Gaming Pin and Unpin Xbox Game Bar Widgets on Screen in Windows 11


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Xbox_Game_Bar_banner.png

This tutorial will show you how to pin and unpin widgets from the Xbox Game Bar on the screen for your account in Windows 11 and Windows 10.

You can open the Xbox Game Bar to take control of all your favorite gaming activities while playing on your Windows device.

The Controller Bar is a view of the Xbox Game Bar that allows you to quickly access games and apps using any Xbox controller.

The Home Bar is the bar at the top of the Game Bar screen. Your favorites will appear on the Home Bar for quicker access to widgets. Open widgets will show underlined on the Home Bar.

To move a widget while on the Game Bar screen, drag it by the title bar to where you want it positioned on your screen and drop it.

To resize a widget while on the Game Bar screen, drag a border that supports resizing.

When you pin a widget, it always displays on your screen over any game or app, even when Game Bar is dismissed (closed). Note that not all widgets can be pinned.

Default widgets for Xbox Game Bar:
  • Audio – Get the perfect mix by adjusting the sound levels of your game, chat, and background apps.
  • Capture – Record a clip or take a screenshot when something awesome happens.
  • From the developer – Stay in the know from the creators of your favorite games.
  • Gallery – Your game clips and screenshots will show up here.
  • Looking for Group – Use Looking for Group to find players for your favorite multiplayer games.
  • Performance – Track your game’s frames-per-second (FPS) and other real-time stats.
  • Resources – See what apps and processes are using system resources to help you optimize gaming performance.
  • Spotify – Link your Spotify account to rock your games with your favorite songs. For more info, see:
  • Xbox Achievements – Track your games’ progress and see what you’ve unlocked.
  • Xbox Social – Start a text or voice chat, one on one or in a group. Connect with friends or make new ones and join a friend’s PC game or invite them to join yours.
Reference:


EXAMPLE: Pinned widget on screen

Pinned_widget.png



Here's How:

1 Open the Xbox Game Bar (Win+G).

2 Perform the following actions to Pin a widget: (see screenshot below)
  1. Drag the widget by its title bar to where you want it on the screen, and drop it.
  2. Click/tap on the Pin icon on the unpinned widget.
Pin_widget.png

3 Perform the following action to Unpin a widget: (see screenshot below)
  • Click/tap on the Unpin icon on the pinned widget.
Unpin_widget.png


That's it,
Shawn Brink


 

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Sadly, you can only place the widget on your main monitor. Or is there something else to do that I don't know about?
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro Beta
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Home built
    CPU
    Ryzen 9 5900X
    Motherboard
    MSI MPG X570S Edge Max WiFi
    Memory
    Patriot Viper Gaming DDR4 Extreme Performance (2 x32MB)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ZOTAC RTX 3060 Twin Edge OC 12GB GDDR6/ ZOTAC Gaming GeForce GTX 1660 Super 6GB GDDR6 192-bit Gaming Graphics Card
    Sound Card
    Proprietary
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic XG2530 25"/Benq XL2411P 24"/ ASUS VA24DQSB) 23.8"
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080 240Hz/144Hz/60Hz (based on monitor setup above)
    Hard Drives
    SK hynix Gold P31 1TB PCIe NVMe Gen3 M.2 2280 Internal SSD
    ADATA XPG SX8200 Pro 1TB
    Samsung SSD 860 EVO 1TB 2.5 Inch SATA III Internal SSD
    PSU
    Thermaltake Smart 700W 80+ White Certified PSU
    Case
    Rosewill ATX Mid Tower Gaming Computer Case, Gaming Case with Blue LED for Desktop
    Cooling
    Corsair iCUE H60i RGB PRO XT Liquid CPU Cooler
    Keyboard
    Corsair K70
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    ~950Mb/s upload/ ~700Mb/s download
    Browser
    Edge (Chromium)
    Antivirus
    Norton 360
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Home Built
    CPU
    Ryzen 7 3700X
    Motherboard
    MSI B550 Gaming GEN3 Gaming Motherboard
    Memory
    32MB DDR4
    Graphics card(s)
    I forget, but it's old. I can't see the need to upgrade it.
    Sound Card
    Propietary
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ACER LED 24"
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1080
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung SSD 3.5"
    Case
    Corsair
    Cooling
    Stock
    Mouse
    Logitech
    Keyboard
    Logitech
    Internet Speed
    ~750Mb/s download / ~750Mb/s upload
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender and Malware Bytes
Sadly, you can only place the widget on your main monitor. Or is there something else to do that I don't know about?

