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Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25314 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/03/08/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25314/)

As a reminder, Windows Insiders who were previously in the Dev Channel on 25000 series builds are being moved to the new Canary Channel. This migration continues to happen in the background, but 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 can either wait to be moved or move yourself to the Canary Channel on your own via Settings > Windows Update > Windows Insider Program to receive Build 25314 today. If you would like to move back to the Dev Channel, you can 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 in this channel going forward.

As builds released to the Canary Channel are "hot off the presses," we will offer limited documentation for builds flighted to the Canary Channel (no known issues for example), but we will not publish a blog post for every flight – only when new features are available in a build.

What's new in Build 25314

Access Keys in File Explorer
We 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.

NOTE: If you see the "pizza" icon on the command bar in File Explorer that denotes you are previewing the Windows App SDK version of File Explorer, you will not see this feature yet.

[We are beginning to roll this out, so the experience isn't available to all Insiders in the Canary 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 Explorer
File 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 Canary 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.

]Introducing LSA Protection Enablement on Upgrade
Local Security Authority (LSA) protection helps protect against theft of secrets and credentials used for logon by preventing unauthorized code from running in the LSA process and by preventing dumping of process memory. Starting with on upgrade, we will audit for a period of time to check for incompatibilities with LSA protection. If we do not detect any incompatibilities, we will automatically turn on LSA Protection. You can check and change the enablement state of LSA protection in the Windows Security application under the Device Security > Core Isolation page.

LSA protection records whether programs are blocked from loading into LSA in the event log. If you would like to check if something has been blocked, information on the logs recorded is available here (https://nam06.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Flearn.microsoft.com%2Fen-us%2Fwindows-server%2Fsecurity%2Fcredentials-protection-and-management%2Fconfiguring-additional-lsa-protection%23after-opting-in-how-to-identify-plug-ins-and-drivers-loaded-by-the-lsassexe&data=05%7C01%7Cbleblanc%40microsoft.com%7Cd8d24db5a9e44682feef08db1f31dc13%7C72f988bf86f141af91ab2d7cd011db47%7C1%7C0%7C638138071231801026%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=vd1MrnBoyMcKXu9b8X5zMdZYS8wvJwLtL5uBtc8Xug8%3D&reserved=0).

Feedback: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN+F) under Security and Privacy > Logging Into Your PC.

Narrator Outlook Support
Narrator 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.

Changes and Improvements

[General]
To increase security in Windows 11, starting with this build and later we are disabling the Remote Mailslot Protocol (https://learn.microsoft.com/openspecs/windows_protocols/ms-mail/47ac910f-1dec-4791-8486-9b3e8fd542da) by default. The legacy Remote Mailslot Protocol is a simple, unreliable, insecure, and unidirectional inter-process communications protocol between a client and server and was introduced in Windows NT 3.1 and will be deprecated in a future Windows release. If an application attempts to open a Remote Mailslot session over the SMB protocol, you may see one or more of the following errors:

• 3025 ERROR_REMOTE_MAILSLOTS_DEPRECATED
• "The requested operation failed. Remote mailslots have been deprecated."

If your application still uses Remote Mailslot, contact your vendor about updating their software. The legacy Remote Mailslot is not secure and should not be used under any circumstances. If you need to temporarily enable Remote Mailslot, run the following command in an elevated PowerShell console:

PS C:\> Set-SmbClientConfiguration -EnableMailslots $true

About the Canary Channel
The Canary Channel is going to be the place to preview platform changes that require longer-lead time before getting released to customers. Some examples of this include major changes to the Windows kernel, new APIs, etc. Builds that we release to the Canary Channel should not be seen as matched to any specific release of Windows and some of the changes we try out in the Canary Channel will never ship, and others could show up in future Windows releases when they're ready.

The builds that will be flighted to the Canary Channel will be "hot off the presses," flighting very soon after they are built, which means very little validation and documentation will be done before they are offered to Insiders. These builds could include major issues that could result in not being able to use your PC correctly or even in some rare cases require you to reinstall Windows. We will offer limited documentation for the Canary Channel, but we will not publish a blog post for every flight – only when new features are available in a build.

Our Canary Channel won't receive daily builds; however, we may ramp up releasing builds more frequently in the future.

The desktop watermark you see at the lower right corner of your desktop is normal for these pre-release builds.

Via Twitter (https://twitter.com/windowsinsider/status/1634253874331795456):

Cumulative Update Build 25314.1010 (KB5025135) is rolling out to #WindowsInsiders in the Canary Channel. This update does not include anything new and is designed to test our servicing pipeline.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25324 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/03/23/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25324/)

ISOs can be downloaded here (https://aka.ms/wipISO).

REMINDER: As builds released to the Canary Channel are "hot off the presses," we will offer limited documentation for builds flighted to the Canary Channel (no known issues for example), but we will not publish a blog post for every flight – only when new features are available in a build. And like the previous Canary Channel build (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/03/08/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25314/), this build has a few new features and changes to document.

What's new in Build 25324

Evolved Widgets Board
We are beginning to preview a revamp of the widgets board experience with a larger canvas (3-columns if supported by the device) and dedicated sections for widgets and feed content with a clear separation between them. This will provide users with quick access to glanceable content from their apps and services as well as enable users to take a high-value break with personalized news content.

[We are beginning to roll this out, so the experience isn't available to all Insiders in the Canary 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.

USB4 Settings Page
We 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.

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.

Unsafe password copy and paste warnings
Starting in Windows 11, version 22H2, Enhanced Phishing Protection in Microsoft Defender SmartScreen (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/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.

[We are beginning to roll this out, so the experience isn't available to all Insiders in the Canary 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 Security and Privacy > Microsoft Defender SmartScreen.

Introducing SHA-3 Support
Starting with this build, we are adding support for the SHA-3 family of hash functions and SHA-3 derived functions (SHAKE, cSHAKE, KMAC). The SHA-3 family of algorithms are the latest standardized hash functions by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Support for these functions has been enabled through the Windows CNG library.

• Supported SHA-3 hash functions: SHA3-256, SHA3-384, SHA3-512 (SHA3-224 is not supported)
• Supported SHA-3 HMAC algorithms: HMAC-SHA3-256, HMAC-SHA3-384, HMAC-SHA3-512
• Supported SHA-3 derived algorithms: extendable-output functions (XOF) (SHAKE128, SHAKE256), customizable XOFs (cSHAKE128, cSHAKE256), and KMAC (KMAC128, KMAC256, KMACXOF128, KMACXOF256).

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Developer Platform > API Feedback.

Changes and Improvements

[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.

[Search on the Taskbar]

• Once you have access to the new Bing (http://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.
  

[Input]

• We have updated several simplified Chinese fonts and the Microsoft Pinyin IME to support GB18030-2022.  With this update, you can enter and display characters from conformance level 1 or 2 via the additions to Microsoft Yahei, Simsun and Dengxian. Unicode Extensions E and F are now supported in our Simsun Ext-B font to meet the requirements for level 3.

[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.
  
• If you have multiple cameras that support Windows Hello, you can now select your preferred camera under Settings > Accounts > Sign-in Options.

[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.

Via Twitter (https://twitter.com/windowsinsider/status/1639312209766645760) by the Windows Insider Program:

Cumulative Update Build 25314.1011 (KB5025849) is rolling out to #WindowsInsiders in the Canary Channel. This update does not include any new content and is designed to test our servicing pipeline.

Build number corrected via Twitter (https://twitter.com/windowsinsider/status/1639330497439633409).  Correct Build is 25324.1011.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25330 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/03/30/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25330/)

REMINDER: As builds released to the Canary Channel are "hot off the presses," we will offer limited documentation for builds flighted to the Canary Channel (no known issues for example), but we will not publish a blog post for every flight – only when new features are available in a build. And like the previous Canary Channel build (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/03/23/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25324/), this build has a few new features and changes to document.

Changes and Improvements

[Settings]

• 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.
• The settings page for wheel devices such as the Surface Dial has been updated to better match the Windows 11 design principles.

[Windows Sandbox]

• If you have changed your primary mouse button under Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Mouse, Windows Sandbox will now follow that setting.

[Remote Desktop]

• We updated the Remote Desktop Connection setup window (mstsc.exe) so that it now follows the text scaling settings under Settings > Accessibility > Text Size. In cases where the text scaling is very large, it will show a scrollbar.

[Bitlocker]

• When encrypting a drive using Bitlocker, you can now minimize the encryption progress dialog.

[Inbox apps]

• You can now uninstall the Camera app if you need to.

Microsoft Store Update
Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels running version 22303.1401.x of the Microsoft Store and higher will see the following improvements rolling out:

• Install free apps and games from search results: We've introduced a new way to install free apps and games. Hovering over a free product on the search results page opens a new expanded card experience, where you can find a convenient install button. This will trigger the installation without having to navigate into the product page.
  
• New design when purchasing apps and games in the Store: Discover a new and redesigned experience when purchasing apps and games inside the Microsoft Store! The purchase dialog's styles align better with Windows 11 to bring you a more pleasant checkout experience.
  
• New UX for in-app ratings dialog: Developers of your favorite apps and games often use a Microsoft Store feature that requests ratings from within the app or game. We've updated this in-app ratings experiences to be faster, more reliable, and to better align with Windows 11 styling.
  

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Microsoft Store.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25336 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/04/07/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25336/)

Changes and Improvements

[Settings]

• Improved the performance of search within Settings.
• Customers with 2 or more discrete graphics adapters with no integrated graphics can now choose which of the discrete graphics adapters is considered high-performance. Navigate to Settings > System > Display > Graphics > Default graphics settings and select which of the discrete graphics adapters you would like to be designated as the Default high performance GPU.
• A limit of 20 most recent tabs has been introduced under Settings > Multitasking to show tabs in ALT + TAB and Snap Assist. This change rolled out with Build 25330 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/03/30/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25330/) last week.
  

For developers

You can download the latest Windows Insider SDK at aka.ms/windowsinsidersdk (https://aka.ms/windowsinsidersdk).  See the blog post for additional information.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25346 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/04/19/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25346/)

ISOs for this build – they can be downloaded here (https://aka.ms/wipISO).

What's new in Build 25346

Content Adaptive Brightness Control (CABC) on plugged in devices including desktop PCs
Content Adaptive Brightness Control (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/content-adaptive-brightness-control-in-windows-292d1f7f-9e02-4b37-a9c8-dab3e1727e78) (CABC) is already a feature that users are familiar with. This 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. 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".  We encourage Insiders across laptops, 2-in1's, to try the  "Always" option and give us feedback on the visual quality of CABC so we can ensure it is properly tuned.

Please note: Content Adaptive Brightness Control (CABC) 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.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Display and Graphics > Adaptive Brightness.

Changes and Improvements

[Remote Desktop]

• Redesigned the connection bar for remote desktop sessions to a new refreshed light / dark mode design that aligns with our Windows 11 design principles.
• When sharing a local file in File Explorer to Outlook contacts – you will now see the option to quickly email the file to yourself. In addition, we've made improvements in loading your contacts from Outlook. This capability is not available for files stored in OneDrive folders as OneDrive has its own share experience.

[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).
  

[Windows Security]

• After fixing some issues based off Insider feedback, we are re-introducing the updated Windows Security (firewall) notification dialogs that match the Windows 11 visuals.

[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.

[Graphics]

• It's now easier to configure the state of HDR when running on battery! Simply go to Settings > System > Display > HDR and choose whether you want HDR (or HDR video streaming) to remain turned on when your PC is running on battery.

Developers: Refer to the information at the referenced blog post.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25352 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/04/28/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25352/)

Starting with today's build, Windows Insiders in the Canary Channel will notice that the name of the branch shown in the desktop watermark has changed to ZN_RELEASE. Just like we have done in the past (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2021/04/07/announcing-windows-10-insider-preview-build-21354/), we can change which branch we flight builds from. As our engineers work in development cycles internally, we may prioritize work being done in a specific branch and may need to move Insiders between branches. We are treating these builds the same as we would treat builds from the RS_PRERELEASE branch. As a result of this change, Insiders will notice that some features have been removed temporarily. We look to bring these features back to Insiders in the future. And builds from the ZN_RELEASE branch should not be viewed as being matched to a specific Windows 11 release.

Changes and Improvements

[Widgets]

• We are beginning to roll out a new widget picker experience to Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels 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 (ms-windows-store://collection/?collectionid=MerchandiserContent/Apps/WidgetCollection/Widgetsforeverything) where users can discover more apps with widgets.
  

Developers: Refer to the information at the referenced blog post.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25357 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/05/04/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25357/)

What's new in Build 25357

New Widget: Facebook
Facebook 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

[General]

• The new volume mixer experience in Quick Settings mentioned here (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/03/02/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25309/) is now available for all Insiders in the Canary Channel.
  

Developers: Refer to the information at the referenced blog post.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25370 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/05/22/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25370/)

What's new in Build 25370

Support for vTPM in Hyper-V on Windows on Arm (Arm64) builds
After upgrading your host OS to the latest flighted build (Build 25370 and higher), you will now be able to upgrade guest Windows on Arm VM's to Windows 11 Insider Preview builds as it will detect the TPM 2.0 requirement.

Changes and Improvements

[Networking]

• Added support for bridging adapters via command line via netsh (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/networking/technologies/netsh/netsh).
  
• Passpoint Wi-Fi networks will now support enhanced connection performance and will display a URL in Quick Settings to provide information to users about the venue or event.
• We added WPA3 support to the Phone Link instant hotspot feature for more secure connections to a phone's hotspot. Also made fixes to respect metered connection settings, reduce duplicate profiles, and show the phone's display name in the network list.

[Settings]

• We have added links to advanced properties for network adapters and internet properties under Settings > Network & internet > Advanced network settings.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25375 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/05/25/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25375/)

What's new in Build 25375

Support for Microsoft Endpoint DLP on Windows on Arm (Arm64) builds
You can now extend Microsoft Endpoint Data Loss Prevention (DLP) policies (https://learn.microsoft.com/microsoft-365/compliance/dlp-create-deploy-policy?view=o365-worldwide) and actions to endpoints running Windows on Arm (Arm64) which allows you to detect and protect sensitive data in files part of your digital ecosystem. This enables you to introduce policy controls for scenarios such as when an information worker using a Windows endpoint powered by Arm chipset from accessing sensitive files and trying an egress action such as copying to a USB, or copy to clipboard, notepad, etc.

As part of your DLP Policy definition, you can leverage the current conditions and actions that are already available for use and there is no additional setting involved.

Ensure your ARM64 endpoints are onboarded to Microsoft Endpoint DLP by using any of our supported onboarding (https://learn.microsoft.com/microsoft-365/compliance/device-onboarding-overview?source=recommendations&view=o365-worldwide) methods.

See the blog post for developer information.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25381 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/06/02/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25381/)

What's new in Build 25381

SMB signing requirement changes
Beginning with Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25381 Enterprise editions, SMB signing is now required by default for all connections. This changes legacy behavior, where Windows 10 and 11 required SMB signing by default only when connecting to shares named SYSVOL and NETLOGON (https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/itops-talk-blog/how-to-defend-users-from-interception-attacks-via-smb-client/ba-p/1494995) and where Active Directory domain controllers (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/security/threat-protection/security-policy-settings/microsoft-network-client-digitally-sign-communications-always) required SMB signing when any client connected to them. This is part of a campaign to improve the security of Windows and Windows Server for the modern landscape.

All versions of Windows and Windows Server support SMB signing. But a third-party might disable or not support it. If you attempt to connect to a remote share on a third-party SMB server that that does not allow SMB signing, you may receive the one of following error messages:

• 0xc000a000
• -1073700864
• STATUS_INVALID_SIGNATURE
• The cryptographic signature is invalid.

To resolve this issue, configure your third-party SMB server to support SMB signing. This is Microsoft's official recommended guidance. Do not disable SMB signing in Windows or use SMB1 to work around this behavior (SMB1 supports signing but does not enforce it). An SMB device that does not support signing allows interception and relay attacks from malicious parties.

SMB signing can reduce the performance of SMB copy operations. You can mitigate this with more physical CPU cores or virtual CPUs as well as newer, faster CPUs.

To see the current SMB signing settings, run the following PowerShell commands:
Get-SmbServerConfiguration | fl requiresecuritysignature
Get-SmbClientConfiguration | fl requiresecuritysignature

To disable the requirement for SMB signing in client (outbound to other device) connections, run the following PowerShell command as an elevated administrator: Set-SmbClientConfiguration -RequireSecuritySignature $false

To disable the requirement for SMB signing in server (on Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25381 and higher with Enterprise edition devices), run the following PowerShell command as an elevated administrator:
Set-SmbServerConfiguration -RequireSecuritySignature $false

See the blog post for developer information.

No reboot is required but existing SMB connections will still use signing until they are closed.

For more information on this change, visit https://aka.ms/SMBSigningOBD (https://aka.ms/SMBSigningOBD).

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.

Update to Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25381 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/06/02/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25381/):

Cumulative Update Build 25381.1200 (KB5027849) is starting to roll out. This update does not include anything new and is designed to test the servicing pipeline for builds in the Canary Channel.

No blog post but Build Canary Build 25387 has been released to the Canary Channel.

Build 25387.1200 is now available. This update does not include new content and is designed to test the servicing pipeline. Again, no blog post.

via Twitter (https://twitter.com/windowsinsider/status/1669028118353387535), Build 25393 is available for the Canary Channel with no blog post.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25905 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/07/12/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25905/)

Starting with today's build, Windows Insiders in the Canary Channel will notice that the name of the branch shown in the desktop watermark has changed back to RS_PRERELEASE. As a result of this change, Insiders will notice that some features that were previously removed temporarily with the switch over to ZN_RELEASE have now returned – in addition to some new features mentioned below.

What's new in Build 25905

New features from the Dev Channel
This build includes new features from the Dev Channel, such as Dev Drive (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/05/24/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23466/), Backup and Restore improvements (Windows Backup) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/05/24/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23466/), Dynamic Lighting (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/06/07/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23475/), the Windows App SDK version of File Explorer and Gallery (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/04/14/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23435/), and more.

Rust in the Windows Kernel
Rust offers advantages in reliability and security over traditional programs written in C/C++.  This preview shipped with an early implementation of critical kernel features in safe Rust. Specifically, win32kbase_rs.sys contains a new implementation of GDI region (//'https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/win32/gdi/regions'). While this is a small trial, we will continue to increase the usage of Rust in the kernel. Stay tuned!

[We are beginning to roll this out, so the experience isn't available to all Insiders in the Canary Channel just yet as we plan to monitor feedback and see how it lands before pushing it out to everyone.] 

Arm32 UWP App deprecation
Starting in this Insider Preview build in the Canary Channel, we have removed support for Arm32 UWP applications from Windows on Arm, as documented here: Windows 11 Specs and System Requirements (https://nam06.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.microsoft.com%2Fen-us%2Fwindows%2Fwindows-11-specifications%23table3&data=05%7C01%7Cbleblanc%40microsoft.com%7C058c85a67e684b5a9c8f08db6dddf525%7C72f988bf86f141af91ab2d7cd011db47%7C1%7C0%7C638224572309584367%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=Cz8NNkAs1NxcnYMgvgqPdOJZk8SlIoppS7F2t3aaLAw%3D&reserved=0). After the OS upgrade, any installed Arm32 applications will no longer launch on your device. Note that this does not affect Arm64 applications.

• During setup, you will see a message with a list of applications that are currently Arm32 installed on the system.
• In many cases, the list of impacted applications will be reduced by manually forcing the Microsoft Store to install any pending application updates prior to the OS upgrade. To do this, launch the Microsoft Store application, choose "library", then click on the "Get Updates" button.
• After the OS upgrade is complete, to fix any Arm32 applications, you will need to manually uninstall then reinstall those applications from the Microsoft Store. By doing so, you will install a compatible version that will run on your device.

New PostAuthenticationAction support for terminating individual processes in Windows LAPS
Thank you everyone who gave us feedback on the new Windows Local Administrator Password Solution (//'https://aka.ms/laps') feature which we shipped a few months ago. Several customers pointed out that the new Post Authentication Actions (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows-server/identity/laps/laps-concepts#password-reset-after-authentication) feature (PAA) only handled termination of interactive logon sessions. This meant that PAA was not able to terminate specific individual processes that were launched in an OTS (over-the-shoulder) elevation scenario, for example using runas.exe. We are announcing an improvement with this build that addresses this feedback on that limitation. A new option has been added to the PostAuthenticationActions Group Policy in this Insider Preview build:

The new option is described as "Reset the password, logoff the managed account, and terminate any remaining processes". This new option is basically a superset of the previous "Reset the password and logoff the managed account" option. When the new setting is configured, PAA will first notify and then terminate any interactive logon sessions, followed by enumerating and terminating any remaining processes that are still running under the Windows LAPS-managed local account identity. No notification precedes this termination.

In addition, we've greatly expanded the event logging messages that are emitted during post-authentication-action execution, to give you deeper insights into exactly what was done during the operation.

Note: "Reset the password and logoff the managed account" remains the default PAA action.

Please try out this new feature and let us know what you think here on the Windows LAPS feedback page (https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/windows-laps-feedback/post-authentication-actions-should-support-termination-of/idi-p/3834409).

Changes and Improvements

[Emoji]

• With the update of our color font format to COLRv1 (//'https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/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.
  

[Zune]

• In celebration of Marvel Studio's Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3, we temporarily re-launched Zune.net last month. We also took the opportunity to fix an issue that was causing some challenges in getting the original Zune drivers to install in Windows 11 with this build in the Canary Channel. So now it should be easier to use your (totally unsupported and still discontinued) Zune on Windows 11. Over time, the fix will make its way through the Insider Channels and eventually to all Windows 11 customers. For fun, check out how Scott Hanselman brought a few Zunes back to life (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLYhvJG30iE&feature=youtu.be&ab_channel=Microsoft).
  

Microsoft Store Update
Windows Insiders in all channels running version 22306.1401.x.x of the Microsoft Store and higher will see the following improvements rolling out:

More pricing information: To help you with your purchase decisions, you'll now see information about the lowest price products have dropped to in the past 30 days.

Introducing AI Hub: Explore a new curated section in the Microsoft Store where we will promote the best AI experiences built by the developer community and Microsoft. This is a space where we will educate customers on how to start and expand their AI journey, inspiring them to use AI in everyday ways to boost productivity, spark creativity and so much more.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Microsoft Store.

Via Twitter: Windows Insider Program on Twitter: "We made some additions and tweaks to the flight blog post for Build 25905. ^BLB" (https://twitter.com/windowsinsider/status/1679602482878742530)

SMB Updates [Added 7/13]
Beginning with Build 25905 for the Pro and Education editions of Windows 11, SMB signing is now required by default for all connections. This the same behavior change first added in Build 25381 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/06/02/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25381/) for the Enterprise editions. This changes legacy behavior, where Windows 10 and 11 required SMB signing by default only when connecting to shares named SYSVOL and NETLOGON (https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/itops-talk-blog/how-to-defend-users-from-interception-attacks-via-smb-client/ba-p/1494995) and where Active Directory domain controllers (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/threat-protection/security-policy-settings/microsoft-network-client-digitally-sign-communications-always) required SMB signing when any client connected to them. This is part of a campaign to improve the security of Windows and Windows Server for the modern landscape.

For more information on this change, visit https://aka.ms/SMBSigningOBD (https://aka.ms/SMBSigningOBD)

Recover your PC from Windows Update [Added 7/13]
A new Windows Update recovery feature in this build under Settings > System > Recovery and "Fix Problems using Windows Update". On eligible Insider Channels such as the Canary Channel today, this feature will download and install a repair version of the OS. This operation reinstalls the OS that you have and will not remove any files, settings, or apps. The repair content is displayed on the Windows Update Settings page with the title appended with "(repair version)". This capability can be useful in many instances but is intended to be used for keeping the device secure and up to date. Devices may need to complete in progress updates prior to this process taking effect.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25915 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/07/27/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25915/)

What's new in Build 25915

New features from the Dev Channel

This build includes new features from the Dev Channel, such as modernized File Explorer Home (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/06/07/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23475/), Address Bar (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/06/07/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23475/), and Details Pane (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/05/04/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23451/), passwordless improvements (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/06/22/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23486/) (passkey), never combined mode on the taskbar (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/05/24/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23466/), and more.

The New Outlook for Windows is now an inbox app
Starting 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.

Changes and Improvements

[Graphics]

• We have improved refresh rate logic to allow different refresh rates on different monitors, depending on the refresh rate for each monitor and content shown on the screen. This will help most with refresh rate-dependent multitasking, like playing a game and watching a video at the same time.
• While a Dynamic Refresh Rate (DRR) is selected and Battery saver is also enabled, Windows will remain at the lower refresh rate and not switch to the higher rate until after Battery saver is disabled.

Fixes for known issues

• The issue that resulted in some Windows Insiders in the Canary Channel on ASUS devices or PCs with ASUS motherboards has been resolved and these Insiders should receive this flight.
• Ethernet-connected devices will no longer lose network connectivity after updating to this build.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25921 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/08/04/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25921/)

What's new in Build 25921

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.

You can download example .JXR files here (https://aka.ms/hdr-backgrounds-wip) to try this experience out on your HDR-capable device/display.

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://www.microsoft.com/store/productid/9N7F2SM5D1LR?ocid=pdpshare) 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.

Rich thumbnail previews (tooltips) for cloud files on Start
For people logged into a Windows 11 Pro or Enterprise editions with an AAD account ( 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)), we are providing a richer thumbnail preview (tooltips) when hovering over cloud files such as Word documents under Recommended on the Start menu. For this initial release, richer thumbnail previews 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.

What will appear only for people logged with an AAD account currently are the richer thumbnail previews for cloud files if available such as Word documents. People who are logged in with an AAD account will see richer thumbnail previews for cloud files.

