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Microsoft is finally fixing Windows 10 rearranging apps on multiple monitors

No more dragging your apps back to where they should be

No more dragging your apps back to where they should be

A picture of the Windows logo on a background of squares with various glyphs that look like computers.
A picture of the Windows logo on a background of squares with various glyphs that look like computers.
Image: The Verge
Tom Warren
is a senior correspondent and author of Notepad, who has been covering all things Microsoft, PC, and tech for over 20 years.

If you’re a Windows user and you use multiple monitors, you’ve probably experienced the headache of apps randomly rearranging when you resume from sleep. There have been a variety of ways to work around this over the years, but Microsoft is finally addressing it and fixing it in a future Windows 10 update.

“The technical terminology we use to describe this problem is known as Rapid Hot Plug Detect (Rapid HPD),” explains Michelle Xiong, a program manager on the graphics team at Microsoft. “This behavior impacts DisplayPort multi-monitor setups which results in unwanted desktop rearrangements.”

This problem is particularly troublesome if you’re using a laptop with a secondary screen or an additional monitor goes into deep sleep and Windows thinks it has been unplugged. Windows will then go ahead and move all of your apps onto another screen, and you have to drag them all back manually. It’s a giant headache if you experience the issue daily.

Microsoft has been working on preventing Rapid HPD from rearranging Windows apps, and a fix is coming in the big Windows 10 update that’s due later this year. Windows Insiders can currently get access to this with build 21287 or above, but it does mean running a beta version of the OS on a device. Microsoft is expected to ship this final update in October, but if you can’t wait then you can go ahead and try it right now.

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