Windows 11 Insider Beta Channel

[Corrine]

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.5240 (Beta Channel)

This update is for version 23H2.  Note that Windows 11 version 24H2 is available as an optional upgrade for Windows Insiders in the Beta Channel.

Changes and Improvements gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on

[General]

• This update includes a small set of general improvements and fixes that improve the overall experience for Insiders running this build on their PCs.

Fixes gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on

[File Explorer]

• Fixed an issue where the Organize and New Folder options might not be visible in the Save Dialog when using dark mode.

[Settings]

• Fixed an issue where the total storage size shown in System > About may not be displayed correctly.

[Voice Access]

• Fixed an issue which could voice access to freeze with error "working on it" when dictating.

Reminders for Windows Insiders in the Beta Channel

• Windows Insiders in the Beta Channel on Windows 11, version 23H2 will receive updates based on Windows 11, version 23H2 via an enablement package (Build 22635.xxxx).
  
• Many features in the Beta Channel are rolled out using Controlled Feature Rollout technology, starting with a subset of Insiders and ramping up over time as we monitor feedback to see how they land before pushing them out to everyone in this channel.
  
• For Windows Insiders in the Beta Channel who want to be the first to get features gradually rolled out to you, you can turn ON the toggle to get the latest updates as they are available via Settings > Windows Update*. Over time, we will increase the rollouts of features to everyone with the toggle turned on. Should you keep this toggle off, new features will gradually be rolled out to your PC over time once they are ready.
  
• Features and experiences included in these builds may never get released as we try out different concepts and get feedback. Features may change over time, be removed, or replaced and never get released beyond Windows Insiders. Some of these features and experiences could show up in future Windows releases when they're ready.
  
• Some features in active development we preview with Windows Insiders may not be fully localized and localization will happen over time as features are finalized. As you see issues with localization in your language, please report those issues to us via Feedback Hub.
• Because the Dev and Beta Channels represent parallel development paths from our engineers, there may be cases where features and experiences show up in the Beta Channel first.
• Check out Flight Hub for a complete look at what build is in which Insider channel.
  

[Corrine]

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.3872 (Beta Channel)

This release is for Windows Insiders on Windows 11, version 24H2.

New Copilot+ PC experiences

New text actions in Click to Do
We are beginning to roll out two new text actions in Click to Do!

Practice in Reading Coach: Improve your reading fluency and pronunciation with the "Practice in Reading Coach" Click to Do action. Simply select the text recognized by Click to Do on your screen, choose the Practice in Reading Coach action, and read the text out loud. The Reading Coach provides feedback and guides you on where to make improvements. To use this feature, install the free Microsoft Reading Coach application from the Microsoft Store.

Read with Immersive Reader: Enhance your reading experience with the "Read with Immersive Reader" Click to Do action. This feature displays recognized text in a distraction-free environment, allowing you to focus on reading. Originally designed to meet the needs of readers with dyslexia and dysgraphia, Immersive Reader helps readers of all ages and abilities improve their reading and writing skills using proven techniques. Customize the text by changing its size, spacing, font, or background theme. You can also have the text read out loud, use syllable break to split words, and highlight nouns, verbs, and adjectives to aid grammar learning. The picture dictionary option provides visual representations of unfamiliar words for instant understanding. Install the free Microsoft Reading Coach application from the Microsoft Store to access this feature

Text actions in Click to Do are rolling out to Windows Insiders on Snapdragon-powered Copilot+ PCs, with support for AMD and Intel-powered Copilot+ PCs coming soon. You can learn more about using Click to Do here.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Click to Do.

Finding photos saved in the cloud via the Windows search box, now available for Windows Insiders in the EEA
Windows Insiders in the European Economic Area can now find photos saved in the cloud with improved Windows Search to the Windows search box on the taskbar. Just use your own words to find photos stored and saved in the cloud by describing what they are about like "European castles" or "summer picnics" in the search box on your taskbar. In addition to photos stored locally on your Copilot+ PC, photos from the cloud will now show up in the search results together. In addition to searching for photos, exact matches for your keywords within the text of your cloud files will show in the search results.

Improved Windows Search experiences in the Windows search box on the taskbar continue to gradually roll out to Windows Insiders on Snapdragon-powered Copilot+ PCs, including finding photos saved in the cloud, so you may not see these experiences right away. Support for AMD and Intel-powered Copilot+ PCs is coming soon. See here for more details.

You can learn more about semantic search on Copilot + PCs here.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Search.

New features gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on

Improvements for voice access
We're beginning to roll out several improvements for voice access in this build.

Add custom words to the dictionary: We are introducing the ability for you to add your own words to the dictionary in voice access. Adding your own words, including difficult to pronounce words, to the dictionary in voice access will help improve dictation accuracy. It increases the probability of recognizing these words more accurately by creating a bias that helps voice access become more context aware and proactively understanding your specific vocabulary. The feature will be available in all the currently supported voice access languages i.e. English, French, German, Spanish and Chinese.

You can add your own words to the dictionary in voice access in a few ways:

• After spelling a word using "Spell that" command or making a correction using "Correct that"
  
• Anywhere when you want to manually add a word by using "Add to Vocabulary" command.
  
• Directly through the settings menu in voice access.

Discoverability voice access features: Voice access will now support an immersive in-product experience to announce new features and improvements. It will help you quickly discover and learn more about new features in voice access to try out. You can launch or dismiss this new experience from the settings menu.

And we are also including voice access under the Accessibility flyout via quick settings in the system tray of the taskbar.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Accessibility > Voice access.

Changes and Improvements gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on

[Improved Windows Search
Improved Windows Search is currently available in preview for Windows Insiders on Windows 11, version 24H2 in the Dev and Beta Channels on Copilot+ PCs.

• You can now turn off searching for content saved in the cloud on your Copilot+ PC via Settings > Privacy and Security > Search permissions to access this setting. Please note this currently works only for the Windows search box on the taskbar. However, in a future update this setting will also apply to search in File Explorer.
  

[File Explorer]

• We're starting to roll out the change so that when you launch File Explorer folders from outside of File Explorer (for example, from an app or from the desktop), by default they will now open in a new tab if you have an existing File Explorer window. If you'd prefer that they continue opening in a new window, you can change this in File Explorer folder options, under General > Browse Folders.

[Widgets]

• We are trying out improvements to the notification settings page in widgets on Windows 11 by introducing the ability to control the notifications per feed or dashboard. This change is currently rolling out to Windows Insiders in the European Economic Area (EEA).

[Windows Security]

• We are beginning to roll out a change in the Windows Security app where will show more details such as manufacturer and manufacturer version for Pluton TPM chips if your PC has one under Device security > Security processor details.

[Settings]

• We've updated the dialog when renaming your printer under Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners to match the Windows 11 visuals.
  

[Other]

• When running the pnputil /enum-drivers command, we're adding a new field that enumerates driver package catalog attributes, indicating the driver type and if the driver is attestation-signed.
  

Fixes gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on

[Start menu]

• Fixed an issue which was causing Start menu to crash when creating folders recently for some Insiders.
• Mitigated an issue after the last flight, where if you press the Windows key to open Start and start typing to search, focus was not transferred to search and so your search wouldn't work.

[Windowing]

• Fixed an issue where the colors used for the snap layouts at the top of the screen weren't displayed correctly for some Insiders, making some text unreadable.

[Search on the Taskbar]

• Mitigated an issue causing search to load very slowly, sitting at a blank screen for 15 – 20 seconds, for some people recently.

