Why does Xbox Game Bar randomly pop on my screen?

Question

Why does Xbox Game Bar randomly pop on my screen?

Brettzels A 5

It seems every other time i turn on my PC, Xbox game bar will just pop up on my screen. I click on the time, xbox game bar, click on an open area on the desktop, xbox game bar, click on the weather, Xbox game bar, click on a bookmark on Edge, opens xbox game bar. Is something wrong, can i turn off a setting for that?

Ajguy 0 Reputation points

2026-03-29T02:31:59.67+00:00

This started happening to me too. Seems to happen whenever I clock something on the task bar.
Carl-L 21,155 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-31T13:20:23.6066667+00:00

Hello Ajguy,

Please refer to the answer below and let me know if you need any help.
Elanareon 0 Reputation points

2026-05-07T15:21:20.74+00:00

I have a similar experience, when if i restore a window the game bar pops up. I might have found a solution. In the settings of the game bar > General tab then under notification, there is an option "ask me for feedback about the app on this device" and turn it off. This resolved my game bar popping up whenever i restore a window problem

2 answers

Your answer

Ajguy 0 Reputation points

2026-03-29T02:31:59.67+00:00

This started happening to me too. Seems to happen whenever I clock something on the task bar.
Carl-L 21,155 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-31T13:20:23.6066667+00:00

Hello Ajguy,

Please refer to the answer below and let me know if you need any help.
Elanareon 0 Reputation points

2026-05-07T15:21:20.74+00:00

I have a similar experience, when if i restore a window the game bar pops up. I might have found a solution. In the settings of the game bar > General tab then under notification, there is an option "ask me for feedback about the app on this device" and turn it off. This resolved my game bar popping up whenever i restore a window problem

Answer 1

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Answer 2

Carl-L 21,155 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hello Brettzels A,

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A forum.

That is a weird behavior of the Game Bar. I'm not sure what happened yet, but it might have something to do with the settings.

Before we proceed further, can you please try to reset the Xbox Game Bar first to see if it helps.

Go to Settings > System > System components
Select the three dots next to the Xbox Game Bar > Advanced Settings.
Select "Reset".

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

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Carl-L 21,155 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-02-04T13:12:27.3633333+00:00

Hello Brettzels A,

Just checking in to make sure that you have received my reply. Please let me know if there are any updates.
Mohamed Ayoubi 0 Reputation points

2026-03-01T02:27:12.7766667+00:00

For what it's worth - this hasn't helped me, it keeps happening whenever I switch focus to a new window.
Carl-L 21,155 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-03T13:46:15.81+00:00

Hello Mohamed Ayoubi,

It's unfortunate to hear that. If possible, can I have a photo or a short video of what happens to check? Please remove any personal information before posting.
Asaurus1 0 Reputation points

2026-07-03T06:54:11.63+00:00

@Carl-L I have the same issue as the original poster; here's an example of the issue.

Expected behavior: clicking on a taskbar icon to switch windows does not open Xbox Game Bar

Actual behavior: clicking on any taskbar icon to switch windows sometimes (but not 100% reliably) opens Xbox Game Bar.

https://youtu.be/2OU8MuLnLMA

Your forum does not allow video uploads so I had to put this on youtube unlisted.

Note that I do have two HID-compliant game controllers connected to the computer, but at the time of this reproduction the actual controllers were powered off (batteries removed) and only the USB wireless dongles that they use were connected.

============= SYSTEM INFORMATION ==========

Device name <REDACTED>

Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-8700 CPU @ 3.20GHz (3.19 GHz)

Installed RAM 32.0 GB (31.9 GB usable)

Graphics card NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 (8 GB)

Storage 1.21 TB of 2.57 TB used

Device ID <REDACTED>

Product ID <REDACTED>

System type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor

Pen and touch Pen support

Edition Windows 11 Home

Version 25H2

Installed on ‎12/‎5/‎2024

OS build 26200.8655

Experience Windows Feature Experience Pack 1000.26100.315.0

I'm happy to provide additional process logs if you can direct me to where those can be obtained.
Carl-L 21,155 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-07-03T13:43:13.5166667+00:00

Hello Asaurus1,

I'll see what I can do. I'll keep you updated.
Carl-L 21,155 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-07-04T13:03:41.23+00:00

Hello Asaurus1,

May I know if you have tried the methods in the comments above? Please let me know the results.
Asaurus1 0 Reputation points

2026-07-05T14:56:04.58+00:00
I did try this, without success.

I have a similar experience, when if i restore a window the game bar pops up. I might have found a solution. In the settings of the game bar > General tab then under notification, there is an option "ask me for feedback about the app on this device" and turn it off. This resolved my game bar popping up whenever i restore a window problem

As well as this, also without success:

Go to Settings > System > System components

Select the three dots next to the Xbox Game Bar > Advanced Settings.

Select "Reset".
Carl-L 21,155 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-07-07T13:07:45.85+00:00

Hello Asaurus1,

Thanks for the sharing.

If you need any other questions. Please let me know.