The System Tray on your Windows computer is the set of icons that appear on the right-side of your Taskbar. Also known as the ‘Notification Center,’ a system tray, most commonly, holds utilities that are of very frequent use, making it easier and quicker for people to use them. These generally include the time set as per your geographical location, the notifications section, your Wi-Fi settings, and your audio output settings.
But it may sometimes be a case that these icons are not accessible properly i.e., even after they are clicked on, they don’t open up. Settings such as your computer’s volume levels or the Internet connection that it is hooked onto can be accessed via alternative avenues like keyboard shortcuts or from the main Windows Settings panel, but the purpose of having easy access to them is beaten if these options can’t be adjusted from the System Tray itself.
System Tray icons do not open in Windows 11/10
If the Notification Area or System Tray icons do not open or work in Windows 11/10 then follow these suggestions to resolve the problem:
- Restart File Explorer
- Remove old notification icons
- Run System File Checker
- Run Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool
- Repair Windows Apps using PowerShell
1] Restart the Windows Explorer
You may not necessarily have to scramble for a complicated fix to this issue if this works out for you. The first thing you can try is restarting your Windows Explorer via the Task Manager. Here is how that can be done:
- Right-click on your Taskbar and from the list of options select Task Manager. You can alternatively press the Ctrl, Shift, and Esc keys together to open it.
- Here, find Windows Explorer. If you see a toggled list of programs upon opening the Task Manager, click on ‘More Details’ to expand it.
- Find Windows Explorer and click on it. You will see a Restart option where there generally is an option that says ‘End Task’. Click on it and Restart your PC to see if the issue has been resolved.
2] Remove old notification icons
Remove old notification icons from the notification area and see if that helps
3] Run System File Checker
Run System File Checker and then try again and see.
4] Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool
Another thing you can try out is to run the DISM tool to service your Windows image and, overall, rid your computer of any harmful, corrupt files.
- In order to do so, go to your search bar and search for ‘Command Prompt’ and run it as an administrator.
- Here, type the words sfc /scannow. This will begin a scan of your computer’s files, which typically takes a few minutes to complete.
- After the scan is through, open your Command Prompt as an administrator again and type out this command.
DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth
The process will start and you can monitor its progress on the command prompt itself. After it is completed, restart your system and try to click on your system tray icons to check if the issue persists.
5] Reset Taskbar using PowerShell
If none of the above solutions fit the bill for you, you can give a final try to repairing Windows apps via PowerShell. The process to do so is similar to the DISM tool in the Command Prompt.
- Search for PowerShell in the search bar and run it as administrator.
- Copy this line of command and paste it onto your PowerShell before pressing Enter.
Get-AppXPackage | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}
- If the PowerShell then shows errors, it may be because the package installation failed since the resources that they modify are currently in use. To counter this, users can perform a clean boot and try running this command again.
You may also download and use our portable FixWin to run suggestions, 3, 4, and 5 mentioned above with a single click!
TIP: This post will help you if the System tray icons are not showing, or have gone missing.
