Windows 11’s Start menu has quietly graduated from “compact launcher” to “nearly full-screen workspace,” and that change is already producing a growing mix of praise, confusion, and support headaches across consumer and enterprise devices.
Background / Overview
Microsoft folded a substantial Start menu redesign into its October/November 2025 servicing wave and began enabling the new interface for mainstream Windows 11 devices as part of the November cumulative update (KB5068861) and earlier preview packages such as KB5067036. The redesign collapses the old two-level Start experience (Pinned + a separate All apps page) into a single, vertically scrollable canvas that hosts pinned apps, a Recommended area, and the full All apps inventory on one surface. Microsoft’s official notes list the change and a new Group Policy toggle for Start pins inside KB5068861. This single-surface approach was deliberate: Microsoft aims to reduce clicks, improve app discoverability, and scale the Start experience for a wide range of devices — from small laptops to large external monitors. However, the result is a Start menu that, on many machines, looks substantially larger than the prior centered launcher and, in some configurations, can occupy the majority of the vertical screen area. Independent hands-on testing and multiple news outlets have measured this effect and reported that the new Start can fill roughly 90% of the screen height in some common laptop configurations. This article explains what changed, verifies the core technical claims against Microsoft and independent reporting, evaluates the usability trade-offs and risks, and offers practical guidance for both everyday users and IT administrators.
What changed: core design and functional differences
A single, vertically scrollable Start canvas
- The Start menu now displays Pinned apps, the Recommended feed (optional to hide), and the All apps inventory on the same vertical surface.
- All apps can be presented in three selectable modes: Category (auto-grouped by function), Grid (denser tile grid ordered alphabetically), and List (traditional A→Z).
This removes the separate “All apps” page and aims to surface less-used apps with fewer clicks. For users who keep an extensive app catalog, the intent is sound: a single press of the Windows key plus scrolling should be enough to find most programs.
Responsive density and Phone Link integration
- The Start canvas adapts its column counts, visible pins, and recommendations based on screen size and DPI. Larger monitors show more columns and therefore feel less cramped; small laptops will naturally show fewer columns but can still present a tall viewport.
- A Phone Link (mobile companion) icon now appears in the Start search bar on eligible systems. When expanded, Phone Link becomes a collapsible sidebar inside Start that surfaces messages, photos, and simple continuity actions. Enabling it can substantially increase the visible surface of Start.
Administrative controls
Microsoft added a Boolean option to the
Configure Start Pins policy to let admins apply pinned layouts at first sign-in and then allow users to make changes that persist afterward. That administrative change shipped as part of KB5068861.
Verifying the headline claims
The most prominent claims in public coverage are:
- The Start menu now occupies roughly 90% of the vertical screen height in some configurations.
- The change is intentional and distributed via November 2025 cumulative updates and earlier preview packages.
- Phone Link can cause the Start surface to behave like a near full-screen panel.
Independent outlets and Microsoft’s own documentation corroborate these points:
- Windows Latest measured the Start menu’s height on a 14‑inch 1920×1080 laptop at 100% scaling and reported the visible Start height increased from ~50–60% to about 90%, and that Phone Link can push it to full-screen.
- PCWorld reproduced and contextualized the measurement, emphasizing the larger default footprint after the November update and noting the rollout is gradual rather than instantaneous.
- Microsoft’s KB release notes for the November cumulative (KB5068861) explicitly list Start-related changes — including the new administrative toggle and the fact that some changes derive from the prior preview release (KB5067036). That confirms the redesign shipped in servicing updates and is being rolled out progressively.
Caveat: the
“90%” figure is an environment-dependent observation. Display size, resolution, and scaling greatly affect the Start surface. Technical commentary from Windows-focused communities stresses that a 14‑inch 1080p laptop at 100% scale is a valid real-world datapoint, but that measurement should not be treated as a universal constant. Expect the visual effect to vary with monitors and DPI settings.
Why this matters: benefits and the case Microsoft is making
Microsoft’s design rationale is pragmatic: the previous split Start (pinned + separate All apps) left discoverability issues for users with many apps and felt sparse on large screens. The redesign aims to:
- Reduce the number of clicks to reach installed apps by placing All apps on the primary surface.
