The Windows 11 2023 Update has been released, but behind the scenes, Microsoft is constantly working to improve the newest version of Windows. The company frequently rolls out public preview builds to members of its Windows Insider Program, allowing them to test out — and even help shape — upcoming features.
The Windows Insider program is divided into four channels:
The Canary Channel is where platform changes (such as major updates to the Windows kernel and new APIs) are previewed. These changes are not tied to a particular Windows release and may never ship at all. Little documentation is provided, and builds are likely to be very unstable. This channel is best for highly technical users.
The Dev Channel is where new features are introduced for initial testing, regardless of which Windows release they’ll eventually end up in. This channel is best for technical users and developers and builds in it may be unstable and buggy.
In the Beta Channel, you’ll get more polished features that will be deployed in the next major Windows release. This channel is best for early adopters, and Microsoft says your feedback in this channel will have the most impact.
The Release Preview Channel typically doesn’t see action until shortly before a new feature update is rolled out. It’s meant for final testing of an upcoming release and is best for those who want the most stable builds.
The Beta and Release Preview Channels also receive bug-fix builds for the currently shipping version of Windows 11. See “How to preview and deploy Windows 10 and 11 updates” for more details about the four channels and how to switch to a different channel.
Not everyone can participate in the Windows 11 Insider program, because the new operating system has more stringent system requirements than Windows 10. If your PC fails to meet the minimum hardware requirements for Windows 11, you cannot join the Windows 11 Insider Program. (See “How to check if your PC can run Windows 11.”)
Below you’ll find information about the Windows 11 preview builds that have been announced by Microsoft. (For the Release Preview Channel, we cover builds released for the most recent version of Windows 11 — currently 23H2 — not for earlier versions.) For each build, we’ve included the date of its release, which Insider channel it was released to, a summary of what’s in the build, and a link to Microsoft’s announcement about it.
Note: If you’re looking for information about updates being rolled out to all Windows 11 users, not previews for Windows Insiders, see “Windows 11: A guide to the updates.”
The latest Windows 11 Insider preview builds
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.3566
Release date: April 26, 2024
Released to: Beta Channel
In this build, those in the Beta Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates can now drag-and-drop files with a mouse between breadcrumbs in the File Explorer Address Bar. For everyone in the Beta Channel, widgets are no longer pixelated or fuzzy. In addition, widgets on the lock screen are more reliable.
The build fixes an assortment of bugs for everyone in the Beta Channel, including a memory allocation issue in the Host Networking Service (HNS) that caused high memory consumption. The bug also affected service and pod deployment and scaling.
There are seven known issues in this build, including one in which Internet Information Services (IIS) and Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) may not work.
This build begins the rollout of a new account manager on the Start menu for those in the Beta Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates. When you sign in with a Microsoft account, the new design gives you a quick glanceable view of your account benefits and makes it easier to manage account settings.
In the build, everyone in the Beta Channel gets new navigation bar on the left allowing one to switch between a dedicated widgets dashboard and other integrated dashboards like Discover.
There are several known issues in this build for everyone in the Beta Channel, including one in which Internet Information Services (IIS) and Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) may not work.
In this build there are several improvements to the Widgets button on the taskbar so that the icons on the taskbar are clearer. There are also a larger set of animated icons.
Several bugs have been fixed, including one that caused RemoteApp windows to get cut off when using 200% scaling.
There are four known issues with this build, including one in which using Windows Ink to write in Copilot will not work with the updated Copilot in Windows feature that allows Copilot to act like a normal application window.
In this build, those in the Beta Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates will get recommendations for apps from the Microsoft Store under Recommended on the Start menu. This will appear only for Windows Insiders in the Beta Channel in the US and will not apply to commercial devices (devices managed by organizations). This can be turned off by going to Settings > Personalization > Start and turning off the toggle for “Show recommendations for tips, app promotions, and more.”
In the build, everyone in the Beta Channel can switch between two ways of using Copilot for Windows: 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 that you can resize and move around your screen.
There are several known issues for everyone in the Beta Channel, including one in which Internet Information Services (IIS) and Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) may not work.
Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.3520 and 22631.3520
Release date: April 11, 2024
Released to: Release Preview Channel
This update adds a new mobile device management (MDM) policy called “AllowScreenRecorder” for the Snipping Tool. With it, IT admins can turn off screen recording in the app. The build also adds support for Arm64 .msi files using a Group Policy Object (GPO).
There are a wide variety of bug fixes in this build, including for a bug in which Settings stopped responding when you dismissed a flyout menu, and another in which the Windows Local Administrator Password Solution’s (LAPS) Post Authentication Actions (PAA) did not happen at the end of the grace period. Instead, they occurred at restart.
In this build, those in the Beta Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates get a Copilot feature in which when you copy text or image files, the Copilot icon will change appearance and animate to indicate that Copilot can help. When you hover your mouse over the Copilot icon, it will provide a menu of actions that you can take, such as creating a similar image or analyzing an image. If you select an action on the menu, it will launch the action with Copilot.
There are several known issues for everyone in the Beta Channel, including one in which Internet Information Services (IIS) and Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) may not work.
This build fixes a variety of bugs, including one that prevented bringing focus to the “…” or refresh buttons within Copilot when using a keyboard (for example, by using tab to cycle through buttons).
There are four known issues with this build, including one in which Copilot in Windows does not always fill the width of the panel when docked and resized to a large width. Resizing Copilot to less than half of the width of your screen usually fixes this issue.
Note: The Canary and Dev Channels receiving the same builds is only temporary. During the period in which they are on the same builds, Insiders in the Canary Channel can switch to switch to the Dev Channel. Soon, the Canary Channel will jump to higher build numbers and the window will be closed for switching.
In this build, those in the Beta Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates will get 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.
Those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates will also get a variety of bug fixes, including for one in which no app results showed in search, and another in which Task Manager was holding onto process handles sometimes, leading to processes not stopping when you closed apps if you’d had Task Manager open.
Everyone in the Beta Channel can ask Copilot in Windows for help 10 times when they sign in to Windows using a local account. After that, they must sign in using a Microsoft account (MSA) or a Microsoft Entra ID account. 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.
Everyone in the Beta Channel gets a variety of bug fixes, including one in which IT admins can now use mobile device management (MDM) to turn off the prompt that appears when users sign in to an Entra-joined machine. To do this, they can turn on the “DisablePostLogonProvisioning” policy setting. After a user signs in, provisioning is off for Windows 10 and Windows 11 devices.
In this build, the Widget board gets a new navigation bar on the left allowing you to switch between a dedicated widgets dashboard and other integrated dashboards like Discover. In addition, the Server Message Block (SMB) protocol gets many changes, including one in which Administrators can now disable the SMB over QUIC client with Group Policy and PowerShell.
A variety of bugs have been fixed, including one in which Task Manager was sometimes holding onto process handles, leading to processes not stopping when you closed apps if you’d had Task Manager open.
There are six known issues with this build, including one in which when Copilot in Windows is docked and resized to a large width, Copilot does not always fill the width of the panel. Resizing Copilot to less than half of the width of your screen usually fixes this issue.
Note: The Canary and Dev Channels receiving the same builds is only temporary. During the period in which they are on the same builds, Insiders in the Canary Channel can switch to the Dev Channel. Soon, the Canary Channel will jump to higher build numbers and the window will be closed for switching.
Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.3371 and 22631.3371
Release date: March 21, 2024
Released to: Release Preview Channel
In this build, IT admins can now use mobile device management to turn off the prompt that appears when users sign in to an Entra-joined machine when using Windows Hello for Business. To do this, they can turn on the “DisablePostLogonProvisioning” policy setting. After a user signs in, provisioning is off for Windows 10 and Windows 11 devices.
The build also improves the Remote Desktop Session Host. You can now set up its “clipboard redirection” policy to work in a single direction from the local computer to the remote computer. You can also reverse that order.
There are a wide variety of bug fixes in this build, including for a bug in which the existing AppLocker rule collection enforcement mode was not overwritten when rules merged with a collection that had no rules. This occurred when the enforcement mode was set to “Not Configured.” It also fixed a bug in which the Microsoft Message Queue (MSMQ) PowerShell module did not load.
In this build, users with Bluetooth LE Audio capable assistive hearing devices can now set up and manage their devices via Settings > Accessibility > Hearing aids. Also, a pointer indicator accessibility setting for low-vision users that was introduced in Build 26052 has been disabled. Microsoft plans to reinstate it after fixing some bugs.
The release also fixes several bugs, including one that was causing Settings to freeze and another that caused Insiders in the Dev Channel to see error 0x80070002 when trying to install cumulative updates.
Note: The Canary and Dev Channels receiving the same builds is only temporary. During the period in which they are on the same builds, Insiders in the Canary Channel can switch to the Dev Channel. Soon, the Canary Channel will jump to higher build numbers and the window will be closed for switching.
In this build, those in the Beta Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates get a fix for a bug in which taskbar icons were cutting off the title instead of adjusting with the title length.
Everyone in the Beta Channel will now see their most frequently used app listed in the Recommended section in the Start menu. This applies for most frequently used apps that are not already pinned to the Start menu or taskbar. In addition, everyone in the Beta Channel gets a bug fixed in File Explorer in which hovering over the first picture in Gallery would make a tooltip appear that would never dismiss.
In this build, Microsoft Teams is available as a single application for every type of Teams account (work, school, and personal), offering users seamless switching among accounts. To add or access additional accounts, select your profile picture at the upper right corner of Teams when you sign into Teams.
In addition, there is 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. Copilot in Windows also gets 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 that you can resize and move around your screen.
A variety of bugs have been fixed, including one in which when you turned the Copilot icon off and back on in Settings, it never reappeared on your taskbar, another in which your GPU showed as -1 in Task Manager, and a third in which a Display Connection section was showing up under Settings > System > Display > Graphics and when clicked, it crashed Settings.
There are nine known issues with this build, including one in which context menu icons in File Explorer may appear out of place and with overlapping text. In another, when Copilot in Windows is docked and resized to a large width, Copilot does not always fill the width of the panel. Resizing Copilot to less than half of the width of your screen usually fixes this issue.
In this build, for those in the Beta Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates, when you copy text, the Copilot icon will change appearance and animate to indicate that Copilot can help. 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.
You can now also open Copilot by dragging an image file onto the Copilot icon in the taskbar. Then drop the image into the text box in Copilot and type an action that you would like to take on the image.
A single bug has been fixed for those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates: Settings will no longer crash for some Insiders when going to System > Nearby Sharing. And everyone in the Beta channel gets a fix for a bug that increased of explorer.exe crashes in the last two flights.
In this build, those in the Beta Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates get three bug fixes, including for a bug in which devices with long names weren’t shown in nearby sharing, and another that made Task Manager less reliable.
A new feature is being slowly rolled out in the next few weeks to all Windows Insiders in the Beta Channel: When they move their mouse cursors over the Copilot icon on the taskbar, it opens the Copilot pane. The Copilot pane will close unless interacted with after it opens.
In addition, a bug was fixed for all Windows Insiders in the Beta Channel — search highlights icon in the taskbar could get out of sync with the search highlights for the day.
There are two known issues in this build, including one in which Microsoft Defender Application Guard (MDAG) for Microsoft Edge users may hit a no network connection issue when browsing inside MDAG. The workaround is to disable the MDAG enterprise policy or uninstall MDAG via “Turn Windows Features on and off” and reboot. Note that MDAG for Edge is a deprecated feature.
In this build, those in the Beta Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates get two bugs fixed, one in which the taskbar was sometimes very slow to appear after booting up and logging in for the first time, and another in which taskbar search would open and immediately close if the taskbar had a great many app icons.
Everyone in the Beta Channel will now get notifications when they miss an important notification on their taskbars.
There is one known issue in this build, in which Microsoft Defender Application Guard (MDAG) for Microsoft Edge users may hit a no network connection issue when browsing inside MDAG. The workaround is to disable the MDAG enterprise policy or uninstall MDAG via “Turn Windows Features on and off” and reboot. Note that MDAG for Edge is a deprecated feature.
This build supports the new Wi-Fi 7 standard, which offers higher speed, improved video streaming and videoconferencing compared to previous standards — up to four times as fast as Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E, and close to six times faster than Wi-Fi 5. To take advantage of it, you’ll need a Wi-Fi 7 capable consumer access point and PC.
In addition, Copilot in Windows can perform 16 new actions, including Power Automate Desktop, which lets you automate Windows tasks.
Several bugs have been fixed, including one in which typing too quickly in the Settings search box could result in the results not loading completely, and another in which if you were using multiple monitors, opening a minimized window sometimes resulted in the window appearing on the wrong monitor.
There are nine known issues with this build, including one in which some popular games may not work correctly, and another in which a Display Connection section is incorrectly showing up under Settings > System > Display > Graphics that when clicked, will crash Settings.
In this build, you can now access and edit your most recent photos and screenshots from your Android mobile device in Snipping Tool on your PC. It sends instant notifications on your PC whenever a new photo or screenshot is captured on your Android device. To turn it on, go to Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Mobile devices, choose Manage devices, and allow your PC to access your Android phone. Note that this feature is being gradually rolled out.
The build also fixes a number of bugs, including one in which devices didn’t make the automatic switch from cellular to Wi-Fi when they could use Wi-Fi, and another in which you could not connect to sovereign cloud endpoints in Remote Desktop Web Authentication.
Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.3227 and 22631.3227
Release date: February 15, 2024
Released to: Release Preview Channel
In this build, you can use the Snipping Tool on your PC to edit the most recent photos and screenshots from your Android device. You will get an instant notification on your PC when your Android device captures a new photo or screenshot. To turn this on, go to Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Mobile devices. Choose Manage devices and allow your PC to access your Android device. In addition, the Copilot in Windows icon appears on the right side of the system tray on the taskbar.
A wide variety of bugs have been fixed in this build, including one in which Notepad did not open for the standard user account when you use Command Prompt to open it based on file type association.
In this build, a new pointer indicator helps low-vision users to more easily locate and use their cursors. To turn it on, go to Settings > Accessibility > Mouse pointer and touch and enable the Pointer indicator setting. The widget board also gets a new navigation pane.
Several bugs have been fixed, including one in which focus sessions continued to show as running in the notification center after they had ended, and another in which the last checked time showing for Windows Update in Settings was wrong.
There are nine known issues with this build, including one in which some popular games may not work correctly, and another in which a Display Connection section is incorrectly showing up under Settings > System > Display > Graphics that when clicked, will crash Settings.
With this build, Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel are being moved from receiving 23000 series builds to receiving 26000 series builds. 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, the window is open for Insiders in the Canary Channel to switch to the Dev Channel. At some point, the Canary Channel will jump to higher build numbers and the window will be closed.
The build includes Sudo for Windows, a new way for users to run elevated commands directly from an unelevated console session. The build also has a new Copilot in Windows feature that springs into action when you copy text. 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.
The build also fixes a variety of bugs, including one in which the print queue did not open and another in which in some multi-monitor configurations, a display appeared as frozen.
There are five known issues with this build, including one in which some popular games may not work correctly, and another in which some video streaming apps from the Microsoft Store may not play. As a workaround, you can try streaming from a browser.
In this build, the Copilot icon has been moved to the right side of the system tray on the taskbar for everyone in the Beta Channel. This is just beginning to roll out, so not everyone will see this change right away. In addition, people logged into Windows 11 Pro or Enterprise editions with a Microsoft Entra ID account will be able to view and join upcoming Microsoft Teams meetings directly from the Start menu.
In this build, Insiders who have selected the option to receive new features get several bug fixes, including some that improve overall Windows 11 reliability, one that addresses Task Manager unreliability, and one that fixes a dwm.exe crash.
This build gradually rolls out a feature that gives Windows users the ability to access and edit their most recent photos and screenshots from their Android mobile devices in Snipping Tool on their PC. They can receive instant notifications on their PCs whenever a new photo or screenshot is captured on their Android devices.
The build also supports the latest generation USB standard, USB 80Gbps. 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.
Several bugs have been fixed, including one in which hovering over the system tray area wasn’t bringing up the taskbar when set to autohide, and another in which spacing and fonts used in some settings pages for Widgets were incorrect.
There are five known issues with this build, including one in which some popular games may not work correctly, and another in which the print queue shows messaging saying it can’t find the app when opened. As a workaround, you can launch the print queue from the Run dialog (Win key + R) and enter: explorer.exe shell:appsFolder\Microsoft.Windows.PrintQueueActionCenter_cw5n1h2txyewy!App.
This build fixes several bugs, including one that was causing labels like System in the Start menu’s all apps list to be cut off if text scaling was above 100%, and another that harmed Task Manager’s reliability.
The build has two known issues, including one in which when first launching or after refreshing Copilot in Windows while using voice access, you’ll need to use “Show grid” commands to click in the “Ask me anything” box for the first time.
In this build, Insiders who have selected the option to receive new features will see suggestions in Snap Layouts that help you instantly snap multiple app windows together. When hovering over the Minimize or Maximize button on an app (or Win key + Z) to launch the layout box, you will see app icons displayed in various layout options to help recommend the best layout option that works best.
Everyone in the Beta Channel who has turned on the toggle to unenroll their device under Settings > Windows Update > Windows Insider Program > Stop getting preview builds will begin receiving an in-place upgrade that removes their device from flighting. This in-place upgrade will install Windows 11, version 23H2 with the most recent servicing updates available to retail customers. Please note that unenrolling a device from flighting in the Beta Channel will result in a loss of some features that are not yet available for retail customers. However, your personal data will still be there.
Everyone in the Beta Channel gets a number of bug fixes, including one for a bug that caused your device to shut down after 60 seconds when you used a smart card to authenticate on a remote system, and another in which search stopped working on the Start menu for some users because of a deadlock.
In this build, four bugs have been fixed for Insiders who have selected the option to receive new features, including one in which dragging the Task Manager window didn’t work if your mouse pointer was on the search box, and another in which voice access crashed when setting up new languages.
Everyone in the Beta Channel gets support for the latest generation USB standard, USB 80Gbps. 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.
This build starts a gradual rollout of a feature that lets Windows users access and edit their most recent photos and screenshots from their Android mobile devices in Snipping Tool on their PCs. They will receive instant notifications on their PCs whenever a new photo or screenshot is captured on their Android devices. To turn on the feature, go to Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Mobile devices, choose Manage devices, and allow your PC to access your Android phone.
Two bugs have also been fixed, one in which dragging the Task Manager window wouldn’t work if your mouse was on the search box, and another that hurt the launch performance of File Explorer.
The build has four known issues, including one in which when first launching or after refreshing Copilot in Windows while using voice access, you’ll need to use “Show grid” commands to click in the “Ask me anything” box for the first time.
This build supports the latest-generation USB standard, USB 80Gbps. In addition, 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, launch the Windows share window by clicking the share icon at the top right in the toolbar and choosing the Windows share options.
Two bugs have also been fixed, one that made Task Manager unreliable for some Insiders, and another that made the Windows share window unreliable for some Insiders.
The build has four known issues, including one in which when first launching or after refreshing Copilot in Windows while using voice access, you’ll need to use “Show grid” commands to click in the “Ask me anything” box for the first time.
In this build, for Insiders who have selected the option to receive new features, the Windows share window for Microsoft Edge and other browsers that invoke the Windows share window now supports the ability to share URLs directly to WhatsApp, Gmail, X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and LinkedIn. In Microsoft Edge, launch the Windows share window by clicking the share icon at the top right in the toolbar and choosing the Windows share options.
Everyone in the Beta Channel gets dynamic, interactive weather updates on their lock screens. Everyone also gets two bug fixes, one for the spellchecker, and the other for ActiveX scroll bar.
Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.3078 and 22631.3078
Release date: January 11, 2024
Released to: Release Preview Channel
This build adds eye control system settings. You can back up these settings from the former device while you set up a new device. Then those settings will install automatically on the new device so you can use them when you reach the desktop.
There are a wide variety of bug fixed in this build, including one in which search stopped working on the Start menu for some users because of a deadlock, and another that stopped WMI from working in certain scenarios with mobile device management providers, such as Microsoft Intune.
In this build, Insiders who have selected the option to receive new features get a handful of fixes to improve overall reliability. One bug was fixed for those who get new features, in which a tabtip.exe crash impacted the ability for some Windows Insiders to input text.
This build offers dynamic, interactive weather updates on the lockscreen. It also lets you 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. It also introduces voice shortcuts or custom commands to enable you to create your own commands. This is currently available if you use voice access in English.
Several bugs have been fixed, including one in which the text input indicator appeared to be floating when you opened Start menu, and another that caused explorer.exe to crash when opening the context menu in File Explorer if multiple files were selected.
The build has five known issues, including one in which when first launching or after refreshing Copilot in Windows while using voice access, you’ll need to use “Show grid” commands to click in the “Ask me anything” box for the first time.
This build lets you 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. It also introduces voice shortcuts or custom commands to enable you to create your own commands. This is currently available if you use voice access in English. In addition, 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 and will not be reinstallable.
A variety of bugs have been fixed, including one in which Settings crashed when navigating to Power & Battery, and another in which the details pane in File Explorer unexpectedly took keyboard focus sometimes.
There are six known issues in this build, including one in which some popular games may not work correctly, and another in which the print queue shows a messaging saying it can’t find the app when opened. As a workaround, you can launch the print queue from the Run dialog (Windows key + R) and entering:
In this build, Insiders who have selected the option to receive new features get extended language support for languages such as French (France or Canada), German, and Spanish (Spain or Mexico).
In addition, there is a new dedicated mode for Windows 365 boot. With it, you can boot to your Windows 365 Cloud PC from your designated company-owned device. You will be able to seamlessly login to your Windows 365 Cloud PC from Windows 11 login screen using passwordless authentication methods like Windows Hello for Business. In Windows 365 Switch, you can now disconnect from Cloud PC directly from a local PC. This can be done by going to Local PC > Task view > Right click on the Cloud PC button > Disconnect.
This build also marks a transition from Windows Speech Recognition (WSR), which is being deprecated, to voice access, a new assistive technology that uses on-device speech recognition, enabling control of your PC and authoring text without an internet connection. When WSR is opened, a dialog will pop up directing you to try voice access.
All Insiders, even those who haven’t selected the option to receive new features, get an updated Notepad that includes displaying character count in the status bar.
Insiders who have opted to receive new features get two bug fixes, one in which when you create a dump file for a process, the dump file location is selectable now so you can copy it out, and another that eliminates the background jumping when switching between desktops.
This build marks a transition from Windows Speech Recognition (WSR), which is being deprecated, to voice access, a new assistive technology that uses on-device speech recognition, enabling control of your PC and authoring text without an internet connection. When WSR is opened, a dialog will pop up directing you to try voice access.
Several bugs have been fixed, including one that caused the details pane in File Explorer to unexpectedly take keyboard focus sometimes.
The build has six known issues, including one in which when first launching or after refreshing Copilot in Windows while using voice access, you’ll need to use “Show grid” commands to click in the “Ask me anything” box for the first time.
Microsoft is releasing ISOs for this build, which can be downloaded here. This is the last Dev Channel release for 2023.
This build introduces Windows Protected Print Mode, which lets your PC print using Mopria-certified printers only. These printers eliminate third-party printer drivers and instead rely on Internet Printing Protocol (IPP) with built-in encryption for safer and more streamlined printing operations.
A variety of bugs have been fixed in this build, including one that caused keyboard shortcuts to not work on the desktop, and another that caused the details pane in File Explorer to unexpectedly take keyboard focus sometimes.
There are four known issues with this build, including one in which some popular games may not work correctly, and another in which attempting to reboot into safe mode hangs on the boot logo.
