Windows 11 Title Bar Inconsistencies

Nothing is broken on your system. This is just how Windows 11 handles title bars now.

Short version: there’s more than one kind of title bar in Windows 11.

Older desktop apps still use the classic Windows title bar, and those usually respect your accent color fully. Newer Microsoft apps (File Explorer, Settings, Store, new Notepad, Office) don’t. They draw their own custom title bars, especially after Microsoft added things like tabs and the new command bar.

Because of that, these apps only apply the accent color to the window border, not the whole title bar — which is why it looks inconsistent, especially in dark mode.

So yes, the File Explorer changes you mentioned are related, but nothing is “messed up.” It’s an intentional design choice, not a bug, and there’s currently no setting to force all apps to behave the same way.

Some third-party apps do the same thing for similar reasons.