Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.51 Released to Insiders on the Dev Channel: Announcing the first Insider Preview for Windows 11 | Windows Insider Blog
(https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2021/06/28/announcing-the-first-insider-preview-for-windows-11/)See the blog post for writeup and images of Windows 11. Also see Update on Windows 11 minimum system requirements | Windows Insider Blog (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2021/06/28/update-on-windows-11-minimum-system-requirements/).
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.65 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2021/07/08/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22000-65/)
See the blog post for the long lists of changes, improvements, and fixes in DEV Build 22000.65.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.71
(https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2021/07/15/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22000-71/)The Build includes a new entertainment widget, new context menus and more along with a very long list of fixes.for the Taskbar, Settings, File Explorer, Search, Widgets, and more.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.100
(https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2021/07/22/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22000-100/)See the blog post for the changes and improvements as well as a long list of fixes to the Taskbar, Settings, File Explorer, Search, Widgets and more.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.120 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2021/08/05/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22000-120/)
Build is for both and Dev and Beta Channels. See the blog post for the long list of fixes.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.132 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2021/08/12/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22000-132/)
Again, the Build is for everyone in the Dev and Beta Channels and the blog post includes a long list of Known issues.
Fixes- Search:
- Did some work to address a scenario where the recent searches list displayed when hovering over the Search icon in the Taskbar was unexpectedly blank.
- Widgets:
- We fixed the issue where launching links from the widgets board wasn't always invoking apps to the foreground.
- Clicking the widgets icon in the Taskbar should open it on the correct monitor now.
- Windows Sandbox:
- The Taskbar (Explorer.exe) should no longer repeatedly crash inside of Windows Sandbox.
- Other:
- Addressed an issue leading to some Insiders experiencing a bug check when attempting to roll back in the previous flight.
- Mitigated an issue that was making certain games go unresponsive after pressing the Enter key.
- Fixed an issue where the "location in use" indicator icon wasn't showing up in the Taskbar when it should have been.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.160
(https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2021/08/19/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22000-160/)Build is released to everyone in the Dev and Beta Channels. In addition, the ISOs for Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.132 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2021/08/12/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22000-132/) have been released to the Windows Insider Preview Downloads page (https://www.microsoft.com/software-download/windowsinsiderpreviewiso). The ISOs can be used to do a clean installation or in-place upgrade.
Fixes- Taskbar:
- We fixed an issue where the "location in use" icon was showing in the Taskbar sometimes even though the usage was blocked by your preferences.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.168 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2021/08/27/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22000-168/)
Quote
IMPORTANT REMINDER: If you are in the Dev Channel, now would be the right time to consider switching to the Beta Channel if you want to stay on more stabilized builds of Windows 11. For those of you who are new to the Windows Insider Program and flighting of OS updates – check out this article for how flighting works (https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-insider/flighting). (We use the term "flighting" for the activity of releasing new OS updates to Insiders.)
Fixes- Search:
- We've addressed an underlying issue in the last couple flights for pen enabled devices that was resulting in Search getting into a state where it wasn't possible to launch apps from the results.
- Settings:
- We fixed an issue where typing certain phrases into the search box in Settings were crashing Settings sometimes.
- Widgets:
- When using the Family widget, you should no longer unexpectedly see a message saying 'connect a device to see screen time activity' despite there being available activity to display.
- Chat from Microsoft Teams:
- We fixed the issue where sometimes videos would freeze or display a black image during video calls.
- We also fixed the issue where if you switched between calls, the previous call is not automatically put on hold, so audio and video streams continue with both calls.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22449 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2021/09/02/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22449/)
Quote
You may notice that this build number is higher than the Windows 11 preview builds you've been receiving. That's because we're moving the Dev Channel back to receiving builds from our active development branch (RS_PRERELEASE). This means the builds released to the Dev Channel no longer match the Windows 11 experience that will be released to customers on October 5th (https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2021/08/31/windows-11-available-on-october-5/).
See the blog post for the very long list of fixes.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22454 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2021/09/09/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22454/)
Quote
REMINDER: Build numbers are higher in the Dev Channel than the Windows 11 preview builds in the Beta Channel because we've moved the Dev Channel back to receiving builds from our active development branch (RS_PRERELEASE). This means the builds released to the Dev Channel no longer match the Windows 11 experience that will be released to customers on October 5th (https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2021/08/31/windows-11-available-on-october-5/). The desktop watermark you see at the lower right corner of your desktop is normal for these pre-release builds.
See the blog post for the very long list of fixes.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22458 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2021/09/15/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22458/)
Fixes
[Start]- Fixed an underlying issue that was impacting Start reliability.
[Search]- Folders with # in folder name can now be added to indexing.
[Settings]- Addressed an issue that was causing Settings to crash sometimes when trying to open the Display page.
- Clicking "More about refresh rate" in Advanced Display Settings now opens the support page it's supposed to.
- Fixed an issue where the Location page in Settings wasn't showing warning text explaining why the location services setting was greyed out if it was greyed out.
- Changes made to preferences under Manage App Execution Alias in Settings should now be preserved.
- Fixed a couple typos in the output of dll (http://'https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/windows/it-pro/windows-server-2012-R2-and-2012/ee624057(v=ws.11)') (Issue #206 (http://'https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs/Console-Docs/issues/206')).
[Windowing]- Mitigated an issue that could make certain games unexpectedly crash when using ALT + Enter (i.e., switch between full screen and windowed) during with Auto HDR enabled.
[Other]- Addressed an issue that was causing text truncation in the Encrypting File System window in certain cases.
- Fixed a rare scenario that could result in an uninstalled in-box app unexpectedly reappearing after reboot.
- Appx commandlets should now work with PowerShell 7.0+ printui.dll (http://https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/windows/it-pro/windows-server-2012-R2-and-2012/ee624057(v=ws.11)) (Issue #13138 (http://https://github.com/PowerShell/PowerShell/issues/13138)).
NOTE: Some fixes noted here in Insider Preview builds from the active development branch may make their way into the servicing updates for the released version of Windows 11 after general availability on October 5th.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22463 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2021/09/22/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22463/)
Fixes[Start]- System now shows up again as an option when right-clicking on the Start button (WIN + X).
- Fixed an issue that was causing Narrator to not be able to focus on the headers in Start sometimes with touch.
- Mitigated an issue where when a large number of apps were installed, the Start menu might get stuck with no app icons showing (only app name) after a DPI change. This change is also believed to help improve Start launch reliability on secondary monitors in mixed DPI scenarios.
- If the accessibility option "Always show scrollbars" is enabled, switching to the All apps list will no longer cause the scrollbar to escape the window boundaries during the transition animation.
- Pressing the down arrow after opening Start will now navigate into the pinned apps section instead of jumping to your username.
[Taskbar]- Icons on the Taskbar are properly aligned and centered again apps should no longer get cut off by the "show hidden icons" button when too many apps are open.
- The Taskbar previews text will now follow the Accessibility setting to increase text size.
- Adjusted the notification count badge for notification center to fix an issue where some of the numbers weren't centered in the circle.
- Fixed an issue where the Chat flyout wouldn't light dismiss the first time it was opened.
- Improved explorer.exe reliability when the Taskbar spanned multiple monitors.
[Search]- Opening Search on secondary monitors works now.
[File Explorer]- Mitigated an issue that could cause File Explorer to hang when doing a search.
- Pressing F1 in File Explorer will now open a search for Windows 11 help and not Windows 10.
- Made a change to address an issue where items under View, Sort by, and Group by submenus in the context menu weren't displaying a mark to show they were selected.
[Input]- Fixed an issue resulting in the mouse pointer position in WDAG being incorrect when the monitor was in portrait mode.
- Text predictions (both for the touch keyboard, and hardware keyboard) should be working again now in this flight for English and certain other languages where it was broken.
- Addressed an issue when using the previous version of the Korean IME where when typing quickly in certain apps the Shift Key Up event wouldn't be received by the app.
- Fixed an issue that was making the touch keyboard key borders look blurry in certain cases.
- Mitigated an issue where the touch keyboard would crash in certain cases when switching dock mode while the voice typing UI was visible.
[Settings]- Removed duplicate Nearby Sharing entry in Focus Assist priority list.
- Fixed an issue that was causing a repeated prompt to reset to default settings when "Automatically optimize new drives" was unselected in Optimize Drives.
- If you press WIN + P the current projection mode will now have initial keyboard focus instead of always the first in the list.
[Windowing]- Trying to switch Desktops (for example, using the keyboard shortcuts) when there is only one should no longer steal foreground focus.
- Addressed an issue where the snap layouts flyout would start flashing when invoked in certain places on the screen.
- Move To option when right clicking a window thumbnail in Task View is now aligned with the other context menu entries.
[Windows Sandbox]- Windows Sandbox should now launch in this build. In previous Dev Channel builds, Windows Sandbox would not launch in some circumstances.
[Windows Subsystem for Linx (WSL) & Hyper-V]- We have fixed the issue causing both WSL2 and Hyper-V to not work on ARM64 PCs such as the Surface Pro X in previous Dev Channel builds.
[Other]- Fixed an issue that caused some PCs to bug check with DRIVER_PNP_WATCHDOG error when attempting to update to a recent build.
- Fixed an issue that caused some Surface Pro X's to bug check with a WHEA_UNCORRECTABLE_ERROR.
- Fixed an issue where the Autorun registry entry for Command Prompt would not work if /k was used.
- Did some work to address an issue where not being able to parse a certain firewall rule would result in all rules following that one not being migrated on upgrade.
- Addressed an issue where the Quick Assist window could be small and not possible to resize.
- Fixed an issue for some users where if the sign in button in Quick Assist was clicked, it would open a blank browser window and they wouldn't be able to proceed to sign in.
- Mitigated an issue with certain menus / context menus that was causing a visual glitch with the shadow on first launch.
- Mitigated a race condition that was causing certain PCs to sometimes bugcheck with INTERNAL_POWER_ERROR when resuming from hibernation.
- Fixed an issue that was making some PCs unable to progress past the boot screen when upgrading to 224xx builds with certain SSDs attached.
NOTE: Some fixes noted here in Insider Preview builds from the active development branch may make their way into the servicing updates for the released version of Windows 11 after general availability on October 5th.
Redesigned Paint app for Windows 11 begins rolling out to Windows Insiders | Windows Insider Blog (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2021/09/28/redesigned-paint-app-for-windows-11-begins-rolling-out-to-windows-insiders/)
Quote
Here's another @Windows (https://twitter.com/Windows?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) 11 first look. This is the beautifully redesigned Paint app, coming soon to Windows Insiders. Can't wait to see your creations! #Windows11 (https://twitter.com/hashtag/Windows11?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) #WindowsInsiders (https://twitter.com/hashtag/WindowsInsiders?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) pic.twitter.com/jiKyfqQFUV (https://t.co/jiKyfqQFUV)
— Panos Panay (@panos_panay) August 18, 2021 (https://twitter.com/panos_panay/status/1428102755151847431?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22468 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2021/09/29/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22468/)
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Build Expiration Reminder: We have updated the build expiration for Dev Channel builds starting with Build 22468 to be 9/15/2022. Previous Dev Channel builds from the RS_PRERELEASE branch will expire on 10/31/2021. To avoid hitting this expiration, please update to Build 22468 today.
Fixes[Taskbar]
- Mitigated a rare explorer.exe initialization hang related to loading the network icon.
[Search]
- Improved reliability of showing the flyout when hovering over the Search icon in the Taskbar.
- If you navigate to the Search icon in the Taskbar using the keyboard, navigating away will now dismiss the recent searches flyout.
- The options when right clicking recent files displayed when searching for certain apps like Word should work now when you select them.
[File Explorer]
- If you right click files in OneDrive locations in File Explorer, the context menu will no longer unexpectedly dismiss when you hover over entries that open sub-menus, like "Open with."
- Double clicking a network folder to open it will no longer unexpectedly try to pin it to Quick Access instead of opening it.
[Input]
- Addressed an underlying font issue that was making the right hand of the shruggie kaomoji ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ not display in the correct position, as well as apostrophes in certain cases.
[Settings]
- Your preferred microphone input format setting (as configured in Sound Settings) should persist upgrade now.
- Addressed an issue where certain drives were unexpectedly not displaying in Defragment and Optimize Drives.
[Other]
- We've resolved the issue preventing MDM enrolled PCs from successfully updating to the previous build. These devices are now unblocked from updating to the latest build.
- Fixed an issue that could cause unexpected flickering in certain apps such as Microsoft Edge when using multiple monitors with different refresh rates.
- Mitigated a display related issue that was causing some Insiders to experience an increase in bug checks in recent flights.
- Did some work to address an issue where the Windows Update icon in the Taskbar might display but suddenly disappear when you hovered over it.
- Addressed a rare issue with certain devices after sleep where Wi-Fi would get stuck in an off state and trying to toggle it back on wouldn't work.
- Mitigated an issue for certain devices that could cause the system to freeze in some scenarios.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22471 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2021/10/04/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22471/)
Note The build expiration for Dev Channel builds starting with Build 22468 to be 9/15/2022 continues. Previous Dev Channel builds from the RS_PRERELEASE branch will expire on 10/31/2021.
Fixes[Taskbar]
- We fixed an underlying issue that was causing the Taskbar's hidden icons flyout to have sharp corners instead of rounded corners sometimes.
- Using the down arrow when interacting with the Desktops flyout's context menu should now move focus down the menu instead of dismissing it.
[File Explorer]
- Fixed an issue that was making explorer.exe crash sometimes when closing File Explorer windows.
[Input]
- Addressed an issue where voice typing might fail with an error message citing a network connection issue when that was not actually the cause of the failure.
- If you're using the touch keyboard in "Kana" key mode for the Japanese IME, the key labels will now correctly show the character that will be input when you're holding Shift.
- Mitigated a race condition that was causing textinputhost.exe to crash on launch sometimes.
[Windowing]
- Typing wt from the Run dialog will now open Windows Terminal in the foreground instead of the background.
- Addressed an issue that could lead to apps getting stuck in a minimized state after disconnecting an external monitor and resuming the system from sleep.
[Other]
- Addressed a network issue for Insiders running certain traffic optimization software. This should lead to improved performance on websites utilizing HTTP/3.
- Fixed and issue where some devices were failing to update to a newer build with error code 0xc1900101. If you are still experiencing this error code, please file a new piece of feedback in Feedback Hub.
- Updated the "reboot needed" dialog for Windows Update to now say Windows 11. Please note that you will only see the results of this change when prompted to reboot for the next flight, as you need to be on a build with the change.
- Fixed a DWM crash that could happen when enabling a contrast theme.
- Corrected an issue for ARM64 PCs that could result in certain apps not responding to display language changes if they were installed prior to upgrading to Windows 11.
- Addressed an issue where when explorer.exe is launched from an elevated process was using a lower memory priority, impacting the performance of all processes launched after it (Issue #55 (https://github.com/microsoft/Windows-Dev-Performance/issues/55)).
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22478 | Windows Insider Blog (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2021/10/14/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22478/)
Note The build expiration for Dev Channel builds starting with Build 22468 to be 9/15/2022 continues. Previous Dev Channel builds from the RS_PRERELEASE branch will expire on 10/31/2021.
Fixes[Start]
- Keyboard focus will no longer get lost if you press ESC after opening the user profile flyout in Start.
- Updated the prompt text when pinning something from a UWP app to Start, so it now says simply "Do you want to pin this to Start?".
[Taskbar]
- Addressed an issue that was causing Notification Center to get stuck in a state in recent builds where it would stop launching.
- The plus icon for adding a new Desktop will now display properly when hovering over the Task View icon in the Taskbar when using Arabic and Hebrew languages.
- After bringing up an app's jump list from the Taskbar, right clicking on the app name should now show the correct icon for Pin to Start (a pin icon).
- Left and right clicking Taskbar at the same time should no longer crash explorer.exe.
[File Explorer]
- Fixed an issue where the command bar was doing unnecessary calculations when navigating to folders, causing an unexpected increase in performance. This is also believed to be the root cause of performance issues when using drag to select files, as well as using the arrow keys to navigate in certain folders.
- The "Show hidden items" option should no longer get out of sync when multiple File Explorer windows are open.
[Widgets]The following two issues have been addressed with Microsoft Edge version 95, currently live for Microsoft Edge Insiders (http://https://www.microsoftedgeinsider.com/), and as such we're removing them from the known issues list:
- The widgets board may appear empty.
- Widgets may be displayed in the wrong size on external monitors.
[Search]- The recent searches flyout when hovering over the search icon in the Taskbar should no longer immediately dismiss on invocation if an admin window is in focus.
[Input]- Setting focus to the search box in File Explorer shouldn't make the touch keyboard invoke and immediately dismiss now when using a tablet with the Taskbar set to auto-hide.
- Fixed an issue causing the handwriting panel to not insert text when using it to write Chinese.
- Mitigated a memory leak that could occur in ctfmon, causing unexpected resource usage over time.
- Addressed an issue for a small number of users that was causing TextInputHost.exe crashes when setting focus on any text field.
[Settings]- Fixed an issue that was causing Settings to crash when radio buttons were updated, for example if you connected an additional audio endpoint while the Sound page in Settings was open.
- Improved performance of loading the themes displayed in Personalization Settings.
- If a non-admin user changes their display language in Language Settings, we'll no longer show the clickable sign-out button there as it was popping a UAC dialog and causing confusion.
- The Windows Update entry at the top of the System page in Settings should no longer be misaligned with the other options (when shown) in languages like German.
- The Braille options in Settings for Narrator users should now be in sync with the actual state of the Braille input/output mode.
- Made a change to help address an issue where "Media streaming options" in the Network and Sharing Center would unexpectedly revert to default settings after an upgrade.
- Improved Quick Settings launch reliability. This change should also help address the issue causing the window to not fully render (just a thin rectangle).
- Addressed an issue where if you clicked on the media controls area in Quick Settings, it wasn't bringing the app displayed to the foreground in certain cases.
- Fixed an issue where the colors for items in Quick Settings could get stuck and not reflect the proper color for that state, particularly when using a contrast theme.
- Updated the Quick Settings page for managing audio endpoints from "Volume" to "Sound output".
- Opening the page for managing audio endpoints in Quick Settings should no longer cause a brief cut in audio playback when multiple devices are listed.
[Windowing]- Mitigated an issue related to using ALT + Tab very quickly that could make explorer.exe crash.
- Holding down ALT and pressing F4 after pressing ALT + Tab will no longer crash explorer.exe.
- When using the Arabic or Hebrew display languages, dragging an app window to a different Desktop should show the thumbnail moving in the correct direction now.
[Other]- Fixed a casing issue that was causing LP.cab files to be unexpectedly removed in certain cases, which could lead you your display language changing until you added the desired display language back in Settings.
- Addressed an issue that was causing some users to see a bugcheck with error "KERNEL_SECURITY_CHECK_ERROR".
- Mitigated an issue that was causing the SysMain service to use an unexpected amount of power in recent builds.
- If the display order is missing in BCD settings that should no longer cause an upgrade failure.
- Fixed an issue that was causing captions to draw at the wrong offset in certain apps.
- Mitigated an issue that was causing crashes related to audiosrv.dll.
- If going through OOBE with an Arabic or Hebrew display language, the volume and accessibility buttons should display on the correct side of the screen now.
Via Twitter: Windows Insider on Twitter: "Heads up #WindowsInsiders in the Dev Channel! We've released build 22478.1012. This cumulative update is for validating the servicing pipeline and does not contain any fixes. #AreYouFlightingYet" / Twitter (https://twitter.com/windowsinsider/status/1449058803652177920)
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22483 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2021/10/20/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22483/)
Fixes
[Search]
- Fixed an issue that was causing Search to appear black and not display any content below the search box.
[Settings]
- Searching for "display" will now return Display Settings.
[Other]
- Trying to access the Linux entry for WSL in File Explorer's navigation pane should no longer pop up an error saying "wsl.localhost is unavailable, insufficient resources exist" on ARM64 PCs.
- Fixed an issue that was causing cellular data to not work on certain devices in recent Dev Channel builds.
- Addressed an issue with NTFS when the USN journal was enabled, where it was doing extra unnecessary action with each write, impacting I/O performance.
- Made some small improvements to keyboard navigation and screen reader usage of Performance Monitor.
- Webview2 processes should now be properly grouped with the application using it in Task Manager's Processes tab.
- Fixed an issue that was causing the Publisher column in Task Manager to not retrieve publisher names.
From Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22483 | Windows Insider Blog (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2021/10/20/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22483/):
Quote
"UPDATE 10/22: We are starting to roll out Cumulative Update Build 22483.1011 (KB5007484). This update does not include anything new and is designed to test our servicing pipeline for builds in the Dev Channel."
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22489 | Windows Insider Blog (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2021/10/27/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22489/)
Fixes
[Taskbar]
- App icons on secondary monitors should draw more reliably now instead of being blank.
- Stopped an explorer.exe crash that was happening sometimes when using the Desktops flyout context menu.
- Fixed an explorer.exe crash that was happening sometimes when dismissing the Desktops flyout.
[File Explorer]
- Pin to Quick Access is a top-level option now when right clicking a drive in File Explorer.
- We improved context menu launch performance.
- Made a few fixes to help improve explorer.exe reliability when using File Explorer.
[Windowing]
- Closing windows in Task View should look less jumpy now.
- Did some work to help address an issue that was causing flickering in the app window when resizing certain apps in recent Dev Channel builds.
[Settings]
- Addressed an issue that was causing Settings to crash in certain cases after going to Windows Update.
- Added a space that was missing in the search results when searching for Touch Keyboard settings.
- Fixed a Settings crash when trying to customize options in Wheel Settings.
- If animations are turned off, dismissing a notification using the X will no longer have an animation.
- Fixed an issue that was causing the media controls to not show up in Quick Settings sometimes when music was playing recently. Also believed to have impacted hardware media key usage.
- The tooltip for the Wi-Fi option in Quick Settings should no longer fly to the top of the screen.
[Other]
- Mitigated an underlying issue that was causing the Processes tab in Task Manager to be blank sometimes. This is also believed to be the same root cause causing UAC to open very slowly recently.
- Addressed an issue Xbox Game Pass games are failing to install with error 0x00000001.
- Fixed an issue where get-winevent in PowerShell was failing with an InvalidOperationException (Issue #60740 (http://'https://github.com/dotnet/runtime/issues/60740')).
- Mitigated a high hitting mousocoreworker.exe crash in the last few flights.
- Did some work to try and improve the layout of the text in notification buttons in cases where there's both an icon and text.
- The Get Started app will no longer crash if the Tips app has been uninstalled.
- Fixed an issue causing some devices to bugcheck with SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCPTION when updating on previous builds.
- Made an underlying change to help fix an issue causing some users to see an unexpected "bad image" error message dialog on boot.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22494 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2021/11/03/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22494/)
Fixes[Taskbar]
- Tooltips should no longer appear in random places on the Taskbar after sliding your mouse over volume, battery, network, or other icons in the Taskbar corner.
- Addressed an underlying issue that was leading to come unexpected duplication of certain icons in the Taskbar corner.
[File Explorer]
- Addressed an issue that was causing the context menu to crash for some people if you tried to scroll it.
- Did some work to help address an issue where in certain areas of the screen the context menu submenus would draw on top of the context menu instead of beside it (for example, if you hovered over New).
- The context menu icons should be less blurry on systems with multiple monitors with mixed DPI now.
- Addressed an issue that could cause selecting Open With in the context menu to unexpectedly just open the file in certain cases rather than actually opening the Open With dialog.
- Renaming files on the desktop is back up and running in this flight.
- Made another adjustment to the command bar underlying logic to help improve performance of command actions in File Explorer.
[Search]
- Fixed a recent issue that was causing the indexer database to become too fragmented, leading to the indexer unexpectedly consuming a large amount of memory and CPU for a prolonged period of time. This was particularly noticeable for people that have large Outlook mailboxes.
[Input]
- Mitigated an issue that was causing certain apps to hang when trying to drag something with the Shift or Ctrl key held down.
- Fixed an issue that was causing the touch keyboard to not appear on tablets when tapping the text field if you were to try to reset your PIN from the login screen.
- Improved reliability of the Pen menu.
[Windowing]
- Fixed a few explorer.exe crashes related to using windowing features (snap, ALT + Tab, and Desktops).
- If you open Task View on a system with multiple monitors, the background should now be acrylic on both monitors.
- Addressed a couple UI issues with the window thumbnails in Task View and ALT + Tab, notably that the close button might get cut off if the app window was too thin.
[Settings]
- Addressed an issue where Facial Recognition (Windows Hello) might be unexpectedly greyed out in Sign-in Settings in certain cases until closing and opening Settings.
- Fixed an issue where Storage Sense wasn't cleaning up C:\Windows\SystemTemp.
- Standard users (aka non-admins) should now be able to change the time zone in Settings if Location access is not granted, rather than the dropdown going blank.
[Other]
- Fixed an issue causing links to Windows Update, Recovery and For developers to show under the main Windows Update Settings page.
- Fixed a bug where images had a yellow tonality in Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Lightroom Classic when in HDR mode.
- Mitigated an issue related to DHCP (https://docs.microsoft.com/windows-server/networking/technologies/dhcp/dhcp-top) that was causing unexpected power usage while the screen was off in recent builds for some Insiders.
- Did some work to help address an issue where Service Host: WinHTTP Web Proxy Auto-Discovery Service would unexpectedly utilize a lot of CPU.
- Fixed an issue that could cause some devices to have a black screen when coming out of sleep (where the lock screen wouldn't display).
- Addressed an underlying issue that was causing some users with ARM64 PCs to experience an increase in Microsoft Teams crashes in the last few Dev Channel builds.
- We have increased the padding for selected items as seen by clicking Show More Options in the File Explorer context menu, or the menu options in Task Manager.
- WSL: Fixed error 0x8007010b when accessing Linux distributions via `\\wsl.localhost` or `\\wsl$` (Issue #6995 (https://github.com/microsoft/WSL/issues/6995)).
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22499 | Windows Insider Blog (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2021/11/10/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22499/).
Also note a new ISO with this build for Windows Insiders is available at msft.it/6017knzR5 (https://t.co/vPf6J8wo1I).
[Input]
- Clipboard history should be back up and running properly once you're on this build.
- Clicking gifs in the emoji panel will now actually insert them into supporting apps, unlike in the previous build.
- Updated the backend dictionaries for several languages – the touch keyboard's text suggestions and autocorrect should be more accurate now.
- If you change your accent color the accents in the emoji panel should follow suit now, instead of getting stuck with the old color.
- Fixed an IME crash that was happening sometimes for people who had chosen to use the previous version of the Pinyin IME.
- Mitigated an explorer.exe crash that was happening sometimes recently related to touch keyboard usage.
[Windowing]
- Made another fix to address an issue where explorer.exe would crash if you pressed ALT + F4 while ALT + Tab was open.
[Settings]
- Fixed a Settings crash that could happen when trying to check remote sound properties while accessing a PC over Remote Desktop.
[Other]
- Fixed an issue that was causing some clipping / unexpected zoom when going through OOBE on some ultrawide monitors.
- The apostrophe in the error message when your fingerprint isn't recognized on the login screen should display correctly now.
- When taking a screenshot of a UWP app by pressing the New button in Snipping Tool, Snipping Tool should come into the foreground once the snip is done.
- Fixed an issue that was causing some Insider PCs to bugcheck when coming out of sleep recently, with an error message saying "SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED".
- Fixed a deadlock that could happen related to MediaPlaybackCommandManager (https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/uwp/api/windows.media.playback.mediaplaybackcommandmanager?view=winrt-22000), resulting in certain apps not being able to play media sometimes.
- Addressed an issue that was causing reports in Reliability Monitor to unexpectedly be blank with just an empty rectangle when going to see more info.
- Did some work to help address an issue resulting in certain games having some lag that was only noticeable when the window was in focus. As a reminder if needed, please refer to the following documentation (http://aka.ms/gameperffeedback) for filing actionable game perf feedback.
NOTE: Some fixes noted here in Insider Preview builds from the active development branch may make their way into the servicing updates for the released version of Windows 11 that became generally available on October 5th.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22499 | Windows Insider Blog (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2021/11/10/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22499/)
UPDATE 11/12: We are starting to roll out Cumulative Update Build 22499.1010 (KB5008400). This update does not include anything new and is designed to test our servicing pipeline for builds in the Dev Channel.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22504 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2021/11/17/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22504/)
Due to the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, no new builds to the Dev Channel next week.
Fixes:
[Start]
- Fixed an issue believed to be the root cause of icons not displaying correctly in the Recommended section of Start (showing the wrong or a generic icon) sometimes.
- If you open Start and immediate press Shift + F10 or the context menu key, the context menu should be aligned with the search box now.
[Taskbar]
- Fixed an issue leading to an explorer.exe crash in recent builds if there were issues loading the battery icon in the Taskbar.
- Made some changes to help the clock in the Taskbar update more reliably, including addressing a recent issue where it wasn't updating at all over Remote Desktop.
- Mitigated a positioning issue that could cause the date and time to get clipped off the end of the Taskbar.
- If you've updated the critical and low battery level notification definitions, the battery icon in the Taskbar will now align with that, rather than using the default values to show a warning.
- Right clicking the date and time in the Taskbar will now dismiss the Notification Center if it's open, so that you can see the context menu options.
[Input]
- Keyboard lights (for example, for caps lock) should work properly again now with this build.
- We've made a few more tweaks to our emoji search keywords based on feedback, including improving results for day, night, and face with raised eyebrow. Please continue sharing feedback with us about this under Input and Language > Emoji Panel in the Feedback Hub.
- Fixed an issue that was causing the kaomoji list in WIN + . to be blank when accessed while using a Chinese IME.
- Fixed an issue with the emoji panel search results that could lead to a single gif being displayed repeatedly with certain queries.
- Mitigated an issue resulting in IMEs not working with certain games.
- Addressed an issue where the options under Settings > Personalization > Typing to change the settings "Show text suggestions & add a spacebar after I choose a text suggestions" for the touch keyboard might unexpectedly not display.
- If you make a long pause while using voice typing (WIN + H), it should be able to resume listening more reliability now.
- Fixed some inconsistencies between actual listening status and the microphone visual in voice typing.
- Text should no longer be unexpectedly duplicated if the caret is moved while using voice typing.
[Windowing]
- Selecting snap layout options should no longer randomly put windows on your other monitor sometimes.
[Settings]
- The brightness and volume sliders in Quick Settings should no longer randomly become invisible.
- Fixed an issue preventing Adjusting active hours from being set to manually.
- Addressed an issue which could result in the touch keyboard occluding the password entry field when connecting to a network in Quick Settings.
[Other]
- Fixed a scaling issue that was causing the update prompt dialog (and other dialogs of that style) to get cut off and not draw correctly after the DPI changed.
- Improved the positioning of the context menu when right clicking the bottom corner of the desktop.
- Mitigated an issue related to TCPIP which could result in bug checks when waking a device.
- Fixed an issue where high priority notifications (such as an alarm) would sometimes unexpectedly dismiss without you engaging with it, leading to it randomly reappearing the next time a normal priority notification came in.
NOTE: Some fixes noted here in Insider Preview builds from the active development branch may make their way into the servicing updates for the released version of Windows 11 that became generally available on October 5th.
From Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22504 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2021/11/17/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22504/):
UPDATE 11/19: We are starting to roll out Cumulative Update Build 22504.1010 (KB5008697). This update does not include anything new and is designed to test our servicing pipeline for builds in the Dev Channel.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22509 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2021/12/01/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22509/)
This build includes a set of improvements that make browsing the web in Microsoft Edge with Narrator easier. It also includes new layout options for Start, clock and date that will now show on secondary monitors, and Settings changes. See the blog post for details.
Fixes:
[Taskbar]
- The Start, Search, Task View, Widgets, and Chat icons in the Taskbar should no longer be unexpectedly large when the system scaling is set to 125%.
- Pressing the Windows key plus (the number corresponding to an app icon's position in the Taskbar) should cycle now through the app's windows if you repeatedly press the number instead of stopping at the last window.
- When Narrator focus is set to the Task View button and the Desktops flyout appears, Narrator will now let you know information about the Desktops.
- Fixed an explorer.exe crash some Insiders were experiencing in recent flights related to updating badges in the Taskbar.
[Input]
- Handwriting should be working again now when the language is set to Chinese.
- Mitigated an issue related to the mouse that was causing some Insiders to experience a bugcheck during hibernation sometimes in recent flights (making it appear as if the computer had rebooted).
- Updated the Chinese Simplified IME candidates to be center aligned with the candidate window height has been customized.
- Fixed touch keyboard invocation in PowerShell so it should work now.
[Windowing]
- Hovering your mouse back and forth between different desktops in Task View will no longer result in the displayed thumbnails and content area unexpectedly shrinking.
- CompactOverlay (http://'https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/archive/blogs/universal-windows-app-model/compactoverlay-mode-aka-picture-in-picture') should be working again in this build (aka the option that some apps use to create a small always on top window).
- Fixed a race condition that was causing explorer.exe to crash sometimes when closing a snap group of 3 or more windows in Task View.
- Removed the unexpected tilt animation when clicking down on a corner of the New Desktop button.
- Made a tweak to address an underlying issue that was causing the context menu to animation down to the mouse instead of away from the mouse when right clicking a Desktop in Task View.
- Fixed a high hitting DWM crash in recent flights.
[Settings]
- Fixed some overlapping text for certain languages on the Installed Apps page in Settings.
- Clicking the Uninstall button when using the Installed Apps page in grid view will now show a confirmation dialog.
- Changed the new ms-settings:installed-apps URI to now be ms-settings:appsfeatures, to address scenarios where existing links expect the latter to lead to the list of installed apps, for example, when selecting the App Settings option after right clicking a UWP app in Start.
[Other]
- Fixed an issue that was causing some Insiders to see error 0x8007001f when trying to upgrade to recent Dev Channel builds.
- Fixed an issue where some PCs are unable to install new builds, or other updates with an error code 0x80070002.
- Fixed an issue causing some devices to roll back with error code 0xc1900101-0x4001c when installing new builds.
- Did some work to help address an issue leading to the Wi-Fi connection getting lost after resuming from sleep.
Update to Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22509 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2021/12/01/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22509/):
"UPDATE 12/3: We are starting to roll out Cumulative Update Build 22509.1011 (KB5008918). This update does not include anything new and is designed to test our servicing pipeline for builds in the Dev Channel."
Redesigned Notepad for Windows 11 begins rolling out to Windows Insiders | Windows Insider Blog (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2021/12/07/redesigned-notepad-for-windows-11-begins-rolling-out-to-windows-insiders/).
The update includes:
- A completely updated UI that aligns with the new visual design of Windows 11, including rounded corners, Mica, and more.
- Dark mode: By default, Notepad will adapt to your system theme preferences, but you can change this option yourself in the brand-new settings page which is the new home for font options as well.
- A redesigned find and replace as well as support for multi-level undo
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22518 | Windows Insider Blog (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2021/12/08/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22518/)
Note:
- This build will not be offered to ARM64 PCs due to an issue that causes these devices to rollback when attempting to update to this build. We're working on a fix.
See the blog post for the description of the new features.
Fixes[Taskbar]
- Fixed an explorer.exe crash related to having websites pinned to the Taskbar.
[Search]
- Did some work to help address an issue where an invisible window frame for the recent searches flyout could end up stuck on the screen, consuming input in that area.
- When you're hovering over items in the recent searches flyout, truncated text in the flyout (for example, when using the accessibility setting to make text larger) will now have a tooltip so you can see the full text.
- Improved visibility of the text in the recent searches flyout if a contrast mode was enabled.
- The recent searches flyout now has an accessible name when a screen reader sets focus to it, instead of just saying button.
- Fixed an issue which was causing the search icon in the recent searches icon to become a garbage character for people using the Chinese display language.
- Fixed a high hitting Search crash.
- Did some work to help reduce the likelihood of keystrokes getting dropped if you start your search by pressing the Windows key and start typing.
- If you use Search to run commands, the "Run as administrator" and "Open file location" options should be visible again for you to select on the side of the search window. In addition, CTRL + Shift + Enter should work again now for commands.
[File Explorer]
- Mitigated an issue that could lead to not being able to add network drives as a source in Media Player.
- Fixed an issue that could lead to seeing an unexpected blank icon after compressing a file, instead of the one corresponding to your default app for handling that file type.
- Right clicking on a folder and then quickly closing and reopening the File Explorer window should no longer lead to an explorer.exe crash when the "run as a separate process" option is enabled.
- Removed some unexpected characters in the dialog when moving user account folders to another location.
- If you right click on files like .htm in File Explorer, the icon next to Microsoft Edge Canary, Beta or Dev should now display correctly (if installed) under Open With, instead of showing a generic icon.
- Addressed an issue that could lead to icons for app entries (like Windows Terminal) in the context menu going missing / being invisible sometimes.
- Improved the consistency of the background color of the command bar and menu dropdowns when a contrast mode was enabled.
- Made some more little improvements to help with File Explorer folder navigation performance.
[Input]
- If you've pressed WIN + Period and have navigated to the emoji or gifs section with a search term, when you go back to the main page, we will now clear out the search query so you can start fresh.
- The IME candidate window should now appear more reliably when typing into Search immediately after booting your PC.
- Fixed an issue where u-mode/v-mode/name-mode wasn't not showing candidates when typing with the Simplified Chinese IME.
- Fixed an issue where the Japanese IME was unexpectedly displaying candidates in horizontal mode instead of vertical mode.
- Fixed an issue where the IME toolbar might randomly show on the lock screen.
- Addressed an issue where the keyboard focus wouldn't always be in the right place after pressing WIN + Period, depending on where you'd left focus the last time the window was used.
- When personalizing your family emoji in the emoji panel, the UI should no longer unexpectedly dismiss when you click the white space.
- Clicking on your personalized family emoji in the most recently used list in the emoji panel should no longer unexpectedly invoke the customization UI.
- If you try to start voice typing (WIN + H) without setting focus to a text box first, the popup suggesting you move focus should work again now.
[Windowing]
- Fixed issue where snap group thumbnails weren't updating in real time in Task View after you moved a group window to a different Desktop.
[Settings]
- Fixed an issue that was causing Settings to crash when going to open options for added languages for some Insiders.
- Fixed a few issues on the Text Input page under Personalization, including:
- The preview image for your current set up should be showing now.
- Added a few keywords to help search for this page.
- Improved read out of the page for screen reader users.
- Searching for the word widgets should return to the corresponding Settings page with that toggle now.
[Other]
- Mitigated an issue believed to be causing Insiders with certain devices to be experiencing bug checks with the error SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION in recent flights.
- Fixed an issue where users updating from Builds 22000.xxx, or earlier, to newer Dev Channel builds using the latest Dev Channel ISO (https://aka.ms/wipISO) would receive the following warning message: The build you are trying to install is Flight Signed. To continue installing, enable flight signing.
- Removed some excess padding on the left of the boot logo, which was causing it to look off-center compared to the progress wheel.
- Addressed an issue where UAC was unexpectedly showing "Unknown program" when trying to elevate certain programs, despite them having proper names.
- Fixed an issue leading to Narrator unexpectedly saying "No item in view" sometimes when tabbing to win32 text boxes.
- Fixed a crash that was leading to login issues in OOBE (if you were to reset your PC), and well as issues resetting your PIN from the lock screen in the last 2 flights.
- Fixed an issue leading to acrylic unexpectedly not working in certain places in the preview flight.
- Mitigated an issue leading to some people unexpectedly seeing "Something went wrong" when trying to click the "stop recording" button when recording a message in Voice Recorder.
From Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22518 | Windows Insider Blog (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2021/12/08/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22518/):
UPDATE 12/10: We are starting to roll out Cumulative Update Build 22518.1012 (KB5009380). This update does not include anything new and is designed to test our servicing pipeline for builds in the Dev Channel.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22523 | Windows Insider Blog (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2021/12/15/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22523/)
Note:
- ARM64 PCs will be offered this build.
- We are providing ISOs for this build which can be downloaded here (https://aka.ms/wipISO).
- This will be our final flight for the holidays. See you in 2022!
Fixes
[Taskbar]
- Fixed an issue related to text input initialization that could lead to the shell (for example, Start menu and search) becoming non-responsive on ARM64 PCs.
- The battery icon tooltip should no longer unexpectedly show a percent above 100.
- App icons should no longer overlap the date & time on secondary monitors when there are a lot of open apps.
[File Explorer]
- Did some work to address an issue that was leading to losing keyboard focus sometimes after pressing Enter when using F2 to rename OneDrive files.
[Spotlight collection]
- After enabling spotlight collection (http://aka.ms/wip22518), your first image (after Whitehaven Beach) should arrive a little faster now.
- Added icons to the spotlight collection context menu entries.
[Input]
- Improved reliability of invoking voice typing.
- Fixed an issue where the border of our text input experiences (voice typing, emoji panel, etc) wasn't drawing correctly when a contrast theme was enabled.
- Mitigated an intermittent crash with the pen menu process if it was launched and then immediately closed before the launch happened.
[Widgets]
- We fixed the issue causing links to not open properly when opening the widgets board using hover.
[Settings]
- Settings content should no longer get truncated off the side of the window when making the Settings window small.
- Settings should no longer sporadically crash when opening comboboxes, which was impacting certain settings such as the ability to set custom click actions for the pen.
- Addressed an issue where the "Add a device" option in Bluetooth & Devices was silently crashing when trying to connect new Bluetooth devices.
- Added a number of keywords to make the Voice Access feature appear in settings search results.
[Other]
- Fixed an issue that was causing ARM64 PCs to experience bug checks citing a memory management error in the previous flight.
- Fixed an issue that was causing DWM to crash (causing the screen to flash repeatedly) when trying to use certain apps.
- Mitigated an issue leading to certain apps hanging when Narrator was running.
- Added some missing information when examining the details in the properties of narratorquickstart.exe.
- Addressed an issue where Narrator would not respond to UIA events such as notifications, live regions or text events.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22526
(https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/01/06/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22526/)
Changes and Improvements- We're experimenting with showing ALT + TAB as windowed instead of full screen for some Insiders.
- We have added support for wideband speech when using Apple AirPods products (AirPods, AirPods Pro, or AirPods Max), improving audio quality for voice calls.
- Starting with Build 22518, Credential Guard (http://'https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/identity-protection/credential-guard/credential-guard-how-it-works') is now enabled by default on Windows 11 Enterprise (E3 and E5) (http://'https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-365/windows/windows-11-enterprise') licensed PCs that are enterprise-joined.
- We are experimenting with indexing more file locations so that using search to find important files in Files Explorer is quicker.
Fixes
[File Explorer]- Did some work to help address an issue where if you'd used search in File Explorer, and then explorer.exe crashed, the next time you tried to search in File Explorer it wouldn't work.
[Search]- We've made another fix to help address the recent searches flyout getting stuck on the screen (appearing transparent except the border).
- Improved the resolution of app icons displayed in search results when the display scaling was set to greater than 100%.
[Spotlight collection]- If you're using spotlight collection, the current image should migrate on upgrade now (if the build you're upgrading from is Build 22523 or higher).
[Widgets]- Fixed an issue result in the Widgets board potentially not having the correct resolution when hovering over the entry point on a secondary monitor.
- Addressed an issue where the Widgets board would temporarily be blank, showing only an Add Widgets button (which also opened to a blank dialog).
[Other]- Fixed a bugcheck with KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED remote desktop users were encountering when attempting to shutdown or restart.
- Microsoft Store should no longer show a message that trying to install the latest Web Media Extension update is returning error code 0x80073CFB.
- Addressed a DWM crash impacting some Insiders on the previous flight.
NOTE: Some fixes noted here in Insider Preview builds from the active development branch may make their way into the servicing updates for the released version of Windows 11 that became generally available on October 5th, 2021.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22533
(https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/01/12/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22533/)Note: The rollout of the updated entry point for Widgets with weather on the taskbar has been reset.
Changes and Improvements- We have updated the flyout design for the hardware indicators for brightness, volume, camera privacy, camera on/off and airplane mode, to align with Windows 11 design principles. These new flyouts will appear when you press the volume or brightness keys on your laptop and will honor light/dark mode to give you a more coherent Windows experience. Brightness and volume indicators continue to be interactive with the update.
Fixes
[General]- Fixed an issue where Insiders may have seen error 0x8007012a during a driver or firmware update.
- Addressed an issue causing Insiders to be unable to sign-in to certain apps sometimes, such as Feedback Hub.
- Fixed the text in the exploit protection description in the Windows Security app so it just refers to Windows and not Windows 10.
- Fixed an issue resulting in not being able to import photos from certain cameras and mobile phones into the Photos app (it would just loop forever saying 0 items found so far).
- Launching Windows Sandbox, closing it, and then launch it again, should no longer lead to having two Windows Sandbox icons in the Taskbar (one of which is non-functional).
[Taskbar]- The Wi-Fi icon should appear more reliably in the Taskbar now.
- If you have multiple monitors connected to your PC and right-click on the date and time on the taskbar on your primary monitor, explorer.exe will no longer crash.
- Holding CTRL and hovering your mouse over the Task View icon in the taskbar should no longer make explorer.exe crash.
[Settings]- Mitigated an underlying issue related to the use of mica in Settings which was impacting overall reliability of the Settings app in recent flights.
- Fixed an issue impacting some Insiders which was resulting in Settings crashing when trying to access the Installed Apps, Startup Apps, and Default Apps pages.
- Mitigated an issue that was making the Wheel page in Settings crash when adding an action for an app.
- You should no longer hear a crackle if playing audio and repeatedly clicking the volume slider in Quick Settings to change the volume.
[Windowing]- If you hover your mouse over a truncated window title in ALT + Tab or Task View a tooltip showing the full window name will now appear.
[Input]- Improved how the text color and buttons look with theming applied on candidate window, emoji panel and clipboard (before this, some buttons/text was hard to see with certain custom background colors).
- The voice typing launcher should no longer unexpectedly reappear after clicking the microphone icon to invoke voice typing.
- For Insiders with the updated input switcher experience (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2021/12/08/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22518/), accessibility tools like Magnifier and Narrator should work better with it now.
NOTE: Some fixes noted here in Insider Preview builds from the active development branch may make their way into the servicing updates for the released version of Windows 11 that became generally available on October 5th, 2021.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22538 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/01/19/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22538/)
See the blog post for information about some updates to the voice features included in the Build.
Changes and Improvements- The updated entry point for Widgets with weather on the taskbar first introduced with Build 22518 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2021/12/08/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22518/) should now be available to all Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel.
- In ALT + TAB, Task view, and Snap assist, the focus rectangle that shows what is selected will now use your chosen accent color on your PC.
- Our updated IMEs and touch keyboard designs will now show on the Lock screen and where you enter your account information such as username and password. This change is currently rolling out to a subset of Windows Insiders at first and we'll expand over time based on feedback.
- We are beginning to roll out the ability for voice typing to download Speech Packs from the Microsoft Store for device-based speech recognition that provides a better performance of transcription.
- We're experimenting with improving the discoverability of certain input features in various areas across the OS.
- For those who need it, you can access ncpa.cpl directly again.
- We have added HTTPS boot for Hyper-V Generation 2 VMs. The feature is enabled by default.
- For PCs that support it, display calibration is now directly available under Settings > Display > HDR instead of having to open a separate Settings page.
Fixes[General]- Pressing the hardware buttons for volume up/down should no longer cause explorer.exe to crash for some Insiders.
- We believe that the issue causing some Insiders to see text in Settings and other places mixed up in the previous flight should no longer repro in this build.
- Fixed an issue that was causing Narrator to crash in text boxes when using scan mode.
- Mitigated an issue where for some PCs, after resuming from sleep or hibernate, video playback would resume instantly but the audio could take 10 seconds to start playing.
[File Explorer]- Folders named Advanced should no longer unexpectedly open the Advanced Sharing Settings page in Settings.
[Search]- We've done some work to address an issue wherein typing when using Search from Start or after clicking the Search icon Taskbar would not actually start a Search, as no text was input. If you continue to experience this issue after upgrading, please file a new piece of feedback under Desktop Environment > Search in Feedback Hub.
[Taskbar]- Taskbar's date and time in the long format should no longer cut off on secondary monitors.
[Settings]- There should no longer be a random blank entry under Bluetooth & Devices.
- Fixed an issue where Narrator was reading the Resume updates button as "Check for updates" in the Windows Update page.
- Settings should no longer crash when going to System > Display > HDR.
- Fixed an issue believed to be the root cause of Settings crashing sometimes when using the clear location history option.
- Mitigated an issue that was causing Settings to crash for some Insiders when viewing the properties of a Wi-Fi network.
- The "private" and "public" controls in network properties should no longer flicker for people with dual network cards.
- If you search for "network reset" the Settings page for doing that will now appear in the search results.
- When viewing the list of available Wi-Fi networks in Quick Settings, the signal strength indicators should now reflect the correct signal strength instead of all showing full strength.
[Input]- Removed the "try out your setup" box from Personalization > Text Input > Custom Theme, since it didn't work.
- The customized text color from Settings > Personalization > Text input > Custom theme" should actually apply to the text in the candidate window / clipboard history/ emoji panel now.
- Mitigated an issue which was impacting the performance for Insiders with the new input switcher when rapidly switching input back and forth.
- Tapping the search box in the expressive input area of the touch keyboard should no longer cause the touch keyboard to immediately dismiss the first time you do it after switching input language.
- Fixed an unexpected 1-pixel gap between the side of the touch keyboard and edge of the screen when docked.
- Adding missing inverted interrobang (⸘) to the general punctuation section of WIN + Period.
[Windowing]- For those using the custom mode in Settings > Personalization > Colors, the background of ALT + Tab, Task View, and Snap Assist should now follow the default Windows mode for light or dark and not the default app mode.
- Dragging and dropping windows in Task View while using an Arabic or Hebrew display language should drag in the correct direction again now.
- Explorer.exe shouldn't crash now when closing snap groups which include 3 or 4 apps.
[Widgets]- We fixed the issue where if you changed the taskbar alignment, it would cause the Widgets button to disappear from taskbar.
- Widgets content on taskbar should not get out of sync between monitors when multiple monitors are connecting to your PC.
[Voice access]- Fixed an issue where recently removed microphone shows up as the selected microphone.
- An issue was addressed to ensure the microphone state changes are announced for screen reader users.
- Fixed an issue to ensure microphone names are read out for screen reader users on the microphone selection page while setting up voice access for the first time.
- Fixed an issue to ensure microphone labels communicate the current microphone state for screen reader users.
- Fixed an issue where duplicate number labels were showing up on Microsoft Edge home page with the command "show numbers".
- Fixed an issue where the command "lowercase previous character" was not working as expected.
- Fixed an issue where voice access would give an incorrect message to say "voice access wake up" even when no microphone is connected.
- Fixed an issue where the command "switch to Edge" was not prompting for input when two Microsoft Edge windows are open with one of them maximized.
- Fixed an issue where the command "go to font" didn't give expected results in Microsoft Word.
- Addressed an issue where the command "voice access wake up" was not activating voice access microphone when you speak continuously without any pauses.
- Addressed an issue where dictation was not working as expected on the desktop and File Explorer.
- Addressed an issue where the command "show numbers" was not showing number labels on the window in focus.
[Task Manager]- Fixed an issue that was impacting Task Manager reliability.
- Update App History tab column name in Task Manager from "Tile updates" to "Notifications".
From Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22538 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/01/19/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22538/):
UPDATE 1/21: We are starting to roll out Cumulative Update Build 22538.1010 (KB5010882). This update does not include anything new and is designed to test our servicing pipeline for builds in the Dev Channel.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22543 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/01/27/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22543/)
What's New: More natural voices are being introduced to Narrator as well as new keyboard commands for Narrator.
Fixes
[General]- Task Manager shouldn't crash when switching to the Performance tab.
- The updated flyout for the hardware indicators (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/01/12/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22533/) for volume will now show the level.
- Fixed an issue where certain characters (like characters with umlauts) weren't allowed when naming your PC in OOBE, even though it was allowed in Settings after finishing OOBE.
- Addressed an issue which was leading to OneNote crashing in recent builds when trying to open pages with inserted PDFs.
- Mitigated an issue that was leading to unresponsive UI after enabling HDR.
[File Explorer]- Fixed an issue that could lead to explorer.exe crashing when dragging and dropping a file out of a zipped folder in File Explorer.
- The context menu in File Explorer now shows a CTRL + Shift + C keyboard shortcut next to Copy as Path.
[Input]- Fixed an issue which was leading to the cursor unexpectedly disappearing in certain apps.
- Fixed a crash in Quick Settings when opening the input switcher from there.
- Addressed an issue which was leading to the candidate window customization being unexpectedly missing from Personalization > Text Input for Chinese Simplified IME users sometimes.
[Taskbar]- We fixed the issue causing two arrows to appear for the hidden icon flyout and the Quick Settings icons, and the date and time were misaligned.
[Settings]- Mitigated an issue leading to Settings getting stuck in a suspended state and couldn't be launched.
- If you've opted to turn off the startup sound, that setting should persist upgrades going forward.
- Fixed the icon in the notification that shows if you have chosen to postpone finishing setting up your device.
- Tabbing through Quick Settings should no longer set focus to an invisible element.
- Fixed an issue that was sometimes causing the media controls above Quick Settings to be off-screen.
[Windowing]- The underline indicating the active desktop in Task View will now follow your chosen accent color instead of being blue.
- Mitigated a WER issue which was leading to DWM crashes in recent flights.
NOTE: Some fixes noted here in Insider Preview builds from the active development branch may make their way into the servicing updates for the released version of Windows 11 that became generally available on October 5th, 2021.
Via Twitter: (1) Windows Insider Program on Twitter: "Hey Folks - Unfortunately our build candidate this week didn't meet our quality bar for release so we don't have a new flight for #WindowsInsiders in the Dev Channel this week. We hope to be back at it with a flight next week. ^AL https://t.co/2Pbj37e331" / Twitter (https://twitter.com/windowsinsider/status/1489304689371799554)
No Windows 11 DEV Channel Build again this week. Windows Insider Program on Twitter: "Hey Folks, we're still working out a few issues so no new build this week. We hope to be back at it with a flight next week." / Twitter (https://twitter.com/windowsinsider/status/1491808695025643524)
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22557 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/02/16/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22557/)
Due to builds in the Dev Channel being irrelevant to the features and improvements included within them, the branch builds are released from has changed to NI_RELEASE. For more on the approach to how things are released to the Dev Channel, What's coming for the Windows Insider Program in 2022 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/02/03/whats-coming-for-the-windows-insider-program-in-2022/).
See the blog post for information on the many features as well as changes and improvements included in the build.
Fixes:
[General]- Fixed a recurring backgroundTaskHost.exe some Insiders were experiencing.
- Fixed an issue leading to auto HDR not activating as expected in certain games.
- Mitigated an lsass.exe crash that was resulting in some Insiders seeing crashes on the login screen in recent flights.
- Addressed an issue that was leading to noticeably distorted audio for audio devices connected using the Xbox Wireless Adapter in recent flights.
[Taskbar]- Task View should no longer crash if you hold CTRL while hovering over it.
- Dragging a file across the taskbar on secondary monitors should no longer cause an explorer.exe crash.
[File Explorer]- Updated the Storage Usage button in the Properties dialog for a disk to now be called Details and a little wider, to accommodate for languages where the button text was getting truncated.
- Improved the performance of deleting files in Recycle Bin.
- Fixed the Blu-ray icon so it aligns with the other drive and volume icons.
[Input]- Addressed an issue where the IME candidate window was unexpectedly not following your preference of light or dark mode.
- Fixed an issue leading to some elements of the voice typing settings flyout to be invisible in dark mode.
- The IME candidate window should appear as expected now in the username field of a UAC prompt.
- Updated the term "Halfwidth alphanumeric / Direct Input" to just say "Halfwidth Alphanumeric" in the Japanese IME context menu.
- Fixed an issue where after typing hiragana in Kana-input mode if there was a half-width alphabet character before the hiragana in composition it would unexpectedly become full-width.
- Addressed a rare issue where the input switcher might unexpectedly list the same entry twice.
- Mitigated an issue leading to an unexpected black box that was appearing in the input switcher sometimes.
- Updated the input switcher so it can get a bit taller now for people with more than 4 keyboards.
- Fixed a memory leak in the input switcher leading to explorer.exe crashing after repeated rapid use.
- Fixed an explorer.exe crash when clicking on More Keyboard Settings in the input switcher.
- Fixed an issue where the emoji panel might show "you're offline" even though you had network connectivity.
- Fixed an issue where the multiply emoji and counterclockwise arrows button emoji were displaying the design for the wrong emoji.
- Updated the preview in the Personalization > Text input Settings page to reflect your desktop wallpaper rather than the default.
- Did some work to improve reliability of the Stop media key when media is playing.
[Voice access]- We fixed a Visual C++ Runtime mismatch causing voice access to not run on some PCs.
[Search]- Fixed a high hitting search crash.
- Clicking the search box in Start will now immediately switch over to Search without showing the Search window animate in upwards, just like when you press the Windows key and start to type.
[Settings]- Addressed an issue where Narrator wasn't reading the elements of System > Storage correctly.