Usually, it'll be for whichever display the Game Bar opens on.

As a test, open Settings (Win+i), move the Settings window on the display you want, click on the Settings window to make sure it's the active window, then open the Game bar with the Win+G shortcut. It should open on that display.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self build
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING (11GB GDDR5X)
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G75 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3 wall mounted
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gbps Download and 35 Mbps Upload
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Spectre x360 2in1 14-eu0098nr (2024)
    CPU
    Intel Core Ultra 7 155H 4.8 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5x-7467 MHz
    Graphics card(s)
    Integrated Intel Arc
    Sound Card
    Poly Studio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    14" 2.8K OLED multitouch
    Screen Resolution
    2880 x 1800
    Hard Drives
    2 TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD
    Internet Speed
    Intel Wi-Fi 7 BE200 (2x2) and Bluetooth 5.4
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
Usually, it'll be for whichever display the Game Bar opens on.

As a test, open Settings (Win+i), move the Settings window on the display you want, click on the Settings window to make sure it's the active window, then open the Game bar with the Win+G shortcut. It should open on that display.
Thanks, Brink. That worked like a charm.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro Beta
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Home built
    CPU
    Ryzen 9 5900X
    Motherboard
    MSI MPG X570S Edge Max WiFi
    Memory
    Patriot Viper Gaming DDR4 Extreme Performance (2 x32MB)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ZOTAC RTX 3060 Twin Edge OC 12GB GDDR6/ ZOTAC Gaming GeForce GTX 1660 Super 6GB GDDR6 192-bit Gaming Graphics Card
    Sound Card
    Proprietary
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic XG2530 25"/Benq XL2411P 24"/ ASUS VA24DQSB) 23.8"
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080 240Hz/144Hz/60Hz (based on monitor setup above)
    Hard Drives
    SK hynix Gold P31 1TB PCIe NVMe Gen3 M.2 2280 Internal SSD
    ADATA XPG SX8200 Pro 1TB
    Samsung SSD 860 EVO 1TB 2.5 Inch SATA III Internal SSD
    PSU
    Thermaltake Smart 700W 80+ White Certified PSU
    Case
    Rosewill ATX Mid Tower Gaming Computer Case, Gaming Case with Blue LED for Desktop
    Cooling
    Corsair iCUE H60i RGB PRO XT Liquid CPU Cooler
    Keyboard
    Corsair K70
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    ~950Mb/s upload/ ~700Mb/s download
    Browser
    Edge (Chromium)
    Antivirus
    Norton 360
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Home Built
    CPU
    Ryzen 7 3700X
    Motherboard
    MSI B550 Gaming GEN3 Gaming Motherboard
    Memory
    32MB DDR4
    Graphics card(s)
    I forget, but it's old. I can't see the need to upgrade it.
    Sound Card
    Propietary
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ACER LED 24"
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1080
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung SSD 3.5"
    Case
    Corsair
    Cooling
    Stock
    Mouse
    Logitech
    Keyboard
    Logitech
    Internet Speed
    ~750Mb/s download / ~750Mb/s upload
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender and Malware Bytes

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self build
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING (11GB GDDR5X)
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G75 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3 wall mounted
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gbps Download and 35 Mbps Upload
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Spectre x360 2in1 14-eu0098nr (2024)
    CPU
    Intel Core Ultra 7 155H 4.8 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5x-7467 MHz
    Graphics card(s)
    Integrated Intel Arc
    Sound Card
    Poly Studio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    14" 2.8K OLED multitouch
    Screen Resolution
    2880 x 1800
    Hard Drives
    2 TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD
    Internet Speed
    Intel Wi-Fi 7 BE200 (2x2) and Bluetooth 5.4
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender and Malwarebytes Premium

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