When Microsoft rolled out Windows 11 in 2021, the visual refresh earned praise—but the new taskbar and Start menu stripped away familiar controls from Windows 10. Users missed the ability to move the bar to screen edges, custom icon alignment, and other tweaks that had become routine. Feedback over the past five years has kept the issue alive for power users.

An Insider Preview build released this week restores the missing dockability, letting the taskbar snap to any screen side—including left and right—just like Windows 10. The update also remembers separate settings for each position, so users can define distinct icon layouts, label visibility, and grouping rules per edge. Some legacy features remain absent, such as auto‑hide in alternate spots and the tablet‑optimized bar.

Microsoft acknowledges that touch gestures, the Search box, and a larger‑icon tablet mode are still on the roadmap, and it is weighing per‑monitor positioning for multi‑display rigs. Restoring edge docking addresses a long‑standing complaint and nudges Windows 11 closer to the flexibility users expect from a modern OS. The fix lands in the Insider channel this month for early adopters.