If the volume or sound icon is missing or you can’t find it on the taskbar anymore, refer to the troubleshooting solutions we’ve listed below. These solutions are not just specific to the volume icon. You can also use them to restore other system icons missing from your PC’s taskbar.
1. Check the Taskbar Configuration
1. Check the Taskbar Configuration
First things first—you need to make sure your computer’s taskbar is configured to accommodate the volume icon. Follow the steps below to (re)add the volume icon to the taskbar.
2. Restart Windows Explorer
2. Restart Windows Explorer
Windows Explorer powers the taskbar, Start Menu, File Explorer, and Action Center on your Windows 10 computer. If the volume icon is missing, restarting Windows Explorer might help. Launch the Windows Task Manager using the Ctrl + Shift + Esc keyboard shortcut. Locate Windows Explorer (or explorer.exe) in the Processes tab and click on it. Finally, tap the Restart button at the bottom-left corner of the Task Manager window. That would refresh both the taskbar and notification center and hopefully restore the missing sound icon. You can also restart Windows Explorer using the Windows Command Prompt.
3. Update Audio/Sound Driver
3. Update Audio/Sound Driver
Outdated drivers can mess with your computer’s audio configurations and cause other related hardware problems. We recommend updating your computer’s driver to the latest version.
4. Check Windows Group Policy Editor Settings
4. Check Windows Group Policy Editor Settings
The Group Policy Editor is an advanced environment where you can configure and customize your Windows desktop experience. By default, every Windows PC has a policy setting in the Group Policy Editor that lets users remove the volume icon from the system control area. Your computer will not display the volume or sound icon if this policy setting is active. Follow the steps below to check the status of the volume icon setting and disable it. 1. Launch the Windows Run box using the Windows key + R keyboard shortcut. 2. Type gpedit.msc into the dialog box and select OK. 3. In the User Configuration section, expand the Administrative Templates category and select Start Menu and Taskbar. [17-group-policy-editor-windows-10] 4. Scroll through the policy settings on the page and locate Remove the volume control icon. Double-click on it to check its status. 5. If the policy setting is enabled, set it to either Not Configured or Disabled. Select OK to save the change and confirm if that restores the missing volume icon. If nothing changes, restart your computer and check again.
5. Update Windows
5. Update Windows
A bug in your computer’s operating system could also cause this problem. If none of the troubleshooting solutions above resolved the problem, installing the latest Windows 10 update might help. Aside from bug fixes, Windows updates also ship with driver updates. Connect your PC to the internet and go to Settings > Update & Security to check if any Windows update is available for your computer.
Restore the Missing Volume Icon
Restore the Missing Volume Icon
The volume icon is a convenient shortcut to many audio-related settings. If the volume icon is missing on your Windows 10 computer, at least one of these tips should restore the icon to the taskbar. As mentioned earlier, you can also apply these tricks to restoring other missing system icons to the taskbar. If the volume icon is still missing, there could be a problem with your computer’s taskbar. In that case, you can fix the problem by re-registering the taskbar using the Windows Powershell. We’ve explained how you can do that in this guide on fixing Windows 10 taskbar.
