Are you frustrated with apps reappearing on your taskbar after you've unpinned them? Here are some effective methods to stop unpinned apps from reappearing in Windows 11.
By following these methods, you can effectively manage and prevent apps from re-pinning themselves to your taskbar on Windows 11.
What can I do if unpinned apps keep coming back on Windows 11?
1. Restart File Explorer
- Right-click on the Start icon and select Task Manager.
- Locate the Windows Explorer process.
- Right-click on it and choose Restart.
2. Remove the Program Using Start Menu
- Type the app name in the Search box.
- Right-click on the app when it appears in the search results.
- Select Unpin from taskbar.
3. Uninstall the Program and Delete the Shortcut
- Press Win + I to open Windows Settings.
- Navigate to Apps > Apps & features.
- Find the application, click it, and select Uninstall.
- Follow the on-screen instructions to remove the application.
- Manually unpin the application from the taskbar by right-clicking and selecting Unpin from taskbar.
4. Delete Pinned Apps Using File Explorer
- Open File Explorer.
- Navigate to the path: C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\TaskBar.
- Unhide all hidden folders if necessary.
- Right-click on the shortcuts you want to delete and select Delete.
5. Delete Taskband Key from Registry Editor
- Press Win + R, type "regedit", and press Enter to open the Registry Editor.
- Navigate to the path: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Taskband.
- Right-click on the Taskband key and select Delete.
- Restart your computer.
6. Edit DefaultLayouts file
- Press the Windows key + R, paste the following and press Enter:%localappdata%\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\
- When a new window opens, locate the DefaultLayouts file, right-click it and choose Edit with Notepad.
- When Notepad opens, press Ctrl + F and search for taskbar:TaskbarPinList.
- Remove apps that you don’t want between the following lines:<taskbar: TaskbarPinList> </taskbar:TaskbarPinList>
- Save changes and restart your PC.
7. Edit LayoutModification.xml File
- Navigate to C:\Users\Default\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\LayoutModification.xml.
- Open the file with Notepad.
- Remove the <CustomTaskbarLayoutCollection> section by typing <!-- before the line and --> after it.
- Save the file and close Notepad.
- Manually unpin the apps and restart your computer.
8. Create a New User Account
- Open Settings and navigate to Accounts > Family & other users.
- Select Add someone else to this PC and follow the on-screen instructions to create a new account.
- Press Ctrl + Alt + Del, then click on Switch user and log in with the new account.
9. Tweak Your Registry
- Open the Registry Editor by typing "regedit" in the Windows search bar and pressing Enter.
- Navigate to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer.
- If the Explorer folder doesn’t exist, create it.
- Right-click on the right pane, select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value, and name it NoPinningToTaskbar.
- Set its value to 1.
- Manually unpin the problematic apps and restart your computer.
10. Use the Local Group Policy Editor
- Press Win + R, type "gpedit.msc", and press Enter to open the Group Policy Editor.
- Navigate to User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Start Menu and Taskbar.
- Enable the option Do not allow pinning programs to the taskbar.
- Unpin the problematic programs before enabling this policy.
By following these methods, you can effectively manage and prevent apps from re-pinning themselves to your taskbar on Windows 11.