# Remove Microsoft Edge from Taskbar? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 15, 2020, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remove-microsoft-edge-from-taskbar/855733 "2020-06-15T23:33:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2020, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remove-microsoft-edge-from-taskbar/855733/1 "2020-06-15T23:33:52Z")
I Googled, of course, and the only advice given was right-click and select “unpin.” Nuh uh. I right click and get nothin’. No options, nothing to select. The icon is just sitting there. Pfeh. Microsoft really can be jerks sometimes… ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2020, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remove-microsoft-edge-from-taskbar/855733/2 "2020-06-15T23:38:27Z")
Do all icons and/or the task bar itself show no right-click options? If so, you likely have a problem in Windows. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2020, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remove-microsoft-edge-from-taskbar/855733/3 "2020-06-16T01:15:33Z")
No, just that one icon. Icons appear in the task-bar when I have apps open. If I’m using Word or Excel, the Word or Excel icon is visible in the task bar. But when I close the app, the icon vanishes. (And I can use the icon to close the app, too.) But the MS Edge icon is inert to right-clicking. If I left-click it, it launches Edge, but right-clicking does nothing at all. (Right-clicking in an empty portion of the taskbar brings up options, including “taskbar settings,” but I have looked through the settings options and don’t see any clear answers there. There are lots of options I don’t understand, like “Lock Taskbar.” I’m afraid to make any changes.) (Heck of a note when a man is afraid of his own computer… “Open pod bay door, Hal…”) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2020, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remove-microsoft-edge-from-taskbar/855733/4 "2020-06-16T01:24:12Z")
Weird. I’m running Win10, and unpinning Edge from the taskbar was one of the first things I did when I was setting up the computer. I didn’t run into the “can’t unpin this” issue. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2020, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remove-microsoft-edge-from-taskbar/855733/5 "2020-06-16T01:36:00Z")
Not that this is going to help you but I just updated Windows yesterday and Edge appeared on the taskbar. I was able to do the right click/unpin thing. Maybe it’s running in the background. I hate to ask you this but did you reboot? ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2020, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remove-microsoft-edge-from-taskbar/855733/6 "2020-06-16T12:41:15Z")
Advice from the Scottish Computer Repair Shoppe - “When in doot, reboot” ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2020, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remove-microsoft-edge-from-taskbar/855733/7 "2020-06-16T13:54:52Z")
Does TweakUI exist for this version of Windows? That used to have lots of back door ways of making things vanish (like removing My Computer from the desktop) that Windows wouldn’t normally let you do. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2020, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remove-microsoft-edge-from-taskbar/855733/8 "2020-06-16T14:19:12Z")
Right clicking gives many choices for me in Win 10, the last one being “unpin from taskbar”. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2020, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remove-microsoft-edge-from-taskbar/855733/9 "2020-06-16T14:20:46Z")
Unpin worked just fine for me. ---
**Author:** ![Petek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/petek/32/1590_2.png) [@Petek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Petek)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2020, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remove-microsoft-edge-from-taskbar/855733/10 "2020-06-16T16:04:27Z")
Is this a work (as opposed to home) PC? If so, perhaps the sysadmins have set a policy that forces Edge to appear on the taskbar. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2020, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remove-microsoft-edge-from-taskbar/855733/11 "2020-06-16T16:06:10Z")
I just updated Widows 10 the other day and Edge reappeared on the task bar, with a new icon. I just now unpinned it. I’m always a little surprised when I run CCleaner and it has to delete files from Edge, which I never use. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Terrific](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tom_terrific/32/342_2.png) [@Tom\_Terrific](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Terrific)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2020, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remove-microsoft-edge-from-taskbar/855733/12 "2020-06-16T16:31:47Z")
After the last Windows 10 update nothing on the taskbar would work at all. I ended up rebooting twice before full functionality returned. Then I was able to remove Edge using unpin. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2020, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remove-microsoft-edge-from-taskbar/855733/13 "2020-06-16T16:48:13Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > Microsoft really can be jerks sometimes… It’s not like Apple doesn’t also have a record of [forcing The Edge](https://www.eonline.com/news/1071481/remember-when-apple-forced-a-u2-album-on-us-all) on everyone. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2020, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remove-microsoft-edge-from-taskbar/855733/14 "2020-06-16T16:49:46Z")
I first used Task Manager to see if it was running somehow in background…nothin’… Rebooting! When in doot! Hoot! It worked. MoFo is gone! Thank you, yay! When we all get to heaven, a round of drinks on me! (If we end up in the other place, well, thank you all very kindly!) ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2020, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remove-microsoft-edge-from-taskbar/855733/15 "2020-06-17T04:17:02Z")
Fun fact - if you did not know - search for default programs, and associate .PDF files with Adobe Reader not Edge. Windows has put their own PDF reader into Edge and made it the default - but a lot of things don’t work in it. Everyone should download Adobe Reader (and maybe VLC media player)