With Windows 11, Microsoft decided to lock the taskbar to the bottom of your screen. Five years later, it’s finally being set free. The Windows 11 2026 Update, version 26H2, reached general availability on September 29. Microsoft is rolling it out gradually to eligible PCs running Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2, starting with users who enable Get the latest updates as soon as they’re available in Windows Update.
This isn’t an enormous update either. Just like 24H2, 25H2, and 26H2, it is the same servicing branch, which would allow the new release to arrive as a small enablement package with a single restart in most cases.
The taskbar is finally free
The headline upgrade that caught my eye was the returning customizability option. Windows 11 26H2 lets you place the taskbar at the top, bottom, left, or right side of your display. Microsoft is also adding a smaller taskbar option that shrinks both its icons and overall height.
To recall, Windows 11 removed that flexibility when it launched in 2021, despite previous Windows versions allowing users to position the taskbar wherever they wanted. The company did start testing its return earlier this year, and now it’s finally available for everyone. The Start menu gets some overdue attention too. There’s a new scrollable All section, category and grid layouts, and a responsive design that adapts to screen size.
You also get individual controls for hiding or showing Pinned, Recent, and All sections. Windows Search can preview results, better understand typos and partial app names, and automatically index folders you use frequently.
What else was fixed?
Aside from the taskbar change, Windows 11 26H2 is making some other basic changes. Point-in-time restore can roll apps, settings, and personal files back to a recent automatic restore point, while Quick Machine Recovery gains another way to scan for fixes when Windows can’t start properly.
Smart App Control can finally be enabled or disabled without reinstalling Windows, File Explorer launches faster and remembers View and Sort preferences more reliably, and Windows Update can bundle more eligible updates together to reduce the number of restarts. Other smaller additions include Multi-App Camera support, built-in Sysmon, expanded passkey support, NPU monitoring in Task Manager, improved Bluetooth reliability, and support for post-quantum cryptography APIs.
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