[Fix] Show Accent Color on Start, Taskbar and Action Center Option Grayed Out in Windows 10 Settings
While trying to enable colorized Taskbar, Start Menu and Action Center in Windows 10, I noticed that the option to enable colors on these UI elements was grayed out i.e. disabled.
Actually Windows 10 newer versions come with new Light Theme which shows Taskbar, Start Menu, Action Center, notification area fly-outs, context menus, etc in light Grey color as shown in following screenshot:
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Check out our review of new Light Theme in Windows 10 in following article:
[Review] New “Light Theme” or “Light Mode” in Windows 10
Many users may not like the new Light Theme mode in Windows 10 and may want to enable dark colorized Taskbar and Start Menu. To do this, we need to open Settings app and enable colorization option as mentioned in following tutorial:
[Tip] Get Dark Colorized Taskbar and Start Menu Back in Windows 10
The problem starts if you don’t change the “Choose your color” option and keep it set to “Light” option, you’ll notice that the checkbox “Start, taskbar, and action center” present under “Show accent color on the following surfaces” is grayed out and you can’t change it.
Following screenshot shows grayed out option:
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You can’t click on the option and can’t enable it.
It happens because the new Light Theme doesn’t support colorization i.e. colors on Taskbar, Start Menu and Action Center. That’s why Windows automatically disables this option and blocks users to change or modify it.
To be able to customize this option, you’ll need to either select “Dark” or “Custom” options from “Choose your color” drop-down box and the “Show accent color on Start, taskbar, and action center” checkbox will be immediately activated.
Once the option becomes available, you can enable accent color on Start, Taskbar and Action Center by turning on the checkbox.
Also Check:
[Windows 10 Tip] Get Colors on Titlebars of Inactive (Background) Program Windows
that does not work. cuz it changes everything to that color.. not just the taskbar
Thank you, I visited so many web sites to solve the problem of the taskbar color you solved the problem in even Microsofts website doesn’t solve that clearly . thank You !
Why in the world would you think this is a good idea. Pick light, cant change anything, pick dark and everything is just black, so you go to custom to make regular windows stuff white again, then re-pick the colors you had before for the taskbar etc? Literally makes no sense and makes the user experience even worse.
Why do you guys always have to make stupid, pointless changes to things that already work? If it’s not broken, DON’T FIX IT. Just leave stuff alone and let it be..users actually prefer the way things already ARE and don’t like ‘new’ and pointless changes. I can’t believe you people actually get paid to initiate ‘better’ changes when they’re NOT. LEAVE STUFF ALONE AND FOCUS ON THE STUFF THAT REALLY DOES NEED FIXING. [Like the ‘back’ button being there IMMEDIATELY when you bring up the Google home page-instead of having to refresh the page to activate it] THAT’S what the users want.
Microsoft is a great Company that I like very much. Sadly though, with the advent of Windows 10 the customer experience has deteriorate to the point of acute frustration. Windows 7 is elegant, simple, clear intuitive, rewarding and more. Windows 10 might be more secure but sadly it also is, convoluted, schizophrenic, inflexible, very confusing and I could exhaust Webster with all negative terms. Imagine not being able to change the color of your fonts and background in Explorer!!! Totally insane! And graying out Start, Taskbar and Action Center is a slap in the face.
I paid $179 plus tax for Windows 10 and I feel I was cheated. Oh how I long for the days of Windows Theme AERO.
This solution doesn’t work for me. It’s still greyed out. Why Is MS prejudice against light mode and you can only get the benefit of changing color of taskbar and start menu if you choose dark mode? I have trouble sometimes with my eyesight and don’t want to see the task bar in light sickly ugly grey.
Thanks for useful workaround
awesome. I was really hopeless till now, but your article helped me solve my problem.
Thanks a lot
What’s even worse than this discrimination against light colour schemes is that THAT THERE’S ABSOLUTELY NO EXPLANATION in the GUI as to why it’s greyed out.
You would be justified in expecting Microsoft to believe that tooltips, hover-over pop-ups would be a useful adjunct to usability by the second decade of the 21st century.
Microsoft, are you listening?
16th February, 2021
thank you
thanks a lot! 🙂
If you change in registry editor at HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Themes\Personalize ColorPrevalence to 1 with AppsUseLightTheme and SystemUsesLightTheme also changed to 1 you will be able to enable Accent Color on Start and Taskbar on light mode.
^^ Thanks for sharing. Featured it here:
https://www.askvg.com/tip-enable-accent-color-on-start-and-taskbar-in-light-theme-mode-in-windows-11-10/