Forum Discussion
Windows 11 - Can't Change The Order Of Taskbar Icons
The title pretty much explains it all. I recently updated to Windows 11, and as I expected, I regret it, for numerous reasons. My biggest issue currently though is with my taskbar. I do tons of stuff with my PC on various apps, and I like to have those apps organized in a very specific way on my taskbar so they're easy to find. Well, ever since I upgraded, I can't move my taskbar icons.
I'm tech savvy, so yea, I did all the common sense things. I tried right-clicking an empty space on the taskbar to make sure it's unlocked. The only two items that pop up when I right click it are "Task Manager" and "Taskbar Settings". So after that, I went into taskbar settings, figuring the lock feature must've been moved into there. I went through every single item on my taskbar personalization settings at least eight times now. Opened all the drop-downs, even went to other places in settings to try and find it. There is no "unlock taskbar" option in my taskbar settings either.
I scanned everything on the drive with both "DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth" and "sfc /scannow". Neither found any issues.
Can someone take a screenshot of where the "lock taskbar" option is supposed to be found in "personalization > taskbar" now? I am curious as to where it's supposed to be, and if anything else is missing too.
But most importantly, can someone give me a suggestion to fix it? I hate to do system restores, as any time I did it in the past, it messed up multiple files of mine. Oh, and before you ask, this was an upgrade, not a fresh install. I don't have enough hours in the day as it is for extremely important things, let alone spend hours and hours completely reinstalling my OS, all apps, configuring it the way I want, etc. It'd easily take me half a day, which I do not have anytime soon. So, any suggestions where I don't have to spend hours and hours or jack up my hard drive to fix this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for you time.
8 Replies
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.
I am confused about this. I have my own question in this forum somewhere which illustrates the same issue. I built my own computer in 2020. I also built my wife's computer in 2020. I upgraded hers to Windows 11 earlier this year and she has had no issue with it at all. I did not even know there was a taskbar problem at this point. I then upgraded my own computer to the exact same version, and it did not work. The taskbar was locked all the time and I found it horribly frustrating. I uninstalled W11 on my machine. My job upgraded our computers to W11 earlier this year (August I think) and I have a video of my taskbar working exactly as intended. The only computer I have seen that issue happen is my own. My stepson bought a new computer in July. He has no problem shuffling his task bar icons, either. I ended up enrolling in extended W10 support for another year to see if this can be addressed in that time. I have not been able to find any documentation from Microsoft stating that this did this on purpose. If you have any I would love to read it just for the sheer dumb logic behind. it. Otherwise, if you can suggest a reliable 3rd party tool, it would be appreciated.
I found that I can not move icons that do not fit on the taskbar on the main monitor of my laptop (between the two vertical lines), but I can move them on a monitor that has the resolution to allow all icons fit on the taskbar.
Same here. I did try the workaround, but it doesn't correct the problem I'm experiencing. The standard apps on the taskbar do move, but I added certain apps to my taskbar and now, instead of being ordered as I want, the added taskbar items are now in their own little area and cannot be brought into the regular taskbar. It also only holds two visible icons with a down arrow. I hate this structure. I have seen it in my life over the years, and impedes my efficiency. It creates a poor UX for something that is a very easily customizable structure.
I'm also having this issue, but found this solution in another forum and thought I'd share it as it worked immediately:
1) Press Windows + T to place focus on the task bar.
2) Press Arrow Left or Arrow Right to select the icon you want to move.
3) Use Alt + Shift + Arrow Left or Alt + Shift + Arrow Right to move it spot by spot
Obviously there's a deeper underlying issue with the inability to drag and drop to reorder the icons, but this workaround gets the job done in the meantime.J
So, I have the same issue. I am wondering if it is connected to the BIOS on my Gigabyte motherboard. I built my computer in 2020 and it's been absolutely amazing. I have an Aorus B450 Pro CF BIOS version F66d from 9-2-2024. My wife has an Aorus Elite B450 which I also built. When I upgraded her machine to a W11 her task icons work just fine, move about just fine and she has had no issues at all. Mine, however, was a different story. I upgraded mine and had the same problem as you and it's driving me nuts.
Press Win + Tab to open the task view, in the task view, right click on any app icon and select Fix to Taskbar, by this way, you can rearrange the icons on the taskbar.
I have the same issue. This solution works, but if one needs to move only few icons should erase all and then regenerate all. It's a little annoying. I hope an easy drag and drop solution (like Win 10).
