Windows Errors

8 Ways to Fix Windows 11 Snipping Tool not Working

Windows 11 snipping tool doesn’t work anymore is reported on upgraded as well as clean installations of Windows 11. For many users, the issue is only limited to multi-display setup. Sometimes, a message like the below is shown:

windows 11 snipping tool not working

Please don’t worry when your Snipping Tool does not work in Windows 11. I will tell you the reasons for not working and several effective ways to help you out when your Snipping Tool won’t work.

The Possible Reasons for Snipping Tool Out of Work

Graphics Driver Issue: The system’s graphics driver is outdated or missing, which will cause its incompatibility with the snipping tool from working.

Interrupt with other apps: Some apps and process maybe hinder the snipping tool from working, so that causing snipping tool wrong.

Snipping Tool itself problems: There might have some process glitches, because of the wrong installation in Windows 11.

Expired Certificate Bug of the Snipping Tool: This bug occurred on October 31st when the certificate expired. When it happened, Windows 11 users couldn’t open Apps like the Snipping Tool, touch keyboard.

Solutions for Windows 11 Snipping Tool

#1 Restart PC

Rebooting your PC and program could solve a lot of problems, which is because When a computer is running, all programs and background processes leave behind some trash that needs to be cleaned. When you reboot your PC, the programs and process will be paused and reset.

#2 Update Windows 11 System

Installing the latest Windows update is known to fix bugs and glitches, which could fix the compatibility issues and give security patches. Follow the steps below to do so:

Step 1: Press Windows+I keyboard shortcut to open the settings.

Step 2: Click Windows update.

system windows 11 update

Step 3: Click Check for updates.

windows 11 check for updates

Step 4: If it has checked out that you could update your system, just following installing steps to install it. Or else, there is no system problem causing snipping tool not working.

#3 Uninstall and Reinstall the Snipping Tool

Reinstalling the Snipping Tool could repair the corrupted installation and fix the outdated application hidden bugs.

Step 1: Press Windows + I keyboard shortcut to open settings.

Step 2: Click Apps and then expand Apps & features.

windows 11 apps features

Step 3: Find Snipping Tool and uninstall it.

uninstall snipping tool

Step 4: Install the snipping tool in Microsoft store.

microsoft store snipping tool

#4 Install another Snipping Tool

Replacing Snipping Tool with other similar Apps is a direct way which keep off the issues. You could replace Snipping Tool by Snipaste which is better.

microsoft snipaste

#5 Update the graphics driver

Your outdated graphics driver may lead to incompatibility with the Windows 11 PC. The incompatibility may cause Snipping Tool issues. It could be solved by updating your graphics driver. Before updating your graphics driver, I want to recommend you a driver update software ‘driver booster’ which could help you update or find graphics driver.

Driver Booster is a globally recognized driver updater that automatically detects your system and find the most suitable drivers for your device. Not only that, but using this software, you can even update all outdated or faulty drivers with a single click.

How to update the graphics driver by using Driver Booster

Step 1: Download, install and run Driver Booster on your PC.

Step 2: Click the Scan button to check your hardware version.

driver booster scan

Step 3:Find Display adapters, Update the graphics driver. If you want to update all, just hook all and click ‘Update Now’.

update graphic driver db

If your graphics driver is the latest, it will remind you ‘up-to-date’.

Of course, there are severe ways to update your graphics driver. But this method is the most effective and faster in my opinion. You could also update your graphics driver by using device manger.

#6 Windows update troubleshooter

You could fix the problem by using troubleshooter, using troubleshooter to figure out snipping not working problem, following the steps below:

Step 1: Press Windows +I keyboard shortcut to open settings.

Step 2: Click System and find Troubleshoot.

windows 11 system troubleshoot

Step 3: Select Other Troubleshooters, and run the Windows Update.

other troubleshooters run windows update

#7 Background apps permissions

If you didn’t turn on the snipping tool permissions in the background, It also affects the App normal running. I will teach you to check whether is this factor causing the problem and how to solve it.

Step 1: Press Windows + I shortcut directly to open settings.

Step 2: on the left panel, select Apps.

Step 3: Enter Apps & features and find Snipping Tool by App list searching.

windows 11 apps features snipping tool

Step 4: Check whether App permission button is turn on. If the button is off, which is mean that the permission to avoid App normal running, just turn on.

windows 11 snipping tool app permission

By the way, you could repair the App by 1-click at this page below. If it couldn’t be check out any problem, you could also reset Snipping Tool to fix it.

windows 11 snipping tool repair reset

#8 Download the patch

If your Snipping Tool not working is caused by the Expired Certificate Bug. The patch KB4006746 could fix Spinning Tool. This patch could also be downloaded by checking for updates in your Windows 11 settings. But If there are some trouble in your checking for updates, you could download the patch directly.

Summary

In the simplest terms, when your Snipping Tool is out of work, try to update Windows 11 or check the settings of Snipping Tool itself to see if there are any problems, or you can use another drawing tool to replace it temporarily.

More Articles:

Top 6 Ways to Open Snipping Tool on Windows 10/11

How to Use Snipping Tool to Capture Screenshots

How to Open Microsoft Paint on Windows 10/11

Brian Peng
Brian Peng is a PC technician and network engineer with over 13 years of IT experience. He has worked in the IT industry for a long time, providing IT support and network service support for various companies. Currently, he has written over 1000 articles about computers, games, and mobile.

Leave a Response