This build includes many new features for Windows 365 Boot, which lets sys admins configure Windows 11 physical devices so that users can sign in directly to their Windows 365 Cloud PC on them. Among the new capabilities is a dedicated mode that lets you seamlessly log in to your Windows 365 Cloud PC from the Windows 11 login screen using passwordless authentication methods like Windows Hello for Business.
Windows 365 Switch, which lets users move between their local device and one of their Cloud PCs using multiple desktops with the Windows 11 Task view, also gets new features, including an easier way to disconnect from their Cloud PC directly from their local PC.
In addition, screen casting gets improved discoverability, and there are new widgets board settings, including more ways to customize it.
The build also includes a variety of bug fixes, including for a bug in Copilot in Windows that was causing full-screen apps to minimize on secondary monitors when launching Copilot, and another on the Start menu that caused the Recommended section to appear blank for some users.
The build has seven known issues, including one in which when first launching or after refreshing Copilot in Windows while using voice access, you’ll need to use “Show grid” commands to click in the “Ask me anything” box for the first time.
This build introduces new settings to customize how the widget board works, including one that makes it easier for you to discover how to personalize your feed content.
Six bugs have been fixed, including one that caused the restart button to be missing in Settings > Windows Update or for that settings page to not load at all, and another that caused some users to experience an increase in bug checks.
There are four known issues with this build, including one in which some popular games may not work correctly, and another in which attempting to reboot into safe mode hangs on the boot logo.
In this build, when Insiders who have selected the option to receive new features turn on nearby sharing via quick settings or directly in Settings and have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth off, it will turn Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on, so nearby sharing will work as expected. If they turn off Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, it will also turn off nearby sharing.
There are several bug fixes for those who have toggled the option on, including one in which Task Manager crashed when changing Always on Top mode, and one in which the dropdowns in settings would float up the screen if you scrolled.
Everyone in the Beta Channel gets new widget board settings, including one that makes it easier for you to discover how to personalize your feed content.
Everyone in the Beta Channel gets a variety of bug fixes, including one in which Copilot in Windows can be used across multiple displays, and another that fixed an issue with Remote Desktop web authentication.
There are six known issues, including one in which the Microsoft 365, Outlook Calendar, and To Do widgets get stuck in an error state when the Microsoft Start feed is disabled.
This build introduces energy saver, which enhances Windows’s battery saver feature by reducing system performance to improve battery life. 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.
Four bugs have been fixed, including one that caused the installation of some apps, including Phone Link, to fail with error 0x87AF0813, and another that caused Settings to crash when navigating to Bluetooth & Devices > Touchpad.
There are three known issues with this build, including one in which some popular games may not work correctly, and another in which attempting to reboot into safe mode hangs on the boot logo.
This build shows the Copilot icon on the right side of the system tray on the taskbar so the entry point to Copilot is closer to where the Copilot pane opens. And 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 directly within the Windows share window.
One bug was fixed; it caused custom wallpapers to shift when switching desktops.
The build has two known issues, including one in which when first launching or after refreshing Copilot in Windows while using voice access, you’ll need to use “Show grid” commands to click in the “Ask me anything” box for the first time.
In this build, those Insiders who have toggled on the option to receive new features as soon as they are released and are signed into Windows with a Microsoft Entra ID can now directly share Teams contacts to specific Microsoft Teams Channels and groups chats as well directly within the Windows share window.
There are several bug fixes for those who have toggled the option on, including for a bug in which when dragging and dropping windows in Task View to different desktops, the windows might unexpectedly be placed in the background of other windows.
Everyone in the Beta Channel gets account-related notifications for Microsoft accounts on the Settings homepage. Notifications are displayed across the Start menu and Settings. You can manage Settings notifications in Settings > Privacy & security > General.
In this build, you can use Copilot in Windows across multiple displays. Press the Copilot in Windows taskbar button on the taskbar of the display where you want Copilot in Windows to appear. You can also ask Copilot in Windows for help ten times when you sign in to Windows using a local account.
There are a variety of bug fixes in this build, including for an issue in which remote direct memory access (RDMA) performance counters did not return networking data on VMs in the right way, and another in which the Systems Settings application stopped responding after you turned off Device Encryption.
In this build, those Insiders who have toggled on the option to receive new features as soon as they are released will get previews for natural voices in Narrator for 10 new locales launched in September 2023. They will also get improvements in how Narrator handles images, such as improved recognition of text in images, including handwriting, and improvements to overall image descriptions.
There are also a variety of bug fixes for those who have toggled the option on, including one in which Narrator was announcing old dialog names even after users navigated to new dialogs on a few web pages, and another in which Settings Home was unexpectedly showing some users that there was NaN% storage left.
Everyone in the Beta Channel gets several bug fixes, including for one in which Settings Home showed a prompt to sign into your Microsoft account and failed to sign in if you tried to use it, even though Settings itself showed you were already signed in.
This build includes previews for natural voices in Narrator for 10 new locales launched in September 2023. Narrator also gets improvements in how it handles images, such as improved recognition of text in images, including handwriting, and improvements to overall image descriptions.
A variety of bugs were fixed, including one in which opening the context menu on the desktop crashed explorer.exe and another in which the share window in Windows Share crashed.
The build has one known issue: when first launching or after refreshing Copilot in Windows while using voice access, you’ll need to use “Show grid” commands to click in the “Ask me anything” box for the first time.
In this build, 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 make it easier to share. In addition, a new option under Settings > Bluetooth & devices will prevent Phone Link from communicating with your mobile devices.
Five bugs have been fixed, including one that caused taskbar icons to disappear after switching desktops, and another in which Settings Home showed a prompt to sign into your Microsoft account and failed to sign you in if you tried to use it, even though Settings itself showed you were already signed in.
There are three known issues in this build, including one in which attempting to navigate to Settings > Bluetooth & Devices > Touchpad will crash Settings.
This build includes a number of Server Message Block (SMB) protocol changes, including firewall changes; the ability to connect to an SMB server over TCP, QUIC, or RDMA using alternative network ports to the hardcoded defaults; and changes to SMB over QUIC client access control certificates.
Five bugs have been fixed, including one that caused taskbar icons to disappear after switching desktops, and another in which Settings Home showed a prompt to sign into your Microsoft account and failed to sign you in if you tried to use it, even though Settings itself showed you were already signed in.
There are three known issues in this build, including one in which attempting to navigate to Settings > Bluetooth & Devices > Touchpad will crash Settings.
In this build, the Camera app, Cortana app, Photos app, People app, and Remote Desktop (MSTSC) client can now be uninstalled.
Several bugs were fixed, including one in which the context menu drew off screen when invoked using touch or pen on the side of your desktop.
The build has one known issue, in when first launching or after refreshing Copilot in Windows while using voice access, you’ll need to use “Show grid” commands to click in the “Ask me anything” box for the first time.
This build fixes a bug in which the setting to turn off the use of drop shadows for icon labels on the desktop did not work. Microsoft is also looking into an issue in which Snipping Tool may crash when taking a capture on Arm devices.
In this build, users with local accounts can access Copilot in Windows for a limited number of queries before needing to sign in.
The build also fixes a variety of bugs, including one in File Explorer in which using mouse back and forward buttons didn’t react when hovering over the Recommended Files section of Home, and another in which if your taskbar was nearly full of icons — and you used the search box — clicking the search box would open search, which would immediately close.
The build has two known issues, one in which when first launching or after refreshing Copilot in Windows while using voice access, you’ll need to use “Show grid” commands to click in the “Ask me anything” box for the first time.
In this build, PNG files now support viewing and editing metadata — you can set a star rating in Properties, edit the description, or add keywords. In addition, the settings page for Delivery Optimization under Settings > Windows Update > Advanced options > Delivery Optimization now matches the Windows 11 design principles.
One bug has been fixed, to stop File Explorer from crashing in Windows Sandbox when using a non-English display language.
There are three known issues, including one in which some popular games might not work correctly on Preview builds in the Canary Channel.
This build tests out grouping recently added apps into a folder under the Recommended section of Start with some Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel. It also fixes a number of bugs, including one in which some Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel using the Home edition of Windows 11 Insider Preview builds to find Copilot in Windows has disappeared from the taskbar.
The build has one known issue: when first launching or after refreshing Copilot in Windows while using voice access, you’ll need to use “Show grid” commands to click in the “Ask me anything” box for the first time.
In this build, system Components currently listed in Settings > Apps > Installed Apps page, have moved to their own page under Settings > System > System Components.
There are also a variety of bug fixes, including one in which the Widgets notification badge was on the wrong place ion the taskbar, and another in which touchscreens did not work properly when more than one display is used.
This build gradually rolls out the Copilot in Windows preview. Some Insiders will immediately see it, and others will have to wait. In addition, SMB now supports requiring encryption of all outbound SMB client connections.
Several bugs have been fixed, including one that led to hangs when launching File Explorer, and another that caused the print queue to be inaccessible and show an error if you tried to open it.
There is one known issue in this build, in which some popular games might not work correctly on Preview builds in the Canary Channel.
In this build, under “All apps” in the Start menu, Windows 11 system components will now show a “system” label. Also, the Xbox Game Bar will now show as just Game Bar under the Start menu and under Settings > System > Apps > Installed apps. This change will come through a Game Bar update via the Microsoft Store.
The build fixes two bugs, one that caused the Start menu to crash on launch if the display language was set to Czech or Slovak, and another in which the search icon in the taskbar wasn’t appearing correctly for people using search icon and label.
In this build, Copilot in Windows can now be used across multiple monitors. The build fixes a variety of bugs, including some that could have led to hangs when launching File Explorer, and one in Settings in which Home was unexpectedly showing some users that there was NaN% storage left.
The build has two known issues, both in Copilot in Windows. In one, while using voice access, you’ll need to use “Show grid” commands to click in the “Ask me anything” box for the first time. In the other, Copilot in Windows has disappeared from the taskbars of some Insiders who use the Home edition of Windows 11 Insider Preview builds.
In this build, new controls have been added to help 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.
In addition, in the build, Windows supports 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.
Several bugs have been fixed, including one in which certain .rar files would open blank or with an unexpected message saying there was insufficient memory to open the file.
There are three known issues in this build, including one in which some popular games may not work correctly on Preview builds in the Canary Channel.
This build disables the update of the color font format to COLRv1 (first introduced in Build 22631.2265) that displayed richer emoji with a 3D like appearance to fix some bugs. It will be re-enabled in a future build.
The build fixes one bug, which was causing search to crash on launch for some Insiders.
In this update, when you select the gleam in the search box, a Bing.com page will appear for the daily search highlight. This is available to a small audience initially and will be made available more widely in the coming months.
The update also addresses a wide variety of bugs, including fixing memory leaks in ctfmon.exe and TextInputHost.exem and fixing a bug that blocked external connections when you set up a Kubernetes load balanced service and turned on session affinity.
In this build Copilot in Windows shows its new icon on the taskbar. Several bugs have also been fixed, including one that could have caused File Explorer windows to hang for OneDrive users.
The build has three known issues, including one in which some apps under “All apps” on the Start menu, such as PWA apps installed via Microsoft Edge, may incorrectly be labeled as system components, and another in which when first launching or after refreshing Copilot in Windows while using voice access, you’ll need to use “Show grid” commands to click in the “Ask me anything” box for the first time.
With this build, there will no longer be a build split number in the Beta channel — everyone in the channel will now get the same build. If you want to get the newest features from the build, go to Settings > Windows Update and turn the toggle below “Get the latest updates as soon as they’re available” to On. If you don’t do that, the features will be rolled out to you more gradually.
This build includes improvements to Windows Ink, which will be rolled out to everyone regardless of whether they asked to receive the latest features. It also includes a new Copilot in Windows icon on the taskbar, which will only be immediately available to those who want the newest features.
The build fixes several bugs, including one in which explorer.exe was crashing when you tried to open File Explorer by using Open File Location in an app.
This build introduces a new Settings homepage that provides an overview of your device, gives quick access to key settings, and helps manage your Microsoft account. It includes 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. This release has seven cards, with more coming soon.
The build also fixes a variety of bugs, including one that caused Insiders to see bug checks (green screens) in recent Canary Channel builds when shutting down, logging out, or restarting, and another in which File Explorer sorting changes wouldn’t persist in folders after you navigated away and back.
There are three known issues in this build, including one in which some popular games may not work correctly on Preview builds in the Canary Channel.
In this build, Using the Alt + Tab hotkey displays the thumbnail preview for Copilot in Windows among with the other thumbnail previews of open windows, which you can switch between by pressing Tab. The build also fixes several bugs, including one that sometimes made File Explorer dropdowns and context menus unexpectedly have a transparent background and another in which the search box wasn’t showing the correct folder name when you were in Gallery.
The build has four known issues, including one in which when first launching or after refreshing Copilot in Windows while using voice access, you’ll need to use “Show grid” commands to click in the “Ask me anything” box for the first time, and another in which some apps under All apps on the Start menu, such as PWA apps installed via Microsoft Edge, may incorrectly be labeled as system components.
This build fixes a variety of bugs, including one that caused a Task Manager crash when changing Always on Top mode, and another that caused explorer.exe to crash when trying to open Copilot from the taskbar.
The build has five known issues, including one which the Windows Copilot Preview is not available in some regions and another in which some apps under All apps on the Start menu, such as PWA apps installed via Microsoft Edge, may incorrectly be labeled as system components.
This update is being released to Release Preview Channel for Windows Insider Program for Business participants to validate on devices in their organizations. This update is delivered as an enablement package with the same servicing branch and code base as Windows 11 version 22H2. It includes Copilot in Windows (in preview) and Windows Backup for Microsoft Accounts.
This update introduces a preview of Windows Copilot, which Microsoft says uses AI to make it easier to use Windows 11 and get more out of it. You can launch the Copilot preview by clicking its icon on the taskbar or pressing Window key + C.
In this build, you can enable voice access for users to set up new Windows devices and navigate through the out of box experience. To enable it, launch the accessibility flyout on the bottom right corner of their screens and click on voice access.
The update also rolls out the September 2023 update for the Windows Subsystem for Linux and fixes a number of bugs, including one that caused sporadic explorer.exe and Start menu crashes, and another that sometimes caused thumbnails in the File Explorer Gallery to flash when scrolling.
This update introduces websites to the Recommended section of the Start menu. It also fixes a variety of bugs, including one in which Microsoft Defender stopped some USB printers from printing, and another in which the display of some elements of Remote Apps were not aligned correctly.
In this build, the SMB client now supports blocking NTLM for remote outbound connections, and the SMB server also supports controlling which SMB 2 and 3 dialects it will negotiate. The build also adjusts 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.
There is one known issue in this build, in which some popular games may not work correctly on Preview builds in the Canary Channel.
This build lets you quickly give your device a more friendly name for use with nearby share under Settings > System > Nearby sharing.
It also fixes a variety of bugs, including one in which icons on the desktop showed as generic white pages rather than their proper icons, and another in which rapidly opening two File Explorer windows made explorer.exe crash.
The build has four known issues, including one in which some apps under All apps on the Start menu, such as PWA apps installed via Microsoft Edge, may incorrectly be labeled as system components, and another in which you can use Alt + Tab to switch out of Windows Copilot, but not back into it. Windows + C will move focus back to Windows Copilot.
Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.2338 and 22631.2338
Release date: September 12, 2023
Released to: Beta Channel
These updates are being released to two groups in the Beta Channel, 22621.2338 and 22631.2338.
Build 22631.2338 gets a variety of fixes, including for a bug that caused some Insiders to see untranslated text in some areas across the system, including in File Explorer and Settings, and another in which after changing between dark and light mode in File Explorer, the icons in the command bar and context menu became very difficult to see.
In both Build 22621.2338 and Build 22631.2338, the Camera app, Cortana, Photos app, and People app can now be uninstalled, and a bug was fixed in which Microsoft Defender stopped some USB printers from printing.
Note that if you receive Build 22621.2338, you can check for updates and install 22631.2338.
This build fixes a variety of bugs, including one in which dragging app icons in the taskbar sometimes led to an explorer.exe crash, and another in search on the taskbar in which sometimes the tooltip when mousing over the search box wouldn’t match the current search highlight.
The build has nine known issues, including one in which icons on the desktop may show as generic white pages rather than their proper icons, and another in which some apps under All apps on the Start menu, such as PWA apps installed via Microsoft Edge, may incorrectly be labeled as system components.
The build fixes a variety of bugs, including one in which File Explorer could crash when navigating to Gallery, and another in which explorer.exe would not work in safe mode.
There is one known issue in this build, in which some popular games may not work correctly on Preview builds in the Canary Channel.
Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.2271 and 22631. 2271
Release date: September 6, 2023
Released to: Beta Channel
These updates are being released to two groups in the Beta Channel, 22621.2271 and 22631.2271.
In Build 22631.2271, the Windows Ink improvements introduced with Build 22631.2050 that enabled inking directly onto edit fields are being temporarily disabled for Windows Insiders in the Beta Channel while bugs impacting its usability are fixed.
Build 22631.2271 fixes a variety of bugs, including one that could make explorer.exe crash when navigating away from Home, and another that caused the Windows Copilot icon in the taskbar to be flipped backwards for right-to-left languages.
Note that if you receive Build 22621.2271, you can check for updates and install 22631.2271.
This build fixes a variety of bugs, including one that impacted the taskbar appearing correctly after powering on your device, and another that caused Task Manager to crash when using the end task option in the Details page.
The build has five known issues, including one which sometimes the tooltip when mousing over the search box does not match the current search highlight, and another in which some apps under “All apps” on the Start menu, such as PWA apps installed via Microsoft Edge, may incorrectly be labeled as system components.
In this build, 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.
The build also fixes a variety of bugs, including one in which Settings crashed when you looked at detailed battery usage, and another in which File Explorer context menu and command bar dropdowns became transparent and did not work with touch.
Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.2265 and 22631.2265
Release date: August 31, 2023
Released to: Beta Channel
These updates are being released to two groups in the Beta Channel, 22621.2265 and 22631.2265.
In Build 22631.2265, Windows can now display richer emoji with a 3D like appearance with support coming soon to some apps and browsers.
Build 22631.2265 gets a variety of fixes, including for a bug in which apps in the taskbar appeared to be cut off without a rounded corner on the end when you had a lot of app windows open and the taskbar was set to not combine.
Note that if you receive Build 22621.2265, you can check for updates and install 22631.2265.
In this build, the Task Manager settings page has been changed 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. In addition, the underlying crash which was causing .NET updates to get stuck requesting restart in Windows Update Settings in recent Canary Channel builds has been fixed.
This build reintroduces the search experience for invoking the search flyout when you hover over the search box gleam. This behavior can be adjusted by right-clicking on the taskbar, choosing Taskbar settings, and adjusting your preferred search box experience.
The build also fixes a variety of bugs, including one in which explorer.exe crashed when File Explorer was closed, and another in which Task Manager crashed sporadically, including when ending tasks.
The build has four known issues, including one which sometimes the tooltip when mousing over the search box does not match the current search highlight, and another in which some apps under All apps on the Start menu, such as PWA apps installed via Microsoft Edge, may incorrectly be labeled as system components.
Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.2262 and 22631.2262
Release date: August 24, 2023
Released to: Beta Channel
These updates are being released to two groups in the Beta Channel, 22621.2262 and 22631.2262.
Build 22631.2262 adds a new Settings home page that provides an overview of your device, adds quick access to key settings, and helps manage your Microsoft account. In addition, new backup and restore features make it easier to move apps to a new PC.
Build 22631.2262 fixes a variety of bugs, including one in which in some cases, the context menu background in File Explorer appeared transparent. This also impacted the command bar dropdown menus.
Builds 22621.2262 and 22631.2262 get two bug fixes, for one in which the “Check for updates” button did not appear as expected under Settings > Windows Update, and another in which removing a monitor while connected to a Cloud PC could result in a black screen with only a mouse visible.
Build 22631.2262 has three known issues, including one in which explorer.exe crashes on the login screen when attempting to enter safe mode.
Note that if you receive Build 22621.2262, you can check for updates and install 22631.2262.
In this build, which is being released via ISOs, files that do not have rich thumbnail previews will no longer show a blank preview area in File Explorer. In addition, a variety of bugs have been fixed, including one in which the System label in the Start menu’s “All apps” list was the wrong color in high-contrast themes, and another in which if you attempted to uninstall certain apps from Start, it would just open Settings and not navigate to the Installed Apps page.
The build has six known issues, including one which explorer.exe crashed on the login screen when attempting to enter safe mode, and another in which some apps under “All apps” on the Start menu, such as PWA apps installed via Microsoft Edge, may incorrectly be labeled as a system component.
Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.2199 and 22631.2199
Release date: August 18, 2023
Released to: Beta Channel
These updates are being released to two groups in the Beta Channel, 22621.2199 and 22631.2199.
Build 22631.2199 adds native support for reading additional archive file formats using the libarchive open-source project, such as .tar, .tar.gz, .tar.bz2, .tar.zst,.tar.xz, and many others. In addition, files that do not have rich thumbnail previews will no longer show a blank preview area in File Explorer.
Build 22631.2199 fixes a variety of bugs, including one in which the “safely remove hardware” icon did not appear when expected in the system tray, and another in which using End Task on certain apps caused other unrelated apps to close.
Build 22621.2199 has five known issues, including one in which the context menu background in File Explorer sometimes appears transparent.
Note that if you receive Build 22621.2199, you can check for updates and install 22631.2199.
In this build, DC (domain controller) location will no longer use NetBIOS\WINS\mailslot-based discovery by default. In addition, the build includes new features previously released to the Dev Channel, such as Unicode Emoji 15 support, and voice is available for use on more areas in Windows such as the Lock screen. There are also more fields in the File Explorer Details pane, including image dimensions for pictures, number of pages for .docx, space used and free information for drives, and many others.
There’s one fix for a bug in which you weren’t able to connect over SMB to a third-party storage device using guest (no username or password) credentials.
In this build, Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel can participate in the public preview of Windows 365 Switch, which provides the ability to easily move between a Windows 365 Cloud PC and the local desktop using the familiar keyboard commands, as well as a mouse-click or a swipe gesture through Task View on the Windows 11 taskbar. Go here for details about how to participate.
In addition, Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel who log in and are managed by AAD (soon to be Microsoft Entra ID) will see Windows Copilot enabled for them without the need to enable it via Group Policy Editor. Windows Search now also uses the Microsoft Bing Search app to return web content and search results.
A variety of bugs have been fixed, including one that prevented users from dragging a file out of an archived folder to extract it with one of the newly supported archive formats, and another that had removed the USB icon and its options from the system tray.
The build has six known issues, including one in which explorer.exe crashes on the login screen when attempting to enter safe mode, and another in which some apps under All apps on the Start menu may incorrectly be labeled as a system component.
Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.2191 and 22631.2191
Release date: August 10, 2023
Released to: Beta Channel
These updates are being released to two groups in the Beta Channel, 22621.2191 and 22631.2191.
Build 22631.2191 lets you set JXR files to be your desktop background, and if you have an HDR display, they will render in full HDR. In addition, you can now participate in the public preview of Windows 365 Switch, which provides the ability to easily move between a Windows 365 Cloud PC and the local desktop using the familiar keyboard commands, as well as a mouse-click or a swipe gesture through Task View on the Windows 11 taskbar. Go here for details about how to participate.
Build 22631.2191 gets a variety of fixes, including for a bug in which File Explorer crashed when you went to its Home, and another in which the image in the File Explorer Details pane might get blurry after resizing the File Explorer window.
Build 22621.has six known issues, including one in which the context menu background in File Explorer sometimes appeared transparent.
Note that if you receive Build 22621.2191, you can check for updates and install 22631.2191.
