Error 0x11C7 with 'An application control policy has blocked this file' means Windows stopped the executable before the game opened. Keep Smart App Control enabled while you update Windows and Defender, restart Steam, remove third-party file changes, and verify the official installation. Microsoft documents no per-app Smart App Control bypass.
- Exact code
- 0x11C7
- Windows message
- Application control policy
- Safe first route
- Updates + official files
- Per-app exception
- Not available
Confirm it is an application-control block
The matching message says an application control policy blocked the file and includes 0x11C7. Windows stops How to Fish before a normal game window, so this is different from a save load, multiplayer black screen, or later rendering crash.
Smart App Control is a Windows 11 feature. On a managed work or school computer, a different organizational policy may produce a similar message; do not change administrator-controlled security settings.
Run the safe checks first
Capture the full message, update Windows and Microsoft Defender, restart the PC and Steam, and let How to Fish finish updating. Remove mods, loaders, and manually replaced files before using Steam's Verify integrity action.
Test the clean official installation once. Do not download a 'fixed EXE,' rename binaries, or add broad security exclusions; those actions do not establish trust and introduce a new file into the diagnosis.
Understand the Smart App Control choice
Microsoft says Smart App Control uses cloud intelligence and code signing to decide whether an app is trusted, and it does not offer a one-app exception. Turning it off changes system-wide protection rather than creating a narrow allowance for How to Fish.
Keep it enabled while completing the clean-file and update checks. If the official current build remains blocked, the safer stopping point is a precise developer report or waiting for a trusted build, not weakening protection only to test a game.
Report what the developer can act on
Provide Windows edition, version and build, How to Fish version, the complete 0x11C7 text, whether Steam verification replaced anything, and any relevant Windows Security Protection History entry.
The official feed through Patch 1.0.12 does not mention Smart App Control, signing, or 0x11C7. Report the timing as evidence if it began after an update, but do not present sequence alone as proof of a cause.
Frequently asked questions
Can I allow only How to Fish through Smart App Control?
Microsoft documents no per-app Smart App Control exception. Do not confuse a Defender antivirus exclusion with an application-control trust decision.
Should I turn off Smart App Control?
Not as the first fix. It is system-wide protection. Update Windows and Defender, restore official Steam files, and report a persistent clean-build block first.
Is 0x11C7 fixed in Patch 1.0.12?
The official 1.0.12 notes do not mention Smart App Control, signing, or error 0x11C7.
Sources
Facts were normalized and independently rewritten from the references below. Community strategies can become outdated after patches.