MenucoveMenu bar icons hidden behind the notch? Here’s how to get them back.
On a MacBook with a notch, macOS quietly drops menu bar icons that don’t fit. There’s no warning and no “more” button. Here’s why it happens and what you can do about it, starting with fixes that cost nothing.
Why the notch hides icons
Your menu bar has two parts. On the left are the menus of the app you’re using (File, Edit, View and so on). On the right are the icons of apps running in the background: Wi-Fi, battery, sync apps, VPNs, timers and the rest.
On a MacBook with a notch, the camera takes a chunk out of the middle. When the app menus and the icons can’t both fit, the app menus win. Icons that don’t fit to the right of the notch simply aren’t shown, and macOS doesn’t tell you.
That’s why icons seem to come and go. Switch to an app with lots of menus, like a photo or code editor, and icons vanish. Click the desktop so Finder is in front, with its short list of menus, and some of them come back.
The icons are still running. Their apps work as normal; you just can’t click them.
Four free fixes
1. Click the desktop to see more icons
Finder has fewer menus than most apps, so clicking an empty spot on the desktop leaves more room on the right. It’s a quick way to reach an icon now and then, but the icon disappears again as soon as you switch back.
2. Remove icons you don’t need
Fewer icons means more of the rest fit. A few ways to do it:
- Drag it out. Hold ⌘ and drag an icon down, out of the menu bar. This works for many system icons and some apps. It only works on icons you can see.
- Control Center settings. Open System Settings › Control Center and set system items like Bluetooth, Focus or Now Playing to “Don’t show in menu bar”.
- Menu Bar settings (macOS 26 Tahoe). System Settings › Menu Bar lists apps with an “Allow in the Menu Bar” switch.
- The app’s own settings. Many apps have a “Show in menu bar” option in their settings.
The catch: a removed icon is gone. If you need that app’s menu later, you have to turn it back on.
3. Tighten the space between icons
macOS leaves a fair gap around each icon. Two hidden settings shrink it, which often fits a few more icons. In Terminal, set them to a smaller value, then log out and back in:
defaults -currentHost write -globalDomain NSStatusItemSpacing -int 6
defaults -currentHost write -globalDomain NSStatusItemSelectionPadding -int 6To go back to the normal spacing, delete them and log out again:
defaults -currentHost delete -globalDomain NSStatusItemSpacing
defaults -currentHost delete -globalDomain NSStatusItemSelectionPaddingThese settings aren’t documented by Apple, so a macOS update could change how they behave.
4. Give the screen more room
In System Settings › Displays, choosing a “More Space” resolution makes everything a little smaller, including the menu bar, so more icons fit beside the notch. The trade-off is smaller text everywhere.
Keep every app reachable
The free fixes make room, but the problem returns as you install more apps. A menu bar manager takes a different approach: it keeps the few icons you use every day and moves the rest somewhere you can still reach.
That’s what Menucove does. Press Show on your favorites and Tuck away on the rest. Click the crab in your menu bar, and every tucked-away app is listed in one place. Apps whose icons don’t fit beside the notch are listed too. Click one, and its real menu opens, even if its icon is stuck behind the notch.
Tidying needs no special permission. Opening an app’s menu from the crab uses macOS Accessibility, which Menucove asks for only when you choose to. Quit Menucove and every icon comes straight back.
One honest limit: icons hidden far behind the notch can’t be moved by any app. Menucove can’t drag them out, but their menus still open from the crab.
Other menu bar managers handle the notch differently. Bartender and Thaw, for example, can show hidden icons in a separate bar below. See how the main options compare.
A calm menu bar, every app one click away.
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Get MenucoveCommon questions
Can I drag an icon out from behind the notch?
Not directly. ⌘-drag only works on icons you can see. Click the desktop first so Finder is in front, which may uncover the icon, then drag it where you want it.
Does an external display help?
Yes. An external display has no notch, so its menu bar usually shows every icon. The built-in screen still hides them.
Is this a bug?
No. It’s how macOS has handled the notch since the first notched MacBook Pro: app menus get priority, and extra icons are left out.