Windows 11 Insider DEV Channel

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25174

What’s new

Introducing the New Game Pass Widget

This widget is a window to the extensive PC Game Pass library – it will show the latest additions, games leaving soon, and others from highlighted categories and then take you to the Xbox app where you can install them, see reviews, and go all in.

We’re still hard at work on some exciting functionality coming soon that will let you sign-into your Xbox profile and easily jump back into recently played games as well as see personalized recommendations of games we believe you’ll love.

The Game Pass widget preview is available in the widgets board alongside other widgets that bring weather, sports, and other great content closer to you. The widgets board is shown by clicking the left corner of your taskbar or by pressing Win + W. To pin the Game Pass widget, select the ‘+’ button in the top right corner of the widgets board.

Here is how to get started:
  • Open the widgets board.
  • Click on the + icon next to your user profile.
  • Click on the + icon besides the Game Pass
  • Close the Widget settings window.
  • The Game Pass widget should now appear in your widgets board.
We are looking forward to getting feedback on the Game Pass widget from Windows Insiders who are PC gamers. Tell us what you’d love to see in the widget, or if you see anything that is strange or unexpected on the widget itself or on the widgets experience.

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

Changes and Improvements

[File Explorer]
  • Middle clicking a folder in the navigation pane of File Explorer will now open it in a new tab, like clicking a folder in the body of File Explorer already does. Please note that this requires tabbed File Explorer, which hasn’t rolled out to everyone in the Dev Channel yet.

Fixes

[File Explorer]
  • Fixed an issue which could cause explorer.exe to crash when opening new File Explorer windows.
  • Fixed an issue where launching File Explorer in certain ways when using dark mode (for example, from the command line) was showing the body of File Explorer unexpectedly in light mode.
  • Fixed an issue where the left/right arrows in File Explorer were in light mode when you were using dark mode, causing them to not have enough contrast to show when they were enabled.
  • Fixed an issue where the dividers in the navigation pane were overlapping / drawing too close to text sometimes.
  • Fixed an issue where if you drag and drop a folder into the navigation pane was sometimes unexpectedly putting the folder at the bottom of the list rather than where you’d dropped it.
  • Fixed an issue causing UI issues in File Explorer when using F11 to put File Explorer in full screen mode.
[Taskbar]
  • Fixed an issue leading to various system tray elements being unexpectedly missing for some Insiders on the previous build.
[Settings]
  • Fixed a crash on some PCs were experiencing when going to System > Storage > Disks & Volumes.
[Other]
  • Fixed an issue which was leading to mouse and keyboard input not working correctly in certain games in the last 2 flights.
  • Fixed an issue believed to be leading to SQL Server Management Studio failing to launch for some Insiders.
  • Fixed an issue where Memory Integrity in Windows Security might show a warning saying it couldn’t be enabled due to incompatible drivers, but the incompatible drivers list would be blank.
  • Fixed an issue which was causing some apps to unexpectedly not launch in the last few flights when core isolation was enabled in Windows Security.
 
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25179

ISOs for this build can be downloaded here.

Changes and Improvements

[General]
  • The spelling dictionary will now use a language-neutral word list and we are trying out syncing this across all devices that use the same Windows account. Users can toggle this feature via Settings > Accounts > Windows backup > Remember my preferences > Language preferences. This currently only works with Microsoft accounts today with AAD support coming later.
[File Explorer]
  • File Explorer tabs and navigation updates (which began rolling out to the Dev Channel with Build 25136) are now rolling out to everyone in the Dev Channel. If you don’t see these features right away, please try rebooting. If that doesn’t work, please file feedback in Feedback Hub.
  • We’re trying out different experiences in File Explorer to show search results.
[Input]
  • We’re adding the Tamil Anjal keyboard for the Tamil language. It’s a popular keyboard for inputting Tamil characters, so if you speak this language, please try it out! This keyboard is currently rolling out to a subset of Insiders while we evaluate the quality. To add it (once it’s available to you), make sure Tamil (India) is listed under Settings > Time & Language > Language & Region, and then click the “…” next to the language, select Language Options, and add it to the list of keyboards.
  • We are rolling out a small tweak to improve the key repeat rate for the traditional touch keyboard layout, as well as the default touch keyboard layout, so it feels more responsive. Now it has the rate of 20 keys per second (for example, when holding down the delete key).
[Other]
  • Updated the default duration captured by powercfg -sleepstudy from 3 to 7 days.
Fixes

