I've checked nm-applet.desktop file and it has OnlyShowIn=GNOME;XFCE; and it comes from Ubuntu/Debian patch
$ cat /etc/xdg/autostart/nm-applet.desktop [Desktop Entry] Name=Network Manager Comment=Control your network connections Icon=nm-device-wireless Exec=nm-applet --sm-disable Terminal=false Type=Application OnlyShowIn=GNOME;XFCE; X-GNOME-Bugzilla-Bugzilla=GNOME X-GNOME-Bugzilla-Product=NetworkManager X-GNOME-Bugzilla-Component=general X-GNOME-Autostart-enabled=true X-Ubuntu-Gettext-Domain=nm-applet -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Bugs, which is subscribed to Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/729914 Title: nm-applet doesn't show up in notification area -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs