How To Close An Unresponsive Program From Taskbar In Windows 11

You probably already know Windows 11 offers multiple ways to close unresponsive programs and apps. Of all the methods available, the Task Manager method is widely used as it’s the easiest and most reliable.

Opening the Task Manager and then killing the program requires multiple clicks. Hence, if you often have to deal with unresponsive programs, you might want something easier to close non-responding apps and programs.

Luckily, Windows 11 offers a much easier way to close unresponsive programs, but it’s hidden by default. Once you enable it, you can close an unresponsive program/app right from the taskbar.

Yes, recent builds of Windows 11 have a hidden option that, once enabled, adds an End Task option to the jump list that shows up when you right-click on a program’s icon on the taskbar. Clicking the End task will terminate the program immediately.

Important: Please note that the End task option is different from the default Close window option in the jump list (which appears when you right-click on an app’s icon on the taskbar). While the Close window option can be used to close a responsive program/app, the End task option can be used for both responsive and unresponsive apps. While using the End task option to terminate a normal-working app causes no harm, it will close the app immediately, which might cause data loss if there is any unsaved data.

NOTE: The End task option, once added to the taskbar, appears for all apps and programs except the File Explorer. So, if you need to close an unresponsive File Explorer window, you need to open the Task Manager or use any other methods to close it.

Add End task to Windows 11 taskbar to close unresponsive apps

Step 1: Open the Windows 11 Settings app. Go to System > For Developers page.

Step 2: On this page, turn on the End task option to add the End task option to the jump list immediately. That’s it!

From now on, whenever you right-click on an app’s icon on the taskbar, the End Task option will appear.

Kill unresponsive programs/apps from the taskbar in Windows 11

Step 1: Right-click on the unresponsive program’s icon on the taskbar and then click the End task option. This will force the Windows operating system to close the program immediately.