Windows 11 language bar "docked in the taskbar" greyed out

Exactly. That config works. Thanks!!!

Excellent. This works for me, after a clean install of Windows 11.

There are two types of language bars - one coming from the Windows XP generation, the other introduced in Windows 10. The "desktop language bar" from XP is the older one. In Windows 10, the user can select either of them and both can sit in the taskbar properly or in other words "docked in the Taskbar". In Windows 11, the older one can not be docked as the option is greyed out as mentioned by Redhonker.

Now you may raise the question "Why do you need the older one when a newer one is there? And the reason is - in the older one - we can see and use additional functions attached to a particular keyboard if we check the option "show additional language bar icons in the taskbar" which are useful for us.

My answer is not directly related to the main topic. As detailed later, for some unknow reason my language bar went missing and it was around the same time I changed from the "docked in the taskbar" option to "hidden".

Afterwards I had the following issue:

With disabling the "Use the desktop language bar when it's available" option on "Time & language / Language & region / Typing / Advance keyboard settings" the language bar is only shown on the taskbar when one of the languages has multiple keyboard layout selected. (At that point of time I just looked my first language in the list)

Just for clarification:

• under the "Preferred language" at "Time & language / Language & region" you may have multiple languages.
• for each language here, by selecting the ". . . Language" options, you may have multiple keyboards (added by using the [Add keyboard] button at the "Install keyboards - For language- specific key layout and input options" section).

Usually there is one key sequence to switch "input language" and one to switch "keyboard layout" now days we can circle around with Win-Space too.

On one PC1 it looks like this:

Edition Windows 11 Pro

Version 23H2

OS build 22631.2861

Experience Windows Feature Experience Pack 1000.22681.1000.0

On PC2 it looks like this:

Edition Windows 11 Pro

Version 23H2

OS build 22631.2861

Experience Windows Feature Experience Pack 1000.22681.1000.0

I usually it looks like PC2 and that is my preference since I often write on different language, and selecting the correct language, usually gives the correct spelling setting example in PowerPoint the proofing language is assigned based on the "Input language". I know some programmers prefer the English keyboard layout for programming.

Solution for me was:

It turned out, for some unknow reasons (not only the language bar but also) the keyboard layouts from other languages went missing. By adding them back it restored my original setup. For example, under the German and Hungarian language there was no keyboard layout visible.

With disabling the "Use the desktop language bar when it's available" option on "Time & language / Language & region / Typing / Advance keyboard settings" the language bar is shown again.

Solution for me was:

It turned out, for some unknow reasons (not only the language bar but also) the keyboard layouts from other languages went missing. By adding them back it restored my original setup. For example, under the German and Hungarian language there was no keyboard layout visible.

With disabling the "Use the desktop language bar when it's available" option on "Time & language / Language & region / Typing / Advance keyboard settings" the language bar is shown again.

This solution worked for me. Specifically the underlined part.