Action Center allows you to access quick settings and notifications. Many users have complained that Action Center pops up in Windows 10 and even 11 automatically when they move the mouse or touch the touchpad on Windows. The Action Center opens even when there are no notifications. This can disturb workflow. Here’s how to stop Action Center from opening automatically on Windows 10 and 11.
Note: In Windows 11, Action Center is divided into two parts — Quick Settings and Notifications. Press Windows + A to open Quick Settings and Windows + N to open Notifications. In Windows 10, pressing Windows + A opens both. The solutions below will work for both Windows 10 and 11 UI may look slightly different. I am using Windows 11 for this guide.
1. Disable 4-Finger Tapping
Several users found that touching or tapping the touchpad resulted in the Action Center opening automatically. Here is how they fixed it.
1. Press Windows + I keyboard shortcut to open Settings and go to Bluetooth & devices > Touchpad. Click on Four-finger gestures to expand it.
Windows 10 users would go to Settings > Devices > Mouse and Touchpad.
2. Here select Nothing from the drop-down menu besides Swipes.
Similarly, in the pop-up that follows, uncheck 4-finger tapping option.
This should fix Action Center opening automatically upon touching the Touchpad.
2. Run Hardware and Sound Troubleshooter
Microsoft thought few users were actually running the Hardware and Sound troubleshooter so in an effort to declutter the UI, they removed it from Settings. Thankfully, they didn’t fully deprecate it and you can still run it from the CMD or Command Prompt.
1. Press the Windows button and search for CMD. Click on Run as administrator to open it with admin rights.
2.Copy-paste the command below and hit Enter to execute it.
msdt.exe -id DeviceDiagnostic
3. You will be greeted with a pop-up. Click on Next here and follow on-screen instructions after that.
No need to reboot the computer to check if Action Center still keeps popping up now and then.
3. Check Action Center Settings
You can control how Action Center behaves under different situations. Let’s explore that.
1. Press Windows + I to open Settings. Go to Accessibility > Visual Effects. Here you can control the number of seconds after which the notification will be dismissed. 5 seconds is the lowest.
4. Enable DND Mode and Set Priority
Do not disturb or DND mode, when enabled, will collect all app notifications in the Action Center instead of showing a pop-up every time a notification is received. All notifications will be sent to the Notification Center (Windows + N) that you can access any time you are free.
1. Open Settings (Windows + I) and go to System > Notifications and enable Do not disturb here.
You can set hours for when the DND mode will be active on Windows. For example, you can set it to remain active during office hours.
2. Click on Turn on do not disturb automatically to set a schedule.
3. A menu will appear below. Check During these times and enter a beginning and end time for the DND mode. You will notice some additional options. For example, you can enable DND while gaming even if it is past the set time.
Priority Mode is where you will only receive notifications from apps that have been selected as important or whitelisted during DND hours.
4. In the same screen, go to click on Set priority notifications here.
5. Here you can choose apps that can send notifications in DND mode. Think calls or work-related apps. Click on Add apps to add more.
5. Disable Notifications
If the Action Center still launches itself randomly, you can disable notifications altogether. This is recommended when you do not want to receive notifications at all or don’t care.
1. Press Windows + I to open Settings and go to System > Notifications. Click on the toggle for Notifications to turn it off.
Does Action Center still keep popping up in Windows uninvited?
6. Disable Action Center
Instead of just adjusting how notifications are delivered, you can turn off Action Center completely.
Windows 10 makes it easy to disable Action Center.
1. Press Windows + I to open Settings and go to System > Notifications and actions and click on Turn system icons on or off.
2. You will see a list of settings that you can turn on/off here. Find Action Center and disable it.
As we discussed earlier, Microsoft has divided Action Center into two parts. You cannot disable Action Center from Settings directly now. However, we can do it from the Registry Editor.
Note: Before you begin, I recommend you create a System Restore Point.
1. Search for RegEdit in Windows Start menu and open it with admin rights.
2. Drill down to the folder structure below from the left sidebar.
HKEY_CURRENT_USER> SOFTWARE> Policies> Microsoft> Windows> Explorer
If a folder is missing, you need to create it. In my case, Explorer is missing. So, I will right-click on Windows and select New > Key and name it Explorer.
3. Now select Explorer folder and then right-click anywhere in the right window-pane to select New > DWORD (32-bit) value. Name this file DisableNotificationCentre.
Note: Depending on where you live and your chosen language, you may have to name the file as DisableNotificationCenter.
4. Double-click to open the newly created DWORD file and change the Value data from 0 to 1. Save and reboot the computer once.
The Action Center should be disabled in Windows 11 now and you can re-enable it by changing the value back to 0 (zero).
7. Clean Boot
Clean Boot is the process of disabling all 3rd party apps and services running on your computer except those provided by Microsoft. A minimal set of services and drivers are allowed to run so you can diagnose the problem or pinpoint an app that’s causing the issue. Microsoft has a detailed guide on how to perform Clean Boot.
Take Action Now
Hopefully, Action Center is no longer opening automatically the moment you touch the Touchpad or while working. It should only pop open when you want it to. Otherwise, it doesn’t serve the purpose which is to allow you to work in a distraction-free environment.
By the way, did you know that you can now link Samsung Galaxy Phone to Windows? We have collected some good tips on the same that will make your workflow even more seamless.