How to disable the Aurora engine on PokerStars? (2021 Manual)

Full migration to Aurora

After several months of testing, PokerStars has fully completed the transition to a new client based on the Aurora engine. We all knew that this will happen sooner or later because they have been slowly implementing changes throughout the year:

• Aurora-based tables were added
• Danish players got the full Aurora client.

However, some players still hoped that PokerStars would leave an option in the settings to play with the old client. But, indeed, such a feature would only put additional work to the development team.

After the latest update rolled out in late October 2020, PokerStars removed the option to choose the graphics engine, and now all games will be played on Aurora.

What's wrong with PokerStars Aurora?

Aurora has become another way for PokerStars to support casual players, something they have been doing more intensively than any other room in recent years.

The new software is brighter, the tables are overloaded with details made only for beauty, a situation that was not fixed with the addition of a dark mode and the minimalistic "Carbon" theme.

Aurora has terrible fonts, both in the lobby and at the tables, which read worse than the old client or compared to other clients.

Besides, the young engine has several other "problems":

1. New features like throwing objects overload the PC, increasing the system requirements;
2. Much third-party software like StarsHelper and layouts are not working correctly.

Instructions for disabling PokerStars Aurora (2021 version)

Since the update was rolled out recently, computer specialists have found a way to return to the old engine, but no one knows how long it will work. Most likely, PokerStars will notice soon and eventually deprive players of this method as well.

1. Enable the visualization of hidden folders in Windows;
2. Delete the files in the folder C\Users\(Your username)\AppData\Local\PokerStars\ImgCache;
3. Right-click on the ImgCache folder and go to Properties-Security-Modify. Click on the option to prohibit writing to the folder;
4. Launch the client with the PokerStars.exe file, or create a new shortcut to the desktop. Delete the old shortcut.

Any changes to the files and folders of the PokerStars client are made by players at their own risk. The possible reaction from the customer service is unknown!

UPDATE JANUARY 2021: It is possible that the above instructions don't work anymore. Hence, we share a new method:

1. From the lobby, select Help, then Open My Settings Folder. You'll see the folder open.
2. Close the client (keeping the settings folder open).
3. In the settings folder, find the user or user.ini file, right-click on it, and select Edit to open the file with notepad.
4. Within the file, find the section that starts with [PipeOption] and add the following line LegacyPokerTable=1
5. Save the changes you made to the settings file and restart your computer.
6. Reopen PokerStars, then log back in.

UPDATE 2 JULY 2021: In Late July 2021, a critical client update was released banning the above method of disabling Aurora. Players can only get rid of it using an older version of the client.

To do this, go to C:\Program Files (x86)\PokerStars, find the "backup" folder, and copy all the files from it to the root directory. If this folder isn't here or it's empty, you will have to search for the files across the Internet or from other players.

UPDATE 3 SEPTEMBER 2021: In late September 2021, even older versions (clients no higher than 40) don't work anymore for disabling Aurora. When launching the app, a pop-up message forced players to update the platform. However, a new solution was found:

1. Download the InqSoft Window Scanner program (better to use to a portable version). Run the client and Scanner as an administration. Login into the client.
2. Next, in the upper-left corner of the InqSoft Window Scanner, click on the sight icon and point it at the window with the update message.
3. After that, in the "Management" tab, click on the icon with the eye.
4. Next, drag the sight in the InqSoft Window Scanner program to the PokerStars lobby, and in "Management," click on the button after the "eye."

PokerStars have clarified that they no longer support the old graphics engine and won't fix any bug.

Read our PokerStars review to find more details, and if you are not satisfied with this situation, we will help you find a new room:

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