People who are logged in with a local account or MSA will see this experience when hovering over files (cloud files and local files) under Recommended on the Start menu:

(https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/44/2023/08/non-rich-thumbnail-tooltip.jpeg)

However, what is currently a bug is that for files that do not have rich thumbnail previews that can be provided, it should not be showing the preview area (where the thumbnail preview would be).

NOTE: This feature previously rolled out to the Dev Channel with this flight (https://aka.ms/wip23511) and to the Beta Channel with this flight (https://aka.ms/wip-beta-8-2). We adjusted the text in both those blog posts based on feedback from Insiders.

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

Changes and Improvements

[General]

• Cortana can be uninstalled in this build. For more on the end of support for Cortana, click here (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/end-of-support-for-cortana-in-windows-d025b39f-ee5b-4836-a954-0ab646ee1efa).
  

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• Beginning to roll out with this 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. 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 your conversations with the ability to have it visible as they browse the web or connect with your communities.  Phone Link integration is coming soon to Microsoft Teams (free) as well.
  

[Task View & Desktops]

• When navigating between desktops in Task View (WIN + CTRL + left or right arrows), labels will be shown. New sliding animations will also show when you change your desktops using trackpad gestures, touch gestures, hotkeys and by clicking on the Task View flyout.

[Networking]

• A new asynchronous error-handling feature in the DHCP client service will allow for faster response time for some runs of ipconfig /renew on the Windows command line. Improvements will vary depending on system and network conditions, but ideal cases will improve from ~4.1 seconds to ~0.1 seconds per run.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25926 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/08/09/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25926/)

What's new in Build 25926

New features from the Dev Channel

This build includes new features from the Dev Channel, such improvements for Windows Ink (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/07/13/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22621-2048-and-22631-2048/), improved screen casting experience (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/08/02/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23516/), local file sharing improvements (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/07/19/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23506/) (was available in last week's Canary Channel flight), and more.

Changes and Improvements

[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.

[Graphics]

• Starting with Build 25921 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/08/04/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25921/), we have added options for tuning intensity and color boost to the color filters via Settings > Accessibility > Color Filters. Please note there is an issue in which the labels for the sliders are missing. The first slider is for "Intensity" and the second slider is for "Color Boost". The labels will appear as expected in a future flight.
  

Fixes for known issues

• We fixed the issue causing devices with mobile broadband connectivity to not be able connect to a wireless network due to an issue in which the APN configuration may get lost on upgrade with Build 25921 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/08/04/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25921/).
  

Snipping Tool Update
We are beginning to roll out an update to Snipping Tool (version 11.2306.43.0 and higher) to Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels. This update introduces new buttons to edit in Paint for screenshots and edit in Clipchamp for screen recordings.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub by clicking here (https://aka.ms/snippingtoolfeedback).

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25931 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/08/16/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25931-canary-channel/)

QuoteREMINDER: As builds released to the Canary Channel are "hot off the presses," we will offer limited documentation for builds flighted to the Canary Channel including documenting only the most significant and highly impactful known issues. Please note that we will not publish a blog post for every flight – only when new features are available in a build.

What's new in Build 25931

New features from the Dev Channel
This build includes new features from the Dev Channel such as Unicode Emoji 15 support (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/06/07/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23475/), voice access is available to use on more areas in Windows such as the Lock screen (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/08/02/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23516/), and more.

DC location will no longer use NetBIOS\WINS\mailslot-based discovery by default
We have previously announced the deprecation of both Windows Internet Name Service (WINS) (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows-server/get-started/removed-deprecated-features-windows-server-2022#features-were-no-longer-developing) and Remote Mailslots (see this blog post here (https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/storage-at-microsoft/the-beginning-of-the-end-of-remote-mailslots/ba-p/3762048) for information on Remote Mailslots). These deprecations are legacy technologies that are no longer secure in today's environments. As part of these deprecations, DC location in your environment may be affected mainly because many legacy applications still specify short NetBIOS-style domain names when trying to locate a domain controller (DC). To help ease this transition with these deprecations, we are making two improvements to the DC locator (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows-server/identity/ad-ds/plan/enabling-clients-to-locate-the-next-closest-domain-controller) algorithm in Windows.

First, we are blocking by default the use of NetBIOS\WINS\mailslot-based methods for DC-discovery. This behavior can be reverted with the use of a new Group Policy setting (BlockNetBIOSDiscovery). In addition to disabling the new BlockNetBIOSDiscovery policy, reversion to default behavior also requires enabling the EnableMailslots SMB configuration option. (You can query and set the EnableMailslots setting using the Get-SmbClientConfiguration and Set-SmbClientConfiguration PowerShell cmdlets.)

PLEASE NOTE: Reversion should be considered only as a temporary measure while more viable, longer-term solutions are explored.

Second, we have added additional client-side logic to aid in the mapping of short NetBIOS-style domain names to DNS domain names. This improvement consists of two parts:

• DC locator will now automatically download additional information about the child domains in trusting forests and use that information as part of the discovery algorithm.
• As a last-resort fallback, and to accommodate unforeseen situations, forest administrators can manually configure a set of DNS-to-NetBIOS-domain-name mappings (using the Active Directory Domains and Trusts management snap-in) which are also downloaded and used by DC Locator during discovery.

Additional information is available here for DC locator changes (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows-server/identity/ad-ds/manage/dc-locator-changes).

Changes and Improvements

[General]

• Insider Preview Build Expiration: The expiration date for Insider Preview builds flighted to the Canary Channel has been updated to 9/15/2024 starting with Build 25931. Please make sure you are updated to the latest build in the Canary Channel.
  
• In addition to the Camera app (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/03/30/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25330/) and Cortana (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/08/04/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25921/), the Photos app, People app, and Remote Desktop (MSTSC) client can be uninstalled.
  

[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.

[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.

[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.

Fixes for known issues

• We fixed a major issue where you could no longer connect over SMB to a third-party storage device using guest (no username or password) credentials.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25931 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/08/16/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25931-canary-channel/)

Cumulative Update Build 25931.1010 (KB5030120) does not include anything new. It is designed to test the servicing pipeline for builds in the Canary Channel.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25936 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/08/25/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25936-canary-channel/)

What's new in Build 25936

Post-OOBE Experiences
We 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 Canary 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

[General]

• [REMINDER] Insider Preview Build Expiration: The expiration date for Insider Preview builds flighted to the Canary Channel has been updated to 9/15/2024 starting with Build 25931. Please make sure you are updated to the latest build in the Canary Channel.
  

[Dynamic Lighting]

• 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.

[Settings]

• The end task feature under System > For Developers no longer requires Developer Mode to be enabled first before it can be used.

Fixes for known issues

• Fixed the underlying crash which was causing .NET updates to get stuck requesting restart in Windows Update Settings in recent Canary Channel builds.
• Fixed a few issues which were causing the End Task option in the taskbar to not work, or to close more than just the app you had selected.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25941 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/08/31/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25941-canary-channel/)

Changes and Improvements

[Graphics]

• In this Insider Preview build, you may notice that there have been some changes in the advanced display settings page via Settings > System > Display > Advanced display. Dynamic refresh rate can now be enabled via a toggle. After being enabled, Windows will then dynamically adjust the refresh rate up to the selected rate to help save power. Click here (https://devblogs.microsoft.com/directx/dynamic-refresh-rate/) for more information on Dynamic refresh rate.
  
• Additionally, we've made small changes to help bring awareness to limitations (related to the display or the cable being used) that may not allow you to set a high refresh rate while being on a high display resolution. When selecting a refresh rate, you may notice some refresh rates will show an asterisk. That means that in order to select that specific refresh rate, the display resolution will need to be changed to one that supports the selected refresh rate. This behavior happens when there are limitations due to the cable or the display's capabilities and is not new, but we wanted to make sure you were aware of it.

[Cast]

• Building off the Cast improvements introduced with Build 25926 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/08/09/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25926/), 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.
  

[Settings]

• The graph at the top of the Power & Battery page in Settings has been removed. Insiders can continue to see a graph of battery usage in the battery usage section further down the page. The Power & battery settings page is also no longer broken up by "Power" and "Battery" sections.

Fixes for known issues

• Fixed issues impacting the File Explorer context menu and command bar dropdowns, causing them to become transparent, and not work with touch.
• Fixed issues impacting File Explorer launch reliability.
• Fixed issues causing the Japanese and Chinese IMEs to not work properly in certain apps, and to not work correctly in the File Explorer search box.
• Fixed an issue causing Settings to crash when looking at detailed battery usage.
• The new options (https://aka.ms/wip25926) for tuning intensity and color boost of Color Filters now have labels.
  

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.]

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25947 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/09/07/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25947-canary-channel/)

Fixes for known issues

• Fixed a high hitting ctfmon.exe crash in recent flights, which may have impacted the ability to type for some Insiders.
• Fixed a few issues impacting explorer.exe reliability, including fixing an issue which could cause File Explorer to crash when navigating to Gallery.
• Fixed an issue which was causing explorer.exe to not work in safe mode.
• Did some work to help improve the performance when switching between different pages in Task Manager.
• Fixed the issue causing some Insiders to see an unexpected pop up asking you to "Select an app to open this 'ms-screenclip' link" after the latest Snipping Tool app update.

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 25951 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/09/13/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25951-canary-channel/)

What's new in Build 25951

SMB NTLM Blocking
Starting with this build (Build 25951), the SMB client now supports blocking NTLM for remote outbound connections. This changes legacy behavior, where Windows SPNEGO (https://learn.microsoft.com/openspecs/windows_protocols/ms-spng/b16309d8-4a93-4fa6-9ee2-7d84b2451c84) would negotiate Kerberos, NTLM, and other mechanisms with the destination server to decide on a supported security package. NTLM in this case refers to all versions of the LAN Manager security package: LM, NTLM, and NTLMv2. (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/security/threat-protection/security-policy-settings/network-security-lan-manager-authentication-level)

With this new option, an administrator can intentionally block Windows from offering NTLM via SMB. An attacker who tricks a user or application into sending NTLM challenge responses to a malicious server will no longer receive any NTLM data and cannot brute force, crack, or pass a password, as they will never be sent over the network. This adds a new level of protection for enterprises without a requirement to entirely disable NTLM (https://learn.microsoft.com/previous-versions/windows/it-pro/windows-server-2008-r2-and-2008/jj865674(v=ws.10)) usage in the OS. You can configure this option with Group Policy and PowerShell. You can also block the use of NTLM in SMB connections on demand with NET USE and PowerShell.

For more information on configuring and troubleshooting NTLM blocking, review https://aka.ms/SmbNtlmBlock.

SMB Dialect Management
Starting with this build (Build 25951), the SMB server now supports controlling which SMB 2 and 3 dialects it will negotiate. This changes legacy behavior, where Windows SMB always negotiated the highest matched server dialect from SMB 2.0.2 to 3.1.1 clients. Beginning in Windows 10, support was added for controlling SMB client dialects (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/storage/file-server/smb-interception-defense?tabs=group-policy#use-smb-311), but not server dialects.

With this new option, an administrator can remove older SMB protocols from usage in the organization, blocking older, less secure, and less capable Windows devices and third parties from connecting.

You can configure this option with Group Policy and PowerShell. Both SMB client and server now include complete management support (previously the client support was only manual registry editing (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/storage/file-server/smb-interception-defense?tabs=group-policy#use-smb-311)).

For more information on understanding and configuring SMB dialects, review https://aka.ms/SmbDialectManage.

Changes and Improvements

[Lock screen]

• We've adjusted the network flyout on the Lock screen to better match the UI of the network flyout from quick settings in system tray on the taskbar.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25951 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/09/13/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25951-canary-channel/)

Cumulative Update Build 25951.1010 (KB5031089) is starting to roll out. This update does not include anything new and is designed to test the servicing pipeline for builds in the Canary Channel.

ISOs for this build can be downloaded here (https://aka.ms/wipISO).

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25967 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/10/05/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25967-canary-channel/)

What's new in Build 25967

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.

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

Changes and Improvements

[General]

• The Cortana app is removed after updating to this build. We have ended support for Cortana – see this page for more information (https://support.microsoft.com/topic/end-of-support-for-cortana-d025b39f-ee5b-4836-a954-0ab646ee1efa).
  

[Quick Settings]

• We are trying out a scrollable view of quick settings to some Windows Insiders in the Canary Channel as part of evaluating effectiveness of different layouts. As part of the change, rather than having to edit the list to add new quick actions, the user now has a scrollable list of quick actions that can be rearranged.

[Settings]

• System Components currently listed in Settings > Apps > Installed Apps page, have moved to its own page under Settings > System > System Components.
  

• Xbox Game Bar is now Game Bar under Settings > Gaming.

[Windows Subsystem for Linux]

• The September 2023 update for the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) has been rolled 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 for known issues

• Fixed an issue which was causing Insiders to see bugchecks (green screens) in recent Canary Channel builds when shutting down, logging out, or restarting.
• Fixed a white flash when opening File Explorer in dark mode, as well as an issue where File Explorer could get stuck with the wrong colors after switching between light and dark mode.
• Fixed a few issues that were leading to explorer.exe crashes.
• Fixed an issue where File Explorer sorting changes wouldn't persist in folders after you navigated away and back.
• Fixed an issue which was causing icons on the desktop to turn into white generic icons until you refreshed the desktop.
• Did some work to help improve File Explorer performance, including fixing a memory leak which would impact performance over time, and fixing an issue where the tab would get stuck with a loading icon even though loading was finished.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25967 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/10/05/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25967-canary-channel/)

UPDATE 10/10: We are starting to roll out Cumulative Update Build 25967.1010 (KB5032106). This update does not include anything new and is designed to test our servicing pipeline for builds in the Canary Channel.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25977 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/10/18/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25977-canary-channel/)

What's new in Build 25977

Improving accessibility with Bluetooth® LE Audio
We're excited to announce that Windows has taken a significant step forward in accessibility by supporting the use of hearing aids equipped with the latest Bluetooth® Low Energy Audio (LE Audio) technology. Customers who use these new hearing aids are now able to directly pair, stream audio, and take calls on their Windows PCs with LE Audio support.

This feature is available on Windows devices with our recently announced Bluetooth® LE Audio support (https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2023/05/23/announcing-new-windows-11-innovation-with-features-for-secure-efficient-it-management-and-intuitive-user-experience/#bluetooth-le-audio), which will be a growing market of devices in the coming months. In upcoming flights, we will be introducing additional capabilities to the hearing aids experience on Windows, such as controlling audio presets directly within Windows settings. Stay tuned for more details about these new capabilities as they roll out.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Devices and Drives > Bluetooth – Audio quality, glitches, choppiness and stuttering.

Windows Location Improvements
We're adding new controls to help you manage which apps have access to the list of Wi-Fi networks around you, which could be used to determine your location.  You can view and modify which apps can access the list of Wi-Fi networks by navigating to Settings > Privacy & security > Location.
ALT-TEXT: New location access prompt.

To simplify the process of sharing your location with trusted apps, we have also added a new prompt that will appear the first time an app attempts to access your location or Wi-Fi information. This prompt will enable location services and allow the app to access your location, helping you complete tasks such as finding directions or checking the weather without navigating to Settings. Additionally, the prompt will notify when an app unexpectedly requests access to location services so that you can deny it. If you never want apps to access your location, you can turn off 'Notify when apps request location' on the Location Settings page to hide these prompts when location has been turned off.

Once you have granted permission, apps that use location or Wi-Fi information will now appear in Recent activity on the Location page, and the location icon will show in the taskbar while the app is in-use. This will help you better monitor when apps are using this information.

App developers can learn about changes to the API permissions and actions they can take to improve app experiences by reviewing https://aka.ms/WifiAccessChange

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Devices and Drivers > Location Services.

SMB over QUIC Client Access Control
Starting with this build (Build 25977), SMB over QUIC now supports additional access control options for clients. This improves the existing SMB over QUIC (//'https://aka.ms/smboverquic') feature, which introduced an alternative to the TCP network transport, providing secure, reliable connectivity to edge file servers over untrusted networks like the Internet.

With this new option, administrators can restrict which clients can access SMB over QUIC servers. This option gives organizations additional SMB over QUIC connection protections but does not change the Windows authentication used to make the SMB connection or the end user experience.

This new feature requires both the Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25977 as well as a Windows Server Insider Preview Build 25967 (https://www.microsoft.com/software-download/windowsinsiderpreviewserver) or higher running in a VM.

For more information on configuring SMB over QUIC client access control, review https://aka.ms/SmbOverQuicCAC.

Changes and Improvements

[General]

• Starting with this build, Mail and Calendar will no longer be installed after doing a clean install using the provided ISOs here (https://aka.ms/wipISO). This ONLY applies for clean installs of Build 25977 and higher in the Canary Channel today. Mail and Calendar will not be removed on upgrade for Insiders in the Canary Channel. 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.
  

[Start menu]

• The Xbox Game Bar will now show as just Game Bar under the Start menu and also under Settings > System > System Components. This change will come through a Game Bar update via the Microsoft Store.

[Settings]

• In Settings, when looking at your Wi-Fi password (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/06/22/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22621-1906-and-22631-1906/) under the Wi-Fi properties, we now show a QR code so you can more easily share it with others. We also show a QR code when you set up a mobile hotspot to share your network connection.
  

Fixes for known issues

• Fixed an underlying issue believed to be the root cause of various games having issues launching (citing graphics issues) or changing resolution in Build 25967.
• Did some work to help improve performance when expanding the navigation pane in Task Manager.
• Fixed an issue where certain .rar files would open blank or with an unexpected message saying there was insufficient memory to open the file.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25982 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/10/25/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25982-canary-channel/)

What's new in Build 25982

Copilot in Windows* in Preview
We are beginning to roll out Copilot in Windows in preview to Windows Insiders in the Canary Channel. Rolling this out in the Canary Channel to Insiders in the select global markets mentioned below will be gradual, so some Insiders will not see it immediately.

As Yusuf mentioned in his blog post last month (https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2023/09/26/the-most-personal-windows-11-experience-begins-rolling-out-today/), you can use Copilot to get help with summarizing a web page, composing an email, changing your settings to dark mode, or generating an image for that unique idea in your head. Need to enable Bluetooth or connect a new pair of headphones? Copilot can help. Not sure of the best way to capture a screenshot? Ask Copilot to do it for you. Copilot in Windows can change the way you use your PC and inspire you to try new things that you may not have thought of before. It is where productivity and creativity meet.

To get started, look for the Copilot icon on the taskbar or simply press WIN + C to launch Copilot in Windows using the same Microsoft account (MSA) or Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory) account that you use to sign in on Windows.

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 are beginning to roll this out, so the experience isn't available to all Insiders in the Canary Channel just yet as we plan to monitor feedback and see how it lands before pushing it out to everyone.] 

Availability*: 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.

SMB client encryption
Starting with this build (Build 25982), SMB now supports requiring encryption of all outbound SMB client connections. With this new option, administrators can mandate that all destination servers use SMB 3 and encryption, and if missing those capabilities, the client won't connect. This enforces the highest level of network security as well as bringing management parity to SMB signing, which allows both client and server requirements.

For more information on configuring this SMB client encryption, review https://aka.ms/SmbClientEncrypt. For more information on SMB encryption, review https://aka.ms/SmbEncrypt.

Changes and Improvements

[Networking]

• Discovery of Network-designated Resolvers (DNR) is an upcoming internet standard to discover encrypted DNS servers. Until today, Windows Insiders users had to find out the IP address of their desired encrypted DNS server and manually enter it to configure client-side encrypted DNS on their machine. DNR will enable Windows Insider users to use encrypted DNS protocols like DNS over HTTPS (DoH) and DNS over TLS (DoT) on the client-side without requiring manual configuration. Client-side support for DNR is now available in Windows Insiders Insider Preview Build 25982 and higher. For more information, read this blog post (https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/networking-blog/dnr-support-is-available-for-windows-insiders/ba-p/3959895).
  

[Dev Drive]

• ReFS filesystem Block Cloning Support is now available in the Windows copy engine. ReFS (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows-server/storage/refs/refs-overview) already supports Block Cloning (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/storage/refs/block-clonin'), so this feature adds native support to copy actions and APIs on Windows. This feature improves the performance of ReFS volumes including Dev Drive volumes for build scenarios or any other copy intensive scenarios, the larger the files being copied the larger the savings.
  

[Remote Desktop]

• We've updated Remote Desktop Connection (mstsc.exe) to now support zoom options of 350, 400, 450, and 500%.

[Settings]

• If you're in light mode, the show accent color on Start and taskbar toggle is greyed out by design and we now show an information bullet that makes it more clear the setting is only available in Windows dark mode.

Fixes for known issues

• Fixed an issue causing voice access to crash for Insiders in the Canary Channel when dictating text.
• Fixed a few issues which could lead to hangs when launching File Explorer.
• Fixed an issue causing the print queue to be inaccessible and show an error if you tried to open it.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25987 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/11/01/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25987-canary-channel/)

Changes and Improvements

[General]

• During setup (OOBE), when you need to connect to a network and there's no Wi-Fi drivers, you'll be given an option to press an "Install Drivers" button to install drivers you have previously downloaded. You will see this change using the ISO for Build 25977 provided here for download (//'https://aka.ms/wipISO') and higher.
  
• Starting with this build, the Windows Maps and Movies and TV apps will no longer be installed after doing a clean install of the OS. The Windows Maps and Movies and TV apps will not be removed on upgrade for Insiders in the Canary Channel and continue to be available and updated via the Microsoft Store.

[Settings]

• We've designed the settings page for Delivery Optimization under Settings > Windows Update > Advanced options > Delivery Optimization to match the Windows 11 design principles.
  

[File Explorer]

• PNG files now support viewing and editing metadata – for example, if you'd like to set a star rating in Properties, edit the description, or add keywords.

Fixes for known issues

• Fixed an issue causing File Explorer to crash in Windows Sandbox when using a non-English display language.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25992 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/11/08/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25992-canary-channel/)

What's new in Build 25992

SMB Changes
Starting with this build (Build 25992), we are introducing the following Server Message Block (SMB) protocol changes.

SMB firewall rule changes: Creating SMB shares changes a longtime Windows Defender Firewall default behavior. Previously, creating a share automatically configured the firewall to enable the rules in the "File and Printer Sharing" group for the given firewall profiles. Now, Windows automatically configures the new "File and Printer Sharing (Restrictive)" group, which no longer contains inbound NetBIOS ports 137-139. We plan future updates for this rule to also remove inbound ICMP, LLMNR, and Spooler Service ports and restrict down to the SMB sharing-necessary ports only.

This change enforces a higher degree of default of network security as well as bringing SMB firewall rules closer to the Windows Server "File Server" role behavior. Administrators can still configure the "File and Printer Sharing" group if necessary as well as modify this new firewall group.

For more information on this change, review https://aka.ms/SMBfirewall. For more information on SMB network security, review Secure SMB Traffic in Windows Server (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows-server/storage/file-server/smb-secure-traffic).

SMB NTLM blocking exception list: The new SMB NTLM blocking feature first announced in Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25951 now supports specifying exception lists for NTLM usage. This allows an administrator to configure a general block on NTLM usage while still allowing clients to use NTLM for specific servers that do not support Kerberos, either because they are not Active Directory domain joined or are a third party without Kerberos support.

For more information on this change, review https://aka.ms/SmbNtlmBlock.

SMB alternative client and server ports: The SMB client now supports connecting to an SMB server over TCP, QUIC, or RDMA using alternative network ports to the hardcoded defaults. Previously, SMB only supported TCP/445, QUIC/443, and RDMA iWARP/5445. In addition, the SMB over QUIC server in Windows Server also supports endpoints configured with different ports than 443 (this option will be part of a separate Windows Server Insider Preview release). Windows Server does not support configuring alternative SMB server TCP ports, but third parties such as Samba do.

You can specify an alternative SMB client port using the NET USE command and New-SmbMapping PowerShell cmdlet. You can also completely disable this feature with a group policy.

For more information on using this option, review https://aka.ms/SMBAlternativePorts. For more information on configuring non-standard SMB server ports in third parties, consult their product documentation.

SMB over QUIC client access control certificate changes: The SMB over QUIC client access control feature first announced in Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25977 now supports using certificates with subject alternative names and not just a single subject. This means the client access control feature now supports using a Microsoft AD Certificate Authority and multiple endpoint names, just like the currently released version of SMB over QUIC. You can now evaluate the feature using the recommended options and not require self-signed test certificates.

For more information on this change, review https://aka.ms/SmbOverQUICCAC. For more information on SMB over QUIC, review https://aka.ms/SMBoverQUIC.

Changes and Improvements

[File Explorer]

• Did some work which should help noticeably improve the performance of opening large .zip files in File Explorer.

Fixes for known issues

• We fixed the issue causing blank options to show on the Personalization and Privacy & Security settings pages, where if clicked on it would crash Settings.
• Fixed an issue causing the context menu to draw off screen when invoked using touch or pen on the side of your desktop.
• 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.
• If you were experiencing Quick Settings crashes and WIN + A not working in the previous flight, that should be resolved now.
• Fixed an issue that was causing taskbar icons to disappear after switching desktops.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25997 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/11/15/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25997-canary-channel/)

ISOs for this build can be downloaded here (https://aka.ms/wipISO).

Changes and Improvements

[Windows Share]

• 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.

