Why are some taskbar icons blank in Windows 11

Question

Icons for several Microsoft apps pinned to taskbar are blank spaces. The apps include Outlook, Copilot, Notepad, Settings, and several others that even when freshly pinned to taskbar display only as blank spaces. This issue has persisted for several weeks, surviving multiple Windows updates, app pin/unpin, Explorer restarts, rebuilds of Windows icon cache, cleanup Windows Files with DISM and SFC, App restarts, App repairs, App uninstall/reinstall, even Windows 11 reinstall from ISO download!

Please advise on next steps.

Answer 1

Hello Mike, sorry to hear you're having trouble.

This could be due to a couple of things. First, check to make sure your PC is not in tablet mode. To do this go to Settings by right clicking on your Start icon and select Settings. Then type Tablet in the search bar. You can check the system there to make sure that's not the issue. If tablet mode is turned on then turn it off and restart.

Another thing to check is that your icons are enabled in the task bar. Open Windows Settings by pressing the Windows Key+I. Type Taskbar in the search bar and then click enable for any icons you want to see.

Answer 2

Under All Apps look at F for Feeback hub and report this along with what version of Windows 11 you are using and is it Home or Pro.