In Windows 11 file explorer navigation pane, how do I move Quick Access pins back to the top of the list?

I have this same issue. I have found an option under view settings that puts the quick access icons back under home, but unfortunately now they are duplicated. That is, the section we're trying to move remains while those folders ALSO show under Home. Ugh.

EDIT: Looks like this is a bug or something with Tabbed Explorer. https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/win11-tabbed-explorer-duplicate-links-from-home/0b224b47-5234-4535-8b66-a2cdeaaaf364

I find this new navigation pane in Win 11 a complete pain, and in ways very inaccessible! Why can't personal be included with other main base folders, especially as I have chosen for files to be kept on the laptop too. So all important folders can have easy drop down menus... without having folders repeated in several sections.
The best view i've found has personal up top, but all other folder have to be places in library to have a drop down menu... which creates an extra folder in a folder... meaning you have to click drop down... which just shows you the same base folder... which you then have to click drop down again!! ...it's as if that part of windows is totally unfinished in development..

Something a lot of people don't realise, and I didn't for weeks... items in the personal folder ARE NOT on the laptop! They are auto deleted and immediately puffed up to ONLY be there floating in the cloud! So if cloud messes up, or you are somewhere where their isn't internet access ...you have no access to those files... people's all important docs and pix! So could even lost FOREVER, especially if people lose access to their account.

The other incredibly and massively dangerous thing of Win 11... this synch thing, it makes it seem you have to! You do... turn on old laptop... and BANG! The old laptop is as if part reformatted... even very important programs had been removed from my old laptop, many files too in some folders? this new Win 11 laptop like a virus just totally took over and changed everything. And what's most stupid about it... the old laptop is Win 10, and not even capable of having Win11... so why change and delete so much? It was more dangerous and damaging than ANY virus i've encountered. The only thing to do before activating a new laptop! Is create a new account for the old one, but no synching net data.
In some ways I love Win 11, and in others, i'm pretty horrified at how stupid and dangerous it is.

Couldn't agree more! Microsoft really started screwing this File Navigation up when they go rid of the "shortcuts" and replaced them with "quick links" that forced you to use the name of the folder instead of being able to rename to whatever you wanted as is the case with a shortcut. I like to "indent" my quick access shortcuts by using "......." in front of the file name to give it some kind of outline hierarchy. Now if I want to do that I have to rename the actual folder! I believe that started in Windows 10. Now with Windows 11...they've been able to even screw that up!!! That is the problem with a corporation getting so big...they could care less what the individual user wants/needs!!

RE: the spacing issue, you can reduce this via the "Decrease space between items (compact view)" folder view option.

Hah!😉