[Settings]

• 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 for known issues

• Fixed an issue causing some Insiders to see the latest builds unexpectedly fail to install with 0x80004005.
• Fixed an issue causing some Insiders to see an increase in bugchecks after upgrading to the previous build.
• Fixed an issue where the context menu in File Explorer, as well as the command bar dropdowns, might go transparent sometimes.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25997 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/11/15/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25997-canary-channel/)

UPDATE 11/17: We are starting to roll out Cumulative Update Build 25997.1010 (KB5033524). This update does not include anything new and is designed to test our servicing pipeline for builds in the Canary Channel.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26002 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/11/29/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26002-canary-channel/)

What's new in Build 26002

Energy Saver
Starting with this build (Build 26002), we are introducing energy saver, which extends and enhances battery saver. It is an easy way to extend battery life and reduce energy use by trading off some system performance. It can be toggled on and off via Quick Settings in the system tray or configured to run automatically whenever the device reaches a certain battery percentage. While optimized to extend battery life, energy saver will be available when PCs are plugged in (this includes desktop PCs) for those aiming to conserve energy all the time.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (Win + F) under Power & Battery > Energy saver.

Changes and Improvements

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• We're trying out a change that improves the overall performance and responsiveness of Quick Settings in the system tray.
• We're making it easier to manage VPN in Quick Settings. If you have a single VPN, a new split toggle lets you turn it on and off with a single click. If you have multiple VPNs, we've made some changes to the list to reduce the time it takes to start a connection.
• We are beginning to roll out a new refresh button on the Wi-Fi Quick Settings flyout so you can now refresh the list of wireless networks available. There is also indication of scan progress to help you find nearby networks if the first scan does not reveal the one you are looking for.

[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.

[Settings]

• Removed colored backplates from app icons in Settings > Apps > Installed apps, as well as Settings > System > Notifications. This is an early implementation with more fixes on the way in future flights.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26002 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/11/29/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26002-canary-channel/)

UPDATE 12/5: We are starting to roll out Cumulative Update Build 26002.1010 (KB5033735). This update does not include anything new and is designed to test our servicing pipeline for builds in the Canary Channel.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26010 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/12/07/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26010-canary-channel/)

New widgets board settings
We'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]

• The Tips app is removed after updating to Build 26002 and higher. The Tips app is deprecated (//'https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/whats-new/deprecated-features').
  

[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.

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• After trying out a scrollable view of quick settings with some Windows Insiders in the Canary Channel starting with Build 25967 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/10/05/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25967-canary-channel/), we're beginning to roll this out again with some slight refinements. This new scrolling view of quick actions allows you to rearrange the set of quick settings and provides better usability and discoverability for the user.
  

[Task Manager]

• The Task Manager settings page now has Mica material (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/apps/design/style/mica).
  

[Settings]

• Optional features previously listed under Settings > Apps has moved to its own page under Settings > System.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26010 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/12/07/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26010-canary-channel/)

UPDATE 12/12: We are starting to roll out Cumulative Update Build 26010.1010 (KB5034015). This update does not include anything new and is designed to test our servicing pipeline for builds in the Canary Channel.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26016 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/12/13/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26016-canary-channel/)

 ISOs for this build can be downloaded here (https://aka.ms/wipISO). This will be our last Canary Channel flight until January 2024.

NOTE: Some Insiders may experience a download "loop" where the build appears to download multiple times with an 8024200D error. The download will eventually succeed, and the build should install.

What's new in Build 26016

Windows Protected Print Mode
Windows protected print mode lets your PC exclusively print using the Windows modern print stack which is designed to work with Mopria certified printers (https://mopria.org/certified-products) only. With Mopria certified printers, users no longer must depend on third-party software installers as well as get additional security benefits. Print devices will "just work" resulting in a safe and streamlined installation and printing process. Read more about the security benefits of switching to IPP printing here (https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/security-compliance-and-identity/a-new-modern-and-secure-print-experience-from-windows/ba-p/4002645).

Here is how you can enable Windows protected print mode. These instructions are also published in a Quest for Insiders in Feedback Hub:

• Press Start.
• Open the Local Group Policy Editor.
• Navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Printers.
• Right click on 'Configure Windows protected print' and click 'Edit'.
• Select the 'Enabled' radio button.
• Click 'Apply' and click 'OK'.
• Windows protected print is now enabled.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Devices and Drivers > Print.

Changes and Improvements

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• Added an icon to the "Diagnose network problems" entry when right clicking the Wi-Fi icon in the taskbar.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26016 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/12/13/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26016-canary-channel/)

UPDATE 12/15: We are starting to roll out Cumulative Update Build 26016.1012 (KB5034402). This update does not include anything new and is designed to test our servicing pipeline for builds in the Canary Channel.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26020 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/01/03/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26020-canary-channel/)

What's new in Build 26020

Extended languages, multi-display support, and custom commands for voice access
Extended 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 link above.

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.

Natural Voices Previews in Narrator
We 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.

Changes and Improvements

[General]

• Starting with this build, the WordPad and People apps will no longer be installed after doing a clean install of the OS. In a future flight, WordPad will be removed on upgrade. WordPad will not be reinstallable. WordPad is a deprecated Windows feature (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/whats-new/deprecated-features). For more information on the future of the People app, click here (https://support.microsoft.com/windows/people-app-help-144c4373-fa32-da81-f8b4-ee87589c509c).
  
• 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).
  

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• For PCs that are plugged in and do not have batteries (such as desktop PCs), when you turn on energy saver, we are trying out a new energy saver icon that is shown in the system tray to indicate energy saver is on. For PCs with batteries, there is no change to the experience, and you will continue to see the leaf icon overlayed on top of the battery icon in the system tray. As a reminder, battery saver is now energy saver with extended capability as of Build 26002 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/11/29/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26002-canary-channel/).
  

[Printing]

• We have added the ability to pause and resume print jobs in print queue for printers under Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners. This allows you to pause printing when maintenance is required for your printer such as replacing a printer cartridge. Jobs submitted are held by the spooler until the print queue is 'un-paused' by clicking resume in Settings. The ability to rename your printer directly here in these settings is coming in a later flight.

[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.
• 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.

Fixes for known issues

• Fixed an issue causing Settings to crash when navigating to Power & Battery in the previous build.
• Fixed an underlying issue causing the details pane in File Explorer to unexpectedly take keyboard focus sometimes.
• Copilot will no longer rearrange or push your desktop icons when launched.
• Fixed an issue where uncombined taskbar icons were cutting off the title instead of adjusting with the title length.
• Fixed an issue causing Steps Recorder to not launch in the last couple builds.
• We fixed the issue causing a loading delay when the Microsoft Start feed is reenabled in Widgets.
• 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 23615 (Dev Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/01/11/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-23615-dev-channel/)

ISOs for this build can be downloaded here (https://aka.ms/wipISO).

What's new in Build 23615

USB 80Gbps
We are excited to announce support for the latest generation USB standard, USB 80Gbps, in this build of Windows. USB 80Gbps support will initially launch on select devices based on the Intel Core 14th Gen HX-series mobile processors, such as the new Razer Blade 18 (https://press.razer.com/product-news/ces-2024-razer-blades/).

This is the first major version update of the USB4®standard and increases performance to 80Gbps from 40Gbps. It enables the next generation of high-performance displays, storage, and connectivity. It is fully backwards compatible with peripherals built for older generations of USB and Thunderbolt™ and works alongside all other USB Type-C features.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Devices and Drivers > Buses.

Changes and Improvements

[Copilot in Windows*]

• We are trying out opening Copilot automatically when Windows starts on widescreen devices with some Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel. 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.

[Windows Share]

• For Microsoft Edge and other browsers that invoke the Windows share window, the Windows share window now supports the ability to share URLs directly to WhatsApp, Gmail, X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and LinkedIn. In Microsoft Edge, you can invoke the Windows share window by clicking the share icon at the top right in the toolbar and choosing the Windows share options.

Fixes

[Task Manager]

• Fixed an issue which was impacting Task Manager reliability for some Insiders.

[Windows Share]

• Fixed an issue which was impacting Windows share window reliability for some Insiders.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26040 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/01/26/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26040-canary-channel/)

ISOs for this build can be downloaded here (https://aka.ms/wipISO).

What's new in Build 26040

Instantly access new photos and screenshots from your mobile device
We 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 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 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 the Canary and Dev Channels, 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.

Experience crystal clear online communication with Voice Clarity
We are expanding Voice Clarity which has been available on Surface devices (https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/surface-it-pro-blog/meet-voice-clarity/ba-p/1419014) and making it available to more people. Voice Clarity is a feature that enhances your audio experience on Windows with state-of-the-art AI technology. Powered by low complexity AI models, Voice Clarity cancels echo, suppresses background noise, and reduces reverberation in real-time. This feature is enabled by default and can be utilized by applications using Communications Signal Processing Mode (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows-hardware/drivers/audio/audio-signal-processing-modes), such as Phone Link (https://www.microsoft.com/windows/sync-across-your-devices) and WhatsApp. No additional hardware is required, as Voice Clarity is supported on x64 and Arm64 CPUs. Apps which use Communications Signal Processing Mode do not need any additional modifications and Voice Clarity will work for them automatically when the OEM device does not offer Communications Mode processing. Similarly, PC games that use Communications Signal Processing Mode for their online communications will also benefit from Voice Clarity. Applications can provide a toggle (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/win32/api/audioclient/nn-audioclient-iaudioeffectsmanager) for the Deep Noise Suppression stream effect to switch between AI models for voice only communications (Deep Noise Suppression enabled, the default setting) and generic audio content (Deep Noise Suppression disabled). With Voice Clarity, you can have confidence that your voice will be clearly heard during online meetings and enjoy smoother and more effective online communications.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Devices and Drivers > Audio and sound.

Updated Windows Setup Experience
We are refreshing Windows OS Media Setup with a much cleaner and more modern design. All of the same features will continue to be supported in the bare-metal (clean) OS Iinstallation experience, including unattended support (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows-hardware/customize/desktop/unattend/), but will now be consistent with the current upgrade and installation experience available for the devices already running the Windows OS.

Windows Insiders who want to try out this refreshed Windows Setup experience can download the ISOs for Build 26040 here (https://aka.ms/wipISO) and either do a clean install on their PC or do a clean install in a Virtual Machine (VM).

While this change does not affect the DISM OS deployment (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows-hardware/manufacture/desktop/what-is-dism?view=windows-11), it may affect some of your workflow. Please take the time to test these changes on your given scenarios and provide any feedback.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Install and Update > Windows Installation. Please note that the Windows Setup experience is fully offline so take note of any issues you hit as you will not be able to submit feedback on that PC until either after the setup completes and you log into Windows, or you can file feedback on a separate PC. If you file feedback on a separate PC, be sure to include information such as build number and any error codes you experience.

USB 80Gbps
We are excited to announce support for the latest generation USB standard, USB 80Gbps, in this build of Windows. USB 80Gbps support will initially launch on select devices based on the Intel Core 14th Gen HX-series mobile processors, such as the new Razer Blade 18 (https://press.razer.com/product-news/ces-2024-razer-blades/).

This is the first major version update of the USB4®standard and increases performance to 80Gbps from 40Gbps. It enables the next generation of high-performance displays, storage, and connectivity. It is fully backwards compatible with peripherals built for older generations of USB and Thunderbolt™ and works alongside all other USB Type-C features.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Devices and Drivers > Buses.

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.

Improving discoverability of screen casting in Windows 11
Casting from your Windows PC allows you to wirelessly extend your display to another nearby PC, TV, or other external displays. We are introducing 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 https://support.microsoft.com/windows/snap-your-windows-885a9b1e-a983-a3b1-16cd-c531795e6241]Snap%20Assistto 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.

Windows LAPS: New automatic account management feature
Windows Local Administrator Password Solution (LAPS) (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows-server/identity/laps/laps-overview) has been improved with a new automatic account management feature. Using this feature, IT admins can now configure Windows LAPS to automatically create the managed local account. You can also configure the name of the account, enable, or disable the account, and optionally randomize the account name for improved security. Improved integration with existing Microsoft local account management policies has also been added.

See the blog post for an image of the new Automatic account management setting:

The Windows LAPS CSP offers full support for managing these settings. The Windows LAPS CSP documentation will be updated at a later date to reflect the new settings. You can learn more about these features here (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows-server/identity/laps/laps-concepts-account-management-modes).

Windows LAPS: improved readability password dictionary (and improved password font)
Windows Local Administrator Password Solution (LAPS) (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows-server/identity/laps/laps-overview) has been improved with a new PasswordComplexity setting. Using this feature, IT admins can now configure Windows LAPS to generate less confusing passwords. The new setting is similar to the existing complexity setting 4 in that all four character categories are used (upper case letters, lower case letters, numbers, and special characters). However when PasswordComplexity is configured with the new setting of 5, the most confusing characters are omitted to improve password readability and reduce confusion and wasted time. For example, the number "1" and the letter "I" are never used with the new setting.

When PasswordComplexity is configured to 5, the following changes are made to the default password dictionary character set:

• Don't use these letters: 'I', 'O', 'Q', 'l', 'o'
• Don't use these numbers: '0', '1'
• Don't use these 'special' characters: ',', '.', '&', '{', '}', '[', ']', '(', ')', ';'
• Start using these 'special' characters: ':', '=', '?', '*'

The Windows LAPS tab in the Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in (via Microsoft Management Console) has also been improved. When the Windows LAPS password is displayed in the clear, the password now uses a new font for improving readability.

The Windows LAPS CSP also offers full support for configuring the new PasswordComplexity setting (5). The Windows LAPS documentation will be updated at a later date with additional information on this new setting.

Windows LAPS: New passphrase feature
Windows Local Administrator Password Solution (LAPS) (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows-server/identity/laps/laps-overview) has been improved with a new passphrase feature. Using this feature, IT admins can now configure Windows LAPS to generate passphrases, for example: "EatsVeganYummyTasty". Compare this to a more traditional style password like "q6Rgag667Pu23qA886?n:K" – the passphrase is clearly much easier to read, repeat, and type.

With this new feature, the existing PasswordComplexity policy setting can now be configured to select one of three different passphrase word lists. All three passphrase word lists are included as part of Windows, so no additional download is required. A new policy setting "PassphraseLength" is used to control the number of words in a new passphrase.

Construction of a passphrase is simple: the configured number of words are randomly selected from the configured word list and appended together. The first letter of each word is capitalized for easier readability.

The new passphrase feature is fully supported when backing passwords up to either Windows Server Active Directory or Microsoft Entra ID.

The passphrase word lists are taken from Deep Dive: EFF's New Wordlists for Random Passphrases (https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2016/07/new-wordlists-random-passphrases) by Electronic Frontier Foundation (https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2016/07/new-wordlists-random-passphrases), and are used under a CC-BY-3.0 Attribution license. You can download the word lists from https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=2255471.

The three new PasswordComplexity passphrase settings each correspond to one of the original Electronic Fronter Foundation passphrase word lists.

Windows LAPS does not support either customer-configured word lists or customization of the built-in word lists.

The Windows LAPS CSP offers full support for managing these settings. The Windows LAPS CSP documentation will be updated at a later date to reflect the new settings.

You can learn more about the new Windows LAPS passphrase feature here (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows-server/identity/laps/laps-concepts-passwords-passphrases).

Windows LAPS: New image rollback detection feature
Windows Local Administrator Password Solution (LAPS) (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows-server/identity/laps/laps-overview) has been improved with a new image rollback detection feature. Using this feature, Windows LAPS will now detect when an image rollback has occurred. When a live OS image is rolled back (regardless of mechanism, for example Hyper-V snapshot reversion, or via image re-deployment products) the result is often a "torn state" situation where the password stored in Active Directory no longer matches the password (hash) stored locally on the device. When this happens the IT admin will be unable to sign into the device using the persisted Windows LAPS password. The problem is not resolved until Windows LAPS rotates the password per the normal password expiration timestamp, which might not happen for days or weeks.

The new feature adds an Active Directory attribute "msLAPS-CurrentPasswordVersion" to the Windows LAPS schema. This attribute contains a random GUID which is written by Windows LAPS every time a new password is persisted in Active Directory, followed by saving a local copy. During every processing cycle, the GUID stored in msLAPS-CurrentPasswordVersion will be queried and compared to the locally persisted copy; if they are different, the password will be immediately rotated.

To enable this feature, you must first run the latest version of the Update-LapsADSchema PowerShell cmdlet. Windows LAPS will note the presence of the new attribute and start using it.

Windows LAPS will log a specific new reason when a rollback is detected.

If you do not run the updated version of the Update-LapsADSchema PowerShell cmdlet Windows LAPS will log a 10108 warning event in the event log, but will continue to function normally in all other respects.

Note that no policy settings are used to enable or configure this feature. The feature is always enabled once the new schema attribute has been added. The Windows LAPS documentation will be updated at a later date with additional information on this new feature.

Changes and Improvements

[General]

• As we mentioned with https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/01/03/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26020-canary-channel/]Build%2026020, WordPad is removed when doing a clean install and now is also removed on upgrade starting with this build.
  

[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). This is just beginning to roll out to Insiders in the Canary Channel so not every will see this change right away.

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• When you hover over the date and time in the system tray, the tooltip will now always show a clock even when you only have a single clock added.

[File Explorer]

• In addition to the new "Compress To" formats for 7Z and tar (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/11/08/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25992-canary-channel/), we are adding a new compression wizard that lets you choose even more formats and specify even more details. You can compress individual files with gzip/bzip2 (and more,) or add multiple files to archives in different tar formats with different types of compression. You can also change the compression level and what types of data are stored in each archive.
  

[Windows Share]

• For Microsoft Edge and other browsers that invoke the Windows share window, the Windows share window now supports the ability to share website links directly to WhatsApp, Gmail, X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and LinkedIn. In Microsoft Edge, you can invoke the Windows share window by clicking the share icon at the top right in the toolbar and choosing the Windows share options.

• 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.
• 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.

[Task Manager]

• We have updated the Task Manager icon to match the design of other icons in Windows 11.

[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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Fixed an issue in Microsoft Excel where Narrator was not consistently reading any item in the auto-complete list that comes when writing a formula.
• 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.

[Input]

• Added the Colemak (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colemak) keyboard layout. To use you can add it in Settings > Time & Language > Language & region > and select a Latin-script alphabet-based language like English, click on the three dots to open Language Options for that language and then add a keyboard.
  
• Added a new Hebrew keyboard layout (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hebrew_keyboard#SI-1452-2_Improved_Mapping). To use you can add it in Settings > Time & Language > Language & region > and select Hebrew, click on the three dots to open Language Options for that language, then add a keyboard, and select Hebrew (Standard, 2018).
  

[Magnifier]

• Fixed an issue in Magnifier settings page where the text below "voice speed" slider was not following the color contrast guidelines.

Fixes for known issues

• Fixed an issue causing Settings to not launch for a small number of Insiders on Build 26010+. If you are impacted and aren't yet on this build, please see this forum post for a workaround (https://aka.ms/26010SettingsCrash).
  
• Fixed a high hitting print spooler crash in the last 2 builds.
• Fixed an issue where hovering over the system tray area wasn't bringing up the taskbar when set to autohide.
• Fixed an issue causing some users to see an increase in SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED bugchecks recently.
• Fixed an issue causing some insiders to see a bugcheck with BAD_POOL_CALLER in Build 26016+.
• Fixed an underlying issue related to scrollbars which was causing some app crashes in the last 2 builds.
• Made a change to help fix an issue which could cause the spacing between your desktop icons to become extremely wide.
• Fixed the issue in Widgets where announcements from the Microsoft Start feed are still shown on the taskbar after the feed is hidden.
• Fixed the issue in Widgets where spacing and fonts used in some settings pages were incorrect.

[/list]

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 Channels

Starting 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 26052

Sudo 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 modes
Windows 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.

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 26058

Pointer Indicator: New accessibility setting for low vision Windows users
Low 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 improvements
We'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 screen
If 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.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26063 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/02/22/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26063-canary-channel/)

Note: This build still has the issue impacting Dev Drive users.

What's new in Build 26063

Wi-Fi 7
Following the announcement by the Wi-Fi Alliance (https://www.wi-fi.org/discover-wi-fi/wi-fi-certified-7), Windows is adding support for Wi-Fi 7 for consumer access points with the current Insider Preview builds in the Canary and Dev Channels. Wi-Fi 7, also known as IEEE 802.11be Extremely High Throughput (EHT), is a revolutionary technology that offers unprecedented speed, reliability, and efficiency for your wireless devices.

Next Generation Wi-Fi 7 builds on the innovations of Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E to provide enhanced user experiences through upgrades in all aspects of wireless connectivity – throughput, latency, efficiency, reliability, power, etc.

Highlighting some of Wi-Fi 7 new features:

• Multi-Link operation (MLO) allows devices to use multiple bands (2.4 GHz, 5GHz, and/or 6GHz) simultaneously to avoid network congestion and maintain connectivity.
• 320 MHz ultra-wide bandwidth in 6GHz doubles the speed to your devices and enables new possibilities for high bandwidth applications – and scenarios using such as AR/VR.
• 4096-QAM modulation increases the data transmission by 20% and improves the quality of video streaming, video conferencing, and more.

With Wi-Fi 7, you can enjoy multi-gigabit speeds on your Windows PC and experience up to 4x faster speeds than Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E, and close to 6x faster than Wi-Fi 5. You can also enjoy significantly lower latency, which improves the responsiveness and performance of real-time activities like gaming and video conferencing. Please note that performance may vary by manufacturer and hardware device capabilities.

To take advantage of Wi-Fi 7, you will need a Wi-Fi 7 capable consumer access point and PC, which many of our ecosystem partners have launched on the market.

Below is a screenshot from your Windows PC with this build when connected to the Wi-Fi 7 consumer access point.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Network and Internet > Connecting to a Wi-Fi network.

Changes and Improvements

[Copilot in Windows]

• You can now ask Copilot in Windows to do 16 new actions, adding to the 13 already live. With Power Automate Desktop, you can also automate tasks. We began rolling these improvements out for Copilot in Windows to Windows Insiders in the Canary Channel earlier this week and added the details into last week's blog post (https://aka.ms/wip26058).
  

QuoteCopilot in #Windows (https://twitter.com/hashtag/Windows?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) just got smarter! You can now ask Copilot to do 16 new actions, adding to the 13 already live. With Power Automate Desktop, you can also automate tasks!
Rollout begins today in the WIP Canary Channel, check the blog post for details: https://t.co/UX5L0q99fO
— Shilpa Ranganathan (@ShilpaRan) February 21, 2024 (https://twitter.com/ShilpaRan/status/1760093164776636720?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

• The new Copilot in Windows experience we began trying out with Build 26052 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/02/08/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26052-canary-and-dev-channels/) where the Copilot icon will change appearance and animate to indicate that Copilot can help when you copy text has temporarily been disabled. We will bring this back in the future after fixing some bugs. Thank you for all the feedback!
  

[Widgets]

• The widgets board improvements documented with Build 26058 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/02/14/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26058-canary-and-dev-channels/) have temporarily been disabled. We will bring this back in the future after fixing some bugs. Thank you for all the feedback.

Fixes for known issues

• Fixed an issue causing some Insiders to experience an issue where the network icon in the system tray showed they didn't have an internet connection when connected to some VPNs even though the internet connection was working. Those impact may have also seen some apps think there wasn't an internet connection when there really was.
• The fix for the issue causing Build 26058 to not be listed under Settings > Windows Update > Update history like it should is making its way out. It may take another flight or two for builds to properly show up under Update History.
• Fixed a high hitting DWM crash in the last couple flights.
• Fixed an underlying issue with plug and play which may have impacted audio device setup in the last 2 builds. If you're continuing to experience issues with audio not playing after this build, please file feedback under Devices and Drivers > Audio and sound in the Feedback Hub.
• Fixed an issue where typing too quickly in the Settings search box could result in the results not loading completely.
• Fixed an issue causing the three-finger touchpad gesture for middle mouse click (if you had enabled this in touchpad settings) to not work in some apps.
• Fixed an issue where attempted to use the Move option when you pressed ALT + Space was causing a window to resize instead of move.
• Fixed an issue for Insiders with multiple monitors, where opening a minimized window might result in the window appearing on the wrong monitor.
• Fixed an issue which could cause the clock in the taskbar to stop updating.
• Fixed an issue which could cause the taskbar icons to shift around under your mouse as you moved your mouse across the taskbar.
• Fixed an issue where the "Notify when apps request location" option in Settings under Privacy & Security > Location was reset after reboot.
• Fixed an issue that was causing the Windows Update page in Settings to unexpectedly flash messages sometimes (too quickly to read) in the previous flight.

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/)

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 26080

Updates to Microsoft Teams in Windows 11
Starting 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 (//'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 Insiders
We 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 Windows

Try 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 Windows

Power 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 (//'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).

Sorry, forgot to post this:

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 26090

Widgets board improvements
We 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 changes
Starting 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 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 26100

Changes 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).

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26200 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/04/19/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26200-canary-channel/)

(Note the .5001 after the build number does not mean anything relevant to Windows Insiders and we will continue to use the primary build number for these flight blog posts.)

With the Canary Channel moving to a higher build number, the window closes on being able to switch to the Dev Channel without doing a clean-install of Windows (//'https://aka.ms/HowtoCleanInstall'). If you haven't switched channels yet, you can still do so BEFORE taking Build 26200.

Developers, please note that for a short period of time, we will not be releasing a SDK for builds we flight to the Canary Channel.

Changes and Improvements

[General]

• [REMINDER] As we've been mentioning previously (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/04/03/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26100-canary-and-dev-channels/) that would happen, the build watermark at the lower right-hand corner of the desktop has returned.
  

[Widgets]

• We are also making some improvements to the Widgets button on the taskbar so that the icons on the taskbar are clearer and we are rolling out a larger set of animated icons too.
• As part of the Widgets board improvements that we began rolling out with Build 26090 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/03/28/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26090-canary-and-dev-channels/) a few weeks ago (which are now also rolling out to Insiders in the Dev Channel), we are introducing the ability for developers to send notifications to the taskbar button with their custom dashboards for the Widgets board. Developers can check out this documentation (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windows-app-sdk/api/winrt/microsoft.windows.widgets.feeds.providers?view=windows-app-sdk-1.5) on how to implement this capability with their Widgets dashboards. To manage notifications from multiple dashboards, Widgets is also providing more granular control over what content shows on the Widgets button on the taskbar. You can go to Widgets Settings > Notifications and enable or disable taskbar notifications from individual dashboards. NOTE: These changes are only initially available to Windows Insiders in the European Economic Area (EEA).
  

