Earlier this month, some Windows 11 users noticed their taskbar was behaving strangely and disappearing after a recent update – and it looks like Microsoft has now released a fix for the annoying bug.
A new preview build was released this week in the Windows Insider Program Beta Channel, which apparently fixes multiple reported issues, including the taskbar issue, which caused it to appear as a blank space for some users before slowly reappearing loaded.
The Windows Insider Program is a Microsoft-managed community for professionals and Windows enthusiasts who want the most up-to-date information on new developments and the opportunity to try out new features and versions of Windows to provide feedback before they are released. for the broader user base.
BetaNews also writes that of another taskbar-related bug that has apparently been bothering users for weeks: every time they loaded Windows 11, the taskbar took several seconds to appear.
These types of taskbar related issues are annoying for a number of reasons. The biggest of which is that it makes it a lot harder to launch and run applications, and limits the user’s ability to actually interact with the operating system, since Windows 11’s taskbar is such an essential part of the user interface of the operating system.
The nature of the beta channel update
The newly created solution is only available in the Beta, Developer, and Canary channels of the Windows Insider program for now. This means that Microsoft is still testing and gathering feedback on the build, and it will likely take a few weeks before it makes its way to the stable channel (where most users get updates that are in the final iteration and are deemed ready for release by Microsoft). BetaNews speculates that this release could fall on March Patch Day, March 12, 2024.
At this time, the build currently available in the beta channel does not introduce any major new features, and the focus of this update is specifically on the fixes for the issues reported above. Other updates in the preview build include, according to an official Windows Insider Blog post, a new badge for Widget notifications to notify users when there are unread Widget notifications, and higher quality Widget icon images that should be sharper should appear.
While it took some time for Windows 11’s taskbar issues to be resolved by Microsoft, and it appears that the vocal response has finally spurred the company into action, it’s good that the issues appear to have finally been resolved. If you absolutely cannot tolerate the taskbar’s errant behavior, you can join the Windows Insider program (which is free) and then join the Beta Channel.