[General]
  • Fixed an issue causing hangs and crashes in apps (like Excel) when attempting to print in the last couple flights.
  • Fixed a few issues impacting explorer.exe reliability.
[File Explorer]
  • The Mount option when right clicking things like ISO files should now show an icon in the context menu.
  • Fixed an issue where the min / max / close button might not be visible in File Explorer when using a contrast theme.
[Widgets]
  • We have fixed the issue causing Widgets preferences (temperature units and pinned widgets) to unexpectedly get reset to default.
[Taskbar]
  • Fixed an issue which could lead to the taskbar overflow flyout unexpectedly appearing on the opposite side of the screen.
[Input]
  • Fixed a sporadic crash impacting reliability of the input switcher.
  • Fixed an issue where when Suggested Actions was enabled, if you copied multiple items in a row to your clipboard history, some of the items might not display after you pressed WIN + V.
[Settings]
  • Fixed an issue which was causing Settings to crash on launch sometimes.
  • Improved alignment of the “Scan for phone” button displayed on Accounts > Sign-In Options under Dynamic Lock when your phone failed to connect.
  • Your preferred state for the Suggested Actions setting under System > Clipboard should persist upgrade going forward from this build.
[Windowing]
  • Fixed an issue where when resizing certain app windows near the edge of the screen when using mixed DPI monitors might unexpectedly cause the window to jump and shrink.
[Other]
  • We made a change so that the media controls in Quick Settings will more reliably not load old media you’re no longer using.
  • Fixed an issue causing one of the characters in the bugcheck text to not display correctly (as a box) when the display language was set to Chinese.
  • Fixed an issue causing app install failures with error 0x80080204 in the last few flights.
  • Improved date / time recognition for existing supported locales when using Suggested Actions.
 
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25182

  • Starting with Build 25182, the expiration date is now September 15th, 2023. It is recommended Insiders update to this build to avoid build expiration notices.
  • We’re beginning to roll out an update to the Camera app to the Dev Channel that brings native Arm64 support and a new privacy feature. Details below.
  • We are also rolling out a small update for Microsoft Store to the Dev Channel with some improvements. Details below.
Fixes

[General]
  • We fixed the issue that was causing devices with low disk space to receive download error 0x80070001 in Windows Update trying to install the latest Dev Channel build.
  • Fixed an issue leading to some Insiders experiencing a decrease in FPS when playing certain games in recent flights due to the wrong graphics card being used.
[Taskbar]
  • Fixed an issue which could lead to the taskbar overflow flyout unexpectedly appearing on the opposite side of the screen. This was incorrectly noted as fixed in Build 25179.
  • We fixed an issue that was causing the animation on the taskbar that plays when a user switches from using a device in tablet posture to desktop while in overflow to incorrectly show when logging in.
  • Fixed an explorer.exe crash which could happen when determining if the taskbar overflow should display. This could happen when switching out of a full screen game.
 
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25188

What's new

Updated Touch Keyboard Settings
A new touch keyboard setting replaces the "Show the touch keyboard when there's no keyboard attached" checkbox under Settings > Time & language > Typing > Touch keyboard with a new dropdown menu with 3 options to control whether tapping an edit control should launch the touch keyboard:

  • "Never" suppresses the touch keyboard even when no hardware keyboard is attached.
  • "When no keyboard attached" will show the touch keyboard only when the device is used as a tablet without the hardware keyboard.
  • "Always" will show the touch keyboard even when the hardware keyboard is attached.

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

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Input and Language > Touch keyboard.

Changes and Improvements

[Windows Terminal]
  • Windows Terminal is now the default terminal in Windows 11. This means, all command line applications will open in Windows Terminal automatically (Command Prompt and PowerShell, for example). The setting for this change can be found via Settings > Privacy & security > For developers. Please note that Windows Terminal version 1.15 or greater is required for this feature.
[Settings]
  • Updated the Wi-Fi and VPN properties pages in Settings to now include a link to advanced properties for that network.

Fixes

[Taskbar]
  • Fixed an issue related to the taskbar overflow which was impacting explorer.exe reliability.

 
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25193

What's new

Introducing Xbox subscription management in Settings

With this build, we are introducing a new Xbox subscription management experience within Windows 11 Settings app. If you are a member of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, Xbox Game Pass for Console or Xbox Live Gold, you will now be able to see your subscription details via Settings > Accounts.

Like the Microsoft 365 subscription management experience, you will be able to view your billing recurrence, payment method and the games and benefits associated with your Xbox subscription.

In addition, you will also be able to manage and upgrade your subscription, redeem gift card tokens and be up to date on any actions required to continue your subscriptions without any disruptions.

If you don't own any Xbox subscriptions, you can learn more about the games and benefits associated with Xbox subscriptions, by clicking the Learn more link on the card.

