The ease with which this can be customised (simply right-click on any open app and choose ‘Pin to taskbar’) makes it easy to set it up to your liking. However, Windows 10 has an annoying recent tendency to hide these apps for no apparent reason. This seemingly sudden change can be extremely frustrating, although there are a number of potential solutions.
Restart your PC
It sounds cliché, but sometimes all your device needs is to be switched off and back on again. If that doesn’t work, move on to the next solution.
Check you’re not in tablet mode
By default, tablet mode removes all the icons from the taskbar, in an attempt to create a more touch-friendly user interface. Simply switching back to desktop mode should fix the issue: If you want to stay in tablet mode, right-click (or long-press) any empty space in the taskbar and choose ‘Show app icons’.
Add script to Command Prompt
If neither of those fixes are working, you’ll have to try something a bit more complex. Make sure you’re using an administrator account before proceeding:
Reinstall the taskbar software
The only way to uninstall utilities like the taskbar is via Windows PowerShell:
Update your device
If none of these solutions are doing the trick, it might be a bug relating to an older version of Windows 10. Head to Settings > Update & Security and check if there are any outstanding updates. If you’re already running the latest version, it’s probably worth waiting until an update fixes the problem. Microsoft releases security patches at least once a month, so you probably won’t be waiting long before any wider issues are addressed. For more on the latest feature update, check out our guide to the Windows 10 October 2020 update. As the resident expert on Windows, Senior Staff Writer Anyron’s main focus is PCs and laptops. Much of the rest of his time is split between smartphones, tablets and audio, with a particular focus on Android devices.
