How to Open Action Center in Windows 10

To open Action Center in Windows 10, press Windows key + A. You can also select the notification icon (a speech bubble) at the far right of the taskbar, next to the clock. Action Center shows your notifications at the top and quick actions, like Wi-Fi and Night light, at the bottom.

Applies to: Windows 10. Windows 10 reached end of support on October 14, 2025, and only PCs enrolled in Extended Security Updates still get security fixes, through October 12, 2027.

Open Action Center

Use any of these ways:

• Press Windows key + A.
• Select the notification icon at the far right of the taskbar.
• On a touch screen, swipe in from the right edge of the screen.

To close it, press Windows key + A again, press Esc, or select anywhere outside it.

What’s in Action Center

• Notifications are at the top. Select one to open it, or select Clear all notifications to remove them.
• Quick actions are the tiles at the bottom. Select a tile to turn a setting on or off, like Airplane mode, Focus assist or Night light.
• Select Expand to see all your quick actions, or Collapse to show fewer.

Change what appears in Action Center

1. Select Start > Settings > System > Notifications & actions.
2. Select Edit your quick actions to add, remove or move tiles.
3. Under Get notifications from these senders, turn apps on or off.

Silence notifications with Focus assist

The Focus assist tile in Action Center hides notifications while you work. Select it once for Priority only (only apps and people you choose), again for Alarms only, and again to turn it off. To set rules, such as turning it on while you’re gaming or presenting, go to Settings > System > Focus assist. Notifications you miss are waiting in Action Center afterwards.

Clear notifications quickly

Point at a single notification and select the X to dismiss it, or drag it to the right. To remove all notifications from one app, point at the app’s name and select its X. Clear all notifications at the bottom right removes everything at once.

Choose how each app notifies you

Go to Settings > System > Notifications & actions and select an app in the list. You can then:

• Turn Show notification banners off so the app only adds notifications quietly to Action Center.
• Turn Play a sound when a notification arrives on or off.
• Set Number of notifications visible in action center to 1, 3, 5, 10, or 20.
• Set its Priority to Top, High, or Normal to control where its notifications appear in the list.

On the main Notifications & actions page, turn off Show notifications on the lock screen if you don’t want messages visible when the PC is locked.

Turn off Action Center completely

• Windows 10 Pro: open the Local Group Policy Editor, go to User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Start Menu and Taskbar, set Remove Notifications and Action Center to Enabled, and sign out and back in.
• Windows 10 Home: in the Registry Editor, go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer (create the Explorer key if it’s missing), add a DWORD named DisableNotificationCenter with the value 1, and restart.

With it off, the icon disappears and Windows + A does nothing. Set the policy back to Not configured, or delete the registry value, to bring it back.

If Action Center won’t open or the icon is missing

• The icon isn’t on the taskbar. Go to Settings > Personalization > Taskbar, select Turn system icons on or off, and turn on Action center.
• Nothing happens when you click it. Restart Windows Explorer: press Ctrl + Shift + Esc, find Windows Explorer, and select Restart.
• It opens but is empty or frozen. Restart the PC, then run sfc /scannow in an administrator Command Prompt if it keeps happening.
• It’s turned off on a work PC. Organizations can disable Action Center. Ask your IT team.

Frequently asked questions

Why doesn’t anything happen when I press Windows key + A?

Some keyboards have a key that turns off the Windows key. Select the notification icon on the taskbar instead.

How do I stop notifications from popping up?

Focus assist hides them for a while. To stop them for good, turn off notifications in Windows 10 for some or all apps.

Which quick actions are most useful?

Many people use the Wi-Fi, Night light and brightness tiles. Each one has more settings behind it: you can turn on Wi-Fi, set up Night light and change the brightness.

Where is Action Center in Windows 11?

Windows 11 split it in two. Press Windows + A for Quick Settings (Wi-Fi, volume, brightness, and other tiles) and Windows + N for the notification center with your notifications and calendar.

Can I open Action Center without a mouse?

Yes. Press Windows + A, then use Tab to move between notifications and quick actions, the arrow keys to pick a tile, and Spacebar to turn it on or off. Press Esc to close it.

Why are my notifications gone after a restart?

Some apps remove their notifications when they close, and Windows clears others after a while. If you need to keep something, act on the notification or open the app it came from.

For more on notification settings, read Microsoft’s Notifications and Do Not Disturb in Windows. Every shortcut, including Windows key + A, is listed in Keyboard shortcuts in Windows.