KB5003214 update for Windows 10 is causing taskbar problems -- but there's a simple fix

If you have installed the recent KB5003214 update for Windows 10, you may well have noticed problems with icon in the taskbar. Microsoft released a preview version of this update last week, and many of the guineapigs who opted to install it have experienced issues.

KB5003214 is due for a full launch later this month on Patch Tuesday, but there are plenty of eager Windows 10 users who install preview updates as soon as they are available. One of the key aims of this update it to bring News and Interests to the taskbar, but there have been numerous reports of problems with taskbar icons

See also:

• Microsoft releases the Linux-style Windows Package Manager v1.0 (Winget) as a Store alternative
• Microsoft releases Windows Terminal 1.9 preview with new quake mode and more
• Microsoft releases preview version of KB5003212 update for Windows 10

The KB5003214 update is available for versions 2004 (the May 2020 Update), 20H2 (October 2020 Update) and 21H1 (May 2021 Update) of Windows 10, and the problems appear to be affected people using any of these three builds of the operating system. The problem causes icons in the taskbar to disappear or overlap each other, making it difficult to see what is going on with Windows and running applications.

The problems seem to be experience more widely by anyone who has the new News and Interests feature enabled. Some people have been able to fix the icons issues by simply disabling the feature, while others have had to resort to uninstalling the KB5003214 update completely.

What is slightly heartening about the problems brought about by this particular update is that they were found in the preview release. This should give Microsoft time to investigate and address the issues before a wider rollout later this month.

Image credit: Wachiwit / Shutterstock