It's a common MacBook Pro and Air complaint: you install a few apps, and suddenly menu-bar icons vanish. They're not gone — macOS tucks the overflow behind the notch when there isn't room. Here's how to fix it.
Why it happens
macOS lays out menu-bar icons from the right edge leftward. When the row reaches the notch, any icons that would sit under it are hidden rather than drawn behind the camera cutout. The more icons (and the wider your app menus), the more get cut off.
Fix 1 — Remove icons you don't need
Hold Command and drag unwanted icons off the menu bar. For Apple icons, go to System Settings → Control Center and set items like Spotlight, Bluetooth or Battery to "Don't Show in Menu Bar".
Fix 2 — Shorten the app menus
Apps with long menu titles (think pro audio or design tools) push icons further right. There's no setting for this, but quitting menu-heavy apps you're not using frees space immediately.
Fix 3 — Use a menu bar manager
Free apps like Ice (open source) or Bartender collapse icons behind a chevron so they never collide with the notch. This is the most reliable fix if you genuinely need many icons. See our guide to the best Mac menu bar apps.
Fix 4 — Move the work into the notch
Instead of fighting for menu-bar space, push some of those functions into the notch. NotchNest puts calendar, clipboard, notes, Pomodoro, music and AirDrop in a hover panel around the notch — so you can remove several standalone menu-bar apps and free the bar entirely.
Quick checklist
- Command-drag to remove icons you don't use.
- Control Center → hide Apple icons you don't need.
- Install Ice or Bartender to collapse the rest.
- Consolidate tools into the notch with NotchNest.
Make your notch useful
NotchNest puts ten tools in your MacBook's notch. Free on the Mac App Store.
