Top 4 Ways to Fix Win­dows 10 Taskbar Col­or Not Chang­ing Issue

Mehvish

06 May 2020

Who doesn’t love to customize their Windows desktop? Fortunately, Windows 10 has a dedicated setting to personalize your PC. From changing the overall theme to modifying selective colors, Windows 10 offers all. It even lets you change the taskbar color. But, some users are unable to change the taskbar color. For them, the taskbar color setting appears greyed out.

The taskbar is one important component of our PC that we view regularly. It’s visible almost every time whenever we do something on our PC. It makes sense to customize it in a way that we would love to see. But what if your PC is stopping from customizing it?

Well, we are here to help with that. Let’s check four ways to fix the Windows 10 taskbar color not changing issue.

1. Change Color Settings

Microsoft offers three ways to customize colors on your Windows 10 PC. You can either set it to use the predefined light or dark theme where the theme for Windows items (Start Menu, Taskbar, etc.) and apps are changed. Alternatively, the third option lets you fully customize the colors according to your wish. You can set the Windows mode to use the dark mode, and the apps can be in the light theme or vice versa.

Strangely, if you select Light in the Color option, you cannot change the taskbar color — it will appear grayed out. So, you need to either use the Dark option or go with Custom. Even in the Custom mode, you have to select default Windows mode as Dark and not Light.

Don’t fret! Here are the steps in detail.

Step 1: Open Settings on your Windows 10 PC using the Start Menu icon. You can use the keyboard shortcut Windows key + I to open Settings as well.

Step 2: Go to Personalization.

Step 3: Click on Colors from the left sidebar.

Step 4: Now, under Choose your color, select Dark or Custom.

If you select Dark, go to the next step. If you go with Custom, you will get two options. In the ‘Choose your default Windows mode,’ select Dark. You can keep the App mode to either Dark or Light.

Step 5: Scroll down in the same setting, and the ‘Start, taskbar, and action center’ option will now be available. Check the box next to it. Then, select the color from the color palette above.

Step 6: Restart your PC.

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2. Change Theme

If you are using a third-party theme, the chances are that it might be interfering with the color settings responsible for the taskbar. So, you need to change the default theme.

For that, follow these steps:

Step 1: Press Windows key + I shortcut to open Settings on your Windows 10 computer.

Step 2: Go to Personalization followed by Themes.

Step 3: Scroll down and click on the Windows theme to apply it.

Step 4: Restart your PC. If the issue persists, go to Colors under Settings > Personalization. Check the box next to ‘Start, taskbar, and action center’ option. Then, select the color that you want to use. You can even repeat the above method to change the taskbar color.

3. Disable Automatic Selection of Accent Color

If Windows is automatically applying color to your taskbar, you need to disable an option in the Colors setting.

For that, go to Settings > Personalization > Colors, as shown above. Then, under Choose your accent color, uncheck the box next to ‘Automatically pick an accent color from my background.’

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# troubleshooting

4. Disable Color Filter

You can also try disabling the Color filter setting on your PC. For that, follow these steps:

Step 1: Open Settings on your computer. Go to Ease of Access.

Step 2: Select Color filters from the left sidebar. Then, turn off the toggle next to Turn on color filters.

Bonus Tips to Customize Taskbar

Here are some tips to help you in taking control of your taskbar on a Windows 10 device.

Disable Transparency Effects

Once you have set the accent color for the taskbar, you might notice that it’s slightly dull. To get vibrant colors, you should disable Transparency effects settings.

For that, go to Settings > Personalization > Colors. Turn off the toggle next to Transparency effects.

Use Third-party App

If you want to customize your taskbar further, you should take the help of the third-party app called TranslucentTB. The app lets you customize the taskbar color for the regular mode, in maximized window state, when Start Menu is open, etc.

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Customize Everything

We hope the taskbar color not changing issue was resolved on your Windows 10 PC with the above methods. Do note that changing the taskbar color will change the color for Start Menu and Action Center too. It would be great if Microsoft lets us customize all the three separately in the future versions of Windows.

Next up: Wondering what does locking the taskbar mean? Find out the answer in our next post from the link given below.

Last updated on 6 May, 2020
The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.

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Can’t change Taskbar Color in Windows 10

Given how important computers have become for us, we may ever so often feel the need to customize them to our liking, be it with our favorite programs, or cluttering the screen with the colors of our choice. Luckily for Windows users, Microsoft provides a plethora of options to do so. Today, I will be guiding you through the process of changing the color of your Windows 10 PC’s taskbar and some possible reasons as to why you may be unable to do so.

How to change the Taskbar color on Windows 10

The process to do so is very straightforward and doesn’t require the user to install any third-party apps. All you have to do is follow the steps below:

• Click on the Start option from the taskbar and head over to Settings.
• From the group of options, click on Personalization.
• On the left side of the screen, you’ll be presented with a list of settings to choose from; click on Colors.
• In the dropdown ‘Choose your Color,’ you’ll find three settings; Light, Dark, or Custom.
• The light option is the default, but in order to change your taskbar’s color, you have to choose either Dark or Custom.
• With the Light option selected, you’ll find the option to change the taskbar’s color greyed out upon scrolling down.

You can click on Dark, but the preferred setting is Custom since it paves the way for further customization.

• After selecting Custom, you will get two further color options, one for Windows and the other for apps.
• Choosing dark in the Windows mode is mandatory, while either light or dark would work for the apps.
• Scroll down and pick a color of your choice from the color palette.
• You can also add a custom color if any of the given colors don’t fit your bill.
• You can choose to show the accent color on the taskbar by checking the box that says ‘Start, Taskbar and action center.’

You can customize your background and have your taskbar pick up a color from it. You can also disable the Transparency effects to further enhance the color you’ve chosen for your taskbar.

Can’t change the taskbar color on Windows 10

In case you’re unable to change the color of your taskbar even after following the aforementioned steps, you may have to perform the tasks mentioned below too.

Switch the color filters off

Microsoft’s color filters are meant to making photo and video viewing experiences better and more convenient for its users. This, may, however, conflict with the user’s color scheme of choice. In this case, you would have to turn the color filters off. Here’s how you can do so:

• Go to settings and click on Ease to Access
• From the list of options under ‘Vision,’ click on Color filters.
• In case your taskbar colors aren’t showing even after setting them up to do so, it may be because your device’s color filters are on, and if it is the case, turn them off.

Below is a picture to depict the impact Color Filters have on the color of your taskbar. As you can see, a considerably bright blue color can turn into a very dense grey.

Change the Windows theme

Sometimes, one may use a third-party theme and that may interfere with the user’s color settings. In such a scenario, the user would have to resort to Microsoft’s default theme, the process for which is pretty simple too.

• Click on settings and open Personalization.
• Scroll down and apply the Windows theme.
• Restart your PC if the theme isn’t instated immediately.

If the issue persists, it may be because you have enabled the accent color to be set automatically or your device has a bug, in which case you would have to get it checked.