[Input]

• Fixed an issue where voice typing wouldn't start from the touch keyboard when using the Chinese (Simplified) narrow layout.

[Task Manager]

• Fixed an issue causing search and other options such as filtering in Task Manager to not work in the previous flight.

[Voice Access]

• Fixed an issue which could voice access to freeze with error "working on it" when dictating.

[Other]

• Mitigated an underlying issue which was leading to third party screen readers not working in certain scenarios (such as navigating browsers) for some Insiders after the last flight.
• We did some work to improve the performance of loading early boot UI including the BitLocker PIN, BitLocker Recovery key, and boot menu screens.

Fixes for everyone in the Beta Channel

[General]

• We have mitigated the issue causing some apps like Spotify to not install from the Microsoft Store with an 0x80070032 error.

[Corrine]

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.5305 (Beta Channel)

IMPORTANT NOTE: This will be the last update released to the Beta Channel based on Windows 11, version 23H2. All Windows Insiders in the Beta Channel will be getting upgraded to Windows 11, version 24H2 soon. Going forward – updates released to the Beta Channel will now be based on Windows 11, version 24H2.  Windows 11, version 24H2 is currently available as an optional upgrade for Windows Insiders in the Beta Channel today.

New features gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on

New profanity filter setting for voice typing
We're excited to address the top customer feedback for voice typing by starting to roll out a new setting that lets you control the profanity filter. With this setting on, voice typing will continue to filter out profanity, masking it with asterisks, like it already did. With the setting off, it will type out your profanity like any other words.

To adjust this setting, open voice typing (Win + H), select the settings icon, and use the Filter profanity toggle in the settings menu.

ALT-TEXT: New filter profanity option in voice typing settings highlighted in a red box.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Input and Language > Voice Typing (Windows key plus H).

Changes and Improvements gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• Admins can now allow users to unpin specific pinned apps, ensuring they are not pinned again during the next policy refresh cycle. To enable this feature, use the new PinGeneration option. Learn more about configuring pinned apps on the taskbar.
  

Fixes gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on

[File Explorer]

• Fixed an issue where if you tapped the View button in File Explorer with touch, File Explorer would crash.

[Windows Spotlight]

• Fixed an issue where the Windows Spotlight flyout for "learn more about this picture" (when using it as your desktop background) might get stuck above other app windows.

[Input]

• Fixed an issue where when using the Symbols section of the touch keyboard, pressing the key to change pages may unexpectedly insert a character into password fields.

[Settings]

• Fixed an issue where hovering over the cards at the top of System > About wasn't showing the correct corner radius.

[Corrine]

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.3941 (Beta Channel)

New features gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on

New profanity filter setting for voice typing
We're excited to address the top customer feedback for voice typing by starting to roll out a new setting that lets you control the profanity filter. With this setting on, voice typing will continue to filter out profanity, masking it with asterisks, like it already did. With the setting off, it will type out your profanity like any other words.

To adjust this setting, open voice typing (Win + H), select the settings icon, and use the Filter profanity toggle in the settings menu.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Input and Language > Voice Typing (Windows key plus H).

B]Changes and Improvements gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on[/B]

[Click to Do (Preview)]

Click to Do is currently available in preview for Windows Insiders on Windows 11, version 24H2 in the Dev and Beta Channels on Copilot+ PCs.

• If your PC supports pen and inking, you can configure the shortcut button (usually at the tail of your pen) to open Click to Do with a single-click, with a double-click, or by press and hold. You can configure this via Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Pen & Windows Ink
• Click to Do can also be added as 1 of the 4 apps you can launch via the pen menu when using a pen with your PC. If all 4 of the slots for the pen menu are configured with apps, you may need to swap out one of those apps with Click to Do via the pen menu settings.

[Improved Windows Search

Improved Windows Search is currently available in preview for Windows Insiders on Windows 11, version 24H2 in the Dev and Beta Channels on Copilot+ PCs.

• If you are signed into OneDrive with a work or school account (Entra ID), you will only see matches for keywords you are searching for within the text of your cloud files in the results shown in the Windows search box on the taskbar – not photos.

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• We are improving Accessibility flyout in quick settings by grouping the assistive technologies by vision, hearing, motor and mobility for easy identification to help you find the right accessibility feature based on your needs.
  

Fixes gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on

[General]

• Fixed an underlying issue causing apps to appear blank after installing the latest flights.

[Click to Do (Preview)]
The following fixes are rolling out for Click to Do on Copilot+ PCs:

• Fixed the issue causing images that are used with Click to Do image actions to be stuck in your temp folder on your PC.

[Login and Lock]

• Fixed an issue causing Windows Hello facial recognition to not work for login for some Insiders after the last two flights.

[Input]

• Fixed an issue where when using the Symbols section of the touch keyboard, pressing the key to change pages may unexpectedly insert a character into password fields.
• Fixed an issue where toggling back and forth to the Japanese touch keyboard could block input on it.

[Settings]

• Fixed an issue where hovering over the cards at the top of System > About wasn't showing the correct corner radius.

[Other]

• Fixed an issue which was causing Quick Assist to not work for non-administrator users (showing error 1002).
• Fixed an underlying issue which was causing certain apps to fail to open with an error saying, "The application was unable to load a required virtual machine component".
• Fixed an underlying issue which could lead to certain USB devices becoming disconnected after sleep, until you rebooted your PC.

Fixes for everyone in the Beta Channel

[General]

• We fixed the issue that caused Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) to not work and the option "Fix problems using Windows Update" option under Settings > Recovery to also not work. If you experience any issues with these experiences, please file feedback in Feedback Hub.

[Corrine]

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.3950 (Beta Channel)

REMINDER: Build 22635.5305 was the last update released to the Beta Channel based on Windows 11, version 23H2. All Insiders in the Beta Channel will be getting upgraded to Windows 11, version 24H2 soon. Until that happens, Insiders on Windows 11, version 23H2 in the Beta Channel can choose to upgrade to Windows 11, version 24H2 and this build today if they want.

New features gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on

Energy saver now available in Microsoft Intune
We are bringing the ability to manage energy saver in Windows 11 to Microsoft Intune to allow IT administrators to control the energy saver settings on Windows 11 PCs through group policies and Mobile Device Management (MDM) configurations.

This feature, when enabled, intelligently balances your battery use, so it can last longer between charges. It extends battery life by managing power usage efficiently. It limits background activity and reduces screen brightness, ensuring that devices consume less power while maintaining optimal performance. By automatically managing system processes and power usage, the energy saver group policy helps reduce overall energy consumption. This not only saves costs but also contributes to environmental sustainability.

IT administrators can activate the policy by using either method below:

• Local Group Policy Editor in Windows 11
• Microsoft Intune Admin Center

The path for the new policy configuration can be found at in Local Group Policy Editor by navigating to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Power Management > Energy Saver Settings and "Enable Energy Saver to Always Be On".

Changes and Improvements gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on

[Recall (Preview)]

• We're trying out different treatments of the UI in Recall including trying out different locations for snapshot actions and the timeline.

-[Taskbar & System Tray]

• We have adjusted the needy state pill under apps on the taskbar that need attention to be wider and more visible.

• Admins can now allow users to unpin specific pinned apps, ensuring they are not pinned again during the next policy refresh cycle. To enable this feature, use the new PinGeneration option. Learn more about configuring pinned apps on the taskbar.
  

[Graphics]
We're introducing some improvements for managing HDR capabilities of your PC via under Settings > System > Display > HDR:

• We have changed the wording for "Use HDR" inside display capabilities to improve clarity on supported media types.

