How to Ungroup Taskbar Icons in Windows 11 (and Why It’s Not Always Obvious)
So, if you’ve upgraded to Windows 11 recently or just started poking around, you’ve probably noticed that by default, the icons on the taskbar tend to group together when you have multiple windows of the same app open. It’s supposed to save space, I guess, but honestly, it sometimes feels more like a pain—makes it harder to see what’s actually running at a glance, especially if you like to keep everything visible. Anyway, ungrouping those icons isn’t exactly straightforward, and I definitely ran into some frustrating moments before finally getting it to stick. Here’s what I finally found out, in more or less real-world detail—I hope it helps someone else avoid the same circular hunt.
Getting into the Settings — The Long Road
First off, to change the taskbar icon behavior, you need to get into Settings. The easiest shortcut (at least for me) is Windows key + I. That opens the Settings panel directly, which is much faster than hunting through menus. If you prefer clicking around, you can right-click the taskbar and select Taskbar settings, but honestly, I find the keyboard shortcut saves way more time — especially if you’re fiddling with this repeatedly.
Once in Settings, find Personalization on the left sidebar. It’s usually one of the top options. Clicking there is essential because the majority of taskbar tweaks happen under that menu. Inside, scroll or look around until you hit Taskbar. In some builds or with certain updates, this might be tucked into a deeper dropdown or labeled slightly differently, but most times it’s just there, waiting to be clicked.
Going Deeper into Taskbar Behavior
Now, in the Taskbar section, you’ll see various options for customizing how icons and buttons behave. Keep an eye out for Taskbar behaviors; that’s where Microsoft isolates the controls for icon grouping and hiding labels. This section might be a bit sneaky — sometimes it’s collapsed, or there’s a tiny arrow to expand it. Honestly, I’ve spent ages trying to find this menu because it’s not always labeled super clearly. If it’s not visible immediately, try scrolling or clicking around — it’s usually under a section called More options.
What You Need to Change — The “Never” Option
Within Taskbar behaviors, look for a setting called Combine taskbar buttons and hide labels. It might be set to When taskbar is full or Always by default. This is the key to ungrouping icons. Switch it to Never. That means each open window gets its own icon on the taskbar, no grouping at all.
This might seem small, but it’s a pretty big visual change. Instead of clicking a tiny group icon and then choosing the window you want, you see every window right there, independent. For some, that makes managing multiple open apps much easier. For others, it just clutters the space — I get it, it’s a personal preference.
Does It Take Effect Immediately? Yes and No
Once you change that dropdown to Never, you’ll see the icons ungroup almost immediately—probably within a second or two. I was surprised how fast it kicked in. But, here’s the thing I had to learn the hard way: sometimes Windows needs a reboot before it fully “sticks.” If it looks like your icons are still grouped or the setting doesn’t seem to work, try restarting your PC. A quick reboot often clears up weird glitches — especially on Windows 11, which occasionally acts like it’s still figuring itself out.
On my setup, there were also some odd cases where changes only applied to the main display unless I adjusted settings on each monitor — the multi-monitor behavior can be inconsistent. If you use multiple screens, check if the new icon arrangement applies everywhere or just on one.
Things to Watch Out For
A couple of caveats: this setting is mostly local to your user profile, so if you’re on an enterprise or managed system, group policies might override it. Also, in some updates, Microsoft has hidden or renamed some options, so if you don’t see what I described, make sure your Windows is fully updated. Sometimes a Windows Update or a BIOS update can also influence how these settings work, especially with newer hardware or OEM customizations.
If after trying this it still reverts or behaves strangely, consider resetting the taskbar settings or even fiddling with group policies if you’re technically comfortable. Also, keep in mind that this mainly applies to your primary display; if you’re multi-monitor user, you might have to go back and tweak each one separately.
If this helped unstick your taskbar or just made it less cluttered, sharing the tip might save someone else from the same frustration. Honestly, it took a lot of trial, error, and rebooting to get to this point. But if you’re like me and hate cluttered icons, the change is totally worth it. Just be ready for some patience, Windows doesn’t always cooperate right away.
Hope this helped — it took me way too long to figure it out. Anyway, hope this saves someone else a weekend.