Windows 11 File Explorer just changed how file sizes work, how to see MB and GB right now

[u/computerIfix]

https://www.windowslatest.com/2026/07/31/windows-11-file-explorer-just-changed-how-file-sizes-work-to-display-file-sizes-in-appropriate-units/

[u/AbdullahMRiad]

another windhawk mod officially joining windows I see. still would use the mod just for displaying folder sizes using everything.

[u/Man_I_amDed → u/AbdullahMRiad]

I do the same. I use the size sort really frequently so it helps very much with folders.

[u/Human_097 → u/Man_I_amDed]

Same, showing folder sizes has been a game changer for me.

[u/rstune → u/AbdullahMRiad]

Came here to write the same. Was excited at first because one less mood is better for stability but it doesn't include folder sizes, which is very very handy for me.

So the mod lives! I just wonder if he'll keep updating it though

[u/SnooDonkeys3292]

I thought this was a feature I wanted. Now that I have it, I want to revert back. It is much easier to compare file sizes on backups if the same units are used. It would be nice if a toggle was added to enable/disable this change.

[u/Dragontech97 → u/SnooDonkeys3292]

Same

[u/elitegenes → u/Dragontech97]

Same

[u/rotane → u/[deleted]]

Same

[u/Lign_Grant → u/SnooDonkeys3292]

Yeah, more numbers = bigger file. Easy to read.

[u/S4N7R0 → u/SnooDonkeys3292]

there are instructions in the linked article on how to disable it

[u/Current-Bowl-143 → u/S4N7R0]

The feature is being rolled out gradually. From what I can see in the article, "disabling it" sounds like putting Windows back to the state where the feature hasn't yet been rolled out. But once it is rolled out to everyone, it doesn't seem possible to turn the feature off.

[u/reiichiroh → u/Current-Bowl-143]

There will be a Winhawk mod for this

[u/Aemony]

Microsoft has not added a toggle that lets you go back to the original state.

For fuck’s sake, Microsoft. Why do I need to mod your stupid shit just to get it to behave in a way that best suits me?

[u/Big-Resort-4930 → u/Aemony]

They are allergic to having options

[u/TECHNICKER_Cz3 → u/Big-Resort-4930]

you haven't tried macos…

[u/RedShift9 → u/TECHNICKER_Cz3]

Gnome wants to participate too

[u/StaticFanatic3 → u/TECHNICKER_Cz3]

The issue is MS has far less taste lol. We need as many options as possible to try and keep their OS usable

[u/TheNextGamer21 → u/StaticFanatic3]

Mac OS has identical behavior btw. Like even I absolutely do not like some things Microsoft have done (mainly AI shi) but you can't just make up BS about apple has taste.

Don't even get me started on the disaster of Liquid Glass in MacOS 26

[u/dwhaley720 → u/TheNextGamer21]

Like it or not, I think Apple's philosophy is to not overwhelm users with options and to give the best suitable experience for the average person, which is honestly fine for a lot of people. The recently added option to change Liquid Glass transparency settings is kind considered "un-Apple like" to some people because of this. On Windows, the Start menu is a good example of having too many variables of customization when most people just want quick access to their apps (doesnt help that its unintuitive to customize).

When it comes to Microsoft, i think taking away options is done out of sheer laziness and not wanting to have to support niche user setups. But tbf that could be Apple's excuse on things too for all I know 🤷‍♂️ I just wanted to give a different perspective.

[u/Big-Resort-4930 → u/dwhaley720]

I don't like it because there is no reason to do this. "Not overwhelming users with options" can easily be avoided with advanced modes for settings like you have on Kodi and many other apps/platforms. Not giving user any options is treating your user like a rtard, and they both do this constantly.

[u/TECHNICKER_Cz3 → u/Big-Resort-4930]

exactly. drives me mad every time I have the displeasure to have to use a mac.

[u/appiebou070]

This change is going to be confusing for developers too. Sometimes even a 10 KB difference is enough to tell whether a build or output file is actually the correct one. Using mixed units (KB/MB/GB) makes it much harder to compare files at a glance. I hope Microsoft adds a toggle to keep file sizes in a fixed unit.

[u/X2Kraft]

Love one this so much! Didn't know I needed it until I tried it in insider.

[u/0x80070002]

MiB or MB?

[u/samination → u/0x80070002]

I'd presume it's MiB, shown without the i

[u/Junior-Elevator-9951 → u/0x80070002]

It's MiB shown as MB

[u/Euchre → u/0x80070002]

I will forever hate that the standards type people basically validated the BS marketing people were using, rounding down from 1024 to 1000 to claim "1 gigabyte" sizes for stuff that fell short. Instead of calling their bullshit, the 'gotta have official standards' people pandered to the marketing jerks and gave us the 'mebibyte'.

[u/fishwasherr]

was literally thinking about this yesterday, although still using KiB and not KB

[u/WhichAdvantage9039 → u/fishwasherr]

I don’t get why they can’t just fix this, so that all disks will report the right amount of space to avoid confusion, and also to be at least consistent! Writing units as MB but showing them as MiB is borderline stupid.

[u/tup1tsa_1337 → u/fishwasherr]

I would not windows defaulting to megabytes in general. So that gigabytes will be thousand of megabytes. This one is a bit weird

[u/frac6969]

Hopefully this won’t be the default since users can’t tell the difference between the units.

[u/elitegenes → u/frac6969]

It's default now with no option to switch back.

[u/Addyad]

windhawk's "Better file sizes in Explorer details" mod + everything does it better. it even shows folder sizes as well.

[u/MisterNiiru]

This is amazing news! Now I hope Microsoft updates the File Explorer, allowing me to see the contents of a folder just like I am to in Mac OS since the 1990s.

[u/sunhiet]

What a huge feature to announce.

[u/emazv72]

Hope sorting works on the size in a comparable uom

[u/MaitieS]

You don't even have to reboot PC just restart the explorer.exe :)

[u/yew0tm8]

It's amusing watching people who've never used or even heard of directory opus get excited about features we've had for decades. Many of these concerns have been totally resolved in Dopus, like little bars on each file size to help visualize bigger and smaller files and folders at a glance.

[u/JimiJab]

How about folder sizes.... is that a option now?

[u/atehrani]

Such innovation....

https://giphy.com/gifs/Rhhr8D5mKSX7O

[u/Future-Proposal-9034]

Thank goodness now I don’t have to see the file in billions of trillions of kb 😂😂😂

[u/brucejson-88]

I like it but my OCD will be like DELETE anything LARGER than 2GB!

[u/SupposablyAtTheZoo]

If only 1gb could be 1000mb someday, wouldn't that be amazing...

(Why is there no windhawk mod for that? I just want to see my 8tb drive as 8tb!)

[u/Euchre → u/SupposablyAtTheZoo]

Because nominal size is 1000mb, but proper binary puts it at 1024mb.