- Fixed the broken "size and theme" link under Time & Language > Typing > Touch keyboard.
- Did some work to help improve performance when updating accent color or mode.
- We made a change to help reduce clipping in combo boxes in Settings for certain languages and text sizes.
- Fixed an issue that was causing the icons on the IME settings pages to sometimes be white on white.
- Mitigated an issue leading to the install button having truncated text in some languages when previewing fonts.
- Fixed an underlying crash that was causing the preview video on System > Display > HDR to be distorted sometimes.
- Addressed an underlying issue that could make Settings crash when you scrolled the window.
- Adjusted the Wi-Fi icon in the Wi-Fi section of Quick Settings so that the lock shown for a secured network now has a small separation from the Wi-Fi strength, making it a bit easier to distinguish.
[Windows Spotlight]- Updated the name of Spotlight collection (http://aka.ms/wip22518) to be Windows Spotlight, so it's consistent with the Lock screen.
- Made a change to help make Windows Spotlight update images more reliably.
- Rather than showing a solid color background, if for some reason new Windows Spotlight (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2021/12/08/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22518/) images aren't available for the desktop, it will now fall back to showing the default Windows Spotlight background image (Whitehaven Beach).
- Right-clicking on "Learn more about this picture" for Windows Spotlight on the desktop will now always show all options, just greyed out if they're not currently available.
- When hovering over "Learn more about this picture", the tooltip should now more consistently align with the current image.
[Windowing]- Addressed an issue that was causing the minimize, maximize, and close buttons in File Explorer and some other apps to be invisible in certain cases.
- Mitigated an issue leading to performance impact when dragging windows with acrylic and other scenarios with acrylic.
- You should no longer see a briefly visible yellow border when taking screenshots.
- We've made some improvements to address feedback that windows were repositioning unexpectedly.
[Network]- Did some work to address an issue that might cause certain VPN connections to fail. If you continue experiencing issues, please file feedback with a capture of the issue (http://aka.ms/HowToFeedback) under Network and Internet > Connecting with a VPN client.
- Fixed an issue that was leading to decreased Wi-Fi speeds after waking your PC from sleep in the previous flight.
[Narrator]- When backspacing, Narrator will now more consistently announce when you're deleting characters with backspace.
- Fixed an issue causing Narrator not to read selected text in the Feedback Hub.
NOTE: Some fixes noted here in Insider Preview builds from the active development branch may make their way into the servicing updates for the released version of Windows 11 that became generally available on October 5th, 2021.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22563 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/02/24/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22563/)
Note: This build is available for ARM64 PCs.
Fixes:
[General]
- Improved login performance for a specific case where someone had a very large temp folder.
- Fixed a few issues impacting explorer.exe reliability.
- Updated the volume flyout when using the hardware keys on your keyboard to account for cases where there is no working audio.
[Taskbar]
- The auto-hide taskbar will now stay expanded while you use Task View to switch Desktops.
- When dragging a file or app to the taskbar, we've updated the message next to the mouse showing what is and is not supported to now respond to dark mode and contrast themes.
- Fixed a cyclical explorer.exe crash that was happening for people using the French (Canada) display language, related to the battery icon tooltip.
- Updated the mute icon in the taskbar so that the tooltip now gives a hint for the keyboard shortcut (WIN + Alt + K).
[Tablet-optimized taskbar]NOTE: These fixes will only show if tablet-optimized taskbar is enabled on your device. Please see above for details on the tablet-optimized taskbar, which is beginning to roll out to Windows Insiders and not yet available for everyone.
- The top border line of taskbar now extends across the entire taskbar instead of stopping just before the system tray area.
- The button styling for the hidden icons flyout is now consistent with the design of the rest of the system tray buttons.
- The taskbar should no longer flicker when switching input methods or during other scenarios where system tray icons are added and removed.
[Start menu]
- Fixed an issue that was causing the Start menu to not open consistently with the new touch gesture where you swipe up from the bottom of the screen.
- When recommended items are newly added or removed, their icons will now be animated to fade in and out.
- The sleep icon in the power menu is no longer incorrectly showing as a bell.
- Fixed an issue causing the apostrophe in the power button tooltip to not display correctly.
- Names of apps in folders no longer appear blurred briefly when opening folders in Start.
- Fixed a crash some people were encountering when trying to share an app from the All apps list.
[File Explorer]
- Fixed an issue where the OneDrive icon wouldn't show up in the File Explorer command bar sometimes when it should have.
- Removed a random white dot that was appearing in the context menu when right clicking on File Explorer's title bar in dark mode.
[Input]
- Made some improvements to the emoji search results based on feedback, including generally putting a stronger preference in the search results to the exact name match of emoji (for example, the balloon emoji first when searching for balloon) over the various other emoji that might be returned for those keywords.
- Fixed an issue causing Insiders to not see the updated Korean IME design in the previous flight.
- Fixed a couple issues with the coloring in the IME candidate window.
- Mitigated a crash that was happening when attempting to access the Personalization > Text Input in Settings after upgrading if you had customized your touch keyboard appearance.
- Addressed an explorer.exe crash that could happen when switching input methods.
- Improved the performance of launching the input switcher for the first time.
- If you have "Show accent color on Start and Taskbar" enabled in Color Settings, the input switcher background color will now follow that preference.
- Fixed the Typing link name in the touch keyboard settings options, so it matches the Settings page that opens.
- System > Clipboard in Settings now explains why the "Sync across your devices" option could be grayed out.
- Added text to the emoji panel to help explain certain scenarios where emoji search results aren't supported.
[Search]
- We've done some more work to reduce the chance that the recent searches flyout could get stuck on the screen.
- We've addressed an issue in recent Dev Channel builds leading to some Insiders experiencing an issue where search would open, but only show a magnifying glass in the window and not display any results. If you continue experiencing issues, please file feedback under Desktop Environment > Search with details about what exactly you are seeing (http://'http://aka.ms/HowToFeedback').
[Settings]
- Addressed an issue where pop up dialogs (for example, when adding an optional feature, or when configuring your IP address) in Settings were launching left aligned instead of centered.
- Addressed an issue where RSAT: DNS Server Tools would show that it was installed in Optional Features if you attempted to install it but wouldn't actually be installed.
- Fixed an issue where Display settings might not show the option to change refresh rate when your PC was in portrait mode.
- Settings should no longer crash when attempting to uninstall apps via Apps > Installed apps when your User Account Control settings are set to Always Notify.
- Windows Update > Update History should show history for feature updates again with this build.
- Mitigated an issue related to the Windows Update page that could make Settings hang.
- The link to give feedback in Settings > System > Notifications will now take you directly to notifications feedback section in the Feedback Hub.
- Fixed an issue preventing you from adding Bluetooth or Cast to the Quick Settings flyout.
- The media controls above Quick Settings should now show when you open media or hide when you close media more reliably.
- Fixed an issue where the number in the volume popup that opens when you use your hardware keys didn't match the volume number in Quick Settings.
- Improved the positioning of the Accessibility flyout above the button on the login screen.
- Fixed an issue that was occasionally causing certain Bluetooth devices to not auto-connect after powering on or resuming your PC from sleep/hibernate.
[Widgets]
- With the taskbar left-aligned, information such as temperature is now shown.
- Fixed an issue where Widgets weather info may have shown different information across a multi-monitor setup.
[Task Manager]
- Did some work to help address an issue where the navigation bar in the updated Task Manager design was showing black glitches when you launched Task Manager from a minimized state.
[Windowing]
- Fixed an issue that was preventing you from using the minimize, maximize, and close buttons on maximized apps (and other scenarios) because Notification Center had kept focus.
- Did some work to improve the smoothness of the animation when invoking Task View using the 3-finger on screen gesture.
- Improved general reliability of ALT + Tab to help address scenarios where it could get stuck.
- Addressed an issue that was impacting the performance when using ALT + Tab, Task View or snap assist in recent builds.
- Snap group titles should appear properly when using Windows with an Arabic or Hebrew display language now.
- Made some refinements to the snap layouts invocation experience when moving a window to the top of the screen.
- Fixed an issue where dragging a snapped window while snap assist is active would include a thumbnail of the dragged window.
- When using the down arrow to navigate through app thumbnails in snap assist, it should cycle to the top now when you've reached the bottom row.
- Fixed two crashes that could happen when using snap layouts on a secondary monitor or a portrait mode monitor.
- Made the margins for snapping to the left and right side of the screen a little bigger.
- Switching desktops using the keyboard shortcuts while the Start menu is open should no longer cause your desktop to unexpectedly switch back after closing Start.
[Network]
- Added some text to show Disconnecting to communicate if work is in progress after you've clicked the Disconnect button in the VPN section of Quick Settings.
- Fixed an issue where Managed VPN profiles with IPv4 routes specified might disconnect frequently.
[Narrator]
- Narrator will no longer jump up to the search box in Start after using the power or account menus.
- After switching to the All apps section of the Start menu, Narrator will now navigate to and read you app information correctly.
- Narrator in Word online will now read the new line correctly when arrowing up and down between paragraphs.
- Fixed an issue that was causing Narrator to stop reading or being able to move the cursor when entering tables in Microsoft Word.
- Improved how Narrator reads content in the Accessibility flyout on the login screen.
[Other]
- Fixed an issue that was causing the back button in the sign in window of certain apps to not to be visible when using a contrast theme.
NOTE: Some fixes noted here in Insider Preview builds from the active development branch may make their way into the servicing updates for the released version of Windows 11 that became generally available on October 5th, 2021.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22567 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/03/02/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22567/)
See the referenced blog post for information about both new features as well as updated information about the Dev Channel.
Fixes:
[General]
- Fixed an issue where users weren't hearing the startup sound.
[Taskbar]
- Using the taskbar to bring an already running app to the foreground should work more reliably now.
- Fixed an issue where if you changed time zone the calendar flyout wouldn't update to reflect a date change.
- Using Narrator key plus Enter or Narrator touch gestures (http://'https://support.microsoft.com/windows/chapter-6-using-narrator-with-touch-60f8f38b-23fa-ebe2-4345-c900d1b2e22f') should now work to activate items in the taskbar now.
- Mitigated an issue that was causing windows to be able to draw on top of the taskbar after dismissing one of the taskbar flyouts.
[Tablet-optimized taskbar]NOTE: These fixes will only show if tablet-optimized taskbar is enabled on your device, which is beginning to roll out to Windows Insiders and not yet available for everyone.
- The taskbar setting has been changed to "Optimize taskbar for touch interactions when this device is used as a tablet".
- We have improved mouse click reliability of system tray icons.
[Start menu]
- Fixed an issue affecting the reliability of the Start menu opening.
- Fixed an issue where dragging a pinned app icon between pages of pinned apps wasn't working.
- Addressed an alignment issue with the More button.
[File Explorer]
- Clicking the buttons in the new OneDrive flyout (http://aka.ms/wip22557) should now bring those objects into foreground focus.
- Star rating supported files (for example mp4 files) should work again now.
- Fixed an issue that could cause explorer.exe to crash when opening the context menu sometimes.
- Improved the performance of displaying the content in the Recycle Bin in cases where there were many files.
- Addressed an underlying crash that was happening when trying to start a search from File Explorer, impacting the ability to search.
- Fixed a rare issue for people with small screens where the context menu in File Explorer would animate in downwards, disappear, then immediately reappear animating upwards.
[Input]
- Improved input switching responsiveness when using WIN + Space.
- Fixed an issue which was leading to some Insiders seeing black text on a dark background in the input switcher.
- Addressed an issue where the Japanese IME toolbar could become transparent, and the IME candidate window clipped or not displayed at all.
- If you're using the Japanese IME with a vertical candidate list, the text should now appear written in the correct direction.
- Updated the icon used for hiding key press visuals in the touch keyboard when focus is set to a password field to help make it easier to understand.
- Fixed an issue where the new "Press Backspace" command when voice typing wasn't working in Japanese.
- Mitigated an issue that was causing Narrator focus to get stuck in the wrong place after inserting an emoji and dismissing the emoji panel.
[Settings]
- Items in the app list under Apps > Installed apps should no longer overlap each other.
- Fixed an issue where it wasn't possible to select the restart now button in Settings > Windows Update using touch.
[Windowing]
- Explorer.exe shouldn't crash anymore when dragging a window between monitors.
- If you're hovering over a Desktop thumbnail in Task View, the tooltip should now actually match the one you're hovering over.
- Fixed an issue where snap assist might unexpectedly trigger when you already had a window snapped in that area.
- Improved reliability of invoking snap layouts at the top of the screen.
- Task View should now successfully launch if you invoke it while the search flyout from the taskbar is open, rather than invoking and immediately dismissing.
[Voice access]
- Fixed an issue that was causing Outlook to scroll to the beginning of your emails if you enabled voice access and started talking.
- Button text in voice access will no longer be cut off when you've changed your text size.
- Fixed an issue that was preventing voice access from launching on ARM64 devices.
- Voice access will no longer turn on after you log in unless the voice access setting is also turned on.
[Live captions]
- Live captions will now handle you switching audio devices more smoothly.
- Changing the size of live captions will no longer cause white flashes in dark mode.
- You can now search for live captions to find their page in Settings.
- Accessibility home page in Settings now lists "live captions" under Captions.
- Settings flyout can now be light-dismissed in the live captions window.
[Narrator]
- Fixed an issue causing high CPU usage while using Narrator.
- Narrator will now read out the theme as well as the selection state in Settings > Personalization > Text input > Theme.
- When a dialog (https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/fluentui#/controls/web/dialog) pops up, Narrator will now consistently announce that it's reading from a dialog when reading its message.
- When using Microsoft Edge's History page, Narrator will now announce the name of the page and the focused element correctly.
- Fixed an underlying issue which was impacting Narrator keyboard navigation in webview2 in certain apps.
- Updated Braille display input and output table type dropdowns in Settings to have a default value now.
- Fixed an issue that was causing Narrator to hang when using Norton Power Eraser.
- If you Review > Check Accessibility in Excel, Narrator will now read the errors, warnings, tips & intelligent services section correctly.
[Task Manager]
- The suspended and efficiency mode icons should no longer be clipped in Task Manager at high DPIs.
- Fixed an issue where column preferences weren't being preserved.
- The default start page and always on top settings should work now.
- When there's nothing to show under the "..." menu, it won't display now.
- Mitigated a crash that was happening sometimes when trying to launch Task Manager.
- Fixed an issue where Efficiency mode icons were missing on some child processes.
- Fixed an issue where some settings options were not preserved.
- Fixed an issue where Suspended and Efficiency mode icons were clipped when displayed on monitors with high DPI settings.
[Lock screen and logging in]
- Fixed an issue causing the accessibility flyout on the Lock screen to flicker.
- The accessibility flyout on the Lock screen's location and spacing should now be centered and consistent with the design of other options on this screen.
- Fixed the border of the accessibility flyout on the Lock screen to show correctly in high contrast mode.
- Addressed an encoding issue in the message text when using a security key to login.
- Mitigated an explorer.exe crash some Insiders were seeing when logging into their PC.
[Other]
- Notification Center will now close when you start a focus session, and the focus timer opens instead of you having to dismiss it.
- Fixed an issue which was impacting the ability of opening Quick Settings and Notification Center when animations were disabled.
- Quick Settings and Notification Center should dismiss more reliably now if you had used a gesture to invoke them before trying to dismiss them.
- Fixed an issue relating to the UiaDisconnectProvider API (https://docs.microsoft.com/windows/win32/api/uiautomationcoreapi/nf-uiautomationcoreapi-uiadisconnectprovider) which was causing certain apps to crash.
- Mitigated a bug check which was happening in the last few flights for Insiders with more than 8 monitors connected.
- If you have pinned an app to the taskbar within Windows Sandbox, clicking the app to launch it will now actually work.
NOTE: Some fixes noted here in Insider Preview builds from the active development branch may make their way into the servicing updates for the released version of Windows 11 that became generally available on October 5th, 2021.
UPDATE 3/4: We are starting to roll out Cumulative Update Build 22567.100 (KB5012427). This update does not include anything new and is designed to test our servicing pipeline for builds in the Dev Channel.
UPDATE 3/7: We are starting to roll out Cumulative Update Build 22567.200 (KB5012432). This update does not include anything new and is designed to test our servicing pipeline for builds in the Dev Channel.
NOTE: Windows Insiders on Home edition will not be able to install the Build 22567.100 and Build 22567.200 updates.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22572 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/03/09/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22572/)
The build includes the addition of Microsoft Family and ClipChamp as inbox apps. Additionally, Search Highlights will begin rolling out next week. See the blog post for additional information about the addition of the inbox apps, Search Highlights as well as changes and improvements.
Fixes:
[General]- Fixed an issue for Enterprise edition devices going through the setup experience (OOBE) where the network add screen was skipped on the first attempt.
- Addressed an issue which was causing some Insiders to see a bug check with a CRITICAL_PROCESS_DIED error in the previous build while attempting to do various things including logging in, opening outlook, and accessing network shares in File Explorer.
- Mitigated an underlying issue that was leading to audio stutters and touchpad issues in the previous flight.
- Addressed an explorer.exe crash Insiders were seeing in recent builds when attempting to use Windows Mixed Reality.
- Fixed an issue with scroll bars not rendering appropriately on some Win32 applications.
- Fixed another issue where users weren't hearing the startup sound.
- Images should no longer be backwards when using a lock screen slideshow with an Arabic or Hebrew display language.
[Taskbar]- We fixed the issue that was causing explorer.exe to crash if you right clicked on the Start button or used WIN + X.
- Mitigated an explorer.exe hang that could happen in the last few flights related to the visual indicator (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/02/16/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22557/) in the taskbar when sharing a window in Microsoft Teams.
- Adjusted the sensitivity so quickly sliding your mouse across the widgets icon on the path to an open flyout or menu will no longer make it dismiss.
- Made a change to help address a memory leak in Shell Experience Host when repeatedly opening and closing the Notification Center.
- Addressed a scenario where the Notification Center might not light dismiss if it was opened on top of certain apps.
- Fixed an underlying issue when the display scaling was greater than 100% which was causing drag and drop in the taskbar to unexpectedly show that it wasn't available.
[Tablet-optimized taskbar]NOTE: These fixes will only show if tablet-optimized taskbar is enabled on your device, which is beginning to roll out to Windows Insiders and not yet available for everyone.- Touch gestures are restored on all device types, as we resolved the issue that broke several of the new touch gestures announced as part of Build 22557 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/02/16/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22557) on non-tablet devices.
- Improved reliability of taskbar auto-collapsing after launching an app.
- Fixed several bugs related to the taskbar state change when disconnecting or reconnecting your keyboard.
- Addressed positioning issues with the hidden icons button and flyout when using the Arabic or Hebrew display language.
[Start menu]- Improved how the "Pinned" header name is rendered in the Arabic display language.
[File Explorer]- Made some more improvements to help with context menu invocation performance.
- Using the Filter option in Quick Access should work for images now.
- Fixed an underlying issue causing the title bar in File Explorer when colored to not visually occupy the full area it was supposed if you maximized the File Explorer window.
- Fixed an issue where if you had a folder selected in the navigation pane and right clicked another folder, options like Open in Windows Terminal would unexpectedly open the first folder.
- "Pin to Quick Access" is now available in the command bar when a file in Recent Files in Quick Access is selected.
[Input]- Mitigated an issue where clicking hyperlinks in RichTextBlocks]https://docs.microsoft.com/windows/apps/design/controls/rich-text-block]RichTextBlocks (https://docs.microsoft.com/windows/apps/design/controls/rich-text-block) wasn't working when performed with touch or pen.
- Addressed an issue where custom mouse pointers might revert to the default Windows one after rebooting.
- Fixed an issue where voice typing might display "there is a connection issue" when that wasn't the cause of the error.
- Addressed an issue where voice typing might not launch after unlocking your PC.
- Fixed a touch keyboard crash that could happen on the login screen when there were multiple accounts on the PC.
- Mitigated an issue impacting pen sensitivity in recent flights.
- Fixed a rendering issue causing the screen to have small freezes in recent flights when trying to ink in certain apps.
- Made some refinements to help improve detection of the pinch to zoom gesture on touchpads.
- Addressed an issue leading to IME toolbar options being unresponsive in some cases for the Chinese (Simplified) IMEs.
[Search]- Did some work to address a high hitting search crash.
[Settings]- Fixed an issue causing a hang when trying to access Personalization > Taskbar > Taskbar behaviors.
- Addressed an issue where font previews under Personalization > Fonts might not be visible when a contrast mode was enabled.
- Improved performance when switching between the different available views on Apps > Installed apps.
- Uninstalling an update via Windows Update > Update History > Uninstall Updates should show a confirmation now before it proceeds.
[Windowing]- An acrylic area should no longer get stuck on the screen if you press WIN + D while interacting with snap layouts at the top of the screen.
- Fixed an issue where if you used snap assist to snap a window that had been minimized, it might not fill the entire available space.
- Fixed a few animation stutters when using 3-finger on screen gestures.
- Addressed an explorer.exe crash that could happen if you attempted to use 3-finger on screen gestures while no windows were visible on screen.
- Addressed an underlying issue which could impact the animations and performance when invoking Task View.
- Mitigated an underlying issue which was causing you to unexpectedly see an X when attempting to rearrange Desktops in Task View in certain scenarios.
- Tweaked the logic to help further reduce the number of sounds heard when connecting and disconnecting monitors and docks.
- Mitigated a recent issue where windows for minimized apps weren't launching on the expected monitor upon undocking and redocking.
- The title bar should no longer peek out onto secondary monitors when maximizing certain apps.
- Fixed an issue which was causing certain windows to show an unexpected white rectangle poking out from underneath, spanning the top of the window.
- Updated the new full screen gripper (http://'http://aka.ms/wip22557') for edge gestures to use acrylic.
[Narrator]- Fixed an issue preventing Narrator from reading in the Run dialog correctly in scan mode.
- Narrator in scan mode will now read error messages in the Error List correctly in Visual Studio.
- Errors while setting up a PIN in device setup (OOBE) will now be read out by Narrator.
- Pitch range for Narrator natural voices has been adjusted to provide more levels of control.
- Addressed an underlying issue which was leading to the pitch not changing when adjust Narrator's speed in the 0 to 5 and 15 to 20 ranges in Narrator settings.
[Task Manager]- Improved visibility of content when a contrast mode is enabled.
- Fixed an issue where critical system processes were unexpectedly displaying as background processes.
- Addressed an issue that was causing random rows in the processes list to be unexpectedly written in black text when using dark mode.
- Right clicking the Task Manager icon in the system tray should now actually show the context menu rather than a blank box.
- Pressing Esc should no longer unexpectedly close Task Manager.
NOTE: Some fixes noted here in Insider Preview builds from the active development branch may make their way into the servicing updates for the released version of Windows 11 that became generally available on October 5th, 2021.
UPDATE 3/11: We are starting to roll out Cumulative Update Build 22572.100 (KB5012817). This update does not include anything new and is designed to test our servicing pipeline for builds in the Dev Channel.
UPDATE 3/14: We are starting to roll out Cumulative Update Build 22572.201 (KB5012886). This update does not include anything new and is designed to test our servicing pipeline for builds in the Dev Channel.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22579 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/03/18/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22579/)
See the blog post for information about the Bug Bash and Changes and Improvements.
Fixes:
[General]
- Addressed an issue which was causing Gaming Services to not work in the previous flight, leading to issues launching and installing some games.
- Fixed a few high hitting explorer.exe crashes impacting recent flights during general usage of Windows.
- Fixed a bug for Windows Insiders trying to upgrade directly from Windows 10 to recent Windows 11 Dev Channel builds.
[Tablet-optimized taskbar]NOTE: These fixes will only show if tablet-optimized taskbar is enabled on your device, which is beginning to roll out to Windows Insiders and not yet available for everyone.
- It's no longer necessary to swipe twice from the tablet-optimized taskbar to show Start or Quick Settings – once the taskbar is fully expanded, these will display with a continued swipe upwards.
- Addressed an issue where using the swipe gesture to invoke the Start menu might bring it up on the wrong screen if an external monitor was connected.
- Notifications will no longer overlap with the tablet-optimized taskbar.
- Fixed an issue where if you invoked Task View the Desktops area might not render completely.
- Middle clicking an app icon to launch a new instance of that app should work again now.
[Start menu]
- Fixed an issue where Start's folders were still showing animations even if you had animation effects disabled.
- Mitigated an issue that was causing Start's pinned and folders layouts to get reset to default after explorer.exe restarts.
- Addressed an underlying issue leading to a transparent line along the side of the Start menu when changing your display's scale.
[Focus]
- You'll now see the same breaks in focus sessions over 30 minutes started from the Notification Center as you would in sessions started from the Clock app.
- If Do not disturb is turned on prior to starting a focus session, stopping the focus session will no longer turn off Do not disturb.
- If you turn on a focus session, it will not be reset if you have to log out or reboot now.
- Fixed an issue causing your keyboard focus to unexpectedly move to the top of Notification Center when ending a focus session below the calendar.
- Fixed an issue that was preventing you from adding apps to the Settings > System > Notifications > Set priority notifications
[Input]
- Fixed an issue where the enraged face emoji wasn't searchable in Turkish using the word angry (kızgın). Please continue giving feedback about the emoji search results under Input and Language > Emoji Panel in the Feedback Hub!
- Addressed an issue where the Japanese IME was unexpectedly switching to Katakana mode when focus was set to the UAC dialog.
- Mitigated an issue recently where if you removed a third party IME from that language in Settings > Time & Language > Language & Region and didn't uninstall it, it might still show in the input switcher.
- Fixed an issue which was causing the mouse to be invisible in fields of certain apps, as well as some unexpected cursor related app crashes in recent flights.
- Addressed an issue where the gesture for bringing in the Notification Center from the side of the screen wasn't working for the Arabic or Hebrew display languages.
[Settings]
- Fixed an issue for the header at the top of Network & Internet, where the chevron was backwards for Arabic and Hebrew display languages.
[Windowing]
- If transparency is off under Settings > Personalization > Colors, the background of ALT + Tab will no longer be transparent.
- If you drag a window to the top of the screen and then drag it back down, the dismiss animation for snap layouts will display more consistently now.
- Made a small adjustment to fix an animation glitch when invoking snap layouts at the top of the screen.
- Fixed an explorer.exe crash which was happening when dragging certain windows across snap layouts at the top of the screen.
- Mitigated an issue which was causing Task View to appear unresponsive if you invoked Task View while snap assist was showing on screen.
- Did some work to address an issue where ALT + Tab might get stuck open if you invoked it via a very quick gesture on your touchpad.
- Fixed an explorer.exe crash that could happen when an app goes in and out of full screen mode.
[Network]
- Mitigated an issue leading to cellular connections not working on certain devices in the last few builds.
- Addressed an issue leading to Wi-Fi speed degradation in the previous flight.
[Voice access]
- Fixed an issue that was causing the voice access banner to block the top row of desktop icons or the top of full-screen applications.
[Live captions]
- Live captions will now show across your Desktops.
- The "floating on screen" window position will now correctly show as selected in the settings flyout if the live captions window was forced to float (for example when using a full screen app).
- The maximum height of the live captions window is now capped at 40% of monitor height.
- Live captions will no longer crash upon shrinking a max height live captions window.
- Toggling mono audio will no longer crash live captions.
[Narrator]
- Fixed an issue with how Narrator read out collapsed sections in Settings > Accessibility > Narrator when navigating using Shift + Tab.
[Task Manager]
- Fixed a few high hitting Task Manager crashes.
- Fixed an issue where if focus was inside the Details page and you started typing, focus would stop moving through the processes list after the first letter.
- If you're using the Performance page in Summary view, the title bar of Task Manager will now be hidden.
[Other]
- The percentage on the volume flyout that shows when using your hardware keys will now be centered in the design consistently.
- Improved how keyboard focus and navigation works when moving through and closing the accessibility options on the Lock screen.
UPDATE 3/22: We are starting to roll out Cumulative Update Build 22579.100 (KB5013192). This update does not include anything new and is designed to test our servicing pipeline for builds in the Dev Channel.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22581 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/03/23/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22581/)
Build 22581 is also being flighted to Windows Insiders in both the Dev and Beta Channels. Now that the Dev and Beta Channels are receiving the same builds, the limited window has opened for Insiders to switch channels if desired. Please read the details in the blog post about the limited window to switch channels and what happens when the window closes.
Changes and Improvements:
[General]
- As described in our blog post here (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/02/03/whats-coming-for-the-windows-insider-program-in-2022/), Windows Insiders who use the Dev Channel may get to try out new ideas, longer lead features, and experiences that may never get released. In this build, a limited set of Insiders will see the first of these experimental features as we explore additional ways to help people discover and get quick access to content that they care about on the web with the Windows search box. If you see some of these concepts, be sure to let us know what you think via Feedback Hub (Win + F) and choose category Desktop Environment > Search.
[Taskbar]
- The tablet-optimized taskbar feature which began rolling out with Build 22563 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/02/24/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22563/) is now available to all Windows Insiders in the Dev and Beta Channels. As a reminder, this feature only works on devices that can be used as tablets. It does not work on laptops or desktop PCs.
- Several fixes to taskbar such as the top border line now extending across the entire taskbar will be seen for everyone regardless of device type.
- Keyboard focus and mouse hover for Win32 system tray icons and the "Show hidden icons" flyout have been updated to match the rest of the visual style of the taskbar. You may also notice that drag-and-drop is no longer supported to pin/unpin these items — you can show/hide these icons using by right clicking on the taskbar and choosing "Taskbar settings". We also introduced an optional setting to hide the "show hidden icons" button completely, supporting users who want a simpler taskbar.
[Settings]
- In Build 22557 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/02/16/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22557/), we introduced new links in Settings to help customers give their PC a second life or recycle it. These links will disappear when upgrading to the latest builds (Build 22581 and higher) and will come back later.
Fixes[Taskbar]
- Made a fix for another issue causing taskbar previews to use the wrong fonts for the window title in languages other than English.
- Drag and drop to taskbar should now work with auto-hidden taskbars.
- When dragging something to pin to the taskbar, the message on the dragged item (for example, displaying an X if it's not supported) will now have rounded corners.
- Mitigated an issue where swiping to collapse the tablet-optimized taskbar might unexpectedly invoke the widgets board.
[Start menu]
- Fixed an issue that was sometimes causing the search box in the top of Start to flicker.
- Mitigated an underlying issue where if you swiped to open the All apps list, sometimes it would think that you'd tapped one of the letter headers in the All apps list.
- Updated the context menu when right clicking a pinned app to say "Move to front" rather than "Move to top", so it's clearer what will happen.
[Focus]
- A Clock app update (version 11.2202.24.0 and higher) has rolled out that fixes the issue where the Clock app was unable to update the Windows Focus state when configuring focus sessions in the Clock app.
[File Explorer]
- Fixed a few cases where icons were missing next to entries in the context menu and command bar (for example, for the Next Desktop Background entry in the context menu if you right click the desktop while using a background slideshow).
- Made some small adjustments to some of the icons used in the context menu and command bar, including the copy icon.
- Folders whose only content is other folders will now show an icon with a slip of paper to indicate there is content inside the folder instead of an empty folder icon.
- Addressed an underlying issue that could cause File Explorer to crash when using the Group By option.
[Input]
- Fixed an issue where the conversion option in the Korean IME context menu wasn't working.
- Addressed an issue where the IME toolbar wasn't showing/hiding correctly if you'd chosen to use the previous version of the Japanese IME.
- Improved reliability of showing the touch keyboard on the login screen after tapping the PIN or password field after rebooting or upgrade.
- Fixed an issue where some of the text in the touch keyboard was difficult to read when using the "Black and White" text input theme.
- Made another fix for the "size and theme" link under Settings > Time & Language > Typing > Touch Keyboard not working.
- Mitigated an issue where the touch keyboard was still showing the previous text candidates when you switched to voice typing.
- The "Press Enter" and "Press Tab" commands should be working when using voice typing for Chinese (Traditional) now.
- Fixed an issue where the 3 or 4 finger touchpad gesture for adjusting your audio volume level wasn't working with certain paired Bluetooth audio devices.
[Settings]
- Changes in Sounds to Program Events (for example, turning certain system sounds off) should persist on upgrade going forward.
- Improved visibility of the battery icon in the Bluetooth section of Quick Settings when a contrast mode was enabled.
[Windowing]
- If you set keyboard focus to Desktops in Task View, the border shown around the thumbnails will now have rounded corners.
- Fixed an issue where hovering over the Task View icon on secondary monitors wouldn't bring up the Desktops flyout when using the Arabic or Hebrew display language.
- Fixed an issue where if you selected one of the Microsoft Edge tabs displayed in snap assist, the window would animate in from the wrong place.
- Snap layouts should now minimize properly if you drag a window through the corner of snap layouts.
- Fixed an issue where snap layouts would unexpectedly immediately display while dragging a window instead of just showing a hint for Insiders with an Arabic or Hebrew display language.
- Addressed an issue where rotating your tablet before the previous screen rotation animation had finished would cause the rotation animation to abruptly cut out.
- Mitigated an issue where using the 3-finger touch gesture to minimize all apps quickly could result in windows getting stuck in a shrunken state.
- Reduced the size of the area above a notification where clicks weren't being passed through to the underlying window so it's the same sized area as the side of the notification.
- Mitigated an issue leading to issues dragging the title bar of a maximized window with touch.
- Fixed an issue where if the Open or Save dialog was open in an app, and you used ALT + Tab to switch away from the app and then back, keyboard focus might get lost.
[Voice access]
- Fixed an issue that was causing voice access to crash when using commands to capitalize text in Office apps.
[Narrator]
- Narrator will now correctly tell you if there is an image in table cells in Office apps.
- When Narrator is reading with scan mode in Microsoft Edge, it will no longer stop reading when getting to some embedded links and buttons in the middle of text, like on nytimes.com.
[Task Manager]
- Fixed an issue where tooltips did not accurately display the preferred visual setting when Task Manager is configured for dark mode.
- Fixed an issue where Task Manager wasn't populating the details of the Status column in the Startup Apps page.
[Other]
- Fixed an issue that was causing the volume flyout that appears from using your hardware keys to be stuck on screen.
- Mitigated an issue that could result in explorer.exe getting stuck and not fully initializing during first login.
- Fixed a few more issues impacting explorer.exe reliability.
UPDATE 3/25: We are starting to roll out Cumulative Update Build 22581.100 (KB5013283). This update does not include anything new and is designed to test our servicing pipeline for builds in the Dev and Beta Channels.
UPDATE 3/29: We are starting to roll out Cumulative Update Build 22581.200 (KB5013296). This update does not include anything new and is designed to test our servicing pipeline for builds in the Dev and Beta Channels.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22593 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/04/06/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22593/)
Build 22593 is being offered to both the Beta and Dev Channels. In addition, Insiders still have the option to switch channels if they wish.
Changes and Improvements:
[General]
- [REMINDER] As described in our in our blog post here (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/02/03/whats-coming-for-the-windows-insider-program-in-2022/), Windows Insiders who use the Dev Channel may get to try out new ideas, longer lead features, and experiences that may never get released. In this build, a limited set of Insiders will see the first of these experimental features as we explore additional ways to help people discover and get quick access to content they care about on the web with the Windows search box. If you see some of these concepts, be sure to let us know what you think via Feedback Hub (Win + F) and choose category Desktop Environment > Search.
- Updated WIN + X so that if Windows Terminal is installed the menu will include an entry for Terminal, and in cases where Windows Terminal is uninstalled it will display Windows PowerShell.
[File Explorer]
- The default homepage of File Explorer is now called Home. The name Quick access has been repurposed for the pinned/frequent folders section and Pinned files is now called Favorites to align with Office and OneDrive.
- Recent and pinned files displayed in Home are now searchable using the search box in File Explorer even if they are not local files, so you can find Office files recently shared with you.
[Input]
- Microsoft Journal is now pinned by default on the Pen menu. If you don't have the app installed, it will be installed from the Microsoft Store if chosen on the Pen menu.
- If you press WIN + Z to open snap layouts, all the layouts will now show associated numbers, so you can quickly use the number keys to select the desired layout.
[Focus]
- Added 5-minute increments for everything under a half hour to focus session length options.
[Windows Security]
- Memory integrity is a feature in Windows 11 designed to prevent attacks from inserting malicious code into high-security processes. This feature can be found in Windows Security under Device Security > Core isolation. In the most recent Insider Preview builds, we will notify the user that this feature is currently turned off so that action can be taken for the user to turn it back on so that their device is as secure as possible against malicious attacks.
[Input]
- Updated the ADLaM keyboard layout to add access to brackets and ADLaM Hamza. To access these:
- Right Alt + \ will now input »
- Right Alt + | will now input «
- Right Alt + Shift + [ will now input {
- Right Alt + Shift + ] will now input }
- Ctrl + Shift + ; will now input the Hamza character
- Updated the Pashto keyboard layout so that ې and ئ are now directly accessible on the keyboard. Accessing ظ and ط is now done by holding Shift and pressing the aforementioned letters, respectively.
Fixes[General]
- Fixed a few more issues impacting explorer.exe reliability in recent flights.
[Taskbar]
- Fixed an issue where app icons were unexpectedly animating in from the upper left when launching a new app.
- Improved the performance of rearranging taskbar icons.
- Addressed an issue in the previous flight leading to duplicate app icons after closing and re-opening an app.
- If you have a lot of apps open, the icons shouldn't overlap the date and time on your secondary monitors anymore.
- Taskbar will no longer disappear when you enter search over a full screen window.
- Fixed an issue that was causing icon spacing to invert so that it was large when it should be small and vice versa when switching in and out of the tablet-optimized taskbar.
- Tablet-optimized taskbar will now stay visible over full screen apps when expanded and only hide when you collapse it.
- If you have multiple keyboards for your current language, the input indicator will now only show one row of text when the tablet-optimized taskbar is in a collapsed state, so that it doesn't get clipped.
- Fixed a crash that was causing taskbar to get stuck in the tablet-optimized taskbar view.
- Settings will now remember your taskbar's auto-hide setting more consistently.
- Mitigated an issue where some app icons in the system tray which were expected to flash weren't doing that.
- Fixed an issue causing system tray icons to get stuck there even after you closed the application.
- Made a fix for an issue where some mouse move events weren't being passed to apps for icons in the system tray.
- Addressed an issue leading to a decrease in Notification Center launch reliability in recent flights.
- Mitigated an issue causing the Notification Center and its context to sometimes show the wrong color text for the system's theme, making it unreadable.
- Updated the names of some of the months in the Simplified and Traditional Chinese lunar calendar to be more accurate.
[Start menu]
- Updated the design of the folders in Start so that they're a little bigger, making it easier to see the app icons highlighted within the folder without having to open it.
- Fixed an issue where if you created a folder in Start in the same position as a deleted folder, it would show the old name.
- If you tab into naming a folder in Start with your keyboard, you can now tab back out instead of having to hit Esc.
- Fixed an issue where when using the keyboard to select options following WIN + X didn't work. And dismissing WIN + X should be more consistent now.
- Fixed an issue where the prompt wasn't coming to the front when launching Windows Terminal as an admin from Start's right-click context menu (WIN + X).
- The search icon in the taskbar should no longer unexpectedly flash when closing the Start menu.
[Search]
- Made some improvements to help with search indexer thread and memory usage for users with a very high number of indexed items.
- Fixed an issue impacting search reliability (where you would type into the search window or Start and nothing would happen) in recent flights.
- Made another fix to help address an issue where the search searches flyout could get stuck on the screen in a transparent area.
[File Explorer]
- Improved performance of loading Home in File Explorer.
- Fixed a scaling issue where the context menu could be an unexpected size when invoking it on systems with mixed DPI monitors.
- Addressed an issue where the Show More Options entry in the context menu wasn't working for items in File Explorer's navigation pane (for example, if you were to right click on This PC).
- Did some work to help reduce the chance you will see "Loading" for app entries in the context menu.
- Fixed an issue which was causing the "Open in Windows Terminal" context menu option to be unexpectedly missing for secondary users in some cases.
- Opening suggested results shown while entering search terms in File Explorer's search box should now work as expected.
- Mitigated an underlying issue leading to the address bar being inaccessible in certain cases.
- Mitigated an issue leading to increased launch time for certain file types in the previous flight.
[Widgets]
- We fixed the issue where sometimes when pinning from the Feed, the pinned widget is placed at the top instead of below other pinned widgets.
- We fixed the issue where after rearranging widgets in the widgets board, some users experience problems with widgets in the pinned section rendering incorrectly.
[Input]
- Fixed an issue preventing several input UI surfaces from displaying following explorer.exe crashes in recent flights – this included the emoji panel, candidate windows, clipboard history, and the touch keyboard.
- Mitigated an issue where Narrator was silent when launching the emoji panel in certain cases, for example if the search box wasn't displayed.
- Fixed an issue that was causing custom theme changes in Settings > Personalization > Text input to not save properly sometimes.
- Addressed a few more color issues with the touch keyboard, including where after changing from dark to light mode, the touch keyboard might end up with a mix of dark and light.
- Updated the touch keyboard button so that pressing it always shows the touch keyboard, rather than hiding it if it's visible.
- Returned the Backspace key to the touch keyboard's small layout when using Chinese (Traditional).
- Improved reliability of launching the touch keyboard on the login screen.
- You should be able to use the Japanese IME's context menu on the login screen to change conversion mode now.
- Fixed an issue where the Chinese (Traditional) IMEs were only showing 5 suggested associated phrases when they should have been showing 9.
- Fixed an issue where if you'd set a custom background image under Settings > Personalization > Text Input, the preview wouldn't show how it looked in the candidate window for Chinese (Simplified).
- Addressed a rendering issue with the corners of the IME toolbar.
- Fixed an issue where the IME toolbar wasn't hiding and showing correctly when using the previous version of the Japanese IME.
- Improved voice typing reliability.
- Updated voice typing error message "Voice typing is limited on this app" to be "Some voice typing features might not work in this app", so it's a little clearer that basic voice typing will still work.
- Fixed an issue causing some voice typing commands not to work, for example "scratch that" (刮除它) in Chinese (Simplified).
- Addressed an issue where the setting "Disable Touch while using Pen" under Settings > Bluetooth & Devices > Pen & Windows Ink would arbitrarily not take effect sometimes on first boot in recent flights.
- Fixed an issue causing the Get-InstalledLanguage and Install-Language PowerShell commands to unexpectedly fail with error 0x8007023E for some languages.
[Settings]
- If keyboard focus is on the chevron for a collapsible region on a Settings page, for example, the Snap windows section under System > Multitasking, you can now use the left and right arrows to expand and collapse the area.
- Fixed an issue impacting reliability of System > Power & Battery.
- When using the custom color picker on Personalization > Colors now, it should appear centered in the window frame and not randomly off to the side.
- Setting your background image fit to "fit" under Personalization > Background should no longer cause the background image preview to become a solid color.
- Addressed another issue that could cause Windows Spotlight to unexpectedly stop updating for a prolonged period of time.
- Fixed an issue that was causing the Settings app to crash when going to focus settings.
- Fixed an issue that was letting keyboard focus go to elements in the contrast theme previews in Accessibility > Contrast Themes that you couldn't interact with.
- Fixed an issue where leaving the contrast themes editor in Settings by selecting the breadcrumbs would clear the dropdown selection, but the buttons were still acting as if you had a theme selected.
- Updated the text description for voice typing under Accessibility > Speech to make more sense when using the Japanese display language.
- Addressed an issue that was preventing Quick Settings from launching with its new touch gesture.
- Quick Settings will now show the correct icon to represent your audio output device again.
[Windowing]
- Mitigated an issue which could lead to explorer.exe crashes when using ALT + Tab.
- Fixed an issue where the keyboard focus outline in ALT + Tab sometimes was smaller than the displayed thumbnail.
- Addressed an underlying DWM issue which was leading to crashes when using touch gestures from the sides of the screen.
- Fixed a DWM crash when rotating the screen.
- Mitigated an issue leading to some lag when resizing two apps snapped side by side in certain cases.
- Fixed an issue where snap assist could unexpectedly dismiss if the initial window wouldn't fit into the selected zone size. Now we resize the snap assist regions accordingly when minimum window size of the initial snapped window is larger than the selected zone.
- If you invoke Task View with touch, the close buttons should no longer overlap with the window titles.
- Hovering your mouse over the tooltip with the Desktop's name will no longer unexpectedly make the Desktops flyout dismiss.
- Using drag and drop to reorder your Desktops via the Desktop flyout should no longer leave a thumbnail of the Desktop you moved stuck on the screen.
[Voice access]
- Fixed a crash that was impacting voice access reliability.
- Addressed an issue that was preventing voice access's speech models from downloading correctly.
[Live captions]
- Addressed an underlying issue leading to live captions showing a download error, even though the download had actually completed successfully.
- Live captions will now remember your chosen settings for position across sessions.
- Mitigated an issue where the live captions position changed to floating when entering full screen, but the settings incorrectly showed the last position still.
- Removed the live captions notification about audio playing from multiple apps as it was popping up repeatedly during usage.
- The border of the live captions window will now match the style of all other borders in contrast themes.
[Narrator]
- We fixed the issue that was causing natural voices to break up sporadically in recent builds.
- Narrator will now read out the word minutes with the duration times listed in Settings for focus options.
- Fixed an issue that was causing Narrator to read dialog buttons incorrectly in scan mode.
[Task Manager]
- Removed backplate (colored square) from UWP app icons were displayed in Task Manager.
- Mitigated an issue where the one side of the View button did not appear to do anything.
- Fixed an issue which was causing the real time update speed to get set to Paused on its own. Please note, if you were impacted by this, you will need to make a one-time change to set the setting back to your preferred update speed after upgrading to this build.
[Other]
- Mitigated an issue which was leading to a black (albeit interactable) screen when playing certain full screen games with Auto HDR enabled.
- Fixed a memory leak in Connected Devices Platform User Service.
- The volume and brightness flyouts you get when using your hardware keys will no longer show a focus window outline on top of them.
- If WIN + Alt + K is pressed when a supported app isn't running, the pop-up text displayed will now say "No supported apps in use for mic mute", instead of "Mic mute unavailable", so it's clearer.
- Addressed an issue which was leading to unexpected errors being displayed in Event Viewer when conhost.exe was activated.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22598 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/04/13/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22598/)
Build 22598 is being offered to both the Beta and Dev Channels. ISOs are available and can be downloaded here (https://aka.ms/wipISO).
Changes and Improvements:
[General]
- We are now offering new builds to Windows Insiders in China on Lenovo PCs starting with Build 22598. These users should connect to the internet for a minimum of 15 minutes to allow the Lenovo PC Manager to auto update to the latest version (version 5.0.0.3292 or later) to receive an important fix with the app.
- We are trying out auto-launching of the Get Started app with some Windows Insiders after upgrade to help people get started with their PC.
- [REMINDER] As described in our in our blog post here (https://nam06.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fblogs.windows.com%2Fwindows-insider%2F2022%2F02%2F03%2Fwhats-coming-for-the-windows-insider-program-in-2022%2F&data=04%7C01%7Ckybeck%40microsoft.com%7C8aa5f1de41aa40af3f8008da092603ae%7C72f988bf86f141af91ab2d7cd011db47%7C0%7C0%7C637832356142972087%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=2rtpCZE1ANeGvtoypKX1A0Z6Oz%2BGdMFzqy%2FMYYQR0R0%3D&reserved=0), Windows Insiders who use the Dev Channel may get to try out new ideas, longer lead features, and experiences that may never get released. In this build, a limited set of Insiders will see the first of these experimental features as we explore additional ways to help people discover and get quick access to content they care about on the web with the Windows search box. If you see some of these concepts, be sure to let us know what you think via Feedback Hub (Win + F) and choose category Desktop Environment > Search.
[Windows Spotlight]
- We are trying out Windows Spotlight on desktop is on by as the default background for new devices (clean installs using the ISO) and for upgrades where the background the Windows 11 default. We are trying this experience out with a limited number of Windows Insiders at first.
- We are also trying out displaying 4K desktop backgrounds in Windows Spotlight. We are also trying this experience out with a limited number of Windows Insiders at first.
[Taskbar]
- Updated the tooltip on the volume icon to tell you when you're using spatial sound.
Fixes[General]
- Devices using Windows Information Protection (https://nam06.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdocs.microsoft.com%2Fen-us%2Fwindows%2Fsecurity%2Finformation-protection%2Fwindows-information-protection%2Fprotect-enterprise-data-using-wip&data=05%7C01%7Cbleblanc%40microsoft.com%7C6448d8453e1c40271caa08da1692f534%7C72f988bf86f141af91ab2d7cd011db47%7C0%7C0%7C637847117685119439%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=O7aoUFPTm1opfNqQoofxGPzQ2B4GWydBLtqGvNSGABA%3D&reserved=0) (formerly EDP) policies can now access controlled data via protected apps such as Outlook, Word, Microsoft Edge, etc. as expected.
[Taskbar]
- We fixed an issue where if you used keyboard focus on taskbar, hovers like previews would stay up during all taskbar interactions.
- Fixed an issue that was causing taskbar badges to come back after explorer.exe crashes even if you had them turned off in Settings.
- Made a fix for an issue where some mouse move events weren't being passed to apps for icons in the system tray.
- Fixed an issue where hovering over some app icons in the system tray wasn't showing previews or tooltips.
- App icons in the system tray should now be showing more reliably when opened again in this build.
- Fixed an issue that was delaying or preventing the show hidden icons flyout from opening.
- Fixed an issue where Chinese characters weren't displaying in the taskbar calendar when the Lunar calendar was turned on.
- Addressed an issue where the visual indicator around an app icon when sharing a window might not go away once you'd stopped sharing.
[Start menu]
- We fixed a crash when selecting the More button in Start's Recommended section.
- Addressed an underlying issue which could lead to Start crashing on launch when invoked with a gesture.
- Fixed an issue that was causing the buttons and labels in Start to be the wrong colors while using contrast themes.
- Addressed an issue where if you swiped to scroll the contents of a folder in the pinned section of Start, it would unexpectedly close Start.
[File Explorer]
- Addressed an issue which was causing the context menu to not render completely sometimes and be transparent.
[Input]
- Improved the performance of launching the touch keyboard on the login screen.
- Fixed an issue where if you had selected text with touch in certain apps like Settings, the backspace key in the touch keyboard would have to be tapped twice for it to delete.
- Voice typing should no longer stop responding if you repeatedly press WIN + H.
- Fixed an issue for people with a large number of input methods, where the currently selected one might not be in view when you opened the input switcher.
- Fixed the link at the bottom of the Chinese (Simplified) IME appearance settings so it points to Settings > Personalization > Text Input.
- Addressed an issue where the emoji panel's background image and color might not be rendered correctly after using options in Settings > Personalization > Text Input.
[Settings]
- Fixed an issue where high DPI options in the Compatibility tab of the properties for an executable weren't working.
- Narrator should now read the view options we added in Settings > Apps > Installed apps
[Windowing]
- Returned the missing animation when pressing WIN + D or clicking the Show Desktop button.
- We addressed an issue when using snap layouts with touch which could result in an acrylic sheet getting stuck on top of the window.
- The thumbnails in Task View should no longer be inverted when using Hebrew or Arabic display languages.
- Fixed an explorer.exe crash when invoking Task View.
- If you have a lot of windows open, they should no longer become superimposed on top of Desktops in Task View.
- Fixed an issue when using ALT + Tab with a screen reader, where if you ALT + Tabbed back to certain app windows, focus would be set to a pane within the window rather than the whole window.
- Fixed an underlying issue where accented colored title bars (when enabled) for certain apps and File Explorer were only displaying when the windows were maximized.
- Mitigated a rare issue that could lead to the system hanging when changing the resolution sometimes in certain games.
- Addressed an issue causing white pixels in the corners of some apps when using dark mode.
- Did some work to address an issue where certain app windows wouldn't move to the expected area after selecting them using snap assist.
- Fixed a glitch in the animation when using snap layouts at the top of the screen to snap windows.
[Live captions]
- Fixed an issue where the very top of maximized apps (e.g., title bar window management buttons) couldn't be reached with touch while live captions were positioned at the top.
- Live captions will now tell you when it's done downloading and ready to caption.
[Task Manager]
- Mitigated an issue causing the Performance page CPU graph to be colored as if Show Kernel Times was enabled even though it wasn't.
- Did some work to further improve Task Manager reliability.
- Added access key support for Run New Task (ALT + N), End Task (ALT + E), Efficiency Mode (ALT + V), and other buttons on each page. If you press ALT, the letters will display next to the button.
- With a process selected, pressing the Delete key will now end the process like it used to.
- CTRL + Tab and CTRL + Shift + Tab will now cycle through the pages in Task Manager.
- Fixed an issue where the memory composition graph was blank instead of filed in with the appropriate color.
- Mitigated an issue leading to the GPU graph on the performance tab not being displayed in some cases.
- The icons in the status column of the Processes page are no longer touching the side of the column.
- Fixed an issue where "Efficiency mode" was missing status column of the Users page.
[WSL]
- Fixed an issue that would prevent WSL2 from mounting the host file system on ARM64.
[Other]
- Fixed an issue from the previous flight where the acrylic might not extend across the entire login screen.
- Fixed an issue that was causing the volume and brightness keys that appear when your use your hardware keys to be cut off in the middle.
- Running powercfg /query should work now when launched from syswow64 or from a 32-bit process.
- Fixed an apostrophe that wasn't rendering correctly in the text when doing an offline scan from the Windows Security app.
- Removed an extra "be" in the text describing Smart Account Control in the Windows Security app.
- Fixed an issue for certain language which could lead to question marks being displayed in the place of some of the text when upgrading to a new build.
- If you have increased the text size under Settings > Accessibility > Text Size and launch setup from a Windows ISO while booted into your currently installed OS, the text displayed in the setup window will now be increased to match your preferences.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22598 | Windows Insider Blog (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/04/13/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22598/)
UPDATE 4/15: We are starting to roll out Cumulative Update Build 22598.100 (KB5014100). This update does not include anything new and is designed to test our servicing pipeline for builds in the Dev and Beta Channels.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22598 | Windows Insider Blog (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/04/13/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22598/)
UPDATE 4/19: We are starting to roll out Cumulative Update Build 22598.200 (KB5014105). This update does not include anything new and is designed to test our servicing pipeline for builds in the Dev and Beta Channels.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22610 | Windows Insider Blog (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/04/29/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22610/)
See the blog post for information about new group policies for IT administrators and an update to the Family Safety Widget.
Changes and Improvements:
[General]
- Windows 11 Home edition Dev and Beta Channel builds no longer enable the SMB1 client by default. If you have installed SMB1 manually or upgraded from a previous version of Windows where SMB1 was installed, upgrading to the latest Dev and Beta Channel build will not remove SMB1. For more information, check out this blog post here (https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/storage-at-microsoft/smb1-now-disabled-by-default-for-windows-11-home-insiders-builds/ba-p/3289473).
- We have updated the design of the battery icon on the Lock screen to be consistent with the one in the taskbar.
- Battery icon on the Lock screen matches the design of the battery icon on the taskbar.
- If your PC supports it, we will now show estimated battery life timing in the tooltip for the battery icon in the system tray with the most recent Insider Preview builds.
- The build watermark at the lower right-hand corner of the desktop is no longer present in this build. This doesn't mean we're done, and the watermark will return to Insiders in a future build.
[Taskbar]
- As a result of feedback from Windows Insiders, we have disabled the tablet-optimized taskbar feature that first began rolling out to Windows Insiders in Build 22563 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/02/24/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22563/) for now. We hope to bring this feature back in the future after further refinement of the experience. As we've mentioned previously (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/02/03/whats-coming-for-the-windows-insider-program-in-2022/), features we try out in the Dev or Beta Channels may not always ship.
[Widgets]
- The changes in Widgets that bring more dynamic content to your Widgets board announced with Build 22563 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/02/24/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22563/) is rolling out to more Windows Insiders in the Dev and Beta Channels.
[Task Manager]
- We've updated the Processes page in Task Manager so that the colors used in the heatmap are now based on your accent color. Please note in certain cases we will use the default blue accent color to ensure readability. We did a demo of this during this month's Windows Insider webcast featuring Claton Hendricks from the Task Manager Team – watch the webcast on-demand here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vU1gZgbUwa8).
- The Processes page in Task Manager now shows colors based on your accent color.
[File Explorer]
- We have updated the rename, properties, and optimize icons used in the context menu and command bar to help with discoverability and consistency.
- Context menu in File Explorer showing the updated icons for rename and properties.
[Settings]
- Your Phone now shows as Phone Link under Settings > Bluetooth & devices. Your Phone is now Phone Link – read the announcement here (https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2022/03/31/evolving-the-connection-between-your-phone-and-your-windows-pc/).
[Other]
- Based on feedback from Windows Insiders, we are rolling back the change originally documented with Build 22557 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/02/16/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22557/) where TKIP and WEP connections were no longer allowed. These connections are allowed again starting with this build as we go back to the previous behavior where a warning is given notifying you that these are not secured connections. As a reminder, TKIP and WEP are deprecated (https://docs.microsoft.com/windows/deployment/planning/windows-10-deprecated-features) security standards and are planned for removal in a future release. We recommend updating your router or other devices to one that supports at least WPA2 (WPA3 is the current standard).