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• After trying out a different design for the energy saver icon in system tray a few months ago (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/01/03/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26020-canary-channel/) for PCs that are plugged in and do not have batteries (such as desktop PCs), we reverted the design back to the leaf icon a few builds ago. (This change is also present in Build 26100 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/04/03/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26100-canary-and-dev-channels/).)
  

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26212 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/05/08/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26212-canary-channel/)

Developers, please note that for a short period of time, we will not be releasing an SDK for builds we flight to the Canary Channel.

Changes and Improvements

[Windows Share]

• Users will be able to now generate QR codes for URLs and cloud file links through the Windows share window to seamlessly share webpages and files across their devices. To try this out in Microsoft Edge, just click the share button in the Edge toolbar and choose "Windows share options".
• To prevent accidentally closing the Windows share window, clicking outside the Windows share window will no longer close it. To close the Windows share window, just press the close button at the top right corner.
• If your Microsoft account uses a Gmail address, you can now send email to yourself from Windows share window and receive it in your Gmail account.

[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 known issues

[General]

• We fixed the issue causing advanced startup options to not work. This also fixes the progress wheel from not showing when booting.
• We believe we fixed the issue causing Features on Demand (FODs) (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows-hardware/manufacture/desktop/features-on-demand-v2--capabilities?view=windows-11) to not install.
  

[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.
  

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• Fixed an issue that caused the taskbar to be partially off the screen on secondary monitors.
• Fixed an issue that caused Narrator to be silent while rearranging your apps on taskbar.

[File Explorer]

• Fixed an issue which was causing File Explorer to sporadically crash when using path suggestions in the address bar.
• Fixed an issue which could cause File Explorer to crash sometimes when going from the search box to the body of File Explorer.

[Windowing]

• Fixed a couple DWM crashes, which could cause the screen to appear to flash.

[Other]

• Fixed an issue that was causing some people to repeatedly see a message saying live captions were being missed.
• Fixed an underlying issue which was causing Visual Studio to fail to debug x64 .NET framework console applications (the app would crash in ntdll.dll upon load).

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26217 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/05/15/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26217-canary-channel/)

Changes and Improvements

[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 known issues

[Settings]

• Fixed an issue where after using the Disable button for a camera under Settings > Bluetooth & Devices > Cameras, the Enable button wouldn't work.
• Fixed an issue where the text showing the color filters keyboard shortcut was missing from Settings > Accessibility > Color filters.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26227 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/05/30/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26227-canary-channel/)

Changes and Improvements

[Copilot in Windows*]

• As part of this update, we're also evolving the Copilot* experience on Windows as an app that will be pinned to the taskbar. This enables users to get the benefits of a traditional app experience, including the ability to resize, move, and snap the window – feedback we've heard from users throughout the preview of Copilot in Windows. This model also allows Microsoft to more agilely develop and optimize the experience based on user feedback.
• As part of the Copilot experience's evolution on Windows to become an app that is pinned to the taskbar, we are retiring the WIN + C keyboard shortcut. For new devices that ship with a Copilot key (https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2024/01/04/introducing-a-new-copilot-key-to-kick-off-the-year-of-ai-powered-windows-pcs/), this key will open Copilot. For existing devices without that key, using the WIN + (number position for Copilot pinned to your taskbar) is a great way to open Copilot.
  

[Emoji]

• We're adding support for Emoji 15.1 (https://blog.unicode.org/2023/01/whats-new-in-emoji-151.html) which introduces a small number of brand-new emoji such as head shaking horizontally and vertically, phoenix, lime, brown mushroom and broken chain. Other changes for Emoji 15.1 include Unicode's decision to revert family combinations to symbol-like shapes. Windows has chosen to stay with our existing style that use people in family combinations. We are also supporting the new directionality updates for person/man/woman walking, kneeling, with cane, running, manual wheelchair and motorized wheelchair. You can now select right facing or the original left facing orientation for these emoji.
  

[Settings]

• We are introducing a new Linked devices page under Settings > Accounts that allows you to manage PCs and Xbox consoles that you are signed in to with your Microsoft account. This settings page will only show on the Home and Pro editions of Windows 11 and if you're signed into Windows with your Microsoft account.

Fixes for known issues

[General]

• Fixed an issue believed to be the underlying cause of some Insiders noticing stutters in some animations recently (dropping frames), particularly with Task View.
• Fixed an underlying issue which could lead to some apps not starting on startup even though they were enabled as startup apps in Settings. It would show as Suspended in Task Manager, but not appear in the taskbar.
• Fixed an underlying issue which could lead to the pop up asking for permission to use location not appearing, which could lead to app issues without location access.

[Windowing]

• Fixed an issue related to showing tabs in Alt + Tab, which could lead to frequent explorer.exe crashes if you had a very large number of tabs.

[Widgets]

• Fixed the issue causing the WIN + W keyboard shortcut to not work correctly and open the Widgets board.

[Other]

• Fixed explorer.exe crashes impacting live captions and voice access.

Introducing Suggested Replies in Phone Link for Android

We're excited to announce the addition of a new feature to the Phone Link app for Android users: Suggested Replies. Powered by our cloud-based intelligent suggestion model, this feature is designed to make your messaging experience seamless and more efficient.

With Suggested Replies, you'll see 3 contextually relevant reply bubbles to choose from when you receive a message. The feature is turned on by default, so you can start using it right away. Simply select a suggested reply and it'll be sent immediately.

Suggested Replies are beginning to roll out to Windows Insiders across all channels with Phone Link version 1.24051.98 and higher.

FEEDBACK: Send us feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Apps > Phone Link.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26231 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/06/06/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26231-canary-channel)

What's new with Build 26231

Narrator users can now use voice access to dictate text hands-free
Narrator users can start using voice access in Windows 11 (https://support.microsoft.com/topic/get-started-with-voice-access-bd2aa2dc-46c2-486c-93ae-3d75f7d053a4) to dictate text with voice and hear what is dictated. In addition, you can also use voice access to give Narrator commands. For example, "Turn on Narrator," "speak faster," "read selection," "read next line," etc.

To know the entire list of Narrator commands supported with voice access, click help icon (?) on the voice access bar, select "View all commands" and choose "Narrator commands."

What will work:

• Start and set up voice access which includes downloading a speech model.
• Read a list of voice access commands and Narrator commands from voice access help menu.
• Changing voice access microphone state.
• Dictating text with voice and hearing back what was dictated.

Tips:

• If you don't use headphones for listening to the screen reader, the audio output from the screen reader may get picked up by voice access microphone, leading to unwanted behavior.

[We are beginning to roll this out to Windows Insiders in the Canary Channel, so the experience isn't available to all Insiders just yet as we plan to monitor feedback before pushing it out to everyone.]

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

Auto Restart for Voice Access & New Voice Access Command for Windows Search
We are introducing auto restart for voice access in Windows 11 (https://support.microsoft.com/topic/get-started-with-voice-access-bd2aa2dc-46c2-486c-93ae-3d75f7d053a4). This feature ensures that voice access will automatically restart if it encounters any issues so that individuals with limited mobility can get back to using voice access as quickly as possible. Customers will no longer need to rely on alternative assistive technologies or assistance from others to reactivate voice access. Should voice access automatically restart due to a crash, we are making it easier to report those crashes once voice access restarts so the team can investigate and work on fixes.

We are introducing a new command for searching directly with Windows search. Users can now say the command Search "Entity"; Search Windows for "Entity"; or Search for "Entity" to search for their desired application or file in Windows ("Entity" is replaced with whatever application or file you want to search.)

[We are beginning to roll this out to Windows Insiders in the Canary Channel, so the experience isn't available to all Insiders just yet as we plan to monitor feedback before pushing it out to everyone.]

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

Changes and Improvements

[Windows Share]

• We are beginning to roll out the ability to copy files from the Windows share window. Just click the new copy button.

[Settings]

• The change that updates the visuals for the "Rename your PC" and "Change date and time" dialogs to match the Windows 11 visuals that began rolling out with Build 26217 should now be available to everyone in the Canary Channel.

Fixes

[File Explorer]

• As some Insiders have noticed, we've done some work to improve how the new icon labels in the context menu (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/02/14/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26058-canary-and-dev-channels/) display for non-English languages.
  

[Task Manager]

• Updated the units (from MHz to MT/s) for DDR speed.
• Fixed an issue where the Safely Remove Hardware option for ejecting USB devices wouldn't work if Task Manager was open.
• Did some work to ensure Task Manager releases process handles quickly when terminating processes.
• Made some more improvements to help with Task Manager reliability.
• We have improved the performance when changing the sort order.
• Made multiple improvements to overall accessibility of Task Manager, including improving keyboard focus, tab navigation, text scaling, names of items read out by screen readers, and more.
• We made it a little easier to resize Task Manager when trying to resize by grabbing the top of the window.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26236 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/06/12/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26236-canary-channel/)

Changes and Improvements

[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.

[Start menu]

• This update starts the roll out of the new account manager on Start menu. When you sign in with a Microsoft account, the new design gives you a quick glanceable view of your account benefits and makes it easy to manage account settings.

Fixes

[Taskbar]

• Fixed an issue causing the taskbar to not appear for a small number of Insiders in the last couple flights.

[Audio]

• Fixed an underlying issue which was causing the preferred audio volume (under Settings > System > Sound > Volume Mixer) for Microsoft Edge to not persist across restarting the app.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26244 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/06/28/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26244-canary-channel/)

Changes and Improvements

[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.

[Windows Backup]

• If you have both Personalization and Other Windows settings toggled on under Settings > Accounts > Windows backup, many of your sound settings (including chosen sound scheme) will be backed up which can be restored via the Windows Backup app.
  

[Settings]

• To ensure you don't lose access to your Microsoft account, we're beginning to roll out a new banner with a "Add now" button under Settings > Account for adding a recovery email address if you haven't added one for your Microsoft account yet. This will only show if you are signed in with a Microsoft account.
• 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.
• We're beginning to roll out a change that redirects links for the Fonts Control Panel page to the Fonts settings page at Settings > Personalization > Fonts. Insiders who see this change can still access the Fonts Control Panel UI by navigating to the system fonts folder in File Explorer and a link to the system fonts folder is also provided on the Font settings page.

Fixes

[Other]

• Fixed the underlying issue causing some Insiders to see a Pcasvc.dll error dialog pop-up with the message "Missing entry: PcaWallpaperAppDetect" after upgrading from Windows 11, version 22H2/23H2 to a 26xxx build.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26252 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/07/10/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26252-canary-channel/)

Changes and Improvements

[Lock screen]

• We're beginning to roll out Weather and more to your lock screen starting with this build in the Canary Channel. Stay informed and efficient with dynamic updates that bring finance, traffic, and sports to your Lock screen, alongside weather. The card design has been improved with acrylic blur, card size, spacing, and font optimizations. To turn on this feature, go to Settings > Personalization > Lock screen. To learn more, see Personalize your lock screen (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/personalize-your-lock-screen-81dab9b0-35cf-887c-84a0-6de8ef72bea0?preview=true).
  

[Start menu]

• You can now also pin apps from the Start menu to the taskbar by dragging and dropping items directly to taskbar from the pinned section in the Start menu.

[Settings]

• Evaluation copy expiry date information is now visible under Settings > System > About.
  
• We are beginning to roll out a new energy recommendation for turning off HDR to conserve energy on PCs with HDR displays under Settings > Power & battery > Energy recommendations.
  

Fixes

[Input]

• Fixed an issue causing Insiders to see errors when attempting to use Voice Typing with certain languages such as Chinese.
• Fixed an issue where if you went through Windows Setup (OOBE), pinyin would be unexpectedly displayed twice in the list of available input methods.

[Task Manager]

• Fixed an issue causing colors in the Performance section to not display correctly in dark mode.

[Settings]

• Fixed an issue causing the icons in Settings > Apps > Startup too be way too large for the available space for some users, causing them to be cut off.
• Fixed an issue where Settings > System > Power & Battery unexpectedly had duplicate text when showing a warning about a slow charger.
• Fixed an issue where the Windows Update page in Settings was not displayed correctly for some Insiders after the previous flight (no text shows). If you are impacted by this, the update to this build with the fix should still happen on its own, however you may need to wait a little bit.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26257 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/07/24/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26257-canary-channel/)

Changes and Improvements

[File Explorer]

• We're rolling out the ability to duplicate a tab by right-clicking on a tab in File Explorer.

[Networking]

• If you use the netsh wlan show networks command, you should be able to read SSIDs that are UTF-8 encoded. This means that Wi-Fi SSIDs with Unicode characters (like emojis) should be properly displayed in netsh output. This change is beginning to roll out so not all Insiders in the Canary Channel will see it right away.
  

[For Developers]

• Updated the logic for the "End Task" option in the taskbar so that it no longer shows a Not Responding dialog to give confirmation before ending the task.

[Other]

• Updated System Info (msinfo32) to now follow your text size preference under Settings > Accessibility > Text Size.

Fixes

[General]

• Fixed an underlying issue causing some Insiders to see bugchecks in recent builds citing KERNEL_SECURITY_CHECK_FAILURE.

[File Explorer]

• Did some work to help address an issue where the address bar dropdown might appear unexpectedly while you were using File Explorer.

[Settings]

• Fixed an underlying issue leading to some of the pop-up windows in Settings unexpectedly appearing left aligned, for example, the window for selecting a custom color for Dynamic Lighting.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27686 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/08/15/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-27868-canary-channel/)

If you are joining the Canary Channel on a new Copilot+ PC from the Dev Channel, Release Preview Channel or retail, please take note of a known issue in the referenced article.

SDKs for 27xxx series builds are not being released for the time being.

What's new with Build 27686

Windows Sandbox Client Preview
This build includes the new Windows Sandbox Client Preview that is now updated via the Microsoft Store. As part of this preview, we're introducing runtime clipboard redirection, audio/video input control, and the ability to share folders with the host at runtime. You can access these via the new "..." icon at the upper right on the app.  Additionally, this preview includes a super early version of command line support (commands may change over time). You can use 'wsb.exe –help' command for more information.

FEEDBACK: Send us feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Security & Privacy > Windows Sandbox.

Changes and Improvements

[General]

• Some features that were previously rolled out to Insiders in the Canary Channel may disappear as we flight newer 27xxx series builds. These features should begin rolling out again to Insiders over time.
• We've made optimizations to improve battery life for PCs running Build 27686+ in the Canary Channel. Let us know what you think and if you are not seeing the battery life on your PC you are expecting, let us know via Feedback Hub. When filing feedback in Feedback Hub on any battery life issues you experience, be sure to use the "Start recording" button to capture additional logs.

[Settings]

• In response to feedback, we have added a detach virtual hard disk (VHD/`VHDx) button to Settings making it much simpler to detach your VHD/VHDx as needed. This option is available under Settings > System > Storage > Disks & Volumes, in the properties for your VHD/VHDx.
  

[Networking]

• To help us evaluate future improvements in network performance, your device may periodically run network tests in the background to collect diagnostic data. These tests will use a small amount of data (up to 10MB/day) and will only run on Ethernet and Wi-Fi connections that are not marked as metered. This will only occur on PCs in the Canary Channel running Build 27686 and higher.

[Storage]

• When formatting disks from the command line using the format (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows-server/administration/windows-commands/format) command, we've increased the FAT32 size limit from 32GB to 2TB.
  

Fixes

[Dev Drive]

• Fixed an issue where Dev Drive (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/dev-drive/) VHDs weren't automatically re-mounting when the underlying volume was dismounted and brought back online.
  

[Lock screen]

• Did some work to help address an issue where the battery icon displayed on the lock screen might be out of sync with the actual battery level of your PC.

[Windows Security]

• Fixed an issue in the Windows Security app where if you browsed the networks under Firewall & Network protection, it showed a broken glyph (a rectangle) next to the network name rather than a network icon.

[Settings]

• Fixed an issue under Settings > System > Storage > Disks and Volumes, where there was no space between the Create and Attach VHD buttons.
• Fixed an issue where the power mode option in Settings > System > Power & Battery was showing in cases where it couldn't be changed, leading to a blank dropdown.
• Fixed an issue where if you searched in Settings for Kiosk and clicked the result for setting up kiosk mode (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/iot/iot-enterprise/customize/kiosk-mode), it wouldn't navigate to the correct page for doing that.
  

[Other]

• Fixed an issue in Registry Editor where when editing a DWORD or QWORD if you pasted in a HEX value into the text box and saved it, the value saved might not be the one you had entered (for example, pasting 0x1 would become 0x411).

Update to Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27686 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/08/15/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-27868-canary-channel/):

Settings

• [ADDED 8/16] We're beginning to roll out improvements to Settings > System > Power & battery including the ability to set your Power Mode for both when your PC is plugged in when it's on battery along with a few other UI improvements to the page.
• [ADDED 8/16] On PCs with HDR displays, we have added the option to allow HDR video streaming even when HDR is off under Settings > System > Display > HDR.

See the blog post for additional information on known issues

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27695 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/08/30/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-27695-canary-channel/)

What's new with Build 27695

New position for the Widgets entry-point on left-aligned taskbars
We're beginning to roll out a new position for the Widgets entry-point on left-aligned taskbars. The taskbar entry-point will move to the left of the systems tray and will be wider so you can see richer content from Widgets on your taskbar. When you launch the Widgets board, it will fly out from the right side instead of the left side.

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

Windows LAPS: Retrieve encrypted passwords during Active Directory recovery situations
Windows Local Administrator Password Solution (LAPS) (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows-server/identity/laps/laps-overview) has been improved with a new ability to recover encrypted passwords from Active Directory (AD) backup media even when there are zero AD domain controllers running.

Windows LAPS encrypted passwords (//'https://learn.microsoft.com/windows-server/identity/laps/laps-concepts-overview#encrypted-passwords') offer much better security over the traditional approach of storing clear-text passwords in Active Directory. Windows LAPS password encryption is based on Cryptography API: Next Generation Data Protection API (CNG DPAPI) (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/win32/seccng/cng-dpapi). Under normal operating conditions, the decryption keys are always retrieved from a running AD domain controller. When an unexpected disaster occurs, there may be no AD domain controllers running.

You can now use the Get-LapsADPassword PowerShell cmdlet to retrieve and decrypt Windows LAPS encrypted passwords from Active Directory backup media (mounted using the AD snapshot browser, aka dsamain.exe) with zero network interaction with any AD domain controller. In fact, this operation is now possible even when running on a non-domain-joined, workgroup machine. If you still have access to your AD backup media, all Windows LAPS encrypted passwords will now be recoverable regardless of the situation.

This new improvement is implemented in the existing Get-LapsADPassword PowerShell cmdlet. When the -Port and -RecoveryMode parameters are both specified, any retrieved passwords will be automatically decrypted in a purely local operation using the decryption keys found in the snapshot browser.

Step 1: Mount the Active Directory backup media database
Step 2: Recover the Windows LAPS passwords from the mounted AD backup media database
Step 3: This step is informative only; the screenshot below demonstrates that the above operations were executed on a workgroup machine

In summary this improvement resolves a key Windows LAPS concern of how to recover Windows LAPS passwords in a disaster scenario where no AD domain controllers are running. For more information see: Retrieving passwords during AD disaster recovery scenarios (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows-server/identity/laps/laps-scenarios-windows-server-active-directory#retrieving-passwords-during-ad-disaster-recovery-scenarios).

Changes and Improvements

[General]

• Insider Preview Build Expiration: The expiration date for Insider Preview builds flighted to the Canary Channel has been updated to 9/15/2025 starting with Build 27691. Please make sure you are updated to the latest build in the Canary Channel.
  
• Some Insiders in the Canary Channel will begin to see an estimated time for how long their PC will be offline to install Build 27695. This estimate will be shown on the Windows Update settings page and via the Start menu power button.

[Notifications]

• If desired, there's now an option to turn off the suggestions to disable notifications (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/06/15/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22621-1900-and-22631-1900/) from certain apps. You can now press the "..." within the notification to disable the notification, as you can with other notifications, or you can go to the list of notification senders in Settings > System > Notifications and turn it off from there (called "Notification Suggestions" in the list). Note – this entry will only appear in the senders list after you have received one.
  

[Windows Share]

• We are rolling out the ability to easily share content to an Android device from Windows share window. The feature requires you to pair your Android device to your Windows PC using the Link to Windows app on Android and Phone Link on your PC.

[Notifications]

• If desired, there's now an option to turn off the suggestions to disable notifications (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/06/15/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22621-1900-and-22631-1900/) from certain apps. You can now press the "..." within the notification to disable the notification, as you can with other notifications, or you can go to the list of notification senders in Settings > System > Notifications and turn it off from there (called "Notification Suggestions" in the list). Note – this entry will only appear in the senders list after you have received one.
  

[Windows Share]

• We are rolling out the ability to easily share content to an Android device from Windows share window. The feature requires you to pair your Android device to your Windows PC using the Link to Windows app on Android and Phone Link on your PC.

[Widgets]

• We are rolling out an update to the Widgets Board to improve security and the APIs for creating widgets and feeds for users in EEA regions. As part of this update, the Microsoft Start Experiences app will power the Microsoft Start widget and feed experiences. Also, as part of this update, some existing widgets will be removed and others will be modified, temporarily affecting their functionality. This update sets the foundation for new widgets and other features in development, set to roll out soon.

Fixes

[File Explorer]

• Fixed an issue where when pressing WIN + E, a screen reader might unexpectedly say a pane had focus, or focus may not be set within File Explorer at all.
• Fixed an issue which was causing CTRL + F to sometimes not start a search in File Explorer.
• Fixed an issue where keyboard focus might get lost sometimes when doing Shift + Tab in File Explorer.
• Fixed an issue causing screen readers to not announce when you were opening or navigating items in the breadcrumb flyouts of the open or save dialog.
• Fixed an issue causing screen readers to not announce anything when opening or navigating items in the column header flyout in File Explorer.

[Task Manager]

• Fixed an issue where the colors in the Performance section weren't displayed correctly in dark mode.

[Windows Sandbox]

• Fixed an underlying issue which could cause Windows Sandbox to fail to launch with error 0x80070005 sometimes.

[Other]

• Fixed an issue where when installing Windows by booting from recent install media, it wouldn't make itself the default partition if another version of Windows was installed.
• Fixed an issue underlying issue causing dfrgui.exe (Defrag and Optimize drives) to fail in the previous flight with a pop up saying SXSHARED_UCRT.dll was not found. This is also believed to be the cause of seeing an error saying "the specified module could not be found" errors in that flight when trying to use the backup options in Control Panel.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27695 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/08/30/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-27695-canary-channel/) Update

Changes and Improvements

[Settings]

• [ADDED 9/3] We've updated the dialog when viewing your Wi-Fi password under Settings > Network & internet to match the Windows 11 visuals.
  

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27718 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/10/02/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-27718-canary-channel/)

We are also not planning to release SDKs for 27xxx series builds for the time being.

Changes and Improvements

[General]

• [REMINDER] Insider Preview Build Expiration: The expiration date for Insider Preview builds flighted to the Canary Channel has been updated to 9/15/2025 starting with Build 27695 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/08/30/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-27695-canary-channel/). Please make sure you are updated to the latest build in the Canary Channel.
  

[Lock screen]

• We have updated the Lock screen so that the media controls will now show at the lower bottom center of the Lock screen now when media is being played.

[Start menu]

• You can drag apps from the Pinned section of the menu and pin them to the taskbar.
• [ADDED] Based on feedback, we've made some updates to the new account manager on the Start menu (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/06/12/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26236-canary-channel/) making the sign out option directly visible, and adding a list of signed in users under "..." so it's faster to switch accounts.
  

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• Updated the taskbar to now support first letter navigation, so when keyboard focus is set to the taskbar (WIN + T), you can press a letter, and it will jump to the open or pinned app whose name starts with that letter. Pressing the letter multiple times will jump to the subsequent app which starts with that letter, if there are multiple apps for that letter. For those using uncombined taskbar, rather than app name, the first letter navigation will use window name. Along with this, pressing Home and End will now move keyboard focus to the first and last (respectively) items in the taskbar.

[Notifications]

• If desired, there's now an option to turn off the suggestions to disable notifications (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/06/15/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22621-1900-and-22631-1900/) from certain apps. You can now press the "..." within the notification to disable the notification, as you can with other notifications, or you can go to the list of notification senders in Settings > System > Notifications and turn it off from there (called "Notification Suggestions" in the list). Note – this entry will only appear in the senders list after you have received one.
  

[Windows Share]

• We're rolling out some minor UI changes to simplify the Windows share window which removes the search box.

[Narrator]

• We have made several changes to improve the performance of Narrator scan mode. This is expected to make scan mode responses much quicker, especially while using Microsoft Edge, and reading through large documents. To try out scan mode, turn on Narrator first (Win key + Ctrl + Enter), and then turn scan mode ON by pressing Caps Lock + Spacebar during a Narrator session.

[Energy Saver]

• For laptops on battery, a notification will pop up asking you to plug in your laptop if the battery level reaches 20% while Energy Saver is set to "Always On".

[Windows Update]

• We've made some small design improvements to the dialog that opens if there's something that needs your attention before proceeding with a Windows update, for example if more space is needed or there's a compatibility issue. This includes updating the icon sizes and spacing.

[Input]

• We have updated Settings > Bluetooth & Devices > Touch to have a new section for touch screen edge gestures, where you can choose if you would like to disable the left or right screen edge touch gesture. Note, this feature is rolling out so not all Insiders in the Canary Channel will see it right away.

