Add, Remove, Reset, Quick Action buttons in Windows 11/10

Windows makes it easier for you to add, remove, or arrange the Quick Action buttons in the Notifications & Actions Center. The Action Center displays four Quick Actions, with an option that lets you Expand or Collapse the Action Center in order to show more than four buttons.

The Windows 11 Quick Settings is very similar to the Action Center in Windows 10. The same keyboard shortcut Win+A can be used to open them. PC users can customize Quick Settings to their preferences.

Quick Actions lets you perform actions quickly on your often-accessed functions or features. These could be All settings, Connect, Battery saver, VPN, Bluetooth, Brightness, Note, Tablet Mode, Wi-Fi, or Quiet Hours. You can select or choose the Quick Actions you want to be displayed here.

PC users can quickly and easily manage common PC settings like Volume, Brightness, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Focus Assist via Quick Settings. When playing music or videos in Microsoft Edge or streaming music in apps like Spotify, you will be able to see the media playback controls directly above your Quick Settings.

What is there in the Quick Settings menu in Windows 11?

In Windows 10, there used to be an Action Center with various frequently accessed options whenever you click on the notification area. However, it was a bit cumbersome. Microsoft has replaced it with a better UI design and a more usable Quick Settings menu. The functions in this menu vary from device to device, and you can also decide which features you want to show in this panel.

Here are the default options that you get in Windows 11’s Quick Settings panel:

Wi-Fi: You can access the WiFi function that allows you quickly connect or disconnect from the internet. Also, by clicking on the arrow icon, you will be able to view several available network connections. You simply select the one you want to connect to.
Accessibility: This option allows you to quickly access and use Windows 11 accessibility features including Magnifier, Color filters, Narrator, Mono audio, and Sticky keys. You can enable any of these features by clicking on the Accessibility function. If you want, you can tap on the More Accessibility settings option to open up advanced accessibility functions.
Airplane mode: Enable or disable airplane mode as per your requirement.
Battery saver: Use is to easily enable or disable Battery saver to save laptop battery.
Bluetooth: This will turn on or off the Bluetooth chip on your device.
Focus assist: This option will enable you to toggle between different Focus assist modes that will disable Windows 11 notifications. There are modes like Priority only, Alarms only, or to disable this feature.
Volume: Simply increase or decrease the volume of your device.
Brightness: Increase or decrease the brightness of the monitor as per your preference.

The desktop computer running Windows 11 will get fewer options. For example, they won’t get the battery saver option. To be able to access more settings options from Quick Settings, simply tap on All settings (gear icon).

How to access Quick Settings in Windows 11?

You can use different methods to bring up the Quick Settings panel on your system. Here are the main ways to access the Quick Settings panel in Windows 11 easily:

To open up the Quick Settings panel without any hassle, you can press the Windows + A key combination on your keyboard. This will open up the Quick Settings panel on your right with different frequently used options like WiFi, Bluetooth, Volume, Brightness, Airplane Mode, Accessibility, and more.

Another method to open the Quick Settings menu is to click on the WiFi, volume, or battery icon in the system tray on your taskbar.

Desktop PC users and those who use wired internet access have a volume icon next to the computer icon that they can tap on to open the Quick Settings menu.

Add or Remove Quick Settings in Windows 11

To add Quick Settings on your Windows 11 device, do the following:

Press Windows key + A to open Quick Settings.
Click on the Edit quick settings (pencil) icon.
Click on Add, and click on an available setting you want to add.
You can drag and drop settings to re-arrange them in Quick Settings.
Click Done when finished adding settings.
Repeat the steps above for each setting you want to add.

To remove Quick Settings on your Windows 11 device, do the following:

Press Windows key + A to open Quick Settings.
Click on the Edit quick settings (pencil) icon.
Click on Unpin button on the settings you want to remove.
You can drag and drop settings to re-arrange them in Quick Settings.
Click Done when finished removing settings.
Repeat the steps above for each setting you want to remove.

You can also change the options’ order in the Quick Settings panel. To do so, drag a feature from the editing panel to where you want it to appear. After customizing the Windows 11 Quick Settings, press the Done button to save changes.

Pencil icon missing in Windows 11 Quick Settings

If you upgraded from Windows 10 to Windows 11, this pencil icon might be missing. To restore the icon, open Registry Editor, navigate or jump to the registry key below and delete the Microsoft.QuickAction.Edit registry key on the right pane.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Quick Actions\Control Center\Unpinned

The effect is immediate. No restart is required.

Customize Quick Action Buttons via Windows Settings

If you want to change how the Quick Action buttons are displayed:

Open the Start Menu
Click on the Settings icon.
Next, click on System settings
From the left panel, select Notifications & actions.
Click on the Edit your Quick Actions link and the Notification & Action center will pop out from the right side.

