Summary
- Windows 11 is getting more customizable with an upcoming update, allowing you to reposition your volume and brightness indicators within the screen.
- The new setting will offer placement options like top left, top center, or default bottom center for on-screen elements.
- Some options seem to be intentionally limited to avoid conflicts with core interface elements such as the Start menu..
After years of Windows 11 being the most inflexible thing since DOS as far as customization goes, this seems to be a priority in Microsoft agenda with the upcoming Windows 11 25H2 update. Complaining works. Now, it’s getting even more customizable.
An upcoming update to Windows 11 and Windows Server 2025 will introduce a new level of customization for on-screen indicators, allowing you to reposition the volume and brightness flyouts for the first time. Ever since Windows 11’s initial release back in 2021, on-screen indicators for actions such as adjusting the volume or screen brightness have been fixed at the bottom center of the screen. If you don’t like them there for whatever reason, though, this update would allow you to tailor this aspect of the user experience to your preferences.
@phantomofearth / Twitter/X
The new setting, which has been spotted in testing builds of Windows Server 2025, will be accessible through the Settings menu under System > Notifications. You’ll then be presented with three placement options for these on-screen elements: the default Bottom center, Top left, and Top center. Top left is specifically there because that’s where the flyout was located back when Windows 10 was installed in our computers, so you can either roll back to that, leave it as-is, or enjoy a brand new middle-of-the-road option (Top center).
Related
Windows 11 Is Bringing Back Another Windows 10 Feature
No, it’s not a vertical taskbar.
You also can’t move the indicators to the left or right sides of the screen. This limitation is likely in place to avoid potential conflicts with other core interface elements, such as the Start menu, which can be aligned to the left. This way, Microsoft ensures that the on-screen indicators do not overlap with critical system navigation features.
This is just the latest customization feature that’s being added in a future update to Windows. We also have a redesigned Start menu, options to customize the size of items in your bottom bar… The possibilities are endless. While Microsoft isn’t quite making Windows 11 as customizable as previous versions of Windows were (remember when you could change the entire OS theme from a list of selections?), this is probably as customizable as Windows 11 will get before it either gets heavily revamped or we get an entirely new Windows version. Hopefully, we’ll see a lot more customization additions before 25H2 actually rolls out to users in a stable manner by the end of this year.
In the meantime, this is quietly being tested with Windows Server, which means there’s actually a non-zero chance that we see this in 24H2 before it rolls out with 25H2.
Source: Twitter/X via Windows Latest
