Menu bar keeps disappearing after macOS 27.2 update

A randomly disappearing menu bar is a known issue that has been reported by users of 3rd party Menu Bar utilities (Bartender, BetterTouchTool, etc.).

How to fix it:

Ensure your settings show the Menu Bar at all times

• Open System Settings
• Click on Menu Bar
• Set the option to Automatically hide and show the menu bar to Never

• More info from Apple: Change Menu Bar settings on Mac – Apple Support

Disable or Update Third-Party Menu Bar Apps:

• If you use apps like Bartender or Ice, update them to a Golden Gate-compatible version.
• Try quitting your menu bar utility apps entirely to see if the random disappearing stops.
• Since these apps install system extensions, you may need to completely uninstall the app and all components to fix the issue.

Restart the MenuBarAgent or Your Mac:

• If the menu bar vanishes mid-session, you can restart the background process via Activity Monitor by searching for MenuBarAgent and forcing it to quit (it will automatically relaunch).
• A standard system reboot or booting into Safe Mode can also clear out corrupted interface caches

If the above do not work, then see if the problem is present when you boot in safe mode. That process performs some system cleanup and clears caches, and also disables 3rd party extensions that may cause problems.

Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support

If that does not correct the issue, test in a new user account. A newly-created user account will have all settings at default, and if the issue does not occur in that new account then it provides guidance on what may need to be changed to correct the issue.

Add a user or group on Mac - Apple Support

Once the testing is complete, the new account can easily be deleted.

It might help to download and run EtreCheck, written by a long-time forum member. The free version is fine. Post the full report using the Additional Text button. No personal information is revealed. 

I talked to another senior advisor Saturday. After going through all of the System Settings menus for probably the fifth time, she did some digging and found the problem is a recongnized bug. She hopes that it will be fixed in the next OS release.

Oh yeah, all of the recommended fixes above do not work. I did everything recommended by third parties and Apple including an attempt at reloading OS 27.2.

That's what I have, and the problem has been there for me for at least a few weeks now. I am going to remove the app icons in the menu bar(Dropbox, VPN, etc.) and see if that makes any difference. I'm tired of needing to access an app's menu and it's not there......

Spent almost two hours with a senior advisor. Removed a lot of what appeared to be old stuff and cleaned out the Menu Bar. Still failing.

The next step is to download a clean copy of the latest OS. I'll do it when I get a window of time and post the results.

I am having this issue too. My settings for hide/show are correct as "Never", I don't have any 3rd party menu bar utility installed, and it keeps disappearing. I can't stand it when OS updates give me little or nothing of real use to me, and break stuff that matters.

Mike on Maui wrote:

I talked to another senior advisor Saturday. After going through all of the System Settings menus for probably the fifth time, she did some digging and found the problem is a recongnized bug. She hopes that it will be fixed in the next OS release.

Interesting. Presumably it's triggered by some combination of settings, since I've never seen my Menu Bar disappear under any circumstances with the auto-hide set to Never.

Updated to 27.2.1. Menu bar continues to disappear.