Cant access "Quick Settings" or "Notification Center"


agon024

Member
Local time
4:14 PM
Posts
7
OS
Windows 11
OS: Windows 11 Version 21H2 (OS Build 22000.194)

Just ran the official upgrade from MS and was previously on Windows 10. But with this new version I am unable to click the option in the bottom corner on the task bar to bring up "Quick Settings" or "Notification Center". Even the shortcut keys "windows + A" and "windows + N" doesn't bring up the menus. I have tried restarting after windows was completely finished.

Screenshot-(4).jpg

Anyone know what is happening?
 
Windows Build/Version
21H2 (OS Build 22000.194)

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11
OS
Windows 11
Have you tried restarting explorer.exe in task manager, if file explorer is not open, you scroll all the way down to "Windows Explorer", right click and press restart.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 10 21H1 19043.1266Intel® Core™ 7th i5-73004GBIntel® HD Graphics 620
OS
Windows 10 21H1 19043.1266
Computer type
Tablet
Manufacturer/Model
Microsoft Surface
CPU
Intel® Core™ 7th i5-7300
Motherboard
Intel
Memory
4GB
Graphics Card(s)
Intel® HD Graphics 620
Sound Card
Intel
Monitor(s) Displays
Surface Pro
Screen Resolution
2736 x 1824 (267 PPI)
Keyboard
Surface Type Cover
Browser
Microsoft Edge: 94.0.992.38
Antivirus
Windows Defender
Other Info
Windows Live, Microsoft 365, Edge, Bing, Zoom
Yes, of course.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11
OS
Windows 11
Can you try going to notifications settings in Windows Settings and turning on focus assist?
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 10 21H1 19043.1266Intel® Core™ 7th i5-73004GBIntel® HD Graphics 620
OS
Windows 10 21H1 19043.1266
Computer type
Tablet
Manufacturer/Model
Microsoft Surface
CPU
Intel® Core™ 7th i5-7300
Motherboard
Intel
Memory
4GB
Graphics Card(s)
Intel® HD Graphics 620
Sound Card
Intel
Monitor(s) Displays
Surface Pro
Screen Resolution
2736 x 1824 (267 PPI)
Keyboard
Surface Type Cover
Browser
Microsoft Edge: 94.0.992.38
Antivirus
Windows Defender
Other Info
Windows Live, Microsoft 365, Edge, Bing, Zoom
I tried that and it didn't change anything.
I see, I not on Windows 11 so not sure how to help, just giving you solutions I found online. Hope someone else can help. @Bree can you help? Sorry for the ping
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 10 21H1 19043.1266Intel® Core™ 7th i5-73004GBIntel® HD Graphics 620
OS
Windows 10 21H1 19043.1266
Computer type
Tablet
Manufacturer/Model
Microsoft Surface
CPU
Intel® Core™ 7th i5-7300
Motherboard
Intel
Memory
4GB
Graphics Card(s)
Intel® HD Graphics 620
Sound Card
Intel
Monitor(s) Displays
Surface Pro
Screen Resolution
2736 x 1824 (267 PPI)
Keyboard
Surface Type Cover
Browser
Microsoft Edge: 94.0.992.38
Antivirus
Windows Defender
Other Info
Windows Live, Microsoft 365, Edge, Bing, Zoom
@Bree can you help? Sorry for the ping
That's fine by me, no need to apologise....
I've not had that problem on any of my machines, but I'll see if I can help.

I am unable to click the option in the bottom corner on the task bar to bring up "Quick Settings" or "Notification Center". Even the shortcut keys "windows + A" and "windows + N" doesn't bring up the menus.

I notice that in your screenshot the time/date/notification combo is highlighted as a lighter shade of grey, normal behaviour when I hover over mine. Does the highlight follow you if you move the cursor to the sound/network/battery combined box? Or is the highlight unresponsive too? Do you see the expected pop-up when you hover over either of them?

1633530018222.png 1633530035069.png

What happens if you right-click on them? You should see links to their respective settings.