• On PCs with HDR displays, we have added the option to allow HDR video streaming even when HDR is off in settings.
• On PCs with Dolby Vision displays, we have added the option to toggle Dolby Vision mode independently from HDR. You can now enjoy HDR with Dolby Vision either on or off based on your preference.

Learn more about HDR settings in Windows.

Fixes gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on

[Taskbar]

• Fixed an underlying issue which was causing keyboard focus to get set to widgets in the taskbar on login, which could make widgets unexpectedly invoke.
• Fixed an issue where WIN + CTRL + <number> wasn't working to cycle between windows of open apps for that position on the taskbar.

[Audio]

• Fixed an issue which could cause the startup sound not to play, though it was enabled.

[Graphics]

• Fixed an issue which could cause unexpected scaling and window position changes after sleep/resume for some devices.

[Windows Update]

• Fixed an issue where after resetting your PC, taking subsequent cumulative updates may fail with error 0x800f081f.

[Corrine]

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.3964 (Beta Channel)

New Copilot+ PC experiences

Introducing the new agent in Settings
Last week, we announced a change to Settings designed to help solve one of the most common frustrations we heard: finding and changing settings on your PC. With this update to Settings, you will be able to simply describe what you need help with like, "how to control my PC by voice" or "my mouse pointer is too small" and the agent will recommend the right steps you can take to address the issue. An agent uses AI on your PC to understand your intent and with your permission, automate and execute tasks on your behalf. This experience is rolling out to Windows Insiders on Snapdragon-powered Copilot+ PCs with support for AMD- and Intel™-powered PCs coming soon. Please note that this experience works if your primary display language is set to English.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Settings > All other settings.

Intelligent text actions in Click to Do for AMD and Intel™-powered Copilot+ PCs
We're introducing more intelligent text actions to enhance your Click to Do experience even further on AMD and Intel™-powered Copilot+ PCs. Use WIN key + mouse-click or WIN + Q to select a text block and then drag to select the text that you want. You'll see options to Summarize, Create a bulleted list, or to help you Rewrite your text, so it sounds more causal, more formal, or more polished.

Click to Do leverages the capabilities of Phi Silica, the on-device Small Language Model (SLM) that is built right into Windows. Results from our local model will show directly inline and if you're happy with the rewrites you can copy them directly to your clipboard for use anywhere.

The intelligent text actions are available when your default language is set to English, at least 10 words are selected, and you're signed in with either a Microsoft account or Microsoft Entra account. You can learn more about using Click to Do here.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Click to Do.

Changes and Improvements gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on

[Click to Do (Preview)]

• ⁠For Windows Insiders using French or Spanish as their primary language on their PC, Click to Do will temporarily only provide Summarize, Create a bulleted list, Refine as intelligent text actions. Rewrite and its options, including Refine, will return in a future update.

[Dynamic Lighting]

• Dynamic Lighting compatible devices can now be safely removed using the "Safely Remove Hardware and Eject Media" taskbar icon.

[Settings]

• We're making it easy to find answers to common questions about your PC and Windows 11 with a dedicated FAQs section on the Settings > System > About page, providing quick and helpful insights for using your PC all in one place. Whether you're curious about system configuration, performance, or compatibility, this experience ensures you get the information you need for the frequently asked questions for those topics. We hope these FAQs will help you make informed decisions about your PC with ease.
  

Fixes gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on

[Start menu]

• Fixed a few crashes impacting Start menu reliability for Insiders in recent flights.

[File Explorer]

• Fixed a deadlock which could occur when loading File Explorer Home, causing it to hang.
• Fixed an issue where Shared by and Activity information was missing in the tooltip when hovering over recent documents in File Explorer Home.
• Fixed an issue which could cause explorer.exe to crash when closing File Explorer.

[Voice Access]

• Fixed an issue which was causing voice access crashes when using Spanish.

[Taskbar]

• Fixed an issue where when using Tab and Shift + Tab to move keyboard focus around the taskbar, if you went backwards at least once you could get keyboard focus stuck on the taskbar frame, which would potentially lead screen readers to just say "pane".
• Fixed an issue which could cause the media controls in the preview windows for apps in the taskbar (that support it) to flicker.

[Windows Spotlight]

• Fixed an issue where the Windows Spotlight flyout for "learn more about this picture" (when using it as your desktop background) might get stuck above other app windows.

[Live captions]

• Fixed an issue causing live captions to crash in the previous build.

[Other]

• Improved the colors used in MMC when items are selected, both generally, and when contrast modes are enabled.
• Fixed an underlying issue which could make some apps like Word hang when trying to print.

[Corrine]

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.4151 (Beta Channel)

IMPORTANT NOTE: Build 22635.5305 was the last update released to the Beta Channel based on Windows 11, version 23H2. All Insiders in the Beta Channel will now be upgraded automatically to Windows 11, version 24H2 with today's flight of Build 26120.4151.

New features gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on

B]Introducing AI actions in File Explorer[/B]
With AI actions in File Explorer, you can interact more deeply with your files by right-clicking to quickly take actions like editing images or summarizing documents. Like with Click to Do, AI actions in File Explorer allow you to stay in your flow while leveraging the power of AI to take advantage of editing tools in apps or Copilot functionality without having to open your file. AI actions in File Explorer are easily accessible – to try out AI actions in File Explorer, just right-click on a file and you will see a new AI actions entry on the content menu that allows you to choose from available options for your file.
Today, you can try one of four image actions for seamless editing or web searches with images:

• Bing Visual Search: Allows you to search the web using an image instead of text. Find similar images and products, get details about sites using the image, and identify landmarks, plants, and famous faces. From searching what you see on your screen, to shopping your preferred style, getting help with that homework problem, or translating text, getting answers is more intuitive than ever.
  
• Blur Background: Opens the Photos app which automatically finds the background in the photo, and with a single click, instantly highlights your subject and blurs out the background. You can also customize the effect by adjusting the Blur Intensity or use the Brush Tool to modify the areas being blurred.
  
• Erase Objects: With Photos by selecting or highlighting an unwanted element in your photo and Generative Erase makes it disappear.  It allows you to fix and remove distractions from your photos.
  
• Remove Background: With Paint allows you to alter any image automatically in just one click leaving a smooth cutout of the subject. Background removal can detect the subject from the entire canvas or using the selection tool.
  

These four image actions currently support these file types: .jpg, .jpeg, and .png.

Over the course of the coming weeks, we will begin to roll out new AI actions for Microsoft 365 files:

• Summarize: With Copilot you can generate summaries of various document types stored on OneDrive and SharePoint without the need to open them individually. Find the information you need quickly! Supported file types: .docx, .doc, .pptx, .ppt, .xlsx, .xls, .pdf, .rtf, .txt, .loop.
  
• Create an FAQ: Copilot can help you turn your OneDrive files into a neatly formatted, AI-generated Q&A list. Whether you're building internal knowledge bases, prepping for meetings, or crafting quick-start guides, "Create an FAQ" distills complex information into clear, shareable FAQs in seconds. Supported file types: xlsx, .ppt, .pptx, .doc, .docx, .pdf, .txt, .rtf, .aspx, .htm, and .html.
  

To see AI actions for Microsoft 365 files, you must be:

• For Summarize, you need to be Microsoft 365 subscriber with a Copilot subscription (Microsoft account and Microsoft Entra ID supported).
  
• For Create an FAQ, you need to be a commercial Microsoft 365 subscriber with a Copilot subscription (Microsoft Entra ID supported). Consumer support with a Microsoft account is coming later.
  
