Snipping Tool not working: how to fix it on Windows 11

Applies to: the Snipping Tool app on Windows 11, opened from Start, with Win + Shift + S or with the PrtScn key. If you only want to learn the screenshot shortcuts, our guide on how to take a screenshot on Windows 11 covers each one.

Match the symptom to the fix

Snipping Tool problems split into two groups: the shortcut never reaches the app, or the app is broken. Opening Snipping Tool from the Start menu tells you which group you’re in, because it skips the keyboard entirely. The table is a map of this guide, not a list from Microsoft.

What you see	Where to look	Start with
App opens from Start, but Win + Shift + S does nothing	Windows key, keyboard utilities	Fix 1
PrtScn does nothing, or opens the snip bar when you don’t want it	Print Screen setting	Fix 2
Screen dims and you can select an area, but nothing appears afterward	Clipboard, Screenshots folder, notifications	Fix 3, Fix 4
App won’t open, closes at once, or says “This app can’t open”	App files and settings	Fix 5, Fix 6
App is missing or says it has been blocked	Organization policy	Work or school section

Fix 1: Win + Shift + S does nothing

Microsoft’s keyboard shortcuts page describes Win + Shift + S as selecting a region of the screen and capturing it to the clipboard, after which you can open Snipping Tool to share or mark up the image. When the shortcut fails but the app opens from Start, the key press isn’t getting through. The checks below are general guidance:

1. Try another Windows key shortcut, such as Win + E for File Explorer. If that fails too, the Windows key itself is blocked; our Windows key not working guide covers Win Lock and Game Mode keys on gaming keyboards.
2. Press the three keys again slowly, holding Win and Shift before you tap S. A sticky or worn key can drop one of the three.
3. Close screenshot utilities, keyboard software and cloud storage apps that offer their own capture hotkeys, then try again. Some of them take over the same keys.
4. Restart the PC. A restart reloads the Windows shell components that listen for the shortcut.

If no key on the keyboard responds reliably, the problem isn’t Snipping Tool at all, and the keyboard itself needs troubleshooting first.

Fix 2: Check the Print Screen key setting

On current versions of Windows 11, Microsoft’s keyboard shortcuts page says PrtScn selects a region of the screen and copies the screenshot to the clipboard, the same overlay as Win + Shift + S. The page adds that you can turn this default off in the Accessibility keyboard settings, and it names the option Use the Print Screen button to open screen snipping. Depending on your Windows build, the label you see may read a little differently, such as Use the Print screen key to open screen capture.

1. Open Start > Settings > Accessibility > Keyboard.
2. Find the Print Screen option and turn it on if you want PrtScn to open the snip bar, or off if you want it to do something else.

As general guidance, when the option is off, PrtScn falls back to copying the full screen to the clipboard, which looks like “nothing happened” until you paste. On many laptops the key shares a top-row key with another function, so try it together with Fn, and check whether an Fn Lock key has swapped the row. If a third-party screenshot app is installed, it may have claimed PrtScn for itself; look in that app’s settings for a hotkey option.

Fix 3: The snip works but you can’t find it

Sometimes Snipping Tool works and the image is simply somewhere you didn’t expect. Microsoft’s Use Snipping Tool to capture screenshots page says a snip is automatically saved to your Screenshots folder, and that you can change the automatic save setting or the default folder under See More, then Settings, in the app. The same page lists Ctrl + C for copying a snip to the clipboard from inside Snipping Tool.

General guidance for tracking a snip down:

• Paste with Ctrl + V into Paint, a chat or a document. A snip taken with the shortcut sits on the clipboard even when you don’t see a preview.
• Open File Explorer and look in Pictures, then Screenshots. If the folder is empty, open Snipping Tool’s settings and check whether automatic saving is turned off or points to another folder.
• Press Win + V to see earlier clipboard items. Clipboard history is off until you turn it on, so it only shows snips taken after that. Our clipboard history guide explains the setting.

Fix 4: Turn notifications back on

After a snip taken with the shortcut, Windows shows a small notification that opens the image in Snipping Tool for editing. If notifications are off, the snip still lands on the clipboard, but you get no visible sign that it worked. The fetched Microsoft pages don’t cover this, so treat these steps as general guidance:

1. Open Settings > System > Notifications and make sure Notifications is turned on.
2. In the list of apps on the same page, find Snipping Tool and turn its notifications on.
3. Check that Do not disturb is off on the same page. While it’s on, notifications are silenced and go straight to the notification center.
4. If you use focus sessions, end the current one; a focus session can also turn on Do not disturb.

If notifications fail for every app, not only Snipping Tool, the cause lies with Windows notifications in general rather than with the screenshot tool.

Fix 5: Repair or reset Snipping Tool

Use this when the app won’t open from Start, closes right away, freezes, or shows “This app can’t open.” Microsoft’s Repair apps and programs in Windows page gives these steps for Windows 11:

1. Select Start > Settings > Apps > Installed apps.
2. Select the More icon (three dots) next to Snipping Tool.
3. Select Advanced options. Microsoft notes that some apps don’t have this option.
4. On the page that opens, select Repair if it’s available.
5. If Repair isn’t available or doesn’t fix the problem, select Reset.

Microsoft’s page doesn’t explain what Repair does differently from Reset. As general guidance, try Repair first because it aims to keep the app’s data, and restart the PC after either step before you test the shortcut again.

Fix 6: Update Snipping Tool and Windows

None of the three Microsoft pages linked in this guide covers updating the app, so this section is general guidance. Snipping Tool on Windows 11 is a Microsoft Store app and gets its updates through the Store. An outdated or half-installed copy can fail to open after Windows itself has been updated.

1. Open the Microsoft Store app and select Library (or Downloads) in the lower-left corner.
2. Select Get updates and let the Store update Snipping Tool along with any other apps.
3. Open Settings > Windows Update, select Check for updates, install what’s offered, then restart.
4. If Snipping Tool is missing from Installed apps entirely, search for it in the Microsoft Store and install it again.

If the Store won’t download or update anything, fix that first with our Microsoft Store not downloading apps guide, then come back to this step.

On a work or school PC

As general guidance, organizations can turn off Snipping Tool or screen capture through policy or device management, often to keep confidential data from leaving the screen. On a managed PC the app may be missing, may open and close at once, or may show a message that your administrator has blocked it. Repair and Reset won’t change a policy, and the setting comes back after the next policy refresh. If you need screenshots for your work, ask IT; our guide to an administrator has blocked you from running this app explains what that kind of block means.

Some apps and video services also block screen capture on purpose, so a snip of them comes out black or empty. That isn’t a Snipping Tool fault, and the fixes above won’t change it.

Known issues: as of November 2026, the Microsoft support pages linked below don’t list a known issue that stops Snipping Tool from working on Windows 11.

Related guides

• How to take a screenshot on Windows 11
• How to use clipboard history in Windows 11
• Windows key not working: how to fix it in Windows 11 and 10
• Microsoft Store not downloading or installing apps in Windows 11: how to fix it
• An administrator has blocked you from running this app: what it means and safe fixes

Official sources

• Microsoft Support: Use Snipping Tool to capture screenshots
• Microsoft Support: Keyboard shortcuts in Windows
• Microsoft Support: Repair apps and programs in Windows