A few weeks ago, Microsoft brought back the redesigned system tray in Windows 11 preview builds from the Dev Channel. At the time, we called this redesign effort “half improvements, half nerfs” because the improvements were mixed with removed features, like the ability to drag icons in and out of the taskbar.
Microsoft promised to continue improving system areas to address customer feedback, and it now appears that the company has delivered on that promise in a short period of time.
Windows 11 build 25211 brings a much-improved system tray with better visuals and previously missing features.
Icons now have a circular focus area that matches other buttons on the taskbar, overflow menus have a “pleasant” animation, and tooltips follow the system theme.
While visual change and consistency are great additions to Windows 11 that are much needed, many users seem to care more about arranging icons by dragging them, and now that feature is back, too, and it has a divider that helps place icons in in the correct position.
Old System Tray for Windows 11
Redesigned system tray in Windows 11 development builds
Microsoft says the updated system tray is preliminary, meaning users should expect more changes and improvements in the future. Also, it doesn’t work for everyone. Luckily, if you’re running the latest Windows 11 developer build, you can use the ViveTool app to force-enable the redesigned system tray.
Important: Before experimenting with early implementations of new features, especially before using third-party apps like ViveTool, back up your data. Your safest bet is to wait for Microsoft to “naturally” enable the new features on your system, or to not use the preview version at all.