How To Fix Disappearing System Tray Icons In Windows 10?

Your new operating system might not appear as exciting as you expected. Windows 10's simple aesthetics let you focus on your work, without the distraction of menus, icons and toolbars. But there is a downside to this minimalistic design. Ten icons that used to be placed directly in the taskbar disappeared with Windows 10. These include the search, network, volume and power icons. Many of them are still available from the 'Show hidden icons' menu option, but do you really need to do that every time? Here's how to fix disappearing System Tray Icons in Windows 10.

The systems tray is the easiest and quickest way to access specific applications on your device. This can include applications such as the battery, the sound volume, the time, and so on—applications that can prove all the more useful if you can access them quickly!

If particular applications disappear for no good reason, it can prove to be annoying. It can even prove to be dangerous for your work if, for example, the battery icon disappears and you have no way of immediately knowing whether or not you have enough power to make it through the day.

To gain access to those disappearing systems tray icons again, we will be focusing on two possible problems.

Fixing the Settings

In some cases, your desktop can hide particular icons for applications. Fixing this should take no longer than 10 minutes! Here are the steps you should follow:

1. First, you have to access the taskbar settings. You can do this by dragging your mouse to the taskbar, right-clicking an empty spot, then clicking on "Taskbar settings."
2. Once you're on the taskbar settings, you should find many toggle options so you can customize the look and feel of your taskbar.
3. Scroll down under the "Notification area" to find your fix.
4. Once you're under the "Notification" area, there are two ways you can go about solving your problem. The first method is by clicking on the "Select which icons appear on the taskbar" option. Here, you should find toggles for all kinds of different notifications.
5. You can either hover over the "Always show all icons in the notification area" option to show all icons by default, but many people might find that too overwhelming. Instead, you can go and manually pick and choose which icons can appear on the taskbar.
6. If, for example, the problem is that the "Power" icon is missing, then the fix should be as easy as toggling it on here.
7. If that didn't solve your problem, then you should instead click on "Turn system icons on or off" if the problem includes native applications such as "Network" and "Input Indicator."
8. Under this tab, you can even find useful functions such as the "Touch keyboard" which you can toggle on so you can have an on-screen keyboard for when your actual keyboard is malfunctioning.

If none of those options have solved your problem, then you may be facing corruption in your system, specific to the missing application icon. But don't you worry! Although the problem may sound a bit above the skill level of the average techie, it'll only take a few simple steps.

Restarting File Explorer

File Explorer, or otherwise known as Windows Explorer, is the application that you use to sift through your documents and files.

When there are missing system tray icons or files due to corruption from a recent update, the File Explorer's simple restart can often be enough.

1. To do this, first right-click on an empty portion of the taskbar just like before. This time, click on "Task Manager."
   
2. This will, of course, open up the Task Manager, where you can find information about how much of the RAM and CPU and so on are being taken by specific applications.
3. Right click on "Windows Explorer," then click on "End task."
4. Once that's done, click on "File" on the upper-left corner of the window. Under here, click on "Run New Task." Doing so will open up a message box. Here, under "Open:" you should type "explorer.exe" to finish restarting Windows Explorer.
   

Final Words

Once that is done, the problem should be solved! Some steps might be a little tricky so make sure to carefully follow the instructions and assess which alternate method is the best suitable option for you.

Summary: Fix Disappearing System Tray Icons in Windows 10

• Click the Start button.
• Click the Settings icon.
• Select Personalization.
• Choose Taskbar in the left pane, then scroll down and switch on Use small taskbar buttons.