How to Fix Windows Taskbar Overlay Showing Above the Game in League of Legends

Playing League of Legends requires a lot of skill and concentration so that you know exactly what is going on in the game. Any type of distraction can potentially cause you to either fall behind in the laning phase or die during a teamfight. One such distraction is that the Windows taskbar appears at the top of the screen while playing the game.

That is why this guide will show you how to fix the Windows taskbar shown above the game in League of Legends.

To fix this pesky issue, you need to put the game in Fullscreen mode so that the taskbar disappears. Alternatively, you can also force restart the Windows Explorer or restart your PC. 

This is a random issue that happens for whatever reason. We are not certain what is the exact issue that causes this to happen but there are a few good fixes that should allow you to play the game without any distractions again. With that said, let’s dive right in and find out how to fix the Windows taskbar showing above the game in League of Legends.

Play the Game in Fullscreen Mode

One of the most common fixes for this issue is to run your game in the Fullscreen mode. If you are playing in the Borderless Window mode, chances are that you might be experiencing this issue. Head over to the settings while you are in-game and click on the “Window Mode” on the right side. This can be found in the “Video” tab which will be automatically opened when you open the menu.

From there, click on Full Screen instead of Windowed or Borderless. This should fix your issue. If it doesn’t, you can switch back to Borderless and move on to the next steps.

Restart the Windows Explorer

This solution has worked for most players and it will solve your problem as well. Sometimes, the Windows Explorer gets stuck or doesn’t work properly. In any case, restarting it will cause it to act normal again and go away while you are playing the game. To restart it, you need to:

1. Launch the Task Manager by either:
   1. Right-clicking on your taskbar and choosing the Task Manager.
   2. Or, by pressing the Ctrl, Alt, and Del keys on your keyboard and selecting the Task Manager from the Security Options screen.
2. Once it is open, hit the More Details button if your Task Manager is in the compact view mode.
3. Find Windows Explorer from the Applications list and select it.
4. Restart the Windows Explorer by right-clicking it and pressing restart.

After successfully following these steps, your taskbar and Windows Explorer windows will disappear for a few seconds. During this time, Windows is restarting it, so, don’t worry. It shouldn’t bother you again while playing the game now.

Start the Game Again

If the previous methods don’t work, you should restart the game and see if that fixes anything or not. If you are in the game, you should wait for a good time before you do this. If you have this issue during the loading screen, you can quit the game and reconnect before the game starts.

If you are facing this during the game, you should wait until your champion dies or you go to the base. Do it at a time when the team doesn’t immediately need you or they might be at a disadvantage. Plus, reconnecting shouldn’t take more than a minute so the best time to do it is when you’re dead.

Close Other Tabs/Applications

This is something that has worked for most players. If you have any other tabs/applications open, you should close them to see if the taskbar goes away or not. Sometimes, you might have received a notification on Google Chrome or any other application that might be causing the taskbar to appear and not go away. If you close all other applications while playing League of Legends, the taskbar should disappear.

Also, this is a good way to ensure that you get constantly stable FPS while playing the game. This is especially useful for low-end systems that do not have a high amount of RAM. If you have other applications open, the game might not get stable FPS and will lag during teamfights.

Autohide Taskbar

If the taskbar doesn’t want to go away, you can force it to autohide itself. After a few seconds, it will automatically go away and will only come back if you move your cursor to its location. To do this, you need to:

1. Open “Taskbar Settings” by pressing right-click on the taskbar
2. Click on the “Automatically hide the taskbar in desktop mode” button
3. You also need to enable the “Automatically hide the taskbar in tablet mode” as well

Now, the taskbar should disappear after a few seconds, allowing you to play the game without any issues.

Alt + Tab the Game

This is a method that I didn’t expect to work but it helped a lot of players. If you are facing the taskbar issue, you can press Alt + Tab to minimize the game and go to another application. Press Alt + Tab again to come back to the game. Now, the issue might have been fixed since whatever notification was blocking the taskbar from going away will be solved.

Restart Your PC

This is the good old trick that can fix almost anything. Restarting your PC will allow it to refresh all of its temporary settings and it might fix this issue. If you have tried everything else on this list, you should restart your PC to see if that fixes it or not. If that doesn’t work, you can put your issues on the League of Legends subreddit. The community is extremely helpful and will help you find a fix.

Also check: How to Fix League of Legends Voice Chat Issues on Windows

Reinstall League of Legends

If the previous methods didn’t work for you, the next best thing would be to reinstall the game. I know it isn’t the ideal thing to do, but that will return the game to its default state and remove any potential issues. Plus, if you have a fast internet connection, you won’t even know how long it takes to reinstall the game.