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
    2023-08-10T21:25:10+00:00

    Totally with you on that Dip, Bill and JRG.

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  2. Anonymous
    2023-08-10T20:19:56+00:00

    This issue has a way of continually finding new ways to be disruptive to work flows. Latest thing I've noticed is that if I'm working with multiple opened Explorer windows, I'll be performing an operation on one Explorer window when another will suddenly pop in to take it's place. Extremely disruptive to work flow.

    It is certainly disruptive. The way the explorer just pops up, sometimes multiple explorer windows, at various seemingly random times - even when nobody is touching keys or mouse, and especially while we're typing etc, is totally unsatisfactory.

    I can understand unforeseen glitches in software. But for situations like this, there definitely needs to be accountability. They need to get a team not just on the case, but also need to have a representative say that the team is working on it, and have this issue sorted, within days. Not within many months. That is, have some formal communications, or at least some official communications from the 'top'.

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  3. Anonymous
    2023-08-10T07:20:40+00:00

    I'll reserve judgement on that til the Explorer issue is fixed - If my black screen problem gets fixed at the same time ... qed.

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  4. Anonymous
    2023-08-10T01:44:32+00:00

    Feel free to give feedback, on the Feedback Hub item, here: https://aka.ms/AAjglx2

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  5. Anonymous
    2023-08-09T23:14:28+00:00

    Windows 11 Home updated to version 10.0.22621 Build 22621 this morning, but still no fix. Same ****, different day.

    A most bizarre situation. Now that is 2023 - not eg. 1980, nobody would expect that users would need to be encountering this pop-up issue. And even if such an issue occurs and gets reported, then one would expect it to be fixed in a day, or a week. Not after months, with no words about what is being done to sort it.

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