If “System Tray” or Notification Area Icons” are missing from the Taskbar of your computer, you will find it difficult to gain quick access to certain commonly used functions like Battery Status, Volume Control & Network Status.
The “System Tray” also includes the Arrow-shaped “Overflow Menu” or “Hidden Menus” Icon, which usually acts as a container for background running apps like OneDrive, iCloud, Windows Security and other apps which could not be accommodated on the Taskbar.
System Try Icons Not Appearing on Taskbar
The reason for “System Tray” Icons missing or not showing up on the Taskbar of your computer could due to a variety of issues, ranging from change in settings to system file corruption.
If the “Overflow Menu” or “Hidden menu” Icon is missing from System Tray, the reason is usually due to the option to display “Hidden Icon Menu” not being enabled in Personalization Settings of the computer.
1. Enable “Hidden Icon Menu”
If the “Hidden Menu” Icon is missing from the notification area in the Taskbar, it can be easily enabled by going to the Personalization Settings menu on your computer.
1. Go to Settings > Personalization > Scroll down in the right-pane and click on “Other System Tray Icons” tab.
2. In “Other System tray Icons” section, enable the Hidden icon menu option.
After this, take a look at bottom-right corner of the screen and you should now find the “Hidden Menu” Icon showing up in the System Tray area.
2. Restart Windows Explorer Service
Restarting Windows Explorer Service helps in refreshing the taskbar icons, which can help in bringing back the System Tray Icons on your computer.
1. Right-click on the Start button and click on Task Manager.
2. On the Task Manager screen, right-click on Windows Explorer and click on the Restart option.
After this, you should find Icons appearing in the System Tray area of the Taskbar.
3. Clear Icon Cache
Clearing the “Icon Cache” stored at %LocalAppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer can help in fixing problems related to display of Icons in the Taskbar, including the display pf app icons in System Tray area.
For the actual steps to clear the “Icon Cache” on your computer, you can refer to this guide: How to Restore Missing Taskbar Icons in Windows 11/10.
4. Run System File Checker
As mentioned above, missing or corrupted system files can have an impact on the functionality of features in Windows, including the system tray.
Fortunately, Windows operating comes with its own set of built-in tools (SFC & DISM); which can be used to check the computer for system file errors and fix then. For more information and the steps to check system files for errors, you can refer to this guide: How to Repair Corrupted System Files In Windows 11/10.