Windows 11--most recently opened Explorer window keeps popping up into the foreground

Anonymous
2023-01-01T17:15:47+00:00

About a month ago Windows Explorer started the annoying habit of routinely moving its most recently opened window into the foreground. Is there a way to stop it from doing this?

For example, I'll open an Explorer window to open a file into another application, and a few minutes later, for no apparent reason, Windows Explorer will interrupt the application by popping its Explorer window into the foreground. The same thing will happen when watching a video: a minute or two into watching the video and the most recently opened Explorer window will move into the foreground interrupting the video.

The only way to stop this behavior is to close all Explorer windows while watching a video or working in another application. Annoying as heck. Any suggestions? Thanks.

Microsoft Windows 11 Home Version 10.0.22621 Build 22621

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Files, folders, and storage

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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  1. Anonymous
    2023-12-05T16:04:37+00:00

    Wait! File Explorer just popped up between us and I can't see you!!!

    "Microooossooooofftttttt!!!!!!!"

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  2. Anonymous
    2023-12-04T23:46:26+00:00

    I have seen that explorer pop-up thing come up during professional presentations, and professional meetings. It's not a minor issue. The surprising situation is that there still appears to be no official representative or official site that relays to the public or customers that a team is officially engaging to resolve the problem. It has been more than one year.

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  3. _AW_ 69,121 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2023-12-04T23:21:43+00:00

    This is fixed in the update KB5032288 currently available as a Cumulative Update Preview.

    • This update addresses an issue that affects File Explorer windows. When you do not expect them, they appear in the foreground.

    https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/december-4-2023-kb5032288-os-builds-22621-2792-and-22631-2792-preview-538fbe4a-e9de-4312-85cd-d870444341d0

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  4. Anonymous
    2023-12-01T14:49:42+00:00

    Unfortunately I don't think anyone from Microsoft actually monitors this forum. Meanwhile, I've reported this issue multiple times via Microsoft's Feedback Hub app (comes with Windows).

    Several weeks ago I posted this issue to Microsoft's "official" technical support subreddit at r/microsoft and received a rather, cool, if not outright hostile response. In so many words I was told that because so few users are experiencing this, and because it's otherwise a "minor" issue, there was no urgency in fixing it. Some of the responses went so far as to suggest that the real issue was myself and that I should learn to relax.

    If this is indicative of Microsoft culture as a whole, then sadly it's a window into what we're up against.

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  5. Anonymous
    2023-01-06T18:13:41+00:00

    The reasons I posted my config was to help provide more diagnostic info. If everyone who has this issue posted their computer's hardware info, it could (maybe) help toward finding a solution.

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