10 Ways to Restore Missing Pinned App Icons on the Windows 11 Taskbar
Pinning apps to the taskbar on your Windows 11 PC is a great way to enhance productivity. Some Windows apps come pre-pinned and you may also have pinned several apps like Office apps, social media apps, or creativity apps for work.
However, you might find that some or all the icons of these pinned apps are not showing on the taskbar. So how do you get the icons back? Read on to explore a few fixes to restore the icons on your Windows 11 taskbar.
Why Do Icons of Pinned Apps Disappear From the Taskbar? How to Fix It
You could have experienced that icons of pinned apps are missing from your Windows 11 taskbar after you startup Windows. Or it may happen at other times when you’re switching apps or using the PC. So now, you won’t be able to launch those pinned apps.
Icons of pinned apps could stop showing due to problems in Windows Explorer, a driver that needs updating, or icons that need to be refreshed. It could also be that there is a problem in one of the icon display files or the icon streams, and other reasons too.
But you can apply a few fixes to solve these problems and restore these icons. But first, try restarting your computer and check whether taskbar icons start showing again. Often a simple restart sometimes fixes an unresponsive app or an issue. If it doesn’t, try the following ways.
1. Restart Windows Explorer
Icons gone missing could relate to a problem in Windows Explorer. So you could restart the Windows Explorer process in the following way:
This could help restore your pinned app icons on the taskbar.
2. Log Out and Log Back Into Your Account
Sometimes just logging out of your Microsoft account and then logging back in could help restore the icons of pinned apps.
To do so, press theCtrl + Alt + Deletetkeys together, and then selectSign Outfrom the menu. The Startup screen will open, so justSign into your account again.
3. Hide and Unhide the Taskbar
This simple step of modifying taskbar behavior could make your taskbar icons show again as it resets every taskbar icon.
4. Run the Microsoft Store Troubleshooter
What if you notice that the only icons missing on the taskbar are those of apps installed via the Microsoft Store? In that case, you should run the Microsoft Store troubleshooter to try and fix those icons.
5. Update the Display Drivers
An outdated or faulty driver could result in display errors and cause icons to disappear from the taskbar. To update display drivers:
If this doesn’t work, check out our article onhow to update your graphics driversfor more methods it’s possible to try.
6. Update Windows
Sometimes, display problems occur when Windows on your PC is not updated.You should always try and update Windows with the latest version—doing so will install new features and new versions of drivers, enable bug fixes, and the latest security patches to keep your system protected.
PressWin + Ito openSettingsand selectWindows Update. Windows will automatically start checking for available updates. If not, click on theCheck for updatesbutton and apply them once they are downloaded and ready.
7. Uninstall Recent Windows Updates
Updates you may have installed recently might also cause display errors with icons missing. To uninstall recent updates:
If the problem was with the update, the icons would have come back on the taskbar.
8. Delete the Icon Cache File
The IconCache database file has a copy of every app icon and is used by Windows to display icons quickly. The icon cache can sometimes get corrupted and is known to cause incorrect display of icons.
Deleting the IconCache.db file and rebuilding it by restarting your PC can fix the issue.
9. Delete the Iris Service
Deleting the Iris Service was one of the recommended fixes when the issue of an unresponsive Windows 11 taskbar was reported. Applying this fix will automatically reboot your PC, so close all apps before trying this out.
After this command runs, your PC will automatically restart and the Iris Service will be recreated.
10. Delete Iconstream Files Using the Registry Editor
it’s possible to also use the Registry Editor to try and fix the missing icons issue. However, since you would be editing system files, it would be a good idea toenable automatic registry backupsbefore trying this solution. In case of any problem, you can restore Windows to normal with a good backup.
And your missing app icons would have been restored on the Windows 11 taskbar.
Work Smarter and Faster With Pinned Apps on Your Taskbar
You know how pinned apps make everyday work, easy, convenient, and speedy. So if you’re facing trouble with icons of pinned apps not showing on your Windows 11 taskbar, try the fixes above. We hope you may restore the icons and get working at your productive best again.
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