How to use and customize the Windows 11 Quick Settings

The Quick Settings in Windows 11 allow you to modify frequently-used settings of the operating system without digging through menus or memorizing complicated keyboard shortcuts. For instance, you can use the Windows 11 Quick Settings panel to adjust the volume and brightness of your laptop, as well as switch Wi-Fi networks, activate Night light or Airplane mode, and more. On top of that (literally), you also get media playback controls when playing music in Microsoft Edge or apps like Spotify. Read this guide to find out more about the Quick Settings in Windows 11 and how to save time using them: How to access the Quick Settings in Windows 11 The Windows 11 Quick Settings replace the Quick actions from Windows 10’s Action Center, so you can use the same keyboard shortcut to open them. Press Windows + A simultaneously on your keyboard, and you can see the Quick Settings panel slide out of the right edge of your main display. The keyboard shortcut for Quick Settings in Windows 11 Another easy way to access the Windows 11 Quick Settings panel on your laptop is by clicking or tapping on the network, volume, or battery icons in the system tray - in the bottom-right corner of your screen, next to the clock. Use the button next to the clock to bring up the Quick Settings If you’re using a desktop PC and a cable connection for internet access, you get a volume icon next to a computer icon instead. Click or tap on either to bring up the Windows 11 Quick Settings. The Quick Settings button looks different on a desktop computer TIP: As you can see in the screenshot above, you get fewer Quick Settings on desktop computers running Windows 11 because they don’t need certain buttons, like battery and Wi-Fi. The Quick Settings available in Windows 11 and how to use them The number of available Windows 11 Quick Settings depends on your device, and you decide which ones are shown in the panel for easy access. However, before explaining how to add and remove Quick Settings, let’s see what each of them does. To make things easier, we enabled all the Quick Settings on our Lenovo laptop and arranged them in alphabetical order. There are a total of fifteen Quick Settings on our device: thirteen buttons and two sliders at the bottom. The Quick Settings available on a Lenovo laptop running Windows 11 Accessibility - Opens a menu where you can quickly enable the Windows 11 accessibility features Magnifier, Color filters, Narrator, Mono audio, and Sticky keys. Airplane mode - Turns the Airplane mode on or off. Battery saver - Enables or disables the Battery saver to conserve energy and keep your device running longer. Bluetooth - Turns the Bluetooth chip on your device on or off. Cast - Allows you to expand the display wirelessly on other devices, like your Smart TV or Chromecast. Focus assist - Toggles through the different modes of Focus assist, which turns off Windows 11 notifications. You can use Priority only, Alarms only, or turn off the feature. Keyboard layout - Opens a menu where you can choose between the keyboard layouts installed in Windows 11. Mobile hotspot - Turns mobile hotspot on or off, letting you use your Windows 11 device as a Wi-Fi hotspot to share your internet connection. Nearby sharing - Enables or disables Nearby sharing, allowing you to share files and other types of content with devices in range through Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Night light - Enables or disables the Night light display mode to reduce eye strain in a dark environment. Project - Very useful with multiple monitors or a projector. It opens a menu where you can decide how to best project your screen on another display. Rotation lock - Locks and unlocks the rotation of the screen on Windows 11 tablets and 2-in-1 devices with rotation sensors (accelerometer and gyroscope). Wi-Fi - Helps you connect to an available Wi-Fi network, as well as disconnect from one. For more details, check out our guide on connecting to Wi-Fi in Windows 11. Brightness - Lets you modify your display’s brightness level by moving the slider at the bottom of the panel. Volume - helps you adjust the volume on your device. You can also use the arrow next to the slider to open a menu and select different speakers in Windows 11. Right-clicking or pressing-and-holding on most Quick Settings opens a contextual menu. If you click or tap on “Go to Settings,” this opens the corresponding section of the Settings app. TIP: You can also use the gear icon in the lower-right corner of the Quick Settings panel to access the Settings app. For more methods, check out the 17 ways to open Settings in Windows 11. Some apps, like Microsoft Edge or Spotify, can add media controls to Quick Settings in a different panel, located on top of the main one, as seen below. Microsoft Edge adds a panel with media controls How to customize the Quick Settings in Windows 11 As mentioned above, you decide which Quick Settings are displayed in the panel. The easiest way to do this is to click or tap the “Edit quick settings” pencil button in the bottom-right corner. Editing Quick Settings in Windows 11 Alternatively, you can also right-click or press-and-hold on a button or a free space inside the Quick Settings and then click or tap on “Edit quick settings.” Select Edit quick settings from the right-click menu This opens the editing mode, where you can customize the Quick Settings panel depending on your preferences and needs. Enter the editing mode to customize Quick Settings in Windows 11 To remove an existing setting, click or tap the unpin icon shown in the upper-right corner of each of the displayed Quick Settings buttons. Keep in mind that you can’t remove or relocate the two sliders at the bottom. Press the unpin icon to remove a button from the Windows 11 Quick Settings To add a new setting, click or tap on the Add button at the bottom of the panel. This brings up a list of other available Quick Settings. Clicking or tapping on any of the listed Quick Settings immediately adds it to the panel. Click or tap Add to enable more Quick Settings Finally, you can also change the order of the displayed Quick Settings. While in edit mode, drag and drop the available buttons to arrange them in a way that makes sense to you. What Quick Settings would you add in Windows 11? We think the Quick Settings panel is a fast way to adjust and enable the options you use the most in Windows 11. Microsoft has been improving this feature since its launch, so we’re hoping for more useful additions. What do you think? Are there other Quick Settings you’d like to see in this panel? Which ones? Let us know in the comments.