Game bar - updated interface issue

Question

Game bar - updated interface issue

SergoniuS Ammper 35

The old bar has a quick option to choose the sound output device. The new design requires one more click to open the additional panel. Then, after choosing the new output device, I must find and click the back button to return to the volume panel. Tell me how to restore the old version's sound control panel or add it to the main panel sound device selection.

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Tommy 15 Reputation points

2026-03-06T04:03:52.24+00:00

This is indeed terrible news. Why do people feel the need to change things that are perfectly fine. MS is that friend who will reorganize their living room furniture every few months instead of addressing critical issues with the rest of the home.

Dev's, please undo whatever you did.
Ash Ash 10 Reputation points

2026-03-07T01:46:24.5133333+00:00

100% agree, this change is awful. It breaks the primary flow I have for the Game Bar.
SergoniuS Ammper 35 Reputation points

2026-03-07T18:00:26.1933333+00:00

Indeed. I have a strong feeling that they don't test anything before publishing it on production, just run an automated test and that's it.

Neither the workflow nor the user experience are being tested. That is why, over the past 10 years, the OS has turned into a set of services that no one needs.

On top of everything else, they are updating things that already work, without finishing what they started.
D C 5 Reputation points

2026-03-09T03:00:00.1633333+00:00

I thought I was going crazy! I thought I had mis clicked and held the windows button with a random button that changed it and just spent THREE HOURS trying to find out how to revert it, only to find that this was a DESIGN CHOICE?! I am an audio engineer and relied on this quick change audio to route my audio outs to various devices, and this is so frustrating to have lost.

I want to give a temporary solution: Create a shortcut that goes to Settings > System > Sound, and optionally add a "ctrl + alt + <your key>" shortcut key to open it.

Right click your desktop to make a new shortcut. Name it to your liking, like "Change Sound Output". Right click that. Under the tab "Web Document", in the field "URL:" type "ms-settings:sound". You can then add that optional shortcut key mentioned above in the field below, "Shortcut key:"

I am unable to pin or implant this shortcut in the taskbar, and tried to do some workarounds to allow it, but all those seemed to have been patched. I would like some help to make a ONE-clickable option on the task bar, and would appreciate any workarounds to make this happen!
TellurianMoon 5 Reputation points

2026-03-10T23:58:05.4133333+00:00

Not only the selection options is gone. pressing ctrl+g gets it stuck on the screen. what's the point of a huge mute button? am i going to press it with my hand? button is on one side, the bar is on the other. once you mute it, the rest of the apps are disabled. what kinda moron designed this piece of shit?
Clary-N 10,415 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-11T03:12:02.7933333+00:00

Hi all,

I understand how frustrating this change is, especially when it disrupts a workflow you’ve relied on for years.

To make sure this reaches the product team, I recommend sharing your feedback through the Feedback Hub (Win + F). You can search for similar feedback to upvote it or submit a new entry explaining how this impacts your audio workflow. This is the best channel for influencing future design changes.

Thank you for taking the time to share your experience.

Best regards.
TellurianMoon 5 Reputation points

2026-03-31T14:02:04.7433333+00:00

how about you send it from here. you already read it. that feedback hub is not an option for me, it's a privacy breach. this os is doing everything it can to bloat with unnecessary shit and make it useless every way possible.
Clary-N 10,415 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-04-01T06:53:13.1033333+00:00

Hi TellurianMoon,

Just to clarify, this is a user‑to‑user forum, and as moderators, we don’t have access to internal teams or a way to submit or escalate feedback on your behalf, even when we’ve read and understand it.

That’s why Feedback Hub is usually suggested as it’s the channel that reaches the teams who work on Windows. I fully respect your privacy concerns, and it’s entirely your choice whether to use it. I just want to be transparent that there isn’t another route available from the forum side to pass feedback along.

Hopefully this issue will be considered and addressed in a future update.

Thank you for your understanding.

3 answers

Your answer

Tommy 15 Reputation points

2026-03-06T04:03:52.24+00:00

This is indeed terrible news. Why do people feel the need to change things that are perfectly fine. MS is that friend who will reorganize their living room furniture every few months instead of addressing critical issues with the rest of the home.

Dev's, please undo whatever you did.
Ash Ash 10 Reputation points

2026-03-07T01:46:24.5133333+00:00

100% agree, this change is awful. It breaks the primary flow I have for the Game Bar.
SergoniuS Ammper 35 Reputation points

2026-03-07T18:00:26.1933333+00:00

Indeed. I have a strong feeling that they don't test anything before publishing it on production, just run an automated test and that's it.

Neither the workflow nor the user experience are being tested. That is why, over the past 10 years, the OS has turned into a set of services that no one needs.

On top of everything else, they are updating things that already work, without finishing what they started.
D C 5 Reputation points

2026-03-09T03:00:00.1633333+00:00

I thought I was going crazy! I thought I had mis clicked and held the windows button with a random button that changed it and just spent THREE HOURS trying to find out how to revert it, only to find that this was a DESIGN CHOICE?! I am an audio engineer and relied on this quick change audio to route my audio outs to various devices, and this is so frustrating to have lost.

