Top 5 Fixes for Taskbar Notifications Not Working in Windows 10

When an app is opened on your Windows PC or pinned to the taskbar, the app’s icon should bear a badge showing the number of real-time notifications. This badge notifies you of new in-app updates, messages and notifications without opening the app. If you stopped receiving these taskbar notifications or it wasn’t working in the first place, we’ll show you how to restore the feature.

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

1. Enable Notification Badges

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

Stage 1: Launch the Windows Settings application and select Personalization.

Step 2: Tap Taskbar in the left sidebar and make sure ‘Show badges on taskbar buttons’ is turned on.

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

2. Check Windows Notification Settings

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

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

Also, scroll down the page and make sure notifications are enabled for apps that won’t display notification badges on the taskbar.

3. Re-Pin the App to the Taskbar

If the problem persists, try removing the affected apps from the taskbar and add them again.

Stage 1: Right-click the application in the taskbar and select ‘Unpin from taskbar’.

Step 2: Press the Windows key and search for the app you just uninstalled from the taskbar. Select ‘Pin to taskbar’ in the right sidebar.

If your apps still don’t show notification badges on the taskbar, skip to the next solution.

4. Create or Modify the Taskbar Badges Registry Key

This is a fairly advanced troubleshooting step, but very easy to execute. It involves scanning through your computer’s Registry Editor to check if the registry key/file that drives the taskbar notifications (or taskbar badges) is present and active.

Without this registry file, notification badges may not appear in applications on the taskbar even if they are 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 continuing, we strongly recommend that you make a backup of your computer’s registry. If you accidentally edit or delete an incorrect registry key, you can easily restore the backup without disturbing other functions on your computer.

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

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

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

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

Look for any file named TaskbarBadges. If you cannot find any files with this name, proceed to the next step to create one. Otherwise, skip to step 5.

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

Step 4: Name the new DWORD file Taskbar Badges and press Enter.

Step 5: Then double click TaskbarBadges and change its Value data from 0 to 1. Click OK to save the change.

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

5. Update and Reinstall Affected Apps

If the problem is specific to a particular application, there may be in-app errors. Check if there is an update available for the app in the Microsoft Store or in the app’s settings menu.

If the problem persists after updating the application, consider uninstalling and reinstalling the application from your computer. Keep in mind that this may cause you to lose important app data, so you should consider this as a last resort.

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

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

Be Informed Now

Another thing you should try is restarting Windows File Explorer. Doing so will restart the taskbar and could potentially fix this issue.

Next: Ever heard of locking your taskbar? Have you checked the Lock taskbar option? Read the linked guide below to discover what it does and what happens after you enable taskbar locking in Windows 10.