I have a music player app named Neutron Player, available for Windows from the MS Store. I've been using it for years first through Win10 and also on my Android phone, where it is available from the Google Play Store. I also now use it on my Win11 system which until recently was operating under 23H2, and now has been upgraded to 24H2.

This thread doesn't concern the Start Button/Menu functionality of Start11. It specifically concerns Taskbar functionality of Start11 and how it presents "badge" overlays on icons, and particularly how it presents "badge" associated with the Neutron Player and its functionality. It appears that now with Win11's upgrade to 24H2 Start11 is seemingly "broken" as far as "badge" functionality for Neutron Player is concerned.

With 24H2 MS has imposed very strict new rules clamping down on 3rd-party products that can manipulate the Windows taskbar and notification area. Certainly Start11 appears to be negatively impacted, in particular as to how it facilitates the "badge" features implemented by the Neutron Player app and its taskbar icon.

==> Start11 and its management of the taskbar buttons used to work perfectly for Neutron Player on 23H2. But now with 24H2 it no longer works correctly.

For example, when the Neutron Player program is inactive (i.e. it is not even launched), the taskbar icon icon for it is supposed to show a player status badge of "PAUSE", which it did do with 23H2:

But operating under 24H2 this same badge now appears as an exclamation mark (as if the data expected to populate the badge has not been correctly passed, or retained from the last active instance of the program, or whatever):

Furthermore, when the Neutron Player is active, it can either be in a "PAUSE" state or a "PLAY" state. Operating under 23H2 the correct badge indicating the player state is properly presented by Start11:

(a) PLAY'ing state:

( PAUSE'd state:

In contrast, under 24H2 there is NO BADGE AT ALL presented by Start11. For example, here is PAUSE state, with no badge presented:

How can I submit a "bug" ticket on this recent Start11 breakage?

I can't figure out how to do this? The Stardock web site seemingly provides no way to get support at all for Start11 by any means, phone or email. Seems to be an unsupported product which is sold but for which no customer feedback or request for support or reporting a defect is possible.

I don't think any users here can "fix" or really help. The problem comes from what Microsoft did in 24H2 that "now locks down taskbar and notification area modification by 3rd-party software entities". And whatever MS did seems to have a significant and negative effect on the "badge" processing specifically associated with the Neutron Player app. It may or may not affect other apps and Start11, but it certainly affects Neutron Player and its badge functionality.

Can anybody help, or provide suggestions? Any more information or pictures needed?

Worst case, how do I report this defect to Stardock development?

Note that I have tried both Windows 10 and Windows 11 taskbar styles, and it doesn't matter. No effect.

I've also tried single-height taskbar, and double-height taskbar, and it doesn't matter. No effect.

Definitely seems to be directly tied to whatever MS did in 24H2 in locking down taskbar control now possible by 3rd-party apps. Certainly killed Explorer Patcher (EP) (from Github) which is not even allowed to be installed in order to upgrade to 24H2. It must actually be uninstalled first, although it can then be re-installed after the upgrade to 24H2 completes. Now EP is technically "compatible with 24H2", but in fact a good portion of what it used to be able to do up through 23H2 is no longer functional at 24H2.

I suspect a similar 24H2 negative impact on Start11 and its own customization and control of the taskbar. And the Neutron Player icon is at least one specific example of this negative impact.