How Do You Resolve Quick Settings Not Working in Windows 11?

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Easy Solutions to Resolve the Quick Settings Issue

Let’s begin with some simple solutions that are often effective in solving the error.

1. Ensure that Windows is updated

Keeping your system up to date ensures that you have the latest patches and fixes that might resolve issues with Quick Settings.

• Press ‘Windows + I’ to open the “Settings” app.
• Navigate to the “Windows Update”.
• Click on “Check for updates”.

• Install any available updates.

2. Run the System File Checker (SFC)

The SFC tool scans and repairs corrupted system files that might be causing Quick Settings to malfunction

• Press the ‘Win + S’ keys, type “cmd”, and select “Run as administrator”.

• In the “Command Prompt” window, type the following command: 
  sfc /scannow
• Press ‘Enter’ to execute the command.

The SFC tool will now begin scanning and repairing system files. This process may take a few minutes. Once the scan is complete, restart your computer and check if Quick Settings is functional now. 

3. Use the DISM Tool

The DISM tool repairs the Windows image, which might fix issues affecting Quick Settings. Follow these steps:

• Open “Command Prompt” with admin access as described earlier.
• Execute the following commands one at a time, pressing ‘Enter’ after each:
  DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

• After running the commands in sequence, restart your computer.

4. Perform a Clean Boot

A clean boot helps identify whether third-party software is causing Quick Settings to malfunction

• Press the ‘Win + R’ keys to open “Run”. Type “msconfig” and press ‘Enter’.

• In the “General” tab, select “Selective Startup”.
• Uncheck “Load startup items” and check “Load System Services”.

• Go to the “Services” tab, check “Hide all Microsoft services”, and then press “Disable all”.
• Click “Apply”.

• Go to the “Startup” tab and click “Open Task Manager”.

• In “Task Manager”, click each service and select “Disable”.

• Now, close the dialog box, go to the “System Configuration” window, click “OK”, and restart your computer.

If Quick Settings works after the reboot, a third-party app is likely causing the issue. Re-enable services and startup items one by one to identify and remove the problematic application.

5. Re-register the Action Center

Re-registering the Action Center can resolve Quick Settings issues by restoring its system registration.

• Open “Windows Powershell” as administrator.

• Type the below command and press ‘Enter’:
  Get-AppxPackage | % { Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppxManifest.xml" -verbose }

• Close the “Command Prompt”, restart your computer, and press ‘Win + A’ to check if the “Quick Settings” issue is resolved.

Advanced Solutions to Fix Quick Settings Not Working 

If the easy solutions don’t work, consider the following more advanced troubleshooting steps.

6. Create a New User Account

Sometimes, user profile issues cause Quick Settings to stop working, and creating a new account can fix this.

• Press the ‘Win + ‘I keys to open “Settings”.
• Go to “Accounts” > “Family & other users”.

Note: If you don’t see the option “Family & other users”, scroll down within the “Accounts” tab and look for “Other users”.  

• Click “Add someone else to this PC” under Other users.

• At the bottom of the window, select “I don’t have this person’s sign-in information”.
• Choose “Add a user without a Microsoft account” and follow the prompts to create a new local account.

• Sign in with the newly created account and check if the “Quick Settings” issue is resolved.

7. Modify the System Registry

Editing the system registry can resolve Quick Settings issues, but proceed with caution. Incorrect changes can harm your system so back up the registry before proceeding.

• Press the ‘Win’+R keys, type “regedit”, and press ‘Enter’ to launch the “Registry Editor”.
• Click “Yes” on UAC prompt.

• Navigate to the following path:
  HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
• Select the “Explorer” key in the left pane.
• Right-click in the blank space, and choose “New” > “DWORD (32-bit) Value”.

• Set “NoControlPanel” as the name of the new DWORD value.

• Right-click on this folder, and select “Modify”.
• In the next prompt, set “Value data” to “0”, and ensure Base is set to “Hexadecimal”.

• Click “OK” and close the “Registry Editor”.
• Restart your computer to apply the changes, then check if “Quick Settings” is now functioning properly.

8. Reinstall and Re-register UWP Apps

This command reinstalls and re-registers all Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps, which can resolve issues with Quick Settings.

• Press the ‘Win + S’ keys, type “Powershell”, and select “Run as administrator”.
• Run the following command:
  Get-AppXPackage | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register”$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml”}

• Press ‘Enter’ and wait for completion.

9. Perform a System Restore [last-resort solution]

If the issue persists after trying all other methods, consider performing a System Restore. This tool will revert your computer to a previous state before the problem occurred.

• Open the “Run” dialog box using ‘Win + R’ keys.
• Type “rstrui” in the text box and press ‘Enter’.

• Select “Choose a different restore point” and press “Next”.

• Check the “Show more restore points” option.
• Select a restore point from a date when “Quick Settings” were functioning correctly.
• Press “Next” and then click on “Finish” to start the restoration process.

• After the restoration, check if “Quick Settings” is functioning properly. 

Useful: if you have any other Windows UI elements missing, see here.