Written by
Amanda Wong
Located on the top of the Mac screen, the Mac menu bar displays the menus and icons system-related and user-customized, you can use them to choose commands, perform tasks, and check status. However, some Mac users find the icons missing from the Mac menu bar on macOS Sonoma/Ventura/<Monterey.
Hi. The Dropbox logo is missing from the menu bar on MAC Sonoma 14.1.2. It does not show when DB is running. I have uninstalled and reinstalled DB but still not there. When MBP is restarted, the icon shows briefly then disappears. Any ideas?
This is a weird issue. I am on a Mac Pro (Late 2013). This Mac was recently purchased via the marketplace. Everything is functioning except for the missing icons on the menubar. Although all icons are ticked for 'Show in Menu Bar', the only icons visible in normal mode are Spotlight, Siri, and Time Machine. Icons like Wifi, Bluetooth, ControlCentre, and Sound don't appear on the menubar.
If you find the system modules' and apps' icons disappear from the Mac menu bar, you can apply the following fixes provided by iBoysoft.
What causes Mac menu bar icons missing?
The system modules you set to show in the menu bar and the apps running should be visible in the Mac menu bar, and you may encounter two different scenarios when icons not showing in the Mac menu bar:
The icons of a few selected system modules and opened apps should be displayed in the Mac menu bar, but some are missing. In such a situation, the possible causes are incorrect system settings, system glitches, Control Center malfunctions, icons hidden by third-party apps, etc. Then, head to solutions 1- 5.
Besides, if you have selected a lot of system modules to show in the menu bar or run a lot of apps simultaneously in the backup, the limited Mac menu bar can't show them all. However, the tricks 6-10 can help solve this issue.
This post explains why your top menu bar does not show up in macOS Sonoma/VenturaMonterey and earlier versions and tells how to get the Mac toolbar back in Mac full-screen mode or on the Mac desktop.
How to fix Mac menu bar icons disappearing?
Now, we are going to dive into detailed fixes for the Mac menu bar icons missing issue. After applying these workable solutions, the disappeared icons in the menu bar should show as normal.
1. Restart the Mac
Restarting Mac is a quick fix for some minor issues Mac caused by temporary system glitches, after performing a restarting on the Mac, it starts up from scratch, it may make the missing icons show in the Mac menu bar again.
2. Check the menu bar settings
If it is an icon of the system features missing such as Spotlight, Bluetooth, etc., you should make sure you have set it to show it in the menu bar in System Settings, here is how to check:
- Click the Apple menu and choose System Settings.
- Scroll the left sidebar and click Control Center.
- Check the three sections: Control Center Modules, Other Modules, and Menu Bar Only, to make sure you have set the desired icons to Show in the Menu Bar. You can click the button next to the module to make changes.
3. Relaunch Control Center
The Mac menu bar icons disappearing problem could be the result of malfunctioning Control Center, therefore, you can try to relaunch Control Center to see whether it works. You need to open the Activity Monitor app, find the Control Center process, and quit it, then access the menu bar again.
4. Disable third-party menu bar tool
Have you installed any third-party tool to help organize and manage all of your menu bar apps and icons? If so, the missing icons could be put into there such as Hidden Bar, which provides a simple chevron “<” icon, you can click it from the menu bar to expand and collapse the extra icons.
5. Upgrade macOS
In case the above methods don't work to solve the Mac menu bar icons missing issue, the OS errors could be the culprit, perhaps the macOS is outdated, so you can try to upgrade macOS. If the issue occurs after you upgrade macOS, you can try to reinstall macOS, downgrade macOS, or wait for future updates to solve the issue.
6. Remove some system icons from the menu bar
As the Mac menu bar is limited, it will automatically hide some and show the icons of system-related modules in priority when too many icons need to be displayed there, thus you can't see the icons of your apps. You can check the menu bar settings to remove some unnecessary ones to free up space for other icons.
7. Show some system icons in the Control Center only
Actually, you can set some system modules to show in the Control Center only, in this way, you can easily access them from the Control Center and leave more menu bar space for other app icons. Just follow the steps below:
- Go to the System Settings and select Control Center.
- In the Control Center Modules section, tap the drop-box button and choose Don't Show in Menu Bar.
- In Other Modules, you can toggle off the Show in Menu Bar button next to each module, and toggle on the button Show in Control Center.
- In Menu Bar only, choose whether to show those features in menu bar based on your needs.
8. Move the icons to the right side of the menu bar
Although the number of icons that can be shown in the Mac menu bar is limited, you can change the locations of icons, that is to say, you can move the icons from the left to the right to be visible, just hold the Command key and drag the icon.
9. Access necessary apps from the right-click menu
There is an alternative way you can choose to quickly access the frequently-used and favorite apps on Mac, that is to access the apps from the right-click menu enhanced by iBoysoft MagicMenu. You can add any app, file, folder, or website to the Finder context menu via iBoysoft MagicMenu, the right-click tool for Mac.
- Free download, install, and run iBoysoft MagicMenu on your Mac.
- Click the app icon in the menu bar and choose Open Main UI.
- Select Quick Access from the tool's left sidebar.
- Then click the add button and choose the desired app.
- Tap the Import button, you can access it from the right-click menu bar now.
10. Hide the Mac menu bar icons with a third-party app
Of course, you can choose to use a third-party menu bar tool that enables you to hide icons such as the Hidden Bar we have mentioned before, you can click the < button in the menu bar to show all hidden icons.
Share these effective methods for missing Mac menu bar icons!
