Taskbar keeps underlining app icons after they're closed.

I am writing to report a bug I am experiencing with the taskbar in Windows 24H2 (26100.863 and 26100.994). The issue is that the taskbar continues to underline app icons even after the applications have been closed. This is happening consistently and across different applications.

I have attached a screenshot that demonstrates the issue.



Steps to reproduce:
Open any application.
Close the application.
Observe that the taskbar continues to underline the closed application's icon. (Not in every attempts.)

Additional information:
Windows version: 24H2 (26100.863 and 26100.994)

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.

Welcome to the Forum, Harjuna!

I've tried several times, and I have no such problem with the taskbar on 994, so I think the problem is not in Windows, but on your machine. I would suggest that when you see the persistent underscore, you press F5 (Refresh) and see whether that takes care of it, and if the underscore persists, try restarting Explorer in Task Manager. Perhaps this is a transient small glitch, and will pass soon. Good luck!

Applications like Edge always have something running in the background, maybe the Taskbar is letting you know there's activity.

Hi Wisewiz.

Thanks for your quick response. That issue is not removed after refresh or other thing. It will go only after reopening and closing the app. Also, this is not persistent in 23H2. Because I rolled back and checked it. I found some other feedback from Windows Feedback Hub which are related to the my issue. Most probably it is not appearing in every device.

Rollback_Jockey said:

Applications like Edge always have something running in the background, maybe the Taskbar is letting you know there's activity.

Click to expand...

Good point mate. But it's not only edge. Sometimes those underlines appear on settings, Microsoft store, WhatsApp and other apps as well.

Yes, @Rollback_Jockey is spot on about Edge in particular. Edge hates giving up the spotlight, even when closed, so (especially if you've used Copilot in Edge) it keeps several processes running in the background. When you see that persistent underscore after closing Edge, open Task Manager, Processes, and scroll down to find Microsoft Edge. Right click that name and click End Task. That should take care of it until the next time you use Edge (especially if you use Copilot).

HarjunaG said:

I am writing to report a bug

Click to expand...

Welcome to the forum. This is not a Microsoft forum. We're volunteers and Windows enthusiasts who try to help folks out whenever we can.
Since 24h2 has not been released to the masses yet, a good many of us here do not yet run it. I suggest you go to its Feedback Hub (which is searchable) See if anyone else has reported that problem and if MS has issued a response. Open up your own feedback for it if there's not already a report there that you can upvote.

General troubleshooting steps would be:
Have you restarted? You would need to prove whether it's a windows problem, a problem caused by an app, or an account problem.

If you run any 3rd party app that alters the GUI, uninstall it to see if it makes a difference.

See if the issue exists using another account.

Make sure you have no corrupt system files that is causing this problem. Open a command prompt as administrator and type sfc /scannow

Perform a clean boot to eliminate software conflict. Perform a Clean Boot in Windows 11 to Troubleshoot Software Conflicts Tutorial

hello - i am having this issue now sense updating to 2025-01 Cumulative Update for Windows 11 Version 23H2 for x64-based Systems (KB5050021) on Jan 16 2025. As you can see in the pic below i only have chrome open and show lines under 2 other apps. Sometimes its all pinned apps showing the line

I am also having this problem, for about a month as of this date. I have a number of shortcuts on my task bar, and right now, for instance, I have four app links with underlines, one of which is an open source Word equivalent, and only two of the four are actually open. I confirmed this by right-clicking on the link and verifying that my only choices in the menu are to open the app or remove it from the taskbar.

This is a new behavior for Win11 (automatically updated) and it SEEMS to be programming offering quick access to recently used apps...EXCEPT that the underlines are also under open apps. Well this is just confusing and distracting and I can't tell where it came from or why. Looking forward to any insight anyone can offer.

i tried removing all taskbar links and re adding them, but that didnt work. problem still persists for me after the latest update 24/H2