft makes Emoji 15 available for a stable Windows 11 release.