Windows 10 taskbar blurry texts bug

As we reported recently, some users are encountering serious problems after applying Windows 10’s June 2021 cumulative update. According to various reports and our own testing, mandatory security update KB5003637 could break the taskbar icons. In some cases, users are also unable to access the Action Center due to overlapped icons.

Earlier this month, Microsoft published June 2021 security patch for Windows 10 version 21H1, version 20H2, and version 2004. KB5003637 is a security and mandatory update intended to patch the security bugs reported in the operating system and issues caused by the previous update, including the long-running memory leak bug.

Based on the various posts we’ve seen across our own forum and social media sites, Windows 10’s taskbar bug appears to be a growing issue, particularly affecting devices where the “News and Interests” feed has been turned off using Group Policy or taskbar context menu.

Windows 10 taskbar bug
Blurry and overlapped taskbar icons | Image Courtesy: Windows Latest

Comments on the blurry taskbar icon problem are also available on the Feedback Hub, with various users explaining how their taskbar stopped working properly after they deployed the mandatory security update.

In an update to the support document, Microsoft has finally acknowledged the reports, with the company stating that the blurry taskbar bug affects “certain display configurations” only. No specifics were provided and it’s unclear how many users are affected worldwide.

“After installing KB5001391 or later updates, the news and interests button in the Windows taskbar might have blurry text on certain display configurations,” the company stated in the updated documentation, and promised that the fix will be provided in an “upcoming release”.

Contrary to what Microsoft says, we’ve observed the blurry text bug across the taskbar/system tray icons and it’s not limited to the weather icon (News and Interests button).

How to fix blurry icons/texts on the taskbar

To fix blurry icons or texts bug on your taskbar after applying June 2021 update, try these workarounds tested by us:

  • Play with News and Interests settings: Right-click on the taskbar, select News and interests and click Turn off. If it’s already disabled and you still have the issue, enable it to see if that fixes your problem. You can also use the “show icon only” mode of News and Interests.
  • Change the taskbar location to the top of the screen.
  • Display scaling settings: Go to Start > Settings > System > Display and set scaling to the Recommended setting.
  • Uninstall third-party apps: Remove or disable third-party apps installed on your device to customize the taskbar or Start menu.

If nothing works, uninstall the update and pause the Windows update for one month. To do this, open Start > Settings > Update & Security, and click View update history then Uninstall updates.

Right-click the offending update June 2021 update and click Uninstall.

About The Author

Mayank Parmar

Mayank Parmar is an entrepreneur who founded Windows Latest. He is the Editor-in-Chief and has written on various topics in his seven years of career, but he is mostly known for his well-researched work on Microsoft's Windows. His articles and research works have been referred to by CNN, Business Insiders, Forbes, Fortune, CBS Interactive, Microsoft and many others over the years.