Can’t Pin Apps to Taskbar – Windows 11

Quick Tips

Typically, an item might not get pinned to taskbar due to a faulty installation.
In some cases, the taskbar might not be running properly and needs to be reconfigured or restarted.
If none of these solutions work, you can use the Start bar as a replacement.

How many pinned apps do you have on your taskbar? Five? Ten? More? They certainly come in handy. But what happens when an app simply refuses to become pinned to the taskbar?

Don’t despair just yet, as there are a few possible solutions for when you can’t pin apps to taskbar (Windows 11).

Fix 1. Restart Windows Explorer

One of the most straightforward fix attempts is to try and restart the Windows Explorer. While this tool is a critical component of the operating system, it can sometimes fail to work properly, typically due to a temporary issue or bug.

Step 1. Open the Task Manager by pressing “Ctrl + Alt + Delete” and selecting it from the menu. Alternatively, you can find the Task Manager by right-clicking on the taskbar itself and selecting it from the context menu (although this might not work if the Explorer is experiencing issues).

Step 2. Go to the “Details” tab.

Step 3. Find “explorer.exe” from the list of running programs.

Step 4. Right-click on “explorer.exe” and select “Restart.” Don’t select “End task,” as that can cause the entire system to stop functioning correctly and you’ll need to reboot the PC.

You can also find the Explorer component as “Windows Explorer” from the main menu, and can restart it from there.

Fix 2. Check if You Can’t Pin Any Other Apps

In some cases, an app might look like it’s been installed properly, but it fails to show up on the taskbar because there are core pieces missing. To troubleshoot this, try the following:

Step 1. Find an app that is already on your taskbar but which you don’t use often.

Step 2. Remove it from the taskbar and put it back on. If this works, the issue might be with the app that fails to get pinned.

Step 3. Reinstall the app you’re trying to pin and retry pinning it to the taskbar.

Fix 3. Re-Register the Taskbar in PowerShell

For reasons unknown, the taskbar might stop being registered by the system entirely. Thankfully, this can be a relatively easy fix.

Step 1. Go to the search bar and type in “PowerShell.” You should get a result “Windows Powershell.”

Step 2. Select the option “Run as administrator.”

Step 3. When prompted with the User Account Control, select “Yes.”

Step 4. In PowerShell, paste the following command and hit “Enter” :

Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml”}

Step 5. Restart the PC.

Fix 4. Make a Shortcut for the App

In some cases, a program might not be able to be pinned directly to the taskbar due to internal restrictions. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to tell when this happens.

You can try to bypass this issue by creating a shortcut to the application, then adding the shortcut to the Taskbar.

Step 1. Right-click on an empty space on your desktop.

Step 2. Select “New,” then choose “Shortcut.” A Shortcut Wizard will appear.

Step 3. Type in the location of the application you want to make a shortcut for. Alternatively, use the “Browse” button to locate it on your PC.

Step 4. Hit “Next.”

Step 5. Insert a custom name for the shortcut and select “Finish.”

Step 6. Right-click on the shortcut and select “Show more options.”

Step 7. Choose “Pin to Taskbar” from the context menu.

Fix 5. Check Group Policy Settings

If you’re using a shared PC, the administrator may have disabled customizing the taskbar to make it consistent across users. If you’re using the PC by yourself, this could’ve happened by accident, and you’ll need to reverse it.

Step 1. Open the “Run” application (you can search for it or use “Win + R”).

Step 2. Enter “gpedit.msc” and hit Enter. Note: This is not available for Windows Home users.

Step 3. In the Group Policy Editor, go to the following category via the navigation bar to the left:

User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Start Menu and Taskbar

Step 4. Double-click on “Do not allow pinning programs to the Taskbar” from the list of items on the right.

Step 5. Choose “Not configured” or “Disabled,” then hit “Apply” and “OK.”

Fix 6. Run the SFC Command in Command Prompt

In some cases, you might have corrupted files which can’t be pinned. You can run the SFC command in the command prompt to detect and potentially resolve corrupted or missing file issues. The command is “sfc /scannow”. Note that the command might take a while to complete.