[Administrator protection]

• Administrator protection is an upcoming platform security feature in Windows 11, which aims to protect free floating admin rights for administrator users allowing them to still perform all admin functions with just-in-time admin privileges. This feature is off by default and needs to be enabled via group policy. We plan to share more details about this feature at Microsoft Ignite (https://ignite.microsoft.com/).
  

Fixes

[General]

• Fixed an issue which was causing some Insiders to experience a hang at the boot screen and their PC to roll back with error 0xC1900101 when trying to upgrade to the previous flight.
• Fixed an issue in the last 2 Canary builds which was causing sporadic explorer.exe crashes when moving windows around.
• Fixed an issue causing some Insiders on the last 2 Canary builds to see a bugcheck with error message "SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION".

[Input]

• Fixed an issue causing the emoji panel to close when trying to switch to the kaomoji and symbols sections, or after selecting an emoji.
• Updated the logic for the setting "Press the lower right corner of the touchpad to right-click" Settings > Bluetooth & Devices > Touchpad so it shouldn't show in cases where the touchpad doesn't support the functionality.

[Widgets]

• Fixed an issue which could result in the Widgets icon unexpectedly displaying in the taskbar twice sometimes.

[Other]

• Fixed a high hitting wmiprvse.exe crash in the last 2 Canary flights.
• Fixed an issue which was causing certain apps (like Media Player) to crash when playing audio for some Insiders in the last 2 Canary flights.
• Fixed an issue for some Insiders with dual boot devices, where the boot menu (where you select which OS to boot into) wasn't displaying correctly (the color was wrong, and it might only display in half the available space).

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27723 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/10/09/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-27723-canary-channel/)

Changes and Improvements

[General]

• [REMINDER] Insider Preview Build Expiration: The expiration date for Insider Preview builds flighted to the Canary Channel has been updated to 9/15/2025 starting with Build 27695 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/08/30/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-27695-canary-channel/). Please make sure you are updated to the latest build in the Canary Channel.
  

[Search on the Taskbar]

• We are beginning to roll out the ability to share local files directly from within the search results shown in the search box on the taskbar.

[Voice Access]

• We are making improvements for the spelling and corrections experience in voice access. You can now use the experience for the entire voice access session. The spelling experience will now enable you to dictate the characters at a faster speed and offer more editing flexibility inside the experience with dictation commands, namely selection, deletion and text navigation commands.

[Fonts]

• There is a new simplified Chinese font (Simsun-ExtG) with 9,753 ideographs supporting Unicode Extensions G (https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U30000.pdf), H (https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U31350.pdf) and I (https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U2EBF0.pdf). Included is the highly requested character for Biangbiang noodles. This character U+30EDD is said to be the most complicated Chinese character, as you can see in the image below. We are aware that some applications may not be able to display these new extension characters yet.
  
  • Unicode range G 30000-3134A (4,939 chars)
  • Unicode range H 31350-323AF (4,192 chars)
  • Unicode range I 2EBF0-2EE5D (622 chars)

[Settings]

• The detach virtual hard disk (VHD/VHDx) button we added under Settings > System > Storage > Disks & Volumes introduced with Build 27686 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/08/15/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-27686-canary-channel) has temporarily been disabled starting with Build 27718 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/10/02/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-27718-canary-channel). We're working to re-enable this change in a future flight soon.
  

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27729 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/10/17/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-27729-canary-channel/)

Changes and Improvements

[Settings]

• We are adding the ability to configure the Copilot key (https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2024/01/04/introducing-a-new-copilot-key-to-kick-off-the-year-of-ai-powered-windows-pcs/). You can choose to have the Copilot key launch an app that is MSIX packaged and signed, thus indicating the app meets security and privacy requirements to keep customers safe. The key will continue to launch Copilot on devices that have the Copilot app installed until a customer selects a different experience. This setting can be found via Settings > Personalization > Text input. If the keyboard connected to your PC does not have a Copilot key, adjusting this setting will not do anything. We are planning further refinements to this experience in a future flight.
  

Fixes

[General]

• We fixed an underlying issue causing some games, including Microsoft Solitaire & Casual Games, to crash on launch after installing Build 27718+.

[Windowing]

• Fixed an underlying issue which could cause the screen to go black for a few seconds for some people when using ALT + Tab.

[Other]

• We fixed an issue causing BitLocker to not work correctly for a small number of Insiders in the last 2 flights.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27744 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/11/06/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-27744-canary-channel/)

What's new with

New Processor Feature Support in Prism
In today's Canary Channel Insider Preview build, we're previewing a major feature update to Prism (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/arm/apps-on-arm-x86-emulation#prism), our emulator for Windows on Arm, that will make it possible for more 64-bit x86 (x64) applications to run under emulation by adding support for more CPU features under emulation.

This new support in Prism is already in limited use today in the retail version of Windows 11, version 24H2, where it enables the ability to run Adobe Premiere Pro 25 (https://www.adobe.com/products/premiere.html) on Arm. Starting with Build 27744, the support is being opened to any x64 application under emulation. You may find some games or creative apps that were blocked due to CPU requirements before will be able to run using Prism on this build of Windows.

At a technical level, the virtual CPU used by x64 emulated applications through Prism will now have support for additional extensions to the x86 instruction set architecture. These extensions include AVX and AVX2, as well as BMI, FMA, F16C, and others, that are not required to run Windows but have become sufficiently commonplace that some apps expect them to be present. You can see some of the new features in the output of a tool like Coreinfo64.exe (https://learn.microsoft.com/sysinternals/downloads/coreinfo).

Note that in today's preview, only x64 applications can use these new CPU features. If you have a 32-bit app or a 64-bit app that uses a 32-bit helper to detect CPU feature support, that app won't detect the new features in Prism.

We welcome any feedback from Insiders who are interested in trying out apps and games using this early preview of Prism. Please submit any feedback on compatibility issues or performance regressions through the Feedback Hub (Win + F) under Apps and the specific app you're seeing issues with (if you don't see the app listed, use "All other apps") to help us to ensure that this updated Prism provides a great experience.

Thanks for helping us improve emulation on Windows. We're excited to see customers able to run more apps and games that they care about on Windows on Arm!

Changes and Improvements

[Start menu]

• "All apps" is now just "All" on the Start menu.

[Input]

• We're beginning to roll out a new Gamepad keyboard layout for the on-screen keyboard in Windows 11 that supports the ability to use your Xbox controller to navigate and type. This includes button accelerators (example: X button for backspace, Y button for spacebar) additionally the keyboard keys have been vertically aligned for better controller navigation patterns.

[Task Manager]

• We've updated the design of the Disconnect and Logoff dialogs in Task Manager to now support dark mode and text scaling.
• In the Performance section we now label listed disks with their type.

[Settings]

• The detach virtual hard disk (VHD/VHDx) button we added under Settings > System > Storage > Disks & Volumes introduced with Build 27686 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/08/15/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-27686-canary-channel/) is now back with this build after being temporarily disabled starting with Build 27718 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/10/02/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-27718-canary-channel/).
  

Fixes

[General]

• We fixed the issue causing some Insiders with PCs that have older NVIDIA GPUs (like the GTX 970, Quadro K620, etc.) to experience issues where their displays appear stuck at a black screen and unresponsive or seeing their GPUs showing errors in Device Manager and not working correctly.

[Input]

• Fixed an underlying issue causing the Emoji Panel and Clipboard History to not open in certain surfaces anymore, including in Registry Editor.
• Fixed an underlying issue which could lead to clipboard history not displaying items you'd copied.

[Windows Sandbox]

• Fixed an issue impacting performance of Windows Sandbox for some Insiders after the latest updates (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/08/15/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-27686-canary-channel/).
  

Graphics]

• Fixed an which could lead dynamic refresh rate to get stuck at 60Hz on first boot.

[Other]

• Fixed an issue causing some Insiders to see a bugcheck with error PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA starting in Build 27723.
• Fixed an issue causing remote desktop connection (mstsc.exe) to crash in the previous flight.
• Fixed a msmpeg2vdec.dll related issue in the last couple flights which was leading to some apps crashing.
• Fixed an issue where rotation info about JPGs couldn't be queried via APIs (for example, via PowerShell).
• Fixed an underlying issue which was causing the Get-WindowsCapability command to get into a state sometimes where it would fail unexpectedly until rebooting your PC.
• Fixed an issue causing mica to not work correctly when using a slideshow for your desktop background.
• Fixed an issue which could lead to certain apps not detecting a scanner, although one was connected.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27749 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/11/13/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-27749-canary-channel/)

Changes and Improvements

[Narrator]

• We have added a new shortcut "Narrator key + control + X" to copy what Narrator last spoke to clipboard. It follows the pattern of using "Narrator key + X" which repeats the last spoken phrase out loud and is a good way to memorize similar shortcuts. You can use these shortcuts to review and copy what Narrator spoke, useful in cases you want to quickly copy some content or descriptions or codes/numbers for use.
• Narrator will now auto-read contents of a mail in the new Outlook (https://support.microsoft.com/office/getting-started-with-the-new-outlook-for-windows-656bb8d9-5a60-49b2-a98b-ba7822bc7627) app similar to behavior in Outlook classic.
  

Fixes

[File Explorer]

• Fixed an issue which was causing the items in the navigation pane to become very spread out (with unexpected padding between each item) for some people.
• Fixed an underlying issue which was causing RAW images taken in portrait mode to unexpectedly display in landscape mode thumbnails.

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• Made a change so you will now see a search box if the taskbar auto-hides when the setting for search on the taskbar is set to "Search box" (rather than an icon).

[Input]

• Updated the mouse option "Show location of pointer when I press the CTRL key", so that the circles displayed are now DPI-aware, and aren't really small on high DPI monitors.

[Narrator]

• We have addressed a performance issue where Narrator would slow down after 15 minutes of continuous use with a single application. If you continue to experience any performance delays, do report using Feedback Hub.
• Fixed an issue where Narrator would add an additional announcement "contains style" whenever its focus is on text that has styling attributes such as bullets, numbers across applications such as Microsoft Edge, Teams, Outlook, etc.
• Fixed an issue where few dialogs in Narrator were not adopting the 200% text scaling setting in Windows.

[Task Manager]

• Fixed an issue causing Task Manager to show a 0 count for apps and processes.

[Audio]

• Fixed an underlying issue that could lead to the audio on certain audio devices unexpectedly going to 100% on boot or after sleep.
• Fixed a blank entry in Settings > Privacy, which was crashing Settings if you clicked it.

[Other]

• Mitigated an issue resulting in Git not working for Insiders with Arm PCs in the previous flight.
• Fixed an issue causing some insiders to see a bugcheck with KERNEL_MODE_HEAP_CORRUPTION in the previous flight.
• Fixed an underlying issue which could potentially lead to not being able to join a domain.
• Fixed an issue where DirectAccess wasn't working and might stay stuck in a connecting state.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27754 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/11/20/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-27754-canary-channel/)

Modernized Windows Hello

At Microsoft, we are committed to security and enhancing user experiences. As part of this commitment, we launched enhanced passkey features in September 2023 (//'https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2023/09/21/new-microsoft-security-tools-to-protect-families-and-businesses/) and are now revamping the Windows Hello user experience. This represents a significant update to Windows Hello, aligning it with contemporary Windows visual design standards. The primary focus is on making authentication intuitive and seamless.

Modernized Windows Hello Visual Communication: The updated Windows Hello visuals are designed to facilitate fast and clear communication and appear on the Windows Sign-in screen as well as other authentication flows such as passkey, Microsoft Store and many more.

Revamped Windows Hello credential user experience for passkeys and the new administrator protection experience: We redesigned Windows security credential user experiences for passkey creating a cleaner experience that supports secured and quick authentication. Users will now be able to switch between authentication options and select passkey/devices more intuitively.

This experience will also apply for the new administrator protection feature coming to Windows 11, version 24H2 and higher and currently in preview with Windows Insiders in the most recent Canary Channel builds (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/10/02/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-27718-canary-channel/). For more information on administrator protection – you can check out this blog post (https://aka.ms/AdminProtection) that highlights our investments in adminlesss experiences in Windows from Microsoft Ignite.

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

Changes and Improvements

[General]

• If you hold Shift and CTRL when clicking on a jump list item in Start menu or taskbar, this will now launch that item as admin, just like if you were to do Shift + CTRL and click the app icon itself. For example, if you right-click on Windows Terminal, and hold Shift and CTRL when you click PowerShell, it would open a PowerShell window as admin.

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• We've updated the previews that show when you mouse-over/hover over apps on the taskbar. We have also improved the animations for when these previews show on the taskbar based on Insider feedback.

• We are trying out a more simplified system tray to highlight the date/time in a shortened form and to show the notifications bell icon based on DND status. Without the notification bell icon, you can get to your notifications by clicking the date and time to Notification Center. You can revert to the long form of the date/time and bell icon visuals by toggling the values in the Settings via Settings > Date and Time under "Show time and day in the system tray" and Settings > System > Notifications under "Notifications". These settings are also accessible through the context menu shown by right clicking the system tray clock/bell icon button.

Fixes

[General]

• Fixed the issue with applying policy for the Digital Markets Act in EEA regions in Build 27749 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/11/13/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-27749-canary-channel/).
  
• Fixed an issue where an update failing and rolling back could potentially result in a duplicate Windows entry in the boot menu.

[File Explorer]

• Fixed an underlying issue which was causing RAW images taken in portrait mode to unexpectedly display in landscape mode thumbnails.
• Did some work so the search box in File Explorer shouldn't draw off the end of the window anymore.

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• Fixed an issue on secondary monitors for left aligned taskbar users, where the widgets text in the taskbar might overlap the date and time.

[Input]

• Fixed an underlying issue which could cause the mouse to unlock from a game window on a system with multiple monitors after opening and closing Game Bar, so you couldn't use it within the game.

[Other]

• Fixed an underlying issue causing some apps used for remoting into other PCs to crash in the latest Canary builds.
• Fixed an issue causing some Insiders to see bugchecks with SYSTEM THREAD EXCEPTION NOT HANDLED in the latest Canary builds.
• Fixed an issue where sfc /scannow was unexpectedly showing errors every time it was run.
• Fixed an underlying issue which could lead to Registry Editor going unresponsive if you pressed Alt after clicking on the license information in the About section.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27758 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/12/04/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-27758-canary-channel/)

Fixes

[File Explorer]

• Did some work so the search box in File Explorer shouldn't draw off the end of the window anymore.

[Taskbar]

• Fixed an issue where right clicking on app icons in the taskbar might crash explorer.exe in the previous flight.

[Input]

• Fixed an issue for some people where the mouse cursor would become invisible when hovering over text fields in certain apps.

[Desktop]

• Fixed an issue where your desktop background might not show correctly sometimes with multiple monitors (showing big black areas).

[Task Manager]

• We are beginning to roll out a fix for the issue where if you resized Task Manager to be larger while settings was open, the Mica (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/apps/design/style/mica) background wouldn't align with the new window size.
  

[Narrator]

• Fixed an issue in the previous flight which caused Narrator to crash on launch if you used one of the natural voices (like Jenny).

[Audio]

• Fixed an underlying issue which could lead to USB audio devices going to sleep after 1 minute of idle time, and not waking up until the PC was rebooted.
• Fixed an underlying issue which could lead you to unexpectedly hear a mute or unmute noise in certain headsets.

[Settings]

• Fixed an issue which could cause Settings to crash when selecting your default audio device.

[Other]

• Fixed an issue which could cause an unexpected black line along the top border of a window.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27764 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/12/11/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-27764-canary-channel/)

Changes and Improvements

[Start menu]

• When right-clicking on apps pinned to the Start menu, jump lists will be shown for apps that have them such as PowerPoint.

[Dynamic Lighting]

• When no compatible devices are attached, the Dynamic Lighting settings page will now show a placeholder message and Brightness and Effects controls are disabled.
• On the Dynamic Lighting settings page, we have added Forward, Backward, Outward and Inward direction options to the Wave effect, and added the Forward direction option to the Gradient effect.

[Input]

• We are beginning to roll out a change where we now hide the IME toolbar when apps are in full screen mode for those who have the IME toolbar enabled and type in Chinese or Japanese.

[Narrator]

• We have added new functionalities to Narrator scan mode. Skip past links (N') allows you to navigate to the text after a link. This is most helpful when navigating through long emails, news articles, and wiki pages. Jump to lists (L') allows you to quickly access a list on a web page or a document. To try these new features, you need to turn on Narrator first (Win key + Ctrl + Enter), then turn scan mode ON by pressing Caps Lock + Spacebar and finally use the new shortcuts – 'N' and 'L'. Please note that scan mode is 'ON' by default on most web pages (like news articles, wiki page, etc.).

[Speech in Windows]

• We have improved our speech-to-text and text-to-speech experience on Windows. Users of Narrator, voice access, live captions, live translations, and voice typing might see a message asking them to update their language files manually. The language files will be released separately through Microsoft Store.

Fixes

[General]

• Fixed an issue causing some Insiders to see a bugcheck with error PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA while using their PC starting with Build 27754.

[File Explorer]

• We did some work to help address an issue where File Explorer might hang when browsing a folder with lots of media in it.

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• Fixed an issue on secondary monitors for left aligned taskbar users, where the widgets text in the taskbar might overlap the date and time.

[Input]

• Fixed an issue where if pointer trails were enabled, the mouse cursor may become invisible with a black box behind it.

[Task Manager]

• Fixed an issue where some HDDs were being incorrectly listed as SSD on the Performance page.

[Display]

• Fixed an issue which could result in lag and screen tearing on secondary monitors with full screen windows.

[Other]

• Fixed an underlying issue which could lead to Excel sometimes hanging on launch when opening certain files.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27766 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/01/03/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-27766-canary-channel/)

Changes and Improvements

[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

[General]

• We fixed the issue where if you roll back from Build 27764 to an earlier build (including if the upgrade failed), you would see an "Your organization used App Control for Business to block this app" dialog when attempting to use or install certain third-party apps on your PC due to an incorrect policy being enforced.
• As of the latest Insider Preview builds in the Canary Channel, the main issues causing Insiders to experience an increase in rollbacks (with error code 0xc190010) when attempting to upgrade have been addressed. As a reminder, 0xc190010 is a generic error code that has multiple root causes, so if you're continuing to experience issues, please file feedback (WIN + F) to investigate.

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• Fixed an underlying issue which was causing some Insiders in Canary to experience frequent explorer.exe crashes after they clean installed or reset their PC.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27768 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/01/09/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-27768-canary-channel/)

Changes and Improvements

[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.

[File Explorer]

• We've added a New Folder option in the context menu when right-clicking locations in the navigation pane.

[Settings]

• The ability to change time zones is available again under Settings > Time & Language > Date & Time for standard (non-admin) users.

Fixes

[File Explorer]

• Fixed an issue where the date/time properties of files were unexpectedly updated in some cases after copying them.
• Fixed an issue where File Explorer may sometimes lose focus on the search box while typing.
• Fixed an issue where when you did a search it may unexpectedly trigger the search happening repeatedly.
• Fixed an issue where the Details Pane icons weren't responding correctly to theme changes, making it hard to see if you switched from dark to light or vice versa.
• Fixed a black flash in File Explorer that appeared when duplicating a tab.

[Input]

• Fixed an issue which could lead to the mouse cursor unexpectedly stuttering when you moved it around sometimes.

[Graphics]

• Fixed an underlying issue which could result in some games appearing oversaturated when using Auto HDR.

[Other]

• Fixed an issue causing some Insiders in Canary to experience bugchecks with error PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27774 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/01/16/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-27774-canary-channel/)

Changes and Improvements

[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.

[Windows Setup]

• When installing Windows from installation media, you will now see a confirmation dialog when formatting or deleting partitions.

[Administrator protection]

• Administrator protection can now be enabled from Windows Security settings under the Account Protection tab. This allows users to enable this feature without requiring help from IT admins. It also allows Windows home users to enable Administrator protection via Windows Security settings. Changing this setting requires a Windows reboot.
• With administrator protection enabled, the prompt requesting the user's authorization for elevating untrusted and unsigned applications now comes with expanded color-coded regions which will now extend down over the app description.

Fixes

[General]

• Fixed an underlying issue causing accent colored window borders to not be not displayed when enabled, shadows around windows not displaying when enabled, and window launching (and other) animations to show even though the setting to show animations is turned off in the latest Canary builds.

[Other]

• Fixed an underlying issue which was causing the Xbox app to fail to launch with a "Please try again" error sometimes in the last two Canary builds.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27783 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/01/29/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-27783-canary-channel/)

What's new with Build 27783

Shared Content in File Explorer Home
File Explorer will now provide you with quick access to files that have been shared with you. If you are signed into Windows with your Microsoft account, you will be able to view files that have been shared with your account, such as email, Teams chat, etc. If you are a commercial customer who is signed-in with your Microsoft Entra ID account, you will additionally be able to view files that they have shared with others. You can access this feature by launching File Explorer Home and clicking on the 'Shared' tab item.

You will also be able to view a broader set of file types in their Recent, Favorites, and Shared sections on the homepage. For example, if you've recently opened/edited files in Designer, Loop, Power BI, Forms, etc. these files will now be available in your Recent list.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Files Folders and Online Storage > File Explorer.

Changes and Improvements

[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.

[Magnifier]

• We're adding a new keyboard shortcut CTRL + ALT + Minus for Magnifier users to quickly toggle between the current zoom and 1X zoom.
• In addition to the keyboard shortcut CTRL + ALT + Minus to quickly toggle between the current zoom and 1X zoom, we have also added buttons in Magnifier to reset zoom to fit to screen and reset zoom to your last/preferred magnification.

Fixes

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• Fixed an issue which was causing the taskbar preview windows to not display sometimes when hovering over open apps in the taskbar.

[Input]

• Fixed an issue for Pinyin IME users, where switching between windows (like with ALT + Tab) may unexpectedly switch the IME from Chinese to English.

[Windowing]

• Fixed an underlying issue which could lead to unexpected app window freezes for some people when using ALT + Tab between certain types of apps.

[Graphics]

• Fixed an issue causing Settings to crash when going to Settings > System > Display > Graphics for some people.

[Remote Desktop]

• Fixed an issue causing MTSC.exe for Remote Desktop to fail on the previous build with error 0x80080005.
• Fixed an issue which was causing Remote Desktop to show significant display / rendering issues when connecting to certain other computers.

[Other]

• Fixed an underlying issue which was causing an explorer.exe memory leak in recent Canary Channel builds, leading to performance issues over time.
• Fixed an issue where the shutdown (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows-server/administration/windows-commands/shutdown) /r/ /fw command wasn't working sometimes.
  

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27788 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/02/05/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-27788-canary-channel/)

What's new with Build 27788

Windows MIDI Services Public Preview
We're excited to release the first in-box public preview of Windows MIDI Services (https://aka.ms/midi), our complete rewrite of MIDI on Windows with a focus on a great experience for musicians and a strong foundation for future expansion and enhancement.

MIDI is the standard (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIDI), first released in 1983, that is used to synchronize synthesizers and drum machines in almost all modern electronic music. It's used to record and play back note information, control stage lights and effects, keep mixers in a large venue in sync, and so much more. Although it is not itself audio, the MIDI protocol is essential to making music and was heavily used in the rise of hip-hop and other genres. MIDI 2.0 (https://midi.org/) is the first major update to the core MIDI protocol since 1983, offering everything that modern musicians need today, like increased speed and fidelity, better control of instruments, modern bi-directional conversations and negotiation between instruments, discovery, better USB timing, and more.

Windows MIDI Services is our new MIDI stack which handles not only MIDI 2.0 but also brings our MIDI 1.0 implementation up to modern expectations. It works on 64-bit operating systems on all supported processors, including Arm64. Windows MIDI Services offers the following benefits:

• Full support of the MIDI 2.0 Standard, including high-speed data transmission, higher-fidelity messages, increased resolution for controller values, and full in-service MIDI 2.0 endpoint discovery and protocol negotiation.
  
• Faster transports, leading to better timing and reduced jitter.
  
• Faster USB MIDI driver with full support for both MIDI 1.0 and MIDI 2.0.
  
• Every endpoint is now multi-client, meaning multiple apps can use a device at the same time.
  
• Better endpoint and port
• In-service scheduling of outgoing timestamped messages, and timestamped incoming messages, for apps using the new Windows MIDI Services App SDK (https://aka.ms/midireleases).
  
• Built-in loopback and app-to-app MIDI
  
• Automatic translation between MIDI 1.0 and MIDI 2.0 based on API, application, and device needs.
  
• Much more device metadata available to applications.
  
• Better device add/update/remove notifications.
• Backwards compatibility with our WinMM (MME) MIDI 1.0 API (and WinRT MIDI 1.0 in the future) enabling applications to light up with new features without any changes, and even access MIDI 2.0 devices at a MIDI 1.0 feature level.
  
• Open source. The MIDI Service, all its transports, all the tools, the tests, and the SDK are all MIT-licensed open source, and have been developed in concert with hardware and software partners around the world.
  

New USB MIDI 2.0 Class Driver: The new USB MIDI 2.0 Class Driver, graciously provided to Microsoft by AMEI (Association of Musical Electronics Industry of Japan) and written by AmeNote, is a high-speed USB MIDI driver which works with both the new USB MIDI 2.0 devices, as well as with class-compliant USB MIDI 1.0 devices. By default, for compatibility, this is enabled only for USB MIDI 2.0 devices and a handful of USB MIDI 1.0 devices. However, you may manually assign this driver to any class-compliant USB MIDI 1.0 device yourself to gain the better transfer mechanisms. We also have several built-in transports for things that were not previously available without third-party drivers. Learn more about the built-in transports here (https://microsoft.github.io/MIDI/endpoints/README.html).

