Microsoft has released Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.9022 to the Beta Channel, and it restores one of the most demanded features users have been missing since Windows 11 first shipped: the ability to move the taskbar to the top, left, or right edge of the screen. The build also introduces a new "Smaller Taskbar" option that shrinks the taskbar height and icons for a more compact view.
These changes appeared in a flurry of five Insider builds published on July 31, 2026, as first reported by Thurrott. While the feature is still in preview, it marks the first official, supported path to reposition the taskbar since Windows 11 launched without that capability in 2021.
Where to find the new settings—and what they actually do
The movable taskbar controls live under Settings > Personalization > Taskbar > Taskbar behaviors. Once you install Build 26220.9022 (or the parallel 26H1 Beta Build 28020.2623, which includes the same taskbar choices), you can select a taskbar location from a dropdown: Bottom (default), Top, Left, or Right. The change takes effect immediately.
Alongside the location picker, a new toggle labeled "Smaller Taskbar" appears. When enabled, it reduces the height of the taskbar and scales down the icons for Start, Search, pinned apps, and the system tray. The smaller mode works only when the taskbar is docked at the top or bottom edge; it isn't available for left or right positions in this preview.
The taskbar retains most of its familiar behaviors in the new positions. App icons, the Start button, the system tray, and the clock all appear as expected, and previously introduced customizations—like never combining taskbar buttons—continue to work. But the implementation is not yet complete, and several elements fall back to bottom-only behavior:
- Touch gestures and the touch-optimized taskbar do not adapt to non-bottom edges.
- The Search box and Ask Copilot button remain tied to the bottom position.
- Auto-hide is inconsistent when the taskbar is moved to the top or sides.
- Some notification badges and flyout animations may misalign on left or right taskbars.
The smaller taskbar, meanwhile, is straightforward. It reclaims roughly 8–12 pixels of vertical space on most displays, which can be a modest win on 13-inch laptops or older screens with limited resolution. Start, Search, and system tray elements stay proportional, so there’s no awkward scaling.
What this means for different types of Windows users
This Insider build is significant because it directly addresses a workflow gap that forced many users to stick with Windows 10 or rely on unsupported hacks. Here’s how the change lands depending on your use case:
Home users and enthusiasts
If you’ve been using a third-party tool like ExplorerPatcher or StartAllBack just to move the taskbar, you now have a native option—provided you’re willing to run pre-release software. The experience isn’t seamless yet, but it’s a clear signal that Microsoft intends to ship the feature. For anyone with an ultrawide monitor, a portrait-oriented second display, or a long-standing muscle memory for a top-mounted taskbar, this build is worth watching.
Power users and IT professionals
Don’t deploy this on production machines. The movable taskbar is still in active development, and the list of unsupported interactions (touch, Copilot, Search) makes it unsuitable for most business environments. However, it’s useful for early testing and for giving Microsoft telemetry about real-world usage. If your organization relies on touch-enabled Surface devices or kiosk-style setups, the limitations around auto-hide and touch will matter.
Developers and software vendors
Applications that interact with the taskbar—for example, those that create custom system tray icons, overlay notifications, or rely on taskbar coordinates—should be tested against a left- or right-docked arrangement. Early feedback suggests that most well-behaved apps scale correctly, but the preview is an opportunity to catch edge cases before the feature reaches the general public.
How we got here: a brief history of the stationary taskbar
Windows 11’s original 2021 release removed the classic ability to drag the taskbar to any screen edge. Microsoft said it had rebuilt the taskbar from scratch with modern foundations—centered Start menu, widgets, Chat integration—and that supporting multiple positions was not a priority at launch. The omission frustrated a vocal subset of users, particularly those who had docked the taskbar on the left or right for years.
In the absence of an official fix, third-party utilities filled the gap. Tools like ExplorerPatcher, Start11, and StartAllBack became popular workarounds, but they often broke with every cumulative update and introduced their own stability issues. Power users also resorted to registry tweaks that sometimes worked, sometimes didn’t, and were never endorsed.
Over the next few years, the Windows Insider team consistently heard requests to restore the capability. In 2024, early traces of movable taskbar code appeared in leaked builds, but those experiments never reached flighting rings. Now, with Build 26220.9022 hitting the Beta Channel for the upcoming 25H2 feature update, the feature is finally in a state that everyday Insiders can test—alongside a refreshed commitment to user-driven customization.
While the taskbar revival grabs headlines, the same July 31 wave of builds also delivered several reliability improvements. Build 26300.9032, an Experimental preview based on 26H2, fixes a long-standing taskbar thumbnail bug that would instantly dismiss previews when hovering over an app icon. It also improves Windows Search indexing, Settings search ranking, and File Explorer reliability, and repairs a File History backup issue where SMB network shares wrongly flagged valid credentials as incorrect. Both the 25H2 and 26H1 Beta builds carry a fix for DFS mapped drives, where reconnected network folders could be mistakenly tagged with a Mark of the Web, triggering unnecessary security prompts. All new builds also renew the Windows Insider flight certificate, which was set to expire on August 11, 2026; Insiders must install one of these builds to continue receiving future preview updates.
What to do now: trying the movable taskbar safely
If you want to test the new taskbar behaviors, the process is straightforward:
- Join the Windows Insider Program if you haven’t already. Go to Settings > Windows Update > Windows Insider Program and enroll your device in the Beta Channel. A restart is required.
- Check for updates and install Build 26220.9022 (25H2) or Build 28020.2623 (26H1). Both contain the taskbar settings.
- Once installed, navigate to Settings > Personalization > Taskbar > Taskbar behaviors and choose your preferred taskbar location. Enable "Smaller Taskbar" if you want the compact view.
- Test your workflows, but keep the caveats in mind:
- Do not expect touch-first scenarios to work well away from the bottom edge.
- If you rely on the Search box or Copilot in the taskbar, you may be forced to keep the taskbar at the bottom for full functionality.
- Auto-hide might behave erratically in non-default positions. - Provide feedback via the Feedback Hub if you encounter issues. Microsoft uses this telemetry to refine the feature.
Remember, Beta Channel builds are still pre-release software. There’s always a risk of bugs, so avoid installing on a device you depend on for daily work. If you decide to revert to a production build, you can quickly switch back by leaving the Insider program or using recovery options—though that often requires a clean install if you’ve moved past a certain point.
What to watch next
Microsoft has not announced a formal release date for the movable taskbar, but its presence in both 25H2 and 26H1 Beta builds suggests the company wants to gather broad feedback before locking the feature down. Expect the initial limitations—especially around touch, Search, and Copilot—to be addressed in future Insider builds. Once the experience stabilizes, it’s likely to land in a 25H2 Moment update or the 26H1 feature release, but not in the upcoming 24H2 general availability. For anyone who has spent years wishing they could slide the taskbar to the top or side of the screen, this Insider preview is the first tangible evidence that the wait is almost over.