This update adds a new hover behavior to the search box gleam. When you hover over it, the search flyout box appears. To can adjust this behavior, right-click the taskbar and choose Taskbar settings to change your search box experience.
The build also adds a new policy called “Enable optional updates” in which administrators can use it to configure the monthly, optional cumulative updates for commercial devices. You can also use this policy for the gradual Controlled Feature Rollouts (CFRs).
The update also fixes a variety of bugs, including one in which Group Policy Service did not wait for 30 seconds, the default wait time, for the network to be available. Because of this, policies were not correctly processed.
In addition, Notifications 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.
There’s one bug fix in which using devices with mobile broadband connectivity could not connect to a wireless network due to an issue with the APN configuration.
This build lets you set JXR files to be your desktop background. If you have an HDR display, they will render in full HDR. In addition, for people logged into a Windows 11 Pro or Enterprise editions with an AAD account (soon to be Microsoft Entra ID), there is 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. An update will enable the experience for more files and for Microsoft account users.
This build offers improvements to Windows screen casting, which lets you wirelessly extend your display to a nearby PC, TV, or other external display. The way in which you connect has been simplified and streamlined, and it’s easier to find nearby devices and displays to which you can cast.
The build also increases the ways in which you can use voice access, including to log into your PC and access other areas of the lock screen. You can turn on voice access from the accessibility flyout on the Lock screen or have it on automatically by checking the setting Start voice access before you sign in to your PC via Settings > Accessibility > Speech.
A variety of bugs have been fixed, including one in which the icons displayed in the tabs in File Explorer could have become out of sync with the current folder after navigating, and another in which multiple explorer.exe crashes harmed taskbar reliability.
The build has nine issues, including one in which File Explorer may crash when dragging the scroll bar or attempting to close the window during an extended file-loading process, and another in which search boxes in Microsoft 365 applications (such as Microsoft Word) might not work correctly.
Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.2129 and 22631.2129
Release date: July 26, 2023
Released to: Beta Channel
These updates are being released to two groups in the Beta Channel, 22621.2129 and 22631.2129.
Build 22631.2129 includes a preview of Windows Copilot for Windows 11. The preview focuses solely on the user interface. Later builds will have new features. Click the New button on the taskbar (or use the keyboard shortcut Windows key + C) to launch Windows Copilot. Windows Copilot will use the same Microsoft account or Azure Active Directory (AAD) account used to sign in to Windows.
In addition, voice access can now use “correction” commands to correct words that have been misrecognized. The build also increases the ways in which you can use voice access, including to log into your PC and access other areas of the lock screen. You can turn on voice access from the accessibility flyout on the Lock screen or have it on automatically by checking the setting Start voice access before you sign in to your PC via Settings > Accessibility > Speech.
This build also offers improvements to Windows screen casting, which lets you wirelessly extend your display to a nearby PC, TV, or other external display. The way in which you connect has been simplified and streamlined, and it’s easier to find nearby devices and displays to which you can cast.
In the build, enterprise customers can now set the EnablePasswordlessExperience policy that promotes a user experience on AAD-joined machines for core authentication scenarios without requiring a password. This hides passwords from certain Windows authentication scenarios and leverages passwordless recovery mechanisms, such as WHFB PIN reset, if necessary.
Build 22631.2129 gets a variety of fixes, including one in which the dropdown in the address bar appeared totally blank, and another in which some of the app icons in the Startup Apps section of Task Manager were very tiny.
Both Build 22621.2129 and 22631.2129 have seven known issues, including one in which File Explorer crashes when you go to its Home, and another in which the context menu background in File Explorer sometimes appears transparent.
Note that if you receive Build 22621.2129, you can check for updates and install 22631.2129.
These updates are being released to two groups in the Beta Channel, 22621.2115 and 22631.2115.
In Build 22631.2115, 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.
Both Build 22621.2115 and 22631.2115 get a variety of fixes, including one that makes brightness settings more accurate. It also fixes a bug in which you could not sign into hybrid joined devices if they were not connected to the internet. This occurred when you used a Windows Hello for Business PIN or biometric credentials.
Note that if you receive Build 22621.2115, you can check for updates and install 22631.2115.
Both Build 22621.2115 and 22631.2115 have eight known issues, one in which File Explorer crashed when you went to its Home, and another in which the context menu background in File Explorer sometimes appeared transparent.
Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.2050 and 22631.2050
Release date: July 21, 2023
Released to: Beta Channel
These updates are being released to two groups in the Beta Channel, 22621.2050 and 22631.2050.
Build 22631.2050 gets a modernized File Explorer Home, Address Bar, and Details Pane. Windows Ink has also been improved, allowing you to ink directly onto edit fields. Quick Settings gets a redesigned volume mixer. Improvements have been made in using passkeys rather than passwords when signing into websites. In addition, Enhanced Phishing Protection in Microsoft Defender SmartScreen helps protect Microsoft school or work passwords against phishing and unsafe usage on sites and apps.
Build 22631.2050 gets bug fixes, including for a bug that was causing the context menu in File Explorer or on the desktop to draw in the wrong position (off screen or on the other monitor).
Build 22621.2050 received no changes. Note that if you receive Build 22621.2050, you can check for updates and install 22631.2050.
Build 22631.2050 has two known issues, one in which the “safely remove hardware” icon isn’t appearing when expected in the system tray, and another in Narrator in which you may see some of the strings are not localized to the selected language.
This build offers, in the words of Microsoft, “a strong, phish-resistant credential” that will help organizations that use Windows Hello for Business (WHFB) move to a secure, passwordless future. Enterprise customers can now set the EnablePasswordlessExperience policy that lets users on AAD joined machines authenticate without requiring a password. It hides passwords from certain Windows authentication scenarios and leverages passwordless recovery mechanisms, such as WHFB PIN reset, if necessary.
In addition, Enhanced Phishing Protection in Microsoft Defender SmartScreen helps protect Microsoft school or work passwords against phishing and unsafe usage on sites and apps. Improvements have also been made to local file sharing, including a redesign of the sharing windows, and the ability to share files faster using Wi-Fi Direct.
The Windows Copilot preview, which began rolling out with Build 23493, is now available to all Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel. Insiders may need to reboot to have it show up.
A variety of bugs have been fixed, including one in which explorer.exe might crash when dragging tabs, and another in which opening Home was crashing for some Insiders.
The build has more than a dozen issues, including one in which File Explorer may crash when dragging the scroll bar or attempting to close the window during an extended file-loading process, and another in which the context menu background in File Explorer may appear transparent.
This update makes brightness settings more accurate and fixes a wide variety of bugs, including one in which certain display and audio devices were missing after your system resumed from sleep and another that caused deadlock in Internet Protocol Security (IPsec). When you configured servers with IPsec rules, they stopped responding. This issue affected virtual and physical servers.
Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.2048 and 22631.2048
Release date: July 13, 2023
Released to: Beta Channel
These updates are being released to two groups in the Beta Channel, 22621.2048 and 22631.2048.
Build 22631.2048 gets the new Gallery feature in File Explorer to make it easier to access your photos. The content shown in Gallery is the same as what you’ll see in the All Photos view in the Photos app. It’s optimized for accessing your most recently taken photos. If you have OneDrive Camera Roll Backup set up on your phone, photos you take will show up automatically at the top of the view.
In addition, Build 22631.2048 displays the versioning updated under Settings > System > About (and winver) to version 23H2. This indicates that Windows 11, version 23H2 will be this year’s annual feature update, which will be delivered to customers similar to the most recent Windows 10 feature updates. Windows 11 will have an annual feature update cadence that releases in the second half of the calendar year.
Build 22631.2048 gets a variety of bug fixes, including for a bug in Windows Explorer that led to explorer.exe crashes when opening a folder containing .WEBP files, and another that caused the taskbar to hang during initialization and not complete loading.
Build 22621.2048 received no changes. Note that if you receive Build 22621.2048, you can check for updates and install 22631.2048.
This build includes new features first released in the Dev Channel, including Dev Drive, Backup and Restore improvements (Windows Backup), Dynamic Lighting, the Windows App SDK version of File Explorer and Gallery, and others. Support for Arm32 UWP applications from Windows on Arm has been removed. There’s also New PostAuthenticationAction support for terminating individual processes in Windows LAPS.
This build is not being offered to Asus devices or PCs with Asus motherboards. There is one known issue, in which Ethernet-connected devices may lose network connectivity after updating to this build. Unplugging the Ethernet cable and re-plugging the cable in should resolve the issue.
This build has an early look at Windows Copilot for Windows 11 that focuses on the integrated UI experience and doesn’t have all of Copilot’s future capabilities, which will be released in future previews. To use Copilot in this flight, you must have Windows Build 23493 or higher in the Dev Channel, and Microsoft Edge version 115.0.1901.150 or higher.
Copilot appears as sidebar docked to the right side of the screen and stays open so you can access it while using applications. It lets you perform tasks such as:
“Change to dark mode.”
“Turn on do not disturb.”
“Take a screenshot.”
“Summarize this website” (the active tab in Microsoft Edge).
“Write a story about a dog who lives on the moon.”
“Make me a picture of a serene koi fishpond with lily pads.”
Many features are still missing, and not all of what was shown at Microsoft’s Build conference is available in this early version of Copilot. Copilot is not yet available for all Insiders, and will gradually be rolled out over time to them.
The build also has a new Settings home page which provides an overview of your device and quick access to key settings; it also helps manage your Microsoft account. It includes interactive cards that represent various device and account related settings, grouped by commonly accessed functions.
A variety of bugs have been fixed, including improving the performance of archive functionality during compression on Windows, and fixing multiple explorer.exe crashes that were impacting taskbar reliability.
The build has more than two dozen known issues, including one in which File Explorer may crash when dragging the scroll bar or attempting to close the window during an extended file-loading process, and another in which the context menu background in File Explorer may appear transparent.
Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.1972 and 22631.1972
Release date: June 29, 2023
Released to: Beta Channel
These updates are being released to two groups in the Beta Channel, 22621.1972 and 22631.1972.
Build 22631.1972 previews the Windows App SDK version of File Explorer. Functionality in File Explorer remains unchanged; it just switches from using WinUI 2 to using WinUI 3. The build also fixes a single bug: the “Hide date and time in the System tray” switch is no longer backwards.
Both 22621.1972 and Build 22631.1972 get several new features, including additional capabilities and improvements to Microsoft Defender for Endpoint. For more information, see Microsoft Defender for Endpoint. Both builds also let you authenticate across Microsoft clouds. This feature satisfies Conditional Access checks if they are needed.
Both 22621.1972 and Build 22631.1972 also get a variety of bug fixes, including for one that stopped Narrator from retaining your scan mode when you switched between browsers, and another in which Teams stopped alerting you about missed calls or messages.
Note that if you receive Build 22621.1972, you can check for updates and install 22631.1972.
This build improves the use of passkeys, which can replace passwords when you sign into a website or application that supports them. You can now go to any app or website that supports passkeys to create and sign in using passkeys using Windows Hello. You can also manage passkeys stored on a Windows 11 device.
A variety of bugs have been fixed, including one in which the login screen was crashing when trying to connect to certain types of networks, and another in which Task Manager crashed for some people.
The build has more than two dozen known issues, including one in which File Explorer may crash when dragging the scroll bar or attempting to close the window during an extended file-loading process, and another in which the count shown for selected files in the File Explorer details pane may be extremely large.
Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.1906 and 22631.1906
Release date: June 22, 2023
Released to: Beta Channel
These updates are being released to two groups in the Beta Channel, 22621.1906 and 22631.1906. The former receives new features; the latter doesn’t.
In 22631.1906, you can now hide the time and date in the system tray. You can also view Wi-Fi passwords for your known networks via Settings > Network & internet > Wi-Fi and Manage known networks. Support has been added for bridging adapters via command line via netsh.
Both Build 22621.1906 and Build 22631.1906 fix a compatibility issue that occurs because of unsupported use of the registry. The builds also have one known issue, in which toggling on the Hide date and time in the System tray option will show the System Tray clock, while toggling it off will hide it. (In other words, it’s backwards.)
Note that if you receive Build 22621.1906, you can check for updates and install 22631.1906.
This build introduces a wide variety of new features, including improved sharing of local files in File Explorer with Microsoft Outlook contacts, expanded rollout of notification badging for Microsoft accounts on the Start menu, and a variety of improvements to Microsoft Defender for Endpoint.
It also fixes a number of bugs, including one that stopped Narrator from retaining your scan mode when you switched between browsers, and another in which Azure Virtual Desktop and Windows 365 users were not always seeing the right location for a Remote Desktop session on their virtual machine or Cloud PC.
Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.1900 and 22631.1900
Release date: June 15, 2023
Released to: Beta Channel
These updates are being released to two groups in the Beta Channel, 22621.1900 and 22631.1900.
In 22631.1900, to minimize distractions from notification toasts, Windows 11 now detects if the user is interacting with notification toasts or not and provides a suggestion to turn the toast banners off for such apps. In addition, Passpoint Wi-Fi networks now support enhanced connection performance and will display a URL in Quick Settings to provide information to users about the venue or event.
Note that if you receive Build 22621.1900, you can check for updates and install 22631.1900.
This build improves Windows Ink by allowing users to enable inking directly onto edit fields. In addition, Microsoft says it has improved the accuracy of the recognition technology and a scratch-out gesture for when users need to make edits. It also removes a number of legacy settings under Folder Options in File Explorer, such as displaying file icons on thumbnails and using a sharing wizard.
A variety of bugs have been fixed, including one that caused a bugcheck when using Dev Drive, and another in which navigating the search flyout on the taskbar with the keyboard arrow keys did not work correctly.
The build has nearly two dozen known issues, including one in which File Explorer may crash when dragging the scroll bar or attempting to close the window during an extended file-loading process, and another in which the count shown for selected files in the File Explorer details pane may be extremely large.
Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.1835 and 22631.1835
Release date: June 8, 2023
Released to: Beta Channel
These updates are being released to two groups in the Beta Channel, 22621.1835 and 22631.1835.
In 22631.1835, there are new natural voices in Chinese and Spanish (Spain and Mexico) that allow Narrator users to comfortably browse the web, read, and write mail, and do more. It is also now easier to control whether to use cellular when Wi-Fi is available but poor, via a new toggle in Settings > Network & Internet > Cellular.
Note that if you receive Build 22621.1835, you can check for updates and install 22631.1835.
This build introduces several new features, including one in which File Explorer gets a new address bar and search box that recognizes local versus cloud folders and displays their status. For OneDrive, the address bar now contains OneDrive sync status and quota flyout.
The Unicode Emoji 15 is also beginning to roll out to Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel. Users will now be able to see, search for, and insert new emoji from the emoji panel, including more hearts, animals, and one new smiley face.
A variety of bugs have been fixed, including one in which the taskbar didn’t always show the correct apps when using multiple desktops, and another in which some notifications caused explorer.exe crashes.
The build has 19 known issues, including one in which File Explorer may crash when dragging the scrollbar or attempting to close the window during an extended file-loading process, and another in which navigating the search flyout on the taskbar with the keyboard arrow keys does not work as expected.
Beginning with Enterprise editions of this build, SMB signing is required by default for all connections. This changes the legacy behavior of Windows 10 and 11, which required SMB signing by default only when connecting to shares named SYSVOL and NETLOGON and where Active Directory domain controllers required SMB signing when any client connected to them. The move was made to improve security of Windows and Windows Server.
This build lets you access your phone’s camera roll from the File Explorer Gallery. In addition, some Insiders will be able to tear out and merge tabs in File Explorer. The feature is just starting to roll out, so isn’t yet available to all Insiders.
A variety of bugs have been fixed, including one in which pressing Shift + F10 wasn’t opening the context menu in File Explorer, and another that was causing the taskbar to get cut off when switching to and from the tablet-optimized taskbar.
The build has 12 known issues, including one in which Insiders who have the new hover behavior for the search box and search highlight gleam will see an empty tooltip displayed momentarily while the gleam is hovered, and another in which File Explorer may crash when dragging the scroll bar or attempting to close the window during an extended file-loading process.
Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.1830 and 22631.1830
Release date: June 1, 2023
Released to: Beta Channel
These updates are being released to two groups in the Beta Channel, 22621.1830 and 22631.1830.
In 22631.1830, WPA3 support has been added to the Phone Link instant hotspot feature for more secure connections to a phone’s hotspot. Fixes were also made to respect metered connection settings, reduce duplicate profiles, and show the phone’s display name in the network list.
Note that if you receive Build 22621.1830, you can check for updates and install 22631.1830.
This build extends Microsoft Endpoint Data Loss Prevention (DLP) policies 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 lets you introduce policy controls for scenarios such as when an information worker using a Windows endpoint powered by an Arm chipset from accessing sensitive files and trying an egress action such as copying to a USB or copying to clipboard, notepad, etc.
Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.1825 and 22631.1825
Release date: May 25, 2023
Released to: Beta Channel
These updates are being released to two groups in the Beta Channel, 22621.1825 and 22624.1825.
In both builds, users will see the full amount of storage capacity of all their OneDrive subscriptions. The total storage is now also visible on the Accounts page in the Settings app.
Both builds get a variety of bug fixes, including for a bug in which the Server Message Block (SMB) shared folder could not be accessed, instead displaying the error messages “Not enough memory resources” or “Insufficient system resources.” Also fixed was an issue affecting devices with multiple, discrete GPUs in which you were not able to choose the high-performance GPUs.
This build introduces Dev Drive, a new kind of storage volume that improves performance for key developer workloads. It’s built upon Resilient File System (ReFS) technology and has file system optimizations and features that enable developers to better manage their performance and security profile.
The build also adds new backup and restore capabilities to make moving to a new PC easier, and gets users quickly to a familiar desktop so they can become productive faster on their new PC. There are also a wide range of other, more minor features in this build, including the addition of links to advanced properties for network adapters and internet properties under Settings > Network & internet > Advanced network settings.
A variety of bugs have been fixed, including one in which the taskbar in multi-monitor setups showed the indicator for an app window having focus on your screen when it actually didn’t, and another that caused search to crash on launch.
The build has 17 known issues, including one in which Insiders who have the new hover behavior for the search box and search highlight gleam will see an empty tooltip displayed momentarily while the gleam is hovered, and another in which File Explorer may crash when dragging the scroll bar or attempting to close the window during an extended file-loading process.
This build adds links to advanced properties for network adapters and internet properties under Settings > Network & internet > Advanced network settings, and includes support for vTPM (virtual Trusted Platform Module) in Hyper-V on Windows on Arm (Arm64) builds.
This update adds a wide variety of new features to Windows 11, including access key shortcuts in File Explorer that let you run a command in a context menu with a single keystroke. New voice-related features include live captions for several languages and voice access commands for a number of English dialects.
The build also improves the performance of search within Settings and adds a Settings page for USB4 hubs and devices. You can find it at Settings > Bluetooth & devices > USB > USB4 Hubs and Devices. This new page provides information about the system’s USB4 capabilities and the attached peripherals on a system that supports USB4.
These and many other new features will roll out slowly. To get them as soon as possible, open Settings > Windows Update and turn on the Get the latest updates as soon as they’re available toggle and check for updates. (The toggle is not enabled for devices managed by Windows Update for Business or WSUS.)
The update also fixes numerous bugs, including one in which the Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (LSASS) stopped working when you used Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD), and another in which the Windows Firewall could not apply the correct domain and profile for devices joined to Azure Active Directory (Azure AD).
Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.1755 and 22624.1755
Release date: May 9, 2023
Released to: Beta Channel
These updates are being released to two groups in the Beta Channel, 22621.1755 and 22624.1755.
Build 22624.1755 fixes two bugs, one in which Settings crashed when attempting to uninstall an app while using grid view, and another in which the Pinyin IME’s insert text button wasn’t displaying correctly in some cases.
Builds 22621.1755 and 22624.1755 get a bug fix in which in the Windows Local Administrator Password Solution (LAPS) the Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (LSASS) might stop responding.
There are two known issues in this build, including one in which when you launch the widgets board for the first time, you may see momentarily placeholders of the widgets/feed cards of the old 2-column layout even if your device supports three columns.
Note that if you receive Build 22621.1755, you can check for updates and install 22624.1755.
This build introduces a details pane in File Explorer that displays contextual information about files including file thumbnails, share status and button, file activity, related files and emails, and other information. It also adds a Facebook widget. To use the widget, you’ll first have to download the Facebook app from the Microsoft Store.
The widget picker has been redesigned 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, and a link to the widgets collection page in the Microsoft Store where users can discover more apps with widgets.
A variety of bugs have been fixed, including an explorer.exe crash that made the taskbar unreliable, and another one that caused the Recommended section in Start to be blank the first time it was opened.
The build has 11 known issues, including one in which some people may not see the search box on the taskbar and/or the settings to adjust the search box experience on the taskbar after updating to Build 23403, and another in which when you open the search flyout, you may see the content flicker before the content finishes loading.
Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.1690 and 22624.1690
Release date: May 4, 2023
Released to: Beta Channel
These updates are being released to two groups in the Beta Channel, 22621.1690 and 22624.1690. Both builds get a Facebook widget. To use it you’ll first have to download the Facebook app from the Microsoft Store.
Those who get Build 22624.1690 get a variety of bug fixes, including for a Task Manager bug in which random processes sometimes were grouped under Microsoft Edge even though they weren’t related, and another in which resizing Task Manager from the top of the window didn’t work properly.
There are two known issues in this build, including one in which when you launch the widgets board for the first time, you may see momentarily placeholders of the widgets/feed cards of the old 2-column layout even if your device supports three columns.
Note that if you receive Build 22621.1690, you can check for updates and install 22624.1690.
This build adds a Facebook widget and a new volume mixer design in Quick Settings. To use the Facebook widget you’ll first have to download the Facebook app from the Microsoft Store.
This build rolls out a new widget picker that gives a visual preview of the widget before pinning, as well as a 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 where users can discover more apps with widgets.
Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.1680 and 22624.1680
Release date: April 27, 2023
Released to: Beta Channel
These updates are being released to two groups in the Beta Channel, 22621.1680 and 22624.1680. Those in both builds get a revamped widgets board with a larger canvas (three-column if supported by the device) and new zones to provide users access to glanceable widgets from their apps and services and their personalized feeds.
Build 22624.1680 fixes a number of bugs, including one in which the touch keyboard and PIN entry wasn’t appearing on the login screen for touch-capable PCs, and another in which searching for service host in the Processes section didn’t return any results.
Both 22621.1680 and 22624.1680 get a wide variety of bug fixes, including for a bug in which endpoints in SMB Direct weren’t always available on systems that use multi-byte character sets, and another in which signed Windows Defender Application Control (WDAC) policies were not applied to the Secure Kernel when you enabled Secure Boot.
There are two known issues in this build, including one in which when you launch the widgets board for the first time, you may see momentarily placeholders of the widgets/feed cards of the old 2-column layout even if your device supports 3 column.
Note that if you receive Build 22621.1680, you can check for updates and install 22624.1680, which has the new features.
Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.1616 and 22624.1616
Release date: April 20, 2023
Released to: Beta Channel
These updates are being released to two groups in the Beta Channel, 22621.1616 and 22624.1616. Those in 22624.1616 get new language support for Danish, English (Ireland), French (Canada), Korean, and Portuguese (Portugal).
Build 22624.1616 fixes a wide variety of bugs, including one in which the touch keyboard didn’t correctly recognize that a hardware keyboard was available in some cases, and another in which live captions crashed on first launch due to an issue impacting registry data retrieval.
There are four known issues in this build, including one in which a Shift + right-click on a file or folder is not opening “Show more options.”