I want to give a temporary solution: Create a shortcut that goes to Settings > System > Sound, and optionally add a "ctrl + alt + <your key>" shortcut key to open it.

Right click your desktop to make a new shortcut. Name it to your liking, like "Change Sound Output". Right click that. Under the tab "Web Document", in the field "URL:" type "ms-settings:sound". You can then add that optional shortcut key mentioned above in the field below, "Shortcut key:"

I am unable to pin or implant this shortcut in the taskbar, and tried to do some workarounds to allow it, but all those seemed to have been patched. I would like some help to make a ONE-clickable option on the task bar, and would appreciate any workarounds to make this happen!
TellurianMoon 5 Reputation points

2026-03-10T23:58:05.4133333+00:00

Not only the selection options is gone. pressing ctrl+g gets it stuck on the screen. what's the point of a huge mute button? am i going to press it with my hand? button is on one side, the bar is on the other. once you mute it, the rest of the apps are disabled. what kinda moron designed this piece of shit?
Clary-N 10,415 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-11T03:12:02.7933333+00:00

Hi all,

I understand how frustrating this change is, especially when it disrupts a workflow you’ve relied on for years.

To make sure this reaches the product team, I recommend sharing your feedback through the Feedback Hub (Win + F). You can search for similar feedback to upvote it or submit a new entry explaining how this impacts your audio workflow. This is the best channel for influencing future design changes.

Thank you for taking the time to share your experience.

Best regards.
TellurianMoon 5 Reputation points

2026-03-31T14:02:04.7433333+00:00

how about you send it from here. you already read it. that feedback hub is not an option for me, it's a privacy breach. this os is doing everything it can to bloat with unnecessary shit and make it useless every way possible.
Clary-N 10,415 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-04-01T06:53:13.1033333+00:00

Hi TellurianMoon,

Just to clarify, this is a user‑to‑user forum, and as moderators, we don’t have access to internal teams or a way to submit or escalate feedback on your behalf, even when we’ve read and understand it.

That’s why Feedback Hub is usually suggested as it’s the channel that reaches the teams who work on Windows. I fully respect your privacy concerns, and it’s entirely your choice whether to use it. I just want to be transparent that there isn’t another route available from the forum side to pass feedback along.

Hopefully this issue will be considered and addressed in a future update.

Thank you for your understanding.

Answer 1

Clary-N 10,415 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hi SergoniuS Ammper,

Thank you for reaching out to Microsoft Q&A forum. I understand how much easier it was to switch audio devices in the older Xbox Game Bar, and it’s completely reasonable to miss that quicker workflow. With the current Game Bar design, there isn’t an option to revert to the earlier sound panel or bring the device selector back to the main view.

As we’re helping here as community forum moderators, we don’t have access to product design settings or the ability to make changes directly. The best way to make sure this feedback reaches the right team is through Feedback Hub. If you’d like, you can open Feedback Hub (Windows + F), choose Suggest a feature, select Gaming and Xbox > Game Bar and share how the extra clicks affect your experience. Feedback submitted there is often reviewed and helps guide future updates, and hopefully this option improvement can be considered again.

Thank you for your understanding and for taking the time to share your experience.

Best regards.

SergoniuS Ammper 35 Reputation points

2026-03-07T18:04:48.4433333+00:00

Thank you for your reply.

I understand everything, and I think it's necessary to draw attention to the problem.

This is probably the last straw for me with this OS, as everything is so bad with every update and so incomplete at the same time.

Fortunately, I have disabled many Microsoft services, including feedback—I really dislike that the corporation monitors my actions without explicit notification.
Clary-N 10,415 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-11T02:30:26.1366667+00:00

Hi SergoniuS Ammper,

Thank you for explaining how you’re feeling. I can completely understand how frustrating this experience has been, especially after repeated updates that haven’t gone smoothly. Your concerns around stability and privacy are valid, and many users feel the same way.

If you’re open to it, you can share your feedback directly with Microsoft through the Feedback Portal. This lets you raise the issue formally without enabling ongoing background feedback services.

I appreciate you taking the time to share your perspective.

Thank you again for your understanding.

Best regards.

Answer 2

The old Game Bar audio widget layout cannot be restored, and there is no supported way to add the output-device selector back to the main panel. The new design with the separate Manage devices page is built into the current Game Bar experience and is not configurable at that level.

For faster device switching outside Game Bar, use the system sound controls instead:

Open Settings > System > Sound.
Use the Output and Input device dropdowns, or
Use App volume and device preferences to route specific apps to different devices.

These are the only supported mechanisms described in current documentation for choosing default audio endpoints and per‑app audio devices.

References:

Answer 3

SergoniuS Ammper 35

I was so fed up with all of this that I uninstalled Windows 11 and installed Arch Linux instead, which solved my problem. With all due respect to the forum, and understanding that this isn’t your problem—it’s the users’ problem.

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Game bar - updated interface issue

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