Member Avatar for Member #499247

I have a small problem......

The network icon in notification area in taskbar freezes.
Initially if no internet connection is available, icon shows that it's not connected.

But when I connected to the internet, the icon still remained the same.
Even when the cursor is hovered over it, it does not seem to respond.

Any solution to this???
P.S.: the network icon is animated by default.

Dani AI

Generated

The symptom reported by (icon stays in the "disconnected" state until explorer.exe is restarted) usually points to a stalled notification-area cache or a network-status service (NLA/NCSI) failing to publish updates — not normally a hardware fault. A quick virus scan (as suggested) is reasonable, but the most reliable fixes are to clear the tray cache, reset the network stack and check the network-related services.

Practical steps (run elevated where needed):

Delete the tray icon cache and restart Explorer:

reg delete "HKCU\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\TrayNotify" /v IconStreams /f
reg delete "HKCU\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\TrayNotify" /v PastIconsStream /f
taskkill /f /im explorer.exe
start explorer.exe

Repair system and network stack:

sfc /scannow
netsh winsock reset
netsh int ip reset
ipconfig /flushdns
ipconfig /release
ipconfig /renew

If the problem recurs, verify these points: the Network Location Awareness (NlaSvc), Network List Service (netprofm), Network Connections (Netman) and WMI (winmgmt) are running; NIC drivers are current; corporate proxies or firewalls are not blocking NCSI probes (NCSI active-probing can make Windows show "no Internet" even when packets flow); and whether the issue is profile-specific by testing a fresh user account. A selective startup / clean-boot can reveal third-party shell extensions or tray utilities that interfere.

Cautions: export the TrayNotify key before deleting, create a restore point, and run commands from an elevated prompt. Clearing the TrayNotify values and restarting Explorer fixes this class of freezes in most Vista/7/8/10/11 cases; persistent cases usually trace back to a service, driver, proxy/NCSI policy, or a corrupted user profile.

Hmm... it's oddly, you try to scan your computer using antivirus program, maybe you have a virus... try to scan :)

Member Avatar for Member #499247

Hmm... it's oddly, you try to scan your computer using antivirus program, maybe you have a virus... try to scan :)

No virus......here.

When explorer.exe is restarted, the network icon status changes as expected. Any other process related to the taskbar?

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