Completely disable file grouping, always, everywhere, in all windows, dialogs, everything!

So please, how can I completely disable file grouping, always, everywhere, in all windows, dialogs, everything?

Option 1: Use WinSetView

The easiest solution is to use WinSetView. It's a free, open source, portable app that lets you choose your preferred Explorer default views, including grouping, and sets the registry values for you. It does not modify any system files and does not leave anything running (i.e. zero overhead). The settings will stick through typical Windows Updates, but will need to be reapplied after a major update.

Note: WinSetView resets all of your folder views to whatever you select as your default view preferences, which includes your grouping options. You may select one global view setting or select different views for each folder type.

Option 2: Clear saved views and "Apply to Folders"

This option uses the "Apply to Folders" button to set the user default view for the Downloads folder to Group by (None), but in order to ensure that all file open/save dialogs get the updated view, the currently saved views in the registry must be cleared out. To do that, first open RegEdit and delete the following registry keys:

HKCU\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\BagMRU

HKCU\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\Bags

After deleting those registry keys, set grouping to (None) in the usual way:

Windows 11:

1. Open your Downloads folder and make the window wide enough to see all options.
2. Sort menu > Group by > (None)
3. ⋯ > Options
4. View tab > Apply to Folders > Yes > OK

Windows 10:

1. Open your Downloads folder and make the window wide enough to see all options.
2. View tab > Group by > (None)
3. Options > Change folder and search options
4. View tab > Apply to Folders > Yes > OK

This procedure must be applied for each folder TYPE. Typically, only the Downloads folder type is set to group by date, but if you have other folder types that are also grouped, the procedure will need to be repeated for those ones as well.

Once the above steps are complete, sign out and sign in (or restart the computer) to make the changes take effect everywhere.

Option 3: Modify the default in the registry

In this registry key:

HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FolderTypes\{885a186e-a440-4ada-812b-db871b942259}\TopViews\{00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}

Change the GroupBy value data from "System.DateModified" to "" (i.e. clear the data).

Note: The above key is protected. You will need to either change its permissions (not recommended) or access it using a tool that provides TrustedInstaller access, such as PowerRun, AdvancedRun, or RightClickTools.

If you make the above change for a new user before opening any Downloads folders, then you're done. Otherwise, you'll need to clear out the saved views using the following procedures:

Close all open apps.

Open RegEdit normally (i.e NOT as TrustedInstaller) and delete the following registry keys:

HKCU\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\BagMRU

HKCU\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\Bags

Run the following PowerShell script to clear views for Store apps such as the Windows 11 Notepad and MSPaint:

$Pkgs = "$env:LocalAppData\Packages"
Get-ChildItem $Pkgs -Directory | ForEach-Object {
  Remove-Item -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue "$Pkgs\$_\SystemAppData\Helium\UserClasses.dat"
} 

Sign out and sign in (or restart the computer) to make the changes take effect everywhere.

Option 4: Per user script

Close all open apps and run the following PowerShell script for each user (please see the comments):

# This script will remove grouping from all possible views of the Downloads folder. 
# The change is applied to the current user's profile only. 
# Warning: ALL folder views (except Downloads grouping) will revert to Windows defaults! 
# This is a minimal solution. To set ALL default folder views, use the free tool WinSetView. 

$RegExe = "$env:SystemRoot\System32\Reg.exe"
$File = "$env:Temp\Temp.reg"
$Key = 'HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FolderTypes\{885a186e-a440-4ada-812b-db871b942259}'
& $RegExe Export $Key $File /y
$Data = Get-Content $File
$Data = $Data -Replace 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE', 'HKEY_CURRENT_USER'
$Data = $Data -Replace '"GroupBy"="System.DateModified"', '"GroupBy"=""'
$Data | Out-File $File
& $RegExe Import $File
$Key = 'HKCU\SOFTWARE\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell'
& $RegExe Delete "$Key\BagMRU" /f
& $RegExe Delete "$Key\Bags" /f
$Pkgs = "$env:LocalAppData\Packages"
Get-ChildItem $Pkgs -Directory | ForEach-Object {
  Remove-Item -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue "$Pkgs\$_\SystemAppData\Helium\UserClasses.dat"
}
Stop-Process -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue -ProcessName Explorer