Snap Layouts do not appear on the maximize button
Why do Snap Layouts not show up when I hover over the maximize button?
Written by The CommonFixes team · fact checked by CommonFixes review desk
Last updated
Short answer
Snap Layouts is a Windows 11 feature with its own switch, and it is off whenever Snap windows is turned off. It also refuses to show on small or low resolution screens, in apps with custom title bars, and it can be disabled by a workplace policy. The quickest thing to try first: turn the setting back on — Settings, System, Multitasking, switch Snap windows on, then expand it and tick Show snap layouts when I hover over a window's maximise button. Tick the Windows key plus Z option too. Most people are done in about 6 minutes.
Full walkthrough below: 6 steps for Windows, rated easy.
Sounds like this
- •Hovering the maximize button does nothing
- •Windows key plus Z does not open the grid
- •It worked before an update
Why it happens
Snap Layouts is a Windows 11 feature with its own switch, and it is off whenever Snap windows is turned off. It also refuses to show on small or low resolution screens, in apps with custom title bars, and it can be disabled by a workplace policy.
Work through these in order
0% done- 1
Turn the setting back on
Settings, System, Multitasking, switch Snap windows on, then expand it and tick Show snap layouts when I hover over a window's maximise button. Tick the Windows key plus Z option too.
- 2
Try the keyboard shortcut
Press Windows key then Z. If the grid appears that way, the hover option specifically is unticked; go back to the step above. If nothing happens at all, the whole feature is off or blocked.
- 3
Check the screen is big enough
Snap Layouts needs a display at least 1920 pixels wide for the four zone layouts, and it hides some layouts on smaller screens. Settings, System, Display, set the resolution to the recommended value rather than a lower one.
- 4
Remember it does not work everywhere
Apps that draw their own title bar, and anything running in full screen, will not show the flyout. Restore the window out of full screen first, or drag it to a screen corner instead, which still snaps.
- 5
Restart Explorer
Task Manager, find Windows Explorer, right click, Restart. The desktop blinks and comes back, and this reliably fixes the flyout after an update.
- 6
Confirm you are on Windows 11
Press Windows key plus R, type winver, Enter. Snap Layouts does not exist on Windows 10 at all. If you are on Windows 10, FancyZones in Microsoft PowerToys gives you the same thing.
If none of that worked
On a work laptop the feature can be switched off by policy. Your IT desk can confirm; the hover option will look on but never appear.
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This guide was last updated on 10 August 2026. If a step no longer matches what you see on screen, tell us on the contact page and we will test it again.
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