Tinkering with Your Windows Quick Settings — What I Discovered
Alright, getting your Quick Settings in Windows just perfect isn’t always straightforward. Honestly, I thought it’d be a matter of a quick click and drag, but no — it took me a few tries to get it right. If you’re like me and prefer to customise everything to your liking, here’s what I’ve learned after mucking around and making a few mistakes along the way.
How to Open the Action Center (and Why You Might Want to)
First up, opening the Action Centre is step one — pretty obvious, but worth a mention. You can click on the icons in the system tray—like Wi-Fi, sound, or battery—and that’s your gateway. Sometimes, those icons are tiny or hidden behind other icons, which can be a pain. Or, if you prefer keyboard shortcuts, press Windows key + A. Once I got used to it, it’s much quicker, but at first, I kept clicking the icons, which doesn’t do much for changing your settings.
When the Action Centre pops up, you’ll see all your toggles — Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Flight Mode, and so on. But what if you want to tweak which ones appear here? That’s the tricky bit. Sometimes, the options aren’t where you’d expect, and some toggles are greyed out or missing altogether. I’ll go into that more shortly, but basically, this is where the customisation begins.
Getting Into the Settings for Customisation
Look for the little pencil icon at the bottom of the Quick Settings panel — that’s your Edit mode. Clicking it switches you into a mode where you can add, remove, or rearrange icons. I thought it’d be straightforward — just unpin what I didn’t want and pin more of what I did — but it’s not always that simple. Sometimes, toggles like Bluetooth or Wi-Fi refuse to be unpinned, especially if they’re default system features or controlled by organisational policies.
To unpin or remove a toggle, click the pin icon next to it — it might look like a little pin or a drag handle, depending on your version of Windows. You can also drag icons around if you want your most-used ones at the top. But beware: some toggles, like “Night Light” or “Aeroplane Mode,” are system defaults and might not be removable entirely. If they bother you, you can hide them via Settings > Personalisation > Taskbar, but they might still be lurking in the background.
Adding new toggles is just as easy — hit the Add button, then pick from the list. Sometimes, options seem a bit scattered under different categories or submenus. Keep in mind, some toggles are built into Windows and can’t be removed unless you dive into Registry tweaks or Group Policy, which isn’t recommended unless you’re comfortable with that sort of thing. Also, be aware that some toggles may change or disappear after Windows updates.
Final Tweaks and Personal Touches
Once you’ve sorted out what you want to appear or hide, double-check everything. This setup is highly personal — what works for someone else might not suit you. Sometimes, a reboot is necessary after changes for them to take effect, especially with defaults. Occasionally, updates or big system changes will reset your customised layout, which can be frustrating. If you’re into scripting or automation, there are ways to fine-tune this further using PowerShell or third-party tools, but I haven’t gone down that rabbit hole myself.
Why It’s Worth Doing
Customising your Quick Settings isn’t just about looks — it’s about saving time. Being able to toggle Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or Flight Mode instantly reduces those annoying clicks and menu searches. Like me, you probably keep your most-used toggles at the top — no more hunting through menus or waiting for Windows to catch up.
It’s funny how such small tweaks can make your overall experience smoother. Once you get the hang of personalising these controls, it can become a bit addictive. For power users — many rely on scripts with PowerShell or third-party apps to automate or further customise — though that can quickly get complicated.
Key Things to Double-Check
- Ensure the toggles you want are enabled in the Edit mode.
- If some options are greyed out or missing, check if your device is managed by organisational policies or if a BIOS setting is locking certain features.
- Reboot after making changes if they don’t seem to apply — sometimes Windows needs a restart to register updates.
- Be cautious — resetting TPM or editing the registry extensively can disable features like BitLocker or encryption, so only tinker if you’re confident.
Honestly, it took me longer than I’d care to admit to get everything just right. But once it’s set, the time saved is well worth the effort. Hope this helps — I spent ages figuring it out myself. Maybe it’ll save someone else a weekend of frustration.