Windows MIDI Services App SDK and Tools: Applications using Windows MIDI Services do so through the Windows MIDI Services App SDK, shipped out-of-band. Current preview releases are available on our GitHub repo releases page (https://aka.ms/midireleases). Please note that these are unsigned releases and so will give you a warning when you download and install. In addition to installing the required runtime components, the SDK runtime installer includes these tools:

• Windows MIDI Services Console (midi.exe): The all-around console tool (https://microsoft.github.io/MIDI/console/midi-console.html) for sending messages, checking the state of MIDI, monitoring incoming messages, sending System Exclusive, and much more.
  
• MIDI Diagnostics (mididiag.exe): A tech support tool which provides information about the state of MIDI on the PC.
• MIDI Kernel Streaming Endpoint Info (midiksinfo.exe): A hardware developer-focused tool which provides information about the KS (Kernel Streaming) endpoints.
• MIDI multicast dynamic DNS Info (midimdnsinfo.exe): A tool to support the upcoming Network MIDI 2.0 transport.

The Windows MIDI Services App SDK also includes the MIDI Settings app – a desktop application for managing endpoints, renaming endpoints and ports, creating loopback devices, managing your network MIDI 2.0 connections, and more.

In addition, we're currently working on our Network MIDI 2.0 transport, recently demonstrated at the NAMM Show in California, the virtual patch-bay to enable routing between endpoints, and a rewrite of our BLE MIDI 1.0 transport. This will all ship in a future version of Windows MIDI Services.

We look forward to having Windows Insiders who dabble in music creation try out the Windows MIDI Services Public Preview and MIDI 2.0. Try out using existing applications that use the WinMM MIDI 1.0 function with the new Windows MIDI Services installed. Additionally, any MIDI 1.0 devices with specific IHV drivers. You can also join the discussion here on Discord (//'https://aka.ms/mididiscord') if you have questions or are looking to help! You will find a list of known issues documented here (//'https://aka.ms/midirepo').

Ability to seamlessly resume OneDrive files in 1-click from your phone to PC
We are gradually rolling out the ability to seamlessly resume working on OneDrive files from your phone (iOS and Android) on your Windows 11 PC with a single click. With this feature, you will get a notification asking you if you want to pick up where you left off editing a OneDrive file like a Word doc that you last viewed or edited on your phone within a 5-minute time window preceding unlocking your PC.

Upon clicking on this notification, the same file that you were viewing or editing previously on your phone will open in your default browser on your PC.

Here are some important details about how this feature works:

• This feature works only when signing into OneDrive with a Microsoft account. Work and school accounts are not supported. And you need to be using the same Microsoft account signing into OneDrive on your phone and signing into your Windows 11 PC.
• This feature supports Word docs, Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations, OneNote notebooks/pages, and PDFs.
• The OneDrive file must be opened on your phone when your PC is locked. If you then unlock your PC within 5 minutes of accessing the file on your phone, you will receive the resume notification as noted above.
  
• For the best experience using this feature, you should be logged into OneDrive in your default browser on your PC.

This feature can be managed and turned off via Settings > Apps > Resume.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Devices and Drivers -> Linked Phone.

Changes and Improvements

[File Explorer]

• When "Restore previous folder windows at logon" is enabled in File Explorer, we will also now restore all the extra tabs which you previously had open in each File Explorer window. As part of this work, we have also updated the logic for the "Automatically save my restartable apps and restart them when I sign back in" setting via Settings > Accounts > Sign in options, so that when you enable this, we will automatically enable the File Explorer specific setting for you too.
• We're adding a new option to snooze or turn off the "Start backup" reminder in the File Explorer address bar, for those that aren't already backing up their Documents, Pictures, or Desktop folders. This option is available when you right-click "Start backup".

[Settings]

• We are starting to roll out the Settings homepage for commercial customers on PCs managed by an IT administrator. The feature will show some existing cards relevant to enterprise-managed PCs like "Recommended settings" and "Bluetooth devices" as well as two new enterprise-specific device info and accessibility preferences cards. For commercial customers who also use their Microsoft account on their managed PC, there will also be a new accounts card indicating the presence of both work and school and Microsoft account types. We are starting the rollout of this gradually with managed commercial PCs who have both work and school, and Microsoft accounts presently seeing this experience first.

Fixes

[General]

• Fixed an issue in Build 27783 which was causing multiple surfaces (including the taskbar, search, Settings, and lock screen) to cyclically crash for a small number of Insiders.

[Other]

• Fixed an issue which was causing some Insiders to have a SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION bugcheck in Build 27783.
• Fixed an issue where the description for virtual NICs wasn't displayed correctly in ncpa.cpl, it showed garbled characters.
• Fixed an underlying issue which could cause scanning apps to not detect a scanner, although one was connected.
• Improved the colors used in MMC when items are selected, both generally, and when contrast modes are enabled.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27802 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/02/28/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-27802-canary-channel/)

What's new with Build 27802

Improving the battery iconography in Windows 11
Introducing new and improved battery icons in Windows 11! These icons have been designed to communicate the battery status of your PC with just a quick glance. Key changes include colored icons to indicate charging states, simplified overlays that don't block the progress bar, and an option to turn on battery percentage.

When your battery icon is green, this shows that your PC is charging and in a good state. A yellow battery icon will let you know that your PC using battery in energy saving mode – this automatically happens when your battery is less than or equal to 20% to preserve power. When the battery icon is red, you have a critically low battery and should plug in your PC as soon as possible. You will see these new battery icons on the taskbar in the system tray, in the quick settings flyout, and in Settings. The new battery icons will begin showing on the Lock screen in a future flight.

As always, your PC's battery status and more will also be available to you when you hover over the battery icon in the system tray and under Settings > System > Power & battery where you can also adjust the battery level percentage in which energy saver mode kicks on for your PC.

Along with the updates to the battery icon, we are also introducing the ability to show your battery percentage next to the battery icon in the system tray – a highly requested feature by Insiders and customers. To enable this, go to Settings > Power & battery and toggle on the "Battery Percentage" setting.

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

Changes and Improvements

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• We are rolling out the ability to share files directly from the jump lists on the taskbar, which appears when you right-click on an app with a jump list like Notepad the taskbar.

[Spotlight on the desktop]

• We're beginning to roll out some changes to the Desktop Spotlight icon interaction model for Windows Insiders. You can now quickly and easily discover more information about your background image by simply hovering over or clicking on the "Learn about this picture" icon on your desktop.

Fixes

[General]

• We fixed the issue causing Insiders to see an error trying to install Build 27788 (0x8007000d) along with a failed .NET update (0x80073712). This issue should not occur with Build 27798.

[File Explorer]

• Fixed an issue where if you opened a File Explorer window and minimized it, it might not be rendered correctly when you restore it.

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• Fixed an issue when using multiple monitors, where the distance between the date and time and edge of the screen wasn't consistent.

[Input]

• Fixed an issue where if you were using a non-default mouse color (enabled in Settings > Accessibility > Mouse pointer and touch), it may unexpectedly revert back to white when you encountered a UAC dialog.

[Lock Screen]

• Fixed an issue which was causing the login screen to crash when clicking the "sign-in options" link for some Insiders.

[Administrator Protection]

• Fixed a rare issue when Administrator Protection was enabled, which could cause you to see a resource loader cache error loading the MUI file on sign in.
• Removed extraneous space between Dynamic Lock and Administrator Protection under Account Protection in Windows Security.
• Fixed an issue where Administrator Protection wasn't showing in the results if you searched from the taskbar.

[Audio]

• Fixed an issue causing a small percentage of Insiders to not be able to hear audio in the last couple builds due to a background audio crash.

[Remote Desktop]

• Fixed an issue in the last two Canary Channel builds where if you used remote desktop to connect to your PC and then tried to sign into the computer locally, it would sit at a black screen.

[Other]

• Fixed an underlying issue causing some Insiders to see a bugcheck with WIN32K_CRITICAL_FAILURE in recent builds.
• Fixed an underlying issue causing some Insiders to see a bugcheck with KERNEL_SECURITY_CHECK_FAILURE in recent builds.
• Fixed an issue where SFC /scannow is showing errors every time it was run.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27808 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/03/07/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-27808-canary-channel/)

Changes and Improvements

[Task Manager]

• We are beginning to roll out a change to the way Task Manager calculates CPU utilization for the Processes, Performance, and Users pages. Task Manager will now use the standard metrics to display CPU workload consistently across all pages and aligning with industry standards and third-party tools. For backward compatibility, a new optional column called CPU Utility is available (hidden by default) on the Details tab showing the previous CPU value used on the Processes page.

Fixes

[Gaming]

• Fixed an issue leading to some popular games like Roblox potentially having a bugcheck (green screen) on launch on Build 27802.

[Printing]

• Fixed an issue where printing from some apps might cause a bugcheck (green screen) on Build 27802.

[Search]

• Fixed an issue causing the search window to be blank for some Insiders recently when searching from the taskbar, due to a background crash.

[Graphics]

• Fixed an underlying issue which could lead to Settings crashing when adding a color profile in Settings > System > Display.
• Fixed an issue which could cause color profiles to not load correctly after waking your PC from sleep.

[Power and Battery]

• Fixed an issue where the colors in the new battery icon weren't displayed correctly when you have your mode in Personalization > Colors set to certain options with Custom.

[BitLocker]

• We did some work to improve the performance of loading early boot UI including the BitLocker PIN, BitLocker Recovery key, and boot menu screens.
• Fixed an issue for a small number of Insiders which was causing a BitLocker loop in Build 27802.
• Fixed an issue in recent flights where if you tried to run Get-BitLockerVolume, it unexpectedly showed an error.

[Other]

• We believe one of the underlying changes in the previous flight addressed the issue causing reports that Hyper-V, and other features which rely on Hyper-V (such as WSL) weren't working properly. If you continue having issues, please don't hesitate to file a new piece of feedback in the Feedback Hub.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27813 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/03/12/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-27813-canary-channel/)

Changes and Improvements

[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.

[Other]

• We are removing the Location History feature, an API used by Cortana to access 24 hours of device history when location was enabled. With the removal of the Location History feature, location data will no longer be saved locally, and the corresponding settings are also being removed from Settings > Privacy & security > Location page.

Fixes

[Audio]

• Fixed an issue with the WDMAud system driver (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows-hardware/drivers/audio/user-mode-wdm-audio-components) which was leading to some app crashes after the recent MIDI work.
  

[Settings]

• Fixed an issue where in Settings > System > Display > Color Management, it might not display the expected color profile list for the selected monitor.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27818 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/03/19/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-27818-canary-channel/)

Changes and Improvements

[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.

[Windows Security]

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

[Other]

• Suggested actions that appear when you copy a phone number or future date in Windows 11 are now deprecated (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/whats-new/deprecated-features). We are disabling this feature.
  

Fixes

[General]

• Fixed a d3d9.dll crash which was causing multiple apps to fail to launch starting with Build 27802 for some Insiders.

[File Explorer]

• Did some more work to improve the performance of extracting zipped files in File Explorer, particularly where you're unzipping a large number of small files.
• Fixed an issue where File Explorer Home might not load correctly and just show random floating text saying "Name".

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• Fixed an issue with the taskbar app window previews, where the corners of the flyout weren't drawn with the correct radius in certain cases.
• Fixed an issue where the underlines under app icons in the taskbar may get stuck showing even if the app had been closed.

[Input]

• Fixed a high hitting ctmon.exe crash, which could impact the ability to type.

[Settings]

• Fixed an underlying issue which could result in Settings failing to launch with "The instruction at 0x00007FFEDEBDC003 referenced memory at 0x0000000000000010. The memory could not be read". If impacted, you might also see a similar error message with RuntimeBroker.exe.
• Fixed an issue for Japanese users, where the name displayed at the top of Settings > Accounts showed First Name Last Name instead of Last Name First Name.

[Graphics]

• Fixed an issue which could cause sluggish video when using multiple monitors after changing from Second Screen Only to Duplicate display mode in the latest Canary builds.
• Made a couple of fixes to address issues which could cause Settings > System > Display > Graphics to crash.
• "Fixed an underlying issue which could lead to certain games failing to launch after an upgrade, saying DirectX function CreateComputePipelineState failed with E_INVALIDARG or StorePipeline failed with E_UNEXPECTED.

[Admin Protection]

• Fixed an issue which could cause Visual Studio Code to not be able to be installed when Admin Protection was enabled.

[Remote Desktop]

• Fixed an issue which could lead to Remote Desktop freezing when connecting.

[Other]

• Fixed an underlying issue which was causing certain apps to fail to open with an error saying "The application was unable to load a required virtual machine component".

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27823 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/03/26/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-27823-canary-channel/)

Changes and Improvements

[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

[File Explorer]

• Fixed an issue where File Explorer might be blank and not render if you ALT + Tab to it from a minimized state in the latest Canary builds.
• Fixed an issue where the see more menu "..." in the command bar was drawing in the wrong direction at some resolutions.
• As part of our ongoing commitment to improving File Explorer accessibility, this release includes increased support for the text scaling (via Settings > Accessibility > Text size) across File Explorer, File Open/Save dialogs and the copy dialogs.

[Input]

• Fixed an issue which could cause a ctfmon.exe crash when copying content from certain apps.
• Fixed an issue where GetRawInputData (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/win32/api/winuser/nf-winuser-getrawinputdata) was unexpectedly failing to read data in some cases, with lastWin32Errror invalid handle error.
  

[Login and Lock]

• Fixed an issue where clicking Sign in Options was crashing for some Insiders.

[Settings]

• Fixed an issue which could cause Settings to crash when interacting with Bluetooth & Devices > Cameras.
• Fixed an issue causing some unexpected space at the top of System > Sound, and some other Settings pages.

[Printing]

• Fixed an issue where non-admin users couldn't uninstall printers that they'd added.
• Fixed an issue which was causing some Insiders to unexpectedly see a message saying a Send to OneNote driver for printing wasn't working.

[Other]

• Fixed an issue which was causing certain apps to fail to install in Builds 27813+.
• Fixed an underlying issue which was causing some Insiders to unexpectedly get bugchecks with UNSUPPORTED_PROCESSOR when upgrading or clean installing the latest builds.
• Fixed an issue where when using CopyPixels (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/win32/api/wincodec/nf-wincodec-iwicbitmapsource-copypixels) the pixels may be unexpectedly inverted in certain cases.
  
• Fixed an issue in the latest Canary builds where traffic routing might not work correctly when network adapters were connected.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27842 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/04/23/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-27842-canary-channel/)

Changes and Improvements

[General]

• The improved battery iconography in Windows 11 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/02/28/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-27802-canary-channel/) may disappear for Windows Insiders in the current flights. We're beginning to re-roll this change out to Windows Insiders.
  
• We're previewing a new, more streamlined UI for unexpected restarts which better aligns with Windows 11 design principles and supports our goal of getting users back into productivity as fast as possible. We've simplified your experience while preserving the technical information on the screen. As a reminder, for Windows Insiders this appears as a "green screen". This is currently rolling out to Windows Insiders on Windows 11, version 24H2 and higher in the Beta, Dev, and Canary Channels.

[Windows Security]

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

[Other]

• Support for the Visual Studio Graphics Analyzer's shader debugging feature is being removed. In this build, attempting to use it may crash Visual Studio or the analysis session. It is recommended that customers use alternative graphics debuggers such as PIX (https://devblogs.microsoft.com/pix/download/) for D3D12 or RenderDoc (https://renderdoc.org/).
  
• We're removing the bypassnro.cmd script from the build to enhance security and user experience of Windows 11. This change ensures that all users exit setup with internet connectivity and a Microsoft Account.

Fixes

[General]

• Fixed the issue causing the toggle to get the latest updates as they are available via Settings > Windows Update to not render correctly and automatically turn off by itself.
• Fixed an issue in the latest builds causing some Insiders to see a bugcheck with WHEA_UNCORRECTABLE_ERROR doing various actions on their PC.

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• Fixed an issue impacting explorer.exe reliability in the latest builds.
• Fixed an issue where when using Hebrew or Arabic as your display language, if you pressed WIN + T then arrow keys, focus through the taskbar icons would move in the opposite direction.

[Administrator Protection]

• Fixed an issue which could cause lsass.exe to unexpectedly use a lot of CPI, impacting performance, after enabling Administrator Protection.

[Input]

• Fixed a high hitting ctfmon.exe crash, which could impact the ability to type.
• Fixed an issue in the latest builds causing DWM to crash when inking (which could lead to you seeing a black screen flash).

[Login and Lock]

• Updated the web sign-in icon slightly to better align with the other icons when selecting a sign in option on the login screen.

[Windows Security]

• Fixed an issue where the Smart App Control icon wasn't displaying correctly in the Windows Security app.

[Display and Graphics]

• Fixed an issue where external graphics cards connected over Thunderbolt were unexpectedly not discoverable in some cases.
• Fixed an issue where some JPG images weren't displaying, although they could display correctly on older builds.
• Fixed an issue where you might need to press the Windows key plus P twice in order to switch topologies.

[Other]

• Fixed an issue where the IP Helper Service (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows-hardware/drivers/network/ip-helper) was failing to start in the latest builds. This may have caused issues with some apps.
  
• Fixed an issue causing midisrv.exe crashes in the latest builds.
• Fixed an issue which was causing the Run dialog to not show an autocomplete dropdown if you started typing a file path.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27858 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/05/16/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-27858-canary-channel/)

Changes and Improvements

[Input]

• We are trying out a new experience to improve the discoverability of the emoji and more panel in Windows 11 (https://support.microsoft.com/windows/windows-keyboard-tips-and-tricks-588e0b72-0fff-6d3f-aeee-6e5116097942) with the introduction of a new system tray icon on the taskbar. With this new system tray icon, you can easily express yourself by using emojis, GIFs, Kaomoji etc. across all apps and surfaces in Windows in addition to using the WIN + . keyboard shortcut which is also now shown on the emoji and more panel. This new system tray icon for the emoji and more panel shows can be changed by right-clicking on the icon to go to taskbar settings page.
  

Fixes

[General]

• Fixed an issue which was causing some Insiders to see a black screen when upgrading to the previous flight.
• Fixed an issue causing text to disappear in places across the system after the previous flight.

[File Explorer]

• As part of our ongoing commitment to improving File Explorer accessibility, this release includes increased support for the text scaling (via Settings > Accessibility > Text size) across File Explorer, File Open/Save dialogs and the copy dialogs.

[Desktop icons]

• Updated the logic for apps pinned to the desktop, so that packaged apps (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/msix/desktop/desktop-to-uwp-behind-the-scenes) no longer show an accent colored backplate (for example, if you were to drag and drop Snipping Tool from the apps list in Start to the desktop). In doing this, the icons should be bigger and easier to see now. Please note, you may need to create new shortcuts for this to take effect, if you already have something on your desktop.
  

[Input]

• Fixed an issue where voice typing wouldn't start from the touch keyboard when using the Chinese (Simplified) narrow layout.
• Fixed a high hitting ctmon.exe crash, which could impact the ability to type.

[Windowing]

• Fixed an explorer.exe crash related to snap layouts which could happen when dragging a window or hovering over the maximize button in a window.

[Taskbar]

• Fixed an issue where the taskbar icons weren't increasing in size as they should when using your PC in a tablet posture.
• Fixed an issue where when using Hebrew or Arabic as your display language, if you pressed WIN + T then arrow keys, focus through the taskbar icons would move in the opposite direction.

[Graphics]

• Fixed an issue causing night light to not work for some Insiders after the latest flights.
• Fixed an issue which was causing unexpected FPS caps for some Insiders in the previous flight.

[Network]

• Mitigated an issue believed to be the cause of reports that wi-fi stopped working for some Insiders after the previous flight.

[Audio]

• Fixed an underlying issue which could lead to MIDI devices not being recognized in recent Canary flights.

[Other]

• Fixed an issue causing some Insiders to see a bugcheck with KERNEL_SECURITY_CHECK_FAILURE after the previous flight.
• Fixed an issue causing some Insiders to see a bugcheck with SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED after the previous flight.
• Fixed an issue where setting your desktop background to a JXR HDR wallpaper wasn't working for extra wide format (21×9).

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27863 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/05/23/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-27863-canary-channel/)

Changes and Improvements

[Post-Quantum Cryptography]

• As announced this week at the Build conference (https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft-security-blog/post-quantum-cryptography-comes-to-windows-insiders-and-linux/4413803), we are adding support for post-quantum signature algorithm ML-DSA in NCrypt and BCrypt cryptography API surfaces, as well as Crypt32 certificate APIs. Three variants are supported, ML-DSA 44, 65, and 87. In Build 27858 and higher, we encourage you to try out using and validating ML-DSA certificates with these changes.
  

Fixes

[Windows Sandbox]

• Fixed an issue causing Windows Sandbox to not work and show error 0xc0370106 on launch in the previous flight.

[Other][

• Fixed an issue where core Windows surfaces were not able to load in safe mode (File Explorer, Start menu, and others) after the previous flight.
• Fixed an issue with msftedit.dll which was causing apps like Sticky Notes and Dxdiag to crash in certain cases for people using Hebrew or Arabic display languages.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27868 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/05/29/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-27868-canary-channel/)

Changes and Improvements

[Voice access]

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

Fixes

[Input]

• Fixed an issue which was causing pen input to be non-responsive on some PCs that support pen for inking. This issue may have also impacted some scenarios interacting with touch.

[Other]

• Mitigated an underlying issue in the previous flight resulting in some apps like Spotify failing to launch and failing to install from the Microsoft Store with an 0x80070032 error.
• Fixed an issue which was causing Group Policy Editor to not render correctly for some display languages like Chinese in recent Canary builds, causing big blank areas.
• Fixed another underlying issue which was causing some Insiders to see a SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED bugcheck in recent Canary builds.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27871 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/06/04/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-27871-canary-channel/)

What's new with Build 27871

Energy saver now available in Microsoft Intune
We are bringing the ability to manage energy saver (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/design/component-guidelines/energy-saver) in Windows 11 to Microsoft Intune (https://learn.microsoft.com/intune/intune-service/) to allow IT administrators to control the energy saver settings on Windows 11 PCs through group policies and Mobile Device Management (MDM) configurations.

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

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

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

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

Changes and Improvements

[Phone Link]
Phone companion for the Start menu is rolling out (again) for Windows Insiders in the Canary Channel along with the following improvements:

• Instantly see notifications from your mobile device apps — grouped by app for easy catch-up, right from your Start menu.
• Mirror your Android device's screen with a single click from your Start menu. Simply click on your device's icon or access the option from the footer menu to quickly launch device screen mirroring.
• Your iPhone© memories are now accessible from the Start menu. Windows iCloud app (https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9PKTQ5699M62?hl=en-us&gl=US&ocid=pdpshare) users can see recently synced photos and quickly access their iCloud photos all within the Start menu.
  

Note: Screen mirroring is only supported on certain Android devices. See Setting up and using phone screen in the Phone Link – Microsoft Support (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/setting-up-and-using-phone-screen-in-the-phone-link-ea853ebc-0856-2f6e-af34-703fe449416b) for more details on device support.
[Taskbar & System Tray]

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

Fixes

[General]

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

[File Explorer]

• Fixed an issue where if you had disconnected network drives when doing a search from Home it might prevent searches from executing and you'd remain on Home.
• Fixed an issue where tapping the View button in File Explorer with touch would crash File Explorer.

[Taskbar]

• Fixed an issue where WIN + CTRL + Number wasn't working anymore for switching windows in the taskbar.
• Fixed an underlying issue which was causing keyboard focus to get set to widgets in the taskbar on login, which could make widgets unexpectedly invoke.
• Fixed an issue when using Tab and Shift + Tab to move keyboard focus around the taskbar, where if keyboard focus went backwards at least once you could get keyboard focus stuck on the taskbar frame, causing some screen readers to just say "pane".

[Settings]

• Fixed an issue where hovering over the cards at the top of Settings > System > About wasn't showing the correct corner radius.
• Fixed an issue where the storage card in Settings > System > About showed a garbage character instead of the proper disk size.

[Administrator Protection]

• Fixed an issue where when using Administrator Protection, some apps might not follow your preference if it was set to dark mode.

[Task Manager]

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

[Audio]

• Fixed an issue in the last few Canary flights where audio devices with high sampling (like 192Hz) and multiple channels weren't producing sound.
• Fixed an issue which could cause the startup sound not to play, though it was enabled.

[Input]

• Fixed an issue where voice typing wouldn't start from the touch keyboard when using the Chinese (Simplified) narrow layout.
• Fixed an issue where when using the Symbols section of the touch keyboard, pressing the key to change pages might unexpectedly insert a character into password fields.

[Graphics]

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

[Voice access]

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

[Other]

• Fixed an issue causing an Administrative Templates error message when opening Group Policy Editor.
• Fixed an issue where some of the commands when using xml (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows-hardware/manufacture/desktop/automate-windows-setup?view=windows-11) to setup were unexpectedly not being run.
  
• Fixed an issue when installing Windows from installation media, where if you changed your keyboard layout from the default, it may still use the default when entering the product key.
• Fixed an issue when installing Windows from installation media, where certain partitions may show an extremely large erroneous size.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27881 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/06/19/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-27881-canary-channel/)

What's new with Build 27881

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

To adjust this setting, open voice typing (Win + H), select the settings icon, and use the Filter profanity toggle in the settings menu.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Input and Language > Voice Typing (Windows key plus H).

Introducing speech recap in Narrator 
We are always working to make Narrator more intuitive, efficient, and helpful for users who rely on it every day. With that in mind, we are introducing a new feature—speech recap —designed to help you keep track of what Narrator has spoken and access it for quick reference.  With speech recap, you can quickly access spoken content, follow along with live transcription, and copy what Narrator last said—all with simple keyboard shortcuts.

