Many users have reported a weird issue after installing a new feature update for Windows 10. While trying to make changes to the Colors settings in Windows 11/10, the options are greyed out under Show accent color on the following surfaces. If the Show accent color setting for Start, Taskbar, Action Center, Title Bar and window borders is missing, grayed out, or not working or supported in Windows 11/10, then this post will help you.
Show accent color is grayed out in Windows 11/10
Apparently, the problem is specific to the Light Windows default mode. Changing it to the Dark mode resolves the problem. For some users, changing the Theme resolves the issue. Both of these are workarounds and not resolutions.
Start, Taskbar, Action Center, Title Bar setting is grayed out
Since Microsoft is aware of the problem, we would advise ensuring that your Windows 11/10 system is updated at all times – in case they push a permanent fix. Till then, you could try our following suggestions:
- Opt for the Default theme
- Change to Dark or Custom
- Run the DISM commands and SFC scan
- Update the Graphics Card driver
- Make changes to the Group Policy.
1] Opt for the Default theme
A simple way to fix the Start, Taskbar, and Action Center greyed out in Windows 10 would be to opt for the Windows Default theme.
To do that, launch Settings by Win + X > Settings. Click Personalization > Themes and select the themes that say “Windows”. This way, the Windows Default theme will be applied to your computer.
You can now check the “Start, taskbar, and action center” option, it won’t be greyed out.
2] Change to Dark or Custom
If the Show accent color setting for Start, Taskbar, Action Center, Title Bar is grayed out or not working try this:
- Open Settings
- Click Personalization
- Select Themes
- Select the theme you plan to use
- Then select Colors from the left panel
- Use Choose your color drop-down menu and select the Dark or Custom option.
Now under Show accent color on the following surfaces setting, you will see the option enabled.
3] Run the DISM & SFC scans
One of the causes of the issue in discussion could be corrupt or missing files. In such a case, you could try running DISM and SFC scan to replace the corrupt or missing files and sort the problem.
You could use freeware our FixWin to repair System Image & Run SFC with a click.
Download it and press the respective buttons (1 and 2) for running the scans. Restart your system after each.
4] Update the Graphics Card driver
While most users have reported the issue after a Windows update, it is possible that the problem could be caused because of an obsolete Graphics Card driver. You can update the Graphics Card driver as follows:
Press Win+R to open the Run window and type the command devmgmt.msc. Hit Enter to open the Device Manager window.
In the Device Manager window, expand the list of Display Adapters.
Right-click on the active Graphics Card driver and select Update Driver.
Follow the steps to update the driver and restart the computer.
If the above 2 steps don’t work, try changing the theme as a workaround till Windows releases an update after resolving the problem.
5] Make changes to the Group Policy
Some organizations might use group policy to restrict users from changing display settings, either all display settings or the ones in question. To verify, ask other users of your organization on the same domain and network if they are facing a similar issue. If yes, contact the IT administrator to change the group policy settings as per your requirements.
You should know that this is not an issue. It is just a feature that Microsoft has introduced in order to make sure that all the mentioned options are clearly visible regardless of these you are using.
Hope this helps.
