14 DAY TRIAL // A bug that causes context menus to be displayed under the taskbar is still around in Windows 10 November 2019 Update (version 1909) despite similar problems originally reported in Windows 10 April 2018 Update (version 1803).
In just a few words, here’s what happens: right-clicking an icon in the system tray displays part of the context menu right under the taskbar, making it impossible to click the lower options.
In my case, the option at the bottom of the context menu is “quit,” which means that the context menu displayed under the taskbar makes it impossible to exit the app.
The bug happens every once in a while and for various apps, which is normally an indication that it’s not necessarily tied to an app, but to the way context menus are displayed for system tray icons. However, it happens more often for some specific apps, such as Pidgin instant messenger.
Bug dating back to Windows XP era
The first time I wrote about this issue was in June 2018 when I confirmed it existed in Windows 10 April 2018 Update. While I’m not sure Microsoft introduced a fix in the meantime, this unexpected behavior returns in Windows 10 November 2019 Update.
As I said more than a year ago, others experienced the same problem, and this discussion thread on Microsoft’s Community forums confirmed that the context menu was displayed under the taskbar for other users as well. A workaround doesn’t exist, other than clicking outside the context menu and then right-clicking the app icon in the system tray once again.
Several of our readers told me in the comment section of the aforementioned article that this is a bug dating back to Windows XP, which makes it even more frustrating that it’s still around after so many years.
“That bug/feature is certainly not new at all. It exists since at least in Win XP era and it's because the taskbar tries to be the topmost element,” our reader Avant said at that time. “This bug actually goes back to Windows XP days,” Caleb Scribner also confirmed.
I’ve reached out to Microsoft to ask for more information about this bug and will update the article if an ETA for a fix is provided.