You can open the speech recap window with Narrator key + Alt + X and can find the last 500 strings Narrator had spoken. Note that we refresh the text in this window every time Narrator starts. You can use standard reading commands and arrow keys to read the contents in speech recap window and copy text required for reference.

Need to save or share something Narrator just said last? You can copy it instantly without opening the speech recap window. Use Narrator key + Control + X to copy the last spoken phrase to your clipboard.

Few scenarios where you can use speech recap and related shortcuts include referring to a hint you heard when opening a new window, copying an error code that was spoken or adding Narrator speech to training materials.

Live transcription of Narrator speech is useful for Assistive Technology (AT) trainers, teacher of students with visual impairments (TSVI) who support students in class and for professionals who are hard of hearing and want to use Narrator. To see live transcription of Narrator audio, use the same command Narrator key + Alt + X to open the speech recap window and snap it to the portion of the screen you want to view it. As you do tasks, you can see real-time transcriptions of Narrator speech.

These keyboard shortcuts follow a simple patten making it easy to learn:

• Control + Windows key + Enter = Turn Narrator on/Off
  
• Narrator key + X = Re-hear what Narrator said last
  
• Narrator key + control + X = Copy what Narrator said last
  
• Narrator key + Alt + X = Open Speech recap window for history and live transcriptions
  

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

Changes and Improvements

[General]

• To stay secure and up to date, Insider Preview builds in the Canary Channel are signed with security certificates, which we renew annually. This year, we've made the change early. If you have a PC in the Canary Channel, we encourage you to install the latest build to avoid expiry notifications and to stay secure. Take note the new expiration is now 8/11/2026.

[Taskbar & System Tray]

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

• We are improving Accessibility flyout in quick settings by grouping the assistive technologies (https://www.microsoft.com/accessibility/) by vision, hearing, motor and mobility for easy identification to help you find the right accessibility feature based on your needs. Voice access is now also included in the flyout.
  

[Search on the Taskbar]

• Improved support for web search providers in Windows Search for the EEA, including with increased discoverability.

[Windows Share]

• In the Windows share window, we are adding the ability to quickly edit and enhance images while sharing. This includes in-line image editing capabilities, such as cropping, rotating, and applying filters, as well as the ability to compress images to reduce file size for easier sharing. This ability works only for local images stored on your PC. Supported image formats: .jpg, .jpeg, .dib, .png, .tif, .tiff, and .bmp.

• We are adding the ability to share directly to apps that support sharing in Windows when right-clicking on local files in File Explorer or the desktop.

[Settings]

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

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

[Input]

• We're trying out a small change to the design of the touch visual when dragging your finger on the screen, as part of some underlying work on rendering. The new design looks like animating bubbles. If you have a touch PC, we welcome you to try it out and share feedback under Input and Language > Touch Input and Gestures in the Feedback Hub.

[Other]

• When running the pnputil /enum-drivers command (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows-hardware/drivers/devtest/pnputil-command-syntax#enum-drivers), we're adding a new field that enumerates driver package catalog attributes, indicating the driver type and if the driver is attestation-signed.
  

Fixes

[General]

• Fixed an issue for Insiders on the previous build causing some of the text in Windows to not be using the correct characters, causing nonsense to display in places like Task Manager and more. This impacted characters outside of A-Z – including Chinese and accented characters in German and Polish.
• Fixed an issue where booting into safe mode wasn't working, with a message saying "Something happened and your PIN isn't available" for some people.

[File Explorer]

• Fixed an issue where File Explorer would crash when tapping the View button with touch.

[Start menu]

• Fixed an issue which was causing Start menu to crash on launch for some Insiders in the last few flights.

[Taskbar]

• Fixed an underlying issue which was causing keyboard focus to get set to widgets in the taskbar on login, which could make widgets unexpectedly invoke.
• Fixed an issue which could cause the media controls in the preview windows for apps in the taskbar (that support it) to flicker.
• Fixed an issue where when using Tab and Shift + Tab to move keyboard focus around the taskbar, if you went backwards at least once you could get keyboard focus stuck on the taskbar frame, leading some screen readers to just say "pane".
• Fixed an issue where WIN + CTRL + wasn't working to cycle between windows of open apps for that position on the taskbar.

[Input]

• Fixed an issue where typing Japanese with the touch keyboard might stop working after switching to typing with an English keyboard and back.
• Fixed an issue where voice typing wouldn't start from the touch keyboard when using the Chinese (Simplified) narrow layout.
• Fixed an issue where when using the Symbols section of the touch keyboard, pressing the key to change pages might unexpectedly insert a character into password fields.

[Settings]

• Fixed an issue where you couldn't switch active hours from manually to automatic in Windows Update.
• Adjusted the location of the intensity and color boost sliders under Settings > Accessibility > Color Filters, so the color previews at the top of the page are visible while adjusting the sliders.

[Voice access][/B]

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

[Other]

• Fixed an issue where if you clean installed Windows using the installation media, it would unexpectedly generate an empty Windows.old folder when you were done.
• Made another fix for Insiders unexpectedly seeing an Administrative Templates error message when opening Group Policy Editor.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27891 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/07/03/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-27891-canary-channel/)

Changes and Improvements

[Other]

• Windows PowerShell 2.0 is deprecated (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/whats-new/deprecated-features) and in the most current Insider Preview builds flighted to the Canary Channel, is removed. More information will be shared in the coming months on the removal of Windows PowerShell 2.0 in an upcoming update for Windows 11.
  

Fixes

[General]

• We fixed the issue causing the "Reset this PC" option under Settings > System > Recovery to not work after upgrading the last few Canary Channel builds.
• Fixed the underlying issue which was causing the taskbar to unexpectedly not showing acrylic material after upgrading to the latest Canary builds. This also impacted a few other scenarios, leading to unexpected black or white in some UI.
• Fixed an underlying issue believed to be the cause of some Insiders seeing Windows update downloads to get stuck at 2% recently.
• Fixed a few more languages including Vietnamese and Arabic that were still having issues with certain characters not rendering correctly for Insiders after the latest builds, causing nonsense to display in places like Task Manager and more. This impacted characters outside of A-Z.

[File Explorer]

• Fixed an issue where if you opened the "..." menu in the File Explorer address bar to show the full list of folders for the current path, the dropdown might be cut off and the bottom of it inaccessible.

[Settings]

• Fixed an issue in the previous build which could cause Settings to crash when opening microphone properties under Settings > System > Sound.
• Fixed an underlying issue related to Bluetooth which could cause Settings or Quick Settings to crash on launch for some people.

[Windowing]

• Fixed an issue which was causing the window minimizing animation to not display correctly in the previous flight.

[Task Manager]

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

[Audio]

• Fixed an issue which could cause all system sounds to stop working (for example notification alert sound and the sound that plays when clicking the volume slider in quick settings), although audio in general was working on your PC.

[Other]

• Fixed an underlying issue which was causing fonts in certain app menu items to unexpectedly appear corrupted or overlapped for some people. This also impacted typing in Word – where when using Hebrew a period may unexpectedly show as a 3, and in Thai typing space may show a 2.
• Fixed an underlying issue which could cause the playback controls in Media Player to become distorted in the latest Canary flights.
• Fixed an underlying issue believed to be the cause of LDAP queries from apps to take an unexpectedly long time in the previous flight.
• Fixed an issue which could cause print previews to appear slightly blurry in recent Canary flights.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27898 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/07/11/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-27898-canary-channel/)

What's new in Build 27898

Taskbar icon scaling
We are starting to roll out taskbar icon scaling to Windows Insiders in the Canary Channel – an improvement to the Windows taskbar that ensures that you have quick access to more of your favorite apps, even when your taskbar is full. With taskbar icon scaling, when your taskbar starts to get crowded with pinned or open apps, the icons will automatically scale down to a smaller size. This means you can keep more apps visible and accessible without the need to dive into a secondary menu. It's all about making your workflow smoother and more efficient.

We understand that everyone has their own preferences, so we've included settings to tailor this feature to your liking. You can choose when Windows will show smaller taskbar buttons:

• When taskbar is full: By default, taskbar icons will automatically turn smaller when the taskbar is full. This helps you maintain access to more apps without any extra effort.
  
• Never: For users who prefer their icons to remain the same size as before, regardless of how many apps are open, there's an option to prevent the icons from scaling down.
  
• Always: If you love the look of smaller icons and want them to stay that way all the time, you can set your taskbar icons to always be small.
  

To customize your taskbar icon scaling settings, simply right-click an empty region of your taskbar and select "Taskbar settings", expand "Taskbar behaviors" section, and make your selection for the setting "Show smaller taskbar buttons".

As always, we value your feedback, so let us know what you think!

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

Introducing quick machine recovery
Quick machine recovery (https://aka.ms/qmritproblog), a feature introduced as part of the Windows Resiliency Initiative (https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2024/11/19/windows-security-and-resiliency-protecting-your-business/) at Ignite 2024 – is available for Windows Insiders in the Canary Channel. When enabled, it automatically detects and fixes widespread issues on Windows 11 devices using the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE). This reduces downtime and avoids the need for manual fixes. If a device experiences a widespread boot issue, it enters WinRE, connects to the internet, and Microsoft can deliver a targeted fix through Windows Update. IT admins (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/configuration/quick-machine-recovery/?tabs=intune) can enable or customize this experience for their organization through the Intune Settings Catalog UI using the RemoteRemediationCSP (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/client-management/mdm/remoteremediation-csp). There is also a dedicated quick machine recovery settings page available under System > Recovery > Quick machine recovery. Today, it's enabled by default for home users.

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

Add custom words to the dictionary in voice access
We are introducing the ability for you to add your own words to the dictionary in voice access (https://support.microsoft.com/topic/get-started-with-voice-access-bd2aa2dc-46c2-486c-93ae-3d75f7d053a4). Adding your own words, including difficult to pronounce words, to the dictionary in voice access will help improve dictation accuracy. It increases the probability of recognizing these words more accurately by creating a bias that helps voice access become more context aware and proactively understanding your specific vocabulary. The feature will be available in all the currently supported voice access languages i.e. English, French, German, Spanish and Chinese.

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

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

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

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

How to enable/disable Screen Curtain:

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

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

Changes and Improvements

[General]

• We're updating the design of the privacy dialogs for app permissions. When an app requests permission to access location, camera, mic, etc., it is now a system modal dialog (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/win32/dlgbox/about-dialog-boxes#modal-dialog-boxes). When one of these dialogs appears from an app requesting permission, the screen will slightly darken now, and the privacy dialog will take focus in center screen.
  

• We are rolling out a change where Microsoft Entra ID authentication requests will be rendered using WebView2 instead of WebView1.

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• In addition to the new grouping of the Accessibility flyout in quick settings, we are adding text descriptions for the assistive technologies (https://www.microsoft.com/accessibility/) like Narrator, Voice access, etc. for easy identification and learning by the users.
  

• Admins can now allow users to unpin specific pinned apps, ensuring they are not pinned again during the next policy refresh cycle. To enable this feature, use the new PinGeneration option. Learn more about configuring pinned apps on the taskbar (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/configuration/taskbar/pinned-apps?tabs=intune&pivots=windows-11#pingeneration).
  

[File Explorer]

• We have added dividers to the top-level icons that show at the top (or bottom) of the File Explorer context menu.

[Energy Saver]

• We are beginning to preview adaptive energy saver. Adaptive energy saver is an opt-in feature that automatically enables and disables energy saver, without changing screen brightness, based on the power state of the device and the current system load. This will only be available on devices with a battery. As we try this experience out in the Canary Channel, some Insiders may see this experience get enabled – you can manage your energy saver settings under Settings > System > Power & battery.
  

[Windows Share]

• When you share links or web content using the Windows share window, you will see a visual preview for that content.

• In the Windows share window, as part of the ability to quickly edit and enhance images while sharing (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/06/19/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-27881-canary-channel/), we have adjusted the UI so that now you can now select their compression scale from High, Medium, or Low Quality, instead of choosing from an entire scale ranging from 0-100.
  

[Voice access]

• We are introducing Chinese and Japanese support for voice access. You can now use Voice access to navigate, dictate, and interact with Windows using voice commands in Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, and Japanese. Japanese support is still a work-in-progress and may have some issues.

[Snipping Tool]

• With this build, we're making it easier to jump directly into text extractor in Snipping Tool via Win + Shift + T. You can learn more about using text extractor here. (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/04/15/text-extractor-in-snipping-tool-begins-rolling-out-to-windows-insiders/)
  

[Settings]

• We have added the country or region selected during device setup under Settings > Time & language > Language & region.
  

We are rolling out some small changes for your setting your browser defaults in Windows 11 via Settings > Apps > Default apps:

• For Add new link/file types of 'Set Default' button, we have added additional types for the "Set Default" button. You can now set more types.
  
• For one-click button of PDF for browser sets, we have added a new button for making your default browser also the default app for PDF files.
  
• The new default browser will be pinned to the Taskbar and Start menu unless you choose not to pin it by clearing the checkboxes.

Fixes

[File Explorer]

• We've done some more work to improve the performance of extracting archive files – this will particularly help in the case of copy pasting large numbers of files out of large 7z or .rar archives.

[Input]

• Fixed an issue where typing Japanese with the touch keyboard might stop working after switching to typing with an English keyboard and back.

[Settings]

• Fixed an issue which could cause Settings to crash when changing mouse cursor.
• Fixed an underlying issue which could lead to the Settings window hanging and no longer responding to input or resizing unless you closed and reopened it.

[Other]

• Fixed an underlying issue in the previous flight which could lead to Math.Pow() not outputting the correct result, which could lead to unexpected behavior in apps and games.
• Adjusted the error text if a Windows Update fails due to the system reserved partition not having enough free space, to make it clearer that that's the issue.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27902 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/07/17/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-27902-canary-channel/)

Changes and Improvements

[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

[File Explorer]

• Fixed an issue in the previous build where File Explorer might fail to persist any view changes. This also impacted desktop icons, which could unexpectedly move or change size back to default. Jen is happy this bug is fixed.

[Camera]

• Fixed an issue which could cause the Camera app to get stuck on some PCs in the last couple builds after switching between front and back camera.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27909 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/07/25/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-27909-canary-channel/)

Changes and Improvements

[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

[Administrator Protection]

• Fixed an underlying issue where the Xbox app wouldn't launch when administrator protection was enabled. This may have also impacted other apps too, showing error  0xC0000142 or 0xC0000045.

[Settings]

• Fixed an issue where the battery percentage was unexpectedly missing from the top of System > Power & Battery in the last few builds.

[Remote desktop]

• Fixed an issue causing extreme graphical distortion and rendering issues using remote desktop on Arm64 PCs in the last couple builds.

[Other]

• Fixed a high hitting pcasvc.dll crash in the previous build.
• Fixed an underlying issue where if you disconnected the device you were casting to from outside of Media Player, Media Player would still show an option to disconnect from the device.
• Fixed an issue which was causing Remote Credential Guard scenarios between the latest Windows 11 builds and Server 2022 (and below) to fail.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27913 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/07/30/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-27913-canary-channel/)

Changes and Improvements

[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]

• The search box in Settings will now be located at the top center to deliver a more consistent and better search experience.

Fixes

[General]

• Fixed an issue where the Windows Vista boot sound was unexpectedly being used instead of the Windows 11 boot sound.

[Desktop background]

• Did some underlying work to help address issues which could result in the desktop background unexpectedly becoming black rather than displaying the expected wallpaper image. If you continue experiencing issues, please don't hesitate to report them in the Feedback Hub under Desktop Environment > Background and Wallpaper.

[Settings]

• Fixed an issue in the latest builds which could cause Settings to crash when interacting with the options under Settings > System > Power & Battery.
• Fixed an underlying issue where some of the apostrophes across text in Settings and settings-related dialogs were not displaying correctly and were showing random characters.

[Audio]

• Fixed an issue which could result in audio not working a few seconds after casting to a TV.

[Other]

• Fixed an issue in the latest builds causing a small number of Insiders to experience repeated bugchecks with KERNEL_SECURITY_CHECK_FAILURE after upgrading. This may occur when connecting to VPN.
• Fixed an underlying issue which could result in acrylic (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/apps/design/style/acrylic) in certain apps unexpectedly being transparent.
  
• Made another fix for the issue causing Group Policy Editor to not display correctly in certain languages (like Chinese), showing large blank areas.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27919 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/08/08/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-27919-canary-channel/)

Changes and Improvements

[Windows Search]

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

Fixes

[File Explorer]

• Fixed an issue where File Explorer might crash when trying to view the digital signatures tab in the properties for a file.

[Input]

• Fixed an issue which was causing the Microsoft Changjie Input method to not work properly in the previous build.
• Fixed an issue which was causing phonetic keyboards, such as the Hindi Phonetic Input keyboard and the Marathi Phonetic keyboard, to not work properly in the previous build.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27924 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/08/14/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-27924-canary-channel/)

What's new in Build 27924

Copilot+ PC experiences
We are beginning to enable many of the Copilot+ PC experiences* for Windows Insiders in the Canary Channel on Copilot+ PCs (https://aka.ms/copilotpluspcs) such as:

• Recall (Preview) (https://support.microsoft.com/windows/retrace-your-steps-with-recall-aa03f8a0-a78b-4b3e-b0a1-2eb8ac48701c)
  
• Click to Do (Preview) (https://support.microsoft.com/topic/6848b7d5-7fb0-4c43-b08a-443d6d3f5955)
  
• Improved Windows Search (https://support.microsoft.com/windows/search-indexing-in-windows-da061c83-af6b-095c-0f7a-4dfecda4d15a#bkmk_semantic-search)
  
• Live captions with real-time translation (https://support.microsoft.com/windows/use-live-captions-to-better-understand-audio-b52da59c-14b8-4031-aeeb-f6a47e6055df)
  
• Agent in Settings

Note that some features are gradually rolling out such as Improved Windows Search and agent in Settings. And we're still working to enable some features like image descriptions in Narrator (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/04/11/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26120-3863-beta-channel/) – so if you don't see something right away on your Copilot+ PC after updating to this build, that's expected. We're working hard to get everything enabled across the board over for the Canary Channel.

As is normal for the Canary Channel, the quality of these features will not match the quality of the same features in the Dev or Beta Channels. Expect some of these features to not work quite right. We will try to document known issues for the most impactful issues for these features and one such issue regarding Click to Do is documented in the known issues below. As always, please file feedback on any issues you see when using these Copilot+ experiences via Feedback Hub.

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

Enable long paths allows you to remove MAX_PATH limitations (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/fileio/maximum-file-path-limitation?tabs=registry) from common Win32 file and directory functions. Virtual workspaces allow you to enable/disable virtual environments such as Hyper-V, Windows Sandbox, and more. File Explorer + version control provides the ability to display Git information directly inside File Explorer. Simply select your repository folder and File Explorer will display information such as your branch, diff count, last commit message, and more.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback on GitHub at microsoft/WindowsAdvancedSettings (https://github.com/microsoft/windowsAdvancedSettings).

Changes and Improvements

[Input]

• Adjusted the pointer indicator (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/07/30/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-27913-canary-channel/) to be a little more transparent, so it's easier to see what's under the crosshairs when it's enabled.
  
• For the time being we have changed the keyboard shortcut for the new pointer indicator from CTRL + WIN + X to CTRL + WIN + ALT + X, to help reduce accidental invocations.

[Windows MIDI Services]

• The inbox preview MIDI Service and API has a feedback-driven breaking change to optionally allow for waiting for messages to be completely sent before returning from function calls. Any apps written against previous versions of the Windows MIDI Services MIDI 2.0 SDK will need to update to the latest preview available at https://aka.ms/midireleases and be recompiled to continue working properly. For more discussion and feedback, please join our discord server at https://aka.ms/mididiscord.
  

Fixes

[General]

• Fixed an issue where the progress wheel might show as a rectangle glyph instead of rendering correctly when upgrading to the latest builds.

[Widgets]

• Fixed an issue causing widgets to disappear or not work for some Insiders after the previous flight.

[Remote desktop]

• Fixed an issue in the latest flights where remote desktop only used your primary monitor even if it was configured to use multiple monitors.

[Other]

• Fixed an underlying webauth.dll crash in the previous flight which may have impacted the ability to use passkeys.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27928 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/08/20/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-27928-canary-channel/)

Changes and Improvements

[Genera]

• The updated battery iconography we began rolling out in the Canary Channel with Build 27802 (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/02/28/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-27802-canary-channel/) is disabled in this build. This is only temporary, and we will re-enable this in a future Canary Channel flight.
  

[Settings]

We're moving more time and language settings from Control Panel to Settings:

• You can now add additional clocks from Settings > Time & language > Date & time under the collapsed section which can be expanded for "Show time and date in the system tray". For those unfamiliar with the feature, these additional clocks display in Notification Center, as well as the tooltip when hovering over the clock in the taskbar.
• You can now change your time server from Settings > Time & language > Date & time, under "Additional settings".
• The formatting settings for date and time have moved from Settings > Time & language > Language & region to Settings > Time & language > Date & time, and you can now change your AM/PM symbol from here as well (along with other existing formatting settings).
• You can now change number and currency format from Settings > Time & language > Language & region, under the "Region" section.
• If you'd like to enable Unicode UTF-8 for worldwide language support, there is now a toggle for this under Settings > Time & language > Language & region, under the "Language" section.
• If needed, you can now copy current user language and region settings to welcome screen and system account, as well as new user accounts, from Settings > Time & language > Language & region, under "Additional settings".

Fixes

[General]

• Fixed an underlying issue with dao360.dll in the latest builds which could result in some apps crashing.

[Click to Do (Preview)]

• Fixed the issue causing text and image actions in Click to Do to not work correctly and Click to Do to crash.

[File Explorer]

• Fixed an issue where File Explorer preview windows might appear when hovering over unrelated app icons in the taskbar.
• Fixed an issue where if you tried to use the unblock open in Properties for a file, it still shows as blocked when you open Properties the next time.

[Taskbar]

• Fixed an issue where If you accidentally clicked down and slid your mouse on the taskbar preview thumbnail, clicking it would stop working.

[Input]

• Fixed an underlying issue related to textinputframework.dll could result in certain apps like Sticky Notes and Notepad crashing.
• Fixed an issue where if you attempted to type Chinese with an IME after copying something with CTRL + C, it could result in the first character getting dropped.

[Login and Lock screen]

• Did some work to address underlying cases which could lead to you seeing a blank white screen, or a screen saying, "just a moment", for a few minutes when logging in to your PC.
• Did some work to address an underlying issue which could lead to the taskbar being slow to load when unlocking your PC after coming out of sleep. This issue could also have led to the password field and other login screen contents not rendering when transitioning from lock screen to login screen after sleep. If you continue experiencing issues, please report them in the Feedback Hub under Install and Update > Logon hangs.

[Live captions]

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

[Settings]

• Fixed an issue where Settings might crash if you attempt to add a security key under Settings > Account > Sign-in options.

[Other]

• Fixed an issue in the previous build where you might see multiple error pop ups about unexpected elements when opening Group Policy Editor.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27934 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/08/29/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-27934-canary-channel/)

Changes and Improvements

[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

[Windowing]

• Fixed an issue causing an increase in DWM crashes in the previous build (which could lead to you seeing a black flash).

[Other]

• Fixed an issue in the last few builds where if you launched cmd non-elevated from the Run dialog, it might open in Windows Console Host rather than Windows Terminal even if Windows Terminal was your default terminal app.
• Fixed an underlying issue which could lead to certain UWP apps crashing when scrolling in the previous build.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27938 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/09/08/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-27938-canary-channel/)

What's new in Build 27938

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

Today, you can try one of four image actions for seamless editing or web searches with images:

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

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

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

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Files, Folders, and Online Story > File Explorer.

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

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

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

Changes and Improvements

[Settings]

• You can now visit the Settings > Privacy & security > Text and image generation to see which third-party applications recently used generative AI models provided by Windows. This page gives you visibility into the specific apps leveraging local Windows provided generative AI models and allows you to control which apps are permitted to use them—putting you in charge of your device's AI experience.
  

Fixes

[Reset & Recovery]

• Fixed the issue causing the "Reset this PC" option under Settings > System > Recovery to not work on Build 27934.

[File Explorer]

• Fixed an issue where In dark mode, the red color used for a low space drive in This PC might be unexpectedly light colored in the latest builds. Some of the other colors might also have been incorrect, including that black is used for space remaining instead of a more visible color.
• Fixed an issue which was Fixed an issue where File Explorer was unexpectedly not showing thumbnails for video files containing certain EXIF metadata.

[Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI)]

• Performance improvements related to WMI Registry scanning.

[Login and Lock screen]

• Fixed an issue which was causing some of the sign in options to have a blank icon.

[Search]

• Did some work to help reduce instances where search may get stuck in a loading state.

[Input]

• Fixed an issue where if you typed on the touch keyboard with the Changjie, Bopomoji, or Japanese IME, it wouldn't work if you had switched to using the previous version of the IME.

[Task Manager]

• Fixed an issue which was causing Task Manager to freeze when going to the performance section recently for some Insiders.

[Other]

• Fixed an issue which was causing some Insiders to experience bugchecks (green screens) with error IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL citing an issue with ntoskrnl.exe in the latest Canary builds when attempting to enter safe mode.
• Fixed an issue causing some Insiders to experience bugchecks recently with error CRITICAL_PROCESS_DIED.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27943 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/09/11/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-27943-canary-channel/)

Changes and Improvements

[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

[General]

• Fixed the issue causing Settings > System > Storage > Temporary files to get stuck when scanning files. This issue also caused the entry to clean up previous Windows Installations to not show in Storage Settings.

[Taskbar]

• Fixed an issue where if you minimized an app and switched back and forth between desktops, you might end up seeing a duplicate preview thumbnail when hovering over the app in the taskbar.