Fixes[General]
- We fixed the issue causing Windows Insiders running Windows 10 who were trying to join the Dev or Beta Channels to encounter a download error code 0xc8000402 while trying to download the latest build. If you experienced this issue, please install KB5011831 (https://support.microsoft.com/topic/april-25-2022-kb5011831-os-builds-19042-1682-19043-1682-and-19044-1682-preview-fe4ff411-d25a-4185-aabb-8bc66e9dbb6c) and then try to download the latest build from either the Dev or Beta Channels. If you continue to see this issue – please file feedback in Feedback Hub.
- We've fixed an issue causing explorer.exe to crash repeatedly in a loop in the latest builds (and unable to successfully load) for a small percent of Insiders.
- Made a change to help address an issue causing some Insiders to experience a bugcheck with the error BAD_POOL_CALLER when opening Notification Center and some other actions after the last build.
- When opening Group Policy editor, an Administrative Template error will no longer pop up.
- Fixed an issue where Group Policy Editor was unexpectedly showing an error saying "mmc cannot initialize the snap-in" on ARM64 in some cases.
[Taskbar]
- Fixed an issue that was preventing Shift + Right-click on a taskbar icon from opening the expected context menu.
- Changing the resolution of a secondary display should no longer result in the taskbar app icons unexpectedly shifting to the right.
- Clicking the taskbar should close things like Quick Settings and Notification Center now if they're open.
- Windows and taskbar icons that were being used on a secondary monitor will now transfer correctly to your primary monitor if you unplug the secondary one.
- Fixed an issue that was preventing taskbar icon animations on system icons like Start, Search, and Task view.
- Animations will now play correctly the first time you drag and drop to taskbar.
- If you drag to the taskbar in a right-to-left (RTL) language, the icon will now appear on the correct side.
- When you're connected to Wi-Fi, the network icon in the taskbar will no longer incorrectly show as disconnected.
- Fixed a crash that was happening if the taskbar clock updated while transitioning to daylight savings time changes.
- The show hidden icons flyout will now dismiss when you click away from it again.
- There will no longer be an empty show hidden icons arrow showing in your system tray when you've set all your icons there to show.
- Fixed an issue causing Notification Center to be cut off when opened on small screens, hiding the do not disturb button.
- Fixed an issue for Arabic and Hebrew display languages, where the Notification Center would jump up unexpectedly when dismissed.
- If your microphone is in use but not your location, hovering over the microphone button in the taskbar should no longer show a location section with an empty app name in the tooltip.
[Start menu]
- App icons like Microsoft Edge will no longer be cut off on the bottom in Start's all apps list.
- If you cancel while dragging icons to create a folder in Start, they will no longer be stuck in a broken folder with just one icon.
- The Windows Tools entry under All apps should be visible again now.
- Animations of folders in the Start menu will no longer start on the first pinned app instead of where the folder is located.
[Search]
- We did some work to help address an issue where sometimes you couldn't search for an app you'd just installed, although it was showing in Start.
[File Explorer]
- Using the rename, copy, paste, delete, and other options context menu options in File Explorer or on the desktop should no longer cause explorer.exe to crash when the context menu dismisses.
- Right-clicking on a file now reflects the updated naming in File Explorer and shows "Add to Favorites".
- Right-clicking on This PC in the Open or Save As dialog's navigation pane should bring up the context menu again now.
- Addressed an issue believed to be the underlying cause for File Explorer freezing when selecting a large number of files in recent builds.
- We made some improvements to the performance of keyboard selection of images and zipped files in OneDrive folders.
- Fixed an issue which was causing File Explorer to freeze frequently when WSL was installed, and WSL files were opened via Home.
- To help with performance, when opening Home only images and videos will now show thumbnails.
- Updated the tooltip for the "Please sign in" button in File Explorer from "Sign in again to fix authentication issues." to "One of your accounts needs attention to show files from Office.com in Home", so that its purpose is clearer.
- We addressed an issue where the Sign In button in File Explorer might not work.
- Fixed an explorer.exe crash related to loading recently used Office files in Home.
- Addressed an issue where the Open option was unexpectedly showing a generic icon when right clicking on certain file types.
- Fixed an underlying issue believed to be the cause of some Insiders not seeing the This PC option in the "Open File Explorer to" dropdown in folder options.
[Input]
- Fixed a couple issues where under certain conditions the emoji panel, clipboard history, and voice typing would stop working after unlocking your PC or right after a Windows update.
- Fixed an issue where the text suggestions for physical keyboards might sometimes display with a transparent background.
- To ensure that text input is always available, if you use touch and tap a text field in OOBE, on the login screen, or in the UAC dialog, the touch keyboard will now always appear even if a physical keyboard is connected.
- When you lock your PC, if you have turned off "Play sounds as I type" under Settings > Time & Language > Typing > Touch keyboard, you should no longer hear key press sounds when using the touch keyboard on the login screen.
- Added typographic quotes as an option after a press and hold on the quote key when using the German touch keyboard layout.
- We did some work to address an issue where if you were using the docked touch keyboard on a tablet and tapped the text field of an app that didn't have focus, the touch keyboard might appear and immediately disappear.
- Improved the performance going into the listening state after launching voice typing (WIN + H).
- Fixed a crash when deleting letters using a strikethrough gesture in the handwriting panel.
- Addressed an issue where if you had unchecked "leave touchpad on when a mouse is connected" under Settings > Bluetooth & Devices > Touchpad, the touchpad wasn't re-enabled after connecting and disconnecting a mouse.
- Fixed an issue that could lead to the trail when sliding your finger around the screen being unexpectedly red or invisible in some cases.
- If you don't have the Chinese (Simplified) IME installed, it should no longer display as an option to customize under Settings > Personalization > Text Input > Custom Theme.
- If an Xbox controller is connected, using it to interact with games should no longer result in an unexpected pop-up saying, "No supported apps in use for mic mute."
[Widgets]
- Improved reliability of opening the widgets board on first login after an upgrade or after an app update.
- We did some work to help address an issue where the widgets board wouldn't light dismiss and you had to use the Esc key to close it.
- As some Insiders have noticed, to help make the state clearer, if the weather status on the taskbar isn't available, we will now show a greyed-out weather icon.
- Addressed an underlying issue leading to Widgets being missing from the taskbar and Settings after upgrading. This fix should stop future PCs from being impacted – if you are currently impacted, please try reinstalling this (http://'https://www.microsoft.com/store/productId/9MSSGKG348SP'), which may resolve it for you.
[Settings]
- Fixed the Windows Update text for English (United Kingdom) so that it will say "last checked" and not "last ticked."
- Addressed an underlying issue leading to not being able to activate the "Restart now" button in Windows Update when it had focus using Narrator in scan mode.
- Fixed an issue where if you opened the Bluetooth section of Quick Settings and went back, it could result in the scrollbar style changing in Quick Settings under certain conditions.
- Apps should no longer show up with the incorrect icon under Settings > Personalization > Taskbar > Other system tray icons.
- Fixed an issue that was causing the search icon in Settings > Personalization > Taskbar to be backwards and the wrong color in the Desert contrast theme.
- Fixed an issue preventing Quick Settings from taking touch input.
- Addressed an additional issue causing the media controls above Quick Settings to stay there after the media source was closed.
- Fixed a high hitting crash in recent flights when navigating to the page to pick a sound output option in Quick Settings.
[Windowing]
- Did some work to help address an issue related snap layouts at the top of the screen where a large invisible area could get stuck and would consume clicks in that area.
- When you drag down on the title bar of a maximized window, it should be easier to invoke snap layouts from the top of the screen now.
- If you have a window within a snap group that is set to display across all your Desktops, that setting should now persist if you drag and drop the snap group into a different Desktop in Task View.
- Fixed a couple issues leading to explorer.exe crashes when using and interacting with snap.
- Fixed a couple high hitting DWM crashes in recent flights.
- Addressed an issue where focus wasn't being properly set when using the 3-finger touchpad gesture to bring up ALT + Tab.
- Fixed an issue where snap assist was unexpectedly appearing when you had only a single Microsoft Edge window open and tried to snap it.
- Reduced the likelihood of seeing an acrylic backdrop noticeably lagging when dragging a window around.
- Improved the reliability of using gestures from the edge of the screen (for example to open Start menu) when using an app full screen.
- Addressed an issue which could cause the screen to appear frozen after using a 3 finger on screen gesture to minimize open apps on top of certain full screen apps.
[Narrator]
- Fixed an issue when using Narrator and your keyboard to navigate the show hidden icons panel where focus was jumping out to taskbar at the end of the icons instead of looping back to the beginning.
- Narrator will now start reading from the beginning of the page on Edge even if a control on the page has focus by default, like Bing's search box.
[Task Manager]
- Fixed an underlying issue leading to some apps not showing as suspended in Task Manager even though they should have been.
- Fixed an issue where expanding the child of a child process would result in the content of the Name column in Processes being significantly offset.
- Clicking "Show history of all processes" in settings should no longer hang or crash Task Manager.
- The Run New Task button should work on the Details and Services pages now.
- To address issues with text and UI clipping, Task Manager will no longer show accent color on the title bar.
[Networking]
- The issue causing internet connectivity issues for some Insiders recently when certain VPNs were connected should be addressed now.
[Lock screen and logging in]
- The login screen shouldn't crash anymore if you click the Power button while a contrast theme is enabled.
- Fixed an issue where the network icon on the login screen could become clipped if you used the text scaling option in Settings > Accessibility.
- Did some work to address a high hitting login screen crash.
[Other]
- Addressed a few issues that were preventing the accessibility flyout from showing or from selecting items in it with your mouse in the device setup experience (OOBE) for Windows 11.
- The accessibility flyout will no longer be empty in RTL languages in the device setup experience (OOBE).
- Fixed an issue that was causing notification popups to get stuck as a transparent box on the side of your screen that blocked input.
- Addressed an underlying issue believed to be the root cause of the system thinking you were on battery when UPS was connected recently.
- The keyboard shortcut to launch Quick Assist (WIN + CTRL + Q) should be working again now.
- Addressed an issue where some signed apps were unexpectedly blocked by Smart App Control.
- If you use your keyboard to control your brightness or volume level, the flyout that appears with now respect if you've turned animation effects off in Settings > Accessibility > Visual Effects.
- Addressed an underlying issue that could result in a yellow border getting stuck around your game after taking a screenshot with the Xbox Game Bar.
- Fixed an underlying app registration issue leading to the Windows Security app not launching or showing a prompt saying there was no installed app for that protocol after upgrade.
- Made a change that should help address an issue where Insiders were seeing Windows Terminal failing to update in the Microsoft Store with error code 0x80073CFB.
- Fixed an issue which was causing certain apps relying on the .NET Framework to fail to launch in the last few flights.
- Did some work to address a leak in uxtheme.dll (http://'https://docs.microsoft.com/windows/win32/api/uxtheme/'), leading to some performance degradation over time in certain apps.
- Addressed an issue causing defrag.exe to show an error saying "No such interface supported (0x80004002) recently.
- Fixed a bugcheck with error DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION in recent builds that Insiders might have encountered when disconnecting Bluetooth devices or other Bluetooth scenarios.
- Improved the reliability of connecting Bluetooth devices like Apple AirPods.
- Fixed an issue leading to audio not playing immediately after resuming from hibernation when certain Bluetooth headsets were connected.
- Addressed an issue which could lead to a bugcheck with error PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA when connecting certain USB audio devices in recent builds.
- Fixed a crash in the previous flight related to cdp.dll.
- Fixed an underlying issue which was causing the Wireless Display app to not be able to receive content in the last couple flights.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22616 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/05/05/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22616/)
Windows Insiders who like to game on their PCs with an Xbox Controller on the latest Insider Preview builds in the Dev and Beta Channels can try out the new controller bar feature – see this blog post for details (http://'https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/05/05/windows-insiders-can-now-try-out-an-early-preview-of-controller-bar/').
Note: The window for switching from Dev Channel to the Beta Channel is closing soon. See the blog post for instructions if you need assistance making the change.
Changes and Improvements:
[General]
- [REMINDER] The build watermark at the lower right-hand corner of the desktop is no longer present in this build. This doesn't mean we're done, and the watermark will return to Insiders in a future build.
[Taskbar]
- As a result of feedback from Windows Insiders, we have decided to disable the changes to the system tray introduced in Build 22581 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/03/23/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22581/) for now. The system tray and specifically the "Show hidden icons" flyout will now function the same way it did with the original release of Windows 11, including the ability to rearrange icons in the flyout. We hope to bring these changes back in the future after further refinement of the experience by addressing some of the feedback we have received. As we've mentioned previously (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/02/03/whats-coming-for-the-windows-insider-program-in-2022/), features we try out in the Dev or Beta Channels may not always ship.
[Other]
- Previously (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/02/16/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22557/), we shared new requirements for internet and MSA on the Windows 11 Pro edition. Today, Windows Insiders on Windows 11 Pro edition will now require MSA and internet connectivity during the initial device setup (OOBE) only when setting up for personal use. If you choose to setup device for Work or School, there is no change, and it will work the same way as before.
Fixes[General]
- We fixed an issue where performance and reliability of explorer.exe could degrade over time, eventually resulting in a bugcheck, in the recent Insider Preview builds.
[Taskbar]
- We fixed the issue causing the "Show hidden icons" flyout in the system tray to disappear completely for some Insiders, even though it shows as "on" under Settings > Personalization > Taskbar and "Other system tray icons".
[Input]
- Fixed an issue which was leading to some apps crashing when pressing the half-width/full-width key while using the Japanese IME.
[Widgets]
- Fixed an issue where if you tried to open the widgets board using a gesture from the side of the screen, you would see the widgets board open and then immediately close.
- Fixed an issue where users were unable to use the swipe functionality to reliably invoke Widgets.
[Settings]
- Fixed an issue that could cause Quick Settings to crash when projecting to certain wireless devices.
[Windowing]
- Addressed an issue where using the 3-finger on-screen touch gesture for minimizing could cause animations to stop working across the system.
- Fixed an issue impacting DWM reliability in recent flights.
- Fixed an issue which was causing some apps like Settings to open blank if they were re-opened an upgrade or reboot.
[Task Manager]
- We fixed an issue that was causing the process list to fluctuate between Apps & Background groups when clicking on Efficiency mode from the command bar
[Windows Sandbox]
- Fixed an underlying issue which could cause some text in Windows Sandbox to appear as black boxes in certain cases.
[Other]
- Fixed an issue leading to Windows Update notifications showing they were sent from "Windows.SystemToast.WindowsUpdate.MoNotification" instead of "Windows Update".
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22616
(https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/05/05/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22616/)UPDATE 5/10: We are starting to roll out Cumulative Update Build 22616.100 (KB5014650). This update does not include anything new and is designed to test our servicing pipeline for builds in the Dev and Beta Channels.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25115 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/05/11/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25115/)
IMPORTANT: With this build getting released to the Dev Channel,
the window closes for you to be able to switch from the Dev Channel to the Beta Channel since your device will be on a higher build number than what is provided in the Beta Channel. If your device installs this build and you decide you want to switch, you have 10 days or until we release a newer build to the Dev Channel to roll back and switch to the Beta Channel. If you do not roll back within 10 days or your device takes another new build, the only way to switch to the Beta Channel is to do a clean installation of the released version of Windows 11 (http://'https://docs.microsoft.com/windows-insider/isos') on your device to switch to the Beta Channel.
Note: This build will not be offered to ARM64 PCs.
This build includes a new feature called "Suggested Actions". When you copy a date, time, or phone number, Windows will suggest actions relevant to you such as creating calendar events or making phone calls with your favorite apps.
Changes and Improvements[General]- We updated the icons in the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) on this build.
Fixes[General]- Updated the underlying speech platform to improve voice activity detection for voice access, live captions, and voice typing, as well as address some issues with how punctuation is recognized.
[Taskbar]- Fixed an issue related to loading the system tray icons in Settings > Personalization > Taskbar which could cause Settings to crash when opening that page recently. This issue may have also led to some explorer.exe crashes for impacted Insiders.
[File Explorer]- Fixed an issue leading to Insiders seeing error 0x800703E6 when copying files from Google Drive.
- We made another change to help improve the performance of loading Home.
- Fixed an issue where if you had ever opened the context menu, doing CTRL + ALT + DEL and cancelling would lead to explorer.exe crashing.
- Fixed a sporadic explorer.exe crash when closing File Explorer windows.
[Settings]- Fixed an issue where if Settings suspended, it could lock up explorer.exe in certain cases.
- Improved how Narrator reads out remaining space available in System > Storage.
[Task Manager]- Fixed some issues related to access key use in Task Manager, including that you weren't able to directly press ALT + without first releasing the ALT key, and that displaying the access keys wouldn't work after having used and dismissed them.
- If the CPU reaches 100%, the CPU column header should no longer unexpectedly become unreadable in dark mode.
[Windows Security]- Fixed an issue which could result in Smart App Control unexpectedly blocking correctly signed applications.
[Other]- Addressed an issue which was leading to Memory Integrity unexpectedly getting turned off in some cases after rebooting.
- Fixed an issue causing the Update Stack Package to show install error 0xc4800010.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25120 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/05/18/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25120/)
ARM64 devices will be able to update to this build and ISOs are released for the build. They can be downloaded here (https://aka.ms/wipISO).
Changes and Improvements[General]
(https://aka.ms/wipISO'downloaded%20here%5B/URL)As described in our blog post here (https://nam06.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fblogs.windows.com%2Fwindows-insider%2F2022%2F02%2F03%2Fwhats-coming-for-the-windows-insider-program-in-2022%2F&data=04%7C01%7Ckybeck%40microsoft.com%7C8aa5f1de41aa40af3f8008da092603ae%7C72f988bf86f141af91ab2d7cd011db47%7C0%7C0%7C637832356142972087%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=2rtpCZE1ANeGvtoypKX1A0Z6Oz%2BGdMFzqy%2FMYYQR0R0%3D&reserved=0), Windows Insiders who use the Dev Channel may get to try out new ideas, longer lead features, and experiences that are intended to help validate concepts. Starting with this preview build, some Insiders will see one of these conceptual features as we begin to explore exposing lightweight interactive content on the Windows desktop. Today, Windows exposes this type of content in the Widgets board. To begin assessing this general idea and interaction model, the first exploration in this area adds a search box displayed on the desktop that enables you to search the web.
If you would like to remove this search box, you can right-click on the desktop, choose "Show more options," and toggle the "Show search" option.
We are excited to learn your feedback on this interaction model, so please use the Feedback Hub to provide feedback if you receive this experiment.
NOTE: A reboot is required after updating to this build to trigger this experience but please note that not all Windows Insiders will have this experience enabled even after reboot.Fixes
[Suggested Actions]- Suggested actions should appear for more date and time formats now.
- Addressed some issues with certain formats when copying a date and/or time.
- Improved overall performance and reliability of the feature.
[Settings]- Fixed an issue that could crash Settings when opening and looking at the battery usage graph.
- Improved performance of displaying Wi-Fi networks after enabling Wi-Fi from the Wi-Fi section of Quick Settings.
[Task Manager]- Addressed an issue leading to some unreadable text in the Performance page when a contrast theme was enabled.
[Other]- Fixed an issue which could cause Windows Update to stall and roll back updates for WSA users.
- Did some work to address a stutter in the progress wheel animation when upgrading to a new build.
NOTE: Some fixes noted here in Insider Preview builds from the Dev Channel may make their way into the servicing updates for the released version of Windows 11.
UPDATE 5/20: We are starting to roll out Cumulative Update Build 25120.1010 (KB5015039). This update does not include anything new and is designed to test our servicing pipeline for builds in the Dev Channel.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25126 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/05/25/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25126/)
This update will allow you to view all supported Microsoft 365 Office products licensed to your account and you can view details about your product or install Office by clicking the "View Details" button. This information is shown on the Microsoft account management page (https://account.microsoft.com/)and you will now be able to view these datils in Windows 11 via
Settings > Accounts. Note: the feature isn't available to all Insiders. Feedback will be monitored before making it available to all Insiders in the Dev Channel.
Changes and ImprovementsFixes[General]- We fixed the issue causing some Insiders to experience a bugcheck with error DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL in pci.sys causing a rollback trying to install the latest builds in the Dev Channel.
- We did work to mitigate the issue causing the Program Compatibility Assistant Service to use an unexpectedly large amount of CPU for some Insiders after upgrading to the latest Insider Preview builds in the Dev Channel.
[Start menu]- If the touch keyboard is docked it should no longer unexpectedly dismiss when trying to edit the name of a folder in Start.
[Search]- Fixed a high hitting explorer.exe crash that could happen when using Search.
[Settings]- The preview image under Personalization > Lock Screen should no longer be backwards when using an Arabic or Hebrew display language.
[Task Manager]- If explorer.exe has hung, that should no longer hang Task Manager.
- Fixed an issue where the context menus weren't following the same mode (light or dark) as Task Manager itself for some Insiders.
- Fixed a typo in the "Minimize on use" tooltip.
- If you've hidden the graphs on the side of the Performance page, the color of the circles used instead should now match the graph in the summary view.
- Addressed an issue where the Not Responding status for certain apps wasn't being reflected on the Processes page.
[Windows Sandbox]- Removed the Lock option in Start menu as it didn't work.
[Other]- Fixed an issue where using "Open All Active Printers" from the printer icon in the system tray would unexpectedly open File Explorer when there were no active queues.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25131 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/06/02/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25131/)
Microsoft Store Update (Version 22205.1401.3.0)An update to Microsoft Store for Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel is beginning to be rolled out with the following changes and improvements:
- Native Arm64 support: We've improved the Microsoft Store app experience on ARM64 devices. You'll see faster and better performance when you use the app.
- Improved app updates: We improved automatic updates for your apps. We'll skip over apps that you have open, so you don't lose any important work. You can update the apps later in the Microsoft Store.
- Improved Android apps support for the pop-pup store experience: When you're browsing the web, you might discover a new app. If it's available in the Microsoft Store, we'll show you a pop-up experience to help you install it. This experience now supports free Android apps (depending on device compatibility and age rating).
- Faster navigation: We have improved the browsing experience.
Fixes[General]
- Fixed an issue causing some Insider PCs with certain AMD processors to bugcheck and roll back when attempting to upgrade to last week's flight. This issue is also believed to be the cause of some Insiders experiencing a bugcheck after enabling SVM in the bios on their PCs in the last build.
- Fixed an issue which was causing some Insiders with secondary accounts on their PC to not be able to upgrade to the latest builds.
[File Explorer]
- The new folder icon used in the command bar should be consistent with the one used in the context menu now.
- Fixed an issue which could lead to File Explorer hanging when browsing folders with lots of .mkv files.
- Fixed an issue which was causing searching from Home to not return any results sometimes from the Open or Save dialog (when doing it from File Explorer returned results).
[Search]
- Searching for something like %appdata% should now show a proper folder icon and not just a blank square.
- When selecting "Open file location" for a search result, it should now select the file in the folder again now, and not just open the folder.
[Settings]
- Searching for "default" will now return the default apps Settings page as the first result, and not require you to click "show all results" in order to see it.
- Fixed an issue where the "Listen to this device" audio option would stop working after a reboot until being unchecked and rechecked.
- Narrator will now read out the position of the radio buttons in the Settings > Accessibility > Color filters page to make it easier to navigate.
[Other]
- Hovering over "Do you like what you see?" when using Windows Spotlight on the lock screen should no longer display a shadow which extends to the bottom of the screen.
- Fixed an issue which was leading to certain frame rate monitoring applications impacting game performance.
- Fixed an issue that could cause rounded corners to unexpectedly become pixelated at certain scale factors.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25136 | Windows Insider Blog (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/06/09/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25136/)
What's New in this Build: File Explorer Tabs & Navigation Updates and Dynamic Widgets content on the taskbar. See the blog post for information as well as the Feedback Hub links.
Changes and Improvements[Input]- We are beginning to roll out the ability for Insiders to report animated gifs they feel are inappropriate from the emoji panel (WIN + .)
Fixes[General]- Addressed an issue which was leading to some PCs being erroneously detected as tablets. When this happened, compact mode and the option to hide checkboxes in File Explorer wouldn't take effect.
- Fixed an issue causing some Insiders to experience a SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION bugcheck in recent Dev Channel builds.
[Taskbar]- Fixed an issue that was sometimes causing taskbar apps to overflow with the system tray icons.
- When you hover on an app in the system tray, its notification will no longer flash.
[Start]- Fixed an issue that could cause Start to only show one column of recommended items.
- If you're pinning a large number of apps to Start, it should now refresh to show them more reliably.
[Settings]- Fixed an issue from the previous flight where Disks & Volumes section of System > Storage wasn't displaying any disks or volumes.
[Windowing]- We made a fix to help with a rare issue which was causing title bars to sometimes go transparent or missing sometimes in certain apps.
[Windows Update] - Fixed an issue where Windows Update might unexpectedly show error 0x00000000 when there wasn't anything wrong.
- Fixed an issue which was leading to some devices bugchecking with HYPERVISOR_ERROR when trying to upgrade to a new build.
[Task Manager]- Fixed an issue which was causing Task Manager to crash on launch sometimes after switching between light and dark mode or changing accent color.
[Other]- Fixed an issue which could lead to increased latency or stutter in games when v-sync was used.
- Fixed an issue which could cause some PCs to freeze after running the wsl –shutdown command.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25140 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/06/15/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25140/)
ISOs for this build can be downloaded here (http://'https://aka.ms/wipISO').
Changes and Improvements[General]- Euphemia typeface covers most languages that use the Canadian Syllabic script including various Cree orthographies, Inuktitut, and the Carrier/Dakelh script (dulkw'ahke). In the latest Insider builds, we've updated this font to improve the legibility and screen rendering of over 200 characters at various sizes. We've also added new glyphs to support Unicode 14 characters for the Nattilik language of the Canadian arctic.
Fixes[File Explorer]- Fixed an issue which was leading some people to unexpectedly see error 0x80070026 when copying files from network drives.
- Fixed an issue where the active tab color didn't match the command bar below it.
- Fixed an issue where dragging to rearrange tabs wasn't working sometimes.
- Fixed an issue which could cause artifacts in the windows thumbnail preview in the taskbar if File Explorer was maximized and you used WIN + M to minimize it.
[Settings]- If you go to rename a drive label in System > Storage > Disks & Volumes, the current drive name will now be prepopulated in the dialog.
[Input]- Fixed an issue where selecting English (New Zealand) in OOBE was unexpectedly leading to the Arabic (101) keyboard getting selected.
- Setting language bar hotkeys for switching input directly to specific non-IME input method should work now.
- Some languages don't support the speech recognition FOD (https://docs.microsoft.com/windows-hardware/manufacture/desktop/features-on-demand-language-fod?view=windows-11). When an admin user tried to install one of those languages using the new Install-Language CopyToSettings command (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/02/16/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22557/), some settings such as new user account locale, Input (Keyboard), and UPLL (User Preferred Language List) were not getting updated. This issue has now been fixed.
- Fixed an issue causing Batang, BatangChe, Gungsuh, and GungsuhChe fonts to not render Korean correctly when using Office online apps when these fonts were not locally present on your PC.
[Task Manager]- Fixed a crash that could happen when switching modes in pages other than the Processes page.
- We made a small adjustment to the intensity of the colors used in the heatmap on the Processes page.
[Other]- Fixed an issue where calls to CopyAcceleratorTable (https://docs.microsoft.com/windows/win32/api/winuser/nf-winuser-copyacceleratortablea) and CreateAcceleratorTable (https://docs.microsoft.com/windows/win32/api/winuser/nf-winuser-createacceleratortablea) would fail if the LPACCEL parameter was the address of an odd numbered index into an array of ACCEL structs.
- Fixed an issue with x64 emulation on ARM64 which could result in certain apps crashing on launch with error code 0xc0000409.
- Fixed an issue causing audio to stop playing in certain apps after a minute.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25145 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/06/22/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25145/)
This build includes a few new features rolling out including an update for Narrator Braille driver support, OneDrive storage alert and subscription management in Settings, and Local Administrator Password Solution. See the blog post for details.
Changes and Improvements
[General]- Every Microsoft customer should be able to use our products knowing we will protect their privacy and give them the information and tools needed to audit all usage of their private resources. The new App usage history features, which began rolling out to Insiders with Build 25140 (http://'https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/06/15/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25140/'), gives users a 7-day history of resource access for Location, Camera, Microphone, Phone Calls, Messaging, Contacts, Pictures, Videos, Music library, Screenshots and apps through the Settings experience. You can find this new information under Settings > Privacy & security > App permissions (simply click on one of the app permissions categories such as microphone and look at "Recent activity").
[Suggested Actions]- Suggested Actions, which began rolling out with Build 25115 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/05/11/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25115/), is now available to all Windows Insiders in the in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
[File Explorer]- Middle clicking a folder in the body of File Explorer will now open it in a new tab.
Fixes[General]- Fixed an issue causing Windows Insiders on Surface Pro X devices to hit a black screen when attempting to resume from hibernate.
- Fixed a bugcheck that some Insiders were experiencing with SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED related to USBs.
- Fixed a bugcheck with error 0x1CA SYNTHETIC_WATCHDOG_TIMEOUT that could happen sporadically on some PCs after left idling for some time. This could happen when a laptop lid was closed, making it appear that the laptop had rebooted while sleeping.
- Fixed an issue from the last two builds that was leading to InventorySvc consuming an unexpectedly high volume of memory the longer it was running.
[File Explorer]- The row of tabs should now be included in the keyboard focus cycle when pressing Tab or F6. Once focus is in the tab row, you can use left or right arrow keys to navigate through them.
- Fixed an issue where the tab order when using CTRL + Tab would be wrong if you'd rearranged the tabs in File Explorer.
[Start]- Narrator will now read the dialog that opens when uninstalling an app from its context menu in Start and those options correctly.
- The animation when selecting the More button in Start's Recommended section in right-to-left (RTL) languages should now appear correctly.
[Taskbar]- When dismissing notification center using your keyboard, its closing animation will now show correctly.
[Settings]- Typing a number in the Settings search box when using an Arabic display language should no longer show boxes.
- Fixed an issue causing Settings to crash when going to Bluetooth & Devices > Printers & Scanners in the last few builds.
- Fixed a couple crashes that some Insiders were experiencing in the last few builds when opening the Wi-Fi section of Quick Settings, or after connecting or disconnecting from networks in the Wi-Fi section in Quick Settings.
- Fixed an issue that was causing the Wi-Fi option in Quick Settings and the Wi-Fi section in Settings to sometimes take a few seconds to appear.
- Using touch to rearrange the items in Quick Settings when in edit mode should no longer lead to Quick Settings unexpectedly dismissing sometimes.
[Input]- Added the SOM currency sign (U+20C0) to the Courier New font family.
[Task Manager]- Pressing CTRL + Page Up and CTRL + Page Down should work again now to navigate through pages in Task Manager.
[Other]- Fixed a rare issue that could lead to certain apps to sporadically crash on launch.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25145 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/06/22/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25145/)
UPDATE 6/24: We are starting to roll out Cumulative Update Build 25145.1011 (KB5016159). This update does not include anything new and is designed to test our servicing pipeline for builds in the Dev Channel.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25151 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/06/29/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25151/)
Fixes[File Explorer]
- Fixed a scaling issue which could result in the tabs being unexpectedly large.
- Right clicking a tab and then clicking somewhere else in File Explorer should dismiss the context menu more reliably now.
[Other]
- We believe an underlying fix in Build 25145 addressed the recent issue where shutting down via the Start menu wasn't working for some Insiders (unexpectedly rebooting instead), and as such are removing this from the known issues list. If you are continuing to encounter this issue with the latest updates, please report it in the Feedback Hub.
- Fixed a high hitting Windows Security app crash.
- Updated the Exclusions page in the Windows Security app so that file paths now make better use of the available space rather than truncating when space is still available.
- Fixed an underlying issue which was causing a crash when trying to delete ports in printui /s.
- Fixed an issue causing printing to not work from UWP apps for some Insiders in the last 2 flights.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25151 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/06/29/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25151/)
UPDATE 7/1: We are starting to roll out Cumulative Update Build 25151.1010 (KB5016322). This update does not include anything new and is designed to test our servicing pipeline for builds in the Dev Channel.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25158 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/07/13/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25158/)
ISOs for this build can be downloaded here (https://aka.ms/wipISO).
More dynamic Widgets content to your taskbar with notification badging for Widgets are being rolled out. When you open the Widgets board a banner will appear at the top of the board providing more information on what triggered the notification badge.
Note:Quote
[We are beginning to roll those features out, so the experience isn't available to all Insiders just yet as we plan to monitor feedback and see how it lands before pushing it out to everyone.]
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Widgets.
Changes and Improvements
[General]- Thank you to all the Insiders who gave us feedback on our first exploration (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/05/18/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25120/) of lightweight interactive content on the Windows desktop! Starting with this week's flight, we are concluding this initial exploration, so if you received this experience, it will be removed on your next reboot.
- As described in our in our blog post here (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/02/03/whats-coming-for-the-windows-insider-program-in-2022/), Windows Insiders who use the Dev Channel may get to try out new ideas, longer lead features, and experiences that are intended to help validate concepts. Starting with this build, some devices will receive different visual treatments for search on the taskbar. We are excited to learn from your feedback on this, so please use the Feedback Hub to provide feedback if you receive this experiment. NOTE: A reboot is required after updating to this build to trigger this experience but please note that not all Windows Insiders will have this experience enabled even after reboot.
[DNS over TLS]- DNS over TLS testing is now available for Windows DNS client query protection. DoT is another protocol in addition to DNS over HTTPS (DoH) which is already supported in Windows 11 and Windows Server 2022. For setup instructions, see this Windows Networking blog post (https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/networking-blog/dns-over-tls-available-to-windows-insiders/ba-p/3565859). The setup requires command line use and is recommended for advanced networking users.
[Input]- The Nyala font has been updated to support syllables for the Gurage language orthography from the Ethiopic Extended-B (https://unicode.org/charts/PDF/U1E7E0.pdf) Unicode range. Also revised and replaced Ethiopic kerning to fix gaps and errors in earlier implementation improving the overall texture of text in Ethiopic languages.
Fixes[General]- Fixed an issue causing some Insiders to experience bugchecks with error message KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED in NetAdapterCx.sys in recent flights.
- Fixed an issue which was leading some PCs hanging at black screen when resuming from a low power state in recent flights.
- Fixed an issue believed to generally be impacting performance across Windows shell experiences in the last few flights.
- Fixed an issue where the Mica material (https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/design/style/mica) and Acrylic (https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/design/style/acrylic) blur effect was rendering incorrectly in OS surfaces like the Start menu, Notification Center and other areas sometimes in recent flights.
[File Explorer]- Fixed an issue where closing command bar flyouts could in some rare cases crash explorer.exe.
- Fixed an issue which could lead to explorer.exe crashing when navigating through File Explorer with OneDrive enabled.
- CTRL + F4 should work to close the current tab now.
- Opening a zipped folder in a new tab should no longer have a blank tab name.
- If focus is on the tab row, CTRL + W will no longer unexpectedly close two tabs instead of just the tab in focus.
- Fixed an issue where CTRL + Tab wouldn't cycle in the correct order after rearranging tabs.
- We made some adjustments so when using "Show full path in title", the folder name is always visible in the tab at the top of File Explorer.
[Taskbar]- Fixed an underlying issue which could lead to pinned app icons getting stuck on the taskbar after uninstalling the app in recent flights.
- Fixed a high hitting explorer.exe crash in the last few flights related to loading Widgets.
[Start]- Start shouldn't crash anymore when using CTRL + Shift + Right Arrow to move a pinned app into a folder that's the last item in Start.
- Fixed a crash some Insiders were experiencing when opening Start.
- Narrator will now read the prompt that opens when trying to uninstall an app from Start correctly.
[Search]- Fixed an issue when using IRowsetPriorititization (https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/api/searchapi/nn-searchapi-irowsetprioritization) where setting the scope priority (https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/api/searchapi/nf-searchapi-irowsetprioritization-setscopepriority) for a query rowset did not properly alter the indexing speed of the rowset, resulting in slower indexing overall.
- Searching for "power mode" should now return an entry for power modes in Settings.
[Settings]- Updated the "System" entry under Network & Internet > Advanced network settings > Data Usage, to now be called "System and Windows Update" to help make it more clear.
- Made another fix to address an issue where the "Listen to this device" option for audio devices would stop working after a reboot.
- Fixed a crash some Insiders were seeing when navigating Bluetooth & Devices > Printers & Scanners.
- Fixed an issue where the "Allow Bluetooth devices to find this PC" checkbox under Bluetooth & Devices > Devices > More Bluetooth Settings wouldn't display the correct state sometimes.
- Fixed an issue which was causing Quick Settings to crash for ARM64 PCs when attempting to use the Cast section to cast to certain devices.
- Fixed an issue that could cause the eye icon beside the Wi-Fi password box in Quick Settings to disappear after its first use.
[Input]- Fixed a crash in textinputhost.exe initialization which was happening in some cases in recent flights.
- Fixed an issue where the "Sync across your devices" option under Settings > System > Clipboard wouldn't stay enabled.
- Updated the Times New Roman font family so it includes U+061D / ARABIC END OF TEXT MARK.
[Windowing]- We made some improvements to help with the performance of opening Task View.
[Narrator]- Made a fix so the two-finger triple tap touch gesture to dismiss context menus with Narrator is working correctly again.
[Task Manager]- Fixed an issue where some services were being unexpectedly grouped under Microsoft Edge when they weren't actually child processes.
[Other]- Fixed an issue which would lead to losing network connectivity after turning on mobile hotspot.
- Addressed an issue that could result in the mobile hotspot button getting unexpectedly stuck in a greyed out state in certain cases.
- Fixed an underlying issue which was leading to Your Phone crashes in certain cases.
- Fixed an underlying issue where Microsoft Defender Application Guard (https://docs.microsoft.com/windows/security/threat-protection/microsoft-defender-application-guard/md-app-guard-overview) windows weren't visible in the last few flights.
- Fixed a crash that could happen when using suggested actions (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/05/11/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25115/).
- Fixed an underlying issue when recording game clips using the Xbox Game Bar, which could lead to the resulting saved video not displaying correctly when viewed later on an iOS device.
- Made some improvements to help address an issue resulting in apps in the Microsoft Store failing to download with error 0x80080204.
- Addressed an underlying issue leading to Microsoft Store app remediation failures with error 0x803FB004.
- Did some work to address an issue where the print dialog wasn't launching centered in the application (for example, in Notepad).
Camera App Refresh and Media Player Update for Windows Insiders (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/07/13/camera-app-refresh-and-media-player-update-for-windows-insiders/)
Camera (version 2022.2206.2.0)
The Camera app has been updated to match the beautiful new look and feel of Windows 11. In addition to the existing support for camera, video, document, and whiteboard capture modes, we are excited to introduce QR code and barcode scanning as well.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Apps > Camera (http://aka.ms/cameraappfeedback)
.Media Player (version 11.2206.30.0)Back in March (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/03/18/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22579/), we introduced CD playback support to Media Player. With the latest update, we are adding support for CD ripping as well. Supported formats in this release include AAC, WMA, FLAC, and ALAC.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Apps > Media Player (https://aka.ms/mediaplayerfeedback)
.We are also beginning to roll out an update to the Movies & TV app in version 10.22061 and higher to Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel.
- Native Arm64 support: We've improved the Movies & TV experience on Arm64 devices. You'll see faster and better performance when you use the app.
- Local video playback migrating to Media Player: We are migrating video file type associations from Movies & TV to Media Player. This migration will only impact file types that are already associated with Movies & TV and only after you open Movies & TV for the first time.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25163
What's New
Taskbar Overflow: Your taskbar will automatically transition into this new overflow state when it has hit its maximum capacity. In this state, taskbar will offer an entry point to an overflow menu that allows you to view all your overflowed apps in one space. The overflow menu will contain many of the current taskbar behaviors users are familiar with, such as supporting pinned apps, jump list, and extended UI. After invoking overflow, the menu will quietly dismiss once you click outside of it or navigate to an application.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Taskbar.Improved Nearby Sharing: The discovery of devices under nearby share when sharing a local file from the desktop, File Explorer, Photos, Snipping Tool, Xbox, and other apps that use the built-in Windows share window has been enhanced by using UDP (Network needs to be set to private) along with Bluetooth to discover nearby devices. You will now be able to discover and share to more devices including desktop PCs.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Files, Folders, and Online Storage > File sharing.Share Local Files to OneDrive: When sharing a local file from the desktop, File Explorer, Photos, Snipping Tool, Xbox, and other apps that use the built-in Windows share window, you can choose OneDrive as a target to directly upload the file to OneDrive and share it further along with access control options. All this can be done right from sharing local files in File Explorer without any context switches or opening the OneDrive app. (Please note this feature is currently only available for Microsoft accounts. A user will need to switch to their Microsoft account via the top right profile icon in the share window if logged in via AAD. AAD support will be added in a future update.)
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Files, Folders, and Online Storage > File sharing.Fixes[File Explorer]- Fixed an explorer.exe crash when dragging tabs around.
- Did some work to fix a memory leak when using tabs with File Explorer.
- Fixed an issue where the preview thumbnail for File Explorer in the taskbar, ALT + Tab, and Task View might show the title of an adjacent tab and not the currently selected one.
- If "Show all folders" is enabled, the dividers in File Explorer's navigation pane should no longer show. With this change, it should also address the issues where dividers were unexpectedly showing in some other folder pickers.
- Fixed an issue where Narrator wasn't reading out the titles of tabs as focus moved through them.
- Fixed an issue where a closed tab might appear again in File Explorer after you dragged File Explorer across your monitors.
- Fixed an issue where the tab row might unexpectedly expand vertically, covering the command bar contents.
- Removable drives should no longer unexpectedly be displayed in a section by themselves in the navigation pane, which was breaking up the section with This PC and Network.
- Fixed an issue where the add new tab button wasn't clearly visible when using Aquatic or Desert contrast themes.
- The add new tab button shouldn't overlap with the minimize button in the title bar when using text scaling with a lot of tabs open anymore.
[Taskbar]- Fixed a rare explorer.exe crash that could happen while on a Microsoft Teams call, related to sharing windows from the taskbar.
[Settings]- Made a change to help fix an issue where using Windows Spotlight on the desktop might revert to a solid color background.
- Improved the padding around the uninstall button when using Apps > Installed Apps in grid view.
- Fixed a couple issues that could lead to Quick Settings crashing on launch.
[Input]- Fixed an issue which was leading to certain apps freezing after a copy action if Suggested Actions was enabled.
[Other]- Fixed a high hitting crash impacting suggested actions reliability.
From Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25163 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/07/20/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25163/)
UPDATE 7/22: We are starting to roll out Cumulative Update Build 25163.1010 (KB5016904). This update does not include anything new and is designed to test our servicing pipeline for builds in the Dev Channel.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25169
This build includes a lockdown feature for IT administrators and some improvements including a brand-new Windows Spotlight theme.
What's newMulti-App Kiosk ModeMulti-app kiosk mode is a lockdown feature for Windows 11 that allows an IT administrator to select a set of allowable apps to run on the device, while all other functionalities are blocked. This enables you to create multiple different apps and access configurations for different user types, all on a single device.
Some lockdown customizations include:
- Limiting access to Settings, except selected pages (e.g., Wi-Fi and screen brightness)
- Lock down the Start menu to show only allowed apps.
- Block toasts and pop-ups that lead to unwanted UI.
Multi-app kiosk mode is ideal for scenarios in which multiple people need to use the same device. This can include frontline workers and retail scenarios, education and test taking.
Currently, multi-app kiosk mode can be enabled using PowerShell and WMI Bridge, with support for Intune/MDM and provisioning package configuration coming soon.
To configure using WMI, follow these instructions. Using the Windows 10 sample XML will enable the feature, but will result in an empty Start menu. To populate the Start menu with your apps, follow these instructions to generate the list of pinned apps, then add it to your XML file after closing the StartLayout section.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Security and Privacy > Device LockdownChanges and Improvements[General]- The changes noted here in this previous blog post on changes to how IT admins enroll devices in the Windows diagnostic data processor configuration option are now included in this build (Build 25169 and higher). A reminder that if the documented changes are not acceptable, it is recommended to pause flighting.
[Windows Spotlight]- You can now enable Windows Spotlight on the desktop via a brand-new Windows Spotlight theme now included in the latest builds in the Dev Channel under Settings > Personalization and Settings > Personalization > Themes. Additionally, you can make your own custom themes with Windows Spotlight's rotating images as well.
[Input]- We have updated the U.S. English (EN-US) handwriting model to be faster and more accurate. Use the updated Handwriting Panel for ink-to-text and let us know what you think.
[Settings]- Settings now supports managing apps which were earlier only supported from Control Panel. This includes uninstallation of apps which have inter-dependencies (e.g., Steam and gaming apps running on Steam), repair and modifying of Win32 apps.
[Windows Security]- The Windows Security app version is now displayed in Windows Security settings under About.
Fixes[File Explorer]- Fixed an issue leading to the Azure Information Protection context menu entry unexpectedly showing with the name Microsoft.Azip.RightClick after an upgrade.
[Taskbar]- Fixed an explorer.exe crash that was preventing taskbar from loading when launching Microsoft Teams meetings sometimes.
- Fixed a couple explorer.exe crashes some Insiders were experiencing related to taskbar overflow.
[Start]- Fixed an issue that was removing the "More" button in Start's Recommended section.
[Settings]- Fixed an issue where after using the reveal password button in the Wi-Fi section of Quick Settings, the text field might unexpectedly lose focus.
[Input]- We made a small tweak to improve the key repeat rate for the traditional touch keyboard layout, as well as the default touch keyboard layout, so it feels more responsive. Now it has the rate of 20 keys per second (for example, when holding down the delete key).
[Other]- Fixed an issue believed to be the root cause of some Insiders experiencing bug checks when opening and copying files from network locations recently.
- Fixed an issue which could cause desynced audio when recording game play with the Xbox Game Bar.
- Fixed an issue leading to error code 0x80004005 when using the network troubleshooter.
- Made some adjustments to fix an issue where the scrollbar in certain places (like File Explorer) was unexpectedly wide when using high DPI scaling.
- Fixed an issue believed to be the root cause of Windows Security saying standard hardware security wasn't supported on devices where it was actually supported, as well as showing a warning in the taskbar but not showing any issues when Windows Security was launched. Please note, due to timing of the payload, these issues may come back after the next Windows Security update. It will go away again after a future Windows Security update.
NOTE: Some fixes noted here in Insider Preview builds from the Dev Channel may make their way into the servicing updates for the released version of Windows 11.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25174
What's newIntroducing the New Game Pass Widget
This widget is a window to the extensive PC Game Pass library – it will show the latest additions, games leaving soon, and others from highlighted categories and then take you to the Xbox app where you can install them, see reviews, and go all in.
We're still hard at work on some exciting functionality coming soon that will let you sign-into your Xbox profile and easily jump back into recently played games as well as see personalized recommendations of games we believe you'll love.
The Game Pass widget preview is available in the widgets board alongside other widgets that bring weather, sports, and other great content closer to you. The widgets board is shown by clicking the left corner of your taskbar or by pressing Win + W. To pin the Game Pass widget, select the '+' button in the top right corner of the widgets board.
Here is how to get started:
- Open the widgets board.
- Click on the + icon next to your user profile.
- Click on the + icon besides the Game Pass
- Close the Widget settings window.
- The Game Pass widget should now appear in your widgets board.
We are looking forward to getting feedback on the Game Pass widget from Windows Insiders who are PC gamers. Tell us what you'd love to see in the widget, or if you see anything that is strange or unexpected on the widget itself or on the widgets experience.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Widgets.
Changes and Improvements[File Explorer]- Middle clicking a folder in the navigation pane of File Explorer will now open it in a new tab, like clicking a folder in the body of File Explorer already does. Please note that this requires tabbed File Explorer, which hasn't rolled out to everyone in the Dev Channel yet.
Fixes[File Explorer]- Fixed an issue which could cause explorer.exe to crash when opening new File Explorer windows.
- Fixed an issue where launching File Explorer in certain ways when using dark mode (for example, from the command line) was showing the body of File Explorer unexpectedly in light mode.
- Fixed an issue where the left/right arrows in File Explorer were in light mode when you were using dark mode, causing them to not have enough contrast to show when they were enabled.
- Fixed an issue where the dividers in the navigation pane were overlapping / drawing too close to text sometimes.
- Fixed an issue where if you drag and drop a folder into the navigation pane was sometimes unexpectedly putting the folder at the bottom of the list rather than where you'd dropped it.
- Fixed an issue causing UI issues in File Explorer when using F11 to put File Explorer in full screen mode.
[Taskbar]- Fixed an issue leading to various system tray elements being unexpectedly missing for some Insiders on the previous build.
[Settings]- Fixed a crash on some PCs were experiencing when going to System > Storage > Disks & Volumes.
[Other]- Fixed an issue which was leading to mouse and keyboard input not working correctly in certain games in the last 2 flights.
- Fixed an issue believed to be leading to SQL Server Management Studio failing to launch for some Insiders.
- Fixed an issue where Memory Integrity in Windows Security might show a warning saying it couldn't be enabled due to incompatible drivers, but the incompatible drivers list would be blank.
- Fixed an issue which was causing some apps to unexpectedly not launch in the last few flights when core isolation was enabled in Windows Security.
From Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25174 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/08/03/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25174/):
UPDATE 8/5: We are starting to roll out Cumulative Update Build 25174.1010 (KB5017214). This update does not include anything new and is designed to test our servicing pipeline for builds in the Dev Channel.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25179
ISOs for this build can be downloaded here.
Changes and Improvements[General]- The spelling dictionary will now use a language-neutral word list and we are trying out syncing this across all devices that use the same Windows account. Users can toggle this feature via Settings > Accounts > Windows backup > Remember my preferences > Language preferences. This currently only works with Microsoft accounts today with AAD support coming later.
[File Explorer]- File Explorer tabs and navigation updates (which began rolling out to the Dev Channel with Build 25136) are now rolling out to everyone in the Dev Channel. If you don't see these features right away, please try rebooting. If that doesn't work, please file feedback in Feedback Hub.
- We're trying out different experiences in File Explorer to show search results.
[Input]- We're adding the Tamil Anjal keyboard for the Tamil language. It's a popular keyboard for inputting Tamil characters, so if you speak this language, please try it out! This keyboard is currently rolling out to a subset of Insiders while we evaluate the quality. To add it (once it's available to you), make sure Tamil (India) is listed under Settings > Time & Language > Language & Region, and then click the "..." next to the language, select Language Options, and add it to the list of keyboards.
- We are rolling out a small tweak to improve the key repeat rate for the traditional touch keyboard layout, as well as the default touch keyboard layout, so it feels more responsive. Now it has the rate of 20 keys per second (for example, when holding down the delete key).
[Other]- Updated the default duration captured by powercfg -sleepstudy from 3 to 7 days.
Fixes[General]- Fixed an issue causing hangs and crashes in apps (like Excel) when attempting to print in the last couple flights.
- Fixed a few issues impacting explorer.exe reliability.
[File Explorer]- The Mount option when right clicking things like ISO files should now show an icon in the context menu.
- Fixed an issue where the min / max / close button might not be visible in File Explorer when using a contrast theme.
[Widgets]- We have fixed the issue causing Widgets preferences (temperature units and pinned widgets) to unexpectedly get reset to default.
[Taskbar]- Fixed an issue which could lead to the taskbar overflow flyout unexpectedly appearing on the opposite side of the screen.
[Input]- Fixed a sporadic crash impacting reliability of the input switcher.
- Fixed an issue where when Suggested Actions was enabled, if you copied multiple items in a row to your clipboard history, some of the items might not display after you pressed WIN + V.
[Settings]- Fixed an issue which was causing Settings to crash on launch sometimes.
- Improved alignment of the "Scan for phone" button displayed on Accounts > Sign-In Options under Dynamic Lock when your phone failed to connect.
- Your preferred state for the Suggested Actions setting under System > Clipboard should persist upgrade going forward from this build.
[Windowing]- Fixed an issue where when resizing certain app windows near the edge of the screen when using mixed DPI monitors might unexpectedly cause the window to jump and shrink.
[Other]- We made a change so that the media controls in Quick Settings will more reliably not load old media you're no longer using.
- Fixed an issue causing one of the characters in the bugcheck text to not display correctly (as a box) when the display language was set to Chinese.
- Fixed an issue causing app install failures with error 0x80080204 in the last few flights.
- Improved date / time recognition for existing supported locales when using Suggested Actions.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25182
- Starting with Build 25182, the expiration date is now September 15th, 2023. It is recommended Insiders update to this build to avoid build expiration notices.
- We're beginning to roll out an update to the Camera app to the Dev Channel that brings native Arm64 support and a new privacy feature. Details below.
- We are also rolling out a small update for Microsoft Store to the Dev Channel with some improvements. Details below.
Fixes[General]- We fixed the issue that was causing devices with low disk space to receive download error 0x80070001 in Windows Update trying to install the latest Dev Channel build.
- Fixed an issue leading to some Insiders experiencing a decrease in FPS when playing certain games in recent flights due to the wrong graphics card being used.
[Taskbar]- Fixed an issue which could lead to the taskbar overflow flyout unexpectedly appearing on the opposite side of the screen. This was incorrectly noted as fixed in Build 25179.
- We fixed an issue that was causing the animation on the taskbar that plays when a user switches from using a device in tablet posture to desktop while in overflow to incorrectly show when logging in.
- Fixed an explorer.exe crash which could happen when determining if the taskbar overflow should display. This could happen when switching out of a full screen game.
[Start]- Fixed a Start menu crash that could prevent apps from launching from Start.
[File Explorer]- Fixed an issue causing the left-half of the File Explorer title bar to not be draggable via mouse or touch for some Insiders.
- We fixed an issue causing Home, Documents, Pictures, and potentially other folders to become unexpectedly duplicated in File Explorer's navigation pane or appear on the desktop.
- Selecting multiple folders and then using the context menu option to open them in a new tab will now actually do that, rather than opening the first folder in a new tab and all the others in a new window.
- Updated the logic for Narrator so that if you navigate to a OneDrive folder using the navigation pane in File Explorer, Narrator will now explicitly say it's a OneDrive folder, and not just something like "YourName – Personal".
[Other]- Fixed an issue which could cause the camera light on a laptop to get stuck on after logging into your PC.
- Fixed an issue believed to be the root cause of some Insiders seeing bugchecks when opening and copying files from network locations.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25182 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/08/17/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25182/)
UPDATE 8/22: We are starting to roll out Cumulative Update Build 25182.1010 (KB5017600). This update does not include anything new and is designed to test our servicing pipeline for builds in the Dev Channel.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25188 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/08/24/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25188/)
What's newUpdated Touch Keyboard SettingsA new touch keyboard setting replaces the "Show the touch keyboard when there's no keyboard attached" checkbox under
Settings > Time & language > Typing > Touch keyboard with a new dropdown menu with 3 options to control whether tapping an edit control should launch the touch keyboard:
- "Never" suppresses the touch keyboard even when no hardware keyboard is attached.
- "When no keyboard attached" will show the touch keyboard only when the device is used as a tablet without the hardware keyboard.
- "Always" will show the touch keyboard even when the hardware keyboard is attached.
[We are beginning to roll this out, so the experience isn't available to all Insiders just yet as we plan to monitor feedback and see how it lands before pushing it out to everyone.]FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Input and Language > Touch keyboard.Changes and Improvements[Windows Terminal]- Windows Terminal is now the default terminal in Windows 11. This means, all command line applications will open in Windows Terminal automatically (Command Prompt and PowerShell, for example). The setting for this change can be found via Settings > Privacy & security > For developers. Please note that Windows Terminal version 1.15 (http://\"http//%5C"https://devblogs.microsoft.com/commandline/windows-terminal-preview-1-15-release/%5C"%5C") or greater is required for this feature.
[Settings]- Updated the Wi-Fi and VPN properties pages in Settings to now include a link to advanced properties for that network.
Fixes[Taskbar]- Fixed an issue related to the taskbar overflow which was impacting explorer.exe reliability.
[Start]- Fixed an issue that was causing Start's recommended to only show one column instead of two.
- Made a fix for Narrator mistakenly reading out the search box in Start twice.
- Fixed an issue where the access keys (underlined letters) in WIN + X had duplicate definitions when an update was pending reboot.
[File Explorer]- Fixed an issue causing a small percentage of Insiders to experience repeated explorer.exe crashes after attempting to access certain folders on their systems in the last couple Dev Channel builds.
- Fixed a recent issue where if File Explorer was open when you switched between light and dark mode, you could end up with some unreadable text / UI showing the wrong color.
- Fixed an issue that was causing explorer.exe to crash when opening folders with certain images.
- The up arrow should no longer be misaligned in File Explorer.
- Fixed an issue which could lead to not being able to unpin Desktop, Pictures, or Documents folders from Quick access.
- Fixed an underlying explorer.exe crash which could happen when File Explorer launch was aborted, for example if you were attempting to access a network share from the Run dialog, were prompted for credentials, and then clicked cancel instead of entering them.
