The Windows 11 2022 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.
Skip to the builds
The Windows Insider program is divided into four channels:
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.”
Release date: November 28, 2023
Released to: Beta Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.2776.)
Release date: November 16, 2023
Released to: Release Preview Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22631.2787.)
Release date: November 16, 2023
Released to: Beta Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.2771.)
Release date: November 15, 2023
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23590.)
Release date: November 15, 2023
Released to: Canary Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25997.)
Release date: November 8, 2023
Released to: Canary Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25992.)
Release date: November 8, 2023
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23585.)
Release date: Nov. 2, 2023
Released to: Beta Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.2700.)
Release date: Nov. 1, 2023
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23580.)
Release date: Nov. 1, 2023
Released to: Canary Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25987.)
Release date: Oct. 27, 2023
Released to: Dev 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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23575.)
Release date: Oct. 26, 2023
Released to: Beta Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.2552)
Release date: Oct. 25, 2023
Released to: Canary Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25982.)
Release date: October 19, 2023
Released to: Beta 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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.2486.)
Release date: October 18, 2023
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23570.)
Release date: October 18, 2023
Released to: Canary Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25977.)
Release date: October 13, 2023
Released to: Beta 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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.2483.)
Release date: October 12, 2023
Released to: Release Preview Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22621.2500.)
Release date: October 11, 2023
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23565.)
Release date: October 10, 2023
Released to: Beta Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.2419.)
Release date: October 5, 2023
Released to: Canary Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25967.)
Release date: October 4, 2023
Released to: Dev 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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23560.)
Release date: September 28, 2023
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23555.)
Release date: September 26, 2023
Released to: Release Preview Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 version 23H2.)
Release date: September 22, 2023
Released to: Release Preview Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22621.2361.)
Release date: September 22, 2023
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23550.)
Release date: September 14, 2023
Released to: Release Preview Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22621.2359.)
Release date: September 13, 2023
Released to: Canary Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25951.)
Release date: September 13, 2023
Released to: Dev 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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23545.)
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.2338 and 22631.2338.)
Release date: September 8, 2023
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23541.)
Release date: September 7, 2023
Released to: Canary Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25947.)
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.2271 and 22631.2271.)
Release date: August 31, 2023
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23536.)
Release date: August 31, 2023
Released to: Canary Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25941.)
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.2265 and 22631.2265.)
Release date: August 25, 2023
Released to: Canary Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25936.)
Release date: August 25, 2023
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23531.)
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.2262 and 22631.2262.)
Release date: August 18, 2023
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23526.)
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.2199 and 22631.2199.)
Release date: August 16, 2023
Released to: Canary Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25931.)
Release date: August 10, 2023
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23521.)
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.2191 and 22631.2191.)
Release date: August 10, 2023
Released to: Release Preview Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22621.2213.)
Release date: August 9, 2023
Released to: Canary Channel
This build includes new features first released in the Dev Channel, including improvements for Windows Ink, improved screen casting, and local file-sharing improvements. The Snipping Tool has also been upgraded, with new buttons to edit in Paint for screenshots and edit in Clipchamp for screen recordings.
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25926.)
Release date: August 4, 2023
Released to: Canary Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25921.)
Release date: August 2, 2023
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23516.)
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.
(Get more info about 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, 22621.2115 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.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Builds 22621.2115 and 22631.2115.)
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.2050 and 22631.2050.)
Release date: July 19, 2023
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23506.)
Release date: July 13, 2023
Released to: Release Preview Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22621.2066.)
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.2048 and 22631.2048.)
Release date: July 12, 2023
Released to: Canary Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25905.)
Release date: June 29, 2023
Released to: Dev Channel
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:
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23493.)
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.1972 and 22631.1972.)
Release date: June 22, 2023
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23486.)
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.1906 and 22631.1906.)
Release date: June 20, 2022
Released to: Release Preview Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22621.1926.)
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.1900 and 22631.1900.)
Release date: June 14, 2023
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23481.)
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.1835 and 22631.1835.)
Release date: June 7, 2023
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23475.)
Release date: June 2, 2023
Released to: Canary Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25381.)
Release date: June 1, 2023
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23471.)
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.1830 and 22631.1830.)
Release date: May 25, 2023
Released to: Canary Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25375.)
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.1825 and 22631.1825.)
Release date: May 24, 2023
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23466.)
Release date: May 22, 2023
Released to: Canary Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25370.)
Release date: May 11, 2023
Released to: Release Preview Channel
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).
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22621.1776.)
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.1755 and 22624.1755.)
Release date: May 4, 2023
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23451.)
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.1690 and 22624.1690.)
Release date: May 4, 2023
Released to: Canary Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25357.)
Release date: April 28, 2023
Released to: Canary Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25352.)
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.1680 and 22624.1680.)
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.1616 and 22624.1616.)
Release date: April 19, 2023
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23440.)
Release date: April 19, 2023
Released to: Canary Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25346.)
Release date: April 14, 2023
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23435.)
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.1610 and 22624.1610.)
Release date: April 13, 2023
Released to: Release Preview Channel
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).
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22621.1631.)
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.1546 and 22624.1546.)
Release date: April 7, 2023
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23430.)
Release date: April 7, 2023
Released to: Canary Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25336 .)
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.1537 and 22624.1537.)
Release date: March 30, 2023
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23424.)
Release date: March 30, 2023
Released to: Canary Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25330.)
Release date: March 23, 2023
Released to: Canary Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25324.)
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.1470 and 22624.1470.)
Release date: March 22, 2023
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23419.)
Release date: March 21, 2023
Released to: Release Preview Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22621.1483.)
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.1465 and 22624.1465.)
Release date: March 16, 2023
Released to: Release Preview Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.1757.)
