Is the Settings app not working properly? Resetting will help. Here is how to reset the Settings app in Windows 10 & 11.
The Settings app has seen significant upgrades in terms of aesthetics, stability, categorization, and ease of use both in Windows 11 and 10. Though the Control Panel is still supreme when it comes to discoverability and ease of use, the Settings app is catching up.
Simply put, whether you like it or not, the PC Settings app is the future Control Panel in Windows. That’s one of the reasons why Microsoft chose to remove the Control Panel in the Power User menu.
Like the old Control Panel, the Settings app is pretty stable and reliable. However, under some conditions, it may experience stability and reliability issues. For example, the other day I was trying to change the mouse cursor size and no matter how many times I try, I cannot use the slider. There can be any number of reasons why the Setting app is not working in Windows. These reasons include but are not limited to sudden power failure, overly aggressive antivirus software, buggy drivers, and more.
In cases like that, resetting the Settings app will help.
In this Windows guide, let me show you how to reset the Settings app in Windows 11 and 10 operating systems.
Table of contents:
Steps to Reset the Settings app in Windows 10
- Open the Start menu.
- Right-click on the Settings icon.
- Choose the “More -> App Settings” option.
- Click the “Reset” button.
- Press “Reset” again.
- With that, you are done resetting the Settings app in Windows 10.
Steps with more details:
The Settings app is just like any other app on Windows 10. However, it is tightly integrated with Windows and has special privileges compared to other applications. As such, you cannot see its own entry on the “Apps” page in the Settings app.
However, you can open the setting page of the Settings app with just a simple trick. Here’s how.
Open the start menu. You will see a Settings (gear) icon on the bottom left corner. Right-click on the icon and choose the “More → App Settings” option.
The above action will open the settings page of the Settings app. Scroll down and click on the “Reset” button.
Click on the “Reset” button again in the pop-up to confirm the action.
As soon as you click on the button, the Settings app will close itself and gets reset in the background. In addition to that, if the PC Settings app is pinned to the taskbar, the icon will disappear too.
You can open the Settings app after a couple of minutes by searching for it in the start menu or with the “Win + I” keyboard shortcut.
Steps to Reset the Settings app in Windows 11
- Open the Start menu.
- Search for “Settings.”
- Right-click on the Settings icon.
- Choose the “App Settings” option.
- Click the “Reset” button.
- Press “Reset” again.
- With that, you are done resetting the Settings app in Windows 11.
What does app resetting do?
When you reset an app in Windows 10 and 11, doesn’t matter what app it is, all its data, cache, settings, and modifications are instantly deleted. The app will essentially look like you just installed it.
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That is all. It is that simple to reset the Settings app in Windows 11 and 10.
I hope this simple and easy Windows how-to guide helped you.
If you are stuck or need some help, send an email, and I will try to help as much as possible.
If you like this article, do check out how to open the Settings app from Command Prompt and how to pin any Settings page to the taskbar.