Most Annoying things about Windows 11 and How to Fix them

Windows 11 is a huge improvement over Windows 10, but it still has its share of annoyances. In this blog post, we will discuss the most annoying things about Windows 11 and how to fix them.

Let’s get started!

Move the Start Button Back to the Left Side of the Taskbar

One of the most annoying things about Windows 11 is that Microsoft moved the Start button from the left side of the taskbar to the center. This change was made in an effort to make the taskbar more user-friendly, but it just ends up being annoying for users who are used to having the Start button on the left side of the taskbar. If you’re one of those users, there’s an easy fix.

1. Right-click on your Windows 11 taskbar and select Taskbar Settings.
2. Under the taskbar settings, scroll down and click on the Taskbar behaviors.
3. Expand the drop-down menu next to the Taskbar alignment and select Left.
4. Close the settings and see if the changes are effective. If not, just restart the system.

Get Old Context Menu Back

Another annoying thing about Windows 11 is the new context menu. The old context menu was much more user-friendly and easier to use. It used to provide users with a lot of options to choose from. The new context menu, introduced in Windows 11, is pretty minimalistic with limited options. For more options, you need to click on Show more options.

Thankfully, there’s an easy fix for this as well.

1. Type Regedit in the Start Menu search bar and press Enter to open the Registry Editor.
2. Navigate to the following path: Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\CLASSES\CLSID
3. Right-click on the CLSID and create a new Key. Name it {86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2}.
4. Under {86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2}, create another key and name it InprocServer32.
5. This key includes a default that has no value set by default. Double-click it, leave the value data blank, and then click OK to finish.

Change the Taskbar Size

Unlike Windows 10, where you could change the taskbar size by just dragging it, in Windows 11, you need to edit the registry to change the taskbar size. This is pretty annoying for users who are used to being able to change the taskbar size on the fly.

To resize the taskbar in Windows 11, follow these steps:

1. On the Windows 11 search box, type Regedit, and click on its icon to launch it.
2. Navigate to this key location: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
3. On the left pane, right-click on Advanced and select New –> DWORD (32-bit) Value.
4. Name the DWORD: TaskbarSi
5. Double-click the newly created DWORD and change its value data to 0 for the smaller taskbar and 2 for the bigger taskbar.
6. Restart or re sign-in to the device to make the changes effective.

Enable the Dark Mode

Dark Mode is one of the best features of Windows 11. It makes it easier on the eyes and can help you save battery life on your laptop. Dark Mode is an opt-in feature in Windows 11. This means that you need to go into the settings and manually enable it.

Thankfully, there’s a simple workaround for this.

1. Click on the Start button and open Windows 11 settings.
2. Switch to the Personalization tab on the left and select Colors on the right.
3. Under the Colors settings page, expand the drop-down sub-menu and choose Dark or Light mode from the list.
4. You can also choose Custom from the list which will allow you to select the Default Windows Mode and Default Apps mode separately.

Block Windows Promotional Ads

Microsoft started littering advertisements through OS starting from Windows 10 and continuing on Windows 11. New adverts are delivered directly to your computer, promoting Microsoft products or other apps and games. But the good thing is that there are options to turn all this off.

Here is how you can do that:

1. Navigate to Settings -> Privacy & security.
2. Click on General settings.
3. Turn Off the advertising settings.

Change Default Applications

One of the most annoying things about Windows 11 is how it handles default applications. In many cases, you will try to perform a specific task, only to find an unexpected app like Edge launching and opening that file.

Sadly, Microsoft has made it challenging to set an app as default. Now you have to delve into the more manual system in the Settings app. That too, every time the operating system resets your defaults after each major update.

Here is how you can set the default application in Windows 11:

1. Open Windows 11 Settings.
2. Navigate to Apps -> Default apps.
3. Choose the app that you want to set as default.
4. You have to set the default app for every file type.

Fix Empty Widget Board

Windows 11 comes with a Widget Board that has widgets for quick access to News, Weather, Calendar, and more. After installing or upgrading to Windows 11, users have reported the empty Widget Board problem. Fortunately, it is pretty easy to fix that. 

Launch Widget Board by pressing the Windows + W key combination on your keyboard, and click on Add widgets button.

Next, click on the Sign out option at the top right corner and sign in to your account again.

After signing in, you can add the widgets you want, which would be displayed on the Widget Board.

Wrapping Up

While Windows 11 has a lot of great features, it also has its share of annoyances. Thankfully, with a little bit of tweaking and know-how, you can fix these annoyances and make your Windows 11 experience even better.

Did we miss any annoying things about Windows 11 or do you have any tips to fix them? Let us know in the comments below. Happy fixing!

Peter Brown

Peter is an Electrical Engineer whose primary interest is tinkering with his computer. He is passionate about Windows 10 Platform and enjoys writing tips and tutorials about it.