Note that if you receive Build 22621.1616, you can check for updates and install 22624.1616, which has the new features and bug fixes.
In this build, you can now hide the time and date in the system tray. Turn the feature on by right-clicking on the system tray clock and choosing “Adjust date and time.” The desktop icon for Windows Spotlight has also been updated.
A variety of bugs have been fixed, including several explorer.exe crashes that were impacting taskbar reliability, and an issue in Language & region settings that caused language feature installation progress to be hidden.
The build has 10 known issues, including one in which some languages shown on the Language & Region settings page will indicate speech recognition support (e.g., Korean) but don’t yet have support for live captions, and another in which some people may not see the search box on the taskbar and/or the settings to adjust the search box experience on the taskbar after updating to Build 23403.
This build lets Content Adaptive Brightness Control (CABC) run on devices such as laptops and 2-in-1’s that are plugged into a charger. CABC dims 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.
Other changes include 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.
This build introduces the new Gallery feature of File Explorer, which shows what you see in the All Photos view in the Photos app, while giving you the file-management capabilities and navigation of File Explorer. Note that it isn’t yet available to all Dev Channel Insiders.
A variety of bugs have been fixed, including several in explorer.exe that made the taskbar less reliable. The build also improves the performance of the expand all / collapse all view options on the Task Manager’s Processes page.
The build has a dozen known issues, including one in which some languages shown on the Language & Region settings page will indicate speech recognition support (e.g., Korean) but don’t yet have support for live captions, and another in which some people may not see the search box on the taskbar and/or the settings to adjust the search box experience on the taskbar after updating to Build 23403.
Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.1610 and 22624.1610
Release date: April 13, 2023
Released to: Beta Channel
These updates are being released to two groups in the Beta Channel, 22621.1610 and 22624.1610. Those in 22624.1610 get 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.
Both 22621.1610 and 22624.1610 get a new toggle under Settings > Windows Update for “getting the latest updates as soon as they are available.” This new toggle is meant to be used in the Beta Channel to allow Insiders to switch more seamlessly to the enablement package.
Build 22624.1610 fixes a bug that caused a noticeable increase in explorer.exe crashes in the last flight for some Insiders.
Both 22621.1610 and 22624.1610 fix a compatibility issue that occurred because of unsupported use of the registry.
There are seven known issues in this build, including one in which certain languages shown on the Language & Region settings page will indicate speech recognition support (e.g., Korean) but don’t yet have support for live captions.
Note that if you receive Build 22621.1610, you can check for updates and install 22624.1610, which has the new features.
This update adds a new toggle control on the Settings > Windows Update page. When you turn it on, your device will opt in to receive future non-security updates as soon as they are available. For commercial customers, the toggle is disabled by default. It also changes firewall settings. You can now configure application group rules.
The build also fixes a wide variety of bugs, including one in Microsoft Edge IE mode in which the Tab Window Manager stopped responding, and another that affects the Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (LSASS) process. It might stop responding. Because of this, the machine restarts. The error is 0xc0000005 (STATUS_ACCESS_VIOLATION).
Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.1546 and 22624.1546
Release date: April 7, 2023
Released to: Beta Channel
These updates are being released to two groups in the Beta Channel, 22621.1546 and 22624.1546. Those in the 22624.1546 group will see several new features, including one in which search performance has been improved in Settings, and another in which pressing the print screen key will now open Snipping Tool by default. This setting can be turned off via Settings > Accessibility > Keyboard.
Build 22624.1546 also fixes a variety of bugs, including one in which text input features like the touch keyboard, voice typing, and emoji panel didn’t always launch, and another in which some of the details in the Performance page wouldn’t display properly until you resized the window or changed pages back and forth.
There are six known issues in this build, including one in which certain languages shown on the Language & Region settings page will indicate speech recognition support (e.g., Korean) but don’t yet have support for live captions.
Note that if you receive Build 22621.1546, you can check for updates and install 22624.1546, which has the new features.
In this build, urgent or important notifications that appear when “do not disturb” is turned on while using apps at full screen will now display a “View notification” button, instead of showing the notification itself, to protect your privacy.
In addition, for developers, there is a new setting under Settings > Privacy & security > For developers to enable “end task” when right-clicking an app on the taskbar. Although the setting is included in this build, it does not currently work. It will be fixed in a future build.
There are also several bug fixes, including for a bug in which text input features like the touch keyboard, voice typing, and emoji panel might not have launched. In addition, the Task Manager search box is no longer cropped at the top when a window is maximized.
The build has nine known issues, including one in which some languages shown on the Language & Region settings page will indicate speech recognition support (e.g., Korean) but don’t yet have support for live captions, and another in which if you have the Bing button in the search box on the taskbar and you restart your computer, you may see the daily rotating search highlight for some time before getting the Bing button back.
This build improves search performance in Settings. In addition, people with two or more discrete graphics adapters with no integrated graphics can now choose which of the discrete graphics adapters is considered high-performance. To do it, 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.
Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.1537 and 22624.1537
Release date: March 31, 2023
Released to: Beta Channel
These updates are being released to two groups in the Beta Channel, 22621.1537 and 22624.1537. Those in 22624.1537 will see several new features, including one in which access key shortcuts have been added 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 a context menu. The build also has a new set of features to aid the collection of live kernel memory dumps (LKDs).
In builds 22621.1537 and 22624.1537, once you have access to the new Bing, the search box on the taskbar will include a button that opens the Bing chat experience in Edge. If you don’t have access, the search box on the taskbar will feature a dynamic search highlight button. The change is being rolled out, and not everyone will see it yet.
Build 22624.1537 fixes a variety of bugs, including one in which an unexpected error message appeared when opening Group Policy Editor.
Builds 22621.1537 and Build 22624.1537 both get a number of bugs fixed, including one in which audio glitching or screeching may have occurred when the system was under a heavy load or woke from sleep, and another in which Clustered Shared Volume (CSV) failed to come online if you enabled BitLocker and local CSV managed protectors, and the system recently rotated the BitLocker keys.
There are five issues in this build, including one in which certain languages shown on the Language & Region settings page will indicate speech recognition support (e.g., Korean) but don’t yet have support for live captions.
This build revamps the widget board with a larger canvas (3 columns if supported by the device) and new zones to provide users quick access to glanceable widgets from their apps and services as well as enable users to take a break with their personalized feed.
It also fixes a number of bugs, including one in Task Manager in which the search icon could end up overlapping the Task Manager icon in the title bar, and another in which voice access was taking some time to turn on after using the wake-up command.
The build has eight known issues, including one in which some languages shown on the Language & Region settings page will indicate speech recognition support (e.g., Korean) but don’t yet have support for live captions, and another in which if you have the Bing button in the search box on the taskbar and you restart your computer, you may see the daily rotating search highlight for some time before getting the Bing button back.
This build introduces several changes to the Microsoft Store, including new purchase dialog styles that align better with Windows 11, and a new interface for the in-app ratings dialogue.
In addition, the Remote Desktop Connection setup window (mstsc.exe) 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. The print screen key will now open the Snipping Tool by default.
This build offers a revamped widgets board, 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. There is also a new 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.
Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.1470 and 22624.1470
Release date: March 23, 2023
Released to: Beta Channel
These updates are being released to two groups in the Beta Channel. One group will get the Build 22624.1470 update that has new features and bug fixes. The other group will receive the Build 22621.1470 update that fewer new features and bug fixes.
In Build 22624.1470 there is a new 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.
In both builds, the search box on the taskbar will be lighter when Windows is set to a custom color mode. When Windows 11 mode is set to dark, and the app mode is set to light under Settings > Personalization > Colors, and you will see a lighter search box on taskbar.
Builds 22621.1470 and 22624.1470 have a number of new bug fixes, including for an issue in which double-clicking the search highlight glyph in the search box made it disappear. Build 22624.1470 fixes an additional bug, in which live captions did not work for Chinese Traditional on Arm64 devices.
There are several known issues in this build, including one in which some languages shown on the Language & Region settings page will indicate speech recognition support (e.g., Korean) but don’t yet have support for live captions.
This build offers a number of new features, including several developer-focused ones that aid the collection of live kernel memory dumps (LKDs). This is in addition to the existing “Memory dump” for user mode processes.
The build also fixes a variety of bugs, including one in which Narrator read the position before the name on system tray icons, and another which caused explorer.exe to crash when opening Home if certain content was visible in the Recent section.
The build has nine known issues, including one in which clicking on the “Remove from list” command in File Explorer doesn’t work, and another in which some languages shown on the Language & Region settings page will indicate speech recognition support (e.g., Korean) but don’t yet have support for live captions.
This build includes several new features, including one in which notifications for Microsoft accounts are now on the Start menu. (Note that this feature is available to only a small number of people and will roll out to more in the next several months.)
The build also fixes a wide variety of bugs, including one in which Windows classified USB printers as multimedia devices even though they are not, and another in which Windows Search failed inside of Windows container images.
Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.1465 and 22624.1465
Release date: March 16, 2023
Released to: Beta Channel
These updates are being released to two groups in the Beta Channel, 22621.1465 and 22624.1465. Those in the 22624.1465 group will see a variety of new features, including live captions in more languages, updated touch keyboard settings, and the multi-app kiosk mode, a lockdown feature that allows an IT administrator to select a set of allowable apps to run on the device, while all other functionalities are blocked.
Builds 22621.1465 and 22624.1465 both get phase three of Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM) hardening. (See KB5004442 for details.) They also get a fix for a bug that affects a computer account and Active Directory, in which when you reuse an existing computer account to join an Active Directory domain, joining fails.
There are five issues in this build, including one in which certain languages shown on the Language & Region settings page will indicate speech recognition support (e.g., Korean) but don’t yet have support for live captions.
This build fixes a wide variety of bugs, including one in which Microsoft PowerPoint stopped responding when you used accessibility tools, and another in which the command line failed when you set the system locale to Japanese and cmd.exe was configured in legacy mode.
The first build to be released to the new Canary Channel offers a number of new features, including one in which File Explorer recommends files that are most relevant to what people are currently working on. It is available to users signed into Windows with an Azure Active Directory (AAD) account. Files that are recommended are cloud files associated with that account, either owned by the user or shared with the user. (Note that this feature has not yet rolled out to all insiders in the Canary Channel. Microsoft is gathering feedback about it before introducing it more widely.)
The build also adds 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 a context menu. Each access key corresponds with a letter in the display name.
This build offers a number of new features, including one in which File Explorer recommends files that are most relevant to what people are currently working on. It is available to users signed into Windows with an Azure Active Directory (AAD) account. Files that are recommended are cloud files associated with that account, either owned by the user or shared with the user. (Note that this feature has not yet rolled out to all insiders in the Dev Channel. Microsoft is gathering feedback about it before introducing it more widely.)
The build also adds 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 corresponds with a letter in the display name.
Live captioning is also now available in more languages, and touch keyboard settings have been updated with new options that control how tapping an edit control should launch the touch keyboard.
The build also fixes a variety of bugs, including one in which the search box randomly disappeared, and another in which File Explorer sometimes unexpectedly jumped into the foreground.
The build has 10 known issues, including one in which clicking on the “Remove from list” command in File Explorer doesn’t work, and another in which some languages shown on the Language & Region settings page will indicate speech recognition support (e.g., Korean) but don’t yet have support for live captions.
This build lets you customize audio settings on a per-app basis using the volume mixer in Quick Settings. In addition, the in-app command help page for voice access has been redesigned so you can more quickly find the settings you want. New voice commands have also been added, including selecting a range of text in a text box and deleting all text in a text box.
It fixes a wide variety of bugs, including one in which some USB devices (including keyboards and mice) weren’t working in builds 25295 and above, another that could have caused the taskbar to appear duplicated when making resolution changes, and another in which under certain circumstances third-party widgets weren’t loading as expected.
The build has 10 known issues, including one in which launching Group Policy Editor may show an error about a displayName attribute not being found, and another in which some AAD (Azure Active Directory) joined users are seeing “Getting ready for you” screens when signing into Windows after updating the latest builds.
Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.1391 and 22624.1391
Release date: March 2, 2023
Released to: Beta Channel
These updates are being released to two groups in the Beta Channel, 22621.1391 and 22624.1391. Those in 22624.1391 will see a redesigned in-app command help page for voice access so you can more quickly find the settings you want. New voice commands have also been added, including selecting a range of text in a text box and deleting all text in a text box.
Builds 22621.1391 and 22624.1391 both get two bug fixes, one that improves the reliability of Windows after you install an update, and another that fixes an issue in which Notification Center, Quick Settings, and taskbar jump lists were not working for some Insiders.
There is one known issue in this build – the redesigned in-app help page in voice access may not include all commands and the supplementary information may be inaccurate.
This build includes a variety of new features, including one that shows search results in a flyout box as you type them in the taskbar’s search box. For devices joined to Azure Active Directory (AAD), this update provides AI-powered recommended content on the Start menu.
You can now also get recommendations to help to improve the energy efficiency of your PC and reduce your carbon footprint. Go to Settings > System > Power & Battery > Energy Recommendations for them. In the Task Manager, you can now filter processes using the binary name, PID, or publisher name. The filter also applies when you switch between pages. The keyboard shortcut is Alt-F.
The build also fixes a wide variety of bugs, including one in which using a provisioning package for bulk provisioning for Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) failed, and another in which after you ran Sysprep on a domain-joined, the Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (LSASS) might have stopped responding.
Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.1325 and 22623.1325
Release date: February 16, 2023
Released to: Beta Channel
These updates are being released to two groups in the Beta Channel, 22621.1325 and 22623.1325. Both builds get support for new preview widgets for Messenger, Spotify, Phone Link, and Xbox (Game Pass). In 22623.1325, devices that are Azure Active Directory (AAD) joined now receive AI-powered recommended, personalized content on the Start menu.
Both builds get a wide variety of bug fixes, including one in which lsass.exe sometimes stopped responding when it sent a Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) query to a domain controller that had a very large LDAP filter. In Build 22623.1325 a bug that caused the taskbar to be cut off after resolution change was fixed.
This build adds live captioning in several new languages, including Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish, and other English dialects. In addition, it adds several different treatments for snap layouts and is looking for feedback on them.
It also fixes a wide variety of bugs, including one in which some people experienced issues authenticating to enterprise websites that require windows integrated authentication, and another in which the “Find more widgets” feature in the widgets picker didn’t work.
The build has 17 known issues, including one in which Launching Group Policy Editor may show an error about a displayName attribute not being found, and another in which under certain circumstances third-party widgets may not load as expected.
This build introduces a copy button for quickly copying two-factor authentication (2FA) codes in notifications from apps installed on a PC or from phones linked to the PC. In addition, the new search design for the taskbar that began rolling out with Build 25252 is now available for all Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel. You can change the treatment of search on the taskbar by going to Settings > Personalization > Taskbar > Taskbar Items.
The build also fixes a wide variety of bugs, including one in which the update history page under Settings > Windows Update > Update history was blank for some users after installing Build 25290, and another in which the Add a Device dialog had an unexpectedly big border.
The build has 14 known issues, including one in which some users are experiencing issues authenticating to enterprise websites that require windows integrated authentication, and another in which the “Find more widgets” option in the widgets picker doesn’t work.
Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.1255 and 22623.1255
Release date:February 9, 2023
Released to: Beta Channel
In both builds, tabs in Notepad are beginning to be rolled out. Build 22623.1255 also has several bug fixes, including for a bug in which results disappeared when using search on the App History page, and another in which Process names typed into the search box were unexpectedly getting spellchecked.
Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.1250 and 22623.1250
Release date: February 2, 2023
Released to: Beta Channel
These updates are being released to two groups in the Beta Channel, 22621.1250 and 22623.1250. Both updates get a new policy for IT administrators to manage how the search box on the taskbar appears in their organizations. This blog post has details.
Build 22623.1250 also fixes a variety of bugs, including one in which the search box would randomly disappear sometimes when you clicked it, leaving a blank space on the taskbar, and another in which ending processes in the Task Manager’s Details tab wasn’t showing a confirmation dialog.
This build introduces two new widgets, one for Spotify and one for the Phone Link app. It also fixes a variety of bugs, including one which an explorer.exe crash which could cause the taskbar not to load for some people, and another in which some dialogs did not render in the correct theme when applied from the Task Manager Settings page.
The build has 14 known issues, including one in which the taskbar is sometimes cropped in half when using the tablet-optimized taskbar, and another in which “Find more widgets” in the widgets picker doesn’t work.
Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.1245 and 22623.1245
Release date: January 26, 2023
Released to: Beta Channel
These updates are being released to two groups in the Beta Channel, 22621.1245 and 22623.1245. Builds 22621.1245 and 22623.1245 both fix a wide variety of bugs, including one in which copying from a network to a local drive was slower than expected for some users, and another that affected searchindexer.exe, which randomly stopped you from signing in or signing out.
Build 22623.1245 gets several additional bug fixes, including for several issues that caused Task Manager to crash, and one in which certain parts of its title bar couldn’t be used to drag the window.
This build introduces a new widget for the Messenger app. It also fixes a variety of bugs, including one that caused some apps to hang or crash when saving files as PDF, and another in the taskbar and system tray in which right-clicking on some icons in the hidden icons flyout would make the flyout dismiss rather than bringing up the context menu for that icon.
The build has 15 known issues, including one in which the taskbar is sometimes cropped in half when using the tablet-optimized taskbar, and another in which some Task Manager dialogs may not render in the correct theme when applied from Task Manager Settings page. Note that the build is not being offered to Arm64 devices due to an issue that causes the devices to get stuck at the OS boot logo.
This build marks the beginning of Microsoft trying different treatments for how Windows Spotlight looks, using what Microsoft calls a “richer UI around displaying the title and description and learning more information about the image displayed on your desktop via Spotlight.” To enable Windows Spotlight on your PC, right-click your desktop and choose “Personalize,” then choose the new Spotlight theme.
It also fixes a variety of bugs, including one in which explorer.exe would crash when closing File Explorer, and another in which SSID wasn’t being populated on the properties page for Wi-Fi in Network & Internet Settings.
The build has seven known issues, including one in which the taskbar is sometimes cropped in half when using the tablet-optimized taskbar, and another in which some Task Manager dialogs may not render in the correct theme when applied from Task Manager Settings page.
Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.1180 and 22623.1180
Release date: January 19, 2023
Released to: Beta Channel
These updates are being released to two groups in the Beta Channel. One group will get the Build 22623.1180 update that has new features and bug fixes. The other group will receive the Build 22621.1180 update that has new features but no bug fixes.
Both builds update the Settings app with new cloud storage visuals on the Accounts page, including a bar that shows your storage usage for each product and lets you know if you’re running low on storage. Outlook attachment data is also shown. (This change will roll out gradually to Insiders.)
Build 22623.1180 has a variety of bug fixes, including one in which explorer.exe crashed when trying to load certain app icons, and another which prevented the taskbar from showing in Safe Mode when using the new search box option.
This build changes the way in which preview .NET Framework updates are shown. From now on, future preview (optional) .NET Framework updates will be displayed on the Settings > Windows Update > Advanced options > Optional updates page. On that page, you can control which optional updates you want to install.
It also fixes a wide variety of bugs, including an issue that affected searchindexer.exe and randomly stopped you from signing in or signing out. It also fixed one that affected the Domain Name System (DNS) suffix search list. When you configured it, the parent domain might have been missing.
This build introduces developer-focused features in Task Manager to help collecting live kernel memory dumps (LKDs). This is in addition to the existing “Memory dump” for user mode processes. The build also adds new information to the visual overview of cloud storage usage in Settings app — it now shows Outlook attachment data.
It also fixes a variety of bugs, including one in which switching windows through taskbar previews wasn’t working, and another in which explorer.exe would crash when opening File Explorer.
The build has eight known issues, including one in which the taskbar is sometimes cropped in half when using the tablet-optimized taskbar, and another in which some Task Manager dialogs may not render in the correct theme when applied from Task Manager Settings page.
This build moves Quick Assist out of Windows Tools so it displays directly in the Start menu’s All apps list and is easier to find. It also adds a refresh button to the Windows print queue.
The build fixes a variety of bugs, including one in the Task Manger in which filtering by publisher name did not match correctly on the Processes page, and another in which the Task Manager did not display light and dark content correctly, rendering potentially unreadable text.
The build has eight known issues, including one in which the taskbar is sometimes cropped in half when using the tablet-optimized taskbar, and another in which some Task Manager dialogs may not render in the correct theme when applied from Task Manager Settings page.
Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.1095 and 22623.1095
Release date: January 5, 2023
Released to: Beta Channel
These updates are being released to two groups in the Beta Channel. One group will get the Build 22623.1095 update that has new features and bug fixes. The other group will receive the Build 22621.1095 update with fewer new features and bug fixes.
In Build 22623.1095, Quick Assist has been moved out of Windows Tools, so it displays directly in the Start menu’s All apps list and is easier to find.
In Builds 22621.1095 and 22623.1095, the search box design in the Start menu has been updated with more rounded corners to reflect the design of the search box on the taskbar.
Build 22623.1095 has a variety of bug fixes, including for a bug in Task Manager in which filtering by publisher name did not match correctly on the Processes page.
Builds 22621.1095 and 22623.1095 fix a number of bugs, including one that affected how fast you could copy items from a network to a local computer. For some users, the copy speed was slower than expected.
Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.1037 and 22623.1037
Release date: December 15, 2022
Released to: Beta Channel
These updates are being released to two groups in the Beta Channel. One group will get the Build 22623.1037 update that has new features and bug fixes. The other group will receive the Build 22621.1037 update that has fewer new features and bug fixes.
Build 22623.1037 gets a wide variety of voice access improvements, including many new commands, such as for opening and closing applications, releasing a held down key, and showing a grid overlay on the screen.
Builds 22621.1037 and 22623.1037 both get several new treatments for how search looks on the taskbar. They can be found by going to Settings > Personalization > Taskbar > Taskbar Items.
Build 22623.1037 has a variety of bug fixes, including for a bug that caused Task Manager to become unresponsive when using its search box, and another that caused explorer.exe crashes.
Builds 22621.1037 and 22623.1037 have two bug fixes, one for a bug that caused Task Manager to display certain elements in the user interface (UI) in unexpected colors, and another in which the decryption of a certificate private key failed in Data Protection Application Programming Interface (DPAPI) decryption.
Both builds have seven known issues, including one in which some services may not show in the Task Manager’s Services page after filtering is applied, and another in which the search box on the taskbar does not render correctly and displays visual artifact
This build makes two minor changes: Search on the taskbar now has rounded corners, and the Windows Security (firewall) notification dialogs now match Windows 11 visuals.
It also fixes a variety of bugs, including one that caused the Bluetooth section of Quick Settings to crash for some people, and another in which using “Browse for Folder” from an app was only showing Desktop (and no other folders) for some people.
The build has 17 known issues, including one in which various UI elements in apps are disappearing and reappearing, another in which the taskbar is sometimes cropped in half when using the tablet-optimized taskbar, and another in which filtering by publisher name does not match correctly on the Processes page.
This build removes the sign-in requirement for using the widgets board and adds a link to Quick Assist at the bottom of Settings > System > Troubleshooters, to help if you’re having issues with your PC. It also fixes a variety of bugs, including one that caused secondary drives or other PCI devices to not be viewable for some Insiders, another in which auto-hiding the taskbar would stop working after you had interacted with the hidden icons flyout, and another in which explorer.exe would crash when opening certain items from the Recent section in File Explorer.
The build has 18 known issues, including one in which various UI elements in apps disappear and reappear, another in which the taskbar is sometimes cropped in half when using the tablet-optimized taskbar, and another in which filtering by publisher name does not match correctly on the Processes page.
Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.1028 and 22623.1028
Release date: December 6, 2022
Released to: Beta Channel
These updates are being released to two groups in the Beta Channel. One group will get the Build 22623.1028 update that has multiple new bug fixes. The other group will receive the Build 22621.1028 update that has only one bug fix.
There are several bug fixes for 22623.1028, including for an issue in which auto-hiding the taskbar would stop working after you had interacted with the hidden icons flyout in the system tray, and another in which the sleep recommendation on the Energy Recommendations page and Battery & Power page were sometimes inconsistent.
One bug was fixed in both Build 22621.1028 and 22623.1028, in which GPU performance debugging features lowered the performance of games.
Both builds have eight known issues, including one in which the tablet-optimized taskbar takes longer than expected to transition to the touch-optimized version when switching between desktop posture and tablet posture, and another in which some services may not show in the Task Manager’s Services page after filtering is applied.
This build adds a VPN status icon into the system tray when connected to a recognized VPN profile. The build also fixes a variety of bugs, including multiple explorer.exe crashes that impacted system tray performance, another that caused folders in Start menu to not open on the first try, and another that could put your PC to sleep although it was configured to not sleep.
The build has 21 known issues, including one in which various UI elements in apps are disappearing and reappearing, another in which the taskbar is sometimes cropped in half when using the tablet-optimized taskbar, and another in which filtering by publisher name does not match correctly on the Processes page.
Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.1020 and 22623.1020
Release date: November 28, 2022
Released to: Beta Channel
These updates are being released to two groups in the Beta Channel. One group will get Build 22623.1020, which has new features and bug fixes. The other group will receive Build 22621.1020, which has only bug fixes.
In Build 22623.1020, there is support for new Braille displays and new Braille input and output languages in Narrator.
There are several bug fixes for 22623.1020, including for one that crashed explorer.exe in safe mode, another that caused certain third-party app icons in the system tray to be unresponsive, and another in which the Delete key didn’t work in the search box.
A number of bugs were fixed in both Build 22621.1020 and 22623.1020, including one in which the Settings app failed to open a page under the Accounts category, and another that caused File Explorer to stop working when you closed context menus and menu items.
Both builds have ten known issues, including one in which the tablet-optimized taskbar sometimes flashes when transitioning between desktop posture and tablet posture, and another in which the tablet-optimized taskbar takes longer than expected to transition to the touch-optimized version when switching between desktop posture and tablet posture
This build lets you access Windows Studio effects directly from Quick Settings on the taskbar, for devices that have a supported Neural Processing Unit (NPU). The build also begins the rollout of Energy Recommendations under Settings > System > Power & Battery > Energy Recommendations. Following the recommendations may improve the energy efficiency of your PC and reduce your carbon footprint.
In addition, Task Manager lets you use process filtering, letting you filter the binary name, PID or publisher name. The Settings app now has new visuals on the Accounts page to provide a visual overview of your cloud storage usage across Microsoft products.
The build also fixes a variety of bugs, including one that didn’t allow you to input text using the touch keyboard/PIN entry keyboard on the login screen, another that caused the NVIDIA icon in the system tray to show empty notifications, and several that led to multiple explorer.exe crashes that harmed taskbar performance.
The build has 15 known issues, including one in which various UI elements in apps are disappearing and reappearing, another in which the taskbar is sometimes cropped in half when using the tablet-optimized taskbar, and another in which filtering by publisher name does not match correctly on the Processes page.
In this build, Microsoft OneDrive subscribers will get storage alerts on the Systems page in the Settings app when they are close to their storage limits. The full amount of storage capacity from all of someone’s OneDrive subscriptions will also be displayed.
The build also fixes a variety of bugs, including one that stopped modern applications from opening, another that affected transparency in layered windows when you were in High Definition remote applications integrated locally (RAIL) mode, and another that caused File Explorer to stop working when you closed context menus and menu items.
Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.891 and 22623.891
Release date: November 10, 2022
Released to: Beta Channel
These updates are being released to two groups in the Beta Channel. One group will get the Build 22623.891 update that has new features and bug fixes. The other group will receive the Build 22621.891 update that has only bug fixes.
In Build 22623.891, the Task Manager gets several improvements, including filtering processes using the binary name, PID, or publisher name. You can now also use your preferred theme in Task Manager regardless of the active Windows theme.
There are several bug fixes for 22623.891, including for a bug that caused the do not disturb icon to disappear while in do not disturb mode, and multiple issues that caused explorer.exe crashes, impacting the performance of the taskbar.
A number of bugs were fixed in both Build 22621.891 and 22623.891, including one in which File Explorer failed to localize folders, and another that affected the Windows Firewall service when the Override block rules option was turned on.
Both builds have 10 known issues, including one in which the tablet-optimized taskbar sometimes flashes when transitioning between desktop posture and tablet posture, and another in which the tablet-optimized taskbar takes longer than expected to transition to the touch-optimized version when switching between desktop posture and tablet posture.
Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.885 and 22623.885
Release date: November 7, 2022
Released to: Beta Channel
These updates are being released to two groups in the Beta Channel. One group will get the Build 22623.885 update that has new features and bug fixes. The other group will receive the Build 22621.885 update that has fewer features and bug fixes.
In Build 22623.885, Windows Studio effects can now be accessed directly from Quick Settings on the taskbar, for devices that have a supported Neural Processing Unit (NPU). The build also has several minor changes, including support for the use of clipboard history (Windows key + V) on password fields.
In both 22623.885 and 22621.885, you can now expand the size of your widgets board.
There are several bug fixes for 22623.885, including several related to the taskbar and system tray. The performance of deleting files via File Explorer when emptying the recycle bin or using Shift + Delete has been improved when there are a large number of files being deleted at once.
In both 22623.885 and 22621.885, an issue in which modern applications couldn’t open has been fixed.
Both builds have four known issues, including one in which the tablet-optimized taskbar sometimes flashes when transitioning between desktop posture and tablet posture, and another in which the tablet-optimized taskbar takes longer than expected to transition to the touch-optimized version when switching between desktop posture and tablet posture.
This build fixes a variety of bugs, including issues related to the taskbar that were impacting explorer.exe reliability, and another in which natural voices such as Guy or Jenny were not speaking in Narrator.
The build has 13 known issues, including one in which the taskbar sometimes flashes when transitioning between desktop posture and tablet posture, and another in which various UI elements in apps are disappearing and reappearing.
Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.875 and 22623.875
Release date: October 27, 2022
Released to: Beta Channel
These updates are being released to two groups in the Beta Channel. One group will get the Build 22623.875 update that has new features and bug fixes. The other group will receive the Build 22621.875 update that has only bug fixes.
In Build 22623.875, the tablet-optimized taskbar that began rolling out with Build 22623.730 is now available.
There are several bug fixes for both 22623.875 and 22621.875, including one that affected transparency in layered windows. This occurs when you are in High-Definition remote applications integrated locally (RAIL) mode.
Both builds have four known issues, including one in which the tablet-optimized taskbar sometimes flashes when transitioning between desktop posture and tablet posture, and another in which the tablet-optimized taskbar takes longer than expected to transition to the touch-optimized version when switching between desktop posture and tablet posture.
This build fixes a variety of bugs, including one that prevented some users from using FIDO to unlock a PC if it was connected to an external display with the laptop lid closed, and another in which certain network cameras were not being added when selected under Bluetooth & Devices > Cameras.
The build has 14 known issues, including one in which the taskbar sometimes flashes when transitioning between desktop posture and tablet posture, and another in which various UI elements in apps are disappearing and reappearing.
Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.870 and 22623.870
Release date: October 20, 2022
Released to: Beta Channel
These updates are being released to two groups in the Beta Channel. One group will get the Build 22623.870 update that has new features and bug fixes. The other group will receive the Build 22621.870 update, which has only some new bug fixes.
In Build 22623.870, Task Manager has been added to the context menu when right-clicking on the taskbar. It also has a new Narrator braille driver solution that automatically changes Braille drivers when switching between Narrator and third-party screen readers.
Build 22623.870 also has a number of bug fixes, including one that improves how touch gestures and their animations with the tablet-optimized taskbar work with the touch keyboard, and another that fixes an issue which caused explorer.exe to crash when dragging icons in the system tray,
There are several bug fixes for both 22623.870 and 22621.870, including one that caused vertical and horizontal line artifacts to appear on the screen, and another that did not allow the Microsoft Azure Active Directory (AAD) Application Proxy connector to retrieve a Kerberos ticket on behalf of the user. The error message was, “The handle specified is invalid (0x80090301).
Both builds have four known issues, including one in which the tablet-optimized taskbar sometimes flashes when transitioning between desktop posture and tablet posture, and another in which the tablet-optimized taskbar takes longer than expected to transition to the touch-optimized version when switching between desktop posture and tablet posture
This build includes a variety of small improvements, including new choices for biometric data for Windows Hello Face and Fingerprint, new settings for your Microsoft account, and the addition of Task Manager to the context menu when you right-click the taskbar.
It fixes a variety of bugs, including one that slowed down the Windows Search Service, and another that affected the Microsoft Azure Active Directory (AAD) Application Proxy connector, in which it cannot retrieve a Kerberos ticket on behalf of the user. The error message was, “The handle specified is invalid (0x80090301).”
This build includes improvements for update management for IT administrators by making a variety of changes to the Update Stack Orchestrator. It also introduces some very small changes to the Start menu, widgets, Settings, voice typing, and input.
It fixes a variety of bugs, including one that caused explorer.exe to crash while switching between apps on the tablet-optimized taskbar, and another in which dragging content across an open Start menu folder could cause a crash.
The build has seven known issues, including one in which the taskbar takes longer than expected to transition to the touch-optimized version when switching between desktop posture and tablet postures, and another in which various UI elements in apps are disappearing and reappearing.
The build improves Windows search results and performance, and adds Task Manager to the context menu when you right-click the taskbar. It also fixes a wide variety of bugs, including one in which in Microsoft Direct3D 9 games the graphics hardware stopped working if the hardware did not have a native Direct3D 9 driver.
Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.746 and 22623.746
Release date: October 13, 2022
Released to: Beta Channel
These updates are being released to two groups in the Beta Channel. One group will get Build 22623.746 with new features. The other group will receive Build 22621.746 with the new features turned off by default.
Those who get Build 22623.746 will get preliminary support to rearrange System Tray icons. System Tray updates are still rolling out and are not available to all Insiders yet. If your PC does not have these changes, your System Tray experience will remain the same as before.
A number of bugs have been fixed only in Build 22623.746, including one for the tablet-optimized taskbar, in which the gesture to slide the Start menu open from the bottom of the screen using touch might have stopped following your finger.
In both Build 22621.746 and Build 22623.746, the ms-appinstaller Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) has been enabled to work for the DesktopAppInstaller.
Both builds have five known issues, including one in which the tablet-optimized taskbar sometimes flashes when transitioning between desktop posture and tablet posture, and another in which dragging the system tray icons may cause explorer.exe to crash.
The build enables a variety of new features that began rolling out to Insiders in the Release Preview Channel on Windows 11, version 22H2 last week, including tabs for File Explorer; Suggested Actions, which suggests actions you might want to take on items you copy, such as recommending making a call with Skype if you copy a phone number; the taskbar overflow menu, which shows you all your overflowed apps in one space; and the ability to share to more devices.
Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.741 and 22623.741
Release date: October 10, 2022
Released to: Beta Channel
These updates are being released to two groups in the Beta Channel. One group will get the Build 22623.741 update that has new bug fixes. The other group will receive the Build 22621.741 update that has only some new bug fixes.
In Build 22623.741, the bug fixes include several for the tablet-optimized taskbar, including one in which it sometimes collapsed when it should have been expanded if there were no running windows on the desktop, and another in which the tablet-optimized taskbar would crash explorer.exe if you entered the overflow flyout.
There are two bug fixes for both 22621.741 and 22623.741: one in which Server Manager could reset the wrong disk when several disks have the same UniqueId, and another in which localization issues for some setup files stopped you from creating installation media for non-English languages.
Both builds have four known issues, including one in which audio has stopped working for some Insiders, and another in which the tablet-optimized taskbar sometimes flashes when transitioning between desktop posture and tablet posture.
The build fixes a variety of bugs, including one in which the taskbar sometimes collapsed when it should be expanded if there are no running windows on the desktop, and another in which when switching between windows, the entire window flashed black for a frame while rendering.
The build has eight known issues, including one in which the Widgets notification badge number may appear misaligned on the taskbar, and another in which the taskbar takes longer than expected to transition to the touch-optimized version when switching between desktop posture and tablet postures.
Insiders in the Release Preview Channel who have upgraded to Windows 11 22H2 and installed the KB5017389 build will begin to see several new features, including one of the most significant ones left out of Windows 11 22H2 — tabs in File Explorer like those in browsers. Among other File Explorer improvements are the ability to pin important files on its home page for easy access to them. You’ll also be able to see actions that colleagues take on your shared files.
In addition, with a new feature called Suggested Actions, when you copy phone numbers or future dates, Windows provides suggestions for what you might want to do with them, such as making a call with Teams or Skype or adding an event in the Calendar app.
The new taskbar overflow menu shows all of your taskbar apps on a single menu entry. Also, there are new sharing features, letting you discover and share to more devices.
Note that initially not all Insiders will get these new features. They’ll be gradually rolled out.
This build introduces new settings to the Widgets pane and makes them easier to access than previous settings. It also adds Task Manager to the context menu that appears on the taskbar when you right-click it.
The build also fixes a variety of bugs, including one in which command bar items like copy, paste, and empty recycle bin may unexpectedly not be enabled when they should be, and another in which Settings would crash when changing your mobile hotspot name.
The build has 10 known issues, including one in which the Widgets notification badge number may appear misaligned on the taskbar, and another in which the taskbar takes longer than expected to transition to the touch-optimized version when switching between desktop and tablet postures.
Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.730 and 22623.730
Release date: September 29, 2022
Released to: Beta Channel
These updates are being released to two groups in the Beta Channel. One group will get the Build 22623.730 update that has new features and bug fixes. The other group will receive the Build 22621.730 update that has new features and some new bug fixes turned off by default.
In Build 22623.730, the tablet-optimized taskbar has been reintroduced. In addition, File Explorer search will show results as you type. Among the bugs fixed are one that caused parts of the taskbar or its icons to get stuck in the wrong theme’s colors when switching between light and dark themes.
There are a wide variety of bug fixes for both 22621.730 and 22623.730, including for one that stopped you from signing in to various Microsoft 365 apps, and another that caused updates to the Microsoft Store to fail.
Both builds have six known issues, including one in which audio has stopped working for some Insiders, and another in which when there are no running windows on the desktop, the taskbar can sometimes collapse, when it should be expanded.
This build for Windows 11 22H2 fixes a wide variety of bugs, including one that that caused updates to the Microsoft Store to fail, another that stopped you from signing into various Microsoft Office 365 apps, and another in which Task Manager stopped working when you switched between light and dark mode or changed the accent color.
This build improves the security of the SMB server service by implementing a delay between each failed NTLM authentication in the SMB authentication rate limiter. This means, for example, if an attacker previously sent 300 brute force attempts per second from a client for 5 minutes (90,000 passwords), the same number of attempts would now take at least 50 hours.
The build also fixes a variety of bugs, including one in which OneDrive setup unexpectedly asked for permission to set up every time your PC rebooted, and another in which the Windows Sandbox window resized incorrectly when you snapped it to the side of the screen.
The build has 13 known issues, including one in which the Widgets notification badge number may appear misaligned on the taskbar, and another in which command bar items like Copy, Paste, and Empty Recycle Bin may unexpectedly not be enabled when they should be.
Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.601 and 22622.601
Release date: September 21, 2022
Released to: Beta Channel
These updates are being released to two groups in the Beta Channel. One group will get the Build 22622.601 update, which would normally have new bug fixes. The other group will receive the Build 22621.601 update, which would normally have most new bug fixes turned off by default. In this instance, however, the builds are identical.
The build fixes four bugs, including one in which clicking the network icon on the Lock screen crashed the Lock screen, and another that affected Dual SIM calling. If you selected no SIM on your phone and initiated a call on your device, Dual SIM functionality would not work.
Both builds have one known issue, in which audio stops working for some Insiders.
Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.598 and 22622.598
Release date: September 12, 2022
Released to: Beta Channel
These updates are being released to two groups in the Beta Channel. One group will get the Build 22622.598 update that has new bug fixes. The other group will receive the Build 22621.598 update that has most new bug fixes turned off by default.
For those who get Build 22622.598, among the bugs fixed are one that wouldn’t allow you to interact with the top part of File Explorer (with the address bar) when File Explorer was full screen, and another in which File Explorer command bar items like copy, paste, and empty recycle bin were not enabled when they should have been.
There are several bug fixes for both Build 22621.598 and 22622.598, including one that created a duplicate print queue, and another in Roaming User Profiles in which after you signed in or out, some of your settings were not restored.
Both builds have one known issue, in which clicking the network icon on the Lock screen does not work, may crash the Lock screen, and may require you to reboot to log in.
The build reintroduces the touch-optimized taskbar for using your device as a tablet. Your taskbar will automatically transition to the optimized version when you disconnect or fold back the keyboard on your 2-in-1 device. In addition, animated icons are being rolled out in the Settings app.
The build also fixes a variety of bugs, including one that caused parts of the taskbar or its icons like search to get stuck in the wrong theme’s colors when switching between light and dark theme, and another that led to Settings crashing when removing devices.
The build has 13 known issues, including one in which the Widgets notification badge number may appear misaligned on the taskbar, and another in which command bar items like copy, paste, and empty recycle bin may unexpectedly not be enabled when they should be.
This build introduces new Xbox subscription management details in the Windows 11 Settings app. If you are a member of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, Xbox Game Pass for Console or Xbox Live Gold, you can now see your subscription details via Settings > Accounts.
It also fixes a variety of bugs, including several that were leading to sporadic explorer.exe crashes related to the taskbar overflow, one that caused the Start menu to crash on launch for some people when Search Highlights was enabled, and one in File Explorer in which certain files couldn’t be unpinned from the Favorites section of Home after you’d pinned them.
The build has 10 known issues, including one in which the Widgets notification badge number may appear misaligned on the taskbar, and another in which games that use Easy Anti-Cheat may crash or cause your PC to bug check.
Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.590 and 22622.590
Release date: September 1, 2022
Released to: Beta Channel
These updates are being released to two groups in the Beta Channel. One group will get the Build 22622.590 update that has new bug fixes. The other group will receive the Build 22621.590 update that has most new bug fixes turned off by default.
For those who get Build 22622.590, among the bugs fixed are one in which the Control Panel could not launch from the Start menu search or if pinned to the taskbar, one in which there was a memory leak when closing File Explorer windows, and several that made the taskbar overflow cause sporadic explorer.exe crashes.
There are several bug fixes in both builds, including for one in which cldflt.sys caused a bug check when it used with Microsoft OneDrive.
Both builds have three known issues, including one in which audio has stopped working for some Insiders, and another in which command bar items like copy, paste, and empty recycle bin may unexpectedly not be enabled when they should be.
The build updates touch keyboard settings to replace the “Show the touch keyboard when there’s no keyboard attached” checkbox under Settings > Time & language > Typing > Touch keyboard with a new dropdown menu with three options to control whether tapping an edit control should launch the touch keyboard.
It also fixes a variety of bugs, including one in which the taskbar overflow was impacting explorer.exe reliability and another that caused Start’s recommendations to show one column instead of two.
The build has 10 known issues, including one in which the Widgets notification badge number may appear misaligned on the taskbar, and another in which games that use Easy Anti-Cheat may crash or cause your PC to bug check.
Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.586 and 22622.586
Release date: August 24, 2022
Released to: Beta Channel
These updates are being released to two groups in the Beta Channel. One group will get the Build 22622.586 update that has new bug fixes. The other group will receive the Build 22621.586 update that has most new bug fixes turned off by default.
In Build 22622.586, among the bugs fixed are one that caused the left half of the File Explorer title bar to not be draggable via mouse or touch, and another that caused the taskbar overflow flyout to unexpectedly appear on the opposite side of the screen.
There are several bug fixes for both Build 22621.586 and 22622.586, including one that caused domain credentials to not work for some Insiders, and another that forced the IE mode tabs in a session to reload.
Both builds have four known issues, including one in which audio has stopped working for some Insiders, and another in which the taskbar isn’t able to display if File Explorer is maximized and you have the taskbar set to auto-hide.
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22621.457 (KB5016695)
Release date: August 23, 2022
Released to: Release Preview Channel
The build introduces several new minor features and fixes a variety of bugs for Insiders in the Release Preview Channel on Windows 11, version 22H2. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint’s ability to identify and intercept ransomware and advanced attacks has been enhanced, and files can be compressed regardless of its size if you have configured Server Message Block (SMB) Compression.
Bugs fixed include one that caused Windows to display tablet mode features for some devices that do not have touchscreens, and another that caused Microsoft Edge to stop responding when you use IE mode.
The build fixes a variety of bugs, including one in which the taskbar overflow flyout unexpectedly appeared on the opposite side of the screen, another in which a Start menu crash prevented apps from launching from Start, and another in which the camera light on laptops became stuck after people logged into their PCs.
The build has 11 known issues, including one in which the Widgets notification badge number may appear misaligned on the taskbar, and another in which games that use Easy Anti-Cheat may crash or cause your PC to bugcheck.
The build enhances Microsoft Defender for Endpoint’s ability to identify and intercept ransomware and advanced attacks, and gives IT admins the ability to remotely add languages and language-related features.
It also fixes a wide variety of bugs, including one that caused ServerAssignedConfigurations to be null in a few full-configuration scenarios, another that degraded BitLocker performance, and another that prevented virtualized App-V Microsoft Office applications from opening or causes them to stop working.
The File Explorer tabs and navigation updates which began rolling out to some people in the Dev Channel with Build 25136 are rolling out to everyone in this build. If you don’t see them, reboot your PC.
The build also fixes a variety of bugs, including one in which the min/max/ close buttons were not visible in File Explorer when using a contrast theme, and another in which the taskbar overflow flyout unexpectedly appeared on the opposite side of the screen.
The build has 13 known issues, including one in which the Widgets notification badge number may appear misaligned on the taskbar, and another in which games that use Easy Anti-Cheat may crash or cause your PC to bugcheck.
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22621.575 and 22622.575
Release date: August 10, 2022
Released to: Beta Channel
These updates are being released to two groups in the Beta Channel. One group will get the Build 22622.575 update that has new features. The other group will receive the Build 22621.575 update that has new features turned off by default.
In those who get Build 22622.575, middle clicking a folder in the navigation pane of File Explorer will now open it in a new tab, like clicking a folder in the body of File Explorer already does.
A number of bugs have been fixed only in Build 22622.575, including two in File Explorer, one in which the dividers in the navigation pane were overlapping or drawing too close to text, and another in which the left/right arrows were in light mode when you were using dark mode, causing them to not have enough contrast to show when they were enabled
There are several bug fixes for both 22621.575 and 22622.575, including one that prevented you from opening a URL if the URL’s length is more than 2084 characters. The update supports a URL of up to 8192 characters.
Both builds have 10 known issues, including one in which the up arrow is misaligned in File Explorer tabs, and another in which the left-half of the File Explorer title bar may not be draggable via mouse or touch.
The build introduces the Game Pass Widget, which shows you the latest additions, games leaving soon, and games from highlighted categories in the PC Game Pass Library. You can use the widget to go to the Xbox app to see game reviews and install games.
The build also fixes a variety of bugs, including one in which explorer.exe crashed when opening new File Explorer windows, and another in which some PCs were crashing when going to System > Storage > Disks & Volumes.
