3 Ways To Refresh Your Windows 11 PC - Missing Refresh Button?

If you've updated Windows 11 Insider versions, you may have noticed that the refresh button is missing and there is no way to refresh your PC. Now, while the option is missing from its original location, it hasn't completely gone away. Here are two easy ways to refresh your computer running Windows 11.

How to find the refresh button and refresh Windows 11

The Refresh button updates the content or desktop after any change. Windows reloads the updated version of the data there. This usually happens automatically, but you might want to refresh manually in some cases, say you saved a file, but it doesn't appear in the folder.

On previous versions of Windows, you could right-click anywhere and press "Refresh" to refresh the computer. However, the option seems to have been moved to the new Windows, at least on Insider's initial preview. Anyway, here's how you can find the Refresh button and refresh your Windows 11 device.

1. Using the context menu

The Refresh button is always available in the context menu. However, it is now hidden under "Show more options" and requires three taps instead of two, as follows:

1. Right click anywhere on the screen.

2. Once the context menu is open, click on Show more options basically.

3. Finally, you will see the Refresh button. Tap on it to refresh your Windows 11 device.

2. Keyboard shortcut

If typing three times seems tiring, press Shift + F10 simultaneously on your keyboard. This will directly open the old context menu with the refresh option. You can now press the Refresh button normally as you do.

Instead of right-clicking and pressing “Show more options”, you can directly press the key combination to open the More options menu.

3. Using the F5 key

For those who don't know, you can refresh Windows by by pressing the F5 key on your keyboard, and it works fine on the new Windows. You can press F5 to refresh the content and also to reload your browser tabs.

It is much faster and more convenient compared to the other two methods.

Can I get the Windows 10 style refresh option on Windows 11?

The Refresh button is now hidden in the “Show more options” submenu. However, this is a very initial release and Microsoft can always change things with future releases. Thus, if it is not well received by users, the giant can undo the change.

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These were three quick ways to refresh any Windows 11 computer. That said, we'll update this space if we find other ways that work to refresh Windows 11, whether by running third-party tools or by modifying the registry. Until then, stay tuned for more tips and tricks.