> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://bytevyte.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Windows 11 September 2026 Update Puts the Taskbar Back Where You Want It - URL: https://bytevyte.com/windows-11-september-2026-update-puts-the-taskbar-back-where-you-want-it/ - Published: 2026-09-10T18:03:49.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-10T18:03:49.000Z - Description: The Windows 11 September 2026 update restores the movable taskbar, adds Start menu sizing and a toggle that strips Bing and Store results from Search. - Author: Bytevyte Editorial - Tags: quick-beats Microsoft has restored the movable taskbar in **Windows 11**, bringing back a capability that disappeared when the operating system launched in October 2021\. The **Windows 11 September 2026 update**, shipped as KB5124008 for versions 24H2 and 25H2, lets the taskbar sit at the top, left, right or bottom edge of the display, and adds a second setting that shrinks it on smaller screens. The cumulative update arrived on September 8, 2026, alongside KB5122880 for version 23H2 and KB5124012 for 26H1\. On 25H2 the build rises to 26200.9445, and on 24H2 it becomes 26100.9445\. Microsoft published the same personalization work on August 27 as the optional preview KB5120998, which reached builds 26200.9278 and 26100.9278\. The cadence follows Microsoft's usual pattern: an optional preview in late August, then the identical payload wrapped inside the mandatory security update roughly two weeks later. Devices that took the preview keep the features when the security release lands, because both packages carry the same code. ## What the Windows 11 September 2026 Update Changes Taskbar placement sits under *Settings > Personalization > Taskbar > Taskbar behaviors > Taskbar position*, where Left, Top, Right and Bottom are selectable. Tooltips, flyouts and animations still originate from the taskbar wherever it sits, and most customization options, including the setting that keeps taskbar icons uncombined, apply in every position. Size is a separate control. The compact option trims icon size and bar height to free vertical space on small displays. Two elements do not follow the bar to the sides: the search box and the compact layout work only when the taskbar is docked at the top or bottom. Anyone running a vertical taskbar on an ultra-wide monitor gives up the search box to get that layout. | Package | Applies to | Build after install | Role | | --------- | ---------- | ----------------------- | ---------------------------------- | | KB5120998 | 24H2, 25H2 | 26200.9278 / 26100.9278 | Optional preview, Aug 27, 2026 | | KB5124008 | 24H2, 25H2 | 26200.9445 / 26100.9445 | Broad security update, Sep 8, 2026 | The five headline items Microsoft bundled into the release are straightforward to list. - Taskbar positioning at all four screen edges - A compact taskbar size option - A Start menu size selector - Customization of the Start menu account area - Toggles that strip Web and Microsoft Store results from Windows Search Windows 10 let users drag the taskbar to a new edge with the mouse. Windows 11 requires a trip through Settings instead, and the option may not appear on every machine the moment the update installs, because Microsoft stages feature rollouts rather than switching them on for all devices simultaneously. That limitation lands hardest on people who work across ultra-wide or multi-monitor setups, where a horizontal bar consumes vertical pixels that documents, timelines and code editors could use. A taskbar docked to the left or right edge returns that height to the application window, which is why the setting ranked among the most requested changes in Windows 11 feedback channels. Buyers of compact laptops and tablets gain something similar from the smaller bar, though they must keep it horizontal to retain the search box. ## Start Menu, Search and Security The **Start menu** gains a size selector offering Small, Large and the existing Automatic setting, which picks a layout from the screen resolution. Users can also hide their name and profile picture from the account area, which trims the menu's footprint on large monitors. **Windows Search** carries the most consequential change for privacy-minded users. A new privacy toggle switches off Web and Microsoft Store suggestions, leaving results limited to local files, pictures and installed apps. The search home page is simplified, and Microsoft labels more clearly where each result originates. The search change reaches further than a single switch. Before this release, the Windows Search home page mixed local results with content from Bing, Copilot and MSN, and users had no supported way to separate them. The new setting makes a local-only experience a deliberate choice, and the clearer labeling shows where a result comes from before it is opened. Administrative changes ride along. Administrator Protection enables just-in-time privilege elevation, narrowing the window in which an application holds administrator rights. Microsoft has also deprecated the Windows Management Instrumentation Command-line utility and now removes WMIC by default on new installations, which means scripts and management tools that call wmic.exe need to move to PowerShell CIM cmdlets. For IT teams, those two items matter more than the personalization work. Dropping WMIC breaks a long-standing shortcut for querying hardware, installed software and event data from batch files, so monitoring scripts built on it will fail on freshly imaged machines. Administrator Protection alters how elevation prompts behave, and help-desk procedures that assume a standing administrator token need review before wide deployment. Security is the primary purpose of the release, and the September payload addresses 995 flaws alongside the feature work. File Explorer home page loading and virtual desktop switching receive performance work as well. Microsoft also confirmed fixes for a mouse settings reset bug, a regression that followed the August 27 preview and cleared pointer preferences after reboots. One deadline sits under all of this. Windows 11 24H2 Home and Pro reach end of servicing on October 13, 2026, after which those editions stop receiving monthly security fixes unless users move to version 25H2. Installation follows the usual path through *Settings > Windows Update*, or an offline .msu package for machines that need one. After a restart, the taskbar controls appear on the Taskbar behaviors page. Administrators weighing deployment timing face a familiar trade-off: the August preview offered the features early with less testing, while the September build carries both the features and the security fixes, which makes it the safer default for managed fleets. ## Why this matters The taskbar change closes a five-year gap between what Windows 11 shipped with and what its users expected, and it arrives through a security update that most machines install automatically, so the setting will spread without anyone opting in. For people on 24H2 Home or Pro, the same update cycle carries a hard deadline: move to 25H2 before October 13, 2026, or stop receiving the monthly patches that deliver fixes like these. ## Sources [August 27, 2026—KB5120998 (OS Builds 26200.9278 and 26100.9278) Preview](https://support.microsoft.com/zh-cn/servicing/os/windows-11/2026/08/kb5120998-windows-11-24h2-25h2-update?ref=bytevyte.com) ## Related Articles - [Windows 11 Taskbar to Monitor Autonomous AI Agents](https://www.bytevyte.com/windows-11-taskbar-to-monitor-autonomous-ai-agents/?ref=bytevyte.com) - [Microsoft Pivots on Windows 11 AI Rebranding](https://www.bytevyte.com/microsoft-pivots-on-windows-11-ai-rebranding/?ref=bytevyte.com) - [Windows 11 August update adds AI uninstall, Hello security](https://bytevyte.com/windows-11-august-update-adds-ai-uninstall-hello-security-2/) ✔Human Verified --- *Researched and cross-referenced against primary sources by the Bytevyte editorial team. This article was generated with the assistance of artificial intelligence and reviewed by the Bytevyte editorial team.*