CrackMacHow to move the menu bar on a Mac: other screens, hiding, icons, and the bottom-edge question
You can't move the Mac menu bar to the bottom or the side of the screen. macOS always draws it along the top of the main display. What you can do is move it to the top of another display, hide it until you point at it, and rearrange the icons on its right side. If the top of your screen is damaged, an app can draw it lower down for you.
Move the menu bar to another display
With a second monitor connected, the menu bar lives on whichever display macOS treats as the main one. To change it:
- Open System Settings, Displays.
- Click Arrange. You'll see a picture of each display.
- One of them has a thin white bar along its top. Drag that bar onto the other display.
- Click Done. The menu bar, the Dock and new windows now start on that display.
If you'd rather have a menu bar on every display, open System Settings, Desktop & Dock, and turn on Displays have separate Spaces under Mission Control. Each display then gets its own menu bar, and the one you're working on is the bright one. You need to log out and back in for the change to take effect.
Hide the menu bar
Open System Settings, then Menu Bar. On macOS 15 and earlier it's under Control Center. Set Automatically hide and show the menu bar to Always. The menu bar then slides away and comes back when you move the pointer to the top edge.
That gives you a little more room, but on a damaged screen it's a trap: the menu bar comes back exactly where you can't see it.
Rearrange or remove menu bar icons
- Move an icon: hold Command and drag it along the menu bar.
- Remove an icon: hold Command and drag it down off the menu bar until you see a small cross, then let go. Some apps only go away from their own settings.
- Choose which system icons show: System Settings, Menu Bar, or Control Center on older versions, lists Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Sound, Battery and the rest, each with a Show in Menu Bar option.
On a MacBook with a notch, icons that don't fit can end up hidden behind the camera housing. Here's how to get them back.
Why people want it at the bottom
Most people asking this have one of two reasons. Some come from Windows and expect a taskbar at the bottom. On a Mac that job belongs to the Dock, and the Dock can go on the left, the right or the bottom.
The others have a MacBook whose top edge is cracked, black or covered in lines, so the menu bar is under the damage. macOS can't move it out of the way, but you still have options:
- Keyboard: press Control-F2, Fn-Control-F2 on most MacBooks, to jump into the menu bar without seeing it. Here's every keyboard route.
- External monitor: make the monitor the main display as described above, and the menu bar goes with it.
- Redraw it lower down: CrackMac draws the whole menu bar, Apple menu and app menus included, just below the damaged band, and keeps windows and the pointer out of the dead area.
If the damage runs along one edge, CrackMac can keep windows, menus and the pointer off it. There's a free 30-minute trial.
Quick answers
Can you move the menu bar to the bottom of the screen on a Mac?
No. macOS always puts the menu bar along the top edge of the main display, and there's no setting to put it at the bottom or the side. You can move it to the top of a different display, hide it until you need it, or rearrange the icons on it.
How do I move the menu bar to my other monitor?
Open System Settings, Displays, and click Arrange. Drag the small white bar from the top of one display picture onto the other. That display becomes the main one and gets the menu bar.
How do I rearrange the icons on the Mac menu bar?
Hold Command and drag an icon left or right along the menu bar. Drag it off the menu bar while holding Command to remove it. This works for the icons on the right side, not the app menus on the left.
Is the top of your screen damaged?
macOS won't move the menu bar, but CrackMac can redraw it. It draws the whole menu bar, Apple menu and app menus included, just inside the part of the screen that still works, and paints the dead strip black.
- Works on macOS 13 or later, Apple silicon and Intel.
- Free for 30 minutes of use, then a one-time price. No subscription.
- A refund within 7 days, no questions asked.