Windows 11 Clipboard History Not Working: How to Fix

Sadique Hassan•Updated Apr 26, 2022

In this guide, we will show you various methods to fix the clipboard history not working in Windows 11. The eleventh iteration of the OS build has bought in a truckload of intriguing features to the fore. The likes of UI changes to the taskbar, Start Menu, and Settings page did manage to grab most of the limelight. However, there were a few under the hood changes that probably went unnoticed. One of them is the slew of goodies that the native clipboard manager has been blessed with.

These include the much-needed Clear All button and the introduction of new Emoji and Kaomoji sections, Symbols, as well as a GIF tab. However, not many are able to make full use of these features. A slew of complaints are lined up wherein users have voiced their concern that the Windows 11 clipboard history is not working on their PC. No matter when they copy a single item or a combination of many, the issue is persistent in both these cases. If you are also getting bugged with this problem, then this guide shall help you fix it once and for all. Follow along.

Table of Contents

How to Fix Windows 11 Clipboard History Not Working

Do note that there’s no universal fix as such. You will have to try out each of the below-mentioned workarounds and then check which one spells out success for you. So with that in mind, let’s get started.

FIX 1: Re-Enable Clipboard History

First and foremost, you should consider disabling and re-enabling this feature. Doing so will give it a fresh instance to work upon, and this, in turn, might rectify the underlying issue.

So bring up the Settings menu via Windows+I shortcut keys.
Then select System from the left menu bar and go to the Clipboard section.
After that, go to Clipboard History and disable the toggle next to it.
Then wait for a few seconds and re-enable it.
Check if it fixes the clipboard history not working in Windows 11.

FIX 2: Restart File Explorer

Most of the clipboard’s services are managed by File Explorer. So if there are any issues with the latter, then its repercussions are bound to be faced by the former. Therefore, you should consider restarting the File Explorer’s services, which could be done as follows:

Launch Task Manager via Ctrl+Shift+Esc shortcut key.
Then select Windows Explorer and click on the Restart button.
After that, head over to the Details tab, select Explorer.exe, and hit End Task.
Now verify if clipboard history is working on your Windows 11 PC or not.

FIX 3: Clear Clipboard Data

If a lot of data has accumulated on your clipboard over the due course of time, or if the stored data has got corrupted, then it not only could they slow down the app, but they could also conflict with its normal functionalities. Therefore your best course of action should be to delete all these data and start storing new data from scratch. Here’s how:

Bring up the Settings menu via Windows+I shortcut keys.
Then select System from the left menu bar and go to the Clipboard section.
After that, click on the Clear button next to Clear Clipboard Data.
Now check if the clipboard history not working in Windows 11 has been fixed or not.

FIX 4: Manual Sync Clipboard Data

If you are having trouble accessing the clipboard data across the synced devices, then you could opt for the manual route of syncing this data. while this would take much more time than the automatic method, but it comes with a higher success rate. So on that note, let’s put it to the test right away. [Before starting, make sure that your second device is also signed in with the same Microsft account that is currently logged in to your PC].

Bring up the Settings menu via Windows+I shortcut keys.
Then select System from the left menu bar and go to Clipboard.
After that, select Manually sync text that I copy.
Now bring up the clipboard via Windows+V shortcut keys.
Then click on the three horizontal dots next to the required data.
After that, click on the Sync button and wait for the process to complete.
Once done, verify if it fixes the clipboard history not working on Windows 11.

FIX 5: Clean Boot Windows 11

In some instances, a third-party app or service might end up conflicting with the clipboard. For example, recently I was using an app that has assigned its own task to the Windows+V shortcut keys. So whenever the app was running in the background or foreground, it prevented Windows from invoking the clipboard history. Let’s verify if that is the case with your PC or not, by performing a clean boot. Follow along.

Head over to the Start menu, search msconfig, and launch System Configuration.
Then choose Selective Startup and uncheck Load Startup Items.
After that, go to the Services tab and checkmark Hide All Microsoft Services.
Now click on the Disable All button. This will disable all the non-Microsoft services.
Once done, restart your PC and check if the clipboard history not working in Windows 11 is fixed or not.

If it has been fixed, then the culprit was indeed a third-party app. So enable all the services and then uninstall the recently installed third-party apps, one at a time, until the issue is finally resolved.

FIX 6: Enable Allow Clipboard History Policy

This policy setting determines whether the history of Clipboard contents can be stored in the memory. So as of now, we will be manually re-enforcing this policy and instructing it to store all the contents over to the clipboard. But first and foremost, Windows 11 Home users will have to enable Group Policy Editor on their PC (other editions already have this enabled). So refer to our guide on How to Enable Group Policy Editor in Windows 11 Home.

Once done, bring up the Run dialog box via Windows+R shortcut keys.
Then type in the below command and hit Enter to open the Group Policy Editor
```
gpedit.msc
```
Now go to the below location from the left menu bar:
```
Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > OS policies
```
Once you reach the OS policies folder, open the Allow Clipboard History policy from the right-hand side.
Then select Enabled and click OK to save it. Now restart your PC for the changes to be implemented.
Check if it managed to fix the clipboard history not working in Windows 11.

FIX 7: Using Registry Editor

In this section, we will be creating and enabling a new registry key that would streamline the process of copying items over to the clipboard.

So start off by launching Registry Editor from the Start menu.
Then copy-paste the below location in its address bar:
```
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\System
```
Now right click on the System file, select New > Dword 32-bit Value. Name this file AllowClipboardHistory.
Now double-click to open it and assign it 0 in the Value data field and click OK to save it.
Finally, restart your PC for the registry to be implemented. Once that happens, the underlying issue should be fixed.

So with this, we round off the guide on how you could fix the Clipboard History not working in Windows 11. We have listed seven different methods for the same. Do let us know in the comments section which one spelled out success for you. Likewise, all your queries are welcomed in the comments below.

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