It's been over three years since Microsoft first debutedWindows 11, and you might think that time would be enough time for Microsoft to fix all the annoying problems it introduced. And to be fair, the company has fixed some things. We have seconds on the taskbar clock again, an option to stop combining taskbar labels, and easy access to the Task Manager from the taskbar, all of which were things that weren't in the original release of Windows 11.
But for every problem Microsoft has fixed, there are many problems that have gone unchecked in Windows 11, and it's starting to get a bit old. Whether it's the taskbar, Start menu, or something else, there's quite a bit to complain about, so let's take a look at some of the pain points that Windows 11 still has to this day.
7 The taskbar is locked
You can't move or resize it
Something that Microsoft did away with in Windows 11 was the ability to resize or move the taskbar anywhere on the screen. Sure, you can align the icons on the taskbar to the left of the screen for a more familiar experience, but that's about it. Old versions of Windows let you have the taskbar at the top or the sides of the screen, and that's seemingly gone forever now.
Well, unless you rely on apps likeWindhawk orStart11, which give let you use a vertical taskbar or, in the case of Start11, align it to the top of the screen. I will admit I like my taskbar at the bottom of the screen, but customization options are never a bad thing, and I'm surprised Microsoft hasn't figured this out yet.
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6 The Recommended section in the Start menu
Why is it always there?
Another flaw in Windows 11 is the addition of the Recommended section in the Start menu, which just houses the things Microsoft thinks you'll want to use, like your frequent apps and recent files, but also ads for other apps. Now, Windows 11 does give you the option todisable all of these recommendations. The problem is, even if you do, the Recommended section is still there, wasting space on your Start menu.
That extra space could be used to show a lot more pinned apps, or hey, maybe even the full list of installed apps so it doesn't require going to a separate page. Instead, you're stuck with a pointless text blurb reminding you that Microsoft really wants you to enable that content. I'm very thankful apps like Windhawk exist to fix this.
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5 File Explorer and tabs
Why does everything still open a new window?
One of the big things Windows 11 introduced, particularly withversion 22H2, was tabs inFile Explorer, making file management so much easier if you need to browse multiple folders at the same time. However, as I wrote at length a couple of years ago, this implementation is still not great because it's not really how you might expect tabs to behave in something like a web browser.
Every time you try to open a folder using an UI external to File Explorer, such as Windows Search or your web browser, that folder will open in a new window, instead of a new tab. It just makes the whole idea of tabs a bit redundant when you constantly have to go out of your way to use them. There's still use in opening them manually, but it could be a lot better.
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4 Badgering users about features they don't want
Stop telling me to use OneDrive
Setting up Windows 11 for the first time is already a frustrating experience with all the ads Microsoft bombards you with. It's Game Pass, Microsoft 365, Phone Link, OneDrive backups (which you can't even opt out of, by the way), and more. It's bad enough that Microsoft forces you to back up your files to OneDrive out of the box, but it gets worse.
On top of all this, if you skip some of the steps in this advertisement flood, Microsoft will trigger what it calls a "second-chance out-of-box experience" to try and sell you on these things again. Even worse, if you disable OneDrive backups manually, this screen will also pop up to suggest you enable them again. And sometimes, installing cumulative updates can cause more of these messages to appear yet again, so you're never truly free.
This lack of respect for user choices is frankly unjustifiable, and it's about time it stops.
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3 Dark mode is still inconsistent
This is older than Windows 11
Microsoft implemented dark mode all the way back in late 2015 for Windows 10, and it was great to see. Dark mode was a very popular feature on Windows phones, and having it on desktops made a ton of sense since it made things easier on the eyes. The problem is that the implementation has always been very inconsistent. Multiple parts of the operating system just didn't respect dark mode, and while things have slowly improved, it's far from great.
Among the elements that don't respect dark mode we have the Control Panel, File Explorer dialogs (such as Properties, Options, and even file transfers), Device Manager, and more. And it shouldn't be that hard to do, because an app like StartAllBack can actually force dark mode on for the File Explorer dialogs, and it looks really slick. Microsoft needs to actually fix this itself and apply it to other UI elements as well.
2 So many old UI elements
Every menu is a nostalgia trip
The problem above kind of goes hand in hand with the fact that a lot of Windows dialogs and settings just haven't been updated to match the Windows 11. Things like Device Manager, Disk Management, or Control Panel have looked essentially the same for years, if not decades, and it's very easy to tell just by opening them.
Even things that have been updated can sometimes still have very clear roots in older designs. Task Manager has been updated with dark mode support and a new wrapper (so to speak), but the actual list of processes in each view is still pretty much the same design language it's always been. Even File Explorer suffers from the same thing, though there have been enough modern additions that it can be a bit harder to realize it. But most of Windows 11 hasn't been truly updated to create a consistent experience, which is a little disappointing.
1 It's still not great for gaming handhelds
And it's starting to be too late
In 2021, Valve announced the Steam Deck, and from that point forward, a wave of PC gaming handhelds hit the market. Windows was the only real option for most of these, but every time a new one came out, the same problem was mentioned: Windows just isn't good for this form factor. Fast forward three years or so, and things haven't improved as much as they should have.
Microsoft has made some improvements to the Xbox app, and it's currently testing a new keyboard mode designed to be used with gamepads, so some work has been done. But at its core, Windows just isn't ideal for this setup. The whole concept of a desktop UI just doesn't mesh well with this form factor and what it's designed for. It's always up to manufacturers to design game launchers that make things more convenient, but that means the experience is inconsistent, and many times you may still find yourself getting booted back to the desktop.
Now that Lenovo has announced the first third-party handheld with SteamOS and Valve wants to bring the software to other handhelds, it's starting to feel like it's too late for Microsoft to remedy this issue, but I'd say it's better late than never.
Microsoft's focus is in the wrong places
Ultimately, it's really unfortunate that Microsoft seems to have its priorities out of order. While the company keeps adding Copilot+ features with varying degrees of usefulness, or adding apps like Dev Home that get killed off a couple of years later, many glaring issues with the operating system that make it less useful for long-time fans have yet to be addressed.
Hopefully the company will find some time in there to refine the operating system to be closer to what users want, though it seems like the focus is all on AI these days.
