Ways to Fix System Tray Icons in the Taskbar Not Showing

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Simple methods to restore the volume and Wi-Fi quick menus
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Are the volume and Wi-Fi buttons in your taskbar not working, or are they missing entirely? These buttons are part of the "system tray," and it's frustrating when they randomly stop working. In this article, we'll go over six easy fixes you can try to get the system tray working properly again. Read on to learn how.

Fixing Taskbar Icons that Won't Work

If your volume or Wi-Fi buttons don't work in the taskbar, try restarting your PC or Windows Explorer. You can also use Command Prompt to delete a registry key that causes the taskbar to not work properly, and then force Explorer to restart. DISM and SFC can also help fix corrupted files.

Method 1
Method 1 of 6:

Restart Your PC

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  1. Step 1 Turning your computer off and back on can fix random bugs.
    While it might not seem like it, turning your computer off and back on again can fix a number of random glitches and bugs, including any that affect the system tray.
    • It's best to restart your computer from the power menu. If you hard shut down your computer by pressing the power button, you may lose any unsaved data you have open.
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Method 2
Method 2 of 6:

Restart Windows Explorer

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  1. 1
    Open Task Manager. The easiest way to do this is to right-click the taskbar and click Task Manager.
  2. 2
    Find Windows Explorer. It's usually at the very bottom of the processes list, but you can also search for it using the search bar at the top of the window.
  3. 3
    Right-click Windows Explorer. This will open a contextual menu with several options.
  4. 4
    Click Restart. You'll see the taskbar at the bottom of your screen disappear for a few seconds, then return. Your Explorer (including the taskbar) has been refreshed.[1]
    • Try clicking your system tray icons now; if that doesn't work, try one of the other options in this article.
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Method 3
Method 3 of 6:

Update Windows

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  1. 1
    Open the Windows Update menu. The easiest way to do this is to type update into the taskbar search bar, then click Check for updates in the Start menu that pops up.
    • Installing any pending Windows updates might fix the issue, as the issue could be caused by a random OS bug, glitch, or driver issue.
  2. 2
    Download and install any available updates. If an update is available, you'll see a Download button near the top of the screen. Click that button to begin the update process. You will likely be asked to restart your computer during this process, so make sure to save any open documents before restarting.
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Method 4
Method 4 of 6:

Use Command Prompt

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  1. Step 1 Open Command Prompt as an admin.
    To do this, type cmd in the taskbar search bar, then right-click on Command Prompt. Select Run as administrator to open an elevated Command Prompt window.
  2. 2
    Run the following commands. Some users have found that running these commands (which removes a registry key and restarts Windows Explorer) fixed their system tray icons not working. Copy and paste each command into the Command Prompt window. After each command, press ↵ Enter to run it.
    • REG DELETE "HKCU\Control Panel\Quick Actions" /F
    • taskkill /f /im explorer.exe
    • explorer
  3. 3
    Try interacting with the system tray icons again. If they still don't work, you'll need to try one of the other troubleshooting methods in this article to fix it.
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Method 5
Method 5 of 6:

Run DISM and SFC

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  1. 1
    Open Command Prompt as an administrator. To do this, type "command prompt" into the taskbar search bar, then right-click "Command Prompt" in the Start menu and choose Run as administrator.
    • Running DISM and SFC can fix random issues with the files on your computer that could cause the system tray to not work properly.
    • DISM (which stands for Deployment Image Servicing and Management Tool) and SFC (System File Checker) are additional Command Prompt commands that can be used to scan the files on your computer for problems.
    • When opening Command Prompt as an admin, you may be required to give confirmation or type your password. Do so if prompted.
  2. 2
    Run DISM. To do so, type DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth into Command Prompt and press ↵ Enter.
    • It will take a few moments for DISM to run. Allow it to finish running before moving on to the next step.
  3. 3
    Run SFC. To do so, type sfc /scannow into Command Prompt and press ↵ Enter.
    • It will take a few moments for SFC to run. Allow it to finish fully before closing the Command Prompt window.
  4. 4
    Check the SFC results. Depending on the result you get, you'll need to do a specific action:[2]
    • Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations: SFC did not find any missing or corrupted files.
    • Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files and successfully repaired them: SFC found missing or corrupted files, and it was able to fix them.
    • Windows Resource Protection could not perform the requested operation: SFC must be run again in safe mode.
    • Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some of them. You'll have to manually view the SFC process details and replace the files with ones you know are good (or reinstall the program).
      • To do this, type findstr /c:"[SR]" %windir%\Logs\CBS\CBS.log >"%userprofile%\Desktop\sfcdetails.txt" into your Command Prompt window and press ↵ Enter. You can then open the sfcdetails.txt file on your Desktop.[3]
  5. 5
    Check the system tray icons. Once you run DISM and SFC (and follow up with whatever action you need to take after running SFC), try interacting with the system tray icons again. If they still don't work, try one of the other methods in this article.
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Method 6
Method 6 of 6:

Remove Old Group Policies

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  1. Step 1 Go to your Group Policy folder.
    This is usually located at C:\Windows\System32\GroupPolicy, though the drive letter may be different if C isn't your default drive.
  2. 2
    Delete the files in this folder. Some users have found that old group policies were causing the system tray on their taskbar to not work properly.[4]
    • If this folder is empty, you don't have any group policies. If that's the case, you'll need to try one of the other methods in this article to fix the system tray.
  3. Step 3 Check the system tray icons again.
    If your volume and Wi-Fi buttons aren't working still, go back and try one of the other methods above to fix this issue.
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References

  1. ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/fix-file-explorer-if-it-won-t-open-or-start-ce614e06-be97-fe4a-a7ce-d6bf13a8cb98
  2. ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/use-the-system-file-checker-tool-to-repair-missing-or-corrupted-system-files-79aa86cb-ca52-166a-92a3-966e85d4094e
  3. ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/use-the-system-file-checker-tool-to-repair-missing-or-corrupted-system-files-79aa86cb-ca52-166a-92a3-966e85d4094e#bkmk_cbs_log
  4. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/sysadmin/comments/t5zwsp/windows_11_taskbar_issue_on_laptops/

About This Article

Stan Kats
Reviewed by:
Stan Kats
Professional Technologist
This article was reviewed by Stan Kats and by wikiHow staff writer, Hannah Dillon. Stan Kats is a Professional Technologist and the COO and Chief Technologist for The STG IT Consulting Group in West Hollywood, California. Stan provides comprehensive technology solutions to businesses through managed IT services, and for individuals through his consumer service business, Stan's Tech Garage. Stan holds a BA in International Relations from The University of Southern California. He began his career working in the Fortune 500 IT world. Stan founded his companies to offer an enterprise-level of expertise for small businesses and individuals.
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Co-authors: 3
Updated: March 17, 2026
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Categories: Windows
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