How to Change the Taskbar Colour in Windows 11
Honestly, changing the taskbar colour in Windows 11 isn’t quite as simple as it looks at first glance. I remember fiddling around with the settings for ages because Microsoft tends to hide these options in places you wouldn’t think to look. If you’re after a more customised look without pulling your hair out, here’s what finally worked for me and kept me sane.
Getting into the Personalisation Settings
First, you need to open the Settings app. The quickest way is pressing Windows key + I, but don’t be surprised if you have to try a couple of times before it clicks. When the Settings window opens, go to Personalisation. It’s usually one of the first options on the sidebar, marked by a paintbrush icon. If you want to shortcut things, you can type ms-settings:personalisation into the Run dialog (Win + R) and it’ll take you straight there. Sometimes the colour options can be buried deep, especially after updates, so don’t hesitate to browse around or scroll a bit to find what you need.
Choosing the Right Colour Mode
This is where it gets a little tricky. You’ll see a dropdown labelled “Choose your mode”. It might be set to “Light” or “Default,” but if you want full control over the colours, switch it to “Custom”. This allows you to blend between light and dark modes, which can make a big difference in how your accent colour appears. A tip — changing this setting often affects various parts of Windows, so take a moment to see how your interface responds.
Next, look for “Choose your default Windows mode”. It might be titled differently depending on your version or OEM skin, but it should be fairly clear. Select “Dark”. Many people find that a darker theme is easier on the eyes late at night — plus, it makes your accent colour stand out more. Of course, this isn’t mandatory, but it’s what I ended up going with.
Turning on the Accent Colour on the Taskbar
Scroll down until you find the toggle labelled “Show accent colour on Start and taskbar”. Flip it to On. This is the key switch — it tells Windows to apply your chosen accent colour to the taskbar, rather than sticking with its default grey or black. Once switched on, you should see the taskbar update immediately. At least, that’s how it worked for me — no need for any further clicks.
Picking Your Perfect Accent Colour
If you want to get more specific with your colour choice, stay in the Colours section. You can pick from some pre-set colours, or click on “View colours” to choose a custom hue. Want Windows to decide for you? Enable “Automatically pick an accent colour from my background”. I tried this feature, but honestly, it sometimes picks strange colours I don’t like, so I prefer selecting manually. Picking a vibrant or contrasting shade really helps the taskbar pop. If the colour doesn’t change right away, a quick restart of Explorer (taskkill /f /im explorer.exe) and relaunch (start explorer.exe) from PowerShell or Command Prompt often does the trick.
Once you’ve set your colour and toggled the switch, the taskbar should update instantly. Sometimes, a reboot or reopening Settings helps, as Windows can be a bit stubborn about applying theme changes immediately. Patience is key.
Extra Tips & Tweaks
If you’re keen to go further, Windows 11 also allows tweaking transparency effects and more within the same Colours menu — or even via registry edits if you’re feeling brave. For instance, turning on “Show accent colour on title bars and borders” might require editing the registry (like modifying HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Themes\Personalise with a DWORD called ColorPrevalence). I haven’t done that myself, but it’s available if you want extra control.
A quick heads-up: changing some of these deeper settings can sometimes cause unpredictable behaviour if you mess with registry values. Always make sure you back up your data before diving into registry tweaks.
Overall, playing around with these options helped me create a sleek, personalised look that’s easier on the eyes after hours in front of the screen. Just remember to double-check that “Show accent colour on Start and taskbar” is turned on and you’ve picked the colour you like. Sometimes a quick restart of explorer.exe or a full reboot is needed to get everything syncing properly. If your taskbar isn’t updating immediately, don’t worry — Windows sometimes needs a little nudge.
Hope this helps — it took me ages to figure all this out the first time round. Good luck, and I hope your taskbar looks just how you want it now!