[Display and Graphics]

• Fixed an issue which could result in HDR unexpectedly turning off immediately after you enabled it in Settings.

[Other]

• Fixed an issue causing an event saying "The "Microsoft Pluton Cryptographic Provider" provider was not loaded because initialization failed" with error 57 to appear in Event Viewer for some Insiders after boot.
• Fixed an issue where if you had to enter a PIN for your device to cast from Quick Settings, pressing Enter wouldn't confirm the PIN.
• Made another fix to help with Group Policy Editor having unexpected large blank areas and not rendering correctly with the Chinese display language.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27950 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/09/19/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-27950-canary-channel/)

Changes and Improvements

[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]

• Advanced Settings will revert to the previous "For Developers" experience after updating to this build. This change will come back soon.

Fixes

[General]

• Fixed an issue causing some Insiders to experience a rollback attempting to install the latest build with either an 0xC1900101-0x20017 error or 0xC1900101-0x30017 error.

[Taskbar and System Tray]

• Fixed an issue which could cause the app preview windows in the taskbar to become misaligned (away from the app icon you'd clicked / hovered over) after a display resolution change.

[File Explorer]

• Fixed an issue where interacting with the context menu in File Explorer could lead to the body of File Explorer becoming unresponsive to clicks.
• Fixed an issue which could lead to certain apps hanging when launching the Open or Save Dialog.
• Fixed an issue where with certain apps installed, when you right clicked you may see the context menu unexpectedly switch back and forth with each right click between the normal initial view and "Show more options".

[Graphics]

• Fixed an which was causing some Insiders to experience screen flickers when using the browser (and potentially other scenarios) in the latest Canary builds.

[Audio]

• If you were having issues with audio not working after the latest updates, that should be resolved now. Audio issues can have multiple root causes, though, so if you continue experiencing issues, please file feedback under Devices and Drivers > Audio and Sound in the Feedback Hub, if possible including a trace by using the "Capture the issue" option in Step #4 of the problem report.

[Dynamic Lighting]

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

[Other]

• We've done some underlying work to help improve performance when gaming with game bar or other overlays on top of your game. This may particularly help those with multiple monitors which have different refresh rates. As always, if you're experiencing game performance issues, please file feedback including a trace of the issue, following these steps (http://aka.ms/gameperffeedback). Thanks Windows Insiders who've shared feedback so far!
  

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27954 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/09/25/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-27954-canary-channel/)

Changes and Improvements

[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.

[Networking]

• Fixed an issue where you might not be able to connect to shared files and folders if you were using the Server Message Block (SMB) v1 protocol on NetBIOS over TCP/IP NetBIOS (NetBT (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows-hardware/customize/desktop/unattend/microsoft-windows-netb')) after the latest updates.
  

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27959 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/10/06/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-27959-canary-channel/)

Changes and Improvements

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

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

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

[Input]

• We're adding a new keyboard shortcut to make it easier for you to insert an En dash (–) or Em dash (—) while typing anywhere in Windows. Going forward, pressing WIN + Minus (-) will insert En dash, and WIN + Shift + Minus (-) will insert Em dash. Note – if you have Magnifier running, WIN + Minus (-) will still zoom out Magnifier, rather than inserting an En dash.

[Windows Share]

• We've added the ability to pin your favorite apps in the Windows share window.

[Other]

• We have updated more dialogs to match the Windows 11 visuals including the dialog for when an app can't open.

Fixes

[General]

• Fixed an issue causing some Insiders with Arm64 PCs to experience an increase in bugchecks (green screens) with error IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL in the latest Canary builds.

[File Explorer]

• The File Explorer context menu has been updated to remove the accent colored backplate behind packaged app (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/msix/desktop/desktop-to-uwp-behind-the-scenes)icons in the Open With list when right clicking a file (for example, Snipping Tool). This change makes icons easier to see.
  
• Made some underlying changes to help improve the performance of launching cloud files from File Explorer and loading context menus.
• Fixed an issue which could lead to icons and text might becoming overlapping on the desktop when using increased text scaling.
• Fixed an issue where icons in the details, preview, and navigation panes of File Explorer weren't properly mirrored when using an Arabic or Hebrew display language.

[Taskbar and System Tray]

• Fixed an issue in the latest builds where the battery icon could get out of sync with the actual charging state (for example, it would show that you weren't plugged in when you were).
• Fixed a focus related issue when clicking on an app preview thumbnail which could result on it dismissing but the app window not actually coming to the foreground.

[Start menu]

• Fixed an underlying issue which was causing Start menu to dismiss if you tried to use WIN + Shift + S to take a screenshot of it.

[Display and Graphics]

• Fixed an issue where apps and browsers could have partially stuck onscreen content when other maximized / full screen apps were updating in the background. This may have been noticeable particularly when trying to scroll the window content, as only some parts would update.

[Windows Hello]

• Fixed an issue where Windows Hello Pin setup might fail with error 0x80090010 on Entra-domain joined devices after the latest updates.

[Voice Access]

• Fixed an issue which could result in Voice Access not working, showing error 9001.

[For developers]

• There was an issue where PIX on Windows (https://devblogs.microsoft.com/pix/download/) was unable to play back GPU captures on the latest OS versions. This has been addressed by a new PIX release.
  

[Windows Security]

• Fixed an issue where the apostrophes in some of the text in the app weren't displaying correctly.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27965 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/10/08/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-27965-canary-channel/)

What's new in Build 27965

Introducing the new Start menu for Windows 11

Easily launch all your apps with scrollable Start menu

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

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

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

Experience a larger Start menu with responsive sections

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

Sections within Start are also responsive so you can see more or less of your Pinned and Recommended sections. Have only a few pins? The Pinned section will shrink down to a single row and other sections will slide up. If you'd prefer to not see recommendations, then turn off the following toggles in Settings > Personalization > Start: "Show recently added apps," "Show recommended files in Start...," "Show websites from your browsing history," and "Show recommendations for tips..." If there aren't any recommendations available, the section will collapse so you can see more of your installed apps.

Seamless cross-device integration with Phone Link

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

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

[We are beginning to roll this out to Windows Insiders in the Canary, 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 > Start menu.

Changes and Improvements for everyone in the Canary channel

[.NET Framework 3.5]

• Starting with Build 27965, .NET Framework 3.5 is no longer a Windows Feature on Demand optional component. We encourage customers relying on the legacy framework to move to modern versions of .NET. Customers running business-critical applications that still depend on .NET Framework 3.5 can access a .NET Framework 3.5 standalone installer located here: https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=2337635 (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=2337635&clcid=0x409). More information about .NET Framework products' lifecycle can be found here: Lifecycle FAQ – .NET Framework | Microsoft Learn (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/faq/dotnet-framework)
  

[Command Line]

• Edit, a command line text editor, is now delivered with Windows! You can quickly edit a file while in the Terminal app by typing edit followed by the file name. Edit is open source on GitHub (https://github.com/microsoft/edit) and for a full list of its features, check out its docs (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/edit/).
  

Fixes

[Taskbar and System Tray]

• If you were having issues with the taskbar not autohiding correctly in the previous flight, that should be resolved now.

[Video Playback]

• Fixed a recent issue which was causing some videos and games to be unexpectedly red.
• Fixed an issue that could affect playback of protected content in certain Blu-ray, DVD, and digital TV apps that used Enhanced Video Rendere (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/win32/medfound/enhanced-video-renderer)r (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/win32/medfound/enhanced-video-renderer) with HDCP enforcement (https://digital-cp.com/hdcp-specifications).
  

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27971 (Canary Channel) (//http:///)

What's new in Build 27971

[Notification Center]

• We are extending the functionality of Notification Center to secondary monitors. This means you will be able to see your calendar on any of your monitors as well as the option to show a bigger clock with seconds above calendar (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/06/13/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26120-4441-beta-channel/). You will be able to open Notification Center on any monitor by clicking the date and time in the system tray of your taskbar.
  

[We are beginning to roll this out to Windows Insiders in the Canary, so the experience isn't available to all Insiders just yet as we plan to monitor feedback before pushing it out to everyone.]

Fixes

[File Explorer]

• Fixed an issue in the latest Canary builds causing File Explorer to crash when transferring files to a network drive.

[Lock and login screens]

• Fixed an issue in the previous build where the media controls might not display on the lock screen.

[Input]

• Fixed an underlying issue related to microsoft.ink.dll and relevant APIs, which could result in pen and handwriting not working correctly in apps or app crashes recently due to unexpected exceptions being thrown.

[Other]

• Fixed an underlying issue which was causing protected content playback to fail for some apps recently.
• Fixed an issue impacting the ability to start Hyper-V virtual machines with Trusted Platform Module (TPM) on ARM64 devices.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27975 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/10/23/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-27975-canary-channel/)

Cumulative Update Build 27975.984 (KB5070899) does not include anything new and is designed to test the servicing pipeline for builds in the Canary Channel.

What's new in Build 27975

[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

[Input]

• Fixed an issue impacting touch keyboard launch reliability in the latest Canary builds.

[Windows Hello]

• Fixed an issue impacting certain devices which was causing the Windows Hello PIN to not work after upgrading to the latest Canary builds, until you set it up again.

[Settings]

• Fixed an issue causing Settings to crash when accessing drive information under Settings > System > Storage. This also impacted accessing the drive information from the properties when you right clicked a drive in File Explorer.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27982 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/11/04/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-27982-canary-channel/)

What's new in Build 27982

Changes and Improvements Rolling out to Insiders

[Lock screen]

• We have updated the widgets experience for your lock screen, replacing what was previously referred to as "Weather and more. (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/customize-the-lock-screen-in-windows-81dab9b0-35cf-887c-84a0-6de8ef72bea0)" You can add, remove and rearrange lock screen widgets such as Weather, Watchlist, Sports and more. We also provide suggested widgets on the lock screen to help you discover more widgets. Any widget that supports the small sizing option can be added. To customize your lock screen widgets, go to Settings > Personalization > Lock screen.
  
• Note: We are beginning to roll these experiences out to Windows Insiders in the Canary Channel, 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 > Lock screen.
  

[Widgets]

• Multiple dashboards in Widgets give you more space for your favorite widgets and keep you informed with a personalized feed.
  
• New left-side navigation bar makes it easy to switch between dashboards and views like the Discover feed.
  
• Note: We are beginning to roll these experiences out to Windows Insiders in the Canary Channel, 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.

[Sharing]
Making sharing files in Windows easier

Sharing files in Windows is getting a lot easier and quicker with our new drag tray feature. When you start dragging a local file with mouse (or touch) from File Explorer or your desktop, a handy tray appears at the very top of your screen allowing you to drop the file into one of the displayed apps or choose "More..."  to open the Windows share window.

New drag tray UI that appears at the top of your screen when dragging a local file from File Explorer or your desktop.

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

Fixes

[General]

• Fixed an issue which was leading to Visio freezing when interacting with an IME.
• Fixed an issue in the latest Canary builds for Insiders with Arm64 PCs, leading to an error message when playing certain games saying "The game has crashed with error code 0x0".
• Fixed an issue where if you used your PC for a while without rebooting, explorer.exe might start crashing repeatedly.
• Fixed an issue where after the latest updates, text might not render correctly when editing content within a multiline text box in certain apps.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 28000 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/11/07/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-28000-canary-channel/)

What's new in Build 28000

[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.

[Versioning]

• With this build today, Windows Insiders in the Canary Channel will see the versioning updated under Settings > System > About (and winver) to Windows 11, version 26H1.
• 26H1 is not a feature update for version 25H2 and only includes platform changes to support specific silicon. There is no action required from customers.
  
• 25H2 remains the primary place for new features. Windows 11 continues to have an annual feature update cadence (https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/release-health/windows11-release-information), with releases in the second half of the calendar year.
  
• As a reminder, in the Windows Insider Program, new experiences will continue to land first in the Dev and Beta Channels, with Canary primarily focused on platform changes.

Fixes

[General]

• Fixed an issue causing live captions to crash in the previous flight for some Insiders.
• Fixed an issue which could cause the credentials window to not be accessible when trying to login to Outlook in recent flights.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 28000.1199 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/11/18/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-28000-1199-canary-channel/)

What's new in Build 28000.1199

[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.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 28000.1340 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/12/09/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-28000-1340-canary-channel/)

What's new in Build 28000.1340

[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.
• This update is beginning to enable some more of the new features and improvements originally released with the October non-security preview update for Windows 11 (https://support.microsoft.com/topic/october-28-2025-kb5067036-os-builds-26200-7019-and-26100-7019-preview-ec3da7dc-63ba-4b1d-ac41-cf2494d2123a), version 24H2 and 25H2.
  

[Administrator Protection]

• The admin protection feature (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/01/16/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-27774-canary-channel/) is temporarily disabled for Insiders in Canary. We appreciate your patience.
  

[Storage]

• Fixed an issue which could cause some Storage Spaces to become inaccessible or Storage Spaces Direct to fail when creating a storage cluster.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 28020.1362 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/12/15/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-28020-1362-canary-channel/)

What's new in Build 28020.1362

Changes and Improvements Gradually Rolling Out

[Gaming]

• The full screen experience (FSE) is now available on more Windows 11 handheld devices after its initial launch on ASUS ROG Ally and ROG Ally X (https://news.xbox.com/2025/08/20/rog-xbox-ally-handheld-release-date-october-features/). FSE gives you a console-style interface with the Xbox app, making handheld gaming clean and distraction-free. It improves performance by minimizing background tasks, so gameplay stays smooth and responsive. To turn it on, go to Settings > Gaming > Full screen experience, and set Xbox as your home app. You can open FSE from Task View or Game Bar or configure your handheld to enter full screen experience on startup.
  

• Feedback: Share your thoughts in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Gaming and Xbox > Gaming Handhelds.
  

[Click to Do]
The following changes and improvements are rolling out for Copilot+ PCs (https://www.microsoft.com/windows/copilot-plus-pcs):

• The Click to Do context menu is being updated with a streamlined design, making it simpler to locate what you need. Frequently used actions like Copy, Save, Share, and Open will now be easier to access directly from the context menu.
  
• Whenever a large image or table appears on your screen, the context menu will automatically pop up, making it quicker and easier to access the actions and results you need.
  

[Agent in Settings]
The following changes and improvements are rolling out for agent in Settings on Copilot+ PCs (https://www.microsoft.com/windows/copilot-plus-pcs):

• We're introducing new experiences to make it easier to modify settings in both search and recommended settings.
• Recommend Settings: Now allows for faster changes by showing an inline agent action for recently modified settings.
  
• Search: We now show more available results in the search fly out to discover what you're looking for and to allow you to quickly modify those settings. In cases where the settings can't be adjusted further, a dialog lets you know why and provides an option to modify the settings as needed.
  

[Studio Effects]
Making Windows Studio Effects available on additional cameras

• We are working to bring the Windows Studio Effects experience from integrated laptop cameras to a broader range of camera hardware, helping you stay professional and look your best across more setups. On supported Copilot+ PCs (https://aka.ms/copilotpluspcs), we are rolling out the ability to use Studio Effect's AI-powered camera enhancements with an additional, alternative camera – such as a USB webcam or your laptop's built-in rear camera.
  

• To get started, navigate to Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Cameras and select your preferred camera from the connected cameras list. Then, open the advanced camera options menu to find the new "Use Windows Studio Effects" toggle. Once enabled, you can now access and adjust Studio Effects directly from the camera settings page or via the quick settings menu in the taskbar.
  
• For more information on Windows Studio Effects and device prerequisites, check out Windows Studio Effects – Microsoft Support (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windows-studio-effects-273c1fa8-2b3f-41b1-a587-7cc7a24b62d8).
  

[Drag Tray]
For Insiders with the Drag Tray feature:

• Drag Tray now supports multi-file sharing, intelligently surfaces more relevant apps, and enables seamless file movement to a chosen folder.

• We've added the ability to turn Drag Tray on/off from Settings > System > Nearby sharing.

[File Explorer]

• Dark Mode:We've made improvements to the dark mode experience in File Explorer starting with key actions like copy, move, and delete dialogs. You'll now see a consistent dark mode experience in:
  
  • The default and expanded state for copy, move, and delete dialogs
  • Progress bars and chart views
  • Dialogs for confirming states like skip, override, and file selection
  • Multiple confirmation and error dialogs
  
  

Other File Explorer improvements include:

• For Insiders with Copilot+ PCs, we're updating the File Explorer Search Box placeholder text to raise awareness of the improved Windows Search experience introduced earlier this year. Learn more in our January blog post. (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/01/17/previewing-improved-windows-search-on-copilot-pcs-with-windows-insiders-in-the-dev-channel/)
  

• When you hover over a file in File Explorer Home, commands such as Open file location and Ask Copilot appear as quick actions. This experience is now supported for work and school accounts (Entra ID). This feature isn't available in the European Economic Area.

[Mobile Device Settings]

• You can now directly add and manage your mobile devices from Settings on your Windows PC by navigating to "Mobile Devices" under the Bluetooth & Devices section. This page allows you to view your mobile devices, add new mobile devices, and manage features such as using your device as a connected camera or accessing your device's files in File Explorer.

[Desktop Spotlight]

• We are trying out a change that adds "Learn more about this background" and "Next desktop background" to the context menu when you click on your desktop if you have Windows Spotlight chosen as your desktop background under Settings > Personalization > Background.

[Input]

• We're moving more keyboard settings from Control Panel to Settings – this includes that the setting for character repeat delay / rate is now available under Settings > Bluetooth & Devices > Keyboard, and the setting for cursor blink rate is now available under Settings > Accessibility > Text cursor.
• Keyboard backlight performance has improved on supported HID-compliant keyboards. Compatible keyboards display keys clearly in low-light environments, and the backlight adjusts to help conserve power.
• The AltGr layer is now enabled for the Arabic 101 keyboard layout (https://learn.microsoft.com/globalization/keyboards/kbda1).  The left Alt key continues to function as before, while the right Alt key acts as a modifier to access additional symbols. The first new symbol mapped to AltGr on the Arabic 101 layout is the Saudi Riyal currency symbol (AltGr+S). The Saudi Riyal currency symbol is also available on the touch keyboard's symbols page and the expressive input panels currency tab. Users who switch languages with Alt+Shift can continue to use the left Alt+Shift or the general shortcut Windows logo key+Spacebar. Arabic 102 (https://learn.microsoft.com/globalization/keyboards/kbda2) and Arabic 102 AZERTY (https://learn.microsoft.com/globalization/keyboards/kbda3) layouts are updated similarly.
  
• Pens that support haptic feedback will now deliver tactile responses during certain interactions with the system UI. For example, you may feel vibrations when hovering over the close button or when snapping and resizing windows.

[Game Pass]

• In this build we have modified references to Game Pass plans in Settings to reflect updated branding and benefits.

[OneDrive]

• We are rolling out the new OneDrive icon in Accounts and Homepages in Settings.

[Recovery]

• Quick Machine Recovery (QMR) now runs a one-time scan on PCs with settings quick machine recoveryand automatically check for solutions are both turned on. If a fix isn't available immediately, QMR directs you to the best recovery options to get your PC running again.Alt txt: In Settings for Systems, Recovery, "Quick machine recovery" and "Automatically check for solutions" are enabled to run a onetime QMR scan by default.
  

[Advanced Settings]

• You can now turn on Virtual Workspaces in Advanced Settings. Virtual Workspaces allow you to enable or disable virtual environments such as Hyper-V and Windows Sandbox. To access Virtual Workspaces, go to Settings> Systems > Advanced.

Fixes gradually being rolled out

[File Explorer]

• Fixed an issue where File Explorer might unexpectedly not show thumbnails for video files containing certain EXIF metadata.
• Fixed an issue where an old white toolbar might sometimes appear unexpectedly in File Explorer.
• Fixed an issue where when you right-clicked a file, the app icon next to the Open option might appear generic instead of showing the default app for that file type.
• Fixed an issue where when opening a folder from another app (for example, opening the Downloads folder from a browser), your custom view — including sorting files by name, changing the icon size, or removing grouping — unexpectedly might reset back to default.
• Fixed an issue where the body of the File explorer window might no longer respond to mouse clicks after invoking the context menu.
• Fixed an issue where extracting very large archive folders (1.5gb+) might fail with a "Catastrophic Error" (error code 0x8000FFFF).
• Fixed an issue which could cause File Explorer to become unresponsive when opening Home.

[Settings]

• Fixed and issue where Settings might become unresponsive when attempting to navigate to the Network & Internet section.
• Fixed an issue where the search bar in Settings might become overlapped with the minimum and maximum buttons in the title bar.
• Fixed an issue where the processor name in Settings > System > About might be truncated.

[Taskbar]

• Fixed an issue where the automatically hide the taskbar setting might unexpectedly turn off, after seeing a message saying a toolbar is already hidden on this side of your screen.
• Fixed an issue where Voice access wasn't working correctly when attempting to interact with the taskbar (calling out a number might not invoke that item).
• Fixed and issue where the taskbar icons might automatically scale to be smaller, although there was enough room left without scaling changes.
• Fixed an issue where if you hovered over an app icon on the taskbar, and then selected the window preview, the preview might dismiss and not bring the window to the foreground.

[Start menu]

• For Insiders with the new Start menu (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/10/08/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-27965-canary-channel/), the Windows Search panel now matches the new Start menu in size. This update aims to create a smoother transition when searching.
  

[Internet]

• Made some underlying improvements to help address an issue which could lead to not having internet after resuming from disconnected standby. Please don't hesitate to file feedback under Network and Internet in the Feedback Hub if you continue experiencing issues.

[Display and graphics]

• Improved performance when apps query monitors for their full list of supported modes. When this happened it could previously lead to a momentary stutter on very high-resolution monitors. This work should help prevent and reduce stuttering in these scenarios.
• Fixed an issue where All-in-one PCs might experience issues with their brightness slider, where it unexpectedly would revert to the original brightness when interacting with it.
• Fixed an issue where recently certain games might display the message Unsupported graphics card detected, although a supported graphics card was being used.
• Fixed an issue where apps and browsers might display partially unresponsive onscreen content when other maximized or full-screen apps were updating in the background. This issue was particularly noticeable when scrolling, as only parts of the window content might update.
• Fixed an issue where text might not render correctly when editing content within a multiline text box in certain apps.

[Login and Lock screens]

• Made some underlying changes to improve the performance of loading the taskbar after unlocking your PC from sleep. This also should help in cases where the password field and other sign-in screen contents didn't render when transitioning from the lock screen to the sign-in screen after sleep.
• Fixed an issue where it might be very slow the first time when signing into a new account.
• Fixed an issue where when your lock screen was set to slide show, there might be a memory leak. Memory leaks can lead to performance or reliability issues over time.

[Narrator]

• Fixed an issue where Narrator might take abrupt random pauses during continuous reading. in word docs.

[Windows Update]

• Fixed an underlying issue which could cause "Update and shutdown" to not actually shut down your PC after updating
• Fixed an underlying issue which could lead to some Insiders seeing error 0x8007042B when attempting to upgrade to Canary from recent Windows 11 24H2 or 25H2-based builds.

[Task Manager]

• Fixed an issue where Task Manager might open as expected, but if you tried to close it it would remain running in the background, with the number of processes growing each time you opened Task Manager. This could also lead to Task Manager unexpectedly appearing on boot.

[Other]

• Fixed an issue where certain apps might become unresponsive when launching the Open or Save Dialog.
• Fixed an issue where interacting with the desktop might unexpectedly invoke Task View.

[Paint App update rolling out to Canary & Dev Channels]

• With Paint version 11.2511.281.0, we're introducing the collapse toolbar feature in Paint. To get started, open Paint and click the chevron icon at the bottom-right of the ribbon to enable Automatically hide toolbar. Once the toolbar collapses, use the Show toolbar button to bring it back and switch tools. To hide it again, click the Hide toolbar button or anywhere outside the toolbar. When you're ready to return to the default view, click the chevron icon and select Always show toolbar.
  

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Apps > Paint (https://aka.ms/paintfeedback).

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 28020.1371 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2026/01/14/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-28020-1371-canary-channel/)

What's new in Build 28020.1371

Fixes gradually being rolled out with toggle on

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

[Start menu]

• Fixed an issue where selecting something from inside a folder of pinned items in Start menu, could lead to the whole folder becoming invisible in Start menu.

[File Explorer]

• Fixed an issue causing File Explorer to show a white flash when navigating between pages for some Insiders after the previous flight.

[Input]

• Fixed an issue where the keyboard character repeat delay in Settings > Bluetooth & Devices > Keyboard was backwards from how it was set in the backend.

[Other]

• Fixed an underlying issue that could lead to your PC freezing where attempting to run Windows Terminal elevated from a non-admin account.
• Fixed an issue where the Share dialog might unexpectedly show an option to share to Shell Experience Host.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 28020.1495 (Canary Channel) (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2026/01/28/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-28020-1495-canary-channel/)

What's new in Canary Build 28020.1495

[Desktop Background]

• In recent Canary builds we added the capability to set .webp images for your desktop background in Settings > Personalization > Desktop Background.

Fixes

[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.
• The desktop watermark should show the correct build number now.

[Start menu]

• Fixed an issue where the edge of the warning dialog shown when shutting down your PC while other users were still signed in was truncated by the edge of the Start menu.

[Input]

• Fixed an issue which could lead to a black flash when using a pen to ink in Snipping Tool.

[Power]

• Fixed an issue in recent Canary builds which was causing shutdown to appear to restart on some Insider devices.

[Settings]

• Fixed an issue which could lead to the Windows Update settings page hanging when loading.
• Fixed an issue where language features under Settings > Time & Language > Language & Region for Australia (English – Australia) wouldn't download (the button wouldn't do anything when clicked).

[Other]

• Fixed an issue causing a small number of Insiders in recent builds to encounter bugchecks with IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL, related to the use of certain smart card readers.