Forum Discussion
Windows 11 - Can't Change The Order Of Taskbar Icons
This is by design in Windows 11, not a system issue.
Microsoft removed the “Lock taskbar” option and also removed drag-and-drop reordering of taskbar icons. That’s why you can’t find the setting and why DISM/SFC report no problems. Nothing is missing or broken.
How icon order works now
The only supported way to control icon order is:
- Unpin taskbar apps
- Re-pin them in the order you want
Windows 11 keeps icons in the order they were pinned.
Important notes
- This affects both upgrades and clean installs
- System Restore or reinstalling Windows will not change this
- Microsoft has not restored manual reordering so far
If you need Windows 10–style behavior, a third-party taskbar tool is currently the only workaround.
Hi WolfGang - I have just done a clean re-install of Windows 11 pro 64bit (20 July 2026) and the taskbar icons are moveable left and right - drag and drop etc. So I don't know where you got your 'removed drag-and-drop reordering of taksbar icons' information from otherwise I wouldn't be able to drag-and-drop mine on a new install!
This is frustrating I know - I did the re-install in order to try and fix this issue, and as I re-install various software back onto my PC, I'll be checking after every re-install to see if it has affected the taskbar issue again. All windows updates have been done, so I know it's nothing to do with those. It has to be non-Microsoft software that is the culprit.
Regards.
Thorneylad.