- If the tab title is too long to display completely in the available space, hovering your mouse over it will now show a tooltip with the full name.
- Fixed an issue which could lead to explorer.exe crashing when File Explorer was closed.
- Fixed an issue causing the delete key to unexpectedly not work on files in File Explorer sometimes.
- Removed the toolbar some people were unexpectedly seeing (with View / Edit / etc) after the introduction of tabs in File Explorer. As part of this, the "always show menus" option in Folder Options was also removed which didn't do anything.
[Search]- Fixed an underlying crash which could lead to search not launching.
- Searching for "detect displays" will now return Display Settings.
[Input]- Made a number of updates to emoji keywords based on feedback, including fixing that searching for apple didn't return the red apple emoji in Korean or Polish (in the respective languages), searching for trash or garbage in English should now return the wastebasket emoji, searching for roger in English should now return the saluting face emoji, and searching for bug will now return the ladybug emoji. Please continue sharing feedback about emoji search results under Input & Language > Emoji Panel in the Feedback Hub!
[Settings]- Fixed an issue where in certain cases removing a printer from Settings wouldn't work.
- Fixed an issue where the DNS suffix search list entry wasn't displaying correctly in Settings.
- Fixed an issue where the buttons for changing current view in Settings > Apps > Installed apps might unexpectedly show arrows overlaid on top.
[Task Manager]- Updated the positioning of the View button tooltip position so it shouldn't block the close button in the title bar anymore.
- The arrow shown when sorting processes by CPU should no longer be black on black in certain cases when using dark mode.
- Updated the selection highlight color when you select rows on the Details or Services page to be less bright and more aligned with the other colors used with the updated Task Manager design.
[Other]- Fixed an issue leading to missing / broken characters on the Bitlocker screen when using the Japanese display language.
- Fixed an issue where the Advanced Settings of an application pool on a remote IIS server would display a blank screen.
- Fixed an issue where Steps Recorder wouldn't close when you pressed ALT + F4.
NOTE: Some fixes noted here in Insider Preview builds from the Dev Channel may make their way into the servicing updates for the released version of Windows 11.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25193 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/09/01/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25193/)
What's newIntroducing Xbox subscription management in SettingsWith this build, we are introducing a new Xbox subscription management experience within Windows 11 Settings app. If you are a member of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, Xbox Game Pass for Console or Xbox Live Gold, you will now be able to see your subscription details via Settings > Accounts.
Like the Microsoft 365 subscription management experience, you will be able to view your billing recurrence, payment method and the games and benefits associated with your Xbox subscription.
In addition, you will also be able to manage and upgrade your subscription, redeem gift card tokens and be up to date on any actions required to continue your subscriptions without any disruptions.
If you don't own any Xbox subscriptions, you can learn more about the games and benefits associated with Xbox subscriptions, by clicking the Learn more link on the card.
[We are beginning to roll this feature out, so it isn't available to all Insiders just yet as we plan to monitor feedback and see how it lands before pushing it out to everyone.]
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Settings > User Profile Account Settings.
Support for new Braille displays in NarratorWe are excited to announce support for new Braille displays and new Braille input and output languages in Narrator. Some of the new braille displays we support include: the APH Chameleon, the APH Mantis Q40, the NLS eReader and many more. Refer to the detailed documentation to learn more about the new displays and languages that we support.
Prerequisites:
You must remove Narrator's current braille support if it is already installed by following the steps below:
- Open Settings.
- Go to Apps > Optional features > Installed features.
- Search for Accessibility – Braille support.
- Expand Accessibility – Braille support and uninstall the feature.
Install new narrator braille support:
- Go to Settings > Accessibility > Narrator > Braille.
- Select the more button.
- Download braille from this new window by selecting the Download and install braille button.
- After braille is installed, restart your computer and return to Settings > Accessibility > Narrator > Braille.
- For Braille display to continue working seamlessly while switching between Narrator and third-party screen readers, select the braille display driver used by your third-party screen reader from the "Braille display driver" option. See the note below for customers that use the JAWS for Windows screen reader. This only needs to be done once. Refer to the detailed documentation (https://sway.office.com/owCFmRgW4zv2hkmQ?ref=Link) to learn more about the braille driver solution.
Note: If you have the JAWS for Windows screen reader installed from Freedom Scientific and are using a version released in April 2022 or later along with a Focus braille display then there is no need to select the braille display as noted above.
Additional Resources:
Please refer to the Narrator User Guide for additional information on braille functionality in Narrator.FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Accessibility > Narrator.
Changes and ImprovementsGeneral- As a result of feedback from Windows Insiders, we have disabled the ability to share a local file directly to OneDrive using the built-in Windows share window that first began rolling out to Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel with Build 25163 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/07/20/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25163/). We hope to bring this feature back in the future after further refinement of the experience. As we've mentioned previously, features we try out in the Dev or Beta Channels may not always ship.
FixesGenerallist]
- Fixed an issue causing enabling .NET Framework 3.5 from the Windows Features dialog to not work in the previous build.
Taskbar]- Made a fix so the taskbar overflow will now use the same accent color as your taskbar.
- Fixed a couple of issues which were leading to sporadic explorer.exe crashes related to the taskbar overflow.
- Fixed an issue related to the widgets entry in the taskbar which was causing the taskbar icons to appear to drift around sometimes in the previous flight.
- Fixed an issue for Insiders with at least two monitors, where if the monitors had different DPI, the taskbar overflow could appear before it was needed or end up overlapped with the date and time on the secondary monitor.
- Fixed an issue where the taskbar overflow flyout might appear floating away from the taskbar if you opened it after a display scaling change.
Start
- Fixed an issue that was causing unexpected characters to show instead of an apostrophe in the tooltip for the Sleep option in the Power menu.
- Fixed an issue which could lead to Start menu crashing on launch for some people when Search Highlights was enabled.
File Explorer- If the taskbar is set to auto-hide and File Explorer is maximized, hovering your mouse on the bottom of the screen to invoke the taskbar should work now.
- Fixed an issue when dragging and dropping a folder to pin it to the navigation pane, that the line indicating where it would be inserted didn't have enough contrast in dark mode.
- We fixed an issue where the search box background in File Explorer might be the opposite color of your current mode (for example dark in light mode).
- Fixed an issue where File Explorer would appear to open, close, and re-open before it finished drawing after being launched from certain places (for example when opening the location of a downloaded file from Microsoft Edge).
- Fixed an issue where certain files couldn't be unpinned from the Favorites section of Home after you'd pinned them.
- Made another fix to help address UI issues when switching between dark and light mode if the File Explorer window was open when you switch.
- Fixed a GDI objects leak when resizing the navigation pane in File Explorer, which could potentially lead to content in File Explorer not rendering correctly over time for Insiders who resized the navigation pane frequently.
- Made some improvements to help the performance of loading Home when using a cloud storage provider, like OneDrive, to back up your files in File Explorer.
Settings
- Fixed an issue causing the Storage page in Settings as well as Disk Cleanup to crash in the scan phase for some people.
- Fixed an issue where URIs to open pages under the Accounts section of Settings weren't working for some people – Settings would open, but not navigate to the correct page. This impacted the link to open Sign-in Options in the Start menu.
- Fixed an issue leading to app icons not displaying correctly under Privacy & Security > Voice activation.
- Fixed a Settings crash when uninstalling apps using Apps > Installed apps.
Other
- Fixed an issue which could sometimes cause a ShellExperienceHost.exe crash when you stopped casting to another display or switched to duplicate your display.
- Added a warning to findstr (https://docs.microsoft.com/windows-server/administration/windows-commands/findstr) if Unicode input is detected, to make it more clear if that's why results aren't returned for certain files.
- Fixed an issue in recent flights causing lines to not be included when printing tables from certain apps.
- Fixed an issue in recent flights which could lead to hangs in certain apps.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25197 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/09/08/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25197/)
What's newRe-introducing the touch-optimized taskbar that's designed to make you feel more confident and comfortable using your device as a tablet.
Your taskbar will automatically transition to this optimized version when you disconnect or fold back the keyboard on your 2-in-1 device. This feature only works on devices that can be used as tablets. It does not work on laptops or desktop PCs.
As a reminder, there are two states of this taskbar:
collapsed and
expanded. In the
collapsed state, the taskbar gets out your way, gives you more screen space, and prevents you from accidentally invoking the taskbar when you're holding your tablet. In the
expanded state, the taskbar is optimized to be easier to use with touch. You can easily switch between the two states by swiping up and down on the bottom of your device.
If this feature is available, you will see a new setting at
Settings > Personalization > Taskbar > Taskbar behaviors called "Optimize taskbar for touch interactions when this device is used as a tablet" that will be set to
on by default.
[We are beginning to roll this feature out, so it isn't available to all Insiders just yet as we plan to monitor feedback and see how it lands before pushing it out to everyone.]FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Taskbar.System Tray UpdatesThis update introduces updates to the System Tray that affect all device types — not just 2-in-1 devices. With this change, users will see a rounded focus and hover treatment on all icons in the lower right, due to the continued modernization of this experience.
You may also notice that it is not possible to drag and drop or rearrange your system tray icons with this change. We heard your feedback on this change earlier this year and are working to address this in a future Insider Preview build.
[We are beginning to roll this feature out, so it isn't available to all Insiders just yet as we plan to monitor feedback and see how it lands before pushing it out to everyone.]FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > System Tray.Changes and Improvements[Settings]- We are beginning to roll out animated icons and illustrations in the Settings app. With the animated icons in the navigation bar, we continue growing our motion design principles to transform these familiar interactions from something purely functional to something that is also delightful.
[Input]- We are making the small tweak that began rolling out with Build 25179 (http://'https//blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/08/10/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25179/') to improve the key repeat rate for the traditional touch keyboard layout, as well as the default touch keyboard layout, so it feels more responsive available to all Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel. Now it has the rate of 20 keys per second (for example, when holding down the delete key).
Fixes[System Tray Updates]NOTE: These fixes will only show if tablet-optimized taskbar with System Tray updates is enabled on your device. Please see above for details on the tablet-optimized taskbar and System Tray updates, which is beginning to roll out to Windows Insiders and not yet available for everyone.- The taskbar should no longer flash because of changes in the system tray in non-tablet-optimized scenarios.
- Fixed an issue that was causing parts of the taskbar or its icons like search to get stuck in the wrong theme's colors when switching between light and dark themes.
- Date and time should no longer get stuck cutting off on the side of the screen from system tray changes.
[Start]- Fixed a crash that users were seeing when using Start's recommended section.
[File Explorer]- Fixed an issue leading to a small set of Insiders with "launch folder windows in a separate process" not being able to launch File Explorer in the last two flights due to an explorer.exe crash.
- Did some work to help improve the performance of deleting files via File Explorer (when emptying the recycle bin or using Shift + Delete) in the case where there are a large number of files being deleted at once.
[Input]- Fixed an issue causing ctfmon.exe crashes for some Insiders in recent flights when words were added to your spelling dictionary.
- Dragging the voice typing window to another monitor which has a different scaling than the originating monitor should work now instead of bouncing back.
- Fixed a sporadic crash in recent builds when using the input switcher.
- Fixed an issue which could lead to voice typing and other input features hanging on initialization.
- Fixed an issue with displaying certain Sinhala words, where they were unexpectedly overlapping.
[Settings]- Updated the design of the lists displayed Apps > Startup Apps and Apps > Advanced App Settings > App Execution Alias pages to be more consistent with other Settings pages.
- Fixed an issue which could lead to Settings crashing when removing devices.
- Updated the Personal Dictionary section under Privacy & Security > Inking & Typing Personalization to now say "Custom word list".
[Widgets]- Fixed an issue which was making the weather icon in the taskbar draw too high and with no text in recent flights.
[Windowing]- Clicking the title bar portion of a preview thumbnail in Task View should now actually switch to that app, instead of just closing Task View.
- Fixed a sporadic explorer.exe crash which could happen when using ALT + Tab or Task View.
[Task Manager]- Fixed an issue impacting Task Manager reliability.
- If graphs have been hidden on the Performance page, the circles used to identify each of the different sections should be less blurry now.
[Other]- Fixed an issue which could lead to hangs in certain apps when attempting to print if an IPP printer took too long to respond to the print request.
- Fixed an issue where EnumPrinters (https://docs.microsoft.com/windows/win32/printdocs/enumprinters) wasn't always returning the correct size for pcbNeeded, which could lead to hangs in certain programs.
- Fixed a typo in the dialog displayed when Smart App Control blocked an app.
- Fixed an issue where certain characters were missing in the boot environment when using the Chinese (Simplified) or Korean display languages, leading to square boxes in the text.
Via Twitter (https://twitter.com/windowsinsider/status/1568293109531811840)
QuoteQuick note for #WindowsInsiders (https://twitter.com/hashtag/WindowsInsiders?src=hashtag_click) in the Dev Channel: we have just released a new ISO for yesterday's 25197 build. Visit http://aka.ms/WIPISO (https://t.co/XIpWSRoe4b) to find it.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25201 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/09/14/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25201/)
ISOs for this build can be downloaded here (https://aka.ms/wipISO).
What's newExpanded View in WidgetsNeed more space in your widgets board? Can't quite see everything at a glance? Use the expand and collapse button in the top right corner of the board, next to the add widgets button, to expand or collapse the size of your widgets board. The size of your board is remembered, so if you prefer your widgets board to always show you more content and leave it expanded then that's how it will be the next time you open it.
[We are beginning to roll this out, so the experience isn't available to all Insiders just yet as we plan to monitor feedback and see how it lands before pushing it out to everyone.]FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Widgets.Game Pass Widget ImprovementsLast month we introduced the preview of the Game Pass widget without a sign-in experience to your Xbox profile. Today, we're beginning to roll out and update for the Game Pass widget that introduces the ability to sign-in with your Xbox profile. If you have already signed into your Xbox app on PC, the Game Pass widget will be signed-in with your Xbox account. Once signed-in, the widget will show the full range of Game Pass games available to you. Additionally, the widget will also show the most recent set of PC Game Pass titles you have played. It gives gamers a quick way to get right back into the action.
As always, we would love to hear your thoughts on how the team can make Game Pass widget better and more personalized for you. Please share your feedback!
[We are beginning to roll this out, so the experience isn't available to all Insiders just yet as we plan to monitor feedback and see how it lands before pushing it out to everyone.]FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Widgets.Changes and Improvements[General]- Thank you to all the Insiders who gave us feedback on the different visual treatments for search on the taskbar! (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/07/13/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25158/) Starting with this week's flight, we are concluding the exploration of these treatments, so if you received this experience, it will be removed on your next reboot.
[File Explorer]- File Explorer search will now show results as you type. The full search results page will update live without needing to press enter. We are beginning to roll this out, so the experience isn't available to all Insiders just yet.
- We're experimenting with adding more cloud files to search results from Home.
Fixes[General]- Fixed the issue in the last few flights causing a bugcheck when moving your mouse in certain games.
[File Explorer]- As a one-time change to help people find their folders with the navigation pane updates, if the default folders pinned to File Explorer's navigation pane had been unpinned, they will be re-pinned after upgrading.
- Fixed a memory leak which was happening when closing File Explorer windows.
[Taskbar]- The apps in the taskbar overflow flyout should now be in the correct order when using an Arabic or Hebrew display language.
[Input]- Fixed an issue where if you hadn't already opened OneNote once, using the pen click to invoke OneNote wouldn't work.
- Made a change to help address an issue where it wasn't possible to use the Pinyin IME to type in the chat box of certain games.
[Settings]- Fixed an issue which was causing sporadic Settings app crashes.
- Removed an erroneous white pixel in the icon animation when clicking the Apps category in Settings.
[Widgets]- We have fixed the issue where in some cases, the notification banner for some badging would not appear in the widgets board.
[Windowing]- Fixed an issue where explorer.exe was crashing if you dragged a snap group in Task View and dropped it into another Desktop.
- Fixed an issue related to interacting with the Desktops flyout in the taskbar which was causing periodic explorer.exe crashes.
- Fixed a DWM crash in the last few flights which could lead to a brief black screen when rotating a tablet.
- Fixed a rare issue which could cause a DWM crash when watching videos in certain UWP apps in recent builds.
[Task Manager]- Fixed an issue impacting Task Manager reliability.
[Other]- Fixed an issue causing some Insiders to unexpectedly get the message "it is not possible to connect to this network" when connecting to certain Wi-Fi networks recently, although the network was working with other devices.
- Fixed an issue which could lead to Windows Sandbox opening to just a black window on certain PCs.
NOTE: Some fixes noted here in Insider Preview builds from the Dev Channel may make their way into the servicing updates for the released version of Windows 11.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25206 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/09/21/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25206/)
- The build includes changes to SMB authentication rate limiter behavior. See the blog post for additional details.
- We've got a few changes and improves including making the updated "Open with" dialog available to all Insiders in the Dev Channel, some updates for Dynamic Refresh Rate (DRR) and more.
- This build also includes a set of fixes to improve the overall experience for Windows Insiders.
- We also added a new known issue for a bug we're investigating that is impacting a subset of Insiders in the Dev Channel from updating to the latest builds.
Changes and Improvements[General]- The updated "Open with" dialog box is now available to all Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel.
[Graphics]- Windows Insiders can now save power by using Dynamic Refresh Rate (https://devblogs.microsoft.com/directx/dynamic-refresh-rate/) (DRR) on external displays! To enable this setting, you must have a 120+Hz monitor with VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) support, as well as a WDDM 3.1 driver installed. To select a dynamic refresh rate, go to Settings > System > Display > Advanced display and make your selection under Refresh rate.
- Note: To get the latest GPU drivers available for Windows Insiders, check for Windows updates by going to Settings > Windows Update, then select "Check for updates". To find out what WDDM driver you have, go to Start > dxdiag > Display and look at the Driver Model under Drivers.
[File Explorer]- Search from File Explorer Home will show recent file activity for cloud files in Details View.
[Input]- We're beginning to roll out a change to suppose the use of clipboard history (WIN + V) on password fields. We are beginning to roll this out, so the experience isn't available to all Insiders just yet.
Fixes[General]- OneDrive setup should no longer unexpectedly ask for permission to set up every time your PC reboots.
- Fixed a high hitting explorer.exe which was impacting some Insiders.
[Settings]- Fixed a Settings crash which could happen when searching and selecting certain Narrator related settings.
[Search]- Fixed a high hitting search crash which was impacting some Insiders in the last few flights.
[Other]- The Windows Sandbox window should now resize correctly if you snap it to the side of the screen.
- Fixed an issue which could lead to a memory leak in Windows Error Reporting after certain crashes.
- If focus is on the desktop, then pressing ALT + F4 and Enter should now shutdown your PC, rather than having to move keyboard focus first (as was needed in the last few flights).
- The computer icon is now showing again in the Shut Down Windows dialog.
NOTE: Some fixes noted here in Insider Preview builds from the Dev Channel may make their way into the servicing updates for the released version of Windows 11.
Updated Photos app for Windows 11 begins rolling out to Windows Insiders (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/09/21/updated-photos-app-for-windows-11-begins-rolling-out-to-windows-insiders/)
A preview of the update for the Photos app is beginning to roll out Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel today. This means not all Insiders in the Dev Channel will have the update right away, but rollout will be increased over time as feedback is monitored.
The update brings a gorgeous gallery, simplifying browsing, finding, management and consumption of your collection of photos. It also allows you to easily backup your photos with OneDrive, enjoy powerful experiences on Windows devices and offers a delightful "Memories" experience.
Here are some things for Insiders try with this Photos app update:
- Organize your photos with a productive and beautifully redesigned purpose-built experience.
- Easily backup your Photos to OneDrive and keep your memories safe.
- Celebrate a life well-lived with improved "Memories" experiences.
- Be productive with multi-window and multi-screen.
- Easily view your OneDrive storage quota usage and add more storage.
- Import and manage your photos from external sources such as your phone and camera.
This update to the Photos app (version 2022.31090.16004.0 and higher) will replace the current Photos app experience. Earlier this year, we introduced Clipchamp as our new inbox video editor, which is focused on making video creation easy, fast, and fun on Windows. As Clipchamp is equipped with all the basic tools you'd expect, like trimming and splitting, as well as more pro-style features like transitions and animated text, the new Photos app experience no longer includes the legacy Video Editor. If you would prefer to continue to use the legacy Photos app, it will remain available (http://www.microsoft.com/store/apps/9NV2L4XVMCXM) in the Microsoft Store.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Apps > Photos (http://aka.ms/photosfeedback)
.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25211 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/09/29/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25211/)
What's newWidgets settingsIn this update, we have separated the widget picker and Widgets settings to make it easier for you to find and interact with each view. Now, the widget picker is opened by the "+" button and Widgets settings is opened by the "Me" button. We re-used the space the picker used to take in Widget settings to cover the highly requested taskbar settings based on Insider feedback to give you control over how the Widgets entry works on your taskbar.
With the toggles in Widget settings, you can:
- Control whether the Widgets board opens when you hover over the taskbar icon.
- Control whether Widgets will show notification badging on the taskbar.
- Control whether live Widget content on the taskbar shows more than weather.
[We are beginning to roll this out, so the experience isn't available to all Insiders just yet as we plan to monitor feedback and see how it lands before pushing it out to everyone.]FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Widgets.Changes and Improvements[Taskbar]- Based on your feedback, we've added a link to Task Manager when right-clicking on the taskbar. Let us know what you think!
[System Tray]- This build includes preliminary support to rearrange system tray icons for Insiders who have the System Tray updates that began rolling out with Build 25197 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/09/08/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25197/). Further improvements for this experience are coming soon. As a reminder, these System Tray updates are still rolling out and are not available to all Insiders just yet. If your PC does not have these changes, your System Tray experience will remain the same as before.
File Explorer]- Fixed an issue where the top part of File Explorer (with the search and address box) couldn't be interacted with when File Explorer was in full screen mode (F11).
[Settings]- For the time being, you will no longer be able to uninstall apps with inter-dependencies (e.g., Steam and gaming apps running on Steam) or repair Win32 apps under Settings > Apps > Installed apps. You will still be able to modify and uninstall Win32 apps without inter-dependencies.
Fixes[General]- We are beginning to roll out a server-side fix for the issue causing a "date, time and time zone settings are incorrect" message to be improperly displayed, which was also preventing the installation of the latest Insider Preview builds from proceeding.
[File Explorer]- Fixed the issue where the command bar items like copy, paste, and empty recycle bin were unexpectedly not be enabled sometimes when they have been.
- Fixed an issue which was causing unexpected black bars on the sides of horizontal scrollbars when using dark mode.
[Start]- When you have Start set to show more pinned items, the animation for opening folders lower on the page will now appear from the right place.
[Taskbar]- Fixed a high hitting Shell Experience Host crash in recent Dev Channel builds, impacting Quick Settings launch reliability.
[Input]- The gripper for moving the emoji panel and touch keyboard should now update color correctly when you switch between dark and light mode.
- Fixed a memory leak when repeatedly invoking the input switcher.
[Settings]- Fixed a Settings crash which could happen when changing your mobile hotspot name.
- Updated the examples used in the Short time selection under Time & Language > Language & Region > Regional Format, to make the 12 hour options (vs 24 hour) a little more obvious by showing morning and afternoon times.
[Task Manager]- Tweaked the graphs in the Performance page to use a bit more transparency so it's easier to see the grid lines underneath.
- Made another fix to improve Task Manager reliability.
- Fixed a black flash while might be seen when launching Task Manager in light mode.
- Fixed a few issues where the font color of certain elements wasn't correct / readable when using a contrast theme.
[Other]- Fixed an issue where Narrator would read out the details of the calendar that opens from selecting the date and time from the taskbar when it was collapsed.
- Fixed an issue where explorer.exe was crashing repeatedly in Windows Sandbox for Insiders with the tablet optimized taskbar and updated system tray.
- Fixed an issue which could lead to hangs in certain apps when opening the Open File Dialog.
- Fixed an issue which was making the screen go black for some Insiders when enabling HDR recently.
- Fixed an issue where after using the Open With dialog, the process might stay running even if it wasn't in use anymore.
- Fixed an issue which was leading to increased CPU usage for WSL2 users on ARM64 PCs even when WSL was idle.
- Fixed an issue where closing the print dialog could lead to an app crash in the last couple flights.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25211 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/09/29/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25211/)
UPDATE 10/3: We are starting to roll out Cumulative Update Build 25211.1010 (KB5019342). This update does not include anything new and is designed to test our servicing pipeline for builds in the Dev Channel.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25217 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/10/06/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25217/)
- Developers can start building and testing 3rd party widgets on the latest Insider Preview builds in the Dev Channel and the WinAppSDK 1.2 preview 2 release. Details and links below.
- This build includes a few input-related changes and fixes.
- Some Insiders are seeing a sneak peek of a new video calling experience for Chat on Windows 11. Details below.
- We are beginning to roll out a Microsoft Store update that includes a few improvements including highlight games included with Game Pass.
We are beginning to roll this feature out, so it isn't available to all Insiders just yet as we plan to monitor feedback and see how it lands before pushing it out to everyone.][/I]
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Input and Language > Text Input.Changes and Improvements[Input]- We began rolling out the new Tamil Anjal keyboard for the Tamil language with Build 25179 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/08/10/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25179/) and starting today, it is now available to all Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel. To add it, make sure Tamil (Singapore), Tamil (Malaysia), Tamil (Sri Lanka), or Tamil (India) is listed under Settings > Time & Language > Language & Region, and then click the "..." next to the language, select Language Options, and add Tamil Anjal (QWERTY) to the list of keyboards.
- We have disabled the new touch keyboard setting that first began rolling out to Windows Insiders in Build 25188 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/08/24/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25188/) for now. We hope to bring this feature back in the future after further refinement of the design. As we've mentioned previously (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/02/03/whats-coming-for-the-windows-insider-program-in-2022/), features we try out in the Dev or Beta Channels may not always ship.
FixesTablet-optimized taskbar]NOTE: These fixes will only show if tablet-optimized taskbar (documented here (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/09/08/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25197/)
) is enabled on your device. Tablet-optimized taskbar is still rolling out to Windows Insiders and not yet available for everyone.- We fixed the issue causing the taskbar to sometimes collapse when it should be expanded if there are no running windows on the desktop.
- We fixed an issue that would occur when using the left or right edge gestures resulting in the Widgets or Notification Center (respectively) to overlap with or look truncated by the taskbar.
- Fixed an issue that was causing the tablet-optimized taskbar to crash explorer.exe while switching apps.
- Fixed an issue that was causing the tablet-optimized taskbar to crash explorer.exe if you entered the overflow flyout.
[Windowing]- Fixed an issue where the close button for window preview thumbnails in Task View was drawing slightly outside the bounds of the thumbnail.
- Fixed an issue where when switching between windows in recent builds you might see the entire window flash black for a frame while rendering.
- Fixed an issue causing Miracast video quality to be very slow and stuttering in recent flights despite having a solid internet connection.
[System Tray Updates]NOTE: These fixes will only show if System Tray Updates (documented here (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/09/08/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25197/)
) is enabled on your device. Tablet-optimized taskbar is still rolling out to Windows Insiders and not yet available for everyone.- Fixed an issue so that Quick Settings items can now be rearranged with touch again.
[Settings]- Fixed an issue under Network and Internet > Advanced Network Settings, where certain networks were displaying the wrong link speed.
[Other]- Fixed an issue where remote desktop on ARM64 PCs was unexpectedly not using UDP and only TCP.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25217 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/10/06/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25217/)
UPDATE 10/10: We are starting to roll out Cumulative Update Build 25217.1010 (KB5019765). This update does not include anything new and is designed to test our servicing pipeline for builds in the Dev Channel.
Updated Photos app for Windows 11 with iCloud Photos now rolling out to Windows Insiders (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/10/12/updated-photos-app-for-windows-11-with-icloud-photos-now-rolling-out-to-windows-insiders/)
QuoteDuring today's event showcasing what's next for Microsoft Surface (https://blogs.windows.com/devices/2022/10/12/introducing-new-surface-devices-that-take-the-windows-pc-into-the-next-era-of-computing/), we showed that we're bringing iCloud Photos integration directly to the updated Photos app which began rolling out to Windows Insiders a few weeks ago (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/09/21/updated-photos-app-for-windows-11-begins-rolling-out-to-windows-insiders/). We are beginning to roll out an update to the Photos app today (version 2022.31100.9001.0) to Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel with this new integration.
The Microsoft Photos app allows you to view, organize, and share photos from your PC and OneDrive, and with this update, you'll now be able to add and access your iCloud Photos directly from within the app as well. Your iCloud Photos will appear alongside photos from other sources in the beautifully redesigned "All Photos" gallery view, as well as on a dedicated page you can access from the side navigation pane.
To get started, follow the quick setup steps in the Photos app! You'll need to sign into the iCloud (https://www.microsoft.com/store/productId/9PKTQ5699M62) for Windows app on your PC and ensure that "Photos" are selected.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Apps > Photos (https://aka.ms/photosfeedback)
.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25227 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/10/19/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25227/)
ISOs for this build can be downloaded here (https://aka.ms/wipISO).
This build includes improvements for update management for IT administrators and a good set of general changes and improvements. See the blog post for details.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Install and Update > All other issues.Microsoft Store UpdateWindows Insiders across all channels running version 22209 of the Microsoft Store will see the following improvement:
Pop Up Trailers for Games & Movies: A new way of interaction is added for you to preview trailers of your favorite games and movies.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Microsoft Store.Changes and Improvements[Start menu]- We are trying out a small change to the Start menu where some Insiders will see badging on their user profile notifying them that certain actions need to be taken.
[Widgets]- We're trying out some different positions of the header with new icons for the Widgets board to learn how to best optimize the Widgets board for our users. By using monoline icons, our goal is to bring consistent, clean, and accessible icons to communicate action and features with simple visuals for users.
[Input]- The change to support the use of clipboard history (WIN + V) on password fields that began rolling out with Build 25206 (http://'https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/09/21/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25206/') is now available to all Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel.
- We made a change to allow you to contribute your voice clips to Microsoft again even if on-device speech recognition is used.
[Voice typing]- We are rolling out a change to sync voice typing settings, Automatic punctuation and Voice typing launcher, across all devices signed in using the same Microsoft account. You can toggle this feature via Settings > Accounts > Windows backup > Remember my preferences > Accessibility. This currently only works with Microsoft accounts today with AAD support coming later.
[Settings]- A new dialog will warn users of potential data loss if they elect to change the partition style of their storage drive under System > Storage > Disks & Volumes > Disk Properties.
- We've updated the ethernet and Wi-Fi property pages in Settings to now show gateway information in the network details summary.
Fixes[General]- Fixed an issue which was causing some Insiders to not be able to upgrade to recent Dev Channel builds, with error 0xC1900101. As a reminder, this is a generic rollback error code, so if you are continuing to see this error after today's update you may be encountering a different issue. If you do, please file feedback about it under Install and Update > Downloading, installing, and configuring Windows Update in the Feedback Hub.
[Tablet-optimized taskbar]NOTE: These fixes will only show if tablet-optimized taskbar (documented here (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/09/08/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25197/)
) is enabled on your device. Tablet-optimized taskbar is still rolling out to Windows Insiders and not yet available for everyone.- Fixed an issue that was causing explorer.exe to crash while switching between apps on the tablet-optimized taskbar.
- Start's touch gesture should now follow your finger correctly with the tablet-optimized taskbar.
- Improved how touch gestures and their animations with the tablet-optimized taskbar work with the touch keyboard.
- You can now swipe up from within the taskbar with a pen to expand the tablet-optimized taskbar.
[System Tray Updates]NOTE: These fixes will only show if System Tray Updates (documented here (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/09/08/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25197/)
) is enabled on your device. Tablet-optimized taskbar is still rolling out to Windows Insiders and not yet available for everyone.- Fixed an issue causing explorer.exe to crash when dragging icons in the system tray.
- Right-clicking system tray icons should no longer cause the auto-hidden taskbar to hide incorrectly.
- The show hidden icons panel in the system tray should no longer block context menus opened after it.
- Fixed an issue where the first time you tried to open Quick Settings from the system tray it wouldn't work.
- Fixed an issue that was preventing system tray icons from updating in real time.
[File Explorer]- When you scroll to the bottom of the navigation pane using a mouse wheel and try to scroll back up it should no longer get stuck at the bottom.
- Fixed an issue which could cause certain apps to hang when opening the Open File Dialog or Save File Dialog.
- Made another fix for a case which could lead to people seeing divider lines overlapping entries in the navigation pane.
[Start menu]- Fixed an issue where dragging content across an open Start menu folder could cause a crash.
[Search]- Made a fix to help address an issue where Search might not respond when clicking on the search icon in the taskbar.
- Opening images from search should no longer unexpectedly open them in Print.
[Input]- Fixed an issue where over time you might lose the ability to interact with certain games using the mouse.
- Fixed an issue where the multiplication sign (×, U+00D7) wasn't displaying correctly in the Yu Gothic font family for people with high resolution screens.
[Settings]- The size of UWP app icons under Apps > Startup shouldn't be so small now.
[Task Manager]- Dragging Task Manager from the bottom area of the title bar to move the window should work now.
[Other]- Fixed a couple issues causing certain apps to crash in recent builds, including OneNote. We are continuing to investigate feedback in this space.
- Made a change to address an issue which could lead to performance degradation when using performance monitoring tools which leveraged the Microsoft-Windows-DxgKrnl ETW provider. This also impacted performance for Windows Mixed Reality. As a reminder, if you're experiencing performance issues, please see here (http://'https://learn.microsoft.com/windows-insider/feedback-categories#performance') for steps on filing actionable performance feedback.
- Fixed an issue where recording devices with "Listen to this device" enabled might not show in the volume mixer when they were playing sound.
- If you reset your PC, the screen displayed while it's resetting will now be black so it's consistent with the upgrade screens.
- If you were experiencing Gaming Services crashes while trying to play certain games in the previous Dev Channel flight, please check the Microsoft Store for Gaming Servicing updates, it should be resolved now.
- Fixed an issue which was causing certain PCs to unexpectedly bugcheck on upgrade to the latest builds, with the error message saying "MULTIPROCESSOR_CONFIGURATION_NOT_SUPPORTED".
- Fixed an issue from the previous flight which could cause Miracast to unexpectedly not be able to connect.
NOTE: Some fixes noted here in Insider Preview builds from the Dev Channel may make their way into the servicing updates for the released version of Windows 11.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25227 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/10/19/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25227/)
UPDATE 10/21: We are starting to roll out Cumulative Update Build 25227.1010 (KB5020539). This update does not include anything new and is designed to test our servicing pipeline for builds in the Dev Channel.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25231 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/10/27/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25231/)
- This build includes a few minor changes including increasing the rollouts for a few features.
- We've also added a handful of known issues – be sure to check them out below.
- We're also rolling out a Phone Link update to Windows Insiders that introduces instant access to your phone's hotspot with Samsung devices.
Changes and Improvements[General]- The change that began rolling out with Build 25179 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/08/10/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25179/) to the spelling dictionary so that it now uses a language-neutral word list and syncs across all devices that use the same Windows account is now available to all Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel. Users can toggle this feature via Settings > Accounts > Windows backup > Remember my preferences > Language preferences. This currently only works with Microsoft accounts today with AAD support coming later.
[Tablet-optimized taskbar]- Tablet-optimized taskbar which began rolling out with [URL'https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/09/08/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25197/]Build 25197[/URL] is now available to all Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel, as is the System Tray improvements that began rolling out with Build 25211 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/09/29/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25211/) that include drag and drop.
[Input]- The cloud suggestion feature Simplified Chinese IME that began rolling out with Build 25217 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/10/06/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25217/) is now available for all Insiders in the Dev Channel.
Fixes[System Tray]- When moving your mouse over the sound icon on Quick Settings, the tooltip will now display when spatial audio is in use – not just that it is enabled.
[Settings]- Removed the backplate from UWP app icons in Apps > Default apps and Apps > Apps for websites.
- Fixed the font used on the Wi-Fi section of Quick Settings when Wi-Fi was off, so that it's consistent with the other text in Quick Settings
- Fixed an issue believed to be the root cause of certain network cameras unexpectedly not being added when you selected them under Bluetooth & Devices > Cameras.
- Improved DPI-awareness when launching setup.exe from a mounted ISO, so the initial logo while it's preparing should no longer be blurry in certain cases.
[Other]- Fixed a rare issue where FindWindow (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/win32/api/winuser/nf-winuser-findwindowa) and FindWindowEx (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/win32/api/winuser/nf-winuser-findwindowexa) might return an unexpected window.
- Fixed an issue where sometimes you wouldn't be able to use FIDO to unlock your PC if it was connected to an external display with the laptop lid closed.
- Fixed an issue which sometimes led to crashes in certain apps (like Paint, and Windows Terminal) when attempting to display a tooltip.
NOTE: Some fixes noted here in Insider Preview builds from the Dev Channel may make their way into the servicing updates for the released version of Windows 11.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25236 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/11/02/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25236/)
Changes and Improvements
[General]- To improve the value of Search shortcuts and reduce friction in the broader Windows Search experience, we are trying out different ways to provide tips on how to use Windows Search via the taskbar. Only some English-speaking Windows Insiders in the U.S. will see this. If you do, be sure to give us feedback on what you think in Feedback Hub.
Fixes[Narrator]- We fixed the issue causing natural voices such as Microsoft David or Mark to not speak in Narrator.
[Taskbar & System Tray]- Fixed an issue where if you opened the hidden icons flyout, it caused a File Explorer entry for it to appear in the taskbar.
- Fixed an issue that was causing the taskbar previews to freeze or show as blank and not open when using Windows key + (#) key commands to try and switch between windows.
- The show hidden icons flyout in the system tray should now responsively resize with changes again to prevent empty spaces and columns.
- Fixed multiple issues related to the taskbar which were impacting explorer.exe reliability.
- Fixed an issue that was causing the volume icon in the system tray to incorrectly show as muted.
- Fixed a GDI handle leak related to updating the notification center icon in the taskbar, which would eventually lead to an explorer.exe crash for people who received a large number of notifications.
- Narrator will now announce the pinned and unpinned status of apps in the taskbar.
[File Explorer]- Fixed an issue which was making File Explorer crash when closing tabs for some people.
- Made another fix for an issue which could cause errant divider lines in File Explorer's navigation pane.
[Settings]- Made a change to hide the battery graph on the Power & Battery page if a UPS is connected, as the capacity information it displayed in that case wasn't correct.
- If you don't have a kiosk set up, we've now updated the text on Accounts > Other Users > Kiosk to make it clearer you need to do that, so it doesn't appear to be a dead end.
- Fixed an issue where if you went into the properties for an audio device, this could make it unexpectedly show in the output devices list on System > Sound although it was actually an input device.
- In the accessibility settings for color filters, the inverted option should work correctly again now and not just set your PC to grayscale colors.
[Other]- Fixed an issue causing some Insiders to see a bugcheck with error SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED in recent builds.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25236 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/11/02/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25236/)
UPDATE 11/4: We are starting to roll out Cumulative Update Build 25236.1010 (KB5021116). This update does not include anything new and is designed to test our servicing pipeline for builds in the Dev Channel.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25247 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/11/18/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25247/)
- We are releasing ISOs for this build – they can be downloaded here (https://aka.ms/wipISO).
- This build includes some new features including Energy Recommendations, some improvements for Task Manager, and changes to the Account settings page.
- This build also introduces some changes and improvements for the Start menu, taskbar and system tray, and more.
- With some of the new features and changes introduced with this build, we have also added some new known issues. Be sure to check these known issues out!
- We're rolling out a new feature for the Microsoft Store – jump list support on the taskbar! See details below.
- Insider Windows 11 Season 2 continues with episode 3 featuring touch improvements in the Windows 11 2022 Update.
- We will not be releasing new builds next week to Windows Insiders as the team enjoys some downtime for the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday.
What's newAccess Windows Studio Effects from Quick SettingsWindows Studio effects (https://support.microsoft.com/windows/manage-cameras-with-camera-settings-in-windows-11-97997ed5-bb98-47b6-a13d-964106997757) can now be accessed directly from Quick Settings on the taskbar, for devices that have a supported Neural Processing Unit (NPU). This makes it quick and easy to enable and configure camera effects (Background Blur, Eye Contact, and automatic framing) and audio effects (Voice Focus). You can still access these effects in the Settings pages if desired.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Quick Settings.Energy RecommendationsWe are beginning to roll out Energy Recommendations under
Settings > System > Power & Battery > Energy Recommendations. Review and apply these recommendations to improve the energy efficiency of your PC and reduce your carbon footprint.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Power and Battery > Energy Recommendations.Task Manager ImprovementsWe have a set of Task Manager improvements rolling out with this build.
Filter processes: We are bringing process filtering to Task Manager. This is the top feature request from our users to filter/search for processes. You can filter either using the binary name, PID or publisher name. The filter algorithm matches the context keyword with all possible matches and displays them on the current page. The filter is also applied as you switch between pages. You can also use the keyboard shortcut ALT + F to focus on the filter box. This is a helpful feature if you want to single out a process or a group of processes and want to take action or just monitor the performance of the filtered processes.
The new search box at the top of Task Manager allows you to filter Binary name, PID or Publisher name.
Better theme support: We have added the ability to use your preferred theme in Task Manager regardless of the active theme in Windows. You can set it in the setting page in Task Manager.
You can set your preferred theme specifically for Task Manager regardless of your chosen Windows theme.
Task Manager now also supports themes for in-app dialogs. All dialog except for "Run new task" and Properties dialog now support themes and will adhere to either app specific theme or Windows theme.
In-app dialogs such as selecting columns on the Details page will show in the selected theme for Task Manager.
Improved Efficiency mode dialog: We are making it easy for you to apply Efficiency mode and offering the ability to opt-out of the confirmation dialog. You can make changes on the Efficiency mode dialog box by unchecking "Don't ask me again" or you can enable/disable it the settings for Task Manager.
You can now opt out of seeing future confirmation dialogs when turning on Efficiency mode.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Task Manager.New Suggested ActionOn copying text with search potential, Windows will pop up an inline light dismissible UI that suggests searching this text in Microsoft Edge. Upon user selection of the search action, a new Edge tab is launched to search the copied text. This will initially be available for Insiders in the U.S. only.
When copying text, a light dismissible UI will appear that suggests searching the text in Microsoft Edge.
[We are beginning to roll this feature out, so it isn't available to all Insiders just yet as we plan to monitor feedback and see how it lands before pushing it out to everyone.]FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Suggested actions on copy.Updates to your cloud storage in settings for Windows 11With today's build, the Settings app supports new visuals on your Accounts page to provide a visual overview of your cloud storage usage across Microsoft products. The new visuals include a consolidated cloud storage bar that shows your storage usage for each product and notifies you if you're running low on storage. We removed the quota bar from our subscriptions card to eliminate duplication on these visuals.
In the months to come, you will also see updates to what Microsoft 365 apps and services data is included in your cloud storage. These updates may impact your storage amount starting February 1st, 2023. Learn more about cloud storage here. (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linked=2204581)
A consolidated storage quota bar shown on Accounts page in Settings app with a banner that will alert you if you're running low on storage.
[We are beginning to roll this feature out, so it isn't available to all Insiders just yet as we plan to monitor feedback and see how it lands before pushing it out to everyone.]FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Settings > User Profile Account Settings.Changes and Improvements[General]- Earlier this week, we released an optional .NET update (2022-11 Cumulative Update Preview for .NET Framework 3.5 and 4.8.1 for Windows Version Next for x64 (KB5020992)) to Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel designed to test delivery of .NET improvements in the future. This .NET update does not include anything new and will be available under Settings > Windows Update > Advanced Options > Optional Updates If you run into any issues finding or installing this update, please submit feedback via Feedback Hub.
[Start menu]- We've been working on adding more valuable content to the Recommended section in Start and are excited to introduce a new content type: websites. For the first phase, we will recommend common websites based on your region or browsing history to help you easily get back to the websites you care about. This can be controlled by right-clicking on a website and choosing to remove that website individually or to stop showing all recommended websites entirely. Only some Insiders will see this experience and, if you do, please share your feedback.
[Taskbar & System Tray]- In response to user feedback, we are introducing the capability to show seconds in the clock on the system tray. This feature can be enabled by toggling the option listed under Settings > Personalization > Taskbar in the Taskbar behavior section. You can also right-click on taskbar to quickly get to taskbar settings. We are beginning to roll this change out so not all Windows Insiders will see this change right away, but we hope to make it available to everyone soon.
We're adding the ability to show seconds in the system tray clock under Settings > Personalization > Taskbar under the Taskbar behavior section.
[Search on the Taskbar]- We made performance improvements that will allow more files and content on your PC to show up as results in the Windows search box. We look forward to hearing your feedback on whether you notice an improvement with your file results within Windows.
[Input]- Switched the touch keyboard icon option under Settings > Personalization > Taskbar from being a toggle to now being a dropdown where you can select Never, Always, or When no keyboard attached.
- We are including two new keyboard layouts in this flight. These keyboards implement the two new French keyboard layout standards (AZERTY and BÉPO). The new layouts are designed to allow the user to type all the required characters of the French language. They also include support for all the Latin-based languages of the European Union as well as Greek letters and a large variety of scientific, mathematical, and financial symbols. To enable one of these layouts, go to Settings > Time & language > Language & region and select Language options under the ellipsis for the language you would like to use this keyboard with. On the Options page, select "Add a keyboard" and look for the new keyboard layouts "French (Standard, AZERTY)" or "French (Standard, BÉPO)". The previous AZERTY layout now displays as (Legacy, AZERTY).
- We have made improvements to Emoji search for Japanese and Simplified Chinese by handling Kana/Kanji and Pinyin properly in the emoji panel.
Fixes[General]- Fixed a bug causing some users to receive a SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION bugcheck citing an error with win32kfull.sys when installing via the Build 25227 Dev Channel ISO. Today's release of the Build 25247 ISO should not exhibit this bug.
- We fixed the issue causing pseudolocalized (https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudolocalization) text to unexpectedly appear across the system for Insiders, leading to (amongst other things) what appeared to be garbled text in the navigation headings of Start's all apps list for Chinese users.
[Taskbar & System Tray]- When using the bottom right edge gesture to see Quick Settings, the tablet-optimized taskbar will no longer be stuck in the expanded state, instead of dismissing to collapsed state.
- Fixed multiple explorer.exe crashes impacting taskbar performance.
- Fixed the issue where certain chat apps (that supported it) weren't flashing with new messages or opening a preview on hover in the system tray.
- The new show hidden icons flyout's animation should now be consistent with other taskbar flyouts and the arrow will now rotate when open versus closed.
- Fixed an issue causing the do not disturb icon to disappear while in do not disturb mode.
- Fixed an issue where invoking the context menu for items in the system tray might not put the context menu in the foreground and it would get stuck behind the taskbar.
- The pin/unpin visual will now display when dragging system tray icons to any position along the system tray, and not only when hovering over the show hidden icons button.
- The show hidden icons flyout background color should now align with your accent color if "Show accent color on Start and taskbar" is enabled in Settings > Personalization > Colors.
- Fixed an issue where the taskbar was sometimes flashing when transitioning between desktop posture and tablet posture.
- Fixed an issue which was causing certain third-party app icons in the system tray to be unresponsive after the latest system tray changes.
- The Windows Update icon in the system tray should no longer look pixelated after changing between light and dark mode.
- Fixed an issue that was causing the NVIDIA icon in the system tray to show empty notifications.
- Fixed an issue where the weak charger warning (a warning icon on the battery icon) in some cases was not displaying when it should have been.
[Input]- Fixed a bug that caused the text cursor to become white on white when hovering over text fields, making it difficult to see.
- Fixed an issue which could result in the touch keyboard / PIN entry keyboard being unable to input text on the login screen.
- Fixed a recent issue where the Japanese IME candidate window might fail to display proper candidates when using reconversion in certain edit controls.
- We're rolling out changes to improve the reliability of the touch keyboard, IME candidate window, and IME toolbar. It includes fixes for an issue where the IME candidate window and IME toolbar weren't shown or cropped sometimes and an issue where a blank window titled "Windows Input Experience" appeared sometimes after resuming from the sleep.
- We addressed a rare issue which could lead to certain apps crashing after interacting with incorrectly spelled words that were flagged by the spellchecker.
[File Explorer]- Fixed a GDI handle leak when opening Show More Options in the context menu, which could lead to graphical issues and an explorer.exe crash over time if you used this a lot.
- Fixed an issue for Insiders using the Arabic or Hebrew display language which was leading to text not displaying in the context menu when selecting Show More Options.
- Fixes a bug that was preventing certain phones from showing up in File Explorer when connected via USB in the last 2 Dev Channel flights.
- When connecting an iPhone via USB, iPhone photos will now be transferred in HEIF format instead of JPEG if the HEVC extension (https://apps.microsoft.com/store/detail/hevc-video-extensions/9NMZLZ57R3T7) is installed.
- Fixed an issue which was causing .dotx Word templates to open as new documents instead of a template when you right clicked them and selected Open in File Explorer.
[Settings]- Fixed an issue which was causing Settings to crash sometimes when connecting and disconnecting Bluetooth devices.
[Windowing]- Fixed an issue where if you maximized a window and then dragged it along the top of the screen into the corner could result in the app getting stuck not being able to resize.
- Apps like Microsoft Edge should no longer unexpectedly show thick lines on the side of the windows.
- Fixed a DWM crash which was introduced in the latest Dev Channel flights.
- If you have two monitors on top of each other, the Desktops list in Task View should no longer appear to be floating in the middle of Task View.
[Other]- Switching projection modes using WIN + P / the Project section of Quick Settings should work again now.
- Fixed a high hitting displayswitch.exe crash in recent Dev Channel builds.
- If memory integrity in the Windows Security app cannot be enabled due to incompatible drivers, the information about which drivers are incompatible is now selectable so you can copy it if needed.
- Fixed an issue where the dismiss button for alerts in the Windows Security app might not work.
- Fixed a rare issue which could lead to a DWM.exe crash when taking screenshots using the Xbox Game Bar.
- Fixed an issue where if you booted from an ISO to install Windows, the Windows Setup dialog would just show the text "Status" rather than actually displaying helpful text about the current status.
- Addressed a few issues when booting from an ISO to install Windows, where various items in the Windows Setup dialog weren't being read out correctly by Narrator.
- Fixed issue where users sometimes could not use FIDO keys to log onto your PC when a full-screen logon message was displayed.
- Fixed a background crash for Windows Hello which was impacting setup and usage.
- Improved the experience on logon after booting up by reducing the performance impact of startup apps.
- Made a change to address a date formatting interoperability issue which was leading to domain login issues on some network shares.
- Did some work to fix an issue causing VmmemWSL to sometimes use an unexpectedly large amount of CPU and lead to freezing on ARM64 PCs over time.
- We fixed a bug which could cause your wallpaper to render only a partial section at the top sometimes.
- Fixed an issue what could lead MSTSC to stop responding when connecting to a RemoteApp or remote desktop.
- Fixed an issue which was causing https://learn.microsoft.com/previous-versions/windows/it-pro/windows-server-2012-R2-and-2012/cc771525(v=ws.11)[the%20runas%20command to unexpectedly fail in certain cases with error 87 saying the parameter was incorrect (when it wasn't).
- Fixed the Windows version name written in Microsoft Management Console's help section.
NOTE: Some fixes noted here in Insider Preview builds from the Dev Channel may make their way into the servicing updates for the released version of Windows 11.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25252 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/11/28/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25252/)
Changes and Improvements[Taskbar & System Tray]- We have added a glanceable VPN status into the system tray when connected to a recognized VPN profile (https://support.microsoft.com/windows/connect-to-a-vpn-in-windows-3d29aeb1-f497-f6b7-7633-115722c1009c#WindowsVersion=Windows_11). The VPN icon, a small shield, will be overlayed in your system accent color over the active network connection.
[Search on the Taskbar]- In this build, we are continuing to try out different treatments for how search looks on the taskbar. We are excited to learn from your feedback on this, so please let us know what you think via Feedback Hub if you see the different treatments on your PC. Insiders who get this experience will have the ability to change the treatment of search on taskbar in settings under Settings > Personalization > Taskbar > Taskbar Items.
Fixes[Taskbar & System Tray]- Fixed an explorer.exe crash when using Alt+F4 with the show hidden icons flyout in the system tray open.
- Fixed multiple explorer.exe crashes impacting system tray performance.
- Updated the battery icon's tooltip to let you know if your device is charging slowly.
- Made a small refinement for tablet-optimized taskbar users to make it a bit easier to expand the taskbar without invoking the Start menu.
- Fixed an issue which could lead to the taskbar jump lists and preview thumbnails not appearing in the correct position for Insiders with 2 in 1 PCs.
[Start menu]- We fixed an issue causing folders in Start menu to not open on the first try.
[Other]- Fixed an issue causing some Insiders to see a bugcheck with the error SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION after upgrading to the previous flight.
- Fixed an issue which was causing certain apps (including Media Player) to crash when playing media in the background in recent flights.
- Fixed an issue which could lead to your PC going to sleep although it was configured to not sleep.
- Fixed an issue where network-to-local copying (for example, when copying a file from a network share) was slower than expected from some users.
Screen recording in Snipping Tool begins rolling out to Windows Insiders (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/12/08/screen-recording-in-snipping-tool-begins-rolling-out-to-windows-insiders/)
Hello Windows Insiders, today we are beginning to roll out an update to the Snipping Tool app (version 11.2211.35.0) for Windows 11 to Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel.
We know that Snipping Tool is a favorite among the Insider community, so we are very excited to introduce a built-in screen recorder with this update! Snipping Tool has always made it quick and easy to capture and share content from your PC, and with screen recording built-in, we are expanding these capabilities to even more types of content.
To get started, open the Snipping Tool app and select the new record option. You will then be able to select and refine the part of your screen that you want to record before starting your screen recording session. When you are finished, you can preview your recording before saving or sharing it with others.
We are aware of a couple issues that may impact your experience with this preview. Some users might notice a slight delay between when you click "Start" and when the recording begins. There is also a known issue where the Snipping Tool app window does not restore when initiating a new snip from within the app.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Apps > Snipping Tool.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25262 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/12/09/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25262/)
The December Bug Bash is running in the Feedback Hub for Insiders in the Dev and Beta Channels from now through to 11:59pm PST December 12th. Insiders who participate (by filing feedback or completing quests on the latest builds for their channel) will receive a badge in the Feedback Hub once the Bug Bash is over.
Changes and Improvements[Widgets]- In the most recent update for Widgets, we are removing the sign-in requirement for the widgets board and making it available for all users. Now, you can now get weather updates on the taskbar, pin widgets from your favorite apps or access personalized dynamic feed without an account.
[Settings]- Added a link to Quick Assist (//'https://support.microsoft.com/windows/solve-pc-problems-over-a-remote-connection-b077e31a-16f4-2529-1a47-21f6a9040bf3') at the bottom of Settings > System > Troubleshooters, to help if you're having issues with your PC.
Fixes[General]- Fixed an issue where if the Widgets app package was missing on your PC, explorer.exe would crash in a loop after upgrading to Build 25252. This issue is also believed to be the cause of Windows Sandbox not working in this build.
- Fixed an issue that caused secondary drives or other PCI devices to not be viewable for certain Insiders.
[Taskbar & System Tray]- Fixed an issue where, with the system tray design updates, auto-hiding the taskbar would stop working after you had interacted with the hidden icons flyout.
- Fixed an issue that was causing a gap between full screen windows and the taskbar on secondary monitors.
- The system tray area should no longer shift as the numbers change in the clock.
- Fixed an issue causing the top half of the media controls in Quick Settings to be missing sometimes.
[Search on the Taskbar]- We fixed the issue where you needed to press backspace after typing before you will see results for certain files ending with .cmd, .exe or .bat.
- Improved the performance of launching the search window in certain cases.
The fixes only apply for Windows Insiders who received one of the different treatments for how search looks on the taskbar that began rolling out to Insiders with Build 25252: (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/11/28/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25252/)
- Fixed an issue where the search box would not show up on multiple monitors as expected when clicking on either one.
- Fixed an issue when clicking the search box on taskbar, the search box would momentarily flash before the Search flyout displayed.
[Input]- Fixed an issue where when dragging a window to a monitor with lower DPI your mouse might appear to jump away from the window it was holding.
[File Explorer]- Fixed an issue causing explorer.exe to crash when opening certain items from the Recent section in File Explorer.
[Settings]- The Wi-Fi section of Quick Settings should no longer unexpectedly sometimes say network venue on certain entries.
[Task Mananager- Fixed an issue where the graphs on the performance page in Task Manager might not update (even though the real time update speed setting wasn't paused).
[Other]- The Microsoft Account sign in window should no longer unexpectedly sometimes have a black title bar when using light mode.
- Adjusted the text when using the Wireless Display feature if you haven't enabled input yet, so it guides you to the correct place to do that.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25267 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/12/14/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25267/)
ISOs for this build are coming soon. Also:
- This build includes another good set of improvements and fixes for Insiders.
- Insider Windows 11 Season 2 continues with episode 4 featuring Focus and the tabs in File Explorer in the Windows 11 2022 Update.