- Offer three presentation modes (Category/Grid/List) so people can pick the layout that matches scanning behavior or keyboard workflows.
- Make better use of large or high-DPI displays so the Start surface looks populated rather than empty.
- Provide more granular control over the Recommended feed, including toggles to hide recent items or recommendations entirely.
These are legitimate, user-centric goals. For certain classes of users — IT administrators who provision machines with hundreds of apps, power users who want fewer clicks, and tablet/touch users — the single-canvas Start is a clear improvement.
The usability trade-offs and practical downsides
Despite valid goals, there are concrete trade-offs:
- On smaller laptops and low-resolution screens the Start canvas can dominate visible workspace. A 14‑inch laptop at 1920×1080 and 100% scaling is commonly cited as the configuration in which the Start reaches the ~90% height measurement. That can feel like the Start has become a full-page launcher rather than a transient overlay.
- The integrated Phone Link sidebar increases vertical and horizontal footprint and may make the Start surface feel intrusive if you only need quick app launching.
- UI regressions and rollout risks have real operational costs. Earlier preview drops that contained the new Start also coincided with other regressions (e.g., Task Manager process duplication) that required fixes in subsequent cumulative updates. Microsoft’s cumulative updates and preview releases are being used to distribute the bits while server-side gating controls when the feature flips on, but that staged approach created a fractured experience across device fleets during testing and early deployment.
Known reliability and provisioning risks IT teams must consider
Beyond subjective size complaints, there are hard reliability issues that administrators should not ignore.
Provisioning and XAML package registration timing (KB5072911)
Microsoft published a support bulletin (KB5072911) acknowledging that certain cumulative updates released on or after July 2025 can leave XAML-dependent packages unregistered during provisioning, causing Explorer, Start, Taskbar, Settings, and other shell components to fail or crash in some enterprise and non-persistent environments. Microsoft documented manual re-registration commands and a synchronous logon script as short-term mitigations while a permanent fix is worked on. These symptoms are most likely during first user logon after provisioning or in VDI/non‑persistent images. Practical implications:
- Device imaging at scale or Cloud PC / VDI pools may experience critical UI breakage after applying affected updates.
- Organizations should test images with the November servicing cycle before broad deployment.
- Microsoft’s KB provides specific PowerShell commands to re-register packages and sample scripts IT can run during provisioning to avoid race conditions.
Task Manager duplication and early preview regressions
Preview builds that included the Start redesign (for example, KB5067036 in Release Preview) were also associated with a Task Manager close/terminate bug where closing the Task Manager window left the underlying taskmgr.exe process running. Microsoft addressed this in subsequent cumulative updates, but it illustrates the operational risk of bundling visible UI changes and platform fixes in a single preview servicing wave. Administrators should treat optional preview updates as non-production and validate outcomes in pilot rings.
What users can do right now: checks, toggles, and practical mitigations
If the new Start menu landed on your device and you find it too large or intrusive, here are practical steps — from least invasive to more advanced — to regain control.
Quick checks: confirm your update and build
- Press Windows + R → type winver → Enter. Note the build string and confirm whether you have one of the November update builds (for example, OS builds 26200.7171 or 26100.7171). Microsoft’s KB documentation lists these builds for the November cumulative release.
- Open Settings → Windows Update → Update history to confirm the installed KB (e.g., KB5068861 or the preview KB5067036).
Simple user-facing toggles (no tools required)
- Hide or collapse the Recommended area in Start. Hiding recommendations reduces some vertical content though it does not necessarily shrink the Start frame dramatically — it simply removes that feed from view.
- Toggle Phone Link off in Start settings or in the Start search bar if the Phone Link panel is enabled and expanding Start to a near full-screen view. This collapsible panel is optional and can be disabled if unwanted.
- If your Start feels oversized due to scaling, try adjusting display Scale in Settings → System → Display (for example, 125% or 150%) to change how UI elements are rendered. This can alter apparent Start height and density.
Advanced options (for enthusiasts and admins)
- Wait for Microsoft’s staged rollout to reach your device. The feature is being enabled via server-side gating for many users even after KB installation; patience preserves the supported path.
