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

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  1. Anonymous
    2023-07-18T00:53:15+00:00

    This has nothing to do with OneDrive. It has to do with windows 11 and explorer specifically. This issue occurs when you have explorer open and switch to a different active window. Explorer will override what ever active windows even when it is minimized and assert itself to the foreground. Microsoft has completely failed to address this issue going over a year now. I for one have taken action at my company to revert all 25 thousand..yes 25,000 clients from windows 11 back to windows 10 and we are looking into possible legal action. This issue alone has cost our company millions of dollars in time and productivity. .

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  2. Anonymous
    2023-07-17T14:33:46+00:00

    I've tried disconnecting OneDrive, as well as disconnecting my external USB drives, but I still regularly get the pop-up, about once per minute when I'm actively working at my desktop. Most annoying when I'm engaged in a complicated CGI procedure or using a stylus with Photoshop and the sudden appearance of an Explorer window will both highjack and scuttle the process, forcing me back to square one.

    There's a discussion about this on Reddit:

    https://www.reddit.com/r/microsoft/comments/14yl1ss/when_will_microsoft_fix_this_serious_windows_11/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3

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  3. Anonymous
    2023-07-17T07:15:52+00:00

    I only use onedrive at work where it happens only occasionally at home no onedrive and it happens at least daily

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  4. Anonymous
    2023-07-15T00:57:52+00:00

    Happening here as well. My initial guess is that it relates to a OneDrive sync either kicking off or ending, but I haven't been able to catch that in a test appropriately yet.

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  5. Anonymous
    2023-07-14T18:52:14+00:00

    Devil's advocate here: It's possible that the issue could be causing a vulnerability and they are trying not to draw attention to it.

    Just a thought.

    Doesn't change the fact that it is obnoxious and disruptive!

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