• Enrolled in the Microsoft 365 Insider Program. Your PC will need to be part of the Beta Channel update channel. Use these instructions to get setup today: Become a Microsoft 365 Insider on Windows.
  

Let us know what you think of these new AI actions in File Explorer!

Introducing Advanced Settings
Advanced settings are now available via Settings > System > Advanced with some new features. The Advanced page is a redesign of the For Developers page, intending to make its settings easier to find for a broader audience. With the redesign of this page, we've added additional settings: Enable long paths, Virtual workspaces, and File Explorer + version control.

Enable long paths allows you to remove MAX_PATH limitations from common Win32 file and directory functions. Virtual workspaces allow you to enable/disable virtual environments such as Hyper-V, Windows Sandbox, and more. File Explorer + version control provides the ability to display Git information directly inside File Explorer. Simply select your repository folder and File Explorer will display information such as your branch, diff count, last commit message, and more.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback on GitHub at microsoft/WindowsAdvancedSettings.

Changes and Improvements gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• In addition to the new grouping of the Accessibility flyout in quick settings, we are adding text descriptions for the assistive technologies like Narrator, Voice access, etc. for easy identification and learning by the users.
  

[Search on the Taskbar]
We are beginning to roll out some improvements for the Windows search box on your taskbar:

• When showing search results, we will provide a notice that your search results may be incomplete if Windows is still indexing your PC with a link to check your indexing status. You can dismiss this notice.
• We are also providing a status for files and folders on your PC so you can easily see if a file or folder is available when online (cloud) or available on your device.
[/list

[Voice access]

• We have temporarily disabled Chinese support in voice access to address some issues. We plan to begin rolling this change out again in a future flight soon.

[Widgets]
We're trying out a new visual experience for the widgets board, with a more organized, personalized, and engaging feed. In addition, we are introducing Copilot-curated stories into the feed. These make it easy to get a multifaceted view on a single topic, connecting summaries, videos, and images from trusted MSN premium publishers. Some features, such as pinning and hiding, are still under development. Explore this experience and please share your feedback as we'll continue to evolve the experience.

You can choose to return to the previous widgets board experience, by changing the 'Copilot Discover (Preview)' toggle in the Personalize MSN settings dialog.

[Power & Battery]

• We're introducing User Interaction-Aware CPU Power Management, an OS-level enhancement that helps reduce power consumption and extend your battery life. After a period of inactivity on your PC, Windows now conserve power by automatically applying efficient power management policies. This happens seamlessly to save energy while you're inactive, with full performance instantly restored the moment you get back to it. It's another way we're working to make your Windows experience both responsive and energy-efficient!
  
  • Please note: Actual savings depend on device segment, power mode and whether you're plugged in or running on battery, according to manufacturer-defined Processor Power Management (PPM) settings.
    

[Windows Share]

• In the Windows share window, as part of the ability to quickly edit and enhance images while sharing, we have adjusted the UI so that now you can now select their compression scale from High, Medium, or Low Quality, instead of choosing from an entire scale ranging from 0-100.

[Windows Backup]

• We're trying out different variations of the landing page when you launch the Windows Backup app.

[Snipping Tool]

• [ADDED] Last month, we announced Snipping Tool's new text extractor feature — designed to minimize the number of steps it takes to copy text to your clipboard without having to take a screenshot of your screen. With this Windows update, we're making it easier to jump directly into text extractor via Win + Shift + T. You can learn more about using text extractor here. You should be on Snipping Tool version 11.2503.29.0 or higher as well.
  

[Settings]
We are rolling out some small changes in the EEA region for default browsers via Settings > Apps > Default apps:
[list=1]

• Additional file and link types will be set for the new default browser, if it registers for them.
• There is now a separate one-click button for browsers to make it easy to also change your .pdf default, if the browser registers for the .pdf file type.

Fixes gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on

[General]

• Fixed an issue where core Windows surfaces were not able to load in safe mode (File Explorer, Start menu, and others) after latest flights.

[File Explorer]

• Fixed an issue where if File Explorer was maximized and you clicked the new tab button it would unmaximize the window.

[Settings]

• Fixed an issue related to loading Bluetooth information which could lead to Settings and Quick Settings crashes.
• Fixed an issue where you couldn't switch active hours from manually to automatic in Settings > Windows Update.
• Fixed an issue which was causing Settings > Personalization > Lock screen to crash for some Insiders.

[Corrine]

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.4161 (Beta Channel)

New Copilot+ PC experiences

New Microsoft 365 text action in Click to Do
We are beginning to roll out a new text action in Click to Do!
 

• Draft with Copilot in Word: Ever stumble across a great idea and wish you could just start writing? With the "Draft with Copilot in Word" Click to Do action, you can. Whether it's a sentence in an email or a snippet on your screen, just Win + Click on the recognized text and choose the "Draft with Copilot in Word" action. It'll help you turn that spark into a full draft, fast. No more blank pages. No more writer's block. Just momentum.
  

These new Microsoft 365 text actions will begin rolling out over the course of the coming weeks. For "Draft with Copilot in Word" – a Microsoft 365 Copilot subscription is required.

You can learn more about using Click to Do here.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Click to Do.

New features gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on

Choose what Lock screen widgets appear
After rolling this experience out to Windows Insiders in the EEA, we are now beginning to roll out more widget options on the lock screen as well as support for lock screen widget personalization (previously referred to as "Weather and more") with Insiders in all regions. You can add, remove, and rearrange lock screen widgets such as Weather, Watchlist, Sports, Traffic, and more. Any widget that supports the small sizing option can be added here. To customize your lock screen widgets, navigate to Settings > Personalization > Lock screen.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Lock screen.

Multiple dashboards in Widgets
As we continue to evolve the widgets experience, we are also adding support for multiple boards so that you can have more space for your favorite widgets while being able to stay on top of current events with a feed that helps you discover the world around you. With the introduction of the new navigation bar on the left, you can switch between a dedicated widgets dashboard and other integrated dashboards like My feed. Give it a try and let us know what you think using the feedback button at the top of the board. This experience was also previously previewed with Windows Insiders in the EEA.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Widgets.

Changes and Improvements gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on

[General]

• To help you quickly find the right app for opening files, we are trying out showing recommendations from the Microsoft Store app within the "Open with..." dialog. These recommendations are denoted by a Store icon next to apps in the dialog.

[PC Migration]

• We're beginning the rollout of a new PC-to-PC migration experience in Windows. You'll start to see the landing and the pairing page in the Windows Backup app, giving you a first look at what's coming. In the full experience, you will be able to transfer your files and settings from your old PC to the new one during the PC setup process. Support during the PC setup will be available in a future update. We are releasing in phases for a smooth experience and will provide more details soon.

[Settings]

• We've updated the dialogs for entering your product key, troubleshooting activation, phone activation, and retail demo to match the Windows 11 visuals.

Fixes gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on

[Start menu]

• There have been some underlying improvements which should help address the issue where clicking your profile picture wasn't opening the Account Manager for some Insiders after the latest flights. If you're continuing to experience issues, please file feedback.

[Task Manager]

• Fixed an issue where after adding the new CPU Utility column, you might notice that System Idle Process always showed as 0.
• Fixed an issue where the CPU graphs in the Performance page were still using the old CPU utility calculations.

[Narrator]

• Fixed an issue where the Describe image feature of narrator wasn't working.

[Voice Access]

• Fixed an issue where support for more descriptive and flexible language on Copilot+ PCs wasn't working as expected.

