5 Best Fixes for Taskbar Notifications Not Working on Windows 10

When an app is opened or pinned to the taskbar on your Windows PC, the app’s icon should carry a badge showing real-time notification count. This badge informs you of new in-app updates, messages, and notifications without even opening the app. If you stopped getting these taskbar notifications or it wasn’t working in the first place, we’ll show you how to get the feature restored.

Sometimes, the problem is limited to select apps. Other times, it’s a system-wide issue affecting all native and third-party apps on your computer. Whatever side of the table you’re on, at least one of the five methods detailed below should fix the problem.

1. Enable Notifications Badges

Check that your Windows configuration allows for apps to display notification badges when on the taskbar.

Step 1: Launch the Windows Settings app and select Personalization.

Step 2: Tap Taskbar on the left sidebar and make sure the option that reads ‘Show badges on taskbar buttons’ is toggled on.

If the option is already enabled, toggling it off and back on could help restore app notifications to the taskbar.

2. Check Windows Notifications Settings

You also want to examine your computer’s notification configuration for any irregularities. If notifications are disabled system-wide or for select apps, taskbar notifications will equally be disabled.

Go to Settings > System > ‘Notifications & actions’ and make sure system-wide Notifications is toggle on.

Furthermore, scroll down the page and ensure notifications are enabled for the app(s) that won’t display notification badges in the taskbar.

3. Re-Pin App to the Taskbar

If the problem persists, try removing the affected app(s) from the taskbar and add them back.

Step 1: Right-click the app on the taskbar and select ‘Unpin from taskbar.’

Step 2: Hit the Windows key and search for the app you just removed from the taskbar. Select ‘Pin to taskbar’ on the right sidebar.

Move to the next solution if your apps still do not display notification badges on the taskbar.

4. Create or Modify Taskbar Badges Registry Key

This is a rather advanced troubleshooting step, but it’s super easy to execute. It involves scouring through your PC’s Registry Editor to check if the registry key/file that powers taskbar notifications (or taskbar badges) is present and enabled.

Without this registry file, notifications badges may fail to appear on apps on the taskbar — even if they’re enabled in your Windows taskbar settings menu (see method #1 above). Follow the steps below to edit or create a new registry key for taskbar badges.

Important: Before you proceed, we strongly recommend that you take a backup of your PC’s registry. Should you edit or delete a wrong registry key by accident, you can easily restore the backup without breaking other functionalities on your computer.

Step 1: Use the Windows key + R keyboard shortcut to launch the Windows Run box and type regedit in the provided dialog box. Click OK to proceed.

That will immediately launch the Windows Registry Editor in a new window. Make sure you grant the Registry Editor administrative permission or ‘User Account Control’ access when prompted.

Step 2: Paste the path below into the Registry Editor’s address bar and hit Enter on your keyboard.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced

Lookout for any file named TaskbarBadges. If you don’t find any file by such name, proceed to the next step to create one. Otherwise, jump to step #5.

Step 3: Right-click on any empty space in the windows and select New > DWORD (32-bit).

Step 4: Name the new DWORD file TaskbarBadges and hit Enter.

Step 5: Next, double-click on TaskbarBadges and change the Value data from 0 to 1. Click OK to save the change.

You’ve successfully (re)enabled taskbar badges; apps on the taskbar should now carry notification counts. If nothing changes, restart your computer.

5. Update and Reinstall the Affected App(s)

If the issue is peculiar to a specific app, in-app bugs may be at play. Check if there’s an available update for the app either on the Microsoft Store or via the app’s settings menu.

If the problem persists after updating the app, consider removing and reinstalling the app from your computer. Note that this may cause you to lose important app data, so you should treat this as a last resort.

Go to Settings > Apps > Apps & features > Select the app and click the Uninstall button. Restart your PC, reinstall the app, and check if notification badges are restored.

While at it, you should also make sure you have the latest Windows 10 build installed on your computer. Go to Settings > Update & Security and download any available updates in the Windows Update section.

Get Notified, Immediately

One other thing you should try is restarting the Windows File Explorer. Doing that will reboot the taskbar and could potentially fix this problem.

Next up: Ever heard of locking your taskbar? Did you check the lock the taskbar option? Read the guide linked below to discover what it does and what happens after enabling lock the taskbar on Windows 10.