Cannot Pin Apps or Programs to Taskbar in Windows 11

Unable to pin programs and apps to the taskbar on your PC? This article lists down some solutions that will help you fix the can’t pin apps to taskbar issue in Windows 11/10. The Taskbar helps you access your favorite and frequently used apps with just one click. However, there have been various issues with the taskbar, like an unclickable taskbar, unresponsive taskbar, etc.

Some users have also reported being unable to add program icons to the taskbar. If you are also facing the same problem, here is a guide for you. I will mention some methods that you can use to fix this issue.

Can’t Pin Apps to Taskbar in Windows 11/10

If you can’t pin app or program shortcuts to the taskbar in Windows 11/10, then one of these methods may fix the issue for you:

Restart File Explorer
See if the issue is with the App
Pin Apps to Start menu as an alternative
Re-register Taskbar
Run SFC Scan
Check some settings in Group Policy Editor
Perform System Restore
Switch User Account or Create a New User Account.

1] Restart File Explorer

Most of the taskbar issues can be resolved by restarting Explorer.

Simply open Task Manager using Ctrl+Shift+Esc hokey, click on Windows Explorer from Apps, and then hit the Restart button. Now, try to pin an app to the taskbar and see if it works.

2] See if the issue is with the App

If you are getting issues with pinning certain programs to the taskbar, the program might have not been installed correctly.

Try uninstalling and then reinstalling the app and then check if you can add it to the taskbar.

Also, check if you can pin other apps or not.

3] Pin Apps to Start menu

If you are not able to resolve this issue with any of the above methods, you can use Start Menu as an alternative. Simply pin apps that you use frequently to Start Menu and launch them from here.

Related: Pin To Start Menu not working.

4] Re-register the Taskbar

See if you can fix this issue by re-registering the taskbar.

To do so, go to the search box, type Powershell, and open Powershell with Administrator privilege. Now, enter the below command in it:

Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml”}

Restart PC and then check if you are able to pin apps to the taskbar.

5] Run SFC Scan

In case some corrupted system file is causing the issue, you can try running an SFC scan.

When the scan is done, check if you are still unable to pin apps to the taskbar or not.

6] Check some settings with Group Policy Editor

You can check user configuration in Local Group Policy Editor to determine if the Do not allow pinning programs to the Taskbar is enabled or disabled. If it is enabled, you will have to disable this option in order to be able to pin apps to the taskbar.

Open Local Group Policy Editor on your PC and then go to User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Start Menu and Taskbar.

You will various Settings items in the right panel one of which includes Do not allow pinning programs to the Taskbar. Double-click on it to open it.

In the next window, either choose Not Configured or Disabled settings for the selected option. And then, press Apply > OK button.

7] Perform System Restore

If you just recently started getting this issue where you are unable to pin apps to the taskbar, you can fix it up by rolling back the PC to a state where you didn’t face this problem. Simply perform a system restore and see if it fixes the issue for you.

8] Switch User Account or Create a New User Account

See if you are able to pin apps to the taskbar in another user account on your PC. If yes, a corrupted user profile might be the reason that caused this issue.