- This will be our last Dev Channel flight for the holidays. We'll be back with new builds in January 2023!
Changes and Improvements
[Search on the Taskbar]- We are continuing to try out different treatments for how search looks on the taskbar that began with Build 25252 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/11/28/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25252/). Insiders in the Dev Channel will begin seeing an updated treatment with more rounded corners starting with this build. If you see the new treatment, you can right-click on the taskbar to open taskbar settings and adjust the experience.
Fixes
[General]- Fixed an issue which caused some Insiders to have issues casting (with WIN + K) in the previous flight.
[Taskbar & System Tray]- Fixed an issue causing the Bluetooth section of Quick Settings to crash for some people.
- Updated the Quick Settings icons in the taskbar when using a screen reader so if you set focus to each of the icons it no longer includes the words system state and instead just says what the icon is (for example instead of "system volume state" it just says "volume").
- If focus is set to an app icon on the taskbar and you use ALT + Shift + Left/Right to move it, Narrator will now say that it has been moved.
- Fixed a high hitting explorer.exe crash which was impacting some Insiders in the last two flights.
[Search on the Taskbar] --
The fixes only apply for Windows Insiders who received one of the different treatments for how search looks on the taskbar that began rolling out to Insiders with Build 25252: (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/11/28/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25252/)- We fixed the issue causing a search box which appeared to be floating on the desktop when you changed your primary monitor or plugged in an external display.
- Text in the search box should no longer be clipped on the bottom when using increased text scaling.
[Input]- Clicking the notification received the first time you press ALT + Shift should open the customize option now, rather than unexpectedly opening a Command Prompt window.
- We fixed an issue which was causing the first candidate item to be invisible or clipped sometimes in the Simplified Chinese IME candidate window.
[File Explorer]- Fixed an issue where using "Browse for Folder" from an app was only showing Desktop (and no other folders) for some people.
[Settings]- If a Windows Update failed to install, the error code in Windows Update history can now be selected if you want to copy it out.
[Other]- Fixed an issue where restartable copies of a file (for example using robocopy (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows-server/administration/windows-commands/robocopy)) with alternate data streams were hanging frequently in the latest Dev Channel builds.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25272 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/01/05/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25272/)
The first Dev Channel flight for 2023, has a nice set of improvements and fixes for Insiders.
[Changes and Improvements][General]- Moved Quick Assist out of Windows Tools so it displays directly in the Start menu's All apps list and is easier to find.
- We are removing the suggestion action for searching copied text in Microsoft Edge and showing recommend common websites on the Recommended section in Start – both of which began rolling out with Build 25247 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/11/18/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25247/). Thanks to all the Insiders who gave us feedback on these two experiences. As a reminder, features and experiences we try out in the Dev Channel may get removed and never released beyond the Dev Channel as we incubate new ideas and get feedback from Insiders.
[WSL]- Starting with Build 25267, the inbox version of Windows Subsystem for Linux has been removed. When you install a build with this change if you're a WSL user you will need to update to the latest WSL version outlined here in this GitHub post (https://github.com/Microsoft/WSL/issues/9355) to ensure WSL continues working on your PC. Once you have done that, WSL will continue working on subsequent build updates. In future builds we're looking to have this done automatically.
[Printing]- Added a refresh button to the Windows print queue.
Fixes[General]- Fixed an issue where some Arm64 devices experienced a black screen while resuming from sleep or hibernate.
- Fixed an issue causing various UI elements in apps to disappear and reappear sometimes in recent builds.
[Search on the Taskbar]The fixes only apply for Windows Insiders who received one of the different treatments for how search looks on the taskbar that began rolling out to Insiders with Build 25252: (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/11/28/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25252/)
- We fixed the issue causing the search box on taskbar to not render correctly and display visual artifacts.
- Japanese IME candidate items should display correctly now inside the search box on the taskbar.
[Task Manager]- Fixed an issue causing filtering by publisher name to not match correctly on the Processes page.
- Fixed an issue causing some services to not show in the Services page after filtering is applied.
- Fixed an issue which resulted in new processes appearing in a filtered list if launched while a filter is set.
- Fixed an issue where Task Manager did not display light and dark content correctly, rendering potentially unreadable text.
- Fixed an issue causing the Startup apps page in Task manager to not list any apps for some Insiders.
- If there are no matching search results, Task Manager will now explicitly say that.
- Fixed a Task Manager crash that could happen when attempting to end certain processes.
- You can now set focus to the search box by pressing CTRL + F.
[Narrator]- Fixed an issue that was causing Settings to crash after turning Narrator on or off in Lithuanian and Hungarian builds.
- Narrator should now be working correctly with Windows Defender Application Guard for Edge.
[Live Captions]- We fixed the issue that was causing Live Captions to not work in the latest Insider Preview builds in the Dev Channel.
[Input]- When using the Japanese IME with Narrator, Narrator will no longer read out the entire composition string each time you press a key.
- The message displayed the first time you use ALT + Shift should no longer display if you only have one input language installed.
- Fixed an issue where the Surface Pen could no longer advance PowerPoint slides in recent builds.
- Made a change to help improve performance when using a high report rate mouse while gaming.
- Fixed an issue where if you used the touch gesture for opening the Start menu, it could get stuck halfway.
- Fixed an issue which could cause Excel to stop responding on certain mouse drag events when using the Japanese or Chinese IMEs.
[Settings]- Fixed an issue which could cause a hang if you cancelled out of certification authentication when connecting to VPN.
- Fixed an issue which was causing Settings to crash when opening Power and Battery sometimes.
- Fixed an issue causing Quick Settings crashes sometimes when navigating to the Bluetooth section.
- Fixed an issue where the app icons under Settings > Apps > Default apps might be blurry.
[Windowing]- Fixed an issue causing a black screen when ALT + Tabbing out of certain games in recent builds.
- The maximize button should no longer be slightly smaller than the close and minimize buttons when you highlight it in File Explorer and certain other apps while using dark mode.
- Fixed a couple DWM crashes that were introduced in recent builds.
[Other]- Fixed an issue which was causing some Windows Security app crashes.
- Fixed an issue where the print queue was showing stale job information for printer connection printers.
- Fixed an issue where when creating a FIDO2 credential for a website in a browser, you might see the dialog twice in a row in certain cases.
- This build contains the fix for an issue impacting Windows Hello on certain PCs. We are continuing to investigate an issue specific to Arm64 PCs (see known issues).
- Fixed an issue which could lead to the Camera app showing that something went wrong if you pressed Pause while recording video.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25276 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/01/12/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25276/)
- We are releasing ISOs for this build – they can be downloaded here (https://aka.ms/wipISO).
- The build includes a change for Task Manager, improvements to the Settings account page, and a good set of improvements and fixes for Windows Insiders.
- Previews (https://blogs.windows.com/devices/2022/10/12/introducing-new-surface-devices-that-take-the-windows-pc-into-the-next-era-of-computing/) of the Apple Music (https://www.microsoft.com/store/apps/9PFHDD62MXS1), Apple TV (https://www.microsoft.com/store/apps/9NM4T8B9JQZ1)and Apple Devices (https://www.microsoft.com/store/apps/9NP83LWLPZ9K)apps are available in the Microsoft Store on Windows 11, limited to the U.S. We look forward to hearing your feedback.
- We are replacing the Network Troubleshooter in the OS with a new network connectivity troubleshooting experience through the Get Help app – details below.
What's newCreate live kernel memory dumps in Task ManagerWe are introducing a set of new developer-focused features in Task Manager to aid the collection of live kernel memory dumps (LKDs). This is in addition to the existing "Memory dump" for user mode processes. The goal of kernel live dump is to gather data to troubleshoot an abnormal situation but allow the OS to continue operation. This reduces downtime when compared to a bug check for "non-fatal" but high-impact failures and hangs. Click here (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows-hardware/drivers/debugger/bug-check-code-reference-live-dump) for more info on live kernel dumps.
To capture a live kernel memory dump (LKD), go to the Details page in Task Manager, right-click on the
System process and the context menu should light up to show
"Create live kernel memory dump file" to capture a Full live kernel or Kernel stack memory dumps.
The dumps will be written to a fixed location:
%LocalAppData%\Microsoft\Windows\TaskManager\LiveKernelDumpsChoose the new "Create live kernel memory dump file" option when right-clicking on a process on the details page in Task Manager. You can also go to the Task Manager Settings page to view/edit the settings for live kernel memory dumps. Configure live kernel dumps options in Task Manager settings.
[We are beginning to roll this feature out, so it isn't available to all Insiders in the Dev Channel just yet as we plan to monitor feedback and see how it lands before pushing it out to everyone.]FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Task Manager.Updates to your cloud storage in settings for Windows 11In November, we introduced a visual overview of your cloud storage usage in Settings app. As we mentioned here (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/11/18/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25247/#:~:text=Updates%20to%20your%20cloud%20storage%20in%20settings%20for%20Windows%2011), you will see updates to the Microsoft 365 apps and service data included in your cloud storage. Outlook attachment data will be included in your cloud storage as displayed on the visual with today's build. This change will gradually roll out starting with a small number of insiders, so not everyone will see it right away. You may see an alert regarding your storage usage; however, it does not impact your storage amount as early as February 1st, 2023. Learn more about cloud storage here. (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=2204581)
A consolidated storage quota bar shown on Accounts page in Settings app with a banner that will alert you if you're running low on storage.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Settings > User Profile Account Settings.Changes and Improvements[General]- We have updated the dialog that shows when an app has a known compatibility issue to use the new Windows 11 design.
[Windows Security]- We are temporarily disabling the updated the Windows Security (firewall) notification dialogs that match the Windows 11 visuals that we introduced with Build 25267 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/12/14/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25267/). We plan to re-introduce this change in a future flight after addressing some bugs.
- Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25267 and later Pro editions no longer allow a user to connect to a remote share by using guest credentials by default, even if the remote server requests guest credentials. This matches the stronger security of the Enterprise and Education editions that's been in place since Windows 10, to further improve Windows 11 default security. For more information on this behavior and to configure insecure guest authentication to a third party SMB server device that only supports guest authentication, review this documentation (https://learn.microsoft.com/troubleshoot/windows-server/networking/guest-access-in-smb2-is-disabled-by-default).
Fixes[Taskbar & System Tray]- Fixed an issue where switching windows through taskbar previews wasn't working.
- Fixed multiple explorer.exe crashes affecting the system tray.
- When opening a flyout from the taskbar, pressing the Esc key to close the flyout should now return keyboard focus to the button it was invoked from.
[Search on the Taskbar]The fixes only apply for Windows Insiders who received one of the different treatments for how search looks on the taskbar that began rolling out to Insiders with Build 25252: (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/11/28/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25252/)
- We fixed the layout issues with the text in the search box on taskbar when using right-to-left display languages like Arabic.
- Fixed an issue where the selected search style in Taskbar Settings wasn't persisting across updates. This setting should persist now on subsequent Insider Preview build upgrades.
[File Explorer]- Fixed an explorer.exe crash which could happen when opening File Explorer, related to loading your recent files.
[Voice access]- Voice access will now work correctly for entering numbers in the Calculator app.
- Fixed a crash when giving move left and right commands with voice access.
[Input]- Fixed an issue where the "insert text" button wasn't working when using the Pinyin IME in double pinyin mode.
[Widgets]- Fixed an issue where the widgets board will get stuck open in an invisible state for Insiders in China (and potentially others), causing clicks on the left side of the screen to not work. If you're continuing to experience this, please make sure to check the Microsoft Store for the latest app updates.
[Other]- To improve clarity, when Windows Defender Credential Guard (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/security/identity-protection/credential-guard/credential-guard-manage) is enabled, when attempting to use remote desktop with default credentials, it will now explicitly say "Windows Defender Credential Guard does not allow using Windows logon credentials. Please enter your credentials".
NOTE: Some fixes noted here in Insider Preview builds from the Dev Channel may make their way into the servicing updates for the released version of Windows 11.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25281 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/01/19/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25281/)
- Starting with this build, we are trying out improvements to Windows Spotlight and introducing a visual update to the graphics settings page. And of course, a handful of fixes too. Details below!
- Tabs in Notepad have begun rolling out to Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel – see this blog post here (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/01/19/tabs-in-notepad-begins-rolling-out-to-windows-insiders/).
What's newImproving Windows SpotlightStarting with this build, we are beginning to try out different treatments for how Windows Spotlight looks. All treatments will continue to share existing core Windows Spotlight features such as hovering over the icon on the desktop, right-clicking on the icon on the desktop, and double-clicking on the icon on the desktop. The treatments for Spotlight will include richer UI around displaying the title and description and learning more information about the image displayed on your desktop via Spotlight. We're also trying out different ways of switching to different pictures with previews, a full-screen experience, and a minimized experience.
Insiders in the Dev Channel will see different treatments across their PCs so not everyone will see the same thing and the treatments will be shown in English only.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Windows Spotlight.Changes and Improvements[Settings]- Aligning with the new Windows 11 design principles, we've redesigned the graphics settings page under Settings > Display > Graphics to help you get to graphics configurations such as 'GPU preference' and 'Auto HDR' with greater ease. The functionality of these settings remains unchanged from prior versions of Windows, but we now have a more streamlined visual appearance. For more on all the graphics settings in Windows 11 – check out this blog post on the DirectX Blog (https://devblogs.microsoft.com/directx/navigating-the-redesigned-graphics-settings-page).
- When removing a paired Bluetooth device from Settings > Bluetooth and Devices, it will no longer pop up a prompt to confirm before removing it.
Fixes[Taskbar & System Tray]- Updated the printer icon in the system tray when printing something, so it better aligns with other modern icons.
- When navigating the taskbar using WIN + T and arrow keys, the position of the app icon should now be called out by Narrator (for example, File Explorer might say "one out of fifteen", if it's in the first position and there are 15 app icons on your taskbar).
[File Explorer]- Updated the error dialog when network discovery is off so that it points to the correct location to enable it.
- Fixed an explorer.exe crash which could happen when closing File Explorer.
[Settings]- Fixed an issue where SSID wasn't being populated on the properties page for your Wi-Fi in Network & Internet Settings.
- In the scenario where you are prompted with the UAC dialog when switching a network between private and public, that UAC dialog should now come to the foreground rather than being behind other windows.
- Fixed an issue where Quick Settings might not be able to re-open after going to the Wi-Fi section and closing the flyout.
[Windowing]- Right clicking a snap group in Task View and selecting "show this group on all desktops" shouldn't crash explorer.exe anymore.
[Other]- Fixed an issue where Narrator wasn't announcing when the @ mentions window popped up in Outlook.
- Fixed an issue that could cause some app uninstalls to get stuck and fail the uninstall in the last few builds.
- Fixed an issue which was causing the Windows print queue window to crash sometimes in recent builds.
- Fixed an issue which could cause SQL Server Management Studio to fail to launch.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25284 (http://'https//blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/01/25/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25284/)
- This build will not be available for Arm64 devices due to a known issue (listed below) that is resulting in devices getting stuck at the OS boot logo.
- We have a new widget for Insiders in the Dev Channel to try!
- This build includes a small set of fixes.
What's newNew WidgetWith the release of Windows App SDK 1.2 (https://blogs.windows.com/windowsdeveloper/2022/11/16/whats-new-in-windows-app-sdk-1-2/) developers are now able to create widgets for their apps. Users can access these experiences on their Windows 11 widgets board in current Dev Channel Insider Preview builds.
Ready to try out a new widget? The Messenger (http://https//www.microsoft.com/store/productId/9WZDNCRF0083) app now has a preview version of its widget available. To give it a try, go to the Microsoft Store and update to the latest version of Messenger. Then open the widgets board and navigate to the widgets picker by clicking the "+" button at the top-right of the board to pin your widget.
As you give this widget a try, please let us know what you think through the Widgets feedback link in the widgets picker. You should expect to see additional new widgets as more developers create and release widgets for their apps.
Fixes[Taskbar & System Tray]- Fixed an issue where right clicking on certain icons in the hidden icons flyout would make the flyout dismiss rather than bringing up the context menu for that icon.
[Search on the Taskbar]The fixes only apply for Windows Insiders who received one of the different treatments for how search looks on the taskbar that began rolling out to Insiders with Build 25252: (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/11/28/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25252/)
- Fixed an explorer.exe crash which was impacting some Insiders, related to the search box in the taskbar.
[Input]- When search suggestions are triggered while using the Pinyin IME, keyboard focus will now stay on the current candidate. To move focus to the search suggestions, press Tab.
[Windowing]- Fixed an issue for PCs with touch, where when using certain apps in full screen mode it wasn't possible to swipe down from the top of the screen to make the title bar appear.
[Other]- Fixed an issue which was causing certain apps to hang or crash when saving files as PDF in the last few builds.
- Fixed an issue where using the cast option in an app may unexpectedly not show any devices in recent builds.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25290 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/02/01/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25290/)
- This build is available for Arm64 devices as the known issue that resulted in not releasing Build 25284 to Arm64 last week has been fixed.
- We have more new widgets for Insiders in the Dev Channel to try!
- This build includes a set of general improvements and fixes.
What's newNew Widgets: Spotify and Phone LinkLast week, we promoted a preview of the widget for the Messenger (https://www.microsoft.com/store/productId/9WZDNCRF0083) app. Spotify (https://www.microsoft.com/store/productId/9NCBCSZSJRSB) and Phone Link (https://apps.microsoft.com/store/detail/phone-link/9NMPJ99VJBWV) are now rolling out preview versions of their widgets as well. To give them a try, go to the widgets collection in the Microsoft Store and update to the latest version of the apps. Then open the widgets board and navigate to the widgets picker by clicking the "+" button at the top-right of the board to pin your widgets.
As you give these and other new widgets a try, please let us know what you think through the Widgets feedback link in the widgets picker. You should expect to see additional new widgets as more developers create and release widgets for their apps.
With the release of Windows App SDK 1.2 (https://blogs.windows.com/windowsdeveloper/2022/11/16/whats-new-in-windows-app-sdk-1-2/) developers are now able to create widgets for their apps. Users can access these experiences on their Windows 11 widgets board in current Dev Channel Insider Preview builds. If you're interested in developing a widget, watch our latest tutorial video: https://youtu.be/PUhYfRepxvc
Changes and Improvements[Start menu]- Back in October with Build 25227 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/10/19/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25227/), we started trying out a small change to the Start menu where some Insiders saw badging on their user profile notifying them that certain actions need to be taken. We concluded that initial exploration in November. Starting today, we are starting a new exploration of badging on the Start menu with two new treatments that some Insiders in the Dev Channel will see. If you see one of these treatments, give us feedback on what you think. As a reminder (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/02/03/whats-coming-for-the-windows-insider-program-in-2022/), it is normal for us to try out different concepts in the Dev Channel to get feedback.
Fixes[General]- We fixed the issue causing Arm64 devices to fail to resume from sleep/hibernate when running Build 25281 and getting stuck at the OS boot logo.
- Fixed an issue where some Insiders may have issues accessing websites and other resources via VPN connections. If you used the workaround documented in this forum post (https://aka.ms/25284VPN), please reverse those changes once you have this new build installed.
- Fixed an issue causing some Insiders to experience freezes when using the browser and certain other apps in recent Dev Channel builds.
[Taskbar & System Tray]- Fixed an explorer.exe crash which could cause the taskbar not to load for some Insiders.
[Search on the Taskbar]The fixes only apply for Windows Insiders who received one of the different treatments for how search looks on the taskbar that began rolling out to Insiders with Build 25252: (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/11/28/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25252/)
- Fixed an issue where the search box would randomly disappear sometimes when you clicked it (leaving a blank space on the taskbar).
- Fixed an issue where the search box was shifting to the side slightly when you clicked it.
[Task Manager]- Fixed an issue where the data content area of the Processes page might flash once when theme changes were applied in the Task Manager Settings page.
- Fixed an issue where some dialogs did not render in the correct theme when applied from Task Manager Settings page.
- Fixed an issue where properties in the Memory section of the Performance page were getting truncated even though there was space to display them.
- Reduced the transparency of graph colors in the Performance page, and adjusted the borders, to help make them stand out more.
- Fixed a few issues causing Task Manager crashes.
- Typing F in the search box should work again now.
- You now shouldn't have to make Task Manager be as wide before the navigation pane appears.
- If text scaling has been increased, the search box shouldn't overlap with the title bar text anymore.
- Made some tweaks to address cases where text in dialogs was getting cut off when text scaling was increased.
- Fixes an issue where certain parts of the title bar couldn't be used to drag the window.
[Windows Spotlight]The following fixes only apply for Windows Insiders who received one of the different treatments of Windows Spotlight that began rolling out to Insiders with Build 25281 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/01/19/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25281/)
:- We fixed the issue causing some people to not get a consistent refresh of images on a daily basis.
[Settings]- Fixed an issue where the preview for Sans Serif Collection in Personalization > Fonts was displaying broken glyphs.
[Other]- Fixed an issue that was preventing Narrator from announcing dropdown lists in Excel.
- Fixed an underlying issue which could cause Snipping Tool screenshots to become stretched out and distorted in the last few builds if you had multiple monitors.
- Fixed an issue which could cause a bugcheck with SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION.
- Fixed an issue which could make the Open With dialog crash on launch.
- Fixed an issue where the Open File dialog would hang if you clicked it while using an IME after having selected "Choose an app on your PC" from the Open With dialog.
- Fixed an issue which could cause Group Policy Editor to unexpectedly show "An error has occurred in the script on this page" with an invalid character error when editing a group policy.
- If you have OpenSSH Server set to start at boot (instead of manual), that preference should be remembered across OS upgrades now. Please note, you need to be on a build with this fix before it will take effect with your next upgrade.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25295 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/02/09/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25295/)
What's newNew commercial policy: Enable features introduced via servicing that are off by defaultThis new policy enables commercial customers to enable features introduced via servicing (outside of the annual feature update) that are off by default for devices that have their Windows updates managed. Windows update managed devices are those that have their Windows updates managed via policy; whether via the cloud using Windows Update for Business or on-premises with Windows Server Update Services (WSUS). While this policy is available for Insider Preview builds in the Dev Channel, there aren't any features currently in Dev Channel behind the policy. However, we expect to make this policy available in the Beta Channel shortly where there are features behind the policy. Learn more about this new policy here (https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/windows-it-pro-blog/commercial-control-for-continuous-innovation/ba-p/3737575).
Changes and Improvements[General]- Users will now see a copy button for quickly copying two-factor authentication (2FA) codes in notification toasts from apps installed on the PC or from phones linked to the PC. We make a best effort to determine if a notification toast has an authentication code but please send us feedback if we got it wrong or if we failed to detect the code in a notification toast.
[Search on the Taskbar]- The new search on the taskbar experience that began rolling out with Build 25252 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/11/28/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25252/) is now available for all Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel. Insiders can change the treatment of search on taskbar in settings under Settings > Personalization > Taskbar > Taskbar Items.
Fixes[General]- The issue causing repeated bugchecks for some Insiders after upgrading to Build 25284+ should be fixed now.
- Made another fix for an issue causing Insiders to experience freezes in recent flights (specifically in this case where apps might freeze if you tried to use them while also trying to play games).
- Fixed an issue where the Update history page under Settings > Windows Update > Update history was blank for some users after installing Build 25290.
- Fixed an issue where some users experienced longer than expected update times installing recent builds. If you experience this issue again, please submit a new feedback item with logs in Feedback Hub.
[File Explorer]- Fixed an issue where the add and close tab buttons weren't working in File Explorer if File Explorer was maximized, and you were using an Arabic or Hebrew display language.
[Input]- Fixed an issue which could lead to app windows becoming unresponsive after using multi-finger on screen touch gestures.
- Fixed an underlying issue which was causing your mouse to appear like pointer trails was enabled when sharing your screen.
[Settings]- The Add a Device dialog should no longer have an unexpectedly big border.
[Windowing]- Fixed an issue which could cause certain apps to move very slowly when you dragged it across the screen.
- Fixed a DWM crash in recent flights which could cause your screen to flash black.
- Fixed an issue where snapped windows might not remember their positions if you disconnected and reconnected your monitor.
[Other]- Fixed an underlying crash impacting the ability the ability for apps using Graphics.Capture (https://learn.microsoft.com/uwp/api/windows.graphics.capture?view=winrt-22621) to take screen captures in recent flights.
- Fixed an underlying issue causing crashes in certain apps when trying to print to PDFs in recent flights.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25300 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/02/15/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25300/)
- We are releasing ISOs for this build – they can be downloaded here (https://aka.ms/wipISO).
- We're introducing live captions in more languages with this build.
- This build includes a set of general changes and improvements as well as some good fixes for some known issues.
What's newIntroducing live captions in more languagesLive captions helps everyone and people who are deaf or hard of hearing read live captions in their native language. The first release of live captions in the Windows 11 2022 Update (https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2022/09/20/available-today-the-windows-11-2022-update/) provided captions in English, with a focus on English (United States). In this build, live captions gains the ability to also provide captions in Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish and other English dialects. We will add more languages as they become available.
To get started, live captions can be turned on with the
WIN + Ctrl + L keyboard shortcut, or from the quick settings accessibility flyout via Quick Settings. When turned on for the first time, live captions will prompt for download of the required speech recognition support to enable on-device captioning. If speech recognition support is not available in your preferred Windows language or you want support in other languages, you will be able to download speech recognition support for live captions under
Settings > Time & Language > Language & region.
We look forward to you trying out live captions in more languages and would love to hear your feedback.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Accessibility > Live captions.Changes and Improvements[Snap layouts]- We are trying out different treatments for snap layouts (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/apps/desktop/modernize/apply-snap-layout-menu) with Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel. We are investigating ways to improve the discoverability and usage of the snap layouts such as decreasing the hover time required to invoke the flyout when you mouse over the maximum/restore button in an app's title bar. In addition to a few other tweaks, you'll notice some treatments will also pull in the icon of the app window you are working in and adding a descriptive title. If you see one of these treatments, give us feedback on what you think. As a reminder (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/02/03/whats-coming-for-the-windows-insider-program-in-2022/), it is normal for us to try out different concepts in the Dev Channel to get feedback.
[Voice typing]- The change to sync voice typing settings, Automatic punctuation and Voice typing launcher, across all devices signed in using the same Microsoft account that began rolling out with Build 25227 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/10/19/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25227/) is now available to all Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel. You can toggle this feature via Settings > Accounts > Windows backup > Remember my preferences > Accessibility This currently only works with Microsoft accounts today with AAD support coming later.
[Settings]- Updated Settings > Apps > Startup to make it easier to access more information about the apps listed.
- Right-clicking on a Win32 app in Start, or searching for the app, and choosing "Uninstall" will now take you to the Settings to uninstall the app.
[WSL]- Improved the upgrade experience to the new Windows Subsystem for Linux Store app (mentioned in Build 25272 (https://aka.ms/wip25272)), so it now prompts for installation if wsl.exe is invoked.
Fixes[General]- We fixed the underlying issue related to combase.dll, causing crashes with multiple apps using GetKnownFolder APIs after upgrading to Build 25290, including Notepad and Windows Terminal for IME users. This issue is also believed to be the root cause of some Insiders finding that certain actions in File Explorer were taking minutes to complete in these builds.
- We fixed the issue causing rendering issues and difficulty using Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE).
- Fixed an issue where some users experienced issues authenticating into enterprise websites that require windows integrated authentication.
[Taskbar & System Tray]- The ability to show seconds in the clock on the system tray, first introduced with Build 25247 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/11/18/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25247/), should return after updating to Build 25300 if it had disappeared for you after updating to Build 25295 last week.
- Fixed an issue that was causing taskbar to be cut off after resolution changes.
- We fixed an issue where when hovering over app icons on the taskbar could switch window focus unexpectedly.
[Widgets]- As a result of fixing the issue causing third-party widgets to get unpinned when signed in with a Microsoft account across multiple Windows 11 devices, the most recent Widgets update in the Dev Channel will unpin third-party widgets. Insiders will need to go back to their widgets board and re-pin these widgets again. If you still see issues where widgets are being unpinned unexpectedly – please file feedback.
- The link for "Find more widgets" in the widgets picker currently is no longer broke and will point to the Store collection here (https://www.sysnative.com/forums/ms-windows-store%3A//collection/?collectionid=MerchandiserContent/Apps/WidgetCollection/Widgetsforeverything).
[Input]- We are beginning to roll out a fix for an issue where the IME candidate window and IME toolbar weren't shown or cropped sometimes.
[File Explorer]- Drag and dropping files and folders across tabs should work again.
[Task Manager]- Process names typed into the search box should no longer unexpectedly get spellchecked.
- Fixed a couple of issues with how Narrator was reading out content in Task Manager.
- Fixed an issue where the dropdowns in settings might not match your currently selected theme.
- When using search on the App History page, results should no longer suddenly disappear.
- If you open the Default Start Page dropdown in settings, clicking the Task Manager window should make the dropdown disappear now.
- Dragging the window using the search box area should work now (like other areas of the title bar).
- Fixed an issue where ending processes in the Details tab wasn't showing a confirmation dialog.
- Increasing the text scaling should no longer result in a "see more" button appearing with no contents.
- If you do a search and then press the down arrow, keyboard focus should now move from the search box into the results.
- If you have a contrast theme enabled and select one of the rows in the Processes page, that row should now show that it's selected.
- Fixed an issue where focus might not get set properly to search, leading to Narrator not saying that focus was on the search box.
[Other]- Fixed an issue where Narrator's focus wasn't going back to the Quick Settings' window correctly when using the back button in the Cast page.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25309 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/03/02/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25309/)
- With this build, we're beginning to roll out a new enhanced volume mixer in Quick Settings. We're also re-introducing an update for the touch keyboard settings, some changes to File Explorer, graphics, and input. And we have some voice access improvements.
- As always, this build also includes a good set of fixes too.
What's newNew volume mixer experience in Quick SettingsWe're introducing a new enhanced volume mixer into Quick Settings! The updated audio quick settings experience brings a modern volume mixer that allows for quick customization of audio on a per-app basis, with additional control to swap devices on the fly. We've also added a new keyboard shortcut (WIN + CTRL + V) to bring you directly to the volume mixer for faster control of the experience. With this change, you can now tailor your audio experience better with more control and fewer clicks to better manage your favorite apps.
In addition, we've made it easier for users to enable their Windows Sonic experience with a quick access list of installed spatial sound technology. You can visit the Microsoft Store to find additional spatial sound technology to choose from such as Dolby and DTS.
[We are beginning to roll this feature out, so it isn't available to all Insiders in the Dev Channel just yet as we plan to monitor feedback and see how it lands before pushing it out to everyone.]FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Quick Settings.Updated Touch Keyboard SettingsAfter making some fixes, we are re-introducing the new touch keyboard setting we originally introduced with Build 25188 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/08/24/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25188/) (and disabled with Build 25217 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/10/06/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25217/)) that replaces the "Show the touch keyboard when there's no keyboard attached" checkbox under
Settings > Time & language > Typing > Touch keyboard with a new dropdown menu with 3 options to control whether tapping an edit control should launch the touch keyboard:
- "Never" suppresses the touch keyboard even when no hardware keyboard is attached.
- "When no keyboard attached" will show the touch keyboard only when the device is used as a tablet without the hardware keyboard.
- "Always" will show the touch keyboard even when the hardware keyboard is attached.
[We are beginning to roll this out, so the experience isn't available to all Insiders in the Dev Channel just yet as we plan to monitor feedback and see how it lands before pushing it out to everyone.]FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Input and Language > Touch keyboard.Auto Color Management (ACM) ExpansionBack in October, we launched Auto Color Management (https://devblogs.microsoft.com/directx/auto-color-management/) (hardware accelerated system level color management) on select qualifying and specially provisioned SDR displays. Now, Insiders in the Dev Channel will be able to turn ACM on for their SDR displays and have all colors across all Windows apps, whether or not they are color-managed, appear accurately and consistently on every supported display.
To turn ACM on, go to
Settings > Display > Advanced display, select correct display and turn on
Automatically manage color for apps.Note: ACM enablement has the following requirements:
- WDDM driver version 3.0 or greater
- Supported GPU:
- AMD:
- AMD RX 400 Series or later
- AMD Ryzen processors with Radeon Graphics
- Intel
- Integrated: Intel 12th Gen (Alder Lake) or later
- Discrete: Intel DG1 or later
- NVIDIA:
- NVIDIA GTX 10xx or later (Pascal+)
- There are no hard requirements on the display or connection – ACM can provide benefits even on 8-bit sRGB panels. However, we strongly recommend ACM devices to have panels with a wider-than-sRGB gamut, and optionally 10-bits per color channel or greater.
[We are beginning to roll this out, so the experience isn't available to all Insiders in the Dev Channel just yet as we plan to monitor feedback and see how it lands before pushing it out to everyone.]FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Display and Graphics > Windows HD Color.Voice access improvementsRedesigned in-app command help page: We have completely renovated the in-app command help page in voice access to make it simpler to use and comprehend. The search bar allows users to quickly find commands and the different categories provide further guidance. Every command now has a description and examples of its variations, making it easier to understand and use.
You can access the command help page from
Help >
View all commands on the voice access bar or use the voice command "what can I say".
Please note that the redesigned in-app help page in voice access may not include all commands and the supplementary information may be inaccurate. We plan to update this in future builds. If you want an exhaustive list of Voice Access commands and extra information about them, we recommend you refer Use voice access to control your PC & author text with your voice – Microsoft Support (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/use-voice-access-to-control-your-pc-author-text-with-your-voice-4dcd23ee-f1b9-4fd1-bacc-862ab611f55d).
Voice access is available in English dialects: We have extended voice access to support other English dialects such as English -UK, English – India, English – New Zealand, English – Canada, English – Australia.
When voice access is turned on for the first time, you will be prompted to download a speech model to enable on-device recognition of voice data. In case voice access does not find a speech model matching your display language, you can still choose to proceed ahead to use voice access in English – US.
You can always switch to a different language by navigating to Settings > Language on the voice access bar.
New text selection & editing commands: See the Release Notes for added useful commands to make text selection and editing easier with voice access.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Accessibility > Voice Access.[/B]
Changes and Improvements[General]- Starting with Build 25290 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/02/01/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25290/), we started a new exploration of badging on the Start menu with two new treatments that some Insiders in the Dev Channel will see. Starting today, we're trying out different text variants within these treatments. If you see one of these treatments, give us feedback on what you think. As a reminder (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/02/03/whats-coming-for-the-windows-insider-program-in-2022/), it is normal for us to try out different concepts in the Dev Channel to get feedback.
- We're trying out a more personalized second-chance out of box experience (SCOOBE) with a small subset of Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel.
[Search on the Taskbar]- The search box on taskbar will be lighter when Windows is set to a custom color mode. Specifically, when the Windows 11 mode is set to dark, and the app mode is set to light under Settings > Personalization > Colors you will see a lighter search box on taskbar.
[File Explorer]- Windows Insiders will begin noticing a "pizza" icon on the command bar in File Explorer. This icon denotes that an Insider is previewing the Windows App SDK version of File Explorer. Functionality in File Explorer remains unchanged, it just switches from using WinUI 2 to using WinUI 3.
[Snap layouts]- After pausing this with Build 25300 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/02/15/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25300/), we are un-pausing this with this build – we are trying out different treatments for snap layouts (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/apps/desktop/modernize/apply-snap-layout-menu) with Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel. We are investigating ways to improve the discoverability and usage of the snap layouts such as decreasing the hover time required to invoke the flyout when you mouse over the maximum/restore button in an app's title bar. In addition to a few other tweaks, you'll notice some treatments will also pull in the icon of the app window you are working in and adding a descriptive title. If you see one of these treatments, give us feedback on what you think. As a reminder (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/02/03/whats-coming-for-the-windows-insider-program-in-2022/), it is normal for us to try out different concepts in the Dev Channel to get feedback.
[Windows Spotlight]- Starting today, we are disabling the different treatments we've been trying out for Windows Spotlight that began with Build 25281 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/01/19/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25281/) due to an issue impacting the experience Insiders will have on these treatments. We plan to re-introduce an updated Windows Spotlight experience for Insiders in a future flight based on the feedback from Insiders from using these different treatments. As part of disabling these treatments, Insiders may need to go to Settings > Personalization and re-enable Windows Spotlight.
[Input]- We have updated the Simplified Chinese handwriting recognition engine to be faster and more accurate as well as supported characters defined in GB18030-2022. Currently you can write characters in GB18030-2022 Level 2 and some of characters in GB18030-2022 Level 1 in the handwriting panel or directly into the text field when it's supported. Please try it and let us know what you think.
The Simplified Chinese handwriting recognition engine is faster and more accurate and now supports characters defined in GB18030-202.
[Widgets]- We are beginning to roll out theme-aware icons for Widgets on the taskbar so that based on the user's Windows theme (dark or light), the Widgets icons will display a theme-aware icon that will have a higher contrast ratio which will make information on the taskbar clearer for users, particularly for those with low-sight.
[Settings]- Settings > Power & Battery has been updated to include settings for choosing what happens when interacting with your PC's physical power controls.
Fixes[General]- Fixed an issue causing USB devices (including keyboard and mouse) to not work for some Insiders after upgrading to Build 25295+.
- Fixed an issue for some Insiders where if you'd uninstalled the previous flight, it would cause your Start menu and taskbar to cyclically crash.
- Fixed an issue where when using Windows Hello to sign in with facial recognition, it may not have worked on Arm64 PCs.
- Fixed an issue with the Windows Insider Program settings page showing a newer build was available in Windows Update even though you were on the latest available build in the Dev Channel.
[Taskbar & System Tray]- Fixed multiple Explorer.exe crashes impacting taskbar and system tray.
- Fixed a display issue that could result in the taskbar appearing duplicated when making resolution changes.
- Fixed an issue which was causing app icons on the taskbar to appear on the wrong monitor for some Insiders with multiple monitors.
[Widgets]- We fixed an issue where under certain circumstances third-party widgets were not loading as expected.
[Search on the Taskbar]- Fixed rendering issues when using the touch keyboard with the search box on taskbar.
- Fixed an issue when double clicking the search highlight glyph in the search box makes it disappear.
- Fixed an issue where the search box would randomly disappear.
- Fixed an issue where the search icon flips incorrectly for right-to-left (RTL) languages.
- Fixed on issue where you might have seen some text flicker in the search box when you click into it.
- Fixed an issue where the search box might disappear on one monitor if you are using multiple monitors.
- Made some accessibility fixes to the settings for search under Settings > Personalization > Taskbar.
[File Explorer]- Fixed an issue which caused Insiders with custom desktop icon arrangements / sizes to get set back to default in the previous build.
- Fixed an underlying issue believed to be the cause of File Explorer unexpectedly jumping into the foreground sometimes.
- The "Open in new tab" context menu option and middle clicking folders will now open the tab in the background rather than switching focus.
- Fixed an issue where the close button could get stuck in a highlighted state when you moved your mouse across it.
[Input]- Fix an issue where when using the French-Canadian layout for the touch keyboard, the letters output when typing didn't always match what was displayed on the keys.
- When using the Korean IME, CTRL + F10 should no longer open the IME context menu.
[Settings]- Fixed an underlying issue believed to be the root cause of why some Insiders saw their startup app settings get reset with the previous build.
- Going to Privacy & Security > Phone Calls should no longer crash Settings.
[Windowing]- Fixed a high hitting DWM.exe crash in the last couple flights.
[Other]- Fixed multiple issues that were preventing some of the new live captions language models from downloading correctly.
- Fixed an underlying issue causing Insiders on Arm64 PCs to not be able to activate M365, with it citing a network issue.
- Fixed a search indexer crash.
- Fixed an underlying issue that could cause UWP apps to appear in English after upgrading although that wasn't your display language.
- Fixed an issue which was causing .appinstaller packages to fail to install with an error message that says "The parameter is incorrect" (even though it wasn't).
- Fixed an underlying issue causing certain cameras to not work in apps with the last flight.
- Fixed an underlying issue which was leading to Microsoft Edge crashes for some Insiders in the last few flights.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23403 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/03/08/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23403/)
As a reminder,
we have rebooted the Dev Channel to begin flighting 23000 series builds as announced earlier this week (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/03/06/whats-coming-for-the-windows-insider-program-in-2023/)
Note: Windows Insiders who were previously in the Dev Channel on 25000 series builds are being moved to the new Canary Channel.
If you are on Build 25309 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/03/02/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25309/)
and haven't been moved to the Canary Channel yet, you will not receive this build as it has a lower build number than the build you are already on. However, the migration continues to happen in the background and once complete you will receive the latest build available. Can't wait? If you want the latest builds immediately, you can move yourself to the Canary Channel on your own via Settings > Windows Update > Windows Insider Program. Or follow these instructions (https://aka.ms/HowtoCleanInstall) to do a clean installation of Windows 11 and then re-join the Dev Channel to receive 23000 series builds going forward.
Insiders in the Beta Channel can move to Dev Channel via the settings as well and receive this build without additional steps.
Since we have rebooted the Dev Channel for flighting 23000 series builds, we're also rebooting the content in the blog posts for Dev Channel flights – including known issues below.
What's new in Build 23403Introducing live captions in more languagesLive captions help everyone and people who are deaf or hard of hearing read live captions in their native language. The first release of live captions in the Windows 11 2022 Update (https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2022/09/20/available-today-the-windows-11-2022-update/) provided captions in English, with a focus on English (United States). In this build, live captions gains the ability to also provide captions in Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish and other English dialects. We will add more languages as they become available.
To get started, live captions can be turned on with the
WIN + Ctrl + L keyboard shortcut, or from the quick settings accessibility flyout via Quick Settings. When turned on for the first time, live captions will prompt for download of the required speech recognition support to enable on-device captioning. If speech recognition support is not available in your preferred Windows language or you want support in other languages, you will be able to download speech recognition support for live captions under
Settings > Time & Language > Language & region.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Accessibility > Live captions.Access Keys in File ExplorerWe are adding access key shortcuts into the XAML context menu in File Explorer. An access key is a one keystroke shortcut that allows a keyboard user to quickly execute a command in context menu. Each access key will correspond with a letter in the display name. It's part of our effort to make File Explorer more accessible. To try this out, you can click on a file in File Explorer and press the menu key (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menu_key) on your keyboard.
[We are beginning to roll this out, so the experience isn't available to all Insiders in the Dev Channel just yet as we plan to monitor feedback and see how it lands before pushing it out to everyone.]FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Files, Folders, and Online Storage > File Explorer.File Recommendations in File ExplorerFile Recommendations are coming to File Explorer Home to bring users the most relevant file content right to their fingertips. This feature (as pictured below) will be available to users signed into Windows with an Azure Active Directory (AAD) account. Files that are recommended will be cloud files associated with that account, either owned by the user, or shared with the user.
[We are beginning to roll this out, so the experience isn't available to all Insiders in the Dev Channel just yet as we plan to monitor feedback and see how it lands before pushing it out to everyone.]FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Files, Folders, and Online Storage > File Explorer.Voice access improvementsRedesigned in-app command help page: We have completely renovated the in-app command help page in voice access to make it simpler to use and comprehend. The search bar allows users to quickly find commands and the various categories provide further guidance. Every command now has a description and examples of its variations, making it easier to understand and use.
You can access the command help page from
Help >
View all commands on the voice access bar or use the voice command "what can I say".
Please note that the redesigned in-app help page in voice access may not include all commands and the supplementary information may be inaccurate. We plan to update this in future builds. If you want an exhaustive list of Voice Access commands and extra information about them, we recommend you refer Use voice access to control your PC & author text with your voice – Microsoft Support (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/use-voice-access-to-control-your-pc-author-text-with-your-voice-4dcd23ee-f1b9-4fd1-bacc-862ab611f55d).
Voice access is available in English dialects: We have extended voice access to support other English dialects such as English -UK, English – India, English – New Zealand, English – Canada, English – Australia.
When voice access is turned on for the first time, you will be prompted to download a speech model to enable on-device recognition of voice data. In case voice access does not find a speech model matching your display language, you can still choose to proceed ahead to use voice access in English – US.
You can always switch to a different language by navigating to Settings > Language on the voice access bar.
New text selection & editing commands: See the Release Notes for the table of added useful commands to make text selection and editing easier with voice access.
Narrator Outlook SupportNarrator will now retrieve updates to its Outlook support (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/chapter-5-navigation-68941680-3245-6ef5-5012-0674b8b6fc59#WindowsVersion=Windows_11) when Narrator is started. You can learn more about the work we did for Outlook in Chapter 5 of the Narrator User Guide (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/chapter-5-navigation-68941680-3245-6ef5-5012-0674b8b6fc59#WindowsVersion=Windows_11). We have not added any additional functionality to our Outlook support, but this work will allow updates to the Outlook experience to be made through the Microsoft Store. You will receive a notification after the download is completed to inform you that the update has been retrieved. With this change, Narrator's Outlook support is limited to U.S. English only. Other languages will be supported in a future flight.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Accessibility > Narrator.Multi-App Kiosk ModeMulti-app kiosk mode is a lockdown feature for Windows 11 that allows an IT administrator to select a set of allowable apps to run on the device, while all other functionalities are blocked. This enables you to create multiple different apps and access configurations for different user types, all on a single device.
Some lockdown customizations include:
- Limiting access to Settings, except selected pages (e.g., Wi-Fi and screen brightness)
- Lock down the Start menu to show only allowed apps.
- Block toasts and pop-ups that lead to unwanted UI.
Multi-app kiosk mode is ideal for scenarios in which multiple people need to use the same device. This can include frontline workers and retail scenarios, education and test taking.
Currently, multi-app kiosk mode can be enabled using PowerShell and WMI Bridge, with support for Intune/MDM and provisioning package configuration coming soon.
To configure using WMI, follow these instructions. (https://docs.microsoft.com/windows/configuration/kiosk-mdm-bridge) Using the Windows 10 sample XML will enable the feature, but will result in an empty Start menu. To populate the Start menu with your apps, follow these instructions (https://docs.microsoft.com/windows/configuration/customize-start-menu-layout-windows-11#create-the-json-file) to generate the list of pinned apps, then add it to your XML file after closing the StartLayout section, like the below:
<win11:StartPins><![CDATA[
Your JSON here ]]></win11:StartPins>
Don't forget to update the namespace by replacing the AssignedAccessConfiguration tag with the below:
<AssignedAccessConfiguration xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/AssignedAccess/2017/config" xmlns:win11="http://schemas.microsoft.com/AssignedAccess/2022/config">
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Security and Privacy > Device LockdownChanges and Improvements[General]- Users will now see a copy button for quickly copying two-factor authentication (2FA) codes in notification toasts from apps installed on the PC or from phones linked to the PC. We make a best effort to determine if a notification toast has an authentication code but please send us feedback if we got it wrong or if we failed to detect the code in a notification toast. This change is beginning to roll out, so not all Insiders in the Dev Channel will see it right away.
[Taskbar & System Tray]- We have added a glanceable VPN status into the system tray when connected to a recognized VPN profile (https://support.microsoft.com/windows/connect-to-a-vpn-in-windows-3d29aeb1-f497-f6b7-7633-115722c1009c#WindowsVersion=Windows_11). The VPN icon, a small shield, will be overlayed in over the active network connection. Currently, the overlayed VPN icon does not use your system accent color but will do so in a future build.
[Search on the Taskbar]- The search box on taskbar will be lighter when Windows is set to a custom color mode. Specifically, when the Windows 11 mode is set to dark, and the app mode is set to light under Settings > Personalization > Colors you will see a lighter search box on taskbar.
[Input]- We have updated the Simplified Chinese handwriting recognition engine to be faster and more accurate as well as supported characters defined in GB18030-2022. Currently you can write characters in GB18030-2022 Level 2 and some of characters in GB18030-2022 Level 1 in the handwriting panel or directly into the text field when it's supported. Please try it and
[Settings]- Right-clicking on a Win32 app in Start, or searching for the app, and choosing "Uninstall" will now take you to the Settings to uninstall the app.
Fixes[Search on the Taskbar]- Fixed rendering issues when using the touch keyboard with the search box on taskbar.
- Fixed an issue when double clicking the search highlight glyph in the search box makes it disappear.
- Fixed an issue where the search box would randomly disappear.
- Fixed an issue where the search icon flips incorrectly for right-to-left (RTL) languages.
- Fixed on issue where you might have seen some text flicker in the search box when you click into it.
- Fixed an issue where the search box might disappear on one monitor if you are using multiple monitors.
- Made some accessibility fixes to the settings for search under Settings > Personalization > Taskbar.
[File Explorer]- Fixed an underlying issue believed to be the cause of File Explorer unexpectedly jumping into the foreground sometimes.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23419 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/03/22/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23419/)
ISOs for this build are available here (https://aka.ms/wipISO).
What's new in Build 23419Create live kernel memory dumps in Task ManagerWe are introducing a set of new developer-focused features in Task Manager to aid the collection of live kernel memory dumps (LKDs). This is in addition to the existing "Memory dump" for user mode processes. The goal of kernel live dump is to gather data to troubleshoot an abnormal situation but allow the OS to continue operation. This reduces downtime when compared to a bug check for "non-fatal" but high-impact failures and hangs. Click here (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/debugger/task-manager-live-dump) for more info on live kernel dumps.
To capture a live kernel memory dump (LKD), go to the Details page in Task Manager, right-click on the
System process and the context menu should light up to show
"Create live kernel memory dump file" to capture a Full live kernel or Kernel stack memory dumps.
The dumps will be written to a fixed location:
%LocalAppData%\Microsoft\Windows\TaskManager\LiveKernelDumpsYou can also go to the Task Manager Settings page to view/edit the settings for live kernel memory dumps.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Task Manager.USB4 Settings PageWe are adding a USB4 hubs and devices Settings page for users under Settings > Bluetooth & devices > USB > USB4 Hubs and Devices. USB4 enables new productivity scenarios for docking, high performance peripherals, displays and charging. The USB4 settings page provides information about the system's USB4 capabilities and attached peripherals on a USB4 capable system. These insights are meant to assist with troubleshooting in case users need support from their device manufacturer (OEM) or system administrator. The features provided by this page are:
- View the tree of connected USB4 hubs and devices.
- View attributes and capabilities associated with the USB4 domain.
- Copy the details into the clipboard so it can be shared with customer support or system administrators for troubleshooting.
If the system does not support USB4 with the Microsoft USB4 Connection Manager, this page will not be displayed.
To confirm whether your system is USB4 capable or not, check for "USB4 Host Router" populating in the Device Manager.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Devices and Drivers > Buses.Cloud Suggestion in Simplified Chinese IMEWe are trying out some changes that will allow you to easily type popular words in Simplified Chinese. The changes include an improved cloud suggestion and integrated search suggestion. The cloud suggestion adds the most relevant word from Bing to the IME candidate window. We've updated the back-end logic so that we can provide better, fresh suggestions.
The integrated search suggestion gives you additional suggestions that are similar to what you see in Bing search page. You can either insert a suggestion as text or search it directly in Bing. To turn on these features, select a chevron button at the right end of the IME candidate window. You'll find
Turn on button.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Input and Language > Text Input.Changes and Improvements[General]- The new features for app defaults in Windows 11 as mentioned here in this blog post (https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2023/03/17/a-principled-approach-to-app-pinning-and-app-defaults-in-windows/) are included in this build. The features for app pinning are coming in a future flight.
[Start menu]- We are trying out a small change with some Windows Insiders where the "Recommended" section of the Start menu is changed to "For you". Let us know what you think in Feedback Hub if you see this change.
[Taskbar & System Tray]- The glanceable VPN status show overlayed over an active network connection into the system tray when connected to a recognized VPN profile (https://support.microsoft.com/windows/connect-to-a-vpn-in-windows-3d29aeb1-f497-f6b7-7633-115722c1009c#WindowsVersion=Windows_11) now displays in your system accent color.
- In response to user feedback, we are introducing the capability to show seconds in the clock on the system tray. This feature can be enabled by toggling the option listed under Settings > Personalization > Taskbar in the Taskbar behavior section. You can also right-click on taskbar to quickly get to taskbar settings. We are beginning to roll this change out so not all Windows Insiders will see this change right away, but we hope to make it available to everyone soon.
[Search on the Taskbar]- Once you have access to the new Bing (https://bing.com/new), the search box on the taskbar will include a button that opens the Bing chat experience in Edge. If you don't have access to the new Bing, the search box on the taskbar will feature a dynamic search highlight button. We're beginning to roll this out to Insiders, not everyone will see it right away.
[Voice access]- The redesigned in-app help page in voice access introduced with Build 23403 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/03/08/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23403/) now includes all commands and the supplementary information accurately.
[Settings]- As part of the deprecation of Microsoft Support Diagnostic Tool (MSDT) and MSDT Troubleshooters (https://prod.support.services.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/deprecation-of-microsoft-support-diagnostic-tool-msdt-and-msdt-troubleshooters-0c5ac9a2-1600-4539-b9d0-069e71f9040a?preview=true), we have begun redirecting some of the troubleshooters found under Settings > System > Troubleshoot and in other areas of the OS to the new Get Help troubleshooting platform.
- Pressing the print screen key will now open Snipping Tool by default. This setting can be turned off via Settings > Accessibility > Keyboard. If you have previously modified this setting yourself, your preference will be preserved.
[Developer]- Virtual Memory ranges which are marked by a KbCallbackTriageDumpData BugCheck Callback Routine (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows-hardware/drivers/kernel/writing-a-bug-check-callback-routine#implementing-a-kbcallbacktriagedumpdata-callback-routine)will now be added to kernel-generated minidumps after a bugcheck.
Fixes[General]- Improved the experience on logon after booting up by reducing the performance impact of startup apps.
[Taskbar & System Tray]- Fixed an issue that was causing Narrator to read the position before the name on system tray icons.
- Fixed an issue causing the show hidden icons flyout to open behind things like OneNote flyout and live captions.
- Fixed an issue which could cause explorer.exe crashes related to drag and drop.
[Search on the Taskbar]- Fixed a search crash from the last flight.
[File Explorer]- Fixed an issue which could cause explorer.exe to crash when opening Home if certain content was visible in the Recent section.
- Made some improvements to the performance of loading File Explorer in the case where there's a disconnected network drive visible in the navigation pane.
[Start menu]- Fixed an issue where dragging content across an open Start menu folder could cause a crash.
[Input]- Fixed an issue where after using voice typing your PC might not enter modern standby.
[Live captions]- We fixed the issue causing live captions to not work for Chinese Traditional on Arm64 devices.
[Task Manager]- Fixed an issue where some of the details in the Performance page wouldn't display properly until you resized the window or changed pages back and forth.
NOTE: Some fixes noted here in Insider Preview builds from the Dev Channel may make their way into the servicing updates for the released version of Windows 11.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23424 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/03/30/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23424/)
What's new in Build 23424Evolved Widgets BoardWe are beginning to preview a revamp of the widgets board experience with a larger canvas (3-columns if supported by the device) and new zones to provide users quick access to glanceable widgets from their apps and services as well as enable users to take a high-value break with their personalized feed.
[We are beginning to roll this out, so the experience isn't available to all Insiders in the Dev Channel just yet as we plan to monitor feedback and see how it lands before pushing it out to everyone.]FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Widgets.Content Adaptive Brightness Control (CABC) on plugged in devices including desktop PCsThis feature in Windows 11 will dim or brighten areas of a display or monitor based on the content being displayed with the goal of striking a balance between reduced power consumption with visual experience to save battery life. Starting with this build, we are allowing this feature to run on devices such as laptops and 2-in-1's that are plugged into a charger, as well as on desktop PCs. For most users, this change won't be noticeable and should reduce energy consumption.
This feature can be adjusted via Settings > System > Display under "Brightness & color" and through a drop-down menu with 3 options: Off, Always, and "On Battery Only". For battery powered devices such as laptops and 2-in-1's, the default is "On Battery Only". On desktop PCs, this is off by default. We encourage Insiders across laptops, 2-in1's, and desktop PCs to try the "Always" option and give us feedback on the visual quality of CABC so we can ensure it is properly tuned.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Display and Graphics > Adaptive Brightness.Changes and Improvements[Input]- Made a change to help improve performance when using a high polling mouse while gaming.
[Settings]- Windows Insiders can help us preview a new experience we're working on. Insiders will begin to see a new toggle under Settings > Windows Update for "getting the latest updates as soon as they are available". This new toggle is meant to be used in the Beta Channel to allow Insiders to switch more seamlessly to the enablement package (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/kb5003791-update-to-windows-10-version-21h2-by-using-an-enablement-package-8bc077be-18d7-4aac-81ce-6f6dad2cd384). But because the Dev Channel does not use an enablement package, turning this toggle on will not do anything for Insiders in the Dev Channel. However, by turning it on, a "Windows configuration update" will be offered via Windows Update that is designed to help us make sure it this new toggle is connected to our backend services correctly before making it available in the Beta Channel. This update introduces nothing new for Insiders.
- Improved the performance of search within Settings.
- The settings page for wheel devices such as the Surface Dial has been updated to better match the Windows 11 design principles.
Fixes[General]- Fixed an issue that was causing voice access to take some time to turn on after using the wake-up command.
[File Explorer]We fixed the following issues for Insiders with recommended files in File Explorer:
- We fixed the issue causing an error dialog to pop up when clicking on the "Open File Location" command.