[Corrine]

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.4230 (Beta Channel)

This Build is for Windows Insiders on Windows 11, version 24H2.
New features gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on

Quick machine recovery in Settings
We're excited to introduce a new dedicated settings page for quick machine recovery which can be found under System > Recovery > Quick machine recovery. This update makes it easier for you to manage recovery options directly from Settings, streamlining access to important features that help keep your device running smoothly. Quick machine recovery is designed to help your device recover from widespread boot issues by applying remediations delivered directly from Microsoft.

With the new settings page, you can easily check whether the feature is enabled, configure it to automatically search for available remediations, set how often those checks occur, and choose when your device should restart to apply any necessary fixes.

IT professionals looking to set configuration options for their managed fleets are now also able to leverage the Intune Settings Catalog UI to easily configure quick machine recovery settings as documented as a part of the RemoteRemedationCSP.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Recovery and Uninstall > Quick Machine Recovery.

Changes and Improvements gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on

[Click to Do (Preview)]
The following changes and improvements are rolling out for Click to Do on Copilot+ PCs:

• For Windows Insiders using French or Spanish as their primary language on their PC, we're beginning to roll out Rewrite and its options, including Refine, again for Click to Do.
• Click to Do can now perform intelligent text actions in German, Italian and Portuguese.

[Phone Link]
The following improvements for Phone Link and phone companion with the Start menu are rolling out to Windows Insiders across all channels:

• Instantly see notifications from your mobile device apps — grouped by app for easy catch-up, right from your Start menu.
• Mirror your Android device's screen with a single click from your Start menu. Simply click on your device's icon or access the option from the footer menu to quickly launch device screen mirroring.
• Your iPhone© memories are now accessible from the Start menu. Windows iCloud app users can see recently synced photos and quickly access their iCloud photos all within the Start menu.
  

[Lock screen]

• We have temporarily disabled more widget options on the lock screen and support for lock screen widget personalization that began rolling out to all Windows Insiders in the previous Beta Channel flight to address some issues. We are planning to begin rolling this experience out again very shortly.
  

[Settings]

• For Windows Insiders on Snapdragon-powered Copilot+ PCs with the new agent experience in Settings, we've made some improvements to make the search box at the top of Settings more centered.
  
• We're rolling out a new Device Card for Settings Home for Windows Insiders signed in with their Microsoft account and in the U.S. It provides a quick snapshot of your PC's key specs and usage, right where you need it. From the card, you can jump directly to the Settings > About page to see more detailed information about your PC. The Device Card may also help guide you toward discovering your next Windows PC – so you can shop with ease and confidence when you're ready. NOTE: We've been previewing the Device Card with Windows Insiders with Settings Home on IT-managed PCs signed in with an Entra ID.
  

Fixes gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on

[Improved Windows Search]
The following fixes are rolling out for improved Windows Search on Copilot+ PCs:

• Fixed an underlying crash causing semantic indexing to not work for some Insiders in the last couple flights.

[Start menu]

• Fixed an issue causing Start menu to crash on launch for some Insiders in the latest flights.

[File Explorer]

• Fixed an issue where if you opened the "..." menu in the File Explorer address bar to show the full list of folders for the current path, the dropdown might be cut off and the bottom of it inaccessible.
• Fixed an issue which was causing File Explorer to crash doing various actions in the latest flights, including when deleting files for some Insiders.
• Fixed an issue where the recommended section in File Explorer wasn't expanding when using the right arrow key.
• Fixed an issue which could lead to duplicate access keys in the File Explorer context menu.

The following are fixes for AI actions in File Explorer:

• Fixed the issue where the action result canvas displayed text from left to right for AI actions for Microsoft 365 files when your Windows display language is configured with a right-to-left language.

[Settings]

• Fixed an underlying issue related to Bluetooth which could cause Settings or Quick Settings to crash on launch for some people.
• Fixed an issue with Quick Settings where if you clicked the top third of the buttons in the top row, it wouldn't work.

[Other]

• Fixed an issue with msftedit.dll which was causing apps like Sticky Notes and Dxdiag to crash in certain cases for people using Hebrew or Arabic display languages.

Fixes for everyone in the Beta Channel

[General]

• We have mitigated the issue where if Virtualization Based Security is enabled, applications dependent on virtualization, such as VMware Workstation, would lose the ability to run unless the "Windows Hypervisor Platform" Windows optional component is installed on the system.

[Corrine]

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.4250 (Beta Channel)

New features gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on

Introducing the new Start menu for Windows 11

Easily launch all your apps with scrollable Start menu

We're making it easier for you to launch your apps with our updated, scrollable Start menu. With "All" now on the top-level, apps are easily accessible without having to navigate to a secondary page. In addition, we're introducing two new views to browse and launch your installed apps in the "All" section: category and grid view.

The new default Category view automatically groups your apps by category for quick access to your most used categories and apps. So, if your most used apps are Outlook and Solitaire, you can expect those apps to bubble up to the top in their respective categories. Categories are formed when there are at least 3 apps in each respective category. Otherwise, they will remain in the "Other" category.

Grid view is ordered alphabetically like List view but allows for better scanning of all your installed apps with more horizontal real estate. With new view options to choose from in the "All" section, we'll remember your last used view so you can reliably launch your apps with the view you prefer most.

Experience a larger Start menu with responsive sections

We're making better use of your screen real estate by adapting the size of the Start menu based on your screen size. Have a larger-screen device? You can expect to see a larger Start menu, by default, so you can see more of your apps and files. On larger devices, users can expect to see 8 columns of pinned apps, 6 recommendations, and 4 columns of categories in the Start menu. On smaller devices, you'll see 6 columns of pinned apps, 4 recommendations, and 3 columns of categories.

Sections within Start are also responsive so you can see more or less of your Pinned and Recommended sections. Have only a few pins? The Pinned section will shrink down to a single row and other sections will slide up. If you prefer to always have your pins expanded by default, you can do so via Settings.

If you'd prefer to not see recommendations, then turn off the following toggles in Settings > Personalization > Start: "Show recently added apps," "Show recommended files in Start...," "Show websites from your browsing history," and "Show recommendations for tips..." If there aren't any recommendations available, the section will collapse so you can see more of your installed apps.

Seamless cross-device integration with Phone Link

Lastly, we've updated Start to continue allowing you to take advantage of powerful cross-device features. Now, you can easily expand and collapse mobile device content using the new mobile device button next to the Search box.

This cross-device integration is generally available for connected Android and iOS devices in most markets and will be coming later in 2025 to the European Economic Area.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Start menu.

Screen Curtain in Narrator
The Screen Curtain feature in Narrator is designed to enhance privacy and focus for users who rely on screen reading. When activated, Screen Curtain completely blacks out the display, ensuring that only the user hears what's on the screen through Narrator, while the visual content remains hidden from view. This is especially useful in public spaces or shared environments, allowing users to read and work with sensitive information without revealing it to others nearby.

How to enable/disable Screen Curtain:

• Turn On Narrator using Ctrl + Win + Enter.
• Press Caps + Ctrl + C to enable Screen Curtain.
  
• Try using Narrator, while your Screen Curtain is turned on.
• Press Caps + Ctrl + C to disable Screen Curtain.
  

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Accessibility > Narrator.

Changes and Improvements gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on

[Lock screen]

• The more widget options on the lock screen and support for lock screen widget personalization that began rolling out to all Windows Insiders in Beta Channel flight with Build 26120.4161 is now rolling out again after being temporarily disabled in the last Beta Channel flight.
  