1633530307225.png 1633530325613.png
 

My Computers My Computers

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 HomeAMD Athlon Silver 3050U8GBRadeon Graphics
    OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23-R9VY
    CPU
    AMD Athlon Silver 3050U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop screen
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 native resolution, up to 2560x1440 with Radeon Virtual Super Resolution
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung EVO 870 SSD (from April 2026: 250GB EVO 850)
    Internet Speed
    150 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge, Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    UPDATE - 11 April 2026: due to lid hinges starting to break up this laptop has been retired from active duty. The OS with all software and files has been migrated to my System Seven in 'Other systems' to carry on as my general purpose 'main machine'.

    I've now clean installed 25H2 and used Garlin's scripts to update Secure Boot to CA 2023 and revoke the PCA 2011 certificates. It's new role is to test secure boot issues.

    Info for 2021-2026:
    fully 'Windows 11 ready' laptop. Windows 10 C: partition migrated from my old unsupported 'main machine' then upgraded to 11. A test migration ran Insider builds for 2 months. When 11 was released on 5th October 2021 it was re-imaged back to 10 and was offered the upgrade in Windows Update on 20th October. Windows Update offered the 22H2 Feature Update on 20th September 2022. It got the 23H2 Feature Update on 4th November 2023 through Windows Update, 24H2 on 3rd October 2024 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 24H2, and 25H2 on 30th September 2025 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 25H2.
  • At a glance

    Windows 11 ProIntel® Core™ i5-520M8GB(integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Latitude E4310
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i5-520M
    Motherboard
    0T6M8G
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics card(s)
    (integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    500GB Crucial MX500 SSD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    unsupported machine: Legacy bios, MBR, TPM 1.2, upgraded from W10 to W11 using W10/W11 hybrid install media workaround.

    In-place upgrade to 22H2 using ISO and a workaround.
    Feature Update to 23H2 by manually installing the Enablement Package.
    In-place upgrade to 24H2 using hybrid 23H2/24H2 install media.
    Upgraded to 25H2 by Enablement Package.

    Also running Insider Experimental 263xx and 29xxx builds and Windows 10 as native boot .vhdx.
  • My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro.

    My SYSTEM FOUR was a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e (1st gen) type 20DA, Celeron N2930, 8GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device. This has now been sold. It has been replaced by my System Eight.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 8GB RAM, 1TB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Experimental 263xx and 29xxx builds (and a few others) as a native boot .vhdx.

    My SYSTEM SIX is a Dell Latitude 5550, Core Ultra 7 165H, 64GB RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD, supported device, Windows 11 Pro, Hyper-V host machine. Updated to 25H2 on 30th September 2025.

    My SYSTEM SEVEN is a Lenovo Thinkpad T580, 1920x1080 touchscreen, Intel Core i7-8650U, 16GB RAM, 512GB NVMe SSD + 2nd 512GB NVMe SSD, a supported device for Windows 11. This is my current general purpose 'main machine'. The installed Windows 11 Home from my System One has been migrated to this machine. As its new home has an existing digital licence for Pro I've been able to upgrade the migrated OS from Home to Pro.

    My SYSTEM EIGHT is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e (5th gen) type 20LN, Celeron N4120, 8GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, a supported device for Windows 11. Currently running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Experimental 263xx and 29xxx builds as native boot vhdx.
I notice that in your screenshot the time/date/notification combo is highlighted as a lighter shade of grey, normal behaviour when I hover over mine. Does the highlight follow you if you move the cursor to the sound/network/battery combined box? Or is the highlight unresponsive too? Do you see the expected pop-up when you hover over either of them?
Ya, I can hover over the other icons and the highlight follows. When I right click the icons I get the "right click" menu like I normally should.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11
OS
Windows 11
Ya, I can hover over the other icons and the highlight follows. When I right click the icons I get the "right click" menu like I normally should.
Then they appear to be installed correctly and (partially) working as they should. Does a left click work as expected every where else? If not I'd look at your mouse/touchpad drivers.

