How to re-enable the "Expand to Open Folder" option?

I have 24H2, and my Navigation pane is looking as expected. It contains Documents, Home, and other quick access folders. If I expand "Home" I see Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Pictures, and other quick access folders.

In addition to "Show all folders" I also enabled "Expand to open folder"

My configuration:

File Explorer > ... > Options > View tab > Navigation pane >

Unchecked: Always show availability status

Checked: Expand to open folder

Checked: Show all folders

Unchecked: Show libraries

Unchecked: Show network

Checked: Show This PC

Bug fixes to Windows 11 File Explorer coming soon

The Windows Latest online article announced a few days ago some fixes to Explorer coming soon to Windows 11.

Microsoft confirms Windows 11 24H2 File Explorer issues, including content overlap in full screen

https://www.windowslatest.com/2025/01/09/windows-11-explorer-overlaps-content-bug/

However, this article unfortunately did not mention the "Expand to all folders" issue.

The Windows Insider blogs also do not mention the issue anywhere.

If anyone has access to the Microsoft Windows development team, on behalf of the many countless thousands of Windows 11 users, we ask that you please report the "Expand to all folders" bug. The problem is WIDESPREAD and occurs on several versions of Windows 11.

For the benefit of this post, here are just some of the forthcoming fixes to File Explorer as reported in recent Windows Insider blogs:

• Fixed an issue where the date/time properties of files were unexpectedly updated in some cases after copying them.
• Fixed an issue where File Explorer may sometimes lose focus on the search box while typing.
• Fixed an issue where when you did a search it may unexpectedly trigger the search happening repeatedly.
• Fixed an issue where the Details Pane icons weren’t responding correctly to theme changes, making it hard to see if you switched from dark to light or vice versa.
• Fixed a black flash in File Explorer that appeared when duplicating a tab.
• Fixed a few issues impacting File Explorer performance and reliability.
• We did some work to help address an issue where File Explorer might hang when browsing a folder with lots of media in it.

Some of these may already have been released last month, while others will be rolled out over the next several weeks or so.

I also noticed a trend in the Microsoft Windows Insider blogs is that in the last 2 months there has been increased attention to fixing bugs in File Explorer. Let's hope they continue to do so.

In the meantime, for those users experiencing the "Expand to all folders" bug, please report this issue in the Microsoft Feedback app.

Rupertsland,

Canada

I've discovered a workaround. If you ALSO enable the "Show all folders" checkbox in Folder Options, it'll make "Expand to Open Folder" actually work.

Of course, this floods your Navigation pane with a dozen worthless folders that I don't know how to hide, but until (unless...) this bug is fixed, it's a price of annoyance that I'm willing to pay.

Funny cos on my work laptop the features has always worked, only on my personal pc is not working 🤷🏻‍♂️

What is sttrange is that I have another laptop with exactly same Win 11 PRo version 22H2 OS build 22621.2428 and there all is working.