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

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

Support for new Braille displays in Narrator

We are excited to announce support for new Braille displays and new Braille input and output languages in Narrator. Some of the new braille displays we support include: the APH Chameleon, the APH Mantis Q40, the NLS eReader and many more. Refer to the detailed documentation to learn more about the new displays and languages that we support.

Prerequisites:

You must remove Narrator's current braille support if it is already installed by following the steps below:
  • Open Settings.
  • Go to Apps > Optional features > Installed features.
  • Search for Accessibility – Braille support.
  • Expand Accessibility – Braille support and uninstall the feature.
Install new narrator braille support:
  • Go to Settings > Accessibility > Narrator > Braille.
  • Select the more button.
  • Download braille from this new window by selecting the Download and install braille button.
  • After braille is installed, restart your computer and return to Settings > Accessibility > Narrator > Braille.
  • For Braille display to continue working seamlessly while switching between Narrator and third-party screen readers, select the braille display driver used by your third-party screen reader from the "Braille display driver" option. See the note below for customers that use the JAWS for Windows screen reader. This only needs to be done once. Refer to the detailed documentation to learn more about the braille driver solution.
Note: If you have the JAWS for Windows screen reader installed from Freedom Scientific and are using a version released in April 2022 or later along with a Focus braille display then there is no need to select the braille display as noted above.

Additional Resources:

Please refer to the Narrator User Guide for additional information on braille functionality in Narrator.FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Accessibility > Narrator.

Changes and Improvements

General
  • As a result of feedback from Windows Insiders, we have disabled the ability to share a local file directly to OneDrive using the built-in Windows share window that first began rolling out to Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel with Build 25163. We hope to bring this feature back in the future after further refinement of the experience. As we've mentioned previously, features we try out in the Dev or Beta Channels may not always ship.
Fixes

General
  • Fixed an issue causing enabling .NET Framework 3.5 from the Windows Features dialog to not work in the previous build.

Taskbar]
  • Made a fix so the taskbar overflow will now use the same accent color as your taskbar.
  • Fixed a couple of issues which were leading to sporadic explorer.exe crashes related to the taskbar overflow.
  • Fixed an issue related to the widgets entry in the taskbar which was causing the taskbar icons to appear to drift around sometimes in the previous flight.
  • Fixed an issue for Insiders with at least two monitors, where if the monitors had different DPI, the taskbar overflow could appear before it was needed or end up overlapped with the date and time on the secondary monitor.
  • Fixed an issue where the taskbar overflow flyout might appear floating away from the taskbar if you opened it after a display scaling change.

Start

  • Fixed an issue that was causing unexpected characters to show instead of an apostrophe in the tooltip for the Sleep option in the Power menu.
  • Fixed an issue which could lead to Start menu crashing on launch for some people when Search Highlights was enabled.

File Explorer
  • If the taskbar is set to auto-hide and File Explorer is maximized, hovering your mouse on the bottom of the screen to invoke the taskbar should work now.
  • Fixed an issue when dragging and dropping a folder to pin it to the navigation pane, that the line indicating where it would be inserted didn't have enough contrast in dark mode.
  • We fixed an issue where the search box background in File Explorer might be the opposite color of your current mode (for example dark in light mode).
  • Fixed an issue where File Explorer would appear to open, close, and re-open before it finished drawing after being launched from certain places (for example when opening the location of a downloaded file from Microsoft Edge).
  • Fixed an issue where certain files couldn't be unpinned from the Favorites section of Home after you'd pinned them.
  • Made another fix to help address UI issues when switching between dark and light mode if the File Explorer window was open when you switch.
  • Fixed a GDI objects leak when resizing the navigation pane in File Explorer, which could potentially lead to content in File Explorer not rendering correctly over time for Insiders who resized the navigation pane frequently.
  • Made some improvements to help the performance of loading Home when using a cloud storage provider, like OneDrive, to back up your files in File Explorer.

Settings

  • Fixed an issue causing the Storage page in Settings as well as Disk Cleanup to crash in the scan phase for some people.
  • Fixed an issue where URIs to open pages under the Accounts section of Settings weren't working for some people – Settings would open, but not navigate to the correct page. This impacted the link to open Sign-in Options in the Start menu.
  • Fixed an issue leading to app icons not displaying correctly under Privacy & Security > Voice activation.
  • Fixed a Settings crash when uninstalling apps using Apps > Installed apps.

Other

  • Fixed an issue which could sometimes cause a ShellExperienceHost.exe crash when you stopped casting to another display or switched to duplicate your display.
  • Added a warning to findstr if Unicode input is detected, to make it more clear if that's why results aren't returned for certain files.
  • Fixed an issue in recent flights causing lines to not be included when printing tables from certain apps.
  • Fixed an issue in recent flights which could lead to hangs in certain apps.
 