The build has 14 known issues, including one in which the Widgets notification badge number appeared misaligned on the taskbar and another in which the Delete key doesn’t work to delete files in File Explorer.
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22621.450 and 22622.450
Release date: August 2, 2022
Released to: Beta Channel
These updates are being released to two groups in the Beta Channel. As a general rule, one group gets build updates that have new features, while the other receives build updates that have most new features turned off by default.
In this instance, however, the builds are identical and include several minor changes and fixes. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint’s ability to identify and intercept ransomware and advanced attacks has been improved, and storage replication that occurs over low bandwidth or congested wide area networks (WAN) is being done more efficiently.
Among the bugs fixed are one that caused Windows to display tablet mode features for some devices that do not have touchscreens, one that caused some application windows to have blank sections in the Task View preview, and one that caused Microsoft Edge to stop responding when you use IE mode.
The builds have five known issues, including one in which the up arrow is misaligned in File Explorer tabs and another in which the left half of the File Explorer title bar may not be draggable via mouse or touch.
The build fixes a variety of bugs, including one in that prevented troubleshooters from opening, another that caused the Smart App Control to block catalog-signed files, and another that distorted photos taken with the Camera app when using certain cameras under certain low light conditions.
The build introduces kiosk mode, a lockdown Windows 11 feature that allows an IT administrator to select a set of allowable apps to run on the device, while all other functionalities are blocked. Several other new features have been introduced as well, including an update to the US English (EN-US) handwriting model that makes it faster and more accurate.
The build also fixes a variety of bugs, including one in which an explorer.exe crash sometimes prevented taskbar from loading when launching Microsoft Teams meetings, and another in which after using the reveal password button in the Wi-Fi section of Quick Settings, the text unexpectedly lost focus.
The build has seven known issues, including one in which the Widgets notification badge number may appear misaligned on the taskbar, and another in which games that use Easy Anti-Cheat may crash or cause your PC to bug check.
Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.440 and 22622.440
Release date: July 28, 2022
Released to: Beta Channel
These updates are being released to two groups in the Beta Channel. One group will get Build 22622.440 with new features. The other group will get receive Build 22621.440 with most new features turned off by default.
Those who get Build 22622.440 will get the new taskbar overflow feature, in which when the taskbar goes over its maximum capacity for notifications and icons, you’ll be able to click an icon which will launch an overflow menu showing the taskbar icons that aren’t being displayed.
In both 22621.440 and Build 22622.440, the weather, news, and finance widgets offer live updates.
A number of bugs have been fixed only in Build 22622.440, including one that caused explorer.exe crashes when docking and undocking monitors, and another caused a memory leak when using tabs with File Explorer.
Both builds have five known issues, including one in which the up arrow is misaligned in File Explorer tabs, and another in which left half of the File Explorer title bar may not be draggable via mouse or touch.
The build introduces the new taskbar overflow feature: When the taskbar goes over its maximum capacity for notifications and icons, you’ll be able to click an icon that will launch an overflow menu showing the taskbar icons that aren’t being displayed.
The build also fixes a variety of bugs, including one in which explorer.exe crashed when tabs were dragged around, and another in which the File Explorer “Add new tab” button wasn’t clearly visible when using Aquatic or Desert contrast themes.
The build has nine known issues, including one in which some apps in full screen (for example, video players) prevent live captions from being visible; another in which when certain apps positioned near the top of the screen are closed before live captions is run, they will relaunch behind the live captions window positioned at top; and another in which games that use Easy Anti-Cheat may crash or cause your PC to bug check.
Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.436 and 22622.436
Release date: July 19, 2022
Released to: Beta Channel
These updates are being released to two groups in the Beta Channel. One group will get Build 22622.436 with new features. The other group will receive Build 22621.436 with new features turned off by default.
Those who get Build 22622.436 will be able to use UDP and Bluetooth to discover and share files with more devices. In addition, Windows Terminal is being made the default terminal in Windows 11, so all command line applications will open in it, including Command Prompt and PowerShell.
A number of bugs have been fixed in both Build 22621.436 and Build 22622.436, including one that prevented troubleshooters from opening, and another that led to a loss of network connectivity after turning on mobile hotspots.
Build 22622.436 fixes several additional bugs, including an explorer.exe crash when dragging tabs around.
Both builds have one known issue, in which the up arrow is misaligned in File Explorer tabs.
This build lets you receive urgent notifications when focus assist is on. It also fixes a variety of bugs, including one that prevented troubleshooters from opening, one that caused port mapping conflicts for containers, and another that caused Windows to stop working when you enabled Windows Defender Application Control with the Intelligent Security Graph feature turned on.
The build has one known issue: On some devices, Widgets may crash in the background upon logging in and show the static default icon instead of populating and updating to show the weather.
The build introduces notification badging for Widgets. When a Widget has new content, it displays a small notification on the bottom left of the taskbar. When you open the Widget board, you’ll get more information about the notification.
There are also a variety of bug fixes, including for a bug in which explorer.exe would crash when navigating OneDrive in File Explorer, and another in which the Start menu would crash when it loaded.
The build has nine known issues, including one in which some apps in full screen (for example, video players) prevent live captions from being visible; another in which when certain apps positioned near the top of the screen are closed before live captions is run, they will relaunch behind the live captions window positioned at top; and another in which games that use Easy Anti-Cheat may crash or cause your PC to bug check.
Update to Windows Subsystem for Android on Windows 11 (version 2205.40000.14.0)
Release date: July 6, 2022
Released to: All Insider channels
This update for Windows Subsystem for Android on Windows 11 includes advanced networking, which enables app access to local network devices for ARM computers. IPv6 and VPN connectivity has also been turned on. The Windows Subsystem for Android Settings app has been updated accordingly: the IP address has been removed from the Developer section in the Settings app because the subsystem no longer has a different IP from your computer.
Note that some VPNs may not work with advanced networking. If you use a VPN and find Android apps do not have network connectivity, disable Advanced Networking in the Windows Subsystem for Android Settings app.
Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.290 and 22622.290
Release date:July 5, 2022
Released to:Beta Channel
These updates are being released to two groups in the Beta Channel. One group will get Build 22622.xxx updates that have new features. The other group will get receive Build 22621.xxx updates that have new features turned off by default.
Those who get Build 22622.290 will have a new feature in to make everyday tasks quicker in Windows 11 through inline suggested actions. When you copy a date, time, or phone number, Windows will suggest actions relevant to you such as creating calendar events or making phone calls with your favorite apps. The build also displays OneDrive storage alert and subscription management in Settings. Those who get Build 22621.290 do not get the new features.
A number of bugs have been fixed in both Build 22621.290 and Build 22622.290, including one that caused the Take Photo button to disappear when you use a common file dialog to open the camera, and another that prevented Microsoft Edge from being available in Windows Sandbox.
Build 22622.290 fixes several additional bugs, including fixing a scaling issue that could result in the tabs being unexpectedly large.
Both builds have two known issues, one of which causes cyclical crashes in Windows UI components (like explorer.exe), making it appear that the screen is flashing. If you are impacted, running the following command from an elevated PowerShell window should resolve it:
This build adds minor improvements, such as support for Transport Layer Security (TLS) 1.3 in Windows client and server Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) implementation, and Server Message Block (SMB) redirector (RDR) specific public File System Control (FSCTL) code FSCTL_LMR_QUERY_INFO. In addition, a number of bugs were fixed, including one that prevented Microsoft Edge from being available in Windows Sandbox, and another that caused install from media (IFM) creation for Active Directory to fail with the error “2101 JET_errCallbackFailed.”
The build fixes several bugs, including one in File Explorer in which a scaling issue caused tabs to be unexpectedly large.
The build has eight known issues, including one in which some apps in full screen (for example, video players) prevent live captions from being visible, another in which some Widgets preferences unexpectedly get reset to default, and another in which games that use Easy Anti-Cheat may crash or cause your PC to bug check.
The build incorporates the legacy Local Administrator Password Solution product (LAPS) directly into Windows and adds new features, including extending Active Directory schema by running the Update-LapsADSchema cmdlet in the new LAPS PowerShell module. The build also displays OneDrive Standalone 100GB subscriptions in the Accounts page within Settings, letting you see your recurring billing, payment method, and OneDrive storage usage.
The build fixes a variety of bugs, including one in which tab order when using Ctrl-Tab was wrong if you had rearranged the tabs in File Explorer, and another that caused Settings to crash when going to Bluetooth & Devices > Printers & Scanners.
The build has nine known issues, including one in which some apps in full screen (for example, video players) prevent live captions from being visible, another in which some Widgets preferences unexpectedly get reset to default, and another in which games that use Easy Anti-Cheat may crash or cause your PC to bug check.
This build introduces search highlights, which display notable moments about each day, including holidays, anniversaries, and other events globally and in your region. To see more details at a glance, hover or click on the illustration in the search box.
There are also a wide variety of bug fixes, including for a bug that prevented the use of Encrypted File System files over a WebDAV connection, another that sometimes caused Windows 11 to stop working when installing an application without network connectivity, and another that prevented Bluetooth from reconnecting to some audio devices after restarting the devices.
The build fixes a variety of bugs, including one in File Explorer where the active tab color didn’t match the command bar below it, one in Task Manager that caused a crash when switching modes in pages other than the Processes page, and one that caused audio to stop playing in certain apps after a minute.
The build has nine known issues, including one in which some apps in full screen (such as video players) prevent live captions from being visible, another in which the up arrow is misaligned in File Explorer tabs, and another in which shutting down via the Start is unexpectedly rebooting instead.
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22621.160 (KB5014770)
Release date: June 13, 2022
Released to: Beta Channel
This build introduces tabs in File Explorer and a redesigned layout in File Explorer’s left navigation pane to make it easier to navigate to folders you use frequently.
The build has one known issue, in which the up arrow is misaligned in File Explorer tabs.
This build introduces tabs in File Explorer and a redesigned layout in File Explorer’s left navigation pane to make it easier to navigate to folders you use frequently. Some dynamic widgets in the taskbar have gotten new features, including live content from the weather widget, live updates from the sports and finance widgets, and breaking news alerts.
There are also a wide variety of bug fixes, including one that caused Start to only show one column of recommended items, and another in which Windows Update unexpectedly showed error 0x00000000 when there wasn’t anything wrong.
The build has seven known issues, including one in which some apps in full screen (for example, video players) prevent live captions from being visible, another in which when certain apps positioned near the top of the screen are closed before live captions is run, they will relaunch behind the live captions window positioned at top, and another in which games that use Easy Anti-Cheat may crash or cause your PC to bug check.
Commercial devices enrolled in the Windows Insider Program for Business within the Release Preview Channel will automatically be offered Windows 11 22H2 as an optional update (as long as they meet the hardware requirements for Windows 11). Noncommercial Windows Insider devices can seek out Build 22621 via Settings > Windows Update.
This build fixes several bugs, including one that caused File Explorer to hang when browsing folders with lots of .mkv files, and another in Settings in which the “Listen to this device” audio option would stop working after a reboot until being unchecked and rechecked.
The build has five known issues, including one in which some apps in full screen (for example, video players) prevent live captions from being visible; another in which when certain apps positioned near the top of the screen are closed before live captions is run, they will relaunch behind the live captions window positioned at top; and another in which games that use Easy Anti-Cheat may crash or cause your PC to bug check.
This build introduces Windows spotlight, which displays new photos on your desktop background every day. To turn it on, go to Settings > Personalization > Background > Personalize your background, and choose Windows spotlight.
The build also fixes a wide variety of bugs, including one that failed to display the Application Counters section in the performance reports of the Performance Monitor tool, one that failed to maintain the display brightness after you change the display mode, and another that caused some users to see a black screen when they signed in and out of Windows.
This build introduces a new widget that lets you search the web directly from your desktop. It also fixes several bugs, including one in Task Manager that caused unreadable text to appear in the Performance page when a contrast theme was enabled, and another that could crash Settings when opening and looking at the battery usage graph.
The build has three known issues, including one in which some apps in full screen (for example, video players) prevent live captions from being visible, and another in which when certain apps positioned near the top of the screen are closed before live captions is run, they will relaunch behind the live captions window positioned at top.
This build has a new feature called suggested actions. With it, when you copy a date, time, or phone number, Windows will suggest related actions such as creating a calendar event or making a phone call with an app. The build also fixes a variety of bugs, including one in File Explorer that displayed the error 0x800703E6 when copying files from Google Drive, and another that caused the Task Manager to become unreadable in dark mode when the CPU reached 100%.
The build has three known issues, including one in which some apps in full screen (for example, video players) prevent live captions from being visible, and another in which when certain apps positioned near the top of the screen are closed before live captions is run, they relaunch behind the live captions window positioned at top.
This build fixes several bugs, including one in File Explorer that displayed the error 0x800703E6 when copying files from Google Drive, and another that caused Smart App Control to block correctly signed applications.
The build has two known issues, including one in which some apps in full screen (for example, video players) prevent live captions from being visible, and another in which when certain apps positioned near the top of the screen are closed before live captions is run, they relaunch behind the live captions window positioned at top.
This build fixes a wide variety of bug fixes, including one in which the widgets board did not open successfully when using the opening gesture from the side of the screen, another in which performance and reliability of explorer.exe degraded over time, eventually resulting in a bug check, and another in which using the 3-finger on-screen touch gesture for minimizing windows could cause animations to stop working across the system.
The build has two known issues, including one in which some apps in full screen (for example, video players) prevent live captions from being visible, and another in which when certain apps positioned near the top of the screen are closed before live captions are run will relaunch behind the live captions window positioned at top.
This build adds the following new MDM and group policies for IT administrators:
Disable Quick Settings flyout
Disable Notification Center and calendar flyouts
Disable all taskbar settings
Disable search (across Start and taskbar)
Hide Task View from taskbar
Block customization of ‘Pinned’ in Start
Hide ‘Recommended’ in Start
Disable Start context menus
Hide ‘All apps’ in Start
It also updates the Family Safety widget that includes a new location sharing view that shows where your family members are using the Family Safety app.
There are also a wide variety of bug fixes, including for a bug in which an Administrative Template error no longer popped up when opening Group Policy editor, another that prevented Shift + Right-click on a taskbar icon from opening the expected context menu, and another in which app icons like Microsoft Edge were cut off on the bottom in Start’s all apps list.
The build has five known issues, including one in which the widgets board may not open successfully when using the gesture from the side of the screen, and another in which some apps in full screen (for example, video players) prevent live captions from being visible.
This build fixes a wide variety of bugs, including one in which a memory leak affected Windows systems that are in use 24 hours each day of the week, another that caused video subtitles to be partially cut off, and another in which mobile device management (MDM) policies were not allowed on Windows Enterprise editions that were upgraded to Enterprise using Azure AD-joined subscription entitlement.
This build fixes a wide variety of bugs, including one in which File Explorer’s context menu sometimes did not render completely and was sometimes transparent, and another in which the Task Manager’s memory composition graph was blank instead of filled in with the appropriate color.
The build has more than a dozen known issues, including one in which the widgets board may not open successfully when using the gesture from the side of the screen, another in which some apps in full screen (for example, video players) prevent live captions from being visible, and another in which the taskbar doesn’t always automatically collapse after launching an app or tapping outside of the expanded taskbar on 2-in-1 devices.
In this build, recent and pinned files displayed in Home are now searchable using the search box in File Explorer, even if they are not local files, so you can find Office files recently shared with you.
There are also a wide variety of bug fixes, including for a bug in which app icons were unexpectedly animating in from the upper left of the taskbar when launching a new app, another that caused Windows Spotlight to unexpectedly stop updating for a prolonged period of time, and another that caused Narrator to read dialog buttons incorrectly in scan mode.
The build has more than a dozen known issues, including one in which the widgets board may not open successfully when using the gesture from the side of the screen, and another in which some apps in full screen (for example, video players) prevent live captions from being visible.
This build includes several minor changes to the taskbar, including having the top border line extend across the entire taskbar regardless of device type. There are also a wide variety of bugs thar have been fixed, including one in which the Search box at the top of the Start menu would flicker, and another in which Task Manager wasn’t populating the details of the Status column in the Startup Apps page.
The build has more than a dozen known issues, including one in which when you enter search terms in File Explorer’s search box, suggested results may not show, and another in which after rearranging widgets in the widgets board, widgets in the pinned section may render incorrectly.
This build allows IT administrators to exclude USB removable drives from BitLocker encryption. This solves the problem of automatic or accidental encryption of storage built into specialized devices like video cameras, voice recorders, conferencing systems, and medical devices.
There are also a variety of minor changes, including one that lets you name your app folders in the Start menu, and another that puts the new Run New Task button on all pages of Task Manager.
The build fixes a wide variety of bugs, including one in which Start’s folders were still showing animations even if you had animation effects disabled, and another in which explorer.exe crashed when dragging certain windows across snap layouts at the top of the screen.
The build has a dozen known issues, including one in which opening suggested results shown while entering search terms in File Explorer’s search box may not work, and another in which when rearranging widgets in the widgets board, you may experience problems with widgets in the pinned section rendering incorrectly.
This build allows Windows to display up to three high priority “toast” (popup) notifications simultaneously for apps that send notifications for calls, reminders, or alarms using Windows notifications. It also fixes more than two dozen bugs, including one that crashed SystemSettings.exe, and another that affected searchindexer.exe and prevented Microsoft Outlook’s offline search from returning recent emails.
This build lets you set family controls for browsing in Microsoft Edge, and introduces a video editor called Clipchamp that offers tools like trimming, splitting, transitions, and animated text. For real-time content capture, Clipchamp has a built-in webcam and screen recorders.
There are a variety of small changes, including a Print Queue with an updated design to align with Windows 11 design principles. In addition, Shift + right-clicking in File Explorer and the desktop will now open the “Show more options” context menu.
The build also fixes several dozen bugs, including one in which scroll bars didn’t render appropriately on some Win32 applications, and another in which custom mouse pointers reverted to the default Windows one after rebooting.
The build has more than a dozen known issues, including one in which opening suggested results shown while entering search terms in File Explorer’s search box may not work, and another in which when rearranging widgets in the widgets board, you may experience problems with widgets in the pinned section rendering incorrectly.
This build attempts to increase the use of renewable energy by installing Windows 11 updates at times of the day that are more likely to have higher availability of renewable energy such as solar, wind, and hydro. This feature will only be enabled when your PC is plugged in and regional carbon intensity data is available to Microsoft.
The build also allows you to link your Android phone to your PC during setup. It also introduces a new security feature, Smart App Control (SAC), that blocks untrusted or potentially dangerous applications.
There are a variety of small changes, including an updated “Open with” dialog box that better aligns with Windows 11 design principles.
The build also fixes several dozen bugs, including one in which the Windows startup sound didn’t play, and another in which explorer.exe would sometimes crash when opening the context menu.
The build has more than a dozen known issues, including one in which scroll bars are not rendering appropriately on some Win32 applications, and another in which opening suggested results shown while entering search terms in File Explorer’s search box may not work.
This build includes a new taskbar feature in which it automatically adjusts to an optimized version when it detects a device is being used as a tablet. The taskbar can then either be collapsed or expanded. When collapsed, it disappears, giving you more screen space. When expanded, the taskbar is optimized to use with touch. You can easily switch between the two states by swiping up or down on the bottom of the tablet.
In this build, widgets and news feeds are mixed into the same feed, so you can more easily see changing information at a glance. There’s also a new feature for IT admins in education: the ability to use group policy to turn off all Windows Update notifications so as not to distract students.
A variety of smaller improvements have also been made, including an expanded search from Quick Access that includes content from OneDrive, Downloads, and any indexed location.
The build also fixes several dozen bugs, including one in which pop-up dialogs (for example, when adding an optional feature) in Settings were launching left aligned instead of centered, and another in which the navigation bar in Task Manager was showing black glitches when you launched Task Manager from a minimized state. Also fixed was a long-standing bug in which the taskbar sometimes flickered when switching input methods.
The build has more than a dozen known issues, including one in which the File Explorer search box may not work when typing and clicking a suggestion, and another in the Task Manager in which the Efficiency mode icon is missing on some child processes.
This build includes many new features, including the ability to group pinned apps into folders in the Start menu; the Do not disturb feature, which lets you silence notifications; and the Focus feature, which turns off a variety of Windows actions that may be distracting.
Also new is integration of OneDrive and File Explorer, which will let you see your OneDrive sync status and quota usage without having to leave File Explorer. There are also a variety of new touch gestures. A new way of snapping windows into Snap Layouts has been introduced as well.
Default battery settings have been changed in order to reduce energy consumption. Task Manager has been redesigned to be in more in keeping with Windows 11 design principles, including a new hamburger-style navigation bar and a new settings page.
A variety of smaller improvements has also been made, including drag-and-drop support on the taskbar and a faster and more accurate search.
The build also fixes several dozen bugs, including one in which Task View crashed if you held down the Ctrl key while hovering over it, and another in which explorer.exe crashed when you clicked on More Keyboard Settings in the input switcher.
The build has more than a dozen known issues, including the taskbar sometimes flickering when switching input methods, and another in which after clicking the Search icon on the taskbar, the Search panel may not open.
The build fixes a wide variety of bugs, including one in which the Startup impact values didn’t display in Task Manager, another that caused a mismatch between a Remote Desktop session’s keyboard and the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) client when signing in, and another that that disconnected Offline Files on the network drive after you restarted Windows and signed in. This occurred if the Distributed File System (DFS) path was mapped to the network drive.
This build introduces more “natural”-sounding voices for Narrator along with new Narrator keyboard shortcuts, and also updates the media controls that appear on the Lock screen when playing music in a supported app.
The build also fixes many bugs, including one in which Task Manager crashed when switching to the Performance tab, another that caused explorer.exe to crash when dragging and dropping a file out of a zipped folder in File Explorer, and another that caused the cursor to disappear in certain apps.
The build has five known issues, including the taskbar sometimes flickering when switching input methods, and another in which after clicking the Search icon on the taskbar, the Search panel may not open.
This build gives new capabilities to voice access, including spelling words and entering numbers, punctuation marks, and symbols and emojis. There are also a wide variety of bug fixes, including for a bug in which pressing the hardware buttons for volume up/down caused explorer.exe to crash, and another in which Settings sometimes crashed when viewing the properties of a Wi-Fi network.
The build has five known issues, including the taskbar sometimes flickering when switching input methods, and another in which after clicking the Search icon on the taskbar, the Search panel may not open.
The build fixes a wide variety of bugs, including one that prevented some image editing programs from rendering colors correctly on certain high dynamic range (HDR) displays, another that incorrectly showed the volume icon in the taskbar as muted, and another that prevented the touch keyboard from appearing on the lock screen when a device has a Microsoft account (MSA).
This build updates the flyout design for hardware indicators for brightness, volume, camera privacy, camera on/off, and airplane mode to follow what Microsoft calls “Windows 11 design principles.” The new flyouts appear when you press the volume or brightness keys on a laptop.
The build also fixes 16 bugs, including one that wouldn’t allow you to import photos from certain cameras and mobile phones into the Photos app, and another in which holding the Ctrl key and hovering your mouse over the Task View icon in the taskbar crashed explorer.exe.
The build has more than a dozen known issues, including the taskbar sometimes flickering when switching input methods, and another in which after clicking the Search icon on the taskbar, the Search panel may not open.
This build fixes nine bugs, including one in which the Search flyout became stuck on the screen and appeared transparent except for its border, and another in which the Widgets panel would temporarily become blank, showing only an Add Widgets button, which when clicked on opened to a blank dialog box.
