You may want to hide the Windows 11 taskbar during gaming, online meetings, research, or other activities. The trick helps you avoid distractions and frees up more space to utilize your PC better. Once you complete your gaming session or a Zoom call, you can easily enable the taskbar.
The ability to hide the taskbar on Windows 11 can come in handy in specific situations. Since the introduction of Windows 11, many have complained about a botched-up taskbar implementation. Microsoft has steadily improved the taskbar with several options. Here’s how you can hide the taskbar on your PC and connected displays.
Hide Taskbar on Windows 11
You need to make changes from the taskbar settings menu. Here’s how you can access taskbar settings and hide it.
Step 1: Click the Windows + I keys to open the Settings menu.
Step 2: Select Personalization from the left sidebar.
Step 3: Select Taskbar.
Step 4: Scroll to the Taskbar behaviors menu.
Step 5: Enable the ‘Automatically hide the taskbar’ toggle and check it in action.
You can now enjoy your favorite games and take Microsoft Teams calls without getting distracted by a taskbar at the bottom.
Taskbar houses some essential information such as date, time, battery indicator, Wi-Fi-menu, and more. If you want to check such info, simply hover the cursor at the bottom to check the taskbar.
You don’t need to head to Windows Settings menu to tweak taskbar behavior. You can access the same from the taskbar too. Here’s how.
Step 1: Right-click on the taskbar and select Taskbar Settings.
Step 2: The system opens the same menu as we showed above. You can expand the Taskbar behaviors menu and hide the taskbar.
Disable Taskbar on All Displays
Do you frequently work with two or three monitors on your PC? You can disable the taskbar on all external displays using the steps below.
Step 1: Head to Windows Settings on your PC.
Step 2: Move to Personalization > Taskbar menu.
Step 3: Expand the Taskbar behavior menu. Disable the checkmark beside ‘Show my taskbar on all displays’.
Windows now hides the taskbar on all the connected displays.
Turn Off Badges on Taskbar Apps
Do badges on taskbar apps irritate you during your work? You don’t need to hide the entire taskbar just to hide badges. You can remove those notification badges from the taskbar using the steps below.
Step 1: Open Taskbar in Windows Settings (check the steps above).
Step 2: Scroll to Taskbar behavior.
Step 3: Disable the checkmark beside ‘Show badges on taskbar apps’.
If badges still appear on the taskbar, restart your computer and try again.
Hide Taskbar Items
Windows 11 taskbar comes with Search, Task View, Widgets, and Chat menu. Not everyone uses widgets and Microsoft-Teams powered Chat app on the taskbar. You can easily hide them from Settings.
Step 1: Head to Taskbar in Windows Settings (Check the steps above).
Step 2: Disable taskbar items.
Hide System Tray Icons
System tray icons on your taskbar can get crowded at times. You can disable irrelevant icons from the Settings menu.
Step 1: Open Taskbar in Windows Settings > Personalization menu (check the steps above).
Step 2: Expand System tray icons and disable options you don’t use.
Step 3: Expand Other system tray icons and turn off app shortcuts from the taskbar.
Fix Windows 11 Not Hiding Taskbar
If Windows 11 still doesn’t hide the taskbar on your computer, restart the Windows Explorer service from the Task Manager. The Taskbar is a part of Windows Explorer on Windows 11.
Step 1: Click the Windows key and search for Task Manager. Hit Enter.
Step 2: Scroll to the File Explorer menu.
Step 3: Hit Restart task in the top right corner.
Restart the PC and see if the taskbar is appearing or not.
Enable Taskbar on Windows 11
If you want to bring the back taskbar to life, you can always enable it from Settings. Here’s what you need to do.
Step 1: Open Taskbar settings in Windows Settings (check the steps above).
Step 2: Disable the checkmark beside ‘Automatically hide the taskbar’ under the Taskbar behavior menu.
Modify Taskbar Behavior on Windows 11
While the Windows 11 taskbar is customizable, you may prefer to hide it during specific activities. Do you want to hide the taskbar due to DesktopWindowXamlSource window? Read our dedicated guide to fix the problem.
How do you customize the taskbar experience on Windows 11? Share your preference in the comments below.