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25197

What's new

Re-introducing the touch-optimized taskbar that’s designed to make you feel more confident and comfortable using your device as a tablet. Your taskbar will automatically transition to this optimized version when you disconnect or fold back the keyboard on your 2-in-1 device. This feature only works on devices that can be used as tablets. It does not work on laptops or desktop PCs.

As a reminder, there are two states of this taskbar: collapsed and expanded. In the collapsed state, the taskbar gets out your way, gives you more screen space, and prevents you from accidentally invoking the taskbar when you’re holding your tablet. In the expanded state, the taskbar is optimized to be easier to use with touch. You can easily switch between the two states by swiping up and down on the bottom of your device.

If this feature is available, you will see a new setting at Settings > Personalization > Taskbar > Taskbar behaviors called “Optimize taskbar for touch interactions when this device is used as a tablet” that will be set to on by default.

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

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

System Tray Updates
This update introduces updates to the System Tray that affect all device types — not just 2-in-1 devices. With this change, users will see a rounded focus and hover treatment on all icons in the lower right, due to the continued modernization of this experience.

You may also notice that it is not possible to drag and drop or rearrange your system tray icons with this change. We heard your feedback on this change earlier this year and are working to address this in a future Insider Preview build.

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

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

Changes and Improvements

[Settings]
  • We are beginning to roll out animated icons and illustrations in the Settings app. With the animated icons in the navigation bar, we continue growing our motion design principles to transform these familiar interactions from something purely functional to something that is also delightful.
[Input]
  • We are making the small tweak that began rolling out with Build 25179 to improve the key repeat rate for the traditional touch keyboard layout, as well as the default touch keyboard layout, so it feels more responsive available to all Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel. Now it has the rate of 20 keys per second (for example, when holding down the delete key).
Fixes

[System Tray Updates]

NOTE: These fixes will only show if tablet-optimized taskbar with System Tray updates is enabled on your device. Please see above for details on the tablet-optimized taskbar and System Tray updates, which is beginning to roll out to Windows Insiders and not yet available for everyone.

  • The taskbar should no longer flash because of changes in the system tray in non-tablet-optimized scenarios.
  • Fixed an issue that was causing parts of the taskbar or its icons like search to get stuck in the wrong theme’s colors when switching between light and dark themes.
  • Date and time should no longer get stuck cutting off on the side of the screen from system tray changes.
 
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25201

ISOs for this build can be downloaded here.

What's new

Expanded View in Widgets

Need more space in your widgets board? Can't quite see everything at a glance? Use the expand and collapse button in the top right corner of the board, next to the add widgets button, to expand or collapse the size of your widgets board. The size of your board is remembered, so if you prefer your widgets board to always show you more content and leave it expanded then that's how it will be the next time you open it.

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

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

Game Pass Widget Improvements

Last month we introduced the preview of the Game Pass widget without a sign-in experience to your Xbox profile. Today, we're beginning to roll out and update for the Game Pass widget that introduces the ability to sign-in with your Xbox profile. If you have already signed into your Xbox app on PC, the Game Pass widget will be signed-in with your Xbox account. Once signed-in, the widget will show the full range of Game Pass games available to you. Additionally, the widget will also show the most recent set of PC Game Pass titles you have played. It gives gamers a quick way to get right back into the action.

As always, we would love to hear your thoughts on how the team can make Game Pass widget better and more personalized for you. Please share your feedback!

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

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

Changes and Improvements

[General]
  • Thank you to all the Insiders who gave us feedback on the different visual treatments for search on the taskbar! Starting with this week's flight, we are concluding the exploration of these treatments, so if you received this experience, it will be removed on your next reboot.
[File Explorer]
  • File Explorer search will now show results as you type. The full search results page will update live without needing to press enter. We are beginning to roll this out, so the experience isn't available to all Insiders just yet.
  • We're experimenting with adding more cloud files to search results from Home.

