Some Windows 11 users have reported the appearance of a small circle on the Windows 11 desktop screen. The circle disappears when you open any other application.
The issue appears on your Windows 11 desktop screen like the image displayed below.
Introduction
So, this small circle will stay on the screen as long as you have the desktop screen open. The position of the circle is not fixed. It could be on the top, middle, or bottom of the screen.
You will not be able to move the circle to any other part of the screen.
We try to troubleshoot this issue in a bid to resolve it.
Boot into Safe mode
To rule out the issue being linked to Windows 11 installation, boot into the safe mode and check if the circle on the desktop screen appears or not.
You can boot into the safe mode on Windows 11 computer using the following method:
- On the Windows sign-in screen, press and hold the Shift key while you select Power > Restart .
- After your PC restarts to the Choose an option screen, select Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Settings > Restart.
The images below show the sequence you need to undertake to log in to safe mode on a Windows 11 computer.
If the bubble or circle is not a part of the safe mode in Windows 11, it implies that the issue is on account of a third-party application on your Windows 11 computer.
For alternate ways to login to the safe mode in Windows 11, you may check out the instructions on this Microsoft page.
Check Grammarly program
The small circle on your Windows 11 desktop screen could be a result of one of the installed programs on your computer. For example, Grammarly users have reported the circle on Windows 11 desktop issue.
And, Grammarly users have confirmed that the circle on Windows 11 desktop is on account of a bug in Grammarly.
If you disable the Grammarly chrome extension or edge extension, you can validate or confirm if the circle is on account of Grammarly or another application.
If you have installed Grammarly program, uninstall it and check to see if the circle disappears from your Windows 11 desktop screen.
ReadyFor application
Some Windows 11 users have confirmed that the ReadyFor application caused the circle to appear on the Windows 11 desktop. ReadyFor is a 3rd party application that helps in projecting your phone to the computer.
If you have ReadyFor application on your Windows 11 computer, try uninstalling it to see if it takes off the circle from the desktop screen.
Installed programs on Windows 11
Some people have reported that the circle on Windows 11 desktop screen could be due to one of the installed programs on the computer.
To find out which application may be causing this random behavior, we suggest using the ‘Task Manager’. Open the Task Manager application and close the open applications one by one.
Notice the impact of each closed application on the circle on the Windows 11 desktop screen. If closing an application causes the circle to disappear from the Windows 11 desktop, then it implies that the application was causing the issue on your Windows 11 computer.
Phasmophobia Game
Some users have reported that the circle on Windows 11 desktop screen could be a dead pixel left by a game after the game is closed. A user who had the Phasmophobia game confirmed that closing the game caused the circle to appear on the Windows 11 desktop screen.
It does make sense to check if you have any specific gaming application that may be causing the dead pixel or dead zone to appear on the Windows 11 desktop screen.
Uninstalling the gaming application could help detect the cause of the circle on the Windows 11 desktop screen.
Summary
As of now, we are aware of these applications that may be causing the balloon or circle to appear on the Windows 11 desktop screen.
In most cases, you will find that the circle or bubble on the Windows 11 desktop screen is on account of a specific application or a specific game on your PC.
Uninstalling the faulty application or the game resolves the circle on Windows 11 desktop screen.
Rajesh Dhawan is a technology professional who loves to blog about smart wearables, Cloud computing and Microsoft technologies. He loves to break complex problems into manageable chunks of meaningful information.