How to Get Windows 11-Like Taskbar in Windows 10

Quick Tips

1. Use Stardock Start11 to bring the Search to the Windows 10 Taskbar.
2. Too many icons in the system tray can overflow the taskbar with icons.
3. You cannot lock or unlock the Windows 11 taskbar.

Method 1: Use Stardock Start11

As Windows doesn’t have a setting to make the taskbar look like Windows 11, you can only rely on third-party apps like Stardock Start11. This premium software allows you to customize your start menu, taskbar, search, etc., by adding or removing sections. The software offers a 30-day trial, and you can install it from the install Stardock Start11 from its official website.

Step 1: Open Stardock Start11, select the Start Menu from the sidebar, select and toggle it on, and select Windows 11 style.

Step 2: Next, click on the Start Button from the sidebar and enable Position the Start button in the center of the taskbar. This will make your taskbar look like Windows 11.

Step 3: Additionally, you can use other options like Taskbar, Taskbar pins, Search, and Control to tweak the settings until you find the best one.

Step 4: If something goes wrong with the Settings app, go to the Settings backup > click on Reset settings to restore all the settings to their defaults. 

Method 2: Setup Features Manually

Step 1: Open File Explorer and create two empty folders. The name and location of the folders don’t matter much.

In our case, we have named our folders F1 and F2.

Step 2: Next, right-click on the Taskbar and select Toolbars > New Toolbar. The system will now ask you for a location. Pick one of the empty folders you created.

Do the same for the second folder as well.

Once down, you will see two toolbars on the taskbar with the names of the folders you created.

Step 3: Right-click the Taskbar and uncheck Lock all Toolbars. You will notice vertical markers next to the toolbars you created. These markers are draggable.

You can drag one of the toolbars to the left, next to the Start button, while leaving the toolbar on the right.

Step 4: Drag the icons folder to the right and align it in the center.

By now, you will see a rough structure forming. For the final touches, right-click on the toolbars and uncheck Show title and Show text for both toolbars.

This will remove the name and text, leaving an empty space on either side of the icons folder, like in Windows 11.

Step 5: Right-click on the taskbar and select Lock Taskbar to lock it into place. After that, you can’t change its height or location.

That is how you can change the location of the Taskbar and make it resemble Windows 11.

While this process seems tedious, you must set it up once.

Taskbar Customizations

In Windows 11, Microsoft collapsed the entire taskbar onto the center. The Start and Search buttons are, by default, next to the center’s app icons and folder options.

As we noted earlier, you can’t move the Start button to the center. Nevertheless, you can still customize it in a few ways.

1. Remove News and Weather

If you want a complete experience, remove or disable the News and Weather widget from the Taskbar.

To do so, right-click the taskbar and select News and Interest > Turn off. That’s it.

The widget will disappear from the Taskbar.

2. De-Clutter System Tray

At the same time, removing some icons from the System Tray can declutter it. By default, Windows 10 displays the Wi-Fi status, volume, and battery, among other things.

However, it may overflow with icons if you do not check it regularly. For example, one of our Windows PCs had icons for Meet Now, Windows Update Status, and Dropbox, making it look cluttered.

Step 1: Right-click on the Taskbar and select Taskbar settings. Next, scroll down until you see the Notification Area. Click on Select which icons appear on the taskbar.

Step 2: Toggle off the icons you want to remove. That’s about it.

You will have a clean System Tray like Windows 11, although the user experience and icons will remain the same as Windows 10.

FAQs

Why Does My Windows 11 Have a Windows 10 Taskbar?

If you were using a third-party app on Windows 10 that customized the look and feel, it could be why the Windows 11-like taskbar is missing. It’s best to uninstall or reset the taskbar to configure it again.

How to Unlock the Windows 11 Taskbar?

Unlike Windows 10, unlocking the Windows 11 taskbar is impossible. You can go to settings and customize it further, arrange icons, pins, and so on, but there is more unlock.