- We fixed the issue causing no action to occur when clicking on the 'Remove from list' command.
[Input]- Made a change to help improve performance when using a high report rate mouse while gaming. As a reminder, if you have gaming performance feedback, please follow these steps (http://aka.ms/gameperffeedback) to file actionable feedback.
[Settings]- Improved the performance of search within Settings.
[Windowing]- Fixed an issue from the last flight where Microsoft Edge tabs would show when doing ALT + Tab even if Settings > System > Multitasking was set to "Don't show tabs".
[Task Manager]- Fixed an issue where the search icon could end up overlapping the Task Manager icon in the title bar.
NOTE: Some fixes noted here in Insider Preview builds from the Dev Channel may make their way into the servicing updates for the released version of Windows 11.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23430 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/04/07/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23430/)
Changes and Improvements[General]- Urgent or important notifications (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/apps/design/shell/tiles-and-notifications/adaptive-interactive-toasts?tabs=appsdk#important-notifications) that break through when do not disturb is turned on while using apps at full screen will now display a "view notification" button to view the content of the notification for privacy.
- In the previous flight (//'https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/03/30/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23424/'), we documented that Content Adaptive Brightness Control (CABC) works on desktop PCs – however, it does not. We have updated that blog post. Content Adaptive Brightness Control (CABC) also needs to be enabled by the OEM (the manufacturer of the device). As a result, this feature is not available on all laptop or 2-in-1 devices.
[Settings]- A limit of 20 most recent tabs has been introduced under Settings > Multitasking to show tabs in ALT + TAB and Snap Assist.
[Developer]- We are introducing a new setting under Settings > Privacy & security > For developers to enable end task when right-clicking an app on the taskbar. This setting is in Build 23430 but does not currently work when the feature is toggled on. It will be fixed in a future flight.
Fixes[General]- Fixed an underlying issue causing some Insiders to see an increase in explorer.exe crashes in the last 2 flights.
[Input]- Fixed an issue where text input features like touch keyboard, voice typing, and emoji panel might not launch.
- Fixed an issue where the buttons in the Pinyin IME's settings flyout were hard to see when they had focus if a contrast theme was enabled.
[Task Manager]- Fixed an issue impacting Task Manager reliability.
- The search box should no longer be cropped at the top when the window is maximized.
[Accessibility]- Fixed an issue where in Quick Settings, Narrator was reading out the previous page's title instead of the active page's.
- After downloading voice access, information to help you get started with it should correctly open again now.
- Fixed an issue where popups for voice access weren't translated correctly.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23435 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/04/14/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23435/)
What's new in Build 23435Gallery in File ExplorerWe are introducing Gallery, a new feature in File Explorer designed to make it easy to access your photo collection. The set of content shown in Gallery is the same as what you'll see in the All Photos view in the Photos app.
Gallery is optimized for accessing your most recently taken photos. If you have OneDrive Camera Roll Backup set up on your phone, photos you take will show up automatically at the top of the view. You can choose which folders are shown in Gallery through the Collection dropdown. You can also add subfolders of existing sources to filter to a subset of your content, such as desktop backgrounds and SD card/camera imports.
Gallery also works from the file picking dialog (//'https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/uwp/files/quickstart-using-file-and-folder-pickers'), bringing that same ease of use to situations such as inserting attachments, building a PowerPoint deck, or crafting social media posts.
[We are beginning to roll this out, so the experience isn't available to all Insiders in the Dev Channel just yet as we plan to monitor feedback and see how it lands before pushing it out to everyone.]FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Files, Folders, and Online Storage > File Explorer.Changes and Improvements[General]- We are continuing the exploration of badging on the Start menu with several new treatments for users logging in with local user accounts to highlight the benefits of signing in with a Microsoft account (MSA). If you see one of these treatments, give us feedback on what you think. As a reminder (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/02/03/whats-coming-for-the-windows-insider-program-in-2022/), it is normal for us to try out different concepts in the Dev Channel to get feedback.
[File Explorer]- Windows Insiders will begin noticing a "pizza" icon on the command bar in File Explorer. This icon denotes that an Insider is previewing the Windows App SDK version of File Explorer. Functionality in File Explorer remains unchanged, it just switches from using WinUI 2 to using WinUI 3.
[Narrator]- Narrator users who interact with Traditional Chinese characters are now able to do this with confidence while using Narrator and the IME candidate window in Windows. This was accomplished by creating a Traditional Chinese dictionary for detail reading. Narrator now consumes the dictionary to disambiguate each Traditional Chinese word. Users should be aware that Narrator detailed reading is only supported for the Taiwan language pack. The Hong-Kong language pack is not supported with Narrator.
[Settings]- We are introducing new presence sensor privacy settings and APIs. If you have a device with compatible presence sensors, you can now manage your privacy and block/allow certain apps from accessing these sensors. No images or metadata is collected by Microsoft and all processing is done locally on the device hardware to maximize privacy. You will find these settings under Settings > Privacy & security > Presence sensing here if your device supports it (https://aka.ms/PrivacySecuritySettings). App developers with devices with compatible presence sensors can target apps to request and read user presence information after requesting a human presence capability. Learn more about the API here (https://learn.microsoft.com/uwp/api/windows.devices.sensors.humanpresencesensor?view=winrt-22621).
Fixes[Taskbar & System Tray]- Fixed a few explorer.exe crashes that were impacting taskbar reliability.
[Input]- Updated the TextInput/EnableTouchKeyboardAutoInvokeInDesktopMode MDM policy (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/client-management/mdm/policy-csp-textinput) to allow "2" as a valid value to enforce showing the touch keyboard on tapping an edit control even when the hardware keyboard is attached.
[Settings]- Fixed an issue which was causing Settings crashes when navigating to various Windows Update related pages in the last couple flights.
[Live captions]- Fixed the issue that caused enhanced speech recognition support installed through the Language & Region settings page to require restarting live captions if you switch languages in the live captions Caption language menu on Arm64 devices.
- Fixed the issue where you may not see install completion of "Enhanced speech recognition" (required by Live Captions) when adding a language through the Language & Region settings page, and language feature installation progress may become hidden.
[Task Manager]- Improved the performance of the expand all / collapse all View options on the Processes page.
[Accessibility]- Updated Narrator's default for "Context level for buttons and controls" to "3 – Immediate content name and type."
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23440 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/04/19/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23440/)
ISOs for this build can be downloaded here (//'https://aka.ms/wipISO').
Changes and Improvements[Start menu]- We are trying out a recommendation in the Start menu to quickly access the release notes for Windows Insider Preview builds. Insiders can click the recommendation in Start where it will open this blog post for Build 23440 to learn about all the changes and improvements included in the build. Let us know what you think of this experience. As a reminder, the settings for what is recommended on Start can be adjusted via Settings > Personalization > Start.
[Taskbar & System Tray]- You can now hide the time and date in the system tray. You can turn this on by right-clicking on the system tray clock and choosing "Adjust date and time".
- When right-clicking on the network icon in the system tray, we've added the option to diagnose network problems.
[Search on the Taskbar]- We are exploring a new hover behavior for the search box and search highlight gleam. The proposed interaction model aims to create a more engaging search experience by invoking the search flyout when you hover over the search box gleam. This behavior can be adjusted by right-clicking on the taskbar, choosing "Taskbar settings" and adjusting your preferred search box experience.
[Windows Spotlight]- We have updated the icon that shows on the desktop for Windows Spotlight. You can turn Windows Spotlight by right-clicking on your desktop, choosing "Personalize", and then choosing the Windows Spotlight theme.
Fixes[Taskbar & System Tray]- Fixed a few explorer.exe crashes that were impacting taskbar reliability.
[Widgets]- Updated the Widgets invocation logic, so that if you brush your mouse quickly across the Widgets icon in the taskbar while travelling somewhere else, it should be less likely to accidentally open Widgets. As a reminder, if you'd prefer that Widgets doesn't launch on hover, there is an option for that in the Widgets settings.
[File Explorer]We fixed the following issues for Insiders previewing the Windows App SDK version of File Explorer
- Fixed an issue where the context menu was opening far away from where your mouse had right-clicked sometimes.
- Fixed an issue which was causing some of the icons in File Explorer and the context menu to be blurry after DPI changes.
- Fixed an issue where the New button in the command bar might not show anything in the dropdown.
We fixed the following issues for Insiders with Gallery in File Explorer:
- CTRL + Mouse wheel scrolling should now resize the thumbnails.
We fixed the following issues for Insiders with recommended files in File Explorer:
- Made some improvements to how Narrator reads out the recommended files.
We fixed the following issues for Insiders with access keys in File Explorer:
- Shift + Right click on a file or folder should open "Show more options" again now.
- Adjusted how Narrator was reading out the access keys after pressing the menu key, to make it clearer.
[Search]- Fixed an issue where the cursor wasn't displaying correctly in the search box when using an Arabic display language.
[Input]- Fixed an issue where the touch keyboard didn't correctly recognize a hardware keyboard was available in some cases.
[Windowing]- Fixed a shellexperiencehost.exe crash when disconnecting from another monitor using WIN + P.
[Notifications]- Fixed an issue where 2FA codes weren't being recognized if they were in parentheses.
[Live captions]- Fixed an issue that was causing live captions to crash on first launch due to an issue impacting registry data retrieval.
- Adding enhanced language recognition support in Language & region settings will now install the right files on ARM64 devices. You will no longer need to restart live captions after switching between caption languages installed from Language & region settings. However, you will need to uninstall any "speech pack" entries in Settings > Apps > Installed apps which were installed before the Language & region settings fix and re-install from Language & region settings.
- Fixed an issue in Language & region settings that caused language feature installation progress to be hidden.
- Fixed an issue causing live captions' Add a language menu icon and label to overlap.
[Task Manager]- Double clicking Task Manager's title bar to maximize the window should work again now.
- Fixed a Task Manager crash which was impacting Insiders in the last couple flights.
[Accessibility]- Fixed an issue that was leaving voice access's window empty after opening.
- Fixed an issue where voice access was crashing when using the command to go to the start of a document.
- Fixed an issue where Narrator's CTRL + Narrator + Home and Ctrl + Narrator + End commands to move to the beginning and end of text weren't working correctly in Edge.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23451 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/05/04/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23451/)
What's new in Build 23451Modernized Details Pane in File ExplorerWe are introducing a modernized details pane in File Explorer (ALT + Shift + P) designed to help you easily access related content, stay up to date with file activity, and collaborate without even opening a file.
When a user selects a file in File Explorer and enables the pane, a modern pane will display contextual information about the file including file thumbnail, share status and button, file activity, related files and e-mails, and other information. To enable the pane, choose 'Details pane' in View menu and then toggle the pane with an easy-access button located on right side of the command bar. The View menu/toggle button in the command bar can similarly be used for accessing the preview pane. This modernized pane will replace the legacy details pane in File Explorer.
[We are beginning to roll this out, so the experience isn't available to all Insiders in the Dev Channel just yet as we plan to monitor feedback and see how it lands before pushing it out to everyone.]FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Files, Folders, and Online Storage > File Explorer.Improving Windows SpotlightStarting with this build, we are trying out two different treatments for how Windows Spotlight looks. Both treatments will continue to share existing core Windows Spotlight features such as hovering over the icon on the desktop, right-clicking on the icon on the desktop, and double-clicking on the icon on the desktop. One treatment will include a richer UI, full screen, and minimized experience. Both treatments will include 4K portrait images and the ability to learn more about each desktop image. Insiders in the Dev Channel will see different treatments across their PCs so not everyone will see the same thing and the treatments will be shown in English only.
To enable Windows Spotlight on your PC today, right-click on your desktop and choose "Personalize" and then choose the new Spotlight theme. Alternatively, you can directly enable Windows Spotlight by going to Settings > Personalization > Background and choosing the option under the "Personalize your background" dropdown.
[We are beginning to roll this out, so the experience isn't available to all Insiders in the Dev Channel just yet as we plan to monitor feedback and see how it lands before pushing it out to everyone.]FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Windows Spotlight.Narrator enhances interaction with ExcelNarrator now provides a more succinct and efficient reading experience while working in Microsoft Excel. Announcements are prioritized based on the information you need to skim a workbook and are customizable using convenient keyboard shortcuts. Review the Enhanced Narrator support in Excel documentation (https://sway.office.com/A24LjOo2uV8kUo3a?ref=Link&loc=play) for further information.
To enable the enhanced announcements, you need to be on the latest Windows Insider and Office Insiders builds and start Narrator using the keyboard shortcut Control + Windows + Enter. The updated experience will be available through the Microsoft Store, so it may take a few minutes to be available on your PC. We look forward to you trying out our new changes and would love to hear your feedback and suggestions.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (Win + F) under Accessibility > Narrator.New Widget: FacebookFacebook is rolling out a preview version of their widget. To give it a try, download the Facebook app (https://www.microsoft.com/store/productId/9WZDNCRFJ2WL) from the Microsoft Store or update to the latest version of the app. Then open the widgets board and navigate to the widgets picker by clicking the "+" button at the top-right of the board to pin your widget.
As you give this and other new widgets a try (https://aka.ms/WidgetsCollectionWIP), please let us know what you think through the Widgets feedback link in the widgets picker. You should expect to see additional new widgets as more developers create and release widgets for their apps.
Changes and Improvements[Start menu]- We're beginning to expand the roll out of notification badging for Microsoft accounts on the Start menu. A Microsoft account is what connects Windows to your Microsoft apps, backs up all of your data, helps you manage subscriptions, and where you can add extra security steps so you're never locked out of your account. With this feature, we're giving customers quick access to important account-related notifications. These notifications can be managed by going to Settings > Personalization > Start.
- We continue to work on adding more valuable content (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/04/19/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23440/) to the Recommended section in the Start menu by re-introducing websites after trying this out with Insiders last fall (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/11/18/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25247/). One improvement we've made is to recommend more useful and personal websites based on your browsing history instead of generally popular websites. Insiders can right-click on a website and choose to remove a website individually at any given time. Only some Insiders will see this experience and, if you do, please share your feedback. This feature will apply to users who have opted into sharing browsing data with Microsoft and have visited enough websites in Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome (with Continuous Import enabled). As a reminder, the settings for what is recommended on Start can be adjusted via Settings > Personalization > Start. Commercial customers can manage this experience via policy.
[File Explorer]- For Windows Insiders who have Gallery in File Explorer (which began rolling out with Build 23435 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/04/14/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23435/)), we have updated the icon for Gallery.
[Widgets]- We are beginning to roll out a new widget picker experience with an image that gives a visual preview of the widget before pinning, a deep linking ability that allows users to jump directly to the picker from the provider app/service as well as a link to the widgets Store collection page (https://www.sysnative.com/forums/ms-windows-store%3A//collection/?collectionid=MerchandiserContent/Apps/WidgetCollection/Widgetsforeverything) where users can discover more apps with widgets.
- We are beginning to roll out animated icons for Widgets on the taskbar. The animation triggers when you hover or click on the Widgets taskbar entry-point or when a new widget announcement is displayed on your taskbar. Currently, only a few weather and finance icons are supported.
[Live captions]- Languages support has been expanded to include Danish, English (Ireland), French (Canada), Korean, Portuguese (Portugal).
Fixes[Taskbar & System Tray]
- Fixed an explorer.exe crash impacting taskbar reliability.
- Fixed an issue that was causing Quick Settings and its project options to sometimes not respond when using ALT + F4 to close them.
[Start menu]- Fixed an issue that was causing the Recommended section in Start to be blank the first time it was opened.
[File Explorer]We fixed the following issues for Insiders previewing the Windows App SDK version of File Explorer
- We fixed an underlying issue believed to be the cause of explorer.exe crashing when opening the context menu in the previous flight for some Insiders.
- If you use an Arabic or Hebrew display language, the tabs should be displaying correctly now.
We fixed the following issues for Insiders with Gallery in File Explorer:
- Fixed an issue where the scrollbar for Gallery was displaying on the wrong side for Insiders with an Arabic or Hebrew display language.
- If you have the Item Check Boxes setting enabled, the Gallery will now show check boxes on images.
[Search]- Did some work to fix an underlying issue which could cause Search to get stuck and not open. When this happened, you might also see a delay opening the Start menu.
[Input]- Fixed an issue where the Pinyin IME's insert text button wasn't displaying correctly in some cases.
- Fixed an underlying crash impacting the ability to launch the touch keyboard / PIN entry on the login screen.
[Notifications]- Fixed another 2FA code pattern which wasn't being recognized. If you see any others, please file feedback!
[Live captions]- Fixed an issue where caption characters shown in the second line of the default height window were getting clipped on top.
- Features have been added to the enhanced speech recognition language files to improve performance and provide out-of-language filtering meant to limit the incorrect captions for speech not in the caption language.
[Accessibility]- Fixed an issue where using the down key while navigating by landmark with Narrator in Edge wasn't jumping to the first line of the landmark correctly.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23466 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/05/24/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23466/)
This build includes a set of these new features that were announced (https://blogs.windows.com/windowsdeveloper/2023/05/23/bringing-the-power-of-ai-to-windows-11-unlocking-a-new-era-of-productivity-for-customers-and-developers-with-windows-copilot-and-dev-home/) and shown at Build this week.
What's new in Build 23466Dev DriveDev Drive is a new form of storage volume available to improve performance for key developer workloads. Dev Drive is built upon Resilient File System (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows-server/storage/refs/refs-overview) (ReFS) technology and includes file system optimizations and features that enable developers to better manage their performance and security profile. It has been designed to meet a developer's needs to host project source code, working folders, and package caches. It is not designed for general consumer workloads such as document libraries, installing packaged applications or non-developer tools.
To setup a Dev Drive, you can create one in free space on an existing drive or create a VHD/VHDX. This is done via Settings app under System > Storage > Advanced Storage Settings > Disks & Volumes, or via the command-line. A Dev Drive must be at least 50GB or higher in size and we recommend having 8GB or higher RAM on your device.
Performance mode, a new capability of Microsoft Defender Antivirus, is designed for Dev Drive to minimize impact on developer workloads.
More details on Dev Drive, see this documentation on MS Learn (https://aka.ms/devdrive).
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Developer Platform > Dev Drive.Backup and Restore improvementsBuilding on the app restore (https://blogs.windows.com/windowsdeveloper/2022/05/24/microsoft-store-grows-with-the-developer-community/) feature we announced last year, we are introducing additional backup and restore capabilities in this build to make moving to a new PC easier than ever and to help app developers retain users across this new PC transition. The goal of these changes is to land users on a desktop that feels familiar to them and get them back to productivity within minutes on their new PC.
- Windows Backup app – we're introducing this new app to quickly get your current PC backed up and ready to move to a new PC.
- App pins – your Store apps from your prior PC will be pinned where you left them, both on taskbar and in the Start menu.
- Settings – Settings from your previous device will restore to your new PC to help you get back into the flow as quickly as possible.
Once you're backed up either via the new Windows Backup app or by visiting Accounts/Windows Backup in settings, you can try out the new restore during the out-of-box- experience (OOBE) when setting up a new PC or by resetting an existing PC (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows-hardware/manufacture/desktop/push-button-reset-overview?view=windows-11) with this build.
NOTE: An easy way for Insiders to try this experience out is by running the Windows Backup app on a PC running this build and then setting up a new VM using the ISO for this build provided here (https://aka.ms/wipISO)
(or clean installation of this build on another PC) and going through OOBE for the new restore experience.For developers, review the developer best practices (https://aka.ms/AppRestore) to learn more about how to provide the best restore experience for your app. Note that in this build, not all settings and app types are supported, including desktop apps in the Store and Android apps. Backing up a Work or School account is also not supported.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23471 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/06/01/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23471/)
What's new in Build 23471Add Phone Photos in File Explorer GalleryAccessing your phone's camera roll from your PC is an important everyday task that is now easier with File Explorer Gallery. There is a new button in the Command Bar titled "Add Phone Photos" that will help with setting up your PC to be ready to show these photos in Gallery. Clicking this button today will open a URL with a QR code that you can scan with your phone to get started.
NOTE: Users may need to opt into OneDrive's Insider Program to get a version of the OneDrive sync client that handles the protocol invoked when clicking this button. To join the OneDrive Insider Program, open OneDrive settings by bringing up the OneDrive flyout from the system tray; from there, navigate to the About page and turn on the toggle for the OneDrive Insider Program.FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Files, Folders, and Online Storage > File Explorer.Narrator natural voices in Spanish (Spain and Mexico)We are introducing new natural voices in Spanish (Spain and Mexico) that allow Narrator users to comfortably browse the web, read, and write mail, and do more. Natural Narrator voices use modern (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/blog/azure-ai-milestone-new-neural-text-to-speech-models-more-closely-mirror-natural-speech/), on-device text to speech and once downloaded are supported without an internet connection.
To use one of the natural voices, add it to your PC by following these steps:
- Open Narrator Settings by pressing the WIN + Ctrl + N hotkey.
- Under Narrator's voice, select the Add button next to Add natural voices.
- Select the voice you want to install. You can install all voices, but you must install them separately.
- The new Spanish (Spain) voices are Microsoft Alvaro and Microsoft Elvira.
- The new Spanish (Mexico) voices are Microsoft Jorge and Microsoft Dalia.
- To start the download of the selected voice, select Install. The new voice will download and be ready for use in a few minutes, depending on your internet download speed.
- When the new voice has downloaded, in Narrator settings select your preferred voice from the drop-down menu in Narrator's voice > Choose a voice.
Note: If your display language is not set to Spanish , then in step 3 you will first need to select "Choose a different language" and then select the appropriate language followed by the specific voice.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (Win + F) under Accessibility > Narrator.Changes and Improvements[Lock screen]- We have updated the network flyout on the Lock screen to align with Windows 11 design principles.
[File Explorer]- We are beginning to roll out the ability to tear out and merge tabs in File Explorer. This feature is beginning to roll out, so not all Insiders in the Dev Channel will see it right away.
- Gallery in File Explorer, which began rolling out with Build 23435 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/04/14/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23435/), is now available for all Insiders in the Dev Channel.
[Settings]- It is easier to control whether to use cellular when Wi-Fi is available but poor, using a new toggle which has been added to Settings > Network & Internet > Cellular.
Fixes[File Explorer]- Fixed an issue where pressing Shift + F10 wasn't opening the context menu in File Explorer.
- Fixed an issue where access keys appeared inconsistently if no button was pressed.
We fixed the following issues for Insiders previewing the Windows App SDK version of File Explorer
- Fixed an issue that was causing explorer.exe to crash when opening the context menu for some Insiders. This same issue is believed to be the cause of some Insiders seeing an older design instead of the updated one.
We fixed the following issues for Insiders with Gallery in File Explorer:
- Fixed an explorer.exe crash in the last flight related to loading/interacting with the scrollbar in Gallery.
- Fixed an issue where Gallery may require clicking twice on the node in the navigation pane for initial load.
- Fixed an issue where minimizing and reopening File Explorer would lose your scroll position in Gallery.
- Hovering your mouse over pictures in Gallery should now show a tooltip with information about the picture.
- Live updates (including filtering) are now enabled and no longer require using the Refresh button manually.
- Fixed an issue where some file types (e.g., .heic) were not rendered correctly or performantly.
We fixed the following issues for Insiders with the modernized details pane in File Explorer:
- Made the background for thumbnails a little lighter in light mode so it doesn't stand out as much.
- If you have Narrator running when you open the details pane, it should now announce the file name.
- If the setting to show file name extensions has been enabled, that will now be reflected in the details pane too.
[Taskbar]- Fixed an issue that was causing the taskbar to get cut off when switching to and from the tablet-optimized taskbar.
[Search on the Taskbar]- We have fixed the issue causing Insiders to see an empty tooltip displayed momentarily in certain cases including while the gleam is hovered if the new hover behavior for the search box and search highlight gleam is enabled.
[Other]- Fixed an issue where Narrator with Braille support wasn't reading numbered lists correctly in Microsoft 365 apps.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23475 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/06/07/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23475/)
What's new in Build 23475Modernized File Explorer Home and Address BarNow that File Explorer is powered by Windows App SDK (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/apps/windows-app-sdk/), we are introducing a modernized File Explorer Home powered by WinUI (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/apps/winui/). Recommended files (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/03/08/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23403/) for users signed into Windows with an Azure Active Directory (AAD) account will be displayed as a carousel and support file thumbnails which is coming soon. Quick Access folders (available by default for users signed into Windows with a Microsoft account), Favorites, and Recent also bring in an updated experience with WinUI.
We are also introducing a modernized address bar and search box to File Explorer. The new address bar intelligently recognizes local vs. cloud folders with built-in status. For OneDrive users, you'll notice the address bar now contains your OneDrive sync status and quota flyout.
[We are beginning to roll this out, so the experience isn't available to all Insiders in the Dev Channel just yet as we plan to monitor feedback and see how it lands before pushing it out to everyone.] FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Files, Folders, and Online Storage > File Explorer.Dynamic LightingDynamic Lighting provides Windows users and developers with native control of Lighting Devices implementing the open HID LampArray standard. By adopting an open standard, and by working with our OEM and ODM partners, Microsoft seeks to improve the RGB device and software ecosystem for users by increasing interoperability of devices and apps. Included are APIs for Windows apps to control devices from the background and foreground, as well as a page in Windows Settings for users to customize how their devices behave.
Several device manufacturers including Acer, ASUS, HP, HyperX, Logitech, Razer, and Twinkly have partnered with Microsoft on Dynamic Lighting.
As of the publication of this post, a list of current, in-market compatible devices is below. Review the Dynamic Lighting Hardware MS Learn page (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows-hardware/design/component-guidelines/components) for a more current list of compatible in-market devices. The latest firmware should be used with these devices. We are aware of several issues with wireless device connections so please use a wired connection with a compatible device to a PC, if possible, for the time being. And check out the known issues below in this post for other issues that may impact this experience.
Note: Many of the devices listed below have not yet been verified for compatibility by Microsoft. In case of issues, contact the device manufacturer.Keyboards:- Coming soon: ASUS ROG Scope II Wireless 96 Gaming Keyboard
- Razer BlackWidow V3
- Razer BlackWidow V3 Pro
- Razer BlackWidow V3 Mini
- Razer BlackWidow V3 Tenkeyless
- Razer BlackWidow V4 Pro
- Razer DeathStalker V2
- Razer DeathStalker V2 Pro
- Razer DeathStalker V2 Pro TKL
- Razer Huntsman Mini
- Razer Huntsman Mini Analog
- Razer Huntsman Tournament Edition
- Razer Huntsman V2
- Razer Huntsman V2 Analog
- Razer Huntsman V2 Tenkeyless
- Razer Ornata V2
- Razer Ornata V3
- Razer Ornata V3 TKL
- Razer Turret Keyboard Xbox One Edition
Mice:- Coming soon: ASUS ROG Harpe Ace AimLab Edition Gaming Mouse
- Microsoft Pro IntelliMouse
- Razer Turret Mouse Xbox One
- Razer DeathAdder V2
- Razer DeathAdder V2 Pro
- Razer Naga Left-Handed
- Razer Naga Pro
To control and configure a HID LampArray device at both the per-device and all-device level, navigate to the new Dynamic Lighting page in
Settings > Personalization > Dynamic Lighting.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Devices and Drivers > Lighting.Changes and Improvements[General]- The feature where we now detect if the user is interacting with toasts or not and provide a suggestion to turn the toast banners off for such apps that began rolling out with Build 23466 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/05/24/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23466/) is now available to all Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel.
[Emoji]- The Unicode Emoji 15 (https://www.unicode.org/review/pri435/pri435-background-emoji-candidates.pdf) is beginning to roll out to Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel. Users will now be able to see, search for and insert new emoji from the emoji panel. Here are a few of our Emoji 15 designs which include more hearts, animals and one new smiley face.
Fixes[Taskbar & System Tray][/B]
- Fixed an issue where the taskbar may not have shown the correct apps when using multiple desktops.
[Search on the Taskbar]- Fixed the issue where Narrator customers were unable to navigate down the left side panel of the search flyout.
[Start menu]- Fixed an issue where when using a Japanese display language, sometimes apps with names written in kanji would all show at the bottom of the all apps list, rather than displayed alongside hiragana and katakana app names.
[Notifications]- Fixed an issue where certain notifications were leading to an explorer.exe crash.
[Input]- We're rolling out the fix for an issue where Korean touch keyboard sometimes finalizes characters unexpectedly in the search flyout on the taskbar.
[Backup and Restore]- Backups of a PC that was set up using a restore will now show up in subsequent restores.
- Restore of solid color desktop backgrounds are now supported.
[Other]- Fixed issues that were causing voice access commands for moving settings sliders and selecting things on the taskbar to fail.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23481 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/06/14/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23481/)
What's new in Build 23481Improvements for Windows InkWindows Ink is being modernized to allow users to enable inking
directly onto edit fields. In addition, we are improving the accuracy from the recognition technology and a scratch out gesture for when users need to make edits. The goal with Windows Ink is to let users use their pen and handwrite anywhere they can type on their Windows device.
Currently, these new Windows Ink improvements support English (U.S.) only but stay tuned for broader language support. This new experience can be managed via Settings > Bluetooth and devices > Pen and Windows Ink under "Shell Handwriting". And please check out some of the known issues for Windows Ink below.
[We are beginning to roll this out, so the experience isn't available to all Insiders in the Dev Channel just yet as we plan to monitor feedback and see how it lands before pushing it out to everyone.] FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Input and Language > Pen input.Folder Options changes in File ExplorerWe are removing a handful of old settings under Folder Options in File Explorer as part of an effort to clean up the number of settings for File Explorer. Many of these are legacy settings that have been around for ages and are not being regularly used by people on Windows 11.
The following settings will no longer appear under Folder Options in File Explorer:
- Hide Folder Merge conflict.
- Always show icons, never thumbnails.
- Display file icon on thumbnails.
- Display file type information on Folder tips.
- Hide protected OS files.
- Show drive letters.
- Show popup description for Folder and Desktop items.
- Show encrypted or compressed NTFS files in color.
- Use sharing wizard.
(Note: These settings can still be accessed via registry keys.)FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Files, Folders, and Online Storage > File Explorer.New Widget: Focus SessionWe are beginning to roll out a new Focus Session widget as part of a Clock app update (version 11.2305.6.0 and higher) via the Microsoft Store to Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels. With this new widget, you will be able to quickly start and stop focus sessions on your device.
[We are beginning to roll this out, so the experience isn't available to all Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels just yet as we plan to monitor feedback and see how it lands before pushing it out to everyone.] FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Apps > Clock App.Changes and Improvements[Taskbar & System Tray]- Never combined mode, which enables you to see each window of your applications on the taskbar individually, and which began rolling out with Build 23466 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/05/24/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23466/), is now available to all Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel.
- Starting with his build, Chat is now Microsoft Teams – Free (https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-teams/teams-for-home). Microsoft Teams – Free is pinned by default to the taskbar and can be unpinned like other apps on the taskbar. Stay tuned for more enhancements as we continue to enhance Microsoft Teams – Free with more features and improvements.
[File Explorer]- The ability to tear out and merge tabs in File Explorer, which began rolling out with Build 23471 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/06/01/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23471/), is now available to all Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel.
[Voice access]- The new text authoring experiences in voice access that began rolling out with Build 23466 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/05/24/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23466/) is now available to all Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel.
Fixes[Dev Drive]- Fixed an issue where filters beyond AV might be attached to your Dev Drive on reboot.
- Fixed an issue which could cause a bugcheck when using Dev Drive.
[File Explorer]- Fixed an issue where the icons in the File Explorer context menu could be blurry.
- Fixed an issue where sync status icons for files backing up to a storage provider were not reliably displayed.
- Fixed an issue for authentication errors on File Explorer Home where the 'Please Sign-in' button appeared but clicking on it did not pop-up the authentication dialog.
- Updated "Show files from Office.com" text in folder options to "Include account-based insights, recent, favorite, and recommended files".
- Using CTRL + V to paste an image in Gallery will now paste the image into your default pictures folder (the default folder can be configured under Collection > Manage Collection in Gallery).
- If you hover your mouse over the details button in File Explorer, the tooltip should no longer block the close button for the window.
We fixed the following issues for Insiders with the modernized address bar in File Explorer:
- Fixed the direction of the search icon within the tab when doing a search in File Explorer.
- Fixed an issue where tabbing or Shift + tabbing from the command bar wouldn't land focus inside the current folder.
- Fixed an issue where if you set focus into the address bar (to edit the path), you wouldn't be able to use tab to move focus out of it.
- If the current path is longer than the available space in the address bar, a bit of room now has been added so you can still click and go into edit mode.
We fixed the following issues for Insiders who have the modernized File Explorer Home:
- Fixed an issue where hovering over folders in the Quick Access section of Home was causing the name to disappear and the icon to slide to the side if you had checkboxes enabled.
- Dragging and dropping into the Favorites or Quick Access sections should work again now.
[Search on the Taskbar]- Fixed an issue where navigating the search flyout on the taskbar with the keyboard arrow keys did not work as expected.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23486 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/06/22/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23486/)
What's new in Build 23486Passwordless ImprovementsMicrosoft believes that the future is passwordless (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2023/05/04/how-microsoft-can-help-you-go-passwordless-this-world-password-day/). Passkeys will allow you to replace passwords when you sign into a web site or application that supports them. Passkeys represent a future where bad actors will have a much harder time stealing and using your credentials when signing into a web site or application. Passkeys are phish-resistant, recoverable, and faster for users.
Enroll and use passkey to sign into apps and websites: We are improving the passkey experience for Windows users. They can now go to any app or website that supports passkeys to create and sign in using passkeys with the Windows Hello native experience. Once a passkey is created, users can use Windows Hello (face, fingerprint, PIN) to sign in. In addition, users can use their phone to complete the application logon process.
Create and Sign in using passkeys saved on your Windows device:
- Go to a website that has enabled passkeys on Windows (Example: bestbuy.com, ebay.com, google.com).
- Create a passkey from your account settings.
- Sign out of your account and sign-in using your passkey.
Sign in using passkeys saved on your phone:
- Go to a website that has enabled passkeys from your mobile device (Example: bestbuy.com, ebay.com, google.com).
- Create a passkey from your account settings.
- Go to the website on Windows and sign in using your passkey saved on your mobile device.
Manage passkeys saved to your Windows device: We are giving users a fundamental control over how they can manage the passkeys saved to their Windows device. They can now view and delete passkeys saved for their favorite apps/websites from Windows settings.
- Navigate to Settings > Accounts > Passkeys.
- You are presented with a list of all passkeys saved to your Windows device.
- You can now search and delete any passkey from the device.
Special Instructions:- On Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome, if you see the browser's passkey UI, choose "Windows Hello or external security key" to get the Windows native experience. Try Google Chrome Canary for the latest experience there. As Microsoft Edge is Chromium-based, experiences in Chrome Canary will roll up into Microsoft Edge as well over time.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Security and Privacy > Passkey.Changes and Improvements[File Explorer]- Thank you to all the Windows Insiders who gave us feedback on the Folder Options changes in File Explorer that removed a handful of old settings in Build 23481 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/06/14/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23481/). We've rolled back this change. As is normal for the Dev Channel, we will often try things out and get feedback and adjust based on the feedback we receive.
[Dynamic Lighting]- New Effects are now available for Dynamic Lighting (https://aka.ms/wip23475) via Settings > Personalization > Dynamic Lighting. Check out Wave, Wheel, and Gradient.
[Emoji]- Unicode Emoji 15 (https://www.unicode.org/review/pri435/pri435-background-emoji-candidates.pdf), which began rolling out with Build 23475 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/06/07/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23475/), is now available to all Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel.
[Settings]- We are improving the user experience when changing time zones, including cases of low confidence in location data. It displays a non-dismissible notification for accepting or rejecting the change and prompts the user for confirmation before adjusting the time zone.
- We are also improving the user experience while changing the time zone via Settings > Time & language > Date & time. If location settings are disabled, a warning is now shown to the user, urging them to enable location settings to ensure accurate time zone adjustments. This warning provides helpful information to the user, helping them understand why their time zone may not be correct and guiding them towards resolving the issue.
Fixes[Dynamic Lighting]- We fixed the issue where on first boot after installing recent builds and connecting a device, the "Use Dynamic Lighting on my devices" toggle is off in Settings and device LEDs may not turn on automatically.
[Input]- We're rolling a fix for an issue where a blank window whose title is "Windows Input Experience" appears after resuming the device from the sleep.
[Network]- Fixed an issue where the login screen was crashing in the last couple flights when trying to connect to certain types of networks.
[Task Manager]- Fixed an issue causing Task Manager crashes for some people.
- Fixed an issue where focus wasn't getting set correctly to search if the Task Manager window was small enough that search was collapsed to an icon.
- Fixed alignment of Task Manager icon and name in the title bar.
- Right clicking the empty space in the Details page (aka so no process is actually selected) will no longer show the option to create live kernel memory dumps.
- Fixed an issue where the live kernel memory dumps weren't being cleaned up by Storage Sense.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23493 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/06/29/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23493/)
What's new in Build 23493
Windows Copilot Preview Back in May at the Build conference, we introduced Windows Copilot for Windows 11 (https://blogs.windows.com/windowsdeveloper/2023/05/23/bringing-the-power-of-ai-to-windows-11-unlocking-a-new-era-of-productivity-for-customers-and-developers-with-windows-copilot-and-dev-home/). In today's flight we are offering an early look of Windows Copilot to Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel via a controlled feature rollout. This first preview focuses on our integrated UI experience, with additional functionality coming down the road in future previews. To use Copilot in this flight you must have Windows Build 23493 or higher in the Dev Channel, and Microsoft Edge version 115.0.1901.150 or higher.
To get started, just click on the new button on the taskbar (or WIN + C) to launch Windows Copilot. Windows Copilot will use the same Microsoft account (MSA) or Azure Active Directory (AAD) account used to sign-in to Windows.
Windows Copilot will appear as a side bar docked to the right where it won't overlap with your desktop content and will run unobstructed alongside your open app windows, allowing you to interact with Windows Copilot anytime you need.
In this first preview, you can ask Windows Copilot a range of questions or to take actions such as:
- "Change to dark mode."
- "Turn on do not disturb."
- "Take a screenshot"
- "Summarize this website" (Active tab in Microsoft Edge)
- "Write a story about a dog who lives on the moon."
- "Make me a picture of a serene koi fishpond with lily pads."
Just click the "..." icon at the top right of the side bar in Windows Copilot to submit feedback on any issues you run into. We'll have more to come including expanding the preview to more Windows Insiders in other channels over time and adding policies to allow IT admins to manage this experience in their organizations.
Windows Copilot with Bing Chat generates responses that are contextual and improves your experience in Windows.
You may see inline recommendations we think are relevant through ads in Bing. We'll continue to learn and listen to customer feedback. Understand what Bing does with your data by visiting Microsoft Privacy Statement (https://aka.ms/privacy). Read more about our responsible AI journey, the ethical principles that guide us, and the tooling and capabilities we've created to assure that we develop AI technology responsibly at Microsoft's commitment to responsible AI (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/ai/responsible-ai).
Please note that not everything shown at Build for Windows Copilot is included in this first, early preview. For example, Windows Copilot has a basic set of Windows settings plugins but no third-party plugin support yet. Over time, features will be added as we refine the Windows Copilot experience with Windows Insiders.
[We are beginning to roll this out, so the experience isn't available to all Insiders in the Dev Channel just yet as we plan to monitor feedback and see how it lands before pushing it out to everyone.] Introducing the new Settings homepage We're introducing a new homepage in Settings that offers you a dynamic and personalized experience. It provides an overview of your device, quick access to key settings, and helps manage your Microsoft account.
We created interactive cards that represent various device and account related settings, grouped by commonly accessed functions. Each card is optimized to offer the most relevant information and controls at your fingertips. In this release, you'll see up to seven cards, with more coming soon.
Here's an overview of each card:
- Recommended settings: This card adapts to your specific usage patterns, providing timely and relevant settings options. It's designed to streamline your settings management and save you time.
- Cloud storage: Gives you an overview of your cloud storage use and lets you know when you're nearing capacity.
- Account recovery: Helps keep your Microsoft account more secure by helping you add additional recovery info so you never get locked out of your account, even if you forget your password.
- Personalization: Brings customization to the forefront by offering one-click access to update your background theme or change your color mode.
- Microsoft 365: Provides a quick glimpse of your subscription status and benefits, along with the ability to take some key actions right in Settings instead of going to the web.
- Xbox: Similar to the Microsoft 365 card, you'll be able to view your subscription status and manage the subscription from the Settings app.
- Bluetooth Devices: To simplify your Bluetooth device management experience, we've brought this to the forefront so you can quickly access and connect to your favorite Bluetooth-enabled devices.
You can take swift actions directly from this page with just a click, making device and account management seamless and efficient. What sets the homepage apart even further is that it's more than just a landing page—it evolves and learns with you. As you use your device, it'll adjust to provide the most relevant and useful information based on your usage and preferences.
NOTE: This experience will only be available on Windows 11 Home and Pro editions and not on devices managed by organizations. [We are beginning to roll this out, so the experience isn't available to all Insiders in the Dev Channel just yet as we plan to monitor feedback and see how it lands before pushing it out to everyone.] FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Settings > Settings Homepage. Restore for more apps Adding to the capabilities of the backup and restore improvements we announced in May (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/05/24/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23466/), this build extends support to even more types of apps. Users will now see pins for their desktop app restored on the taskbar and Start Menu, including desktop apps that were not installed from the Microsoft Store.
Desktop apps that are available in the Microsoft Store can be restored by clicking on the app pin to get started. For apps that aren't available in the Microsoft Store, you'll be directed to the web to download the installer.
To try out this experience, both the backup and restore devices need to be updated to this build. Once you're backed up either via the new Windows Backup app or by visiting Accounts/Windows Backup in settings, you can try out the new restore during the out-of-box-experience (OOBE) when setting up a new PC or by resetting an existing PC (Settings > System > Recovery > Reset this PC) with this build.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Install and Update > Backup and Restore. Native support for reading additional archive file formats As announced at the Build conference back in May (https://blogs.windows.com/windowsdeveloper/2023/05/23/bringing-the-power-of-ai-to-windows-11-unlocking-a-new-era-of-productivity-for-customers-and-developers-with-windows-copilot-and-dev-home/), this build adds native support for reading additional archive file formats using the libarchive open-source project (https://github.com/libarchive/libarchive) such as
- .tar
- .tar.gz
- .tar.bz2
- .tar.zst
- .tar.xz
- .tgz
- .tbz2
- .tzst
- .txz
- .rar
- .7z
- And more!
Please note we are aware of some performance issues with some archive file formats – see the known issues below.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (Win + F) under Files, Folders, and Online Storage > File Explorer. New volume mixer experience in Quick Settings We're introducing a new enhanced volume mixer into Quick Settings! The updated audio quick settings experience brings a modern volume mixer that allows for quick customization of audio on a per-app basis, with additional control to swap devices on the fly. We've also added a new keyboard shortcut (WIN + CTRL + V) to bring you directly to the volume mixer for faster control of the experience. With this change, you can now tailor your audio experience better with more control and fewer clicks to better manage your favorite apps.
In addition, we've made it easier for users to enable their Windows Sonic experience with a quick access list of installed spatial sound technology. You can visit the Microsoft Store to find additional spatial sound technology to choose from such as Dolby and DTS.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Quick Settings. Narrator natural voices in Japanese and English (Great British) We are introducing new natural voices in Japanese and English (Great British) that allow Narrator users to comfortably browse the web, read, and write mail, and do more. Natural Narrator voices use modern (//'https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/blog/azure-ai-milestone-new-neural-text-to-speech-models-more-closely-mirror-natural-speech/'), on-device text to speech and once downloaded are supported without an internet connection.
To use one of the natural voices, add it to your PC by following these steps:
- Open Narrator Settings by pressing the WIN + Ctrl + N hotkey.
- Under Narrator's voice, select the Add button next to Add natural voices.
- Choose the language for which you want to install Natural Voices. List of available voices will be displayed.
- Select the voice you want to install. You can install all voices, but you must install them separately.
- The new Japanese voices are Microsoft Nanami (Female) and Microsoft Keita (Male)
- The new English (Great British) voices are Microsoft Sonia (Female) and Microsoft Ryan (Male)
- To start the download of the selected voice, select Install. The new voice will download and be ready for use in a few minutes, depending on your Internet download speed.
- When the new voice has downloaded, in Narrator settings select your preferred voice from the drop-down menu in Narrator's voice > Choose a voice.
Note: If your display language is not set to Japanese and English (Great British), then in step 3 you will first need to select "Choose a different language" and select the appropriate language followed by the specific voice.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (Win + F) under Accessibility > Narrator. Changes and Improvements [General] - New functionality for mitigating unrequested modifications for app defaults as mentioned in this blog post (//'https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2023/03/17/a-principled-approach-to-app-pinning-and-app-defaults-in-windows/') are included in this build.
[Taskbar & System Tray] - The updated API for pinning as mentioned here in this blog post (https://nam06.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fblogs.windows.com%2Fwindowsexperience%2F2023%2F03%2F17%2Fa-principled-approach-to-app-pinning-and-app-defaults-in-windows%2F&data=05%7C01%7Cbleblanc%40microsoft.com%7C1a83e262ebba416765bf08db71c6ed09%7C72f988bf86f141af91ab2d7cd011db47%7C1%7C0%7C638228871470451768%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=O4G0PK5eDo5qWQtthjoO%2FcrsP6lUbpMoDtxw%2Bo2XWW8%3D&reserved=0) are now included in this build for preview.
[Snap Layouts] - We are trying out suggestions in Snap Layouts (https://support.microsoft.com/windows/snap-your-windows-885a9b1e-a983-a3b1-16cd-c531795e624') that help you instantly snap multiple app windows together. When hovering over the Minimize or Maximize button on an app (or WIN + Z) to launch the layout box, you will see app icons displayed in various layout options to help recommend the best layout option that works best. This experience is beginning to roll out so not all Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel will see it right away.
[File Explorer] - We've done some work to improve the performance of archive functionality during compression on Windows.
Fixes [General] - Fixed an underlying issue which was causing explorer.exe crashes when doing a variety of things in the last 2 builds, including when uninstalling apps.
[Dev Drive] - Fixed an issue where [URL'https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/win32/fileio/symbolic-link']symbolic links[/URL] might not work correctly when using Dev Drive.
[File Explorer] - Fixed an issue where the count shown for selected files in the details pane may have been extremely large.
We fixed the following issues for Insiders with the modernized details pane in File Explorer:
- Fixed an issue where the details pane was flashing white in dark mode when navigating or resizing the File Explorer window.
We fixed the following issues for Insiders with the modernized address bar in File Explorer:
- Fixed an issue where the delete key was sometimes not working in File Explorer (including when doing Shift + Delete).
We fixed the following issues for Insiders who have the modernized File Explorer Home:
- File Type icons were displayed in place of file thumbnails for 'Recommended' section (applicable to Enterprise users).
- Insiders signed in with an AAD account and try to navigate the Recommended section on File Explorer Home with the tab key on the keyboard may have experienced an explorer.exe crash.
- When navigating from another group to the Recommended section using a keyboard, focus did not appear on the group header or files appropriately.
[Taskbar & System Tray] - Fixed multiple explorer.exe crashes that were impacting taskbar reliability.
- Fixed an issue when using uncombined taskbar that was causing focus to get lost when moving from the taskbar previews back to the taskbar icons.
[Search on the Taskbar] - Fixed an issue impacting search reliability for some Insiders in the last 2 flights.
[Task Manager] - Fixed an issue where it wasn't possible to move the Task Manager window with touch or pen.
[Dynamic Lighting] - Fixed an issue where device icons were missing from the device cards in Settings.
[Windows Ink] - Fixed an issue where users were unable use handwriting to erase text in Microsoft Edge.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23506 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/07/19/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23506/)
What's new in Build 23506Passwordless experience with Windows Hello for BusinessWith Windows Hello for Business (WHFB), Windows provides organizations with a strong, phish-resistant credential, helping customers move to a passwordless future (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2023/05/04/how-microsoft-can-help-you-go-passwordless-this-world-password-day/). Enterprise customers can now set the EnablePasswordlessExperience policy (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/client-management/mdm/policy-csp-Authentication?WT.mc_id=Portal-fx#enablepasswordlessexperience) that promotes a user experience on AAD joined machines for core authentication scenarios without requiring a password. This new experience hides passwords from certain Windows authentication scenarios and leverages passwordless recovery mechanisms, such as WHFB PIN reset, if necessary.
Once the policy is set, it removes passwords from the user experience, both for device logon as well as in-session auth scenarios like password managers in a web browser, "Run as" admin or as a different user scenarios, and User Account Control (UAC). Users will navigate through their core authentication scenarios using WHFB in place of passwords. If the user fails to sign in, recovery mechanisms such as PIN reset or web sign-in can be used to help the user recover their credentials without IT helpdesk engagement.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Security and Privacy > Windows Hello PIN. Unsafe password copy and paste warningsStarting in Windows 11, version 22H2, Enhanced Phishing Protection in Microsoft Defender SmartScreen (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/security/threat-protection/microsoft-defender-smartscreen/phishing-protection-microsoft-defender-smartscreen?tabs=intune) helps protect Microsoft school or work passwords against phishing and unsafe usage on sites and apps. We are trying out a change starting with this build where users who have enabled warning options for Windows Security under App & browser control > Reputation-based protection > Phishing protection will see a UI warning on unsafe password copy and paste, just as they currently see when they type in their password.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Security and Privacy > Microsoft Defender SmartScreen.Local File Sharing ImprovementsWe have made some improvements to the built-in Windows share window and nearby sharing (https://support.microsoft.com/windows/share-things-with-nearby-devices-in-windows-0efbfe40-e3e2-581b-13f4-1a0e9936c2d9) for sharing local files from your PC.
Those improvements include:
- We have redesigned the Windows share window to better match the Windows 11 design principles.
- Everyone will now be able to email their files through Outlook directly within the Windows share window. Just click on the Outlook icon under the "Share using" section of the Windows share window.
- The Windows share window now has a search box so you can now search for contacts across Outlook to share a file and the Windows share window will now display 8-10 suggested contacts to quickly share to – including emailing yourself a file.
- Instead of a dropdown, you will see a button to turn on nearby sharing.
- For nearby sharing, you will find your own PCs at the top of discovered devices under "Nearby Share".
- Files will share faster from one PC to another using Wi-Fi Direct.
- And we've added "Share" to the context menu in File Explorer in addition to having the share icon at the top of the context menu.
As a reminder, these experiences will work for sharing local files from the desktop, File Explorer, Photos, Snipping Tool, Xbox, and other apps that use the built-in Windows share window.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Share for the Windows share window and under Desktop Environment > Nearby Sharing for nearby sharing.The New Outlook for Windows is now an inbox appStarting with this build, the new Outlook for Windows Preview is now an inbox app. With the new Outlook for Windows, you can connect work and personal emails, calendars, and contacts in one secure place. Learn about the new Outlook for Windows here (https://nam06.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.microsoft.com%2Fen-us%2Fmicrosoft-365%2Foutlook%2Foutlook-for-windows&data=05%7C01%7Cbleblanc%40microsoft.com%7C21a1b39bbedc4964a2a208db87902b2b%7C72f988bf86f141af91ab2d7cd011db47%7C1%7C0%7C638252825575914436%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=mPI5FcrV%2Bcjqa7f675nj4dPc%2FLWrfLJA17Cd5HgHBV4%3D&reserved=0) and the most recent set of updates for Insiders here (https://insider.microsoft365.com/en-us/blog/starting-to-support-third-party-accounts-in-new-outlook-for-windows-preview). You can click here (https://support.microsoft.com/office/outlook-for-windows-the-future-of-mail-calendar-and-people-on-windows-11-715fc27c-e0f4-4652-9174-47faa751b199) to learn more about the future of Mail and Calendar in Windows.
Post-OOBE ExperiencesWe are trying out several new experiences for after completing OOBE (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows-hardware/customize/desktop/customize-oobe-in-windows-11) ("out of box experience") starting with this build. You may see one of these three experiences launched automatically on your device after completing OOBE.
- If you choose 'Development Intent' within the 'Let's Customize Your Experience' page during OOBE, Dev Home will be automatically launched on your device after logging in and reaching the desktop for the first time after OOBE setup.
- If you choose 'Development Intent' within the 'Let's Customize Your Experience' page during OOBE, the Get Started app will be automatically launched on your device after logging in and reaching the desktop for the first time after OOBE setup. The Get Started app will show you a personalized flow that will help you learn more about Dev Home and give you the opportunity to open Dev Home.
- If you choose to 'Restore' your device during OOBE, the Get Started app will be automatically launched on your device after you log into your device for the second time after completing OOBE. The Get Started app will show you a personalized flow that will help you learn about key apps and settings, tell you that Windows has restored on your device and show you how to access your restored apps on Start menu or taskbar.
These experiences will help you learn about new features in Windows 11 and help you complete your device setup. These experiences will only be available to a small subset of Insiders in the Dev Channel at first and you may see different variations of these experiences.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Install and Update > Initial out of box setup.Changes and Improvements[Windows Copilot]- The Windows Copilot Preview, which began rolling out with Build 23493 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/06/29/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23493/), is now available to all Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel. Insiders may need to reboot to have it show up.
[Emoji]- With the update of our color font format to COLRv1 (https://learn.microsoft.com/typography/opentype/spec/colr#colr-version-1-rendering-algorithm), Windows is now able to display richer emoji with a 3D like appearance with support coming soon to some apps and browsers. These emoji use gradients to bring the design style that our customers have been asking for. The new emoji will bring more expression to your communications.
[Voice Access]- Voice access is now available via the accessibility flyout on the Lock screen.
[Backup and Restore]- In addition to the new Windows Backup app (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/05/24/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23466/), now you can configure your backup preferences in second-chance out of box experience (SCOOBE), so your apps, settings, creds, and files are backed up in the cloud just the way you want them. You'll have peace of mind knowing the data you care about is protected and ready for you to restore from any PC.
[Settings]- We have temporarily disabled the new Settings homepage that began rolling out with Build 23493 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/06/29/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23493/) due to a bug that could cause some instability on Insider's PCs. We plan to re-enable and roll this back out once that bug is fixed in a future flight.
- We've added 2 additional energy recommendations under Settings > System > Power & battery > Energy recommendations for turning on dark mode and adjusting refresh rate to conserve energy.
Fixes[File Explorer]
- Fixed an issue where explorer.exe might crash when dragging tabs.
- Fixed an issue which could cause explorer.exe to crash when opening Gallery.
We fixed the following issues for Insiders who have the modernized File Explorer address bar that began rolling out with Build 23475 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/06/07/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23475/):
- Fixed an issue which was causing explorer.exe to crash when trying to access an FTP address.
- Fixed an issue where selecting the dropdown arrows in the address bar was opening a blank menu in the last flight.
We fixed the following issues for Insiders who have the modernized File Explorer Home that began rolling out with Build 23475 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/06/07/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23475/):
- Fixed an issue where File Type icons are displayed in place of file thumbnails for 'Recommended' section (applicable to Enterprise users).
- Fixed an issue where Insiders signed in with an AAD account who tried to navigate the Recommended section on File Explorer Home with the tab key on the keyboard may have experienced an explorer.exe crash.
- Fixed an issue where if you navigated from another group to the Recommended section using a keyboard, focus will not appear on the group header or files appropriately.
- Fixed an issue where opening Home was crashing for some Insiders.
We fixed the following issue with commands on recommended files in File Explorer that began rolling out with Build 23403 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/03/08/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23403/):
- Fixed an issue where if you clicked on the Share command, it would bring up the Windows share sheet instead of the OneDrive share experience.
- Fixed an underlying issue believed to be the cause of certain apps hanging when trying to use the open file dialog.
[Notifications]- Fixed an issue where the copy button for quickly copying two-factor authentication (2FA) codes in notification toasts was not working as expected.
[Taskbar & System Tray]- Fixed an issue where the notification badge on the widgets icon in the taskbar could get out of place.
[Search on the Taskbar]- We fixed the issue causing text scaling to not work in the search flyout.
[Dynamic Lighting]- Fixed an underlying ctfmon.exe crash (which could impact the ability to type) related to the Dynamic Lighting work.
- Fixed an issue where all-device settings changes were not propagating to per-device settings.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23511 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/07/27/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23511/)
What's new in Build 23511More improvements for Windows SpotlightAfter trying out different treatments for how Windows Spotlight looks, we're now rolling out a single Windows Spotlight experience for Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel that includes previewing images at full screen, multiple opportunities to learn more about each image and a minimized experience. To open the Windows Spotlight experience, right-click on the Spotlight icon on the desktop. You can also double click on the icon to directly launch a Bing landing page for more info on each image.
To enable Windows Spotlight on your PC today, right-click on your desktop and choose "Personalize" and then choose the new Spotlight theme. Alternatively, you can directly enable Windows Spotlight by going to Settings > Personalization > Background and choosing the option under the "Personalize your background" dropdown.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Windows Spotlight.Changes and Improvements[General]- If a camera streaming issue is detected such as a camera failing to start or a closed camera shutter, a pop-up dialog will appear with the recommendation to launch the automated Get Help troubleshooter to resolve the issue.