[Windows Search][/B]

• Today, we rationalize and organize Windows Search settings under Settings > Privacy & security under a "Search permissions" settings page and a "Searching Windows" settings page. We are beginning to roll out a change that brings those two settings pages together so you can easily access to all the Windows Search settings under a single settings page via Settings > Privacy & security > Search. The page is refreshed with a new modern visual for you to clearly browse the settings and control your experiences inside Windows Search, with the items listed in a better order.
  

[Narrator]

• We're introducing a smoother way to discover and learn about Narrator capabilities right from experience. Whether you're a new user or exploring deeper functionality, Narrator will now guide you through its new features by launching a series of modal windows which contain the details of all the new features and changes in Narrator.

[Input]

• The Gamepad layout of the Windows touch keyboard has been updated with enhanced controller navigation and improved focus handling for child keys, flyout menus, word suggestions, language switching, settings, and more
• We have designed a new Gamepad keyboard, optimized for gaming, to support PIN sign-in on the Windows lock screen. It features controller shortcuts for quick PIN entry, along with full controller navigation for users who prefer not to use shortcuts.

Fixes gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on

[General]

• This build should fix an underlying issue in the previous flight which was causing input to not work for some Insiders, including when typing into Search, and with the Chinese pinyin IME candidate window, clipboard history, and the emoji panel.

[Recall (Preview)]
The following fixes are rolling out for Recall on Copilot+ PCs:

• Fixed an issue causing Recall to crash for some Insiders in the last couple flights.

[Taskbar]

• Fixed an issue where in some cases taskbar icons might appear small even though the setting to show smaller taskbar buttons was configured as "never".

[File Explorer]

• Fixed an issue where restoring a File Explorer search result from Recall would open File Explorer but not show your search string.

[Windowing]

• Fixed an issue where ALT + Tabbing out of a full screen game could lead to other windows freezing (like Windows Terminal).

[Login and lock]

• Fixed an issue causing the lock screen to crash for some Insiders in the previous flight.

[Graphics]

• Fixed an issue causing some displays to be unexpectedly green after the latest flights.

[Settings]

• Fixed an underlying issue which could lead to the Settings window hanging and no longer responding to input or resizing unless you closed and reopened it.
• Fixed an issue in System > Display, where if UAC was set to Always Notify and you tried to click the button to do color calibration for your display and cancelled, it would crash Settings.
• Fixed an issue in System > Display, where a chevron might display for Brightness even if there were no additional settings to display.
• Fixed an issue where if you changed to a custom mouse cursor in Accessibility > Mouse pointer and touch, it could make Settings crash.

Fixes for everyone in the Beta Channel

[Graphics]

• We fixed the issue where you might see severe discoloration when connecting your PC to some older Dolby Vision displays.

[Corrine]

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.4441 (Beta Channel)

New Copilot+ PC experiences

New Recall export experience for Windows Insiders in the EEA
Windows Insiders in the European Economic Area will now have the option to export their Recall snapshots to be shared with third-party apps and websites. When you open Recall for the first time and opt into saving snapshots, you will be shown your unique Recall export code. The Recall export code will be needed if you ever choose to export your Recall snapshots to share with a trusted app or website in the future.

Recall and its export experience are protected by a robust set of security and privacy features outlined here. All exported snapshots are encrypted, require Windows Hello authentication to export, and can only be decrypted with your export code.

Following industry best practices, we only show the export code once during initial set up to ensure that you and only you have control over exporting your data. Microsoft does not have access to your export code and cannot help you recover it if it is lost.

If you lose your export code or if you suspect someone has unauthorized access to your export code, you should reset Recall. Resetting Recall will delete all your snapshots and reset all your settings for Recall. After you reset, a new code will be generated when you turn on saving snapshots again.

After setup, you can start an export from Settings > Privacy & Security > Recall & Snapshots > Advanced Settings at any time. You will need to authenticate with Windows Hello to start an export. There are there are two options for exporting:

• Export past snapshots: A single export of all your Recall snapshots from the last 7 days, last 30 days, or all your snapshots.
  
• Export snapshots from now on: Starts a continuous export of your snapshots from the time you turn on this setting until you turn it off or reset Recall.
  

For more information about how to export snapshots from Recall, see Export Recall snapshots.

Exported snapshots will be encrypted. If you wish to share those snapshots with a third-party app or website, you will need to provide your Recall export code and exported snapshots folder path so that the third-party app or website can access the information. Developer documentation will be coming at a later date.

For managed devices, IT admins can configure Recall export using the AllowRecallExport policy or corresponding Group Policy setting. This policy allows organizations to choose if they want to allow users to export their Recall snapshots. For managed devices, exporting is disabled by default. Export of Recall and snapshot information is a user-initiated process and is per user. IT admins or other users can't initiate an export on behalf of end users.

Please note that all Windows Insiders in the EEA who already have Recall setup and running on their Copilot+ PCs will see their Recall data reset after installing this build.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Recall or through in-experience links.

New features gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on

Bringing back the bigger clock with seconds option in notification center
We're excited to announce that we're starting to roll out a highly requested feature from Windows 10, the option to show a bigger clock with seconds above the date and calendar in notification center.

To turn this option on, go to Settings > Time & language > Date & time and flip the switch for Show time in the Notification Center.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Clock and Calendar Flyout.

Changes and Improvements gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on

[Recall (Preview)]
The following changes and improvements are rolling out for Recall on Copilot+ PCs:

• We are adding the ability to reset Recall and all its data. You will now see an advanced settings page under Settings > Privacy & Security > Recall & Snapshots. Under this new advanced settings page, we have included a reset button that will delete all your snapshots and reset your settings for Recall.
  

• On new Copilot+ PCs, the default value for maximum storage duration for Recall snapshots has changed from unlimited to 90 days. The user can update this at any time in settings.
• We are now providing teaching tips for Recall features. These tips provide more information and guide you through the Recall experience.

[Click to Do (Preview)]
The following changes and improvements are rolling out for Click to Do on Copilot+ PCs:

We are beginning to roll out two new actions in Click to Do!

Ask Microsoft 365 Copilot: Windows Insiders with a Copilot+ PC using Click to Do can now use a new action, Ask Microsoft 365 Copilot, to send text or images to Microsoft 365 Copilot and have it address your queries. The Ask Microsoft 365 Copilot action will require a Microsoft 365 license and respect your organization's privacy policies.

Send a message with Teams or Schedule a meeting with Teams: Click to Do is adding a new capability that enables you to take actions from an email address. These new actions make light work of connecting with a coworker or friend through Microsoft Teams. Have a question that you need an answer to? With just a couple clicks, you can easily send a Teams message. If you need to really talk something out, you can find time with your contacts and schedule a meeting. These new skills are provided when selecting any email address recognized by Click to Do on your screen, where you can then choose the "Schedule a meeting with Teams" or "Send a message with Teams" action and stay in the flow. Microsoft Teams version 25153.1002.3699.5695 and higher is required.

[File Explorer]

• We have added dividers to the top-level icons that show at the top (or bottom) of the File Explorer context menu.
• [Voice access]
  
• We are re-introducing Chinese support for voice access and adding Japanese support. You can now use Voice access to navigate, dictate, and interact with Windows using voice commands in Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, and Japanese. Japanese support is still a work-in-progress and may have some issues.

[Windows Share]

• When you share a OneDrive cloud file by right-clicking to share on the file – new options for sharing that link through other apps will be provided under "Share using" when the "Copy link" button is clicked. This experience is rolling out to Windows Insiders signed in with their Microsoft accounts not in the EEA.