Fixes

[General]
  • Fixed the issue in the last few flights causing a bugcheck when moving your mouse in certain games.
[File Explorer]
  • As a one-time change to help people find their folders with the navigation pane updates, if the default folders pinned to File Explorer's navigation pane had been unpinned, they will be re-pinned after upgrading.
  • Fixed a memory leak which was happening when closing File Explorer windows.
[Taskbar]
  • The apps in the taskbar overflow flyout should now be in the correct order when using an Arabic or Hebrew display language.
[Input]
  • Fixed an issue where if you hadn't already opened OneNote once, using the pen click to invoke OneNote wouldn't work.
  • Made a change to help address an issue where it wasn't possible to use the Pinyin IME to type in the chat box of certain games.
[Settings]
  • Fixed an issue which was causing sporadic Settings app crashes.
  • Removed an erroneous white pixel in the icon animation when clicking the Apps category in Settings.
[Widgets]
  • We have fixed the issue where in some cases, the notification banner for some badging would not appear in the widgets board.
[Windowing]
  • Fixed an issue where explorer.exe was crashing if you dragged a snap group in Task View and dropped it into another Desktop.
  • Fixed an issue related to interacting with the Desktops flyout in the taskbar which was causing periodic explorer.exe crashes.
  • Fixed a DWM crash in the last few flights which could lead to a brief black screen when rotating a tablet.
  • Fixed a rare issue which could cause a DWM crash when watching videos in certain UWP apps in recent builds.
[Task Manager]
  • Fixed an issue impacting Task Manager reliability.
[Other]
  • Fixed an issue causing some Insiders to unexpectedly get the message "it is not possible to connect to this network" when connecting to certain Wi-Fi networks recently, although the network was working with other devices.
  • Fixed an issue which could lead to Windows Sandbox opening to just a black window on certain PCs.

NOTE: Some fixes noted here in Insider Preview builds from the Dev Channel may make their way into the servicing updates for the released version of Windows 11.
 
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25206

  • The build includes changes to SMB authentication rate limiter behavior. See the blog post for additional details.
  • We’ve got a few changes and improves including making the updated “Open with” dialog available to all Insiders in the Dev Channel, some updates for Dynamic Refresh Rate (DRR) and more.
  • This build also includes a set of fixes to improve the overall experience for Windows Insiders.
  • We also added a new known issue for a bug we’re investigating that is impacting a subset of Insiders in the Dev Channel from updating to the latest builds.

Changes and Improvements

[General]
  • The updated “Open with” dialog box is now available to all Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel.
[Graphics]
  • Windows Insiders can now save power by using Dynamic Refresh Rate (DRR) on external displays! To enable this setting, you must have a 120+Hz monitor with VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) support, as well as a WDDM 3.1 driver installed. To select a dynamic refresh rate, go to Settings > System > Display > Advanced display and make your selection under Refresh rate.
    • Note: To get the latest GPU drivers available for Windows Insiders, check for Windows updates by going to Settings > Windows Update, then select “Check for updates”. To find out what WDDM driver you have, go to Start > dxdiag > Display and look at the Driver Model under Drivers.
[File Explorer]
  • Search from File Explorer Home will show recent file activity for cloud files in Details View.
[Input]
  • We’re beginning to roll out a change to suppose the use of clipboard history (WIN + V) on password fields. We are beginning to roll this out, so the experience isn’t available to all Insiders just yet.

Fixes

[General]
  • OneDrive setup should no longer unexpectedly ask for permission to set up every time your PC reboots.
  • Fixed a high hitting explorer.exe which was impacting some Insiders.
[Settings]
  • Fixed a Settings crash which could happen when searching and selecting certain Narrator related settings.
[Search]
  • Fixed a high hitting search crash which was impacting some Insiders in the last few flights.
[Other]
  • The Windows Sandbox window should now resize correctly if you snap it to the side of the screen.
  • Fixed an issue which could lead to a memory leak in Windows Error Reporting after certain crashes.
  • If focus is on the desktop, then pressing ALT + F4 and Enter should now shutdown your PC, rather than having to move keyboard focus first (as was needed in the last few flights).
  • The computer icon is now showing again in the Shut Down Windows dialog.

NOTE: Some fixes noted here in Insider Preview builds from the Dev Channel may make their way into the servicing updates for the released version of Windows 11.
 
Updated Photos app for Windows 11 begins rolling out to Windows Insiders

A preview of the update for the Photos app is beginning to roll out Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel today. This means not all Insiders in the Dev Channel will have the update right away, but rollout will be increased over time as feedback is monitored.

The update brings a gorgeous gallery, simplifying browsing, finding, management and consumption of your collection of photos. It also allows you to easily backup your photos with OneDrive, enjoy powerful experiences on Windows devices and offers a delightful “Memories” experience.

Here are some things for Insiders try with this Photos app update:

  • Organize your photos with a productive and beautifully redesigned purpose-built experience.
  • Easily backup your Photos to OneDrive and keep your memories safe.
  • Celebrate a life well-lived with improved “Memories” experiences.
  • Be productive with multi-window and multi-screen.
  • Easily view your OneDrive storage quota usage and add more storage.
  • Import and manage your photos from external sources such as your phone and camera.
This update to the Photos app (version 2022.31090.16004.0 and higher) will replace the current Photos app experience. Earlier this year, we introduced Clipchamp as our new inbox video editor, which is focused on making video creation easy, fast, and fun on Windows. As Clipchamp is equipped with all the basic tools you’d expect, like trimming and splitting, as well as more pro-style features like transitions and animated text, the new Photos app experience no longer includes the legacy Video Editor. If you would prefer to continue to use the legacy Photos app, it will remain available in the Microsoft Store.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Apps > Photos.
 
