Fix Volume icon missing from Taskbar in Windows 10

You might have come across a situation where the Volume control button is missing from the taskbar. This might create problems when you are trying to watch your favorite video in YouTube or an audio of your choice. The trouble occurs when the icon is greyed out and you can’t open it. You can make some changes in the Settings and fix this problem. If this doesn’t work, you can use Task Manager or group Policy Editor to solve it. This post tells you how you can use all the three methods in simple steps.

First up, let us see how we can bring back the volume button by toggling some options in Settings. Follow the steps below

Method 1 – Using Settings

  • Click on the Windows icon and open Settings.

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  • Open System.

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  • Click on Notifications & actions.

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  • On the right side of the window, click on Turn system icons on or off.
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Toggle the button next to Volume to turn it on.

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Alternative Method to Open Settings

You can also open settings using an alternative method. For this:

  • Right click anywhere on the taskbar. Click on Properties.

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  • In the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties window that opens up, click on Customise corresponding to Notification area. This will open Settings.

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  • Further click on Turn system icons on or off.
  • Toggle the button next to Volume.

 

If this doesn’t work try Restarting Explorer. Here’s how:

Method 2 – By Restarting Explorer

  • Right-click anywhere on the taskbar. Open Task Manager.

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  • Click on explorer.exe and click on End Task below.

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  • Then click on File followed by Run new task.

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  • In the Create new task window that opens up, type explorer.exe and click OK.

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If Explorer crashes frequently and you’ve to restart it then you can create a shortcut and keep. This can be handy. For this:

  • Open a notepad file and type the following command in it:

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  • Click on File followed by Save As.

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  • Choose Save as type as All Files and then save the file with the extension .bat.

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This will create an icon at the desktop. Click on it every time you want to restart explorer.


Method 3 – Using Group Policy Editor

  • Click Win+R to launch Run. Type gpedit.msc in the given field. Click OK.

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  • Expand Administrative Templates. Then Click on Start Menu and Taskbar.
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  • On the right side, spot Remove the volume control icon. Double click on it.

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  • Check that the setting is Not Configured or Disabled. Click OK.

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Any of these adjustments must ideally bring back the volume control icon back to normal functioning.