[Settings]

• The search box in Settings will now be located at the top center to deliver a more consistent and better search experience. The improved search experience and agent integration are available only on Copilot+ PCs.
  
• We've updated the Windows activation and expiration dialogs match the Windows 11 visuals. These dialogs now appear as notification toasts in Windows, prompting you to take action if action is required. We have also made improvements to the messaging under Settings > System > Activation as well.

Fixes gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on

[Recall (Preview)]
The following fixes are rolling out for Recall on Copilot+ PCs:

• Fixed an issue causing Recall to crash for some Insiders in the last couple flights.

[File Explorer]

• Fixed an issue when opening folders starting from outside of File Explorer, where File Explorer would open it in a new tab, but the tab wasn't put in focus.
• Fixed a memory leak impacting some people when navigating through File Explorer folders, impacting performance and reliability over time.
• We've done some more work to improve the performance of extracting archive files – this will particularly help in the case of copy pasting large numbers of files out of large 7z or .rar archives.

[Start menu]

• Fixed an issue for Insiders with the new Start menu, where it was displaying in the wrong direction when using an Arabic or Hebrew display language.
  
• Fixed an issue for Insiders with the updated Start menu, where the Move to front / Move right / Move left options from the context menu for pinned apps weren't working.

[Settings]

• Fixed an underlying issue which was causing some Insiders to see the Settings navigation pane entries in English rather than their preferred language in the last couple flights.

[Other]

• Fixed an underlying issue which was causing fonts in certain app menu items to unexpectedly appear corrupted or overlapped for some people. This also impacted typing in Word – where when using Hebrew a period may unexpectedly show as a 3, and in Thai typing space may show a 2.
• Fixed an issue where running a script on a remote SMB share might take an unexpectedly long time if the share was an older Windows Server version like Windows Server 2019.

[Corrine]

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.4452 (Beta Channel)

New Copilot+ PC experiences

Recall Homepage
We are making it easier and faster for you to find and reconnect with the apps and websites that matter to you by introducing a new personalized homepage to Recall. The new homepage brings your recent activity and top-used content front and center, enabling you to easily get back to your previous tasks.

After you opt-in to snapshot collection, your homepage becomes your personalized productivity portal, displaying:

• Recent Snapshots: Your most recent snapshots captured by Recall, helping you quickly pick up where you left off.
  
• Top Apps and Websites: A curated view of the top three applications and websites you have spent the most time on in the past 24 hours.
  

As a reminder, you can set filters for what apps and websites are saved in snapshots by Recall in Settings. For more information, visit: Filtering apps, websites, and sensitive information in Recall – Microsoft Support.

Additionally, we are improving the way you navigate in Recall with the new navigation bar.  Located on the left side of the screen, the new navigation bar provides intuitive access to key Recall features including Home, Timeline, Feedback, and Settings. Recall continues to function the same way as before with these improvements.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Recall or through in-experience links.

New features gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on

New setting to move hardware indicators on your screen
We're excited to introduce a highly requested setting, the option to move the hardware indicators for brightness, volume, airplane mode, and virtual desktops to different positions on your screen. We'll support the current bottom position and new top left and top center positions on your screen.

To change the position of your flyouts, go to Settings > System > Notifications and use the dropdown for Position of the onscreen pop-up.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > MTC controls and audio.

Changes and Improvements gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on

[Start menu]

• We are adding a Boolean to the Configure Start Pins policy to allow admins to apply Start menu pins once. This means that a user will receive admin pins on day 0 but can then make any changes to their Start pinned layout and have those safeguarded. These changes can be optionally applied through the existing configuration service provider (CSP).
  

[File Explorer]

• We are restarting the roll out of AI actions in File Explorer that began rolling out with Build 26120.4151. Some Insiders may have seen the feature disappear.
  

[Settings]

• In the most recently flights, we have added the country or region selected during device setup under Settings > Time & language > Language & region.
  

Fixes gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on

[General]

• Fixed an underlying issue in the previous flight which caused input to not work for some Insiders again, including when typing into Search, and with the Chinese pinyin IME candidate window, clipboard history, and the emoji panel.

[Taskbar]

• Fixed an underlying issue causing some Insiders using the Italian display language to experience repeated explorer.exe crashes in the previous flight.

[File Explorer]

• Fixed an issue which was causing File Explorer Home to only show a single folder (like Desktop) and nothing else for a small number of people.
• Fixed an underlying issue which was leading to noticeable performance degradation when navigating File Explorer and opening the context menu the more SharePoint sites were synced to File Explorer. This may have also impacted the performance of launching files in this scenario.

[Settings]

• Fixed an issue where the items under Settings > Windows Update > Update History > Uninstall updates might appear sorted randomly rather than sorted by date.

Fixes for everyone in the Beta Channel

[General]

• Fixed the issue causing the Windows Vista boot sound to play instead of the Windows 11 boot sound.
• Fixed an issue where the option to reset your PC under Settings > System > Recovery wasn't working on the previous build.
• Fixed an underlying issue leading to certain KVM virtual machines unexpectedly failing to boot, showing "UNSUPPORTED_PROCESSOR".

[Corrine]

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.4520 (Beta Channel)

New features gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on

Passwordless Improvements
We have partnered with 1Password to bring users a seamless plugin passkey provider integration in Windows 11. Setup is simple and intuitive:

• Install 1Password Beta on your Windows 11 PC.
  
• Go to Settings > Passkeys > Advanced options to enable the plugin credential manager.
  
• Toggle on support and complete user verification with Windows Hello (face, fingerprint, or PIN).
• You can now use your existing passkeys saved to the plugin credential manager or save new passkeys.

To use a passkey, go to a website where you have an account with a passkey you've saved to your credential manager and select that passkey. Sign in quickly and easily with Windows Hello.

Save new passkeys to your credential manager by going to a website that supports passkeys. Find the option to create a passkey for your account, choose to save to your credential manager, authenticate with Windows Hello, and your passkey is saved.

Use passkeys across your devices with your passkey provider and a native user experience on Windows 11.

If you are a credential manager developer, we invite you to integrate with Windows 11 to support customers in their passkey journey. To find out more about implementation detail, go to https://aka.ms/3P-Plugin-API.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Security and Privacy > Passkey.

Changes and Improvements gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on

[Voice access]

• We are temporarily disabling support for Japanese to iron out a few more bugs.

[Settings]
In addition to the small changes that we made in the EEA region for default browsers via Settings > Apps > Default apps with Build 26120.4151, we're also making this change:

• The new default browser will be pinned to the Taskbar and Start menu unless you choose not to pin it by clearing the checkboxes.

Fixes gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on

[File Explorer]

• Fixed an issue which could cause File Explorer Home to crash (potentially also making File Explorer crash on launch, since Home is the default section for File Explorer).
• Fixed an issue which could cause the thumbnail for a pinned favorite in Home to disappear.

[Start menu]

• Fixed an issue which was causing duplicate entries to appear when interacting with folders on the Start menu.
• Fixed an issue where the folder expand animation wasn't correct in some cases.

[Input]

• Fixed a high hitting ctfmon.exe crash in the latest flights, which could impact the ability to type.

[Other]

• Fixed a memory leak which could happen when lock screen was set to use a slide show, which could impact performance and reliability over time.
• Did some more work improving how dialogs in the system react to increased text scaling, for example the "You must restart your computer to apply these changes" dialog should now support it.

[Corrine]

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.4733 (Beta Channel)

Releasing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.4733 (KB5062651) to the Beta Channel for Windows Insiders on Windows 11, version 24H2.