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25211

What's new

Widgets settings

In this update, we have separated the widget picker and Widgets settings to make it easier for you to find and interact with each view. Now, the widget picker is opened by the "+" button and Widgets settings is opened by the "Me" button. We re-used the space the picker used to take in Widget settings to cover the highly requested taskbar settings based on Insider feedback to give you control over how the Widgets entry works on your taskbar.

With the toggles in Widget settings, you can:

  • Control whether the Widgets board opens when you hover over the taskbar icon.
  • Control whether Widgets will show notification badging on the taskbar.
  • Control whether live Widget content on the taskbar shows more than weather.

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

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

Changes and Improvements

[Taskbar]
  • Based on your feedback, we've added a link to Task Manager when right-clicking on the taskbar. Let us know what you think!

[System Tray]
  • This build includes preliminary support to rearrange system tray icons for Insiders who have the System Tray updates that began rolling out with Build 25197. Further improvements for this experience are coming soon. As a reminder, these System Tray updates are still rolling out and are not available to all Insiders just yet. If your PC does not have these changes, your System Tray experience will remain the same as before.

File Explorer]

  • Fixed an issue where the top part of File Explorer (with the search and address box) couldn't be interacted with when File Explorer was in full screen mode (F11).

[Settings]
  • For the time being, you will no longer be able to uninstall apps with inter-dependencies (e.g., Steam and gaming apps running on Steam) or repair Win32 apps under Settings > Apps > Installed apps. You will still be able to modify and uninstall Win32 apps without inter-dependencies.

Fixes

[General]
  • We are beginning to roll out a server-side fix for the issue causing a "date, time and time zone settings are incorrect" message to be improperly displayed, which was also preventing the installation of the latest Insider Preview builds from proceeding.

[File Explorer]
  • Fixed the issue where the command bar items like copy, paste, and empty recycle bin were unexpectedly not be enabled sometimes when they have been.
  • Fixed an issue which was causing unexpected black bars on the sides of horizontal scrollbars when using dark mode.

 
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25217

  • Developers can start building and testing 3rd party widgets on the latest Insider Preview builds in the Dev Channel and the WinAppSDK 1.2 preview 2 release. Details and links below.
  • This build includes a few input-related changes and fixes.
  • Some Insiders are seeing a sneak peek of a new video calling experience for Chat on Windows 11. Details below.
  • We are beginning to roll out a Microsoft Store update that includes a few improvements including highlight games included with Game Pass.

We are beginning to roll this feature out, so it isn’t available to all Insiders just yet as we plan to monitor feedback and see how it lands before pushing it out to everyone.][/I]

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Input and Language > Text Input.

Changes and Improvements

[Input]
  • We began rolling out the new Tamil Anjal keyboard for the Tamil language with Build 25179 and starting today, it is now available to all Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel. To add it, make sure Tamil (Singapore), Tamil (Malaysia), Tamil (Sri Lanka), or Tamil (India) is listed under Settings > Time & Language > Language & Region, and then click the “…” next to the language, select Language Options, and add Tamil Anjal (QWERTY) to the list of keyboards.
  • We have disabled the new touch keyboard setting that first began rolling out to Windows Insiders in Build 25188 for now. We hope to bring this feature back in the future after further refinement of the design. As we’ve mentioned previously, features we try out in the Dev or Beta Channels may not always ship.

Fixes

Tablet-optimized taskbar]

NOTE: These fixes will only show if tablet-optimized taskbar (documented here) is enabled on your device. Tablet-optimized taskbar is still rolling out to Windows Insiders and not yet available for everyone.

  • We fixed the issue causing the taskbar to sometimes collapse when it should be expanded if there are no running windows on the desktop.
  • We fixed an issue that would occur when using the left or right edge gestures resulting in the Widgets or Notification Center (respectively) to overlap with or look truncated by the taskbar.
  • Fixed an issue that was causing the tablet-optimized taskbar to crash explorer.exe while switching apps.
  • Fixed an issue that was causing the tablet-optimized taskbar to crash explorer.exe if you entered the overflow flyout.

