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
    2023-04-24T07:54:05+00:00

    I seem to remember MS insisting on replacing/updating the Nvidia graphics card driver with their own - might there be a connection?

    I have an RTX 3060 Ti using Nvidia's latest drivers (v531.68). If Microsoft is messing with that then I'm unaware.

    I'm not convinced this is a useful line of enquiry - we've had people with AMD cards reporting the same issue (aromack was one, on page 12).

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  2. Anonymous
    2023-04-24T08:08:44+00:00

    I seem to remember MS insisting on replacing/updating the Nvidia graphics card driver with their own - might there be a connection?

    I have an RTX 3060 Ti using Nvidia's latest drivers (v531.68). If Microsoft is messing with that then I'm unaware.

    I'm not convinced this is a useful line of enquiry - we've had people with AMD cards reporting the same issue (aromack was one, on page 12).

    This issue have absolutely nothing to do with hardware at all. Use an AMD, Intel, nVidia or integrated graphics, it does not matter. Use an physical or an virtual computer, same deal. An laptop from 2010? Same issue, an laptop from this year? Same issue (except for processing power). This issue began the moment an update was installed, pretty sure it was an cumulative one too, so that means you can't really remove it, also if you have this issue it is basically too late to uninstall the update anyways since this annoyance is never persistent.

    I can get a week where it never happens a single time or a single day where it happens like every hour or so. I can be gaming, working, watching a video/movie or recently rebooted computer with nothing running except for the explorer and a web browser, in fact, just having 2 explorer windows is enough to make it noticeable since the explorer window that is not in focus will actually just pull your focus at random.

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  3. Anonymous
    2023-04-24T16:16:06+00:00

    My laptop is an HP Zbook with AMD Radeon Pro WX3200, so looks like the issue is not linked to Nvidia

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  4. Anonymous
    2023-04-24T21:42:01+00:00

    This issue has completely taken over our entire organization. If the file explorer window is left open in the background, it'll just randomly seize control and pup up on top of whatever you are working on. It is MASSIVELY frustrating and has caused us to accidentally delete things. PLEASE FIX THIS!

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  5. Anonymous
    2023-04-24T22:39:44+00:00

    Ben Layton

    How To Complain Via Microsoft's Feedback Hub

    If we all keep posting, etc., via MS's Feedback Hub it could help bring a quicker solution (squeaky wheel and all that). Here's how you do that:

    On your Win 11computer (not sure how to do this in Win10), in Settings, go to System & scroll to bottom, select About, scroll to bottom again and punch Give Feedback.

    Select:

    Category - Files, Folders, & Online Storage

    Subcategory - File Explorer

    Then search for: "Sometimes on the latest version of Windows 11, File Explorer will take foreground focus by itself and go on top of the app I was using"

    Then upvote it. You can also post your own grip thread there as well...

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