The build has more than a dozen known issues, including the taskbar sometimes flickering when switching input methods, and another in which after clicking the Search icon on the taskbar, the Search panel may not open.
This build brings the snap groups feature to Alt-Tab and Task View, allowing you to easily choose from a number of pre-set ways to automatically arrange your open windows. The build also squashes a wide variety of bugs, including the battery icon tooltip unexpectedly showing a percent above 100, and Settings content getting truncated when the Settings window is made small.
The build has more than a dozen known issues, including the taskbar sometimes flickering when switching input methods, and another in which the Search panel may not open after the Search icon on the taskbar is clicked.
This build includes a new set of photos that can be used as desktop backgrounds, plus a new widget that delivers live weather content on the widget panel. It also introduces Voice Access, which lets you control your PC and create and edit text using your voice.
A wide variety of bugs have been squashed, including an explorer.exe crash related to having websites pinned to the taskbar, and another in which Snap Group thumbnails weren’t updating in real time in Task View after you moved a group window to a different desktop.
The build has more than a dozen known issues, including the taskbar sometimes flickering when switching input methods, and another in which after clicking the Search icon on the taskbar, the Search panel may not open.
This build improves the way that Narrator can control Microsoft Edge. In addition, it lets you right-click on Start to quickly access Start settings and customize the “More pins” or “More recommendations” layout options. It also brings a variety of settings from Control Panel into the Settings app, including moving the advanced sharing settings (such as Network discovery, File and printer sharing, and public folder sharing) to a new page in the Settings app under Advanced Network Settings.
There are a wide variety of bug fixes, including one in which the Start, Search, Task View, Widgets, and Chat icons in the taskbar no longer unexpectedly enlarge when the system scaling is set to 125%, and another in which hovering your mouse back and forth between different desktops in Task View will no longer result in the displayed thumbnails and content area unexpectedly shrinking.
The build has four known issues, including the taskbar sometimes flickering when switching input methods, and another in which after clicking the Search icon on the taskbar, the Search panel may not open.
The build includes all the features and bug fixes of Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.346, and also fixes a bug that prevented apps, such as Kaspersky apps, from opening after you attempt to repair or update the apps using the Microsoft Installer (MSI).
This build applies the 13 themes for the touch keyboard to other input methods, including IMEs, the emoji panel, and voice typing. It also lets you use the Windows key + Alt + K keyboard shortcut to toggle the new mute icon in the taskbar when it’s showing.
There are also a wide variety of bug fixes, including for one in which snap layout options randomly put windows on other monitors, and another in which text was duplicated if the caret was moved while using voice typing.
The build has seven known issues, including the taskbar sometimes flickering when switching input methods, and another in which after clicking the Search icon on the taskbar, the Search panel may not open.
The build fixes a wide variety of bugs, including one that caused the system to stop working after you enabled Hyper-V, one that affected the System Memory Management Unit’s (SMMU) fault handling after hibernation, and another that caused some USB Print installers to report that they didn’t detect the printer after the printer was plugged in.
This build lets you quickly share content from open app windows directly from your taskbar to your Teams meeting calls. In addition, a wide variety of bugs have been fixed, including one in which Clipboard history wasn’t working properly, and another in which explorer.exe crashed when using the touch keyboard.
The build has 10 known issues, including the taskbar sometimes flickering when switching input methods and the Search panel sometimes not opening when the Search icon on the taskbar is clicked.
On November 12 Microsoft noted that it is starting to roll out Cumulative Update Build 22499.1010 (KB5008400) to test the servicing pipeline for builds in the Dev Channel; the update does not include anything new.
This build fixes a bug that prevented some users from opening or using certain built-in Windows apps or parts of some built-in apps, including the Snipping Tool, Touch Keyboard, Voice Typing, and Emoji Panel, Input Method Editor user interface (IME UI), and Getting Started and Tips.
With this build you can mute and unmute your microphone from the taskbar during a Microsoft Teams call. In addition, a wide variety of bugs have been fixed, including one in which context menus crashed when you tried to scroll through them, and another in which some devices had a black screen when coming out of sleep.
The build has eight known issues, including the taskbar sometimes flickering when switching input methods, and another in which after clicking the Search icon on the taskbar, the Search panel may not open.
This build includes a new settings page that displays information about your Microsoft account, including your subscriptions for Microsoft 365, links to order history, payment details, and Microsoft Rewards. Note that it’s only being rolled out to a small group of Insiders at first.
A wide variety of bugs have been fixed, including one in which explorer.exe crashed sometimes when using the Desktops flyout context menu, and another in which Settings crashed in certain cases after going to Windows Update.
The build has nine known issues, including the taskbar sometimes flickering when switching input methods, and another in which the Search panel may not open after the Search icon on the taskbar is clicked.
This build includes a new feature that lets you right-click on either “Recommended” or the “More” button in Start to refresh the items shown there. In addition, it has a number of bug fixes, including one that caused Search to appear black and not display any content below the search box, and another that caused cellular data to not work on certain devices.
The build has 10 known issues, including the taskbar sometimes flickering when switching input methods, and another in which the Search panel may not open after the Search icon on the taskbar is clicked.
The build fixes a wide variety of bugs, including an L3 caching issue that affected performance on devices with AMD Ryzen processors, another that caused distortion in the audio captured by voice assistants, and another in Windows Defender Exploit Protection that prevented some Microsoft Office applications from working on machines with certain processors.
This build includes new emojis that conform to Microsoft’s Fluent design standards. It also lets you log in to a closed laptop using Windows Hello facial recognition on a connected external monitor if it has a camera attached that supports it.
The build also fixes a wide variety of bugs, including one in which the Notification Center refused to launch, and another in File Explorer in which the “Show hidden items” option was out of sync when multiple File Explorer windows were open.
The build has eight known issues, including the taskbar sometimes flickering when switching input methods, and another in which after the Search icon on the taskbar is clicked, the Search panel may not open.
This build has more than a dozen bug fixes, including for a bug that sometimes caused the taskbar’s hidden icons flyout to have sharp corners instead of rounded corners, and another that caused explorer.exe to crash sometimes when closing File Explorer windows.
The build also has 10 known issues, including the taskbar sometimes flickering when switching input methods, and widgets displaying in the wrong size on external monitors.
The build has two minor new features. When you click a VPN connection in VPN Settings, you can now see some statistics about the connection. And you can now turn off recent searches when hovering over the Search icon in the taskbar.
There are also more than a dozen bug fixes, including for a bug in which some drives did not display in Defragment and Optimize Drives, and another that caused unexpected flickering in certain apps such as Microsoft Edge when using multiple monitors with different refresh rates.
The build has nine known issues, including the taskbar sometimes flickering when switching input methods, and widgets displaying in the wrong size on external monitors.
Microsoft also announced that the redesigned Paint app for Windows 11 is beginning to roll out to Insiders in the Dev Channel.
The build has several minor new features, including one in which when you have a file or folder selected in File Explorer, you can now use Ctrl-Shift-C to copy the path to your clipboard. The build also fixes several dozen bugs, including one in which pressing F1 in File Explorer opened Windows 10 help instead of Windows 11 help, and another that caused File Explorer to hang when doing a search.
The build also has several dozen known issues, including the taskbar sometimes flickering when switching input methods, and widgets displaying in the wrong size on external monitors.
Released to: Beta Channel and commercial PCs in the Release Preview Channel
This build includes updates to the Snipping Tool, Calculator, and Clock with Focus Sessions apps.
The build also fixes several small issues, including one that caused some PCs to bug check during modern standby, and another that caused PowerShell to create an infinite number of child directories.
There are more than a dozen issues in this build, including one in which you might be unable to enter text when using search from Start or the taskbar, and another in which after clicking the Search icon on the taskbar, the Search panel may not open.
The build has more than a dozen bug fixes, including for one in which Settings sometimes crashed when trying to open the Display page, and another that made Start unreliable.
The build also has several dozen known issues, including the taskbar sometimes flickering when switching input methods, and widgets displaying in the wrong size on external monitors.
This build has a few extremely minor changes, including in which right-clicking on Recycle Bin on the desktop brings up the new modern context menu.
The build also has several dozen bug fixes, including for a bug in which PCs with Windows Defender Application Guard (WDAG) enabled bug-check continuously, and another in which taskbar icons flickered when you moused over them while using a contrast theme.
The build also has several dozen known issues, including the taskbar sometimes flickering when switching input methods, and widgets displaying in the wrong size on external monitors.
Released to: Beta Channel and commercial PCs in the Release Preview Channel
This build fixes two small issues, including one in which a small set of languages were missing translations across the user interface, and another in which the “learn more info” about Windows Hello in the out-of-box experience (OOBE) wasn’t translated for non-English languages.
There are many known issues in this build, including one in which you might be unable to enter text when using search from Start or the taskbar, and another in which after clicking the Search icon on the taskbar, the Search panel may not open.
With this build, the Dev Channel moves back to receiving only builds from the active development branch (RS_PRERELEASE). This means the Dev Channel builds no longer match the version of Windows 11 that will be released on October 5th. Dev Channel builds represent the newest works in progress and are not always stable.
The build changes the way SMB compression (compression of files as they’re sent over a network) works. From now on, algorithms will not determine whether to compress files — files will always be compressed if a user asks for it.
Additionally, there are several minor changes in the build, including notifications now having acrylic backgrounds. There are also many bug fixes, including for one that caused the font in the taskbar previews to incorrect and another that crashed explorer.exe when using Alt-Tab.
The build also has more than a dozen known issues, including the taskbar sometimes flickering when switching input methods, and widgets displaying in the wrong size on external monitors.
This build introduces a “Taskbar settings” page, which lets you hide and unhide icons on the taskbar. It also includes a small number of bug fixes, including one that caused some users to get an unexpected error when trying to take pictures with certain USB cameras, and another in which ratings and reviews weren’t available for some Microsoft Store apps.
There are many known issues in this build, including one in which you might be unable to enter text when using Search from Start or the taskbar, and another in which after clicking the Search icon on the taskbar, the Search panel may not open.
This build introduces a Microsoft 365 widget that displays relevant documents, news, and meeting recordings to enterprise users. It only works if you’re signed into your Azure Active Directory (AAD) account on Windows 11. And Chat with Microsoft Teams now supports more than 50 languages.
The build also includes five bug fixes, including for a bug in which typing certain phrases into the search box in Settings sometimes crashed Settings, and another in Microsoft Teams in which videos sometimes froze or displayed a black image during video calls.
There are many known issues in this build, including one in which you might be unable to enter text when using Search from Start or the taskbar, and another in which after clicking the Search icon on the taskbar, the Search panel may not open.
This build fixes a bug in which the taskbar sometimes showed the “location in use” icon even when it had been blocked in preferences.
For Insiders in the Dev Channel, this build also includes the revamped Windows Clock app, with a new feature called Focus Sessions that lets you do things such as set timers, automatically play music from Spotify, and work directly with Microsoft’s To Do app. Go here for details.
The build is also available as an ISO from the Windows Insider Preview Downloads page for those who want to install it from media rather than online. Using this method, users experience the full Windows 11 setup process.
There are many known issues in this build, including one in which you might be unable to enter text when using Search from Start or the taskbar, and another in which after clicking the Search icon on the taskbar, the Search panel may not open.
With this build, Insiders in the Beta Channel now have access to Chat from Microsoft Teams. The feature, which was previously rolled out to Insiders in the Dev Channel, includes one-to-one and group audio and video calling. You can create and join meetings, toggle your microphone and camera on or off, and choose your preferred speakers, mic, and camera. You can also share your screen, see the roster of participants, admit meeting participants from the lobby, chat, and see people’s video in a gallery view. For more details, see “First Preview of Chat from Microsoft Teams begins rolling out to Windows Insiders.”
There are seven fixes in this build, including for a bug in which the taskbar repeatedly crashed inside the Windows Sandbox, and another in which the “location in use” indicator icon wasn’t showing up in the taskbar when it should have been.
There are many known issues in this build, including one in which you might be unable to enter text when using Search from Start or the taskbar, and another in which the Search panel may not open when you click the Search icon on the taskbar.
This build introduces a new family widget for MSA accounts (a single sign-on Microsoft account). It lets people see recent activity of members of their Microsoft family group. The build also fixes several dozen bugs, including one in which File Explorer didn’t show an updated scroll bar in dark mode; another that caused search in Settings to be in a permanently broken state, saying “No result” for every search; and one in which explorer.exe crashed when the Task View button was clicked.
There are many known issues in this build, including one in which you might be unable to enter text when using Search from Start or the taskbar, and another in which after clicking the Search icon on the taskbar, the Search panel may not open.
There are also a variety of minor new features, including making the taskbar calendar flyout fully collapse when clicking the chevron in the top corner to give more room for notifications.
Several dozen bugs have been fixed, including one in which when you right-clicked the desktop or File Explorer, the resulting context menu and submenus appeared partially off screen, and another in which sign-in wasn’t working for widgets in some scenarios due to authentication hanging.
There are many known issues in this build, including one in which you might be unable to enter text when using Search from Start or the taskbar, and another in which the taskbar sometimes flickers when switching input methods.
This build introduces a new entertainment widget that displays new and featured movie titles in the Microsoft Store. There are also many bug fixes, including for one in which the new command bar didn’t appear when the “Open folders in a separate process” is enabled under File Explorer Options > View, and another that made Settings periodically crash when it launched.
There are many known issues in this build, including one in which you might be unable to enter text when using search from Start or the taskbar, and another in which the right-click menu and submenus from the desktop or File Explorer may appear partially off-screen.
Among other changes in this build, the Start menu now includes a search box, Power mode settings are now available on the Power & battery page in Settings, and several system alert dialog boxes, such as the alert for when your battery is running low or when you change your display settings, now adhere to the new Windows 11 visual design.
The build includes a wide variety of bug fixes, including one in which Settings could not be launched, another in which you could not pin and unpin apps from Start, another in which the command bar in File Explorer disappeared, and another in which the snap layouts did not appear until you rebooted your PC.
In addition, a remote code execution exploit in the Windows Print Spooler service, known as “PrintNightmare,” has been closed. For details, see CVE-2021-34527.
There are many known issues in this build, including one in which you might be unable to enter text when using Search from Start or the taskbar, and another in which the new command bar may not appear when “Open folders in a separate process” is enabled under File Explorer Options > View.
What IT needs to know:Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.
This first Insider Preview for Windows 11 is a big one and offers many of the new features expected to be part of the shipping version of the new operating system.
General interface changes:The Start menu is now centered, rather than pinned to the left of the screen. It includes a set of pinned apps as well as recently opened files in OneDrive on all your cloud-connected devices, including PCs and smartphones. The taskbar is centered as well and offers new animations. It includes a button on the lower-right corner for notifications and for making quick changes to your settings.
File Explorer has a new command bar and new overall look, including new context menus. New themes have been added to the overall interface, and Windows sounds have been redesigned.
Widgets: Windows 11 comes with a set of resizable informational widgets for things such as news, the weather, your calendar, local traffic, a to-do list, photos from OneDrive, news, sports, and more.
Multitasking: Windows 10’s “Snap” feature that gives you control over how you can arrange your open windows gets a makeover. You can choose from pre-built Snap layouts and arrange them into predesigned Snap groups. Desktops available via Task View can now be reordered and have custom backgrounds.
Touch, inking, and voice input: The touch keyboard gets 13 new themes and can be resized. There’s also a voice typing launcher, and several new touch gestures. The build lets you quickly switch between additional languages and keyboards via a switcher that appears at the lower right on the taskbar next to Quick Settings. There’s also now a menu for customizing digital pens.
Other changes include:
The Microsoft Store has been redesigned. Eventually Android mobile games and apps will be housed there, and be able to work on Windows 11.
When you undock your laptop, the windows on your external monitor will be minimized. When you re-dock your computer to your monitor, Windows puts everything back where it was before.
With Windows 11’s Dynamic Refresh Rate, your PC can automatically boost the refresh rate when you’re inking or scrolling to give you a smoother experience, and lower the refresh rate when you don’t need it to save power on your laptop.
Settings has been redesigned, including left-hand navigation that persists between pages. There are also breadcrumbs to help you know exactly where you are in Settings.
Known issues: There are more than two dozen known issues in this build across a wide variety of features, including the taskbar, Settings, Start, Search, Widgets and the Store. For example, when upgrading a device with multiple user accounts to Windows 11, Settings will fail to launch; after clicking the Search icon taskbar, the Search panel may not open; and when upgrading to Windows 11 from Windows 10 or when installing an update to Windows 11, some features may be deprecated or removed.
Dropbox now offers end-to-end encryption and key management for customers on certain paid plans, part of a range of updates to the file sharing application announced this week.
Customers files are already encrypted “at rest” using 256-bit Advanced Encryption Standards, said Dropbox, but the end-to-end encryption integrated into team folders offers an added layer of security.
The change means that only the sender and recipient can access content, with “not even Dropbox” able to view customers files, the company said in a blog post Wednesday.
Dropbox said it will also provide customers with access to encryption keys, managed by FIPS 140-2 Level 3 key management services.
Information on how to activate and manage team folder encryption is available on the Dropbox website. The company warned that end-to-end encryption restricts certain features in the app, such as the ability to share files with users outside of a team, and might not be suitable for all files stored in a Dropbox account.
Other security features include the ability to manage team membership and invites from the Dropbox admin dashboard, and an updated Trust Center that contains security and compliance information related to Dropbox products.
The security features are now available to customers on Dropbox Advanced, Business Plus, and Enterprise plans.
Dropbox announced several other new features as part of the latest release.
It will be easier to collaborate with colleagues on certain Microsoft files from within the Dropbox application, with a co-authoring feature that lets multiple users edit Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents at the same time. Users can also see who’s working on a document and any edits made in real-time. (That feature is currently in beta.)
There’s also an integration between Dropbox Replay and Microsoft OneDrive, which lets users pull files from Microsoft’s file storage platform into the video and audio collaboration tool more easily for reviews and approvals.
Dropbox Replay will also get new features, including the ability to review and approve additional file types such as PDF and PSD files, integration with music production application Avid Pro Tools, and dynamic watermarking to help protect proprietary content.
Other updates include changes to the Dropbox’s website UI, following a revamp last October. The new capabilities let users preview files more easily, pin favorite files to the navigation bar, and access suggest quick actions for files.
Cloud Storage, Collaboration Software, Productivity Software, Vendors and Providers
From its inaugural release to today, Android has transformed visually, conceptually and functionally — time and time again. Google’s mobile operating system may have started out scrappy, but holy moly, has it ever evolved.
Here’s a fast-paced tour of Android version highlights from the platform’s birth to present. (Feel free to skip ahead if you just want to see what’s new in Android 14 or the actively-under-development Android 15 beta release.)
Android versions 1.0 to 1.1: The early days
Android made its official public debut in 2008 with Android 1.0 — a release so ancient it didn’t even have a cute codename.
Things were pretty basic back then, but the software did include a suite of early Google apps like Gmail, Maps, Calendar, and YouTube, all of which were integrated into the operating system — a stark contrast to the more easily updatable standalone-app model employed today.
The Android 1.0 home screen and its rudimentary web browser (not yet called Chrome).
T-Mobile
Android version 1.5: Cupcake
With early 2009’s Android 1.5 Cupcake release, the tradition of Android version names was born. Cupcake introduced numerous refinements to the Android interface, including the first on-screen keyboard — something that’d be necessary as phones moved away from the once-ubiquitous physical keyboard model.
Cupcake also brought about the framework for third-party app widgets, which would quickly turn into one of Android’s most distinguishing elements, and it provided the platform’s first-ever option for video recording.
Android 1.6, Donut, rolled into the world in the fall of 2009. Donut filled in some important holes in Android’s center, including the ability for the OS to operate on a variety of different screen sizes and resolutions — a factor that’d be critical in the years to come. It also added support for CDMA networks like Verizon, which would play a key role in Android’s imminent explosion.
Android’s universal search box made its first appearance in Android 1.6.
Google
Android versions 2.0 to 2.1: Eclair
Keeping up the breakneck release pace of Android’s early years, Android 2.0, Eclair, emerged just six weeks after Donut; its “point-one” update, also called Eclair, came out a couple months later. Eclair was the first Android release to enter mainstream consciousness thanks to the original Motorola Droid phone and the massive Verizon-led marketing campaign surrounding it.
Verizon’s “iDon’t” ad for the Droid.
The release’s most transformative element was the addition of voice-guided turn-by-turn navigation and real-time traffic info — something previously unheard of (and still essentially unmatched) in the smartphone world. Navigation aside, Eclair brought live wallpapers to Android as well as the platform’s first speech-to-text function. And it made waves for injecting the once-iOS-exclusive pinch-to-zoom capability into Android — a move often seen as the spark that ignited Apple’s long-lasting “thermonuclear war” against Google.
The first versions of turn-by-turn navigation and speech-to-text, in Eclair.
Google
Android version 2.2: Froyo
Just four months after Android 2.1 arrived, Google served up Android 2.2, Froyo, which revolved largely around under-the-hood performance improvements.
Froyo did deliver some important front-facing features, though, including the addition of the now-standard dock at the bottom of the home screen as well as the first incarnation of Voice Actions, which allowed you to perform basic functions like getting directions and making notes by tapping an icon and then speaking a command.
Google’s first real attempt at voice control, in Froyo.
Google
Notably, Froyo also brought support for Flash to Android’s web browser — an option that was significant both because of the widespread use of Flash at the time and because of Apple’s adamant stance against supporting it on its own mobile devices. Apple would eventually win, of course, and Flash would become far less common. But back when it was still everywhere, being able to access the full web without any black holes was a genuine advantage only Android could offer.
Android version 2.3: Gingerbread
Android’s first true visual identity started coming into focus with 2010’s Gingerbread release. Bright green had long been the color of Android’s robot mascot, and with Gingerbread, it became an integral part of the operating system’s appearance. Black and green seeped all over the UI as Android started its slow march toward distinctive design.
It was easy being green back in the Gingerbread days.
JR Raphael / IDG
Android 3.0 to 3.2: Honeycomb
2011’s Honeycomb period was a weird time for Android. Android 3.0 came into the world as a tablet-only release to accompany the launch of the Motorola Xoom, and through the subsequent 3.1 and 3.2 updates, it remained a tablet-exclusive (and closed-source) entity.
Under the guidance of newly arrived design chief Matias Duarte, Honeycomb introduced a dramatically reimagined UI for Android. It had a space-like “holographic” design that traded the platform’s trademark green for blue and placed an emphasis on making the most of a tablet’s screen space.
Honeycomb: When Android got a case of the holographic blues.
JR Raphael / IDG
While the concept of a tablet-specific interface didn’t last long, many of Honeycomb’s ideas laid the groundwork for the Android we know today. The software was the first to use on-screen buttons for Android’s main navigational commands; it marked the beginning of the end for the permanent overflow-menu button; and it introduced the concept of a card-like UI with its take on the Recent Apps list.
Android version 4.0: Ice Cream Sandwich
With Honeycomb acting as the bridge from old to new, Ice Cream Sandwich — also released in 2011 — served as the platform’s official entry into the era of modern design. The release refined the visual concepts introduced with Honeycomb and reunited tablets and phones with a single, unified UI vision.
ICS dropped much of Honeycomb’s “holographic” appearance but kept its use of blue as a system-wide highlight. And it carried over core system elements like on-screen buttons and a card-like appearance for app-switching.
The ICS home screen and app-switching interface.
JR Raphael / IDG
Android 4.0 also made swiping a more integral method of getting around the operating system, with the then-revolutionary-feeling ability to swipe away things like notifications and recent apps. And it started the slow process of bringing a standardized design framework — known as “Holo” — all throughout the OS and into Android’s app ecosystem.