[Windowing]

  • Fixed an issue where the close button for window preview thumbnails in Task View was drawing slightly outside the bounds of the thumbnail.
  • Fixed an issue where when switching between windows in recent builds you might see the entire window flash black for a frame while rendering.
  • Fixed an issue causing Miracast video quality to be very slow and stuttering in recent flights despite having a solid internet connection.

[System Tray Updates]

NOTE: These fixes will only show if System Tray Updates (documented here) is enabled on your device. Tablet-optimized taskbar is still rolling out to Windows Insiders and not yet available for everyone.

  • Fixed an issue so that Quick Settings items can now be rearranged with touch again.

[Settings]

  • Fixed an issue under Network and Internet > Advanced Network Settings, where certain networks were displaying the wrong link speed.

[Other]

  • Fixed an issue where remote desktop on ARM64 PCs was unexpectedly not using UDP and only TCP.
 
Updated Photos app for Windows 11 with iCloud Photos now rolling out to Windows Insiders

During today’s event showcasing what’s next for Microsoft Surface, we showed that we’re bringing iCloud Photos integration directly to the updated Photos app which began rolling out to Windows Insiders a few weeks ago. We are beginning to roll out an update to the Photos app today (version 2022.31100.9001.0) to Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel with this new integration.

The Microsoft Photos app allows you to view, organize, and share photos from your PC and OneDrive, and with this update, you’ll now be able to add and access your iCloud Photos directly from within the app as well. Your iCloud Photos will appear alongside photos from other sources in the beautifully redesigned “All Photos” gallery view, as well as on a dedicated page you can access from the side navigation pane.
Click to expand...

To get started, follow the quick setup steps in the Photos app! You’ll need to sign into the iCloud for Windows app on your PC and ensure that “Photos” are selected.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Apps > Photos.
 
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25227

ISOs for this build can be downloaded here.

This build includes improvements for update management for IT administrators and a good set of general changes and improvements. See the blog post for details.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Install and Update > All other issues.

Microsoft Store Update

Windows Insiders across all channels running version 22209 of the Microsoft Store will see the following improvement:

Pop Up Trailers for Games & Movies: A new way of interaction is added for you to preview trailers of your favorite games and movies.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Microsoft Store.

Changes and Improvements

[Start menu]
  • We are trying out a small change to the Start menu where some Insiders will see badging on their user profile notifying them that certain actions need to be taken.
[Widgets]
  • We’re trying out some different positions of the header with new icons for the Widgets board to learn how to best optimize the Widgets board for our users. By using monoline icons, our goal is to bring consistent, clean, and accessible icons to communicate action and features with simple visuals for users.
[Input]
  • The change to support the use of clipboard history (WIN + V) on password fields that began rolling out with Build 25206 is now available to all Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel.
  • We made a change to allow you to contribute your voice clips to Microsoft again even if on-device speech recognition is used.
[Voice typing]
  • We are rolling out a change to sync voice typing settings, Automatic punctuation and Voice typing launcher, across all devices signed in using the same Microsoft account. You can toggle this feature via Settings > Accounts > Windows backup > Remember my preferences > Accessibility. This currently only works with Microsoft accounts today with AAD support coming later.
[Settings]
  • A new dialog will warn users of potential data loss if they elect to change the partition style of their storage drive under System > Storage > Disks & Volumes > Disk Properties.
  • We’ve updated the ethernet and Wi-Fi property pages in Settings to now show gateway information in the network details summary.

Fixes

[General]
  • Fixed an issue which was causing some Insiders to not be able to upgrade to recent Dev Channel builds, with error 0xC1900101. As a reminder, this is a generic rollback error code, so if you are continuing to see this error after today’s update you may be encountering a different issue. If you do, please file feedback about it under Install and Update > Downloading, installing, and configuring Windows Update in the Feedback Hub.
[Tablet-optimized taskbar]
NOTE: These fixes will only show if tablet-optimized taskbar (documented here) is enabled on your device. Tablet-optimized taskbar is still rolling out to Windows Insiders and not yet available for everyone.

  • Fixed an issue that was causing explorer.exe to crash while switching between apps on the tablet-optimized taskbar.
  • Start’s touch gesture should now follow your finger correctly with the tablet-optimized taskbar.
  • Improved how touch gestures and their animations with the tablet-optimized taskbar work with the touch keyboard.
  • You can now swipe up from within the taskbar with a pen to expand the tablet-optimized taskbar.
[System Tray Updates]
NOTE: These fixes will only show if System Tray Updates (documented here) is enabled on your device. Tablet-optimized taskbar is still rolling out to Windows Insiders and not yet available for everyone.