[Windows Copilot]- Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel who login and are managed by AAD (soon to be Microsoft Entra ID (https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-entra-azure-ad-blog/azure-ad-is-becoming-microsoft-entra-id/ba-p/2520436)) will notice that the Windows Copilot Preview is no longer available in this build. This is just a temporary issue. You may enable it temporarily via this policy located here in Group Policy Editor: User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Copilot. Please note that this policy name will change in an upcoming flight. The Windows Copilot Preview will be defaulted on in a future flight including support for Bing Chat for Enterprise (https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2023/07/18/furthering-our-ai-ambitions-announcing-bing-chat-enterprise-and-microsoft-365-copilot-pricing/).
[Start menu]- For people logged into an Windows 11 Pro or Enterprise editions with an AAD account (soon to be Microsoft Entra ID (https://nam06.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftechcommunity.microsoft.com%2Ft5%2Fmicrosoft-entra-azure-ad-blog%2Fazure-ad-is-becoming-microsoft-entra-id%2Fba-p%2F2520436&data=05%7C01%7Cbleblanc%40microsoft.com%7C93d1c22f9b364c09759208db8eb28f13%7C72f988bf86f141af91ab2d7cd011db47%7C1%7C0%7C638260669819693902%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=9oL0cIubGkXDcVMe1dq4nELjPe0YIZSi8UPuzCLe%2Fxw%3D&reserved=0)), we are providing a richer preview when hovering over files such as Word documents under Recommended on the Start menu. For this initial release, thumbnails will not be available for all files and a later update will enable the experience for more files and for MSA users. Additionally, when right-clicking on cloud file recommendations, there is now an option to quickly share these files.
- Under All apps in the Start menu, Windows 11 system components will now show a "system" label. This change is beginning to roll out and so not all Insiders in the Dev Channel will see it right away.
[Taskbar & System Tray]- Notifications will now show as a bell in the system tray and when new notifications come through, the bell will colorize based on your system accent color. When there are no notifications and the clock is visible, the bell will be empty. Notification counts are no longer shown.
[File Explorer]- Made some changes which should noticeably help improve the performance of the "calculating" phase when sending a large number of files at once in File Explorer to the recycle bin.
[Snap Layouts]- We have fixed the bugs that were causing some crashes that resulted in us turning off suggestions in Snap Layouts (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/07/27/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23511/e%20are%20trying%20out%20suggestions%20in%20Snap%20Layouts%20that%20help%20you%20instantly%20snap%20multiple%20app%20windows%20together.%20When%20hovering%20over%20the%20Minimize%20or%20Maximize%20button%20on%20an%20app%20(or%20WIN%20+%20Z)%20to%20launch%20the%20layout%20box,%20you%20will%20see%20app%20icons%20displayed%20in%20various%20layout%20options%20to%20help%20recommend%20the%20best%20layout%20option%20that%20works%20best.%20This%20experience%20is%20beginning%20to%20roll%20out%20so%20not%20all%20Windows%20Insiders%20in%20the%20Dev%20Channel%20will%20see%20it%20right%20away.) and are beginning to roll this out again to Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel. Suggestions in Snap Layouts (https://support.microsoft.com/windows/snap-your-windows-885a9b1e-a983-a3b1-16cd-c531795e6241)that help you instantly snap multiple app windows together. When hovering over the Minimize or Maximize button on an app (or WIN + Z) to launch the layout box, you will see app icons displayed in various layout options to help recommend the best layout option that works best. This experience is beginning to roll out (again) so not all Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel will see it right away.
[Settings]- We have fixed the bug that could cause some instability which resulted in us disabling the new Settings homepage (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/06/29/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23493/) with Build 23506 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/07/19/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23506/) last week. We have begun rolling the new Settings homepage out again to Insiders in the Dev Channel.
- We are beginning to roll out a new option under Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Phone Link to disable Phone Link all together in Windows 11. This setting will prevent Phone Link from communicating with your mobile devices.
Fixes
[File Explorer]- Fixed an issue where copying files out of large archives or using "Extract All" might have been slower than expected for "solid" .7Z or .rar archives.
- Fixed an issue where when decompressing some of the newly supported archive format types, the folder names might become gibberish.
- Fixed an underlying issue where in some cases the context menu background in File Explorer was appearing transparent.
[Notifications]- Fixed an issue that was preventing apps from opening when you selected inside a notification popup for that app.
- Fixed an issue causing Insiders to unexpectedly see a notification suggesting you turn off notifications for an app named NotifyiconGeneratedAumid_*.
[Taskbar & System Tray]- Fixed multiple explorer.exe crashes that were impacting taskbar reliability.
- Fixed an issue that was causing quick settings not to open when selecting the network, volume, and battery icons in the system tray.
[Task View & Desktops]- Adjusted the desktops switching animation to ease into the animation a little more.
[Search on the Taskbar]- Fixed an issue where search was not actually hiding when set to hide in taskbar settings.
[Windows Ink]- Fixed an issue where writing in the address box in Microsoft Edge might not work correctly. Make sure Microsoft Edge is up to date with the latest version.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23516 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/08/02/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23516/)
What's new in Build 23516Improving the screen casting experienceCasting from your Windows PC allows you to wirelessly extend your display to another nearby PC, TV or other external displays. We are making some improvements that focus on educating people about the Cast feature, improving its discoverability, and simplifying the overall experience in Windows 11. Those improvements include:
- When doing multitasking activities on your PC such as often switching between windows to complete a task or using Snap Assist (https://support.microsoft.com/windows/snap-your-windows-885a9b1e-a983-a3b1-16cd-c531795e6241) to organize your screen space, we will provide the suggestion to Cast via a notification toast.
- We will now provide inline setup of a PC from within the Cast flyout in Quick Settings, with step-by-step guidance for users to enable:
- Installation of the optional Wireless Display feature.
- Discoverability of the PC to other devices, via the "Projecting to this PC" Settings page.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Display and Graphics > Wireless Display and Casting.HDR Background Support You can now set JXR files to be your desktop background and if you have an HDR display, they will render in full HDR.
First – make sure your device has an HDR display or is connected to a HDR display that supports HDR. You can check this by going to Settings > System > Display and checking the HDR toggle.
Next, download an HDR .JXR file to your device. Then right-click on your desktop, choose "Personalize" and then "Background", and under "Personalize your background" – go and select the .JXR file you downloaded to your device.
The background should load on your display. If you have multiple displays attached to your device, the background will show as HDR or SDR depending on each display's capabilities. When using external displays attached to your device, we recommend running the HDR Calibration app (https://nam06.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.microsoft.com%2Fstore%2FproductId%2F9N7F2SM5D1LR&data=05%7C01%7CMichael.VonHippel%40microsoft.com%7Cab5c07dcc8d0457f9dad08db71ad72b9%7C72f988bf86f141af91ab2d7cd011db47%7C1%7C0%7C638228762010165160%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=PNM4RA1qjjDu%2FwLw0ewah2hcUKJd8RTRb1cov4prtCA%3D&reserved=0) for best picture quality. Please note that for this build, there may be some issues with the HDR version of the desktop background not correctly display on some laptops with HDR.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Background and Wallpaper.Voice access is now available to use on more areas in WindowsWe have added support for voice access to work right when you start your PC. You can use voice access to login to your PC and access other areas on the Lock screen. You can turn on voice access from the accessibility flyout on Lock screen or have it on automatically every time by checking the setting to "Start voice access before you sign in to your PC" via
Settings > Accessibility > Speech.
Note: If you have never tried voice access, we recommend you search for voice access in search on the taskbar and complete the initial setup before trying it first time on the lock screen.You can follow the instructions on the voice access bar to get your focus on the password field and use your voice to dictate your password or PIN. Alternatively, you can say "show keyboard" to bring up the touch keyboard with number labels on it. You can say the numbers on the keys to enter the letters associated with it. This will mask the actual password you are entering from being heard by anyone in your vicinity.
You can also use other commands such as "show numbers" or "click [element name]" to access other elements on lock screen or UAC prompt.
And voice access now works for apps running with Microsoft Defender Application Guard (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/security/application-security/application-isolation/microsoft-defender-application-guard/md-app-guard-overview).
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Accessibility > Voice Access.Narrator Natural Voices in French, Portuguese, English (India) ,German and KoreaWe are introducing new natural voices in French, Portuguese, English (India) ,German and Korean that allow Narrator users to comfortably browse the web, read, and write mail, and do more. Natural Narrator voices use modern (https://nam06.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.microsoft.com%2Fen-us%2Fresearch%2Fblog%2Fazure-ai-milestone-new-neural-text-to-speech-models-more-closely-mirror-natural-speech%2F&data=05%7C01%7Cbleblanc%40microsoft.com%7Cccc0f0afe1294990ad1008db92b4225a%7C72f988bf86f141af91ab2d7cd011db47%7C1%7C0%7C638265074632178921%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=xEo5Cvx4AX02W4Caql4gTCpkuGOKZxWlv0Na5vLwutw%3D&reserved=0), on-device text to speech and once downloaded are supported without an internet connection.
To use one of the natural voices, add it to your PC by following these steps:
1. Open Narrator Settings by pressing the WIN + Ctrl + N hotkey.
2. Under Narrator's voice, select the Add button next to Add natural voices.
3. Select the voice you want to install. You can install all voices, but you must install them separately.
- The new French voices are Microsoft Denise (Female) and Microsoft Henri (Male)
- The new Portuguese voices are Microsoft Francisca (Female) and Microsoft Antonio (Male)
- The new English (India) voices are Microsoft Neerja (Female) and Microsoft Prabhat (Male)
- The new German voices are Microsoft Katja (Female) and Microsoft Conrad (Male)
- The new Korean voices are Microsoft SunHi (Female) and Microsoft InJoon (Male)
4. To start the download of the selected voice, select Install. The new voice will download and be ready for use in a few minutes, depending on your internet download speed.
5. When the new voice has downloaded, in Narrator settings select your preferred voice from the drop-down menu in Narrator's voice > Choose a voice.
Note: If your display language is not set to any of the above languages, then in step 3 you will first need to select "Choose a different language" and then select the appropriate language followed by the specific voice.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (Win + F) under Accessibility > Narrator.Presence Sensing ImprovementsFor PCs with presence sensors that support attention detection, we are introducing Adaptive Dimming. Now your device can intelligently dim your screen when you look away and undim when you look back. You will find these settings under
Settings > Privacy & security > Presence sensing here if your device supports it (https://aka.ms/PrivacySecuritySettings).
Wake on Approach, Lock on Leave, Adaptive Dimming are all powered by Presence Sensing in Windows and now can be enabled via the OOBE (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows-hardware/customize/desktop/customize-oobe-in-windows-11) ("out of box experience") setup process when choosing your privacy settings for your device. This will give more control of the presence sensing features and app access to presence information when setting up a new device with a compatible sensor.
As a reminder, app developers with devices with compatible presence sensors can target apps to request and read user presence information after requesting a human presence capability. Learn more about the API here (https://learn.microsoft.com/uwp/api/windows.devices.sensors.humanpresencesensor?view=winrt-22621).
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Devices and Drivers > Sensors.Changes and Improvements[Windows Copilot]- [REMINDER] As of Build 23511 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/07/27/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23511/), Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel who login and are managed by AAD (soon to be Microsoft Entra ID) will notice that the Windows Copilot Preview is no longer available in this build. This is just a temporary issue. You may enable it temporarily via this policy located here in Group Policy Editor: User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Copilot. Please note that this policy name will change in an upcoming flight. The Windows Copilot Preview will be defaulted on in a future flight including support for Bing Chat for Enterprise.
[Taskbar & System Tray]- As mentioned here with Build 23481 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/06/14/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23481/), Microsoft Teams (free) (https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-teams/teams-for-home) is now pre-pinned to the taskbar in Windows 11. This change continues to roll out so not all Insiders will see it right away. Windows Insiders who click to launch Teams will discover a mini communications experience making it possible to chat, call, and meet with their people within just a click or two. Not only does its compact size make it easy to place the window anywhere on desktop, but you can passively keep tabs on their conversations with the ability to have it visible as they browse the web or connect with your communities. Phone Link integration is also coming soon to Microsoft Teams (free) as well.
As noted in our Beta Channel flight here (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/07/21/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22621-2050-and-22631-2050/), the settings for never combined mode for the taskbar were showing up under Settings > Personalization > Taskbar > Taskbar behaviors but do not enable the experience. We have temporarily removed the settings to fix the issue. The feature will be coming to a Beta Channel flight soon.
[File Explorer]
- Added more fields to show in the Details pane, including image dimensions for pictures, number of pages for .docx, space used and free information for drives, and many others.
Fixes
[General]
- After updating to Build 23511 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/07/27/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23511/), some Insiders may have seen the Photos app pinned to the taskbar. This issue only occurred with that build and should no longer occur. We apologize for the issue.
[File Explorer]
- Fixed an issue where the icons displayed in the tabs in File Explorer could become out of sync with the current folder after navigating.
- Fixed a memory leak in File Explorer with the latest updates which could cause explorer.exe crashes and other issues over prolonged usage.
- Fixed an underlying issue causing desktop icons to all go blank in the last few flights.
- Fixed an issue which was causing File Explorer to show "Working on it" in an empty folder.
- Fixed an issue where the text box for naming newly created files or folders on the desktop was showing in the wrong position (far away or way too close) relative to the thumbnail.
- Fixed an issue where opening the context menu in the previous flight was crashing explorer.exe for some Insiders.
- Fixed an issue where right clicking items in the navigation pane wouldn't open a context menu after you changed folders.
- Fixed an issue where ALT + P and Shift + Alt + P keyboard shortcuts weren't working when focus was set to one of the images in Gallery.
- Fixed an issue where Home and Gallery could get stuck in the wrong colors if they were open when changing between light and dark mode.
- Fixed an issue where thumbnails in Gallery might not load after changing the view to a smaller icon size (for example, medium to small).
- Fixed an issue where after refreshing Home, actions to pin and unpin favorite files might not work.
We fixed the following issues for Insiders with the modernized details pane in File Explorer:
- Fixed an issue where the design of the details pane was displaying from left to right instead of right to left when using Hebrew or Arabic display languages.
We fixed the following issues for Insiders who have the modernized File Explorer address bar that began rolling out with Build 23475 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/06/07/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23475/):
- The ALT + D, CTRL + L, and F4 keyboard shortcuts should work now to set focus to the address bar.
- Fixed an issue where typing drive letters, %localappdata%, and certain other things in the address bar wasn't causing suggested paths to appear in a dropdown.
We fixed the following issues for Insiders who have the modernized File Explorer Home that began rolling out with Build 23475 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/06/07/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23475/):
- Fixed an issue which could cause explorer.exe to crash when opening Home.
- Fixed an issue where the tooltip would get stuck on the screen when you scrolled Home with touch.
- Fixed an issue where collapsing and expanding the sections of Home didn't always work.
- Made some small adjustments to the size of elements, including reducing the size of the text.
- Fixed an issue where mouse wheel scrolling wasn't working if your mouse was hovered over the recommended section of Home.
[Taskbar & System Tray]
- Fixed multiple explorer.exe crashes impacting taskbar reliability.
[Input]
- Fixed an issue which was causing certain mouse actions (including resizing windows with mouse) to not work over remote desktop.
[Dynamic Lighting]
- Fixed an issue where switching user accounts could turn off device LEDs.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23521 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/08/10/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23521/)
What's new in Build 23521Changes and Improvements[Windows 365]- Windows Insiders in the Dev and Beta Channels can participate in the public preview of Windows 365 Switch. Windows 365 Switch provides the ability to easily move between a Windows 365 Cloud PC and the local desktop using the same familiar keyboard commands, as well as a mouse-click or a swipe gesture through Task View on the Windows 11 taskbar. Please read this blog post for all the details on how to participate (https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/windows-it-pro-blog/windows-365-switch-now-available-in-public-preview/ba-p/3891857).
[Windows Copilot]- Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel who login and are managed by AAD (soon to be Microsoft Entra ID) will see Windows Copilot enabled for them again without the need to enable it via Group Policy Editor.
[Taskbar & System Tray]- To make it easier to enable never combined mode on the taskbar, we have updated the settings. You can turn never combined mode on by simply adjusting "Combine taskbar buttons and hide labels" to always. And we provide a separate setting for turning this on for other taskbars (multiple monitor scenarios for example).
[Dynamic Lighting]- You can now instantly sync your Windows accent color with the devices around you with the "Match my Windows accent color" toggle under "Effects" for Dynamic Lighting via Settings > Personalization > Dynamic Lighting. This improvement started rolling out in last week's Dev Channel flight (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/08/02/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23516/).
- We have added the ability to choose a custom color to light up your devices with.
[Task Manager]- We've updated the Task Manager settings page to match the design principles of Windows 11. The design has a similar look and feel to the Settings in Windows 11 and provides a cleaner UI separating categories into different sections. Oh, and we updated some dialogs in Task Manager too.
[Windows Spotlight]- After doing an OS update, in certain cases such as using the default Windows 11 background or a solid color – Windows Spotlight may be enabled for you. If you decide you don't want Windows Spotlight enabled, you can turn it off and in future OS updates it should not be enabled for you again unless you choose to re-enable the experience.
[Search on the Taskbar]- Windows Search now uses the Microsoft Bing Search app to return web content and search results. In the European Economic Area (EEA), you can enable installed Microsoft Store apps that implement a web search provider to return web content and search results in Windows Search through Settings.
[Settings]- The end task feature under System > For Developers no longer requires Developer Mode to be enabled first before it can be used.
[Other]- In the European Economic Area (EEA), Windows will now require consent to share data between Windows and other signed-in Microsoft services. You will see some Windows features start to check for consent now, with more being added in future builds. Without consent to share data between Windows and other signed-in Microsoft services, some functionality in Windows features may be unavailable, for example certain types of file recommendations under "Recommended" on the Start menu.
Fixes[File Explorer]- Fixed an issue where you couldn't drag a file out of an archived folder to extract it with one of the newly supported archive formats.
- Fix an issue where when extracting one of the newly supported archive formats using the Extract All option in the context menu, it wasn't working unless Windows Explorer was set as the default for that file type.
- When trying to extract one of the new archive formats and the file is password encrypted, it will now show a message saying this isn't currently supported.
- Fixed a bug where Insiders may have experienced a File Explorer crash when dragging the scroll bar or attempting to close the window during an extended file-loading process.
We fixed the following issues for Insiders who have the modernized File Explorer address bar that began rolling out with Build 23475 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/06/07/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23475/):
- Fixed an issue which was causing the search box in File Explorer to not work well with IMEs.
- Fixed an issue where pasting using the context menu in the address bar wasn't working (or other context menu actions in the address bar).
We fixed the following issues for Insiders who have the modernized File Explorer Home that began rolling out with Build 23475 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/06/07/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23475/):
- Fixed an issue where when trying to scroll with touch on Home might result in everything getting selected.
- Fixed a white flash in dark theme when switching between Home and Gallery.
[Taskbar & System Tray]- Fixed an issue that removed the USB icon and its options from the system tray.
- Fixed an issue where the titles were missing from taskbar previews when turning on tablet-optimized taskbar while using uncombined taskbar.
- Fixed an issue where uncombined taskbar's app indicators weren't shown correctly after it showed something was being downloaded.
- Fixed an explorer.exe crash impacting system tray reliability.
- Fixed an issue where the End Task feature wasn't working if you tried it when there were multiple windows open of that app.
- Fixed an issue where using End Task on certain apps would cause other unrelated apps to close.
[HDR Backgrounds]- Fixed an issue where your HDR wallpaper might appear washed out although HDR was enabled.
- Fixed an issue where it wasn't possible to select .JXL files for your wallpaper slideshow.
[Other]- If Get Help isn't installed, when opening one of the troubleshooters in Settings, it will now prompt you to install it, rather than showing an error about not haven't an app associated for the action.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23526 (Dev Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/08/18/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23526-dev-channel/)
Changes and Improvements[General]- Insider Preview Build Expiration: The expiration date for Insider Preview builds flighted to the Dev Channel has been updated to 9/15/2024 starting with Build 23526. Please make sure you are updated to the latest build in the Dev Channel.
[Start menu]- For files that do not have rich thumbnail previews that can be provided, it will no longer show a blank preview area. This is part of the work for rich thumbnail previews (tooltips) for cloud files on Start that began rolling out with Build 23511 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/07/27/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23511/).
[Cast]- Building off the Cast improvements introduced with Build 23516 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/08/02/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23516/), we have updated the Cast flyout in Quick Settings with additional support for you in case you face any trouble discovering nearby displays, fixing connections, and more.
[Narrator]We have made the following improvements for Narrator:
- Changed default verbosity level from 2 to 3 which will now announce "Immediate Context Name and Type". The Control context type like "list" or "toolbar" will allow users to better understand the focused control – same default as JAWS and NVDA.
- Narrator users are unblocked for typing Traditional Chinese characters in Windows by addition of Traditional Chinese dictionary for detailed reading.
We have made the following improvements for Narrator with Braille:
- When navigating to any attachment in Outlook with scan mode, narrator announces the & of the attachment, the same is now reflected on braille display.
- Navigate to different headings in Scan Mode using down arrow, or 'Space + 4' key in Braille device, now navigating to heading is reflected in Braille.
- When navigating a list with items , whenever Narrator announces index with the menu item name, Braille display also reflects the same index values as "1 of 4".
Fixes[Start menu]- Fixed an issue that was making the System label in Start's all apps list the wrong color in high contrast themes.
[Taskbar & System Tray]- Fixed an issue where the taskbar wasn't loading for some Insiders when logging into their PC after installing the previous build.
- Disabled the setting for uncombining taskbar buttons on other screens by default when no secondary monitors are connected.
- Fixed an issue where if the taskbar was set to uncombined it would still show animations even if they'd been turned off.
- Fixed an issue where app icons on the taskbar would become empty (with no icon) in recent Insider builds after switching between desktops.
- Fixed an issue where the hidden icons flyout might close unexpectedly when using keyboard navigation to move focus between icons.
- Fixed an issue where using drag to rearrange icons in the overflow area wasn't working well when the taskbar was set to uncombined.
- Fixed an issue where the new bell icon might be very difficult to see in some cases because it was using a dark outline when your taskbar was dark.
- Fixed an issue where if you had enabled the End Task option in the taskbar, the setting wouldn't persist across upgrades.
- Fixed an issue where after upgrading the Bluetooth icon in the system tray might not display in the system tray after upgrade even though your PC supported Bluetooth and the Bluetooth options were shown in Settings.
[Start menu]- Fixed an issue where if you attempt to uninstall certain apps, it would just open Settings and not navigate to the Installed Apps page.
[File Explorer]- Fixed a high hitting explorer.exe crashes when launching or interacting with File Explorer in the last couple flights.
- Fixed an issue where using the Reset Folders button in Folder Options could cause explorer.exe to crash.
- Fixed an issue where the chevrons in the File Explorer address bar were pointing in the wrong direction if your display language was set to Arabic or Hebrew.
- Fixed an issue where saving files to OneDrive locations in File Explorer could take a very long time, making it seem like the app you were saving from had become unresponsive, in the latest Insider builds.
- Fixed an issue where the context menu and dropdown menus in File Explorer weren't working with touch.
- Made another fix for the issue causing the context menu and dropdown menu backgrounds to be transparent.
- Fixed an issue where the menu shown when doing a right click drag on one of the newly supported archive formats didn't have an extract option like it does for zip files.
[Dev Drive]- Fixed an issue where Dev Drives might not auto-mount after upgrading to a new build, causing apps that tried to access them to not work.
- Improved error messages if Dev Drives fail to format.
- Fixed an issue related to the use of Dev Drives which could cause a bugcheck with an INVALID DATA TRAP on upgrade (and then the upgrade would roll back).
[HDR Backgrounds]- Fixed an issue which could cause sporadic explorer.exe crashes when using an HDR wallpaper.
[Narrator]- Fixed an issue where Narrator was not reading various list items in a combo box on various web pages when navigating with up and down arrow.
- Fixed an issue where Narrator was incorrectly announcing combo boxes as read-only even when users could actually select different values from the combo box list items.
- Addressed the issue where Narrator was not announcing the checked and unchecked status of radio buttons but was announcing selected for every item.
- Fixed an issue where Narrator was announcing older information while navigating in date/time picker using arrow keys .
- Fixed an issue where Narrator was incorrectly reading contents of previous cell and the current cell when navigating in a table using right and left arrow keys.
- Fixed an issue where Narrator is incorrectly reading older Window title even after navigating to inner control.
- Fixed an issue where Narrator is reading entire paragraph when up arrow is invoked in online word document.
- Fixed an issue where Narrator was incorrectly reading out last word of previous paragraph when a new paragraph started with a punctuation mark.
- Fixed a bug where Narrator was not announcing the character being deleted when using backspace key in some text fields on the web.
- Fixed an issue in narrator where while entering any number in CVV edit field, Narrator should only announce as "hidden", instead of "CVV edit, hidden new line selected".
- Fixed an issue where Narrator is not able to detect different headings on some web pages in scan mode while using "h" key to navigate.
- Fixed an issue where Narrator scan mode arrow navigation skipped first item in container.
- Fixed an issue, where Narrator is skipping the first item after navigating via landmark using "d" key in scan mode.
- Fixed an issue where Narrator focus did not move past the first check box if there was a list of check boxes when using up and down arrow key in scan mode.
- Fixed an issue where Narrator was not activating combo box when navigating using up and down arrow and using enter/spacebar to activate it in scan mode.
- Fixed an issue where Narrator would collapse the combo boxes in scan mode when navigating with up and down arrows.
- Fixed an issue where navigation commands are not executed as expected in a dialog box when you enter the dialog the second time.
- Fixed an issue where Narrator find was not working consistently on web pages when using Narrator key + Ctrl + F key combination.
[Input]- Fixed an issue where typing with the Japanese and Chinese IMEs may not have performed as expected in certain apps in the last few flights when you had selected the option to use the previous version of the IME. If you are continuing to experience issues with this build installed, please file feedback.
- Fixed an issue where when inking into a text field, if you were writing in Chinese, certain characters were being perceived as taps and not working.
- Fixed an issue where inking into a text field while magnifier was running was not working well as the ink was offset.
[Other]- Fixed an issue where removing a monitor while connected to a Cloud PC could result in a black screen with only a mouse visible in recent builds.
- Made some fixes to improve how the Share dialog worked with screen readers, as well as addressing some other accessibility issues.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23531 (Dev Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/08/25/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23531-dev-channel/)
Changes and Improvements[General]- [REMINDER] Insider Preview Build Expiration: The expiration date for Insider Preview builds flighted to the Dev Channel has been updated to 9/15/2024 starting with Build 23526. Please make sure you are updated to the latest build in the Dev Channel.
- In the European Economic Area (EEA), Windows system components use the default browser to open links.
[Search on the Taskbar]- We're re-introducing the search experience for invoking the search flyout when you hover over the search box gleam. This behavior can be adjusted by right-clicking on the taskbar, choosing "Taskbar settings" and adjusting your preferred search box experience.
Fixes[General]- Fixed an issue which was causing explorer.exe to not work in safe mode.
[File Explorer]- Fixed an issue which could cause explorer.exe to crash when closing File Explorer.
- Fixed an issue which was causing File Explorer to crash when navigating to Gallery if you had a large number of images.
- Fixed an issue where "Automatically type into the Search Box" wasn't working when File Explorer was open to Home.
- Fixed an issue where if you tried to copy and paste, a file out of a compressed folder and into a OneDrive folder might fail with an error code.
[HDR Backgrounds]- Fixed an issue which could cause HDR wallpapers to appear washed out when HDR was enabled.
[Task Manager]- Fixed an issue where it wasn't possible to move the Task Manager window with touch or pen.
- Fixed an issue where Task Manager was crashing when using the reset to default button in Settings.
- Fixed an issue which was causing sporadic crashes when using Task Manager, including when ending tasks.
- Fixed an issue where if you did a search and then cleared it, the view would still be filtered even though there was no search anymore.
- Fixed an issue where the search icon would become overlapped with the Task Manager text in the title bar.
- Did some work to help improve the performance when switching between different pages in Task Manager.
- Updated the summary view for the Performance page (that you see when double clicking the graphs in the navigation pane) to make the window smaller.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23536 (Dev Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/08/31/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23536-dev-channel/)
Fixes[Windows Copilot]- Fixed an issue that was causing the Windows Copilot icon in the taskbar to be flipped backwards for right-to-left languages.
[Taskbar]- Fixed an explorer.exe crash impacting taskbar appearing correctly after powering on your device.
- Fixed an issue which was causing apps in the taskbar to appear cut off without a rounded corner on the end when you had a lot of app windows open, and the taskbar was set to not combine.
[Live captions]- Fixed an issue that was causing live captions to sometimes show the same line of text twice.
[Input]- Fixed a high hitting ctfmon.exe crash in recent flights, which may have impacted the ability to type for some Insiders.
[Settings]- Did some work to help improve the performance of opening Settings for Insiders with the new Home page.
[Task Manager]- Fixed an issue that could cause Task Manager to crash when using the end task option in the Details page recent builds.
New Updates for Snipping Tool and Notepad for Windows Insiders (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/08/31/new-updates-for-snipping-tool-and-notepad-for-windows-insiders/)
Updates for Snipping Tool and Notepad to Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev channels on Windows 11.
Snipping Tool (version 11.2307.44.0)
With this update to Snipping Tool, we are introducing the combined capture bar, making it easier to switch between capturing screenshots and screen recordings without having to open the app. Use the Print Screen or Win + Shift + S keyboard shortcuts to open the capture bar for snipping, where you will continue to find the familiar snipping modes or try the new Win + Shift + R keyboard shortcut to open the capture bar for recording.
We are also improving the screen recording experience based on your feedback by introducing support for optionally recording your PC audio and voice overs using a microphone. New app settings let you configure the default audio recording settings for new screen recordings, and if you have multiple recording devices, you can select your preferred recording device before you start recording.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Apps > Snipping Tool (https://aka.ms/snippingtoolfeedback).
Notepad (version 11.2307.22.0)
With this update, Notepad will start automatically saving your session state allowing you to close Notepad without any interrupting dialogs and then pick up where you left off when you return. Notepad will automatically restore previously open tabs as well as unsaved content and edits across those open tabs. Saved session state does not impact any of your files, though, and it is still your choice whether to save or discard unsaved changes to files anytime you close a tab. You can turn this feature off in app settings if you would prefer to have a fresh start every time you open Notepad.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Apps > Notepad (http://aka.ms/notepadfeedback).
[PLEASE NOTE: We are beginning to roll these experiences out, so they may not be available to all Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels just yet as we plan to monitor feedback and see how it lands before pushing it out to everyone.]
Background Removal in Paint begins rolling out to Windows Insiders (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/09/07/background-removal-in-paint-begins-rolling-out-to-windows-insiders/)
Today we are beginning to roll out an update for the Paint app to Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels (version 11.2306.30.0). With this update, we are introducing background removal! With background removal, you can now remove the background of 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 from a selection using the selection tool.
To get started, paste or import content onto the canvas and click on the new remove background button in the toolbar to remove the background on your entire image. You can also use the rectangle select to specify an area that you want to remove the background on.
As always, we love getting feedback from the community and we will be looking out for your thoughts and suggestions on this update!
Please note that an earlier version of this update (version 11.2306.28.0) went live earlier today and includes a bug where a confidentality banner is shown. The newer update (version 11.2306.30.0) will correct the issue.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Apps > Paint (https://aka.ms/paintfeedback).
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23541 (Dev Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/09/08/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23541-dev-channel/)
Changes and Improvements[Start menu]- Rich thumbnail previews (tooltips) for cloud files under Recommended on the Start menu and the ability to right-click to share on these files which rolled out with Build 23511 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/07/27/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23511/) may temporarily disappear for some Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel.
Fixes[Taskbar]- Fixed an issue where dragging app icons in the taskbar may sometimes lead to an explorer.exe crash.
[Search on the Taskbar]- Fixed an issue where sometimes the tooltip when mousing over the search box wouldn't match the current search highlight.
[Dev Drive]- Fixed an issue where it wasn't possible to paste a folder path to mount into the dialog when creating a new Dev Drive.
Microsoft Store UpdateWindows Insiders in all channels running version 22308.1401.x.x of the Microsoft Store and higher will see the following improvement rolling out:
New Game Pass page: Explore and subscribe to PC Game Pass or Game Pass Ultimate through our new dedicated page. With the new experience, you can learn about Game Pass benefits, such as exclusive games, deals, free perks, EA Play, and more. It's also easier to discover, jump in, and play your next favorite game, including Day One games, new games on Game Pass, Bethesda games, and more.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Microsoft Store.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23545 (Dev Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/09/13/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23545-dev-channel/)
ISOs for this build can be downloaded here (https://aka.ms/wipISO).
Changes and Improvements[Search on the Taskbar]- Instead of providing a hover experience that opens the search box on the taskbar, we are trying out some different experiences for when you click on the search highlight gleam in the search box instead. In some cases, clicking on the gleam will take you to a Bing.com page for the search highlight. A tooltip will always be shown for the search highlight gleam when hovering over the search box. As a reminder, we regularly try out different concepts and get feedback with Insiders in the Dev Channel.
[Windows Share]- We're beginning to roll out the ability to quickly give your device a more friendly name to identify sharing to and from with nearby share under Settings > System > Nearby sharing.
- We're also rolling out the ability to see Microsoft Teams (work or school) contacts and to send files to them directly within the built-in Windows share window if you're signed in with an Entra ID (AAD) account.
Fixes[File Explorer]- Fixed an issue which could cause explorer.exe to crash when closing File Explorer.
- Fixed an issue where when switching between dark and light mode (or a contrast theme) File Explorer's address bar, command bar, and context menu could get stuck in the wrong colors, making it difficult to see.
- Fixed an issue where if you launched File Explorer in dark theme you could see a bright white flash as content loaded.
- Fixed an issue where rapidly opening two File Explorer windows might make explorer.exe crash.
- Made a few more fixes to help improve File Explorer launch performance, including fixing a leak which would impact performance over time.
- Fixed an issue which could make explorer.exe crash when navigating away from Home.
- Fixed an issue where trying to open Gallery after new images had been added might result in a crash.
- Fixed an issue where the progress wheel in the tab would get stuck showing that File Explorer was loading a folder when the loading had actually already finished.
- Fixed an issue where File Explorer sorting changes wouldn't persist in folders after you navigated away and back.
- Fixed an issue which could cause the icons in File Explorer tabs to be incorrect.
- Fixed an issue which was causing icons on the desktop to turn into white generic icons until you refreshed the desktop.
[Taskbar]- Fixed a high hitting explorer.exe crash in the latest builds impacting taskbar reliability.
[Search on the Taskbar]- Fixed an issue that was causing search to not launch sometimes in the latest Dev Channel builds.
[Input]- We fixed the issue causing Unicode Emoji 15 (https://www.unicode.org/review/pri435/pri435-background-emoji-candidates.pdf)support which began rolling out with Build 23475 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/06/07/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23475/) and the updated color font format with COLRv1 (https://learn.microsoft.com/typography/opentype/spec/colr#colr-version-1-rendering-algorithm) support that began rolling out with Build 23506 to no longer appear. These experiences should again be working with this build.
- Did some work to help address an issue that could cause the Japanese and Chinese IME candidate windows to not appear after using connected standby, due to a crash.
- Fixed a high hitting tabtip.exe crash that may have impacted the ability to type in the last couple flights.
[Settings]- Fixed an issue where Settings wasn't launching in safe mode for some Insiders.
[Other]- Fixed an issue where trying to take window mode screenshots was taking screenshots of the entire screen instead of the app in focus for some Insiders.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23550 (Dev Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/09/22/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23550-dev-channel/)
What's new in Build 23550Voice Access in OOBE As part of the work mentioned in Build 23516 for making voice access available to use on more areas in Windows, voice access can be used for setting up your new Windows devices and navigate through OOBE (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows-hardware/customize/desktop/customize-oobe-in-windows-11) ("out of box experience"). You can launch the accessibility flyout on the bottom right corner of their screens and click on voice access to enable it.
NOTE: You will need to make sure you set up an internet connection while setting up a new device to enable the language model download and set up voice access to use it. You can navigate OOBE, insert passwords using the on-screen keyboard, type text using dictation and control your mouse and focus using number and grid overlays once voice access has been enabled.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Accessibility > Voice Access.Changes and Improvements[Windows Subsystem for Linux]- The September 2023 update for the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) is rolling out and includes networking improvements in the latest Insider Preview builds. See this blog post for more details (https://devblogs.microsoft.com/commandline/windows-subsystem-for-linux-september-2023-update/).
Fixes[General]- Fixed an underlying issue which was causing sporadic explorer.exe and Start menu crashes for Insiders in recent builds.
[File Explorer]- Fixed an issue which was causing thumbnails in Gallery to flash sometimes when scrolling.
[Start]- Fixed an issue that was causing some icons in Start's recommended section not to show correctly.
[Search on the Taskbar]- Fixed an issue where the magnifying glass wasn't displaying correctly when search was set to "Search icon and label".
[Task Manager]- Fixed an issue where the dialog when collecting a process memory dump erroneously said it was collecting a kernel memory dump.
- Fixed an issue causing Task Manager to not launch for some Insiders.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23555 (Dev Channel) (//http://)
Fixes[Copilot]- Fixed an issue that was causing explorer.exe to crash when trying to open Copilot from the taskbar.
[Narrator]- Fixed an issue that was preventing you from previewing Narrator natural voices in Settings.
- Fixed an issue that prevented Narrator from reading the time stamp on Start's recommended items correctly.
[Task Manager]- Fixed an issue which was causing a Task Manager crash when changing Always on Top mode.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23560 (Dev Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/10/04/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23560-dev-channel/)
There will not be a SDK for this build.
Changes and Improvements[Copilot in Windows*]- We're beginning to roll out the ability to use Copilot in Windows with ALT + TAB. Using the ALT + TAB hotkey now displays the thumbnail preview for Copilot in Windows among the other thumbnail previews of open windows, which you can switch between by pressing Tab.
Fixes[File Explorer]- Fixed an issue which could make the File Explorer dropdowns and context menu unexpectedly have a transparent background sometimes.
- Fixed an issue where the search box wasn't showing the correct folder name when you were in Gallery.
[Taskbar]- Fixed an explorer.exe crash impacting taskbar reliability.
[Narrator]- Fixed an issue where languages other than U.S. English couldn't preview Narrator natural voices in Settings.
- Fixed an issue where Narrator wasn't reading out the time stamps on recommended items in Start correctly.
[Task Manager]- Did some work to help improve performance when expanding the navigation pane in Task Manager.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23565 (Dev Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/10/11/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23565-dev-channel/)
To celebrate the 9-year anniversary of the Windows Insider Program this month, we are releasing two new special desktop backgrounds for you to download and use with Insider Preview builds. Download the light theme version here (https://aka.ms/WIP9thAnniWallpaperL) and download the dark theme version here (https://aka.ms/WIP9thAnniWallpaperD).
Changes and Improvements[Copilot in Windows*]- Copilot in Windows now shows the new icon on the taskbar.
[Windows Spotlight]- We are trying out Windows Spotlight on desktop on by default as the default background for upgrades where Insiders are using one of the inbox default desktop backgrounds. We are trying this experience out with a limited number of Insiders at first.
Fixes[File Explorer]- Fixed a few issues impacting File Explorer reliability.
- Fixed an underlying issue which could cause File Explorer windows to hang for OneDrive users.
- If there are a lot of images to load in Gallery, it will now show a loading state rather than implying Gallery is empty while it loads.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23570 (Dev Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/10/18/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23570-dev-channel/)
Changes and Improvements[Copilot in Windows*]- Copilot in Windows can now be used across multiple monitors. Simply press the Copilot button on the taskbar on whichever monitor you want Copilot to show on or use the WIN + C shortcut to show Copilot on the last monitor that it was visible on. If you are using a keyboard, you can use the WIN + T keyboard shortcut to put the keyboard focus on the taskbar and navigate to the Copilot taskbar button to show Copilot on any monitor.
[Start menu]- The Xbox Game Bar will now show as just Game Bar under the Start menu and also under Settings > System > Apps > Installed apps. This change will come through a Game Bar update via the Microsoft Store.
Fixes[File Explorer]- Fixed a few issues which could lead to hangs when launching File Explorer.
[Start menu]- Fixed an issue where apps sometimes weren't sorted into the correct location in the Start menu all apps list when using the Japanese display language.
[Search on the Taskbar]- Fixed an underlying search crash in the last few builds.
[Settings]- Fixed an issue where Home was unexpectedly showing some users that there was NaN% storage left.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23575 (Dev Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/10/27/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23575-dev-channel/)
Changes and Improvements[Start menu]- We're trying out grouping recently added apps on your PC into a folder under the Recommended section of Start with some Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel.
Fixes[General]- Fixed an issue which was causing certain games to fail to launch with a 0x1 error in the last 2 Dev Channel flights.
[Copilot in Windows*]- Fixed an issue causing some Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel using the Home edition of Windows 11 Insider Preview builds to find Copilot in Windows has disappeared from the taskbar.
[File Explorer]- Fixed an issue where hovering over the first picture in Gallery would make a tooltip appear that would never dismiss.
- Fixed an issue where closing File Explorer could cause an explorer.exe crash sometimes.
- Did some work to improve the performance of opening the context menu.
- Fixed an issue where the second time you opened dropdown menus in File Explorer, you wouldn't be able to scroll it with touch.
[Settings]- Fixed an issue where Settings Home might show a prompt to sign into your Microsoft account, and fail to sign in if you tried to use it, even though Settings itself showed you were already signed in.
[Task Manager]- Fixed an issue where the dropdowns in settings would float up the screen if you scrolled.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23580 (Dev Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/11/01/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23580-dev-channel/)
Changes and Improvements
[Copilot in Windows*]- Starting with Build 23580 in the Dev Channel, users with local accounts will be able to access Copilot in Windows for a limited number of queries before needing to sign in.
[Windows Share]- We have significantly improved nearby share transfer speed for users on same network. Before these changes, users had to be on the same private network but now users just have to be on the same network, which could be public or private. You can quickly turn on nearby share via Quick Settings and simply right-click on a local file in File Explorer, choose "Share", and choose to share to a device listed under Nearby Share in the Windows share window.
Fixes[File Explorer]- Fixed an issue where using mouse back and forward buttons didn't react when hovering over the Recommended Files section of Home.
- Fixed an issue where Gallery would stop displaying correctly if you applied Group By to all folders.
[Desktops]- Fixed an issue that made the desktop tooltips in Task view hard to read in contrast themes.
- Fixed an issue that was causing taskbar icons to disappear after switching desktops.
[Search on the Taskbar]- Fixed an issue where if your taskbar was close to being full of icons and you used the search box, clicking the search box would open search and then it would immediately close.
[Windows Spotlight]- Fixed an issue which was resulting in Windows Spotlight wallpapers not showing correctly in the desktop thumbnail in Task View.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23585 (Dev Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/11/08/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23585-dev-channel/)
Changes and Improvements[General]- The Camera app, Cortana, Photos app, and People app, and Remote Desktop (MSTSC) client can be uninstalled.
Fixes[General]- Fixed a few issues leading to explorer.exe crashes.
[File Explorer]- Fixed an issue causing the context menu to draw off screen when invoked using touch or pen on the side of your desktop.
[Taskbar]- Fixed the issue causing the purple Chat button to show up again on the taskbar after updating to Build 23580 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/11/01/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23580-dev-channel/).
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23590 (Dev Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/11/15/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23590-dev-channel/)
ISOs for this build can be downloaded here (https://aka.ms/wipISO).
What's new in Build 23590Natural Voices Previews in NarratorWe are introducing
previews for natural voices of 10 new locales launched in September 2023. As a reminder, those natural voices include Chinese, Spanish (Spain), Spanish (Mexico), Japanese, English (UK), French, Portuguese, English (India),German and Korean.
These previews will allow the users to listen to the natural voices before downloading the voice model. Natural Narrator voices use modern (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/blog/azure-ai-milestone-new-neural-text-to-speech-models-more-closely-mirror-natural-speech/), on-device text to speech and once downloaded are supported without an internet connection. Please note to listen to the previews, an internet connection is required.
To use one of the natural voices, add it to your PC by following these steps:
- Open Narrator Settings by pressing the WIN + CTRL + N hotkey.
- Under Narrator's voice, select the Add button next to Add natural voices.
- Select the voice you want to install. You can install all voices, but you must install them separately.
- The preview will play automatically once you navigate through the list.
- If you like the preview, click on "Download and Install". The new voice will be downloaded and ready for use in a few minutes, depending on your internet download speed.
- When the new voice has downloaded, in Narrator settings select your preferred voice from the drop-down menu in Narrator's voice > Choose a voice.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (Win + F) under Accessibility > Narrator.Enhanced image consumption experience in Narrator We are improving the image consumption experience with Narrator. There are two major changes:
- We have introduced a new keyboard command for navigating between the images/graphics on a screen/page. Now, you can use the keys "G" or "Shift + G" to navigate forward or backwards between images in Scan mode (Narrator key + spacebar).
- Recognition of text in images, including handwriting, is improved along with improvements to overall image descriptions. You can try the enhanced experience by navigating to the image and pressing Narrator key + CTRL + D key combination when the focus is on an image. This feature requires an active internet connection, and the setting to get Image Descriptions must be enabled in Narrator Settings.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (Win + F) under Accessibility > Narrator.Changes and Improvements[General]- Steps Recorder will not receive further updates (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/whats-new/deprecated-features) and is planned for removal in a future Windows release. Starting in this build, Steps Recorder (PSR.exe) will display a new banner notification to guide users towards alternative options. We encourage our users to explore other options in Windows 11 such as Snipping tool, Xbox Game bar or Microsoft Clipchamp. For more, see this article (https://aka.ms/psrdep).
[Windows Share]- The Windows share window will now only show apps under "Share using" that are tied to the account you are signed into Windows with – either Microsoft account (MSA) or Microsoft Entra ID (previously Azure Active Directory). If you are signed in with an MSA, you will see Microsoft Teams (free) instead of Microsoft Teams (work or school) and not both for example.
- If you're signed in with a Microsoft Entra ID, your Microsoft Teams (work or school) contacts will appear in the Windows share window to quickly share to.
[Nearby Sharing]- If you turn on nearby sharing via quick settings or directly in Settings and you have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth off, it will turn Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on so nearby sharing will work as expected. If you turn off Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, it will also turn off nearby sharing
[Narrator]- In Microsoft Word, Narrator will now announce the presence of a draft comment, a resolved comment, a bookmark, or the availability of accessibility suggestions when reading text in the document.
Fixes[File Explorer]- Fixed an issue causing File Explorer to crash on launch for some Insiders in the last few builds if you were using a non-default regional sorting option.
- Fixed an issue which was causing opening the context menu on the desktop to crash explorer.exe in the last couple flights for some Insiders.
- Fixed an issue which was causing explorer.exe to crash sometimes when entering paths into the address bar.
[Narrator]- Fixed an issue where Narrator was not correctly announcing the selected item in combo boxes when users try to change the combo box value using key combination Control + up or down arrow.
- Fixed an issue where Narrator was announcing old dialog names even after users navigate to new dialog on few web pages.
- Fixed an issue where Narrator was not reading Role of a control in tables on the web while using table navigation commands CTRL + ALT + Arrow keys.
- Addressed an issue where Narrator was not announcing the selected state of menu items in few applications such as device manager.
- Fixed an issue where Narrator was announcing both the unselected value and the newly selected value in elements such as date fields or any elements that are formatted as tables.
[Magnifier]- Fixed an issue in Magnifier settings page where the text blow "voice speed" slider was not following the color contrast guidelines.
[Settings]- Fixed an issue where the Experimental Features section of Narrator Settings didn't have text.
[Windows Share]- Fixed an issue which was causing the share window to crash in the last couple builds.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23595 (Dev Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/11/29/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23595-dev-channel/)
Changes and Improvements[Copilot in Windows*]- We are making a change where the Copilot icon is shown on the right side of the system tray on the taskbar to make the entry point to Copilot more clear and easily accessible by being closer to where the Copilot pane opens. As part of this change, we have defaulted the "show the desktop" behavior for the far-right corner of the taskbar to off and this can be re-enabled in the taskbar behaviors section under Settings > Personalization > Taskbar (you can simply right-click on the taskbar to get to this).
- We are beginning to re-rollout the change previously documented with Build 23570 (https://nam06.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fblogs.windows.com%2Fwindows-insider%2F2023%2F10%2F18%2Fannouncing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23570-dev-channel%2F&data=05%7C01%7Cbleblanc%40microsoft.com%7C0632cd1c33ff41696b1608dbef9191b9%7C72f988bf86f141af91ab2d7cd011db47%7C1%7C0%7C638367180726799789%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=di9qQl7aQMrEhjJLZN52pcc69QOx5XQh1wWN3Ws7xik%3D&reserved=0) that introduces support for Copilot in Windows to be used across multiple monitors. Simply press the Copilot button on the taskbar on whichever monitor you want Copilot to show on or use the WIN + C shortcut to show Copilot on the last monitor that it was visible on. If you are using a keyboard, you can use the WIN + T keyboard shortcut to put the keyboard focus on the taskbar and navigate to the Copilot taskbar button to show Copilot on any monitor.
[Windows Share]- If you're signed in with a Microsoft Entra ID, in addition to being able to share to your Microsoft Teams (work or school) contacts, you can also now share directly to specific Microsoft Teams Channels and groups chats as well directly within the Windows share window.
[Windows Ink]- We are expanding the ability to use digital handwriting (inking) in some edit boxes for Windows Ink to the following languages and locales: Chinese Simplified (People's Republic of China), English (Australia), English (Canada), English (India), English (United Kingdom), French (Canada), French (France), German (Germany), Italian (Italy), Japanese (Japan), Korean (Korea)Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish (Mexico), and Spanish (Spain). This also includes more accurate recognition technology, gestures to delete, select, join, and split words and also gesture to insert a new line.
[Nearby Sharing]- We're beginning to roll out a change where you will be able to able to discover and share files with their Android devices in discoverable mode through Bluetooth under Nearby Share in the Windows share window.
[Task Manager]- We improved process grouping in the processes page for Task Manager.
[Settings]- This update starts the roll out of account-related notifications for Microsoft accounts on the Settings homepage. A Microsoft account connects Windows to your Microsoft apps. The account backs up all your data and helps you manage your subscriptions. You can also add extra security steps to keep you from being locked out of your account. This feature displays notifications across the Start menu and Settings. You can manage Settings notifications in Settings > Privacy & security > General.
- Xbox Game Bar is now Game Bar under Settings > Gaming.
- We're beginning to update references to Azure Active Directory (AAD) to Microsoft Entra ID in Settings.
Fixes[Desktops]- Fixed an issue that was causing custom wallpapers to shift when switching desktops.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23601 (Dev Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/12/07/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23601-dev-channel/)
What's new in Build 23601New features and improvements for Windows 365 BootThe following improvements are beginning to roll out for Windows 365 Boot (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows-365/enterprise/windows-365-boot-overview). (Local PC and Cloud PC should be on the same build.)
Personal mode for Windows 365 Boot: We are now launching a new mode for Windows 365 Boot – personal mode. You can now boot to your Windows 365 Cloud PC from your designated company-owned device. You will be able to seamlessly login to your Windows 365 Cloud PC from Windows 11 login screen using password-less authentication methods like Windows Hello for Business. The new personal mode also comes with fast account switcher experience to effortlessly switch profiles to login in, personalized experience with your username and password, display picture on lock and login screen, remember your username, etc.
Customized company logo and name for Windows 365 Boot: In shared mode, organizations can now customize the login page to include their company branding from Intune.
Fail fast mechanism for Windows 365 Boot: You no longer need to wait for the sign in process to the Cloud PC to complete only to find out Windows 365 Boot failed due to network issues or incomplete setup. The smart logic proactively informs users to resolve network issues or complete app setup so users can experience a smooth login to their Cloud PC.
Manage local PC settings through Windows 365 Boot: With this feature, it is now easier for you to access and manage sound, display, and other device specific settings of their local PC directly from your Cloud PC in under Windows 365 Boot.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (Win + F) under Windows 365.New features and improvements for Windows 365 SwitchThe following improvements are beginning to roll out for Windows 365 Switch (//'https://learn.microsoft.com/windows-365/enterprise/windows-365-switch-overview'). (Local PC and Cloud PC should be on the same build.)
Improved disconnect experience for Windows 365 Switch: You can now disconnect from their Cloud PC directly from their local PC. This can be done by going to Local PC > Task view > Right click on the Cloud PC button > Disconnect. We have also added tooltips on disconnect and sign-out options in the Cloud PC Start menu so that you can differentiate between these functionalities.
Desktop indicators to differentiate between Cloud PC and local PC for Windows 365 Switch: You will now see the term "Cloud PC" and "Local PC" on the desktop indicator when you switch between your respective PCs.
Gracefully handling increased connection time for Windows 365 Switch to Frontline Cloud PC: You will now see updates regarding the Cloud PC connection status and the connection timeout indicator while waiting on the connection screen. In case there is an error, you will now be able to copy the correlation ID using the new copy button in the error screen for quicker resolution.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (Win + F) under Desktop Environment > Switch to Cloud PC (From Task view).Improving discoverability of screen casting in Windows 11Casting from your Windows PC allows you to wirelessly extend your display to another nearby PC, TV or other external displays. After trying some improvements to this experience out with Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel with Build 23516 (//'https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/08/02/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23516/'), we're making some additional refinement to those improvements that focus on educating users about the Cast feature and improving its discoverability in Windows 11. Those improvements include:
- When doing multitasking activities on your PC such as often switching between windows to complete a task or using Snap Assist (https://support.microsoft.com/windows/snap-your-windows-885a9b1e-a983-a3b1-16cd-c531795e6241) to organize your screen space, we will provide the suggestion to Cast via a notification toast.
- We have updated the Cast flyout in Quick Settings with additional support for you in case you face any trouble discovering nearby displays, fixing connections, and more.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Display and Graphics > Wireless Display and Casting.New widgets board settingsWe've updated the widget settings experience, providing more ways for users to customize their widgets board experience. One of the new settings enables you to just show widgets on your widgets board and another makes it easier for you to discover how to personalize your feed content.
The new settings experience also allows you to select the account you want to use for your Microsoft Start powered widgets and feeds. This means you are no longer limited to using the account you used to sign into Windows to drive those experiences, just like your other app powered widgets. You can easily manage the account used by Microsoft Start by navigating to 'Microsoft Start' settings under the 'Personalize your content' section in your widgets board settings. This change allows you to further personalize the experience to your preferences. The new settings experience is not limited by region.
[We are beginning to roll this out to Windows Insiders in the Canary, Dev, and Beta Channels this week, so the experience isn't available to all Insiders just yet as we plan to monitor feedback before pushing it out to everyone.]FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Widgets.Changes and Improvements[General]- Starting early next week, Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel on Build 23601 will be prompted to reboot to install Windows Configuration Update (KB1234567). Windows Configuration Updates are what we use to new features via Controlled Feature Rollout (CFR) technology (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/delivering-continuous-innovation-in-windows-11-b0aa0a27-ea9a-4365-9224-cb155e517f12). Windows Configuration Update (KB1234567) does not enable any new features as we're testing the delivery of these updates via our servicing pipeline, and the reboot prompt to install them. After rebooting to install this update, it will be listed under "Other Updates" under Settings > Windows Update > Update History.
[Copilot in Windows*]- We are trying out the ability to "undock" Copilot in Windows with Windows Insiders. Just click the new icon to unpin the Copilot panel at the top right in the header. While undocked, Copilot can appear above or below other apps in Windows while maintaining its fixed position on the desktop. This allows users to access Copilot while minimizing disruption to other user activities. Additionally, can resize the Copilot window for a more comfortable experience. Simply click-and-drag the edge of the Copilot window to adjust the width to your needs.
- We are trying out a change where when swiping from the right edge of the desktop on a touch display will open Copilot instead of notifications.
[Windows Share]- The Windows share window now supports sharing with WhatsApp under the "Share using" section. If you don't have WhatsApp installed, you can choose to install it from Windows share window directly. Over time, we plan to try this experience out with other apps as well.
[Nearby Sharing]- We are introducing the ability to quickly give your device a more friendly name to identify sharing to and from with nearby share under Settings > System > Nearby sharing. This change originally began rolling out with Build 23545 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/09/13/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23545-dev-channel/), but we are re-rolling it out with improvements to the experience. Let us know what you think.
[Narrator]- Narrator users can now use voice access to open applications, dictate text and interact with elements on the screen using their voice. Narrator users can use voice access to give Narrator commands using their voice . For e.g., "speak faster", "read next line", etc. To get started, search for "voice access" in Windows search and set it up.
Fixes[Copilot in Windows*]- Fixed an issue that was causing full screen apps to minimize on secondary monitors when launching Copilot.
[Start menu]- Fixed an issue causing the Recommended section to appear blank for some Insiders.
[File Explorer]- Fixed an issue impacting explorer.exe reliability.
[Taskbar]- Fixed an issue where uncombined taskbar icons were cutting off the title instead of adjusting with the title length.
