How to Fix Action Center Not Opening in Windows 11?

Clicking the taskbar icons or pressing Win+A sometimes does nothing, making it impossible to open the Action Center in Windows 11 for quick settings or notifications. This problem usually happens when the Action Center stops responding because of system errors or incorrect settings.

The most common reason is that the Action Center has been turned off in Group Policy or in the registry. Other possible reasons include a damaged user profile, problems with the Explorer process, or corrupted system files.

Now that we’ve gone over the possible causes, let’s walk through the different methods you can use to fix the issue.

1. Restart Windows Explorer

The first thing you should try is restarting the Windows Explorer process. Windows Explorer handles your desktop, file management, and the taskbar, so if it isn’t working properly, you may encounter issues like the action center not opening.

1. Right-click the Windows icon on your taskbar, then select Task Manager from the menu.

   

2. In Task Manager, find the Windows Explorer process under the Processes tab.

   

3. Right-click on Windows Explorer and select Restart from the drop-down menu.

   

4. Wait for Windows Explorer to restart. After it reloads, check if the action center is now working.

2. Enable Action Center via Local Group Policy Editor

In some cases, the action center won’t open because it’s been disabled through system policies. You can re-enable it through the Local Group Policy Editor.

1. Open the Run dialog by pressing Windows key + R on your keyboard.
2. Type gpedit.msc and hit Enter.

   

3. In the Local Group Policy Editor, navigate to:

   User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Start Menu and Taskbar

4. On the right side, find the policy named Remove Notifications and Action Center.

   

5. Double-click this policy to open it.
6. Select Disabled and then click Apply.

   

7. Restart your computer for the changes to take effect.
8. After restarting, check if the problem is solved.

3. Enable Action Center via Windows Registry

You can also enable the action center through the Windows Registry. The registry controls many of the behaviors of your computer, so it’s a good idea to backup your registry before making any changes.

1. Open the Run dialog by pressing Windows key + R.
2. Type regedit and press Enter.

   

3. In Windows Registry, copy and paste this path into the address bar, then press Enter:

   Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows

   

4. Now, look under the Windows key to see if you have an Explorer key.

   

5. If there isn’t one, right-click on Windows and choose New > Key.

   

6. Name the new key Explorer.

   

7. Right-click the Explorer key, then select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value.

   

8. Name the value DisableNotificationCenter.

   

9. Double-click DisableNotificationCenter and set the value to 0. Click OK.

   

10. Restart your computer for the changes to take effect. After your system boots up again, check if the action center is working now.

4. Repair Windows Apps

As mentioned earlier, corrupted Windows apps can cause the action center to stop working. You can repair Windows apps using PowerShell.

1. Open PowerShell with administrator rights. Search for Powershell in the Start Menu, right-click on it, and select Run as administrator. Alternatively, you might see the option on the right panel.

   

2. In the PowerShell window, copy and paste the following commands one at a time to repair the apps:

   Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.Windows.ShellExperienceHost | foreach {Add-AppxPackage -register "$($_.InstallLocation)\appxmanifest.xml" -DisableDevelopmentMode}
   
   Get-AppXPackage | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}

3. After both commands have run, restart your computer.
4. Once your computer boots up, check if the action center has started working.

5. Create a New User Account

If none of the previous solutions worked, your user account itself might be corrupted. In this case, creating a new user account can resolve the issue.

1. Open the Windows Settings by pressing Windows key + I on your keyboard.
2. On the Settings page, select Accounts from the menu on the left.

   

3. Next, click Family & other users under the Accounts section.

   

4. Under Other users, click the Add account button.

   

5. A window titled “Microsoft account” will appear. Click I don’t have this person’s sign-in information.

   

6. On the next page, select Add a user without a Microsoft account.
7. On the “Create a user for this PC” screen, enter the username and password for the new account, then click Next.

   

8. Wait for the account to be created, and then click Next to finish.