Taskbar issue

Hi Jay , this is Kimberly. I'm glad to assist you today.

Follow this method to remove all pinned site shortcuts (like the “Google” one) from your taskbar while keeping normal Edge pinned.

Close Microsoft Edge completely.

Right-click Start → Windows PowerShell (Admin) or Terminal (Admin).

Copy & paste this command, then press Enter:

Get-ChildItem "$env:AppData\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\TaskBar" |

Where-Object { $.Name -like "Google" -or $.Name -like "*.website" } |

Remove-Item -Force

Restart Explorer so the taskbar refreshes:

Stop-Process -Name explorer -Force

Windows will reload the taskbar without the duplicate Google icon.

Should you have more questions, please let me know.

Best regards,

Kimberly

Hi Jay Wink,

Thank you for contacting Microsoft Q&A regarding the duplicate "Google" icon appearing on your taskbar when opening Microsoft Edge to google.com. I understand how confusing this behavior can be and appreciate your patience while we investigate.

This issue is typically caused by Microsoft Edge treating google.com as a Progressive Web App (PWA) or launching it in a site-isolated window. When this happens, Windows may treat the site as a separate app instance, resulting in a second icon on the taskbar. This icon behaves like a standalone app, which is why both icons close together and why unpinning the second one doesn’t work as expected.

You’ve already tried a PowerShell method to remove pinned site shortcuts, which is a great first step. Since that didn’t resolve the issue, please try the following additional steps:

Step 1: Clear Cache and Cookies

-Open Edge and go to Settings > Privacy, search, and services.

-Under Clear browsing data, click Choose what to clear.

-Set Time range to All time.

-Check Cookies and other site data and Cached images and files.

-Click Clear now, then restart Edge.

Step 2: Remove Installed Site Apps

-In Edge, go to edge://apps.

-Look for any app named Google or related to google.com.

-Click the three-dot menu next to it and select Remove.

Step 3: Clear Site Permissions

-Go to edge://settings/content/all.

-Search for google.com and remove any site-specific settings.

Step 4: Disable Background App Behavior

-Go to edge://settings/system.

-Turn off:

• Startup Boost
• Continue running background extensions and apps when Microsoft Edge is closed

Step 5: Unpin and Re-pin Edge Properly

-Open Edge and navigate to a non-Google site (e.g., bing.com).

-Right-click both Edge icons on the taskbar and select Unpin.

-Close Edge completely.

-Reopen Edge from the Start Menu.

-Right-click the new icon and choose Pin to taskbar.

Please let me know how it goes. If you need further assistance or have any other questions, I'm here to help.

Hi Jay Wink,

Thank you again for your update on this case.

Since previous steps haven’t resolved the behavior, I recommend trying the following advanced options:

Step 1: Create a New Microsoft Edge Profile

Sometimes profile-specific settings or cached behaviors can cause persistent UI issues. Creating a fresh profile may help:

-Open Edge and go to Settings > Profiles.

-Click Add profile and follow the prompts.

-Use the new profile to open google.com and observe whether the duplicate icon appears.

If resolved, you can migrate bookmarks and settings from the old profile.

Step 2: Reinstall Microsoft Edge

Reinstalling Edge can reset app associations and shortcut behaviors:

-Open Settings > Apps > Installed apps.

-Locate Microsoft Edge, click Uninstall (if available).

-If Uninstall is not available, proceed directly to reinstall using the official installer: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/edge/download?form=MA13FJ

-Run the installer to overwrite or repair the existing installation

Step 3: Create a New Windows User Profile

Creating a new Windows user account can help isolate whether the issue is tied to your current profile:

 -Go to Settings > Accounts > Other users. 

-Click Add account → choose Add a user without a Microsoft account. 

-Enter a username and password → click Next. 

-Sign in with the new account and test Edge behavior.

 For more detailed instructions, please refer to the official Microsoft support page at: How to create a Local account in Windows 11 - ARTICLE - Microsoft Q&A 

Step 4: Perform an In-Place Upgrade of Windows

An in-place upgrade refreshes system files and app behaviors without removing your data:

*Disclaimer: Let’s try performing an in-place install or in-place upgrade which will refresh your Windows files and operating system without removing files or applications. That being said, we always recommend that if you have important data, you should back it up before making large system changes. If you want to back up your data first, please do so. Once you are done backing up, you can follow the steps in the following guides:   

How to run In-place upgrade in Windows 11 - Microsoft Q&A 

How to perform a Windows 11 In-place upgrade | Microsoft - YouTube 

Please feel free to let me know if you have any further updates, I’m happy to assist further.

Hello! Jay,

This is a well-known workaround when duplicate icons appear, especially with browsers like Edge or Chrome:

Launch Edge and navigate to google.com causing the duplicate to show.

Right-click the active instance (the underlined icon that indicates it's running).

Select “Pin to taskbar” for that icon.

Now, right-click the original static one and choose “Unpin from taskbar.”

This ensures Windows pins the actual running instance rather than the outdated shortcut. It's commonly recommended for duplicate taskbar icons.

Best regards,

Kimberly

Hello! Jay,

Here’s how you can fix it when Pin to taskbar isn’t available:

1. Remove all existing pinned shortcuts for the browser/site

Right-click any pinned Edge/Chrome/Google icons in the taskbar → Unpin from taskbar.

Also check:

%AppData%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\TaskBar

Delete any shortcuts there for Edge, Chrome, or Google.

2. Create a correct shortcut manually

Open Start → Edge (or Chrome) normally.

Go to google.com.

If using Edge:

Click the … menu → Apps → Install this site as an app → name it (e.g., "Google").

Right-click that new app in Start → More → Pin to taskbar.

If using Chrome:

Menu (⋮) → More tools → Create shortcut → check Open as window → Create.

Right-click the new shortcut in Start → More → Pin to taskbar.

3. If still broken — clear the App ID mapping

Sometimes Windows keeps mismatched AppUserModelIDs.

Press Win+R → run:

ie4uinit.exe -show

Then log off and back on.

Best regards,

Kimberly