  • Fixed an issue causing explorer.exe to crash when dragging icons in the system tray.
  • Right-clicking system tray icons should no longer cause the auto-hidden taskbar to hide incorrectly.
  • The show hidden icons panel in the system tray should no longer block context menus opened after it.
  • Fixed an issue where the first time you tried to open Quick Settings from the system tray it wouldn’t work.
  • Fixed an issue that was preventing system tray icons from updating in real time.
[File Explorer]
  • When you scroll to the bottom of the navigation pane using a mouse wheel and try to scroll back up it should no longer get stuck at the bottom.
  • Fixed an issue which could cause certain apps to hang when opening the Open File Dialog or Save File Dialog.
  • Made another fix for a case which could lead to people seeing divider lines overlapping entries in the navigation pane.
[Start menu]
  • Fixed an issue where dragging content across an open Start menu folder could cause a crash.
[Search]
  • Made a fix to help address an issue where Search might not respond when clicking on the search icon in the taskbar.
  • Opening images from search should no longer unexpectedly open them in Print.
[Input]
  • Fixed an issue where over time you might lose the ability to interact with certain games using the mouse.
  • Fixed an issue where the multiplication sign (×, U+00D7) wasn’t displaying correctly in the Yu Gothic font family for people with high resolution screens.
[Settings]
  • The size of UWP app icons under Apps > Startup shouldn’t be so small now.
[Task Manager]
  • Dragging Task Manager from the bottom area of the title bar to move the window should work now.
[Other]
  • Fixed a couple issues causing certain apps to crash in recent builds, including OneNote. We are continuing to investigate feedback in this space.
  • Made a change to address an issue which could lead to performance degradation when using performance monitoring tools which leveraged the Microsoft-Windows-DxgKrnl ETW provider. This also impacted performance for Windows Mixed Reality. As a reminder, if you’re experiencing performance issues, please see here for steps on filing actionable performance feedback.
  • Fixed an issue where recording devices with “Listen to this device” enabled might not show in the volume mixer when they were playing sound.
  • If you reset your PC, the screen displayed while it’s resetting will now be black so it’s consistent with the upgrade screens.
  • If you were experiencing Gaming Services crashes while trying to play certain games in the previous Dev Channel flight, please check the Microsoft Store for Gaming Servicing updates, it should be resolved now.
  • Fixed an issue which was causing certain PCs to unexpectedly bugcheck on upgrade to the latest builds, with the error message saying “MULTIPROCESSOR_CONFIGURATION_NOT_SUPPORTED”.
  • Fixed an issue from the previous flight which could cause Miracast to unexpectedly not be able to connect.
NOTE: Some fixes noted here in Insider Preview builds from the Dev Channel may make their way into the servicing updates for the released version of Windows 11.
 
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25231

  • This build includes a few minor changes including increasing the rollouts for a few features.
  • We've also added a handful of known issues – be sure to check them out below.
  • We're also rolling out a Phone Link update to Windows Insiders that introduces instant access to your phone's hotspot with Samsung devices.

Changes and Improvements

[General]
  • The change that began rolling out with Build 25179 to the spelling dictionary so that it now uses a language-neutral word list and syncs across all devices that use the same Windows account is now available to all Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel. Users can toggle this feature via Settings > Accounts > Windows backup > Remember my preferences > Language preferences. This currently only works with Microsoft accounts today with AAD support coming later.
[Tablet-optimized taskbar]
[Input]
  • The cloud suggestion feature Simplified Chinese IME that began rolling out with Build 25217 is now available for all Insiders in the Dev Channel.

Fixes

[System Tray]
  • When moving your mouse over the sound icon on Quick Settings, the tooltip will now display when spatial audio is in use – not just that it is enabled.
[Settings]
  • Removed the backplate from UWP app icons in Apps > Default apps and Apps > Apps for websites.
  • Fixed the font used on the Wi-Fi section of Quick Settings when Wi-Fi was off, so that it's consistent with the other text in Quick Settings
  • Fixed an issue believed to be the root cause of certain network cameras unexpectedly not being added when you selected them under Bluetooth & Devices > Cameras.
  • Improved DPI-awareness when launching setup.exe from a mounted ISO, so the initial logo while it's preparing should no longer be blurry in certain cases.
[Other]
  • Fixed a rare issue where FindWindow and FindWindowEx might return an unexpected window.
  • Fixed an issue where sometimes you wouldn't be able to use FIDO to unlock your PC if it was connected to an external display with the laptop lid closed.
  • Fixed an issue which sometimes led to crashes in certain apps (like Paint, and Windows Terminal) when attempting to display a tooltip.

NOTE: Some fixes noted here in Insider Preview builds from the Dev Channel may make their way into the servicing updates for the released version of Windows 11.
 
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