@Brink may be working on a tutorial to reset and reregister these two taskbar items....
 

My Computers My Computers

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 HomeAMD Athlon Silver 3050U8GBRadeon Graphics
    OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23-R9VY
    CPU
    AMD Athlon Silver 3050U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop screen
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 native resolution, up to 2560x1440 with Radeon Virtual Super Resolution
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung EVO 870 SSD (from April 2026: 250GB EVO 850)
    Internet Speed
    150 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge, Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    UPDATE - 11 April 2026: due to lid hinges starting to break up this laptop has been retired from active duty. The OS with all software and files has been migrated to my System Seven in 'Other systems' to carry on as my general purpose 'main machine'.

    I've now clean installed 25H2 and used Garlin's scripts to update Secure Boot to CA 2023 and revoke the PCA 2011 certificates. It's new role is to test secure boot issues.

    Info for 2021-2026:
    fully 'Windows 11 ready' laptop. Windows 10 C: partition migrated from my old unsupported 'main machine' then upgraded to 11. A test migration ran Insider builds for 2 months. When 11 was released on 5th October 2021 it was re-imaged back to 10 and was offered the upgrade in Windows Update on 20th October. Windows Update offered the 22H2 Feature Update on 20th September 2022. It got the 23H2 Feature Update on 4th November 2023 through Windows Update, 24H2 on 3rd October 2024 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 24H2, and 25H2 on 30th September 2025 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 25H2.
  • At a glance

    Windows 11 ProIntel® Core™ i5-520M8GB(integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Latitude E4310
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i5-520M
    Motherboard
    0T6M8G
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics card(s)
    (integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    500GB Crucial MX500 SSD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    unsupported machine: Legacy bios, MBR, TPM 1.2, upgraded from W10 to W11 using W10/W11 hybrid install media workaround.

    In-place upgrade to 22H2 using ISO and a workaround.
    Feature Update to 23H2 by manually installing the Enablement Package.
    In-place upgrade to 24H2 using hybrid 23H2/24H2 install media.
    Upgraded to 25H2 by Enablement Package.

    Also running Insider Experimental 263xx and 29xxx builds and Windows 10 as native boot .vhdx.
  • My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro.

    My SYSTEM FOUR was a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e (1st gen) type 20DA, Celeron N2930, 8GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device. This has now been sold. It has been replaced by my System Eight.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 8GB RAM, 1TB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Experimental 263xx and 29xxx builds (and a few others) as a native boot .vhdx.

    My SYSTEM SIX is a Dell Latitude 5550, Core Ultra 7 165H, 64GB RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD, supported device, Windows 11 Pro, Hyper-V host machine. Updated to 25H2 on 30th September 2025.

    My SYSTEM SEVEN is a Lenovo Thinkpad T580, 1920x1080 touchscreen, Intel Core i7-8650U, 16GB RAM, 512GB NVMe SSD + 2nd 512GB NVMe SSD, a supported device for Windows 11. This is my current general purpose 'main machine'. The installed Windows 11 Home from my System One has been migrated to this machine. As its new home has an existing digital licence for Pro I've been able to upgrade the migrated OS from Home to Pro.

    My SYSTEM EIGHT is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e (5th gen) type 20LN, Celeron N4120, 8GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, a supported device for Windows 11. Currently running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Experimental 263xx and 29xxx builds as native boot vhdx.
Then they appear to be installed correctly and (partially) working as they should. Does a left click work as expected every where else? If not I'd look at your mouse/touchpad drivers.
Yes the mouse functions properly everywhere else even in Photoshop and Illustrator.

I have tried 4 different mice (wired, 2 usb, bluetooth) and the trackpad. I even hooked up my Wacom Cintiq Pro 24 and it won't open them either. So its deffinetly not the mouse drivers.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11
OS
Windows 11
Just an update to this thread, I created a test account and the quick settings work perfectly fine but will not work on my long existing account.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11
OS
Windows 11

Latest Support Threads

Back
Top Bottom