Move your Dock to the left, right or bottom of the screen

Why it happens

The Dock sits at the bottom of the screen by default, but you can move it to either side, which leaves more height for your windows on a wide screen. If it moved without you meaning to, the setting was changed, or it jumped to another monitor. The top of the screen is kept for the menu bar, so the Dock can't go there.

How to fix it

1. Open the Apple menu, choose System Settings and click Desktop & Dock in the sidebar.

2. Under Dock, find Dock position on screen and choose Left, Bottom or Right.

   Desktop & Dock›Dock›Dock position on screen

3. There's a quicker way too. Control-click the thin divider line near the right end of the Dock (or the bottom, if it's on a side), choose Position on Screen, then pick a side.

   Dock›Position on Screen

Still not fixed?

1. If you use two monitors with the Dock at the bottom, it follows the pointer: push the pointer against the bottom edge of a screen and the Dock moves there. Putting the Dock on the Left or Right stops it jumping.

2. The Dock starts on your main display. To choose which screen that is, open Displays, select the screen and set Use as to Main display.

   Displays›Use as›Main display

3. If the Dock has vanished, it may be set to hide. Turn off Automatically hide and show the Dock in Desktop & Dock.

   Desktop & Dock›Dock›Automatically hide and show the Dock

4. If the setting is greyed out, your Mac may be managed by a school or company that locks the Dock. If it isn't managed and the Dock keeps moving back after a restart, contact Apple Support.