- Power users have historically used community tools (e.g., ViVeTool) to flip staged feature flags locally. That approach can reveal the new Start immediately or roll it back in some cases, but it is unsupported by Microsoft and can create configuration drift or unexpected behavior. It is not recommended for general users or production fleets. Community threads document these methods and list the caveats.
What IT administrators should do
- Prioritize pilot testing. Deploy the November cumulative updates and preview packages to a small, representative set of devices — including laptops with smaller displays, common enterprise desktops, and VDI/non‑persistent images — before broad rollout. Field reports show the Start redesign’s visual impact is device-dependent.
- Watch Microsoft support advisories and Release Health. Microsoft’s KB pages for KB5068861 and KB5072911 explicitly state behavior details and mitigations. Keep these pages bookmarked for release notes and hotfix updates.
- If you run non-persistent images or VDI pools, implement the mitigation script from KB5072911 as part of provisioning until the permanent fix ships. Microsoft’s article provides Add-AppxPackage registration commands and a sample synchronous logon wrapper to ensure packages register before Explorer starts. That script is an established workaround to prevent shell initialization failures.
- Re-evaluate OOBE and first-sign-in customizations. If your imaging or provisioning workflow relies on post-update scripts or synchronous feature registration, insert checks to ensure XAML-based packages register before user sessions begin. The provisioning race condition is the technical root of multiple breakages.
- Communicate changes to end users. Because the Start redesign affects day-to-day workflow and the visible footprint differs across devices, include screenshots and short FAQs in internal communications to reduce helpdesk load.
Security and privacy considerations
- The Start redesign itself is a UI change and does not introduce new telemetry categories beyond existing Windows Update telemetry; however, any time a visible place like Start exposes recommended files and web suggestions there is an understandable privacy surface to evaluate. Microsoft provides toggles to hide recommended content; organizations with strict data governance should incorporate those toggles into standard images.
- The Phone Link integration increases cross-device continuity convenience but also introduces another endpoint in the data flow between phone and PC. Evaluate whether Phone Link should be enabled by default in enterprise images or left as an opt-in user setting.
Strengths, risks, and final assessment
Strengths
- Faster discovery for users with large app catalogs by removing the separate All apps page.
- Flexible presentation modes (Category/Grid/List) that accommodate visual and keyboard-first workflows.
- Better use of large screens, reducing empty space and giving the Start surface a denser, more informative appearance.
Risks and weaknesses
- Perceived intrusiveness on small screens: on many laptops the Start canvas can feel like a near full-screen panel, which frustrates users who expect a transient overlay. This perception is hardware- and scale-dependent.
- Rollout and QA friction: bundling UI redesigns with servicing updates and gating them server-side produced a piecemeal exposure that coincided with other regressions (for example, Task Manager duplication and provisioning-related shell failures). Enterprises need to manage the risk of imaging and provisioning breakage carefully.
- Unsupported customization risk: community methods to flip server-side feature flags exist, but they are inherently unsupported and can complicate long-term management.
Practical guidance summary (quick reference)
- Want the old, smaller Start? Hide Recommended, disable Phone Link, adjust display scaling, or wait for Microsoft’s staged rollout to complete.
- Are you an admin imaging devices or running VDI? Test thoroughly and apply the KB5072911 package re-registration script when necessary. Monitor Microsoft Search/Release Health for the permanent fix.
- Don’t flip feature flags with community tools on production devices—documented community methods exist but carry real risk if applied broadly.
Conclusion
Microsoft’s Start menu redesign addresses long-standing discoverability complaints and aligns Start with modern expectations for adaptable, content-rich UIs. The implementation — a single, vertically scrollable Start canvas with multiple app-list views and Phone Link integration — is an intentional design shift that benefits many workflows, particularly on larger or touch-friendly displays. However, the change is not universally positive: smaller screens and specific provisioning scenarios reveal clear downsides, and staged rollout plus preview bundling has produced real operational friction for administrators.
For home users the best path is to adjust visible toggles or wait for the staged rollout to stabilize. For enterprises the new Start should be treated as a bona fide change to the desktop experience: pilot, validate, and apply Microsoft’s provisioning mitigations where necessary. The redesign will likely be net-positive for many, but its successful adoption hinges on careful testing, clear user communication, and disciplined image management.
Source: Inbox.lv
New Problem: A Giant Start Menu Has Appeared in Windows