Add, Remove Quick Action Buttons using the Menu

On Windows 11, you can open the Quick Action Center in the Taskbar corner and click on the Pen icon to edit. If you want to remove an icon, click on the unpin button (white) on each icon. To add a removed icon, click on +Add and select it to add. After you are done adding and removing, click on Done to save the changes.

In Windows 10, do the following:

Once the Notification & Action Center has opened up
Here you can pin or unpin the Quick Action buttons, rearrange them, or add or remove the Quick Action button using the “+Add” link.
You also choose to add or remove the Brightness slider here.
Once done, click on Done.

In earlier Windows 10 versions, you saw this.

To re-arrange the Quick Action buttons, you had to drag and drop them to the locations you want.

If you wished to add or remove some of the buttons, you had to click on the Add or Remove quick actions link to open the following window.

Toggle the slider to the Off position to remove a quick action, and to the On if you want to display a quick action.

If you do not use these buttons, you can also disable the Quick Action icons. If you wish, you can even go a step further and disable the entire Notification and Action Center – which of course is not advisable.

Reset Quick Settings in Windows 11

Just like you can reset Quick Actions in Action Center in Windows 10, you can reset Quick Settings in Windows 11 to default if the Edit button is missing, not opening, or you just want to restore its default settings.

To reset Quick Settings on your Windows 11 device, do the following:

Since this is a registry operation, it is recommended that you back up the registry or create a system restore point as necessary precautionary measures. Once done, proceed as follows:

Press Windows key + R to invoke the Run dialog.
In the Run dialog box, type notepad and hit Enter to open Notepad.
Copy and paste the syntax below into the text editor.

REG DELETE "HKCU\Control Panel\Quick Actions" /F

taskkill /f /im explorer.exe

start explorer.exe

Save the file with a name and append the .bat file extension to create a batch file – eg; ResetQS.bat and on the Save as type box select All Files.
Now, you can run the batch file with admin privilege (right-click the saved file and select Run as Administrator from the context menu) or simply double-click the file to run it.

Also read: Reset Quick Actions in Action Center

Where are Quick Actions in Windows 11?

Like Windows 10, Windows 11 does not have dedicated settings for Quick Actions in the Settings menu. You can add or remove icons from the Quick Action without opening the Settings app. To make changes and save them, open the Quick Action center on the Taskbar and click on the Pen icon.

Read: Taskbar has disappeared from the Desktop in Windows.

Where is the Action Center in Windows 11?

To open the Action center (Quick Settings), do any of the following: On the right end of the taskbar, select the Action Center icon. Press the Windows logo key + A. On a touchscreen device, swipe in from the right edge of the screen.

Read: How to disable Quick Action icons in Windows Action Center

How do I edit Quick Settings in Windows 11?

To edit or change notification and quick settings in Windows 11, do the following:

Select the battery, network, or volume icon to open the quick settings panel.
Right-click on the quick settings panel and select Edit quick settings.
Select the Add button to add a quick setting or press the pin icon to remove.

Read: How to prevent editing Quick Settings in Windows 11 computer

How do I fix Action Center in Windows 11?

If you notice the Action Center in Windows 11 is not opening, you can try the following fixes:

Scan system files.
Restart File Explorer.
Enable the Action Center with Group Policy Editor.
Reregister the Action Center.
Enable Action Center by editing the registry.
Restore Windows 11 to a previous date.

How do I turn on Quick Access in Windows 11?

To turn on quick access for specific folders on your Windows 11 device, follow these instructions: Right-click on the folder you want to add to Quick Access and then select the Pin to Quick access option. Once done, you will then be able to access all the pinned folders from the Quick Access panel.

Is the Windows 11 Quick Settings Menu Better Than the Action Center in Windows 10?

Yes, overall, I found Windows 11’s Quick Settings menu better than Action Center in Windows 10. It is better designed and suitable for modern users who focus on the look and feel of anything. So, in that case, it is definitely an improvement. However, they both do the same work, which is to provide quick access to often used functions.

How do I turn on quick access in Windows 11?

To turn on Quick Access for specific folders in Windows 11, you have to right-click on the folder you want to add to Quick Access and then select the Pin to Quick Access option. You can then access all the pinned folders from the Quick Access panel. If you want to remove a folder from Quick Access, right-click on the pinned folder and tap on Unpin from Quick access option again.

Read: Windows 11 Quick Settings not working.

How do I open the Notification bar in Windows 11?

Opening the notification bar in Windows 11 is the same as in Windows 10. Go to the bottom right corner of your taskbar, where you will see a number showing the number of unread notifications. Click on this number, and it will open the notification bar for you. You can also tap the date and time on the taskbar to quickly open the Notifications bar in Windows 11.

This post will show you how to enable Simplified Quick Settings in Windows 11.