Windows 10: How can I disable Windows Media Player's Native FLAC support?

Is there a way to disable Windows Media Player's new native FLAC support, so I can use external codecs such as LAV filters with it again, as well as 3rd party metadata plugins like WMP Plus?

When using the native FLAC support, basic metadata tags for flac files are not added to the library, such as the Year & Contributing Artist field - whereas WMP Plus imported those over without any problem... However they now refuse to work with WMP as it detects that WMP now supports it, so how can i turn that support off? I've disabled Windows Media Foundation but that's not made any difference for FLAC files, it's still playing those natively.

:)

 

FLAC & Media Player in Windows 10

Here is what I have learned so far. Windows 10 implementation of FLAC is flawed and needs to be fixed. Windows 10 does not support all of the FLAC format tags. Everyone who runs across this issue needs to report this to Microsoft through the feedback
tool. Then they may fix it.

When Windows failed to recognise the tags, I went the old way for getting FLAC to work in Windows. In Windows 7 I used a program called WMP Tag Plus. They know of the issue and give instructions on how to fix this problem listed below.... You have to actually
disable Native FLAC support and install the WMP Tag Plus to correct the problem. The instructions seem complicated but they worked fine for me.

You can download this add-in for Windows Media Player at this link. Any good codec pack will also work if it has FLAC support.

BM-productions

Is WMP Tag Plus compatible with my system?

WMP Tag Plus supports Windows Media Player 12 on Windows 7, Windows 8/8.1, and Windows 10.

The plug-in should also still work fine with Windows Media Player 11 on Windows Vista, but that combination isn't officially supported anymore.

Why am I experiencing issues with FLAC tags on Windows 10?
Microsoft has added native FLAC support in Windows 10. This means that, in a default Windows 10 installation, WMP Tag Plus isn't used anymore by Windows Media Player for FLAC tags.

Unfortunately, Microsoft's native FLAC support has been proven to still contain some issues. For example, it doesn't recognize certain tags that are recognized by WMP Tag Plus and most other FLAC implementations. The first thing you should do when you come
across such an issue, is report it via the Windows 10 feedback tool. That's the best way to urge Microsoft to fix their FLAC support.

Because of the issues with the native FLAC support, you can optionally force the use of WMP Tag Plus for FLAC on Windows 10, thereby giving you the same FLAC support as in earlier Windows versions. For this, you will need to disable the native FLAC support.
See the next question for instructions on how to do this.

How do I disable Microsoft's native FLAC tag support in Windows 10?
First of all, make sure that you have the latest available version of WMP Tag Plus. Only versions 2.6 and newer support Windows 10.

Removing existing FLAC songs from the library
Warning: if you skip this step, there's a high risk that you will lose some of the tags in your FLAC files!

• In Windows Media Player's library, select Music on the left, and type
  type:flac in the Search field.
• Select a single song, then press Ctrl+A to select all songs.
• Right-click the selection and select Delete. Choose Delete from library only, then click
  OK.
• Close Windows Media Player.

Disabling the native FLAC tag support
This will not only disable the native FLAC tag support in Windows Media Player, but also in Windows Explorer. It's not possible to disable the support for Windows Media Player and leave it enabled for Explorer at the same time. However, if you're experiencing
issues with FLAC tags in Windows Media Player, then you will very likely see the same issues in Explorer, so there's not much point in leaving it enabled in the latter anyway.

• Create a system restore point, just in case things get messed up.
• Launch the Registry Editor: press Win+R, type regedit, and press
  Enter.
• Navigate to the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\PropertySystem\PropertyHandlers\.flac.
  
• Select the (Default) value, press Del, and click
  Yes to confirm.
• 64-bit Windows only: repeat the previous step for the registry key
  KEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\PropertySystem\PropertyHandlers\.flac (note the
  Wow6432Node component).
• Navigate to the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\PropertySystem\SystemPropertyHandlers.
  
• Right-click the SystemPropertyHandlers key in the tree, select
  Permissions, and click Advanced.
• Click the Change link next to Owner, type Administrators as the object name, and click
  OK.
• In the existing Permission entries, select the Allow entry for
  Administrators and click Edit.
• Tick the Full Control box, then click OK three times so that you're back in the main Registry Editor window.
  
• Select the .flac value, press Del, and click
  Yes to confirm.
• 64-bit Windows only: repeat steps 7-11 for the registry key
  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\PropertySystem\SystemPropertyHandlers (note the
  Wow6432Node component).
• Close the Registry Editor, and restart Windows for the changes to take effect.
  

Adding FLAC songs back to the library

• Launch Windows Media Player and make sure that WMP Tag Plus is ticked in the
  Tools – Plug-ins menu, meaning that the plug-in is active (press
  Ctrl+M if you don't see the Tools menu).
• Make sure that the native FLAC tag support was successfully disabled. To do this, go to WMP Tag Plus settings (Tools –
  Options – Plug-ins – select Background – select
  WMP Tag Plus – Properties). In the list of supported file extensions, the
  Native support column should show No for FLAC. Finally, close the WMP Tag Plus settings dialog again.
  
• To re-add the FLAC songs that were previously removed, go to Tools –
  Advanced, select Restore deleted library items, and click
  Yes.

Undoing your changes
If you want to enable the native FLAC tag support again, you can undo these changes by downloading and opening one of the following .zip files. Then unzip and open the included .reg file to import it into the registry:

• 32-bit Windows:
  native_flac_prophandler_x86.zip
• 64-bit Windows:
  native_flac_prophandler_x64.zip

After the .reg file has been successfully imported, remember to restart Windows for the changes to take effect.

 

FLAC & Media Player in Windows 10

I have spent months ripping my dad's entire CD collection on Windows Media Player 12 on Windows 10 only to find that the library regularly becomes corrupt and other strange behaviour from my FLAC files.

FLAC files ripped using WMP12 do not play on Groove Music!

I will be very very annoyed if all my hard work has to be started again. If you can, avoid any native Windows media players for handling your music.

 

I know this is not the answer you want and I hate when others post "Why do you" Just answer the damn question....


However, I have found that using K-Light Codec Pack is an EXCELLENT alternative to the WMP.
It has the ability to play 100% anything and the Codecs are constantly being updated and are free just opt out of any promotions.
WMP Classic x64 has never failed me and can even play 4K videos with no lag, at least on my machine.
Get it direct from Codec Guide and not some 3rd party like softpedia.

 

Yes I know that... But that's not my question. I WANT to use a 3rd party codec for FLAC, but I can't because WMP decodes it natively now and I can't see a way to turn that off...

 

Install K-lite, run codec tweak tool, there should be options there for what codec to use, set everything to LAV for both 32-bit and 64-bit.

 

Yes, there is, but not for FLAC.

 

Perhaps try contacting K-Lite developer, he might know something or add option.

 

See How do I disable Microsoft's native FLAC tag support in Windows 10? in the WMP Tag Plus FAQ. Note that this only affects tagging support. I don't know how to disable the native playback support.