It's easier to see if a frame is maximized, but this is reproducible as long as the lower frame edge is touching the Windows taskbar. Evaluating the follow code to "toggle" the frame decoration: (set-frame-parameter nil 'undecorated (not (frame-parameter nil 'undecorated))) You can see that the echo area ends up about 50% hidden under the taskbar. Before: [cid:0f65a9e5-5fc0-4676-adf4-880574e2ff16] After: [cid:0e5ae5bf-9ec5-4b75-b6d9-47529ba16d20]