New Copilot+ PC experiences

New describe image action in Click to Do
We are introducing a new "describe image" action in Click to Do to get detailed descriptions of images, charts and graphs – useful to get a quick overview of the visual content. When you use the action for the first time, the required models are set up, and the descriptions are generated locally on your device making sure your sensitive data stays on your PC.

The new describe image action in Click to Do is rolling out to Windows Insiders on Snapdragon-powered Copilot+ PCs, with support for AMD and Intel-powered Copilot+ PCs coming soon. You can learn more about using Click to Do here.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Click to Do.

New features gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on

Administrator protection
Administrator protection is an upcoming platform security feature in Windows 11, which aims to protect free floating admin rights for administrator users allowing them to still perform all admin functions with just-in-time admin privileges. This feature is off by default and needs to be enabled via Windows Security under Account protection or via group policy. For more information on administrator protection, please read this blog post here from Katharine Holdsworth.

Changes and Improvements gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on

[General]

• We're updating the design of the privacy dialogs for app permissions. When an app requests permission to access location, camera, mic, etc., it is now a system modal dialog. When one of these dialogs appears from an app requesting permission, the screen will slightly darken now, and the privacy dialog will take focus in center of the screen.
  

[Windows Security]

• Windows Insiders in the Dev and Beta Channels with Smart App Control in evaluation mode may see Smart App Control get turned on in Windows Security. If Smart App Control is turned on, it can be switched off via Windows Security > App & browser control > Smart App Control.

Fixes gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• Fixed an issue which could cause random File Explorer preview windows to appear when hovering over unrelated app icons in the taskbar.

[Search on the Taskbar]

• Fixed an issue where the search box in the taskbar might show animations even if animations were turned off in Settings.

[File Explorer]

• Fixed an underlying issue which could lead to file operation progress dialogs to stop appearing when displayed from apps.
• Made some more improvements to the performance of zip extraction – specifically in the case if you were trying to extract a zip file that was downloaded from the web and contained many small files.
• Fixed an issue where if you'd pinned the shortcut for an app to your desktop, after the app updated, the icon may become a white page icon rather than having a proper thumbnail image.
• Fixed an issue which was causing File Explorer Home to flash white again when launching File Explorer.

The following are fixes for AI actions in File Explorer:

• Fixed an issue where Narrator scan mode might not work properly in the action result canvas window for the Summarize AI action for Microsoft 365 files when reading bulleted lists.

[Live captions]

• Fixed an issue where if you changed the opacity of live captions in Settings > Accessibility > Captions > Caption Style, it would have no effect.

[Dynamic Lighting]

• Fixed an issue in Dynamic Lighting where the Dynamic Lighting Background Controller would occasionally consume excessive CPU after unlocking the machine.

[Graphics]

• Fixed an issue where game content might become out of sync with the cursor position after using ALT + Tab to switch away and back from certain games running in full screen exclusive mode (when the game resolution didn't match the desktop resolution).

[Settings]

• Fixed an issue which could cause Settings to crash when navigating to Time & Language > Language & Region in the previous flight.

[Other]

• Fixed an issue which was resulting in some people unexpectedly seeing error 2042 in Event View, citing a problem with Windows Firewall config not being read correctly.
• Fixed an underlying issue which could cause apps to not come to the foreground when interacting with notifications – for example if you clicked on an Outlook notification.

[Corrine]

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.4741 (Beta Channel)

The update is for Windows Insiders on Windows 11, version 24H2.

New Copilot+ PC experiences

New describe image action in Click to Do rolling out for AMD and Intel®-powered Copilot+ PCs
We are introducing a new "describe image" action in Click to Do to get detailed descriptions of images, charts and graphs for AMD and Intel®-powered Copilot+ PCs. This feature was introduced for Snapdragon-powered Copilot+ PCs in the previous Beta Channel flight. This feature is useful to get a quick overview of the visual content. This feature is designed to improve accessibility and can be used by everyone in scenarios like getting a quick overview of a graph or a chart, generating alt text for artefacts you create, etc. When you use the action for the first time, the required models are set up, and the descriptions are generated locally on your device making sure your sensitive data stays on your PC.

You can learn more about using Click to Do here. You can check out frequently asked questions about rich image descriptions here.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Click to Do.

Making visual content more accessible with image descriptions in Narrator
We are enhancing digital accessibility with the ability to get rich, detailed descriptions of images, charts, graphs in Narrator by using the power of AI on Copilot+ PCs. In today's digital world, images are everywhere—on websites, apps, and documents. But for blind and low-vision users, many of these visuals remain inaccessible due to missing or inadequate alt text. After beginning the rollout for this feature for Snapdragon-powered Copilot+ PCs, we are also now rolling this feature out for AMD and Intel-powered Copilot+ PCs.

With this new feature that is beginning to roll out, Narrator will now generate richer image descriptions on your Copilot+ PC. Simply press Narrator key + Ctrl + D and Narrator will read out a contextual description of the image describing people, objects, colors, text, and numbers from the image. On non-Copilot+ PCs, this experience will continue to give you very basic image descriptions.

For example, for an image about stock performance, users will get the following detailed description. The image is a graph showing the stock prices of Microsoft Corporation, with the S&P 500 and NASDAQ Computer indexes. The graph shows a steady increase in Microsoft's stock price over the period from June 18th to June 23rd.

The window also contains regenerate, like, dislike and copy button at the bottom.

To turn Narrator on, you can press "Ctrl + Windows key + Enter" on your PC or search for "Narrator" in Windows search box. When you try the image descriptions feature for the first time using Narrator Key + Ctrl + D, we download the models required for getting image descriptions. You can check the download status via Settings > Windows update.

If you are new to Narrator, you can find more information and learn about using Narrator from the  complete guide to Narrator.

Also check out frequently asked questions about rich image descriptions in Narrator here.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Accessibility > Narrator.

Changes and Improvements gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on

[General]

• As part of our commitment to improving Windows performance, logs are now collected when your PC has experienced any slow or sluggish performance. Windows Insiders are encouraged to provide feedback when experiencing PC issues related to slow or sluggish performance, allowing Feedback Hub to automatically collect these logs, which will help us root cause issues faster. Use the Desktop > System Sluggishness category when filing feedback to allow Feedback Hub to automatically pick up these logs. These logs are stored locally (%systemRoot%\Temp\DiagOutputDir\Whesvc folder) and only sent to Microsoft via Feedback Hub when feedback is submitted.
  

[Click to Do (Preview)]
The following changes and improvements are rolling out for Click to Do on Copilot+ PCs:

• We are trying out a change that removes the search box in the top bar of Click to Do.

[Lock screen]

• We're updating lock screen widgets experience for Windows Insiders in the Beta Channel, with widget suggestions to help you easily discover more widgets. This feature can be enabled or disabled with the "Discover widgets" toggle under Settings > Personalization > Lock screen. Please note this experience is still being refined and will change in future flights.
  

[Settings]

• You can now visit the Settings > Privacy & security > Text and image generation to see which third-party applications recently used generative AI models provided by Windows. This page gives you visibility into the specific apps leveraging local Windows provided generative AI models and allows you to control which apps are permitted to use them—putting you in charge of your device's AI experience. The UI is present in this flight today, however the functionality will light up in a upcoming flight.
  

Fixes gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on

[Notification Center]

• Fixed an issue where if you'd enabled the clock in Notification Center it might result in the Notification Center content getting clipped.
  

[Other]

• Fixed an underlying issue with dbgcore.dll, which could lead to explorer.exe and some other apps crashing recently.