Android versions 4.1 to 4.3: Jelly Bean
Spread across three impactful Android versions, 2012 and 2013’s Jelly Bean releases took ICS’s fresh foundation and made meaningful strides in fine-tuning and building upon it. The releases added plenty of poise and polish into the operating system and went a long way in making Android more inviting for the average user.
Visuals aside, Jelly Bean brought about our first taste of Google Now — the spectacular predictive-intelligence utility that’s sadly since devolved into a glorified news feed. It gave us expandable and interactive notifications, an expanded voice search system, and a more advanced system for displaying search results in general, with a focus on card-based results that attempted to answer questions directly.
Multiuser support also came into play, albeit on tablets only at this point, and an early version of Android’s Quick Settings panel made its first appearance. Jelly Bean ushered in a heavily hyped system for placing widgets on your lock screen, too — one that, like so many Android features over the years, quietly disappeared a couple years later.
Late-2013’s KitKat release marked the end of Android’s dark era, as the blacks of Gingerbread and the blues of Honeycomb finally made their way out of the operating system. Lighter backgrounds and more neutral highlights took their places, with a transparent status bar and white icons giving the OS a more contemporary appearance.
Android 4.4 also saw the first version of “OK, Google” support — but in KitKat, the hands-free activation prompt worked only when your screen was already on and you were either at your home screen or inside the Google app.
The release was Google’s first foray into claiming a full panel of the home screen for its services, too — at least, for users of its own Nexus phones and those who chose to download its first-ever standalone launcher.
The lightened KitKat home screen and its dedicated Google Now panel.
JR Raphael / IDG
Android versions 5.0 and 5.1: Lollipop
Google essentially reinvented Android — again — with its Android 5.0 Lollipop release in the fall of 2014. Lollipop launched the still-present-today Material Design standard, which brought a whole new look that extended across all of Android, its apps and even other Google products.
The card-based concept that had been scattered throughout Android became a core UI pattern — one that would guide the appearance of everything from notifications, which now showed up on the lock screen for at-a-glance access, to the Recent Apps list, which took on an unabashedly card-based appearance.
Lollipop and the onset of Material Design.
JR Raphael / IDG
Lollipop introduced a slew of new features into Android, including truly hands-free voice control via the “OK, Google” command, support for multiple users on phones and a priority mode for better notification management. It changed so much, unfortunately, that it also introduced a bunch of troubling bugs, many of which wouldn’t be fully ironed out until the following year’s 5.1 release.
Android version 6.0: Marshmallow
In the grand scheme of things, 2015’s Marshmallow was a fairly minor Android release — one that seemed more like a 0.1-level update than anything deserving of a full number bump. But it started the trend of Google releasing one major Android version per year and that version always receiving its own whole number.
Marshmallow’s most attention-grabbing element was a screen-search feature called Now On Tap — something that, as I said at the time, had tons of potential that wasn’t fully tapped. Google never quite perfected the system and ended up quietly retiring its brand and moving it out of the forefront the following year.
Marshmallow and the almost-brilliance of Google Now on Tap.
JR Raphael / IDG
Android 6.0 did introduce some stuff with lasting impact, though, including more granular app permissions, support for fingerprint readers, and support for USB-C.
Android 7.0 Nougat and its new native split-screen mode.
JR Raphael / IDG
Perhaps most pivotal among Nougat’s enhancements, however, was the launch of the Google Assistant — which came alongside the announcement of Google’s first fully self-made phone, the Pixel, about two months after Nougat’s debut. The Assistant would go on to become a critical component of Android and most other Google products and is arguably the company’s foremost effort today.
Android version 8.0 and 8.1: Oreo
Android Oreo added a variety of niceties to the platform, including a native picture-in-picture mode, a notification snoozing option, and notification channels that offer fine control over how apps can alert you.
Oreo adds several significant features to the operating system, including a new picture-in-picture mode.
JR Raphael / IDG
The 2017 release also included some noteworthy elements that furthered Google’s goal of aligning Android and Chrome OS and improving the experience of using Android apps on Chromebooks, and it was the first Android version to feature Project Treble — an ambitious effort to create a modular base for Android’s code with the hope of making it easier for device-makers to provide timely software updates.
Android version 9: Pie
The freshly baked scent of Android Pie, a.k.a. Android 9, wafted into the Android ecosystem in August of 2018. Pie’s most transformative change was its hybrid gesture/button navigation system, which traded Android’s traditional Back, Home, and Overview keys for a large, multifunctional Home button and a small Back button that appeared alongside it as needed.
Android 9 introduces a new gesture-driven system for getting around phones, with an elongated Home button and a small Back button that appears as needed.
Google released Android 10 — the first Android version to shed its letter and be known simply by a number, with no dessert-themed moniker attached — in September of 2019. Most noticeably, the software brought about a totally reimagined interface for Android gestures, this time doing away with the tappable Back button altogether and relying on a completely swipe-driven approach to system navigation.
Android 10 packed plenty of other quietly important improvements, including an updated permissions system with more granular control over location data along with a new system-wide dark theme, a new distraction-limiting Focus Mode, and a new on-demand live captioning system for any actively playing media.
Android 10’s new privacy permissions model adds some much-needed nuance into the realm of location data.
JR Raphael / IDG
Android version 11
Android 11, launched at the start of September 2020, was a pretty substantial Android update both under the hood and on the surface. The version’s most significant changes revolve around privacy: The update built upon the expanded permissions system introduced in Android 10 and added in the option to grant apps location, camera, and microphone permissions only on a limited, single-use basis.
Android 11 also made it more difficult for apps to request the ability to detect your location in the background, and it introduced a feature that automatically revokes permissions from any apps you haven’t opened lately. On the interface level, Android 11 included a refined approach to conversation-related notifications along with a new streamlined media player, a new Notification History section, a native screen-recording feature, and a system-level menu of connected-device controls.
Android 11’s new media player appears as part of the system Quick Settings panel, while the new connected-device control screen comes up whenever you press and hold your phone’s physical power button.
JR Raphael / IDG
Android version 12
Google officially launched the final version of Android 12 in October 2021, alongside the launch of its Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro phones.
In a twist from the previous several Android versions, the most significant progressions with Android 12 were mostly on the surface. Android 12 featured the biggest reimagining of Android’s interface since 2014’s Android 5.0 (Lollipop) version, with an updated design standard known as Material You — which revolves around the idea of you customizing the appearance of your device with dynamically generated themes based on your current wallpaper colors. Those themes automatically change anytime your wallpaper changes, and they extend throughout the entire operating system interface and even into the interfaces of apps that support the standard.
Android 12 ushered in a whole new look and feel for the operating system, with an emphasis on simple color customization.
Google
Surface-level elements aside, Android 12 brought a (long overdue) renewed focus to Android’s widget system along with a host of important foundational enhancements in the areas of performance, security, and privacy. The update provided more powerful and accessible controls over how different apps are using your data and how much information you allow apps to access, for instance, and it included a new isolated section of the operating system that allows AI features to operate entirely on a device, without any potential for network access or data exposure.
Android version 13
Android 13, launched in August 2022, is one of Google’s strangest Android versions yet. The software is simultaneously one of the most ambitious updates in Android history and one of the most subtle version changes to date. It’s an unusual duality, and it ultimately all comes down to what type of device you’re using to experience the software.
On the former front, Android 13 introduces a whole new interface design for both tablets and foldable phones, with a renewed focus on creating an exceptional large-screen experience in the operating system itself and within apps (as first observed and reported by Computerworld in January). The enhancements in that area include a fresh framework and series of guidelines for app optimizations along with a more capable split-screen mode for multitasking and a ChromeOS-like desktop-style taskbar that makes it easy to access frequently used apps from anywhere — enhancements we now know were aimed initially at Google’s Pixel Fold and Pixel Tablet devices, though their impact and effects have certainly stretched beyond those two products.
Google
On the latter front, Android 13 also laid the groundwork for the Pixel Tablet to function as a stationary Smart Display and then allow you to detach its screen and use it as a tablet. The software introduced support for a whole new series of shared-surface widgets and screensavers along with an expanded multiuser profile system for that purpose.
On regular phones, Android 13 is much less significant — and in fact, most people probably won’t even notice its arrival. Along with some minor visual refinements, the software introduces an expanded clipboard system that allows you to see and edit text as it’s copied, a native QR code scanning function within the Android Quick Settings area, and a smattering of under-the-hood improvements connected to privacy, security, and performance.
Android version 14
Following a full eight months of out-in-the-open refinement, Google’s 14th Android version landed at the start of October 2023 in the midst of the company’s Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro launch event.
But despite the subtle nature of its first impression, Android 14 includes a fair amount of noteworthy new stuff. The software introduces a new system for dragging and dropping text between apps, for instance, as well as a new series of native customization options for the Android lock screen.
Android 14 includes options for completely changing the appearance of the lock screen as well as for customizing which shortcuts show up on it.
JR Raphael / IDG
Android 14 provides a number of new improvements to privacy and security, too, including a new settings-integrated dashboard for managing all your health and fitness data and controlling which apps and devices can access it. And it adds in a more info-rich and context-requiring system for seeing exactly why apps want access to your location when they request such a permission.
The software also sports a series of significant accessibility additions, such as an enhanced on-demand magnifier, an easier way to increase font size in any app, improved support for hearing aid connections, and a built-in option to have your phone flash its camera light anytime a new notification arrives.
Beyond that, Android 14 features a first taste of Google’s AI-generated custom wallpaper creator, though that’s available only on the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro to start.
You can generate all sorts of interesting wallpapers in seconds via Android 14’s AI generator feature — but only on the Pixel 8 or Pixel 8 Pro for now.
JR Raphael / IDG
Android 14 rolled out to Google’s actively supported Pixel devices in early October, on the day of its release, and has been making its way slowly but surely to other Android phones and tablets in the weeks since.
Android version 15 (beta)
Google got its first developer preview of 2024’s Android 15 update out into the universe in late February and moved on to a public beta build of the software in early April.
As typically happens with new Android versions, the beta software is starting out somewhat bare bones — with most of the higher-profile, headline-worthy features still out of sight and under wraps. At this point, the official elements Google’s discussing and making visible revolve primarily around under-the-hood improvements and developer-aimed adjustments.
That being said, we have a pretty good idea of what front-facing features we might see as the development moves forward. Bits of behind-the-scenes code suggest Android 15 could include a new system for stopping overly aggressive notifications, along with a simpler way to tap into Android’s split-screen system, an “Adaptive Touch” feature that’d automatically adjust your screen to be as responsive as possible in different scenarios, and the long-awaited return of the now-12-year-old lock screen widgets concept — in certain contexts, at least.
It also looks increasingly likely that Android 15 will introduce a new “Private Space” option that’ll make it possible to create a separate, locked-down profile for securing especially sensitive apps and data (something some device-makers have added into their versions of the software for some time but that’s never before been a consistent, official part of the platform).
Google is expected to release four Android 15 beta versions in all, with a final release following sometime in the late summer to early fall months — as early as July, potentially, though that timing is always a floating target. (For context, remember: Android 14 didn’t arrive until early October. Android 13 before it showed up in mid-August. Anything’s possible.)
We’ll almost certainly hear much more about Android 15’s progress and at least someof the software’s significant features at the Google I/O company conference in May, so stay tuned: This story is only just getting started, and the biggest news is absolutely still ahead of us.
This article was originally published in November 2017 and most recently updated in April 2024.
Android, Mobile, Small and Medium Business, Smartphones
Depending on your perspective, two very different stories are a-brewin’ right now here in the land o’ Googley matters.
In one corner, Gemini, the AI-powered chatbot Google galumphed into the world this year, is getting better! I’ve lost count of the number of assorted little improvements that’ve shown up for the tool as of late, as it relates to Android and its increasingly apparent role as the platform’s next-generation virtual assistant.
At the same time, that progression emphasizes an unpleasant and often unspoken truth around Google’s rush to get its jolly green generative AI giant everywhere imaginable: This thing was rolled out way too soon and long before it was ready. It’s being forced down our throats for the sake of Google’s business benefit and at the expense of ouruser experience. And it’s being awkwardly and hurriedly shaped into a role it wasn’t designed to serve in a rushed-out, piecemeal manner instead of in the thoughtful, meticulous way that would have made it much more palatable for those of us who rely on Google’s services.
That first fork is the story Google wants to tell. The latter one, though, is the reality most of us in the real world are experiencing.
And I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I’ve got a sneaking feeling it’s only gonna get worse from here.
[No sugar-coating, no nonsense. Get level-headed perspective on the news that matters withmy free Android Intelligence newsletter. Three things to know and try every Friday!]
Google, Assistant, and the rocky road to Gemini
Let’s back up for a second to set the scene around this saga — ’cause goodness gracious, is it a strange yet simultaneously very characteristic-seeming tale, for anyone who’s been watching Google long.
Back in 2016, y’see, Google launched one of its biggest company-wide initiatives ever — a saucy little somethin’ called Google Assistant.
It’s hard now to even convey just how big of a deal Assistant’s arrival was at that point and then continued to be over the years that followed, up until extremely recently. Much like a certain plus-symbol-involving service we shall no longer name (pour one out…), Google set out to make Assistant appear everywhere.
From early on, the service connected to countless other Google services — from its integration into every imaginable corner of Android and ChromeOS to its home at the core of all Google-associated smart displays, TV systems, and speakers. It came to Android Auto, even, and showed up as the branding behind all sorts of smart Pixel calling features.
Heck, Google’s presence at tech conventions turned into a literal Assistant playground for years, with endless plastering of Assistant branding everywhere you looked and — well, stuff like this:
Assistant became the common thread across all of Google’s high-profile products, and even that was still just the start of the company’s grand Assistant ambitions. A few short years ago, Google was laying the groundwork for Assistant to evolve into its own fully featured platform.
As a certain greasy-beaked tech philosopher put it at the time:
Assistant is the Google platform of the future. Whether we’re talking about Smart Displays, the Home Hub, or Android devices, the operating system is but a pawn in Assistant’s larger-scale and higher-stakes game.
It seems safe to say Google devoted more time, energy, and likely also money toward building up Assistant as a tool anda brand than any other effort in recent memory. And, not surprisingly, it worked! Those of us who spend our days within the Google ecosystem learned to depend on Assistant for all sorts of tasks, ranging from quick actions across Android to cross-platform memory storage and on-demand smart device control.
And then — well, you know what happened, right? ChatGPT showed up. The tech industry freaked out about its future. And everything related to Assistant went to hell in a handbag.
The Assistant-to-Gemini (d)evolution
The signs of Assistant flailing first started showing up mid-last-year.
People were noticing that Assistant was acting oddly and becoming more and more erratic. Commands that once worked fine were suddenly leading to strange results. Sometimes, Assistant just wouldn’t answer at all — or would return random errors anytime you tried to summon it.
I was among the lucky who didn’t run into any such issues for a while, but that’s absolutely changed in more recent months. The many Assistant-associated gizmos scattered around my home — speakers, screens, and other “Hey Google”-responding gadgets in practically every room — have become exercises in frustration. Error after error, failed command after failed command.
Plain and simple, what was once a reliable tech tool has turned into a steaming hot mess of disappointment. Even my kids, once obsessed with what they saw as the all-knowing and omnipotent Google genie, have now taken to berating and insulting the brand with inspired barbs like “Hey Google, why are you so stupid?” and — more direct yet — “Hey Google, you suck.”
While Google has yet to officially give us any guidance about its plans for the future of Assistant and how Gemini might fit into that, it’s become increasingly apparent over time that the company’s moving away from Assistant and devoting its time and resources toward building up Gemini as its replacement.
And that brings us to the otherside of our current unchosen reality: When Gemini first showed up as an “experimental” Assistant alternative on Android earlier this year, it was an underwhelming glimpse at a future precisely noneof us asked for — and that’s putting it mildly.
The real problem with Gemini as the Android assistant is that Google’s forgotten why a phone assistant actually matters — and what we, as actual users in the real world, need from such a service.
Using Gemini in place of Google Assistant feels like having a square peg awkwardly forced into a round hole. It feels more like an awkward adaptation of an AI chatbot than a phone assistant — something that’s half-baked at present and not at all intended or appropriate for this context.
And the more time you spend using Gemini, the more apparent that disconnect becomes.
To Google’s credit, in the time since then, Gemini as an Android assistant hasonly continued to get better. It’s clear that Google’s working to fill in the gaps and bring the service up to speed with Google Assistant as quickly as possible.
Heck, this week alone, we’ve seen signs of Google cookin’ up a Gemini automation system to take the place of Assistant routines, an improvement that’d allow Gemini to interact with streaming apps and control audio playback on your phone (something that, yes, has thus far not been possible), and a series of under-the-hood enhancements that’d make Gemini faster and more “natural” to interact with on Android.
Hey, that’s great! All of it. (Remember our diverging dialogues from a minute ago?)
But more than anything, it highlights just how badly Google has bungled this transition — and how much trust it’s rightfully gonna cost it in the eyes of its most committed users.
The Gemini on Android reality
The truth is that using Gemini as an assistant on Android, to borrow a phrase from my wise progeny, still sucks. And it’s not because its generative AI parlor tricks aren’t up to snuff. Thatstuff — all the new tricks Gemini brings to the table — honestly doesn’t matter all that much for most of us in this context.
As I mused a couple months back:
When it comes to an on-demand mobile device assistant, we don’t need the ability to have mediocre text or creepy images created for us from anywhere across Android. We need a fast, consistent, reliable system for interacting with our phone and other connected devices, getting things accomplished with our core productivity services, and getting short bursts of basic info spoken aloud to us in response to simple questions.
What Google’s scrambling to do now is catch Gemini up with those foundational basics — the table stakes, in other words, and the bare minimum of what makes for an effective and reliable phone assistant. And while it may be making impressive strides toward that goal, in the meantime, Gemini continues to fail at the core tasks we actually need from a service of this nature while also continuing to be pushed as a default for more and more people who never asked for it. And at the same time, Assistant itself — thanks to its apparent abandonment within Google — is alsonow flailing at those same tasks, which it once handled handily.
That adds up to create a lose-lose for everyone — except for maybe Google’s business department, which can now tell investors it’s pushing new boundaries and leading the way in generative AI development.
The most maddening part of all is that it didn’t haveto be like this. Google could have thoughtfully worked out the best parts of Gemini, as an assistant, and then integrated those elements into the existing Assistant framework in a way that’d feel like an upgrade and expansion instead of a rug-swept-out-from-under-us degradation. It could have kept the system and the brand it spent years building up while simply sprinkling new capabilities in instead of doing its typical Google thing of pulling a complete 180, giving up on something entirely, and then leaving us — as its users — to sort out the mess.
More than anything, Google could have waited until Gemini was actually in a reasonably ready-for-prime state before rolling it out and pushing Android phone owners to switch over to it — while simultaneously dropping the ball on the existingAssistant platform and leaving us all in a lurch with no clear answers or direction.
All of this brings me back once more to the question I posed at the start of this year, when the effects of the tech industry’s hype-driven AI obsession were just starting to become apparent:
How much of the current rush to cram some form of “AI” into everything imaginable is actually about what’s useful and advantageous for us, as human users of these creations? And how much is more about chasing the latest buzzword du jour and finding a reason to use the term “AI,” no matter what it accomplishes or how it fits into our lives?
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Most of us don’t need a “creative” chatbot at our fingertips all day long, in every area of our Android experience. We don’t need on-demand image and text generation at our constant beck and call. And we certainly don’t need long-winded, on-screen answers of questionable accuracy for our short spoken questions.
What we need is a simple, reliable task-handler and an accurate and concise info-relayer. Assistant established the framework for that. And seeing Google throw that all away now and start over from scratch with Gemini — while forcing us to suffer along with its slog back toward a state of basic reliability — sure doesn’t feel like “progress.”
We may well reach a point where Gemini genuinely grows into a fully featured, reliable replacement for Google Assistant on Android and across the rest of Google’s ecosystem. I certainly hope so! But instead of bringing us to that point in a calm, carefully planned, and sensible-seeming manner, Google’s forcing us through a painfully rocky long-term transition — with a new tool that isn’t up to snuff, an old tool that’s being left to fall apart at the seams, and no meaningful guidance as to how all of this will ultimately play out.
That doesn’t seem like a smart way to handle things to me. And, I don’t know about you, but in this case, I don’t even need a half-baked virtual assistant to tell me why.
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Android, Google, Google Assistant, Voice Assistants
Google this week once again said it will delay plans to eliminate third-party identity tracking software — cookies — from its Chrome browser and from Android OS. Now, it plans to remove them by 2025.
The tech giant said the latest delay is due to “ongoing challenges related to reconciling divergent feedback from the industry, regulators and developers.”
In January, it again said it would find alternatives to cookies for identifying users and discovering their habits, but was pushing back plans to eliminate trackers.
“We recognize that there are ongoing challenges related to reconciling divergent feedback from the industry, regulators and developers, and will continue to engage closely with the entire ecosystem,” Google wrote in a blog post this week.
“For marketers, the message is clear: get off cookies now,” said said Ken Weiner, chief technology officer at digital advertising platform GumGum. “Most of the industry, including mobile and other browsers like Safari, have already moved away from cookies or never used them in the first place. Don’t wait for Google’s shifting timeline to take action; the transition should be happening now. Keep in mind that regardless of cookies, the web’s future—driven by consumer preferences and regulatory changes—is identity-less. Contextual targeting is the best way forward.”
Google has been working with the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and the Information Commissions Office (ICO) on its plans to use its Privacy Sandbox instead of cookies. The British regulatory authority and others have voiced concerns about Google’s plan, saying it could “unfairly hinder competition” by giving preference to Google’s own advertising products, which would increase the company’s market dominance.
“We remain committed to engaging closely with the CMA and ICO and we hope to conclude that process this year,” the company said. “Assuming we can reach an agreement, we envision proceeding with third-party cookie deprecation starting early next year.”
A cookie is a small file that is downloaded onto a computer when the user visits a website. They can do helpful things, such as remembering preferences, recording what has been added to a shopping basket, and counting the number of people viewing a website. They can also use a person’s identity to allow third parties to bombard users with emails and targeted online ads.
Cookies often ingest and retain sensitive consumer information such as login credentials, personally identifiable information, and browsing history. As a result, the move away from cookies should help reduce some cybersecurity risks.
Over the past few years, the online advertising industry has been undergoing a sea change as regulators restricted how cookies can be used and browser providers moved away from them in response to consumer outcries over privacy. “They often feel surveilled; some even find it ‘creepy’ that a website can show them ads related to their behavior elsewhere,” according to a recent study by the HEC Paris Business School.
Google has said its Privacy Sandbox project will create new standards for websites to access user information without compromising privacy by sharing a subset of user information without relying on third-party cookies. “It will provide publishers with safer alternatives to existing technology, so they can continue building digital businesses while your data stays private,” the company said on its website.
For Android device users, Google will introduce new solutions that operate without cross-app identifiers — including Google Play services’s Advertising ID, which will limit data sharing with third parties and offer a user-resettable, and user-deletable ID for advertising.
Google Chrome, which is used for about 66% of all internet traffic, impacts more consumers than any other browser, so changing the way it tracks users would also have market-changing consequences.
“In the short term, there will be some disruption with advertisers struggling to market themselves effectively,” said Roger Beharry Lall, research director for IDC’s Advertising Technologies and SMB Marketing Applications practice. “This may seem good for consumers who are ‘cookie free.’ However, there will likely just be more irrelevant ads flooding the media trying to find an audience. So, it’s a bit of a double-edged sword.”