[Task Manager][/B]
- When creating a dump file for a process, the dump file location should be selectable now, so you can copy it out.
[Settings]- Fixed an issue where if you go to System > Nearby Sharing it was crashing Settings.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23606 (Dev Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/12/13/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23606-dev-channel/)
ISOs for this build can be downloaded here (//'https://aka.ms/wipISO'). This will be the last Dev Channel flight until January 2024.
Changes and Improvements[General]- Windows 11 is transitioning from Windows Speech Recognition (WSR) to voice access. WSR is being deprecated (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/whats-new/deprecated-features). A dialog will pop up when WSR is opened directing you to try voice access and we have also added a banner under Settings > Accessibility > Speech as well. Voice access, our new assistive technology in Windows 11, uses on-device speech recognition, enabling control of your PC and authoring text without an internet connection. It will support multiple languages and custom commands in a future update (these features are now available for Windows Insiders to try in the Dev and Beta Channels). We recommend WSR users try and start using voice access today.
Fixes[File Explorer]- Fixed an underlying issue causing the details pane in File Explorer to unexpectedly take keyboard focus sometimes.
- Fixed an issue which was causing File Explorer to crash when accessing or scrolling Gallery.
[Input]- Fixed a high hitting tabtip.exe crash when trying to use pen input in the previous flight.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23612 (Dev Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/01/03/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23612-dev-channel/)
What's new in Build 23612Richer weather experience on the lock screenWe are introducing a richer weather experience to your lock screen. This includes dynamic, interactive weather updates. So, as you hover over the weather experience on your lock screen, you will see more information. When you tap or click on the weather card and sign in, Microsoft Edge opens with the full forecast in MSN Weather. If you already use Weather under Settings > Personalization > Lock screen > Lock screen status, there is nothing for you to do. Also, this new experience will be on by default. Should you not want to see this experience, you can change your lock screen status to "None." This rich weather experience is available when you lock your screen no matter which personalization option you select (Windows spotlight, Picture, or Slideshow).
[We are beginning to roll this out starting with EN-US only, so the experience isn't available to all Insiders in the Dev Channel just yet as we plan to monitor feedback and see how it lands before pushing it out to everyone.]FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Lock screen.Extended languages, multi-display support, and custom commands for voice accessExtended language support: We have extended voice access to support other languages such as French (France), French (Canada), German, Spanish (Spain) and Spanish (Mexico).
When voice access is turned on for the first time, you will be prompted to download a speech model to enable on-device recognition of voice data. In case voice access does not find a speech model matching your display language, you can still choose to proceed ahead to use voice access in English (United States).
You can always switch to a different language by navigating to
Settings > Language on the voice access bar.
Multi-display support: You can now use all voice access features on multiple displays, including number and grid overlays which were previously unavailable on any display other than the primary one.
The grid overlay feature has been further developed to allow you to not only interact with the screen you are currently using, but also quickly switch to another display. You can also use the drag and drop feature to move files, apps, and documents from one display to another.
After invoking the grid overlay, use to quickly shift to focus to another display. You can use either the alphabet or NATO phonetic (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO_phonetic_alphabet) in your command; for example, "B" or "Bravo" would both be valid as shown in the screenshot in the linked post.
You can also use the accelerated command "mouse grid .." to quickly move your mouse to a specific point on a specific display. In this case we used "mousegrid A 114" as shown in the above screenshot.
Voice shortcuts: We are introducing voice shortcuts or custom commands to enable you to create your very own command. This is currently available if you use voice access in English.
Creating commands that map to single action, such as opening a URL, or a series of actions performed in sequence, is easy. To get started, say "what can I say" and click on the "Voice shortcuts" tab on the left panel, or use the command "show voice shortcuts" to directly launch the voice shortcuts page. Then, click on the Create Command button to begin the process.
Create a command by using either voice or any other input modality. Give it a name, select one or multiple actions, fill in the necessary information and then click "Create". Your command is now ready to be used.
You can view all the voice shortcuts you have created either from the command help page or by using the command "show voice shortcuts".
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Accessibility > Voice Access.Fixes[Start menu]- Fixed an issue which was causing the text input indicator to appear floating when you opened Start menu.
[File Explorer]- Made a change to help fix an issue which could cause the spacing between your desktop icons to become extremely wide.
- Fixed an issue which could cause explorer.exe to crash when opening the context menu in file explorer if multiple files were selected.
[Widgets]- We fixed the issue causing a loading delay when the Microsoft Start feed is reenabled.
- We fixed the issue causing the Widgets Board to not automatically close and reopen when enabling or disabling feeds.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23619 (Dev Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/01/18/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23619-dev-channel/)
What's new in Build 23619Instantly access new photos and screenshots from your mobile deviceWe are also beginning to gradually roll out a new feature for Windows that introduces the ability to effortlessly access and edit your most recent photos and screenshots from your Android mobile device in Snipping Tool on your PC. With this feature, you'll receive instant notifications on your PC whenever a new photo or screenshot is captured on your Android device.
To enable this experience, go to Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Mobile devices (this settings page was updated with Build 26016 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/12/13/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26016-canary-channel/) in the Canary Channel and Build 23606 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/12/13/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23606-dev-channel/) in the Dev Channel) and choose "Manage devices" and allow your PC to access your Android phone. Your PC will get a Cross Device Experience Host update in the Microsoft Store that is required for this experience to work.
This new experience replaces the remote capture with Phone Link experience that was announced back in September. (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/09/14/new-updates-for-snipping-tool-and-phone-link-begin-rolling-out-to-windows-insiders/)
[We are beginning to roll this out to Windows Insiders in BOTH the Canary and Dev Channels this week, so the experience isn't available to all Insiders just yet as we plan to monitor feedback before pushing it out to everyone.]FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Devices and Drivers > Linked devices.Changes and Improvements[Start menu] - For people logged into Windows 11 Pro or Enterprise editions with a Microsoft Entra ID account, we are trying out the ability to view and join upcoming Microsoft Teams meetings directly from the Start menu. The next online Teams meeting will show up as a Recommended item 5 minutes before it begins, clicking the meeting recommendation will open the join meeting flow in Teams.
Fixes[File Explorer]
- Did some more work to help improve the launch performance of File Explorer.
[Task Manager]- Fixed an issue where dragging the Task Manager window wouldn't work if your mouse was on the search box.
[Other]- Fixed a crash when you tried to add natural voices for Narrator in Settings.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23620 (Dev Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/01/25/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23620-dev-channel/)
Fixes[Start menu]- Fixed an issue that was causing labels like System in the Start menu's all apps list to be cut off if text scaling is above 100%.
[File Explorer]- Fixed an issue impacting explorer.exe reliability.
[Widgets]- Fixed the issue where announcements from the Microsoft Start feed are still shown on the taskbar after the feed is hidden.
- Fixed the issue where spacing and fonts used in some settings pages were incorrect.
[Task Manager]- Fixed an issue impacting Task Manager reliability on the last few builds.
[Accessibility]- Fixed an issue which was causing voice access to crash when setting up new languages.
- Fixed multiple crashes impacting narrator, including one when trying to add new natural voices.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26052 (Canary and Dev Channels) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/02/08/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26052-canary-and-dev-channels/)
Insiders in the Canary Channel will receive Build 26052.1000 while Insiders in the Dev Channel will receive Build 26052
.1100 (KB5035384) as we test delivery of a full build and a servicing update at the same time. There is no difference between the two of these as Build 26052.1100 does not include any additional code. (Arm64 devices in the Dev Channel will not receive Build 26052.1100.)
Flighting updates for Windows Insiders in the Canary & Dev ChannelsStarting today, Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel are being moved from receiving 23000 series builds to receiving 26000 series builds.Insiders in the Dev Channel will gain a set of new features such as energy saver (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/11/29/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26002-canary-channel/), scrollable quick settings (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/10/05/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25967-canary-channel/), QR codes for Wi-Fi sharing (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/10/18/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25977-canary-channel/), support for creating 7-zip and TAR archives in addition to ZIP in File Explorer (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/11/08/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25992-canary-channel/), Windows protected print mode (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/12/13/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26016-canary-channel/), voice clarity (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/01/26/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26040-canary-channel/), along with recent Server Message Block (SMB) protocol changes (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/11/08/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25992-canary-channel/) and improvements to Windows Local Administrator Password Solution (LAPS) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/01/26/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26040-canary-channel/), and improvements across Settings and improvements for Bluetooth and Graphics as well. Note that apps such as Tips and WordPad will be removed after upgrading to this build.
The Canary and Dev Channels receiving the same builds is only temporary.
During the times in which the Canary and Dev Channels are on the same builds (e.g. Build 26052), the window is open for Insiders in the Canary Channel to switch to the Dev Channel. At some point in the future, the Canary Channel will jump to higher build numbers and the window will be closed.
If you are a gamer, please take note that
some popular games may not work correctly or crash when launched on these builds. Over time, we expect this experience to improve as bugs get fixed.
NOTE: As part of this move, rollouts for some features in the Dev Channel may get reset which means in a small number of cases features might disappear. As we ramp up feature rollouts, these features should return over time. Some features may begin rolling out to the Canary Channel first before the Dev Channel even if the two channels have the same build.What's new in Build 26052Sudo for Windows Sudo for Windows (https://devblogs.microsoft.com/commandline/introducing-sudo-for-windows) provides a new, yet familiar way to way to elevate processes directly from the command-line.
The sudo command can be configured to run in three different modes:
- In a new window: A new window will open in which the elevated command will run.
- With input disabled: The elevated command will run inline with its stdin closed in the window from which you've triggered elevation. You will not be able to interact with the elevated process.
- Inline: The elevated command will run inline in the window from which you've triggered elevation. This mode is most similar to the sudo experience on other platforms.
It is recommended that you review the security considerations for each mode here (https://devblogs.microsoft.com/commandline/introducing-sudo-for-windows) before enabling the sudo command on your machine.
Here is how you can enable the sudo command:
Just navigate to Settings > System > For developers and toggle on the sudo command. Configure how the sudo command behaves by selected one of the modes in the drop-down menu (In a new window, with input disabled, inline).
NOTE: The setting for enabling Sudo may incorrectly be showing on Windows Server Insider Preview builds – this feature will not be available on Windows Server and the setting will be disabled in a future Server Insider Preview build.FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Developer platform > command line.Enhancements in Hearing Aid Support As announced in October 2023 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/10/18/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25977-canary-channel/), Windows took a step forward in accessibility, allowing direct pairing, audio streaming, and smooth call handling for customers with
Bluetooth® Low Energy Audio (LE Audio) supported hearing aids on LE Audio-compatible PCs. Now, we are thrilled to introduce a set of features that will take this support to the next level: We're introducing new capabilities to control audio presets, ambient sounds, and experience enhancements to the
Settings > Bluetooth & devices page.
Customers can now adjust the audio presets that they or their audiologist configured in their hearing aids, right from the Settings or Quick Settings UI in Windows. These controls allow customers to quickly adjust the behavior of their hearing aids to their preference for the environment they're in. Preset options and availability will vary based on the model and configuration of hearing aids.
We're also introducing capabilities for customers to adjust the volume of ambient sound captured by their hearing aids. These controls adjust the balance between streamed audio and sound picked up from the surrounding environment, helping customers choose what they want to focus on. Ambient sound control availability will vary based on the model of hearing aids.
These features require both your Windows device and hearing aid to support Bluetooth LE Audio. Note that not all Windows 11 PCs or hearing aids, even ones that support Bluetooth LE, have support for LE Audio. To learn more about LE Audio compatibility on Windows, please visit this link: Check if your Windows 11 PC supports Bluetooth Low Energy Audio (https://support.microsoft.com/windows/check-if-your-windows-11-pc-supports-bluetooth-low-energy-audio-2b79c085-0353-4467-8306-ebb2657a91de). To learn more about LE Audio compatibility with hearing aids, consult your manufacturer or audiologist.
We've also enhanced the Bluetooth & devices settings page to provide additional functionality. Customers will now be able to:
- Monitor essential Bluetooth device details when available, such as battery life and connection status, through an expandable menu for each connected device.
- For audio devices, effortlessly access the System > Sound > Properties page to control audio settings for that device.
These new enhancements are available for hearing aids and all other devices on this page. To try out this feature, go to
Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Devices.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Devices and Drivers > Bluetooth – Audio quality, glitches, choppiness, and stuttering.Audio mic test utility to test audio in different processing modesWindows now offers a convenient way to test the difference between Default and Communication mode audio. This new utility can be found under the microphone properties via
Settings > System > Sound. You can select the mode and record/listen to audio in both modes, allowing you to easily compare audio processing modes for applications built for the Windows ecosystem. Some audio drivers come with special audio effects for communications, and the toggle lets users hear how audio captured in your microphone sounds when recorded by a communications application versus a non-communications application. It's important to note that the utility is for testing purposes only and will not affect the actual mode of the audio. You can use this to try out the Voice Clarity (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/01/26/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26040-canary-channel/) feature in the last flight!
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Devices and Drivers > Audio and sound.Changes and Improvements[General]- Starting with Build 26-xx today, Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels will see the versioning updated under Settings > System > About (and winver) to version 24H2. This denotes that Windows 11, version 24H2 will be this year's annual feature update. As mentioned here (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/release-health/windows11-release-informatio'), Windows 11 will have an annual feature update cadence that releases in the second half of the calendar year.
- Plugging in to use a Windows Mixed Reality headset will not work starting with his build. Windows Mixed Reality (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/mixed-reality/enthusiast-guide/before-you-start)is no longer available to users as Windows Mixed Reality has been announced as deprecated (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/whats-new/deprecated-features). This includes the Mixed Reality Portal app (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/mixed-reality/enthusiast-guide/install-windows-mixed-reality), and Windows Mixed Reality for SteamVR (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/mixed-reality/enthusiast-guide/using-steamvr-with-windows-mixed-reality) and Steam VR Beta. Existing Windows Mixed Reality devices will continue to work with Steam through November 2026, if users remain on their current released version of Windows 11 (version 23H2) and do not upgrade to this year's annual feature update for Windows 11 (version 24H2). This deprecation does not impact HoloLens.
- Microsoft Defender Application Guard (MDAG) is no longer available as a feature on demand starting with this build. Microsoft Defender Application Guard for Office and Edge has been announced as deprecated (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/whats-new/deprecated-features).
[Copilot in Windows*]- We are trying out a new experience for Copilot in Windows that helps showcase the ways that Copilot can accelerate and enhance your work. This experience will show when you copy text – since Copilot supports helpful actions that you can take with text content. In this scenario, the Copilot icon will change appearance and animate to indicate that Copilot can help (there are several different treatments so you may notice a different visual effect). When you hover your mouse over the Copilot icon, it will provide a menu of actions that you can take, such as summarizing or explaining the copied text. If you select an action on the menu, it will launch Copilot with the action ready-to-go. We will also support the ability to launch Copilot if you start dragging an image – just drag the image file onto the Copilot icon in the taskbar, and Copilot will open. You can then drop the image into the text box in Copilot and type an action that you would like to take on the image content.
- After [URL'https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/01/11/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23615-dev-channel']temporarily disabling[/URL] this experience to fix an issue, we are trying out opening Copilot automatically when Windows starts on widescreen devices again with some Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels. This can be managed via Settings > Personalization > Copilot. Note that this is rolling out so not all Insiders in the Dev Channel will see this right away. We're trying this experience out on devices that have minimum diagonal screen size of 27" and pixel width of 1920 pixels and limited to primary display screens in multi-monitor scenarios. As a reminder, we regularly try out different experiences with Windows Insiders that may not ever ship, and others could show up in future Windows releases when they're ready.
[Taskbar & System Tray] - We have updated the energy saver icon for desktop PCs (PCs without batteries). This icon is shown on the system tray when energy saver is enabled, under quick settings, and under Settings > System power & battery.
[Bluetooth]- Today, when discovering available Bluetooth devices to connect to, Windows filters out device classes that are uncommon. Customers who wish to override this filter and see all nearby devices available to pair can do so by choosing "Advanced" for the "Bluetooth devices discovery" setting. Starting with this build, we are removing that option and introducing some changes to the add device workflow to streamline this experience. Now, discovery will always scan for all devices, but only show common device types by default. Whenever an "uncommon" device is found during the discovery process, an option to "Show all devices" will be displayed to the customer.
[Graphics]- Windows Insiders who use the Color Management Control Panel to make changes to their color profiles can now use the all-new Color management settings page located under Settings > System > Display > Color management. This new settings page will allow users to add or remove color profiles, as well as set default color profiles for the connected displays. In addition, auto color management can now be found on the new Color management settings page.
[Registry Editor]- The Registry Editor now supports limiting a search to the currently selected key and its descendants.
[Developer APIs]- Starting with this build, we are introducing the Power Grid Forecast API. This API empowers app developers to optimize app behavior, minimizing environmental impact by shifting background tasks to times when more renewable energy is available in the local electrical grid. The result is lower carbon emissions for app users. Please note that forecast quality varies by region and is not available globally. While the API is available in this build, we are still working on public documentation, sample code, and we have a couple of bug fixes checked in. All of this should make its way to Insiders in the coming weeks.
- We are adding an energy saver notification callback setting GUID to represent the new energy saver experience introduced in Build 26002 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/11/29/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26002-canary-channel/). Apps can subscribe to the energy saver status by passing the appropriate GUID to the PowerSettingRegisterNotification API and can implement different behaviors to optimize energy or performance depending on the current energy saver status. More details can be found in here (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/win32/power/power-setting-guids).
- We are making a minor extension of the existing Effective Power Mode API (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/win32/api/powersetting/ne-powersetting-effective_power_mode) to interpret the new energy saver levels when determining the returned effective power mode. Documentation will be updated shortly.
[Security]- Developers can use the Cryptography API: Next Generation (CNG) (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/win32/seccng/cng-portal) framework to help secure Windows keys with virtualization-based security (VBS). See this blog post here for details (https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/windows-it-pro-blog/advancing-key-protection-in-windows-with-vbs/ba-p/4050988).
Settings]
- You can go Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners to choose to setup [URL'https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/12/13/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26016-canary-channel/]Windows protected print mode[/URL] but clicking the setup button under "Printer preferences". This experience will continue to be refined in future flights.
- We moved the option to show your Wi-Fi password (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/06/22/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22621-1906-and-22631-1906/) to the top of the Wi-Fi properties page under Settings > Network & Internet > Wi-Fi.
[Other]- We've adjusted the text in the notification when a PC detects a slow charger.
- You can now use the Camera app to join a Wi-Fi network. Just scan a QR code with Wi-Fi details and a link will be provided that will open Settings to quickly get the new Wi-Fi profile added and connected. As a reminder, starting with Build 25977 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/10/18/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25977-canary-channel) in the Canary Channel you can create your own QR code for Wi-Fi and share it with others. This also works for mobile hotspots too.
Fixes for known issues- We fixed the issue where in some multi-monitor configurations, a display would appear as frozen in Build 26040.
- Fixed a DWM issue in Build 26040 causing some rendering issues.
- Fixed an issue causing Build 26040 flight to fail to install for some Insiders with error code 0x80188306.
- Fixed an issue causing the print queue to not open in recent Canary Channel flights.
- Did some more work to help improve the launch performance of File Explorer.
- Fixed multiple crashes impacting system tray and its flyouts.
- The volume slider in quick settings will now make a sound when adjusted again.
- When using the save dialog, if you try to save a file to Gallery in File Explorer, it will now save to your Pictures library rather than showing an error.
Via X/Twitter (https://twitter.com/windowsinsider/status/1756061423262990708):
QuoteWe added a very important known issue for Dev Drive users on Build 26052: Insiders who have Dev Drives and might need to rollback will need to back up their Dev Drives BEFORE rolling back as rolling back will cause Dev Drives to break and data on them to be lost. ^BLB
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26058 (Canary and Dev Channels) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/02/14/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26058-canary-and-dev-channels/)
ISOs for this build can be downloaded here (https://aka.ms/wipISO).
Insiders in the Canary Channel will receive Build 26058.1000 while Insiders in the Dev Channel will receive Build 26058.1100 (KB5036078) delivery of a full build and a servicing update at the same time are tested. There is no difference between the two of these as Build 26058.1100 does not include any additional code.
Please read the known issues in the blog post. This build still has the issue impacting
Dev Drive users. In addition, a few issues have also been added based on feedback from last week's flight and an issue with using the ISOs being released today to do an upgrade.
The Canary and Dev Channels receiving the same builds is only temporary.
During the times in which the Canary and Dev Channels are on the same builds (e.g. Build 26058), the window is open for Insiders in the Canary Channel to switch to the Dev Channel. At some point in the future, the Canary Channel will jump to higher build numbers and the window will be closed.
NOTE: Some features may begin rolling out to the Canary Channel first before the Dev Channel even if the two channels have the same build.What's new in Build 26058Pointer Indicator: New accessibility setting for low vision Windows usersLow vision users on Windows can now easily locate and use their cursor. This will allow these users to be more productive and efficient when using a Windows device.
To enable this experience, go to
Settings > Accessibility > Mouse pointer and touch and enable the Pointer indicator setting. You can also search for the setting by name. When the setting is enabled, you can toggle it on/off with the keyboard shortcut,
Win + Ctrl + X.
To enable this experience, go to
Settings > Accessibility > Mouse pointer and touch and enable the Pointer indicator setting. You can also search for the setting by name. When the setting is enabled, you can toggle it on/off with the keyboard shortcut,
Win + Ctrl + X.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Accessibility > Accessibility Settings.Widgets board improvementsWe're continuing to evolve the widgets board experience and you can now have more space for your favorite widgets and 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 Discover. Give it a try and let us know what you think using the feedback button at the top of the board.
[We are beginning to roll this out to Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels today, so the experience isn't available to all Insiders just yet.]FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Widgets.New notification badging for Widgets We're beginning to roll out a new badging experience for Widgets. Widgets badges will notify you when you miss an important notification on your taskbar. Below is an example of a notification badge for Widgets that shows that there are three missed notifications.
When you open the Widgets board you can see details for the notifications you missed in the top left corner of the board.
[We are beginning to roll this out to Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels today, so the experience isn't available to all Insiders just yet.]FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Widgets.Richer weather experience on the lock screenIf you are in the
Canary Channel, you should start to see the richer weather experience on your lock screen. This includes dynamic, interactive weather updates. So, as you hover over the weather experience on your lock screen, you will see more information. When you tap or click on the weather card and sign in, Microsoft Edge opens with the full forecast in MSN Weather. If you already use Weather under Settings > Personalization > Lock screen > Lock screen status, there is nothing for you to do. Also, this new experience will be on by default. Should you not want to see this experience, you can change your lock screen status to "None." This rich weather experience is available when you lock your screen no matter which personalization option you select (Windows spotlight, Picture, or Slideshow).
[We are currently rolling this out starting with EN-US only, so the experience isn't available to all Insiders in the Canary or Dev Channels just yet as we plan to monitor feedback and see how it lands before pushing it out to everyone.]FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Lock screen.Changes and Improvements[General]- WIN + CTRL + S will now open voice access instead of Windows Speech Recognition (WSR). Windows 11 is transitioning from WSR to voice access. WSR is being deprecated (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/whats-new/deprecated-features).
[File Explorer]- To make it easier to use the File Explorer context menu, labels have been added to previously unlabeled actions such as cut, copy, paste, rename, share, and delete.
[Command Prompt]- If you run [URLhttps://learn.microsoft.com/windows/package-manager/winget]winget[/URL], or any other package manager configured to do so, Command Prompt (CMD) will now look for changes to the PATH and update your current session. To enable a package manager to have this logic in CMD, simply add the package manager .exe name to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Command Processor\KnownPackageManagers.
Fixes for known issues- Fixed an issue causing an increase in Insiders to experience black screens after Build 26040 (particularly when waking a device from sleep). Please file feedback if you continue experiencing issues after installing this build.
- Fixed an issue where all the added features under Settings > System > Optional Features were showing 0 bytes in the previous flight.
- Fixed an issue where focus sessions continued to show as running in the notification center after they had ended.
- Fixed an issue causing Windows Sandbox to unexpectedly show Windows Sandbox could not be initialized. (0x800736b3) for some Insiders in the previous flight.
- Fixed an issue where the last checked time showing for Windows Update in Settings was wrong.
[UPDATE 2/22] We are starting to roll out two servicing updates to Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel. Both these updates do not include anything new and are designed to test our servicing pipeline for Windows 11, version 24H2. Most Insiders in the Dev Channel will receive Cumulative Update Build 26058.1300 (KB5036082). However, Insiders that have Virtualization Based Security (VBS) turned on will receive Build 26058.1400 (KB5036080) and may not experience a restart upon installing the update. Arm64 devices, even with VBS turned on, will only receive Build 26058.1300 (KB5036082).
ISOs for this build can be downloaded here (https://aka.ms/wipISO).
Insiders in the Canary Channel will receive Build 26080
.1000 while Insiders in the Dev Channel will receive Build 26080
.1100 (KB5037133) as we test delivery of a full build and a servicing update at the same time. There is no difference between the two of these as Build 26068.1100 does not include any additional code.
Two important notes:- If you're experiencing an issue with Settings crashing or not loading the Windows Update settings page to download and install Build 26080 – you may have to reboot to correct the issue.
- Insiders on Build 26080 and higher who have Dev Drives should no longer see their Dev Drives breaking when rolling back as long as you roll back to Build 26063 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/02/22/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26063-canary-channel/) and higher. (Insiders in the Dev Channel will need to wait for another new build to get released to ensure rollback happens to build that has this issue fixed.)
The Canary and Dev Channels receiving the same builds is only temporary.
During the times in which the Canary and Dev Channels are on the same builds (e.g. Build 26080), the window is open for Insiders in the Canary Channel to switch to the Dev Channel. At some point in the future, the Canary Channel will jump to higher build numbers and the window will be closed.
NOTE: Some features may begin rolling out to the Canary Channel first before the Dev Channel even if the two channels have the same build.What's new in Build 26080Updates to Microsoft Teams in Windows 11Starting with Windows 11, version 24H2, Teams users will get access to a preview experience of the new, unified Microsoft Teams experience on Windows. In this preview, Microsoft Teams will be available as a single application (http://'https//www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/roadmap?filters=&searchterms=383006'), enabling users to seamlessly switch between multiple cloud environments, tenants, and account types across personal and work. This new, unified application will soon be rolled out to commercial customers as well, through the normal update process. To add or access additional accounts, select your profile picture at the upper right corner of Teams when you sign into Teams.
We received consistent feedback from personal and work users: you prefer a single Teams app that allows you to easily access and switch between personal and work accounts. This update lets you use one app for all kinds of Teams accounts.
You can join any Teams meeting with ease. In upcoming builds, when you are joining a meeting, you can select the account you want to use. You will also be able to join a meeting without signing in.
Notifications have been improved, showing which Teams account they belong to. In addition, personal notifications have more details, giving clear and easy actions from the notification banner.
You can now launch personal and work accounts simultaneously with separate icons on the taskbar. We listened to users about their communication needs in various aspects of their lives and how they want to use Teams. The feedback was clear that a multi-window experience is preferred.
Other things to know:
- This unified preview app experience is labeled "Microsoft Teams (work or school)". The app name will be automatically updated to "Microsoft Teams" in future releases.
- This is a preview release, and you will notice some changes from your current experience using Microsoft Teams (free) and Microsoft Teams (work or school). These changes and more updates will continue until we reach general availability. Notably in this release, Teams will launch into a separate icon for single accounts.
- We will remove the standalone consumer app, "Microsoft Teams (free)", in future releases.
- If you lose access to either Teams applications through use of the Windows Insiders Program, you can access your preferred Teams application from this download page (https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-teams/download-app).
- For Enterprise Admins, the ability to sign in with Microsoft accounts will be part of a normal monthly update, there is no new app to install if you have new Teams. The functionality is targeted for preview in April and general availability in May. The ability for users to sign in with Microsoft accounts will follow all sign in restriction polices (https://learn.microsoft.com/microsoftteams/sign-in-teams#how-to-restrict-teams-sign-in-on-desktop-devices) as it has for all versions of Teams. Admins can learn more in Message Center (MC719659).
Improvements to Copilot in Windows* now rolling out to more Windows InsidersWe have been trying out a new runtime for Copilot in Windows* that allows you to manage more settings via Copilot, including accessibility-focused settings, and use Power Automate Desktop through Copilot!
We are now rolling out these Copilot in Windows improvements to more Windows Insiders in the Canary Channel (which first began rolling out on 2/20 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/02/14/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26058-canary-and-dev-channels/)
) and beginning to roll these improvements out to Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel.
More built-in capabilities via Copilot in WindowsTry asking Copilot to turn on Narrator or Live Captions, turn on battery saver, show you available networks, even empty your recycle bin or clean up your storage. Here's the full list of things you can ask Copilot to do!
New with this update:
- Ask for available wireless networks.
- Ask for system or device information.
- Ask for battery information.
- Ask to clean storage.
- Ask to empty recycle bin.
- Ask to toggle battery saver.
- Ask to show startup apps.
- Ask for your IP address.
- Ask for system, device, or storage information.
Try accessibility features:
- Ask to turn on narrator.
- Ask to open voice access.
- Ask to turn on magnifier.
- Ask to change text size.
- Ask to start live captions.
- Ask to turn on high-contrast.
- Ask to start voice typing.
Already live, now on the new runtime:
- Ask to toggle dark/light theme.
- Ask to toggle Bluetooth.
- Ask to toggle do not disturb.
- Ask to add a device.
- Ask to take a screenshot.
- Ask to cast your screen to another monitor.
- Ask to change your background image.
- Ask to set volume, change volume, or mute/unmute volume.
- Ask to launch an application.
- State that certain parts of your PC aren't working: Audio, Windows Update, Camera, Bluetooth, Printer, Network, others.
- Ask to snap a window.
- Ask to start a focus session.
Introducing Power Automate via Copilot in WindowsPower Automate is a low-code automation solution that is part of the Power Platform. We're excited to introduce the Power Automate plugin in Copilot in Windows. This first release of the plugin offers automation features for Excel, PDF manipulation and file management.
To use the plugin, download or update Power Automate Desktop to the latest version from the Microsoft Store (http://'https//www.microsoft.com/store/productId/9NFTCH6J7FHV'). Currently plugins are only accessible if you are signed in to Copilot in Windows with a Microsoft account.
After you have Power Automate installed and you activate the plugin in the plugins section in Copilot in Windows, you can ask for tasks such as:
- Write an email to my team wishing everyone a happy weekend.
- List the top 5 highest mountains in the world in an Excel file.
- Rename all PDF files in a folder to add the word final at the end.
- Move all word documents to another folder.
- I need to split a PDF by the first page. Can you help?
Do you want to share your feedback on the Power Automate plugin or do you have other automation scenarios that you would like us to support? Feel free to contact us: powerautomate-ai@microsoft.com.
[The rollout continues for these Copilot in Windows improvements to Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels today, so the experience isn't available to all Insiders just yet.]FEEDBACK: Because of an issue with our feedback pipeline, please do not use the in-line feedback form that opens from thumbs up/down for these actions right now, and instead file feedback about using these in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Copilot in Windows.Changes and Improvements[Copilot in Windows*]- We are beginning to roll-out an updated Copilot in Windows experience that adds the ability to switch between the existing "docked" behavior that attaches Copilot to the side of your desktop, and a new mode where it acts like a normal application window which you can resize and move around your screen. As part of this change, we're also introducing some under-the-hood improvements as well. This experience is beginning to roll out to Windows Insiders in the Canary Channel As always, please report any issues you experience to us via Feedback Hub.
[Taskbar & System Tray]- You can turn on live captions more quickly by using the new quick setting. Just open quick settings from the system tray, scroll down, then select the live captions quick setting.
- Updated the design of the progress bar under app icons to help make it easier to see. This will appear on the taskbar as well as the Start menu.
[File Explorer]- When extracting files, if there is a file name conflict you can now choose to apply your selected action (skip, replace) for all conflicts.
[Windows Update]- Removed the What's New link in Windows Update history for Windows Insiders – it will only show now for retail (released) versions of Windows. To check what's new in Insider builds, please follow this blog.
Fixes for known issues[General]- IMPORTANT NOTE FOR DEV DRIVE USERS: Insiders on Build 26068 and higher who have Dev Drives should no longer see their Dev Drives breaking when rolling back as long as you roll back to Build 26063 and higher. Rolling back to earlier builds may still result in issues with Dev Drives.
- IMPORTANT NOTE: Fixed an issue causing Windows Update in Settings to not load or crash in Build 26063. If you are still on Build 26063 and encounter this, rebooting may resolve the issue. If it doesn't, the update should still eventually download on its own – appreciate your patience.
- Fixed an issue for Narrator not working when setting up a device or in Advanced Startup.
[Copilot in Windows]- Fixed an issue where if you turned the Copilot icon off and back on in Settings never showed it on your taskbar again.
[Taskbar & System Tray]- Fixed a memory leak related to showing the tooltip for the date and time in the taskbar when you had enabled additional clocks.
[File Explorer]- Fixed an underlying issue believed to be the cause of some Insiders finding File Explorer had started freezing and using unexpectedly high CPU in the last couple builds. Please file feedback in the Feedback Hub if you continue experiencing this after upgrading.
- Fixed an issue where your preference for "Show extracted files when complete" when extracting files in File Explorer wasn't persisting across upgrades.
- Fixed a timing issue where when you start a search from Home in File Explorer, it might unexpectedly show no results the first time you tried.
- Fixed an issue causing the Details view in File Explorer to be unexpectedly cramped in recent builds when using compact mode.
- Made a change to help address an issue where after a DWM crash, when you opened File Explorer it could just show a blank area on top instead of rendering the area correctly.
- Fixed an issue where the 7zip and ZIP compression options weren't displaying correctly for Insiders with the English (United Kingdom) display language.
[Task Manager]- Fixed an issue which could lead to your GPU showing as -1 in Task Manager.
- Fixed an issue where Task Manager may unexpectedly show no GPU % used (when that was not the case).
- Fixed an issue impacting Task Manager reliability.
[Audio]- Fixed an issue causing HDMI connected devices to not have audio in the last few builds.
[Input]- Fixed an issue causing the input switcher (WIN + Space) design to revert to an older style and draw in the wrong location.
- Fixed an issue where DWM could hang when writing with pen in Snipping Tool.
- Fixed a high hitting ctfmon.exe crash, which could impact the ability to input text.
- Fixed an issue where magnifier wasn't following the mouse cursor when centered on screen in recent builds.
- Fixed an issue where mouse cursor shadows (if enabled) were not rendered correctly with large cursors.
- Fixed an issue where the mouse cursor was unexpectedly leaving a trail of mice on the screen.
- Fixed an issue which could lead to some mice and keyboards not working in safe mode.
- Fixed an issue where when waking your PC from sleep in Build 26063 the touchpad might be banged out in Device Manager, resulting in the mouse cursor not showing when you tried to use it.
[Settings]- Fixed an issue where a Display Connection section was incorrectly showing up under Settings > System > Display > Graphics that when clicked, would crash Settings.
- Fixed an issue where a brightness slider might not show in Settings > System > Display in recent builds even though a brightness slider was available for you to use in Quick Settings.
[Other]- Fixed an underlying issue which could lead to Snipping Tool hanging.
- Fixed an underlying dxgi.dll issue which led to some app and game crashes in Build 26058+.
- Fixed an underlying issue with winmmbase.dll which could lead to app crashes in Build 26058+.
- Fixed an issue related to tcpip.sys which was causing some Insiders to see bugchecks with UNEXPECTED_KERNEL_MODE_TRAP in the last few builds.
- Fixed an issue which was causing some Insiders to see bugchecks with SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION in the last few builds.
- Fixed an issue which was causing some Insiders to see bugchecks with DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION in the last few builds.
- Fixed an issue where if you attempted to use the Windows Update troubleshooter, it would show error 0x803C010A.
Paint update begins rolling out to Windows Insiders (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/03/13/paint-update-begins-rolling-out-to-windows-insiders/)
Beginning to roll out updates to Paint to Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels on Windows 11.
Paint (version 11.2402.32.0)
With this update to Paint, we are improving the brush size selection experience with a new size slider for pencil, brushes, and eraser tools. With the new size slider, you can choose from a wider range of size options and preview the selected size on the canvas as you drag the slider.
To get started, click on any of the pencil, brushes, or eraser tools, and a size slider will appear on the left side of the canvas. Click and drag along the slider to view different sizes and select the desired size to start drawing!
[We are beginning to roll out the new size slider mentioned above, so it may not be available to all Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels just yet as we plan to monitor feedback and see how it lands before pushing it out to everyone.]
We are also improving layers by adding a new background option to the Layers panel. With this option, you can set the Background color for the canvas. Open the Layers panel and click the "Background" tile at the bottom or use Ctrl + Shift + B to try this out yourself. This will open the color picker dialog where you can set any color as the background. You can also use the "Hide background" option to make the background completely transparent or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Shift + H to quickly show/hide the background.
We are also adding a new way to copy with "Copy visible layers". This enables you to copy all visible content across layers. To use this option, select an area using the selection tool and invoke the context menu or use the Ctrl + Shift + C keyboard shortcut. "Copy" (Ctrl + C) will copy the visible content from the current layer only.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Apps > Paint (https://aka.ms/paintfeedback).
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26080 (Canary and Dev Channels) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/03/13/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26080-canary-and-dev-channels/)
UPDATE 3/15: We are starting to roll out Cumulative Update Build 26080.1201 (KB5037135) to Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel. This update does not include anything new and is designed to test our servicing pipeline.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26080 (Canary and Dev Channels) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/03/13/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26080-canary-and-dev-channels/)
UPDATE 3/18: We are starting to roll out two servicing updates to Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel. Both these updates do not include anything new and are designed to test our servicing pipeline for Windows 11, version 24H2. Most Insiders in the Dev Channel will receive Cumulative Update Build 26080.1300 (KB5037139). However, Insiders that have Virtualization Based Security (VBS) turned on will receive Build 26080.1400 (KB5037140) and may not experience a restart upon installing the update. Arm64 devices, even with VBS turned on, will only receive Build 26080.1300 (KB5037139).
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26085 (Canary and Dev Channels) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/03/20/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26085-canary-and-dev-channels/)
The Canary and Dev Channels receiving the same builds is only temporary.
During the times in which the Canary and Dev Channels are on the same builds (e.g. Build 26085), the window is open for Insiders in the Canary Channel to switch to the Dev Channel. At some point in the future, the Canary Channel will jump to higher build numbers and the window will be closed.
NOTE: Some features may begin rolling out to the Canary Channel first before the Dev Channel even if the two channels have the same build.Changes and Improvements[Input]- The new pointer indicator accessibility setting for low vision Windows users introduced with Build 26052 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/02/08/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26052-canary-and-dev-channels/) has been temporarily disabled with Build 26085. We plan to re-enable this feature in a future flight after fixing some bugs. Thanks to Insiders for all the feedback on this!
[Settings]- Windows Insiders who have Bluetooth LE Audio capable assistive hearing devices can now set up and manage their devices via Settings > Accessibility > Hearing aids. This new accessibility settings page allows users to check their PC's compatibility for Bluetooth LE Audio and pair/manage a set of hearing devices for a more streamlined configuration. Please note that this page is a work-in-progress, and the contents of this page may change over time. (Note this change was first introduced in Build 26080 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/03/13/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26080-canary-and-dev-channels/).)
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26090 (Canary and Dev Channels) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/03/28/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26090-canary-and-dev-channels/)
The Canary and Dev Channels receiving the same builds is only temporary.
During the times in which the Canary and Dev Channels are on the same builds (e.g. Build 26085), the window is open for Insiders in the Canary Channel to switch to the Dev Channel. At some point in the future, the Canary Channel will jump to higher build numbers and the window will be closed.
NOTE: Some features may begin rolling out to the Canary Channel first before the Dev Channel even if the two channels have the same build.What's new in Build 26090Widgets board improvementsWe are restarting the rollout of the Widgets board improvements that originally began rolling out with Build 26058 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/02/14/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26058-canary-and-dev-channels/) to Windows Insiders in the Canary Channel. Those improvements include introducing a new navigation bar on the left allowing you to switch between a dedicated widgets dashboard and other integrated dashboards like Discover. Give it a try and let us know what you think using the feedback button at the top of the board.
We've added a new Navigation Pane on the left that allows you to switch to My Widgets dashboard.
A full widgets only experience from your favorite apps and services.
[We are beginning to roll this out to Windows Insiders in the Canary Channel today, so the experience isn't available to all Insiders just yet.]FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Widgets.More Server Message Block (SMB) protocol changesStarting with Build 26085 and higher, we are introducing the following Server Message Block (SMB) protocol changes for QUIC, signing, and encryption.
SMB over QUIC client disable: Administrators can now disable the SMB over QUIC client with Group Policy and PowerShell. To disable SMB over QUIC using PowerShell, run the following command in an elevated console:
- Set-SmbClientConfiguration -EnableSMBQUIC $true
To disable SMB over QUIC using Group Policy, use GPMC.MSC or GPEDIT.MSC to configure the following setting:
- Computer Configuration \ Administrative Templates \ Network \ Lanman Workstation \ Enable SMB over QUIC
SMB over QUIC client connection auditing: Successful SMB over QUIC client connection events are now written to the event log to include the QUIC transport. You can view these events using EVENTVWR.MSC under the following path:
- Applications and Services Logs \ Microsoft \ Windows\ SMBClient \ Connectivity (Event ID: 30832)
SMB signing and encryption auditing: Administrators can now enable auditing of the SMB server and client for support of SMB signing and encryption. This shows if a third-party client or server doesn't support SMB encryption or signing. You can configure these settings with PowerShell and Group Policy. To configure SMB client or server signing or encryption auditing using Group Policy, use GPMC.MSC or GPEDIT.MSC to configure the following settings:
- Computer Configuration \ Administrative Templates \ Network \ Lanman Workstation \ Audit server does not support encryption
- Computer Configuration \ Administrative Templates \ Network \ Lanman Workstation \ Audit server does not support signing
- Computer Configuration \ Administrative Templates \ Network \ Lanman Server \ Audit client does not support encryption
- Computer Configuration \ Administrative Templates \ Network \ Lanman Server \ Audit client does not support signing
To disable SMB over QUIC using PowerShell, run the following command in an elevated console:
- Set-SmbClientConfiguration -AuditServerDoesNotSupportEncryption $true
- Set-SmbClientConfiguration -AuditServerDoesNotSupportSigning $true
- Set-SmbServerConfiguration -AuditClientDoesNotSupportEncryption $true
- Set-SmbServerConfiguration -AuditClientDoesNotSupportSigning $true
You can view these events using EVENTVWR.MSC under the following paths:
- Applications and Services Logs \ Microsoft \ Windows\ SMBClient \ Audit (Event ID: 31998 and Event ID: 31999)
- Applications and Services Logs \ Microsoft \ Windows\ SMBServer \ Audit (Event ID: 3021 and Event ID: 3022)
For more information on SMB over QUIC in Windows and Windows Server Insider Preview builds, review https://aka.ms/SMBoverQUICServer (https://nam06.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Faka.ms%2FSMBoverQUICServer&data=05%7C02%7Cbleblanc%40microsoft.com%7C85a948192b9f46e7a3e208dc4cf7e41c%7C72f988bf86f141af91ab2d7cd011db47%7C1%7C0%7C638469874813811002%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=DgX1y0ILfOlkB9RDIYaBhBsmOgGTx8wPXIrA5E4QUao%3D&reserved=0) and https://aka.ms/SmbOverQuicCAC (https://nam06.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Faka.ms%2FSmbOverQuicCAC&data=05%7C02%7Cbleblanc%40microsoft.com%7C85a948192b9f46e7a3e208dc4cf7e41c%7C72f988bf86f141af91ab2d7cd011db47%7C1%7C0%7C638469874813824292%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=etDKwnqzrjXS7h9Pethm8NwCtUvaARgBpg1hvuQ2Ei0%3D&reserved=0).
For more information on SMB signing and encryption in Windows and Windows Server Insider Preview builds, review https://aka.ms/SmbSigningRequired (https://nam06.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Faka.ms%2FSmbSigningRequired&data=05%7C02%7Cbleblanc%40microsoft.com%7C85a948192b9f46e7a3e208dc4cf7e41c%7C72f988bf86f141af91ab2d7cd011db47%7C1%7C0%7C638469874813831350%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=7kKMKuj77FOgm6qo9sphbOltmzUknbN1CueiNTlspQc%3D&reserved=0) and https://aka.ms/SmbClientEncrypt (https://nam06.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Faka.ms%2FSmbClientEncrypt&data=05%7C02%7Cbleblanc%40microsoft.com%7C85a948192b9f46e7a3e208dc4cf7e41c%7C72f988bf86f141af91ab2d7cd011db47%7C1%7C0%7C638469874813837893%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=yQTCdQAcztyoYjpvQU66GhaESMGxj4fiMNRrPw9%2FnSE%3D&reserved=0).
Changes and Improvements[General]- The build watermark at the lower right-hand corner of the desktop is not present in this build and will return in future Insider Preview builds. This is part of our normal process for preparing Windows 11, version 24H2 for release to customers later this year – but does not mean we're done. Windows 11, version 24H2, will be this year's annual feature update.As mentioned here (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/release-health/windows11-release-information), Windows 11 will have an annual feature update cadence that releases in the second half of the calendar year.
[Copilot in Windows- You can ask Copilot in Windows (in preview) for help ten times when you sign in to Windows using a local account. After that, you must sign in using a Microsoft account (MSA) or a Microsoft Entra ID (https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-entra-blog/azure-ad-is-becoming-microsoft-entra-id/ba-p/2520436)account (formerly Azure Active Directory (Azure AD)). To sign in, use the link in the dialog that appears in Copilot in Windows. If you do not sign in, some Copilot features might not work. To learn more, see Welcome to Copilot in Windows (https://support.microsoft.com/windows/welcome-to-copilot-in-windows-675708af-8c16-4675-afeb-85a5a476ccb0) and Manage Copilot in Windows (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/client-management/manage-windows-copilot).
[Settings]- The redesigned version of the Delivery Optimization settings page under Settings > Windows Update > Advanced options > Delivery Optimization that was first introduced in Build 25987 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/11/01/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25987-canary-channel/) has been reverted to the previous design starting with Build 26085. We plan to bring back this redesigned settings page in a future flight after fixing some bugs. Thanks to Insiders for all the feedback on this!
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26090 (Canary and Dev Channels) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/03/28/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26090-canary-and-dev-channels/)
UPDATE 3/29: We are starting to roll out Cumulative Update Build 26090.112 (KB5037477) to Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel. This update does not include anything new and is designed to test our servicing pipeline.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26100 (Canary and Dev Channels) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/04/03/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26100-canary-and-dev-channels/)
The Canary and Dev Channels receiving the same builds
is only temporary.
During the times in which the Canary and Dev Channels are on the same builds (e.g. Build 26100), the window is open for Insiders in the Canary Channel to switch to the Dev Channel. In the near future, the Canary Channel will jump to higher build numbers and the window will be closed
so make your choice on which channel to be in soon!NOTE: Some features may begin rolling out to the Canary Channel first before the Dev Channel even if the two channels have the same build.What's new in Build 26100Changes and Improvements[General]- [REMINDER] The build watermark at the lower right-hand corner of the desktop is not present in this build and will return in future Insider Preview builds. This is part of our normal process preparing Windows 11, version 24H2 for releasing to customers later this year – but does not mean we're done. Windows 11, version 24H2, will be this year's annual feature update. As mentioned here (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/release-health/windows11-release-information), Windows 11 will have an annual feature update cadence that releases in the second half of the calendar year.
Fixes for known issues[General]- Made another fix to address the issue causing shutdown and hibernate to not work in the latest builds.
- Fixed an issue resulting in some Insiders seeing error 0x80240067 when trying to download app updates from Microsoft Store or Windows updates in Settings in the latest builds.
[Copilot in Windows*]- *With the updated Copilot in Windows experience that introduces the ability for Copilot to act like a normal application window (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/03/13/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26080-canary-and-dev-channels/'), we have fixed the issue that prevented the ability to bring focus to the "..." or refresh buttons within Copilot when using a keyboard (ex: by using tab to cycle through buttons).
[Windowing]- Fixed a DWM crash impacting some Insiders in the latest flights (this could result in you seeing your screen flash black).
From Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26100 (Canary and Dev Channels) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/04/03/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26100-canary-and-dev-channels/):
UPDATE 4/26: We are starting to roll out Cumulative Update Build 26100.268 (KB5036908) to Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel. This update is designed to test our servicing pipeline and is the same as the April 2024 security update (https://support.microsoft.com/topic/april-9-2024-kb5036893-os-builds-22621-3447-and-22631-3447-a674a67b-85f5-4a40-8d74-5f8af8ead5bb) released earlier this month for Windows 11, version 23H2.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.461 (Dev Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/05/03/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26120-461-dev-channel/)
Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel will now receive updates based on Windows 11, version 24H2 via an enablement package (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/kb5003791-update-to-windows-10-version-21h2-by-using-an-enablement-package-8bc077be-18d7-4aac-81ce-6f6dad2cd384)
(Build 26120.xxxx). For Insiders in the Dev 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 device over time once they are ready.
Going forward, we will document changes in Dev Channel builds in two buckets: new features, improvements, and fixes that are being gradually rolled out for Insiders who have turned on the toggle to get the latest updates as they are available and then new features, improvements, and fixes available to everyone in the Dev Channel.
Changes and Improvements gradually being rolled out to the Dev 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.
Changes and Improvements gradually being rolled out to everyone in the Dev Channel[Copilot in Windows**]- Over the last few months, we've been trying out different experiences for Copilot in Windows (Preview) with Windows Insiders across the Canary, Dev, and Beta Channels. Some of these experiences include the ability for Copilot in Windows to act like a normal application window and the taskbar icon animating to indicate that Copilot can help when you copy text or images. We have decided to pause the rollouts of these experiences to further refine them based on user feedback. Copilot in Windows will continue to work as expected while we continue to evolve new ideas with Windows Insiders.
Fixes for everyone in the Dev Channel[Copilot in Windows**]- We are rolling out a fix for the issue causing Copilot to auto-launch unexpectedly for Windows Insiders in the Canary, Dev, and Beta Channels after restarting their PCs. This issue was unrelated to the auto-launching experience we tried out with Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels in early February (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/02/08/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26052-canary-and-dev-channels/) which we stopped rolling out in March.
Reminders for Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel- Updates released to the Dev Channel are based off Windows 11, version 24H2.
- 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.
- Many features in the Dev Channel are rolled out using Control Feature Rollout technology (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/delivering-continuous-innovation-in-windows-11-b0aa0a27-ea9a-4365-9224-cb155e517f12), 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.
- Windows Insiders in the Dev 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 device over time once they are ready.
- 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 (https://aka.ms/flighthub) for a complete look at what build is in which Insider channel.
- Copilot in Windows** in preview is being rolled out gradually to Windows Insiders in select global markets. The initial markets for the Copilot in Windows preview include North America, United Kingdom and parts of Asia and South America. It is our intention to add additional markets over time.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.470 (Dev Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/05/10/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26120-470-dev-channel/)
Changes and Improvements gradually being rolled out to the Dev 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.
[Settings]- We are introducing a new Game Pass recommendation card on the Settings homepage. The Game Pass recommendation card on Settings Homepage will be shown to you if you actively play games on your PC. As a reminder – the Settings homepage will be shown only on the Home and Pro editions of Windows 11 and if you're signed into Windows with your Microsoft account.
Fixes for everyone in the Dev Channel[General]- We believe we fixed the issue causing some Insiders to experience an install error 0x8007371B trying to install Build 26120.461 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/05/03/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26120-461-dev-channel/) in the Dev Channel. If you continue to hit issues – please file feedback in Feedback Hub.
[Other]- This update affects Windows Hello for Business. IT admins can now use mobile device management (MDM) to turn off the prompt that appears when users sign in to an Entra-joined machine. To do this, they can turn on the "DisablePostLogonProvisioning" policy setting. After a user signs in, provisioning is off for Windows 10 and Windows 11 devices.
- This update improves the Remote Desktop Session Host. You can now set up its "clipboard redirection" policy to work in a single direction from the local computer to the remote computer. You can also reverse that order.
- This update addresses an issue that affects a network resource. You cannot access it from a Remote Desktop session. This occurs when you turn on the Remote Credential Guard feature and the client is Windows 11, version 22H2 or higher.
- This update addresses an issue that affects Windows Defender Application Control (WDAC). It prevents a stop error that occurs when you apply more than 32 policies.
- This update addresses a deadlock issue in CloudAP. It occurs when different users sign in and sign out at the same time on virtual machines.
- This update addresses an issue that affects the Group Policy service. It fails after you use LGPO.exe to apply an audit policy to the system.
- This update addresses an issue that affects the Settings app. It stops responding when you use it to remove Bluetooth devices.
- This update addresses an issue that affects Notepad. It fails to print to certain Internet Printing Protocol (IPP) printers when you use a print support app.
- This update addresses an issue that affects dsamain.exe. When the Knowledge Consistency Checker (KCC) runs evaluations, it stops responding.
- This update addresses an issue that stops some apps and features from being available. This occurs after you upgrade to Windows 11.
- This update affects MSIX applications. It helps their UI to localize correctly for all languages when you upgrade your OS.
- This update addresses an issue that affects the Microsoft Message Queue (MSMQ) PowerShell module. It does not load.
- This update addresses an issue that affects the existing AppLocker rule collection enforcement mode. It is not overwritten when rules merge with a collection that has no rules. This occurs when the enforcement mode is set to "Not Configured."
- This update addresses an issue that affects Transport Layer Security (TLS), version 1.3. It causes Azure App Services to fail. This occurs when the web server attempts to connect to a third-party Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) server.
- This update affects the touch keyboard. It makes the Japanese 106 keyboard layout appear as expected when you sign in.
- This update addresses an issue that affects the touch keyboard and the candidate window for the Japanese and Chinese Input Method Editors (IME). They do not show after you come out of Modern Standby. To learn more, see Microsoft Japanese IME (https://support.microsoft.com/windows/microsoft-japanese-ime-da40471d-6b91-4042-ae8b-713a96476916) and What is Modern Standby (//'https://learn.microsoft.com/windows-hardware/design/device-experiences/modern-standby').
- This update addresses an issue that affects certain Neural Processing Units (NPU). They do not show in Task Manager.
- This update addresses an issue that affects some wireless earbuds. Bluetooth connections are not stable. This occurs on devices that have firmware from April 2023 and later.
- This update addresses an issue that affects USB audio. It fails on some processors. This occurs after you pause, play, or resume from sleep.
- This update supports DST changes in To learn more, see Interim guidance for Kazakhstan time zone changes 2024 (https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/daylight-saving-time-time-zone/interim-guidance-for-kazakhstan-time-zone-changes-2024/ba-p/4048963).
- This update supports DST changes in To learn more, see Interim guidance for Samoa DST changes 2021 (https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/daylight-saving-time-time-zone/interim-guidance-for-samoa-dst-changes-2021/ba-p/4048965).
- This update supports daylight saving time (DST) changes in Greenland. To learn more, see Greenland 2023 time zone update now available (https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/daylight-saving-time-time-zone/greenland-2023-time-zone-update-now-available/ba-p/3937743).
- This update addresses an issue that affects Secure Launch. It does not run on some processors.
- This update addresses a reliability issue. It affects a Virtual Remote App product when you use a custom shell to open it.
- This update addresses an issue that affects Containers that you create or deploy. Their status does not progress past "ContainerCreating."
- This update brings Country and Operator Settings Asset (COSA) profiles up to date for some mobile operators.
- This update addresses an issue that affects the COM+ component. Some applications that depend on it stop responding.
- This update addresses an issue that affects the time service. You can configure it using mobile device management (MDM) or a Group Policy Object (GPO). But the Windows Settings app does not match what you have configured.
- This update addresses an issue that occurs when you use LoadImage() to load a top-down bitmap. If the bitmap has a negative height, the image does not load, and the function returns NULL.
- This update implements phase three of Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM) hardening. See KB5004442 (https://support.microsoft.com/help/5004442). After you install this update, you cannot turn off the changes using the registry key.
- This update addresses an issue that affects certain Neural Processing Units (NPU). They do not show in Task Manager.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.670 (Dev Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/05/17/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26120-670-dev-channel/)
Changes and Improvements gradually being rolled out to the Dev 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 for everyone in the Dev Channel[Other]- Fixed an issue where the Network Locations header was missing in the This PC section of File Explorer.
- This update affects next secure record 3 (NSEC3) validation in a recursive resolver. Its limit is now 1,000 computations. One computation is equal to the validation of one label with one iteration. DNS Server Administrators can change the default number of computations. To do this, use the registry setting below.
Name:
\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\DNS\Parameters\
MaxComputationForNsec3Validation Type: DWORD
Default: 1000
Max: 9600
Min: 1
- This update addresses an issue that might affect domain controllers (DC). NTLM authentication traffic might increase.
- This update addresses an issue that affects the installation of a Windows update. It fails to complete. This occurs when you have to restart your device more than once.
- This update addresses an issue that might affect Virtual Secure Mode (VSM) scenarios. They might fail. These scenarios include VPN, Windows Hello, Credential Guard, and Key Guard.