Release date: March 8, 2023
Released to: Canary Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25314.)
Release date: March 8, 2023
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23403.)
Release date: March 2, 2023
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25309.)
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.1391 and 22624.1391.)
Release date: February 21, 2023
Released to: Release Preview Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Build 22621.1343.)
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.1325 and 22623.1325.)
Release date: February 15, 2023
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25300.)
Release date: February 9, 2023
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25295.)
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.1255 and 22623.1255.)
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.1250 and 22623.1250.)
Release date: February 1, 2023
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25290.)
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.1245 and 22623.1245.)
Release date: January 25, 2023
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25284.)
Release date: January 19, 2023
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25281.)
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.1180 and 22623.1180.)
Release date: January 17, 2023
Released to: Release Preview Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22621.1192.)
Release date: January 12, 2023
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25276.)
Release date: January 5, 2023
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25272.)
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.1095 and 22623.1095.)
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
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.1037 and 22623.1037.)
Release date: December 14, 2022
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25267.)
Release date: December 9, 2022
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25262.)
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.1028 and 22623.1028.)
Release date: November 28, 2022
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25252.)
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
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.1020 and 22623.1020.)
Release date: November 18, 2022
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25247.)
Release date: November 17, 2022
Released to: Release Preview Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22621.898.)
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.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Builds 22621.891 and 22623.891.)
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.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Builds 22621.885 and 22623.885.)
Release date: November 2, 2022
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25236.)
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.875 and 22623.875.)
Release date: October 27, 2022
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25231.)
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
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.870 and 22623.870.)
Release date: October 19, 2022
Released to: Release Preview Channel
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).”
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22621.754.)
Release date: October 19, 2022
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25227.)
Release date: October 18, 2022
Released to: Release Preview Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.1163.)
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.746 and 22623.746.)
Release date: October 11, 2022
Released to: Release Preview Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22621.675.)
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.741 and 22623.741.)
Release date: October 6, 2022
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25217.)
Release date: October 4, 2022
Released to: Release Preview Channel
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.
(Get more info about the October 2022 feature rollout.)
Release date: September 29, 2022
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25211.)
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.730 and 22623.730.)
Release date: September 22, 2022
Released to: Release Preview Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22621.607.)
Release date: September 21, 2022
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25206.)
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.601 and 22622.601.)
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22621.598 and 22622.598.)
Release date: September 8, 2022
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25197.)
Release date: September 1, 2022
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25193.)
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.590 and 22622.590.)
Release date: August 24, 2022
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25188.)
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.586 and 22622.586.)
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22621.457.)
Release date: August 17, 2022
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25182.)
Release date: August 16, 2022
Released to: Release Preview Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview 22000.917.)
Release date: August 10, 2022
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25179.)
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22621.575 and 22622.575.)
Release date: August 3, 2022
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25174.)
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22621.450 and 22622.450.)
Release date: July 28, 2022
Released to: Release Preview Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22621.317.)
Release date: July 28, 2022
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25169.)
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.440 and 22622.440.)
Release date: July 20, 2022
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25163.)
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22621.436 and 22622.436.)
Release date: July 14, 2022
Released to: Release Preview Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Build 22000.829.)
Release date: July 13, 2022
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25158.)
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.
(Get more info about Update to Windows Subsystem for Android (version 2205.40000.14.0).)
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:
Add-AppxPackage -Register -Path C:\Windows\SystemApps\Microsoft.UI.Xaml.CBS_8wekyb3d8bbwe\AppxManifest.xml -DisableDevelopmentMode -ForceApplicationShutdown
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.290 and 22622.290.)
Release date: June 30, 2022
Released to: Release Preview Channel
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.”
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 222621.169.)
Release date: June 29, 2022
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25151.)
Release date: June 22, 2022
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25145.)
Release date: June 16, 2022
Released to: Release Preview Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.776.)
Release date: June 15, 2022
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25140.)
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22621.160.)
Release date: June 9, 2022
Released to: Dev 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. 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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25136.)
Release date: June 7, 2022
Released to: Release Preview Channel
Microsoft has now released Build 22621, which was previously released to the Beta Channel, to Insiders in the Release Preview Channel. This signifies that the build is the shipping version of Windows 11 22H2 (more or less) and is ready for final testing by corporate IT departments.
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22621.)
Release date: June 2, 2022
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25131.)
Release date: May 19, 2022
Released to: Release Preview Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.706.)
Release date: May 18, 2022
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25120.)
Release date: May 11, 2022
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25115.)
Release date: May 11, 2022
Released to: Beta Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22621.)
Release date: May 5, 2022
Released to: Dev and Beta Channels
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22616.)
Release date: April 29, 2022
Released to: Dev and Beta Channels
This build adds the following new MDM and group policies for IT administrators:
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22610.)
Release date: April 14, 2022
Released to: Release Preview Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Preview Build 22000.651.)
Release date: April 13, 2022
Released to: Dev and Beta Channels
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22598.)
Release date: April 6, 2022
Released to: Dev and Beta Channels
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22593.)
Release date: March 23, 2022
Released to: Dev and Beta Channels
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22581.)
Release date: March 18, 2022
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22579.)
Release date: March 15, 2022
Released to: Beta and Release Preview Channels
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.588.)
Release date: March 9, 2022
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22572.)
Release date: March 2, 2022
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22567.)
Release date: February 24, 2022
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22563.)
Release date: February 16, 2022
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22557.)
Release date: February 10, 2022
Released to: Beta and Release Preview Channels
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.526.)
Release date: January 27, 2022
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22543.)
Release date: January 19, 2022
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22538.)
Release date: January 14, 2022
Released to: Beta and Release Preview Channels
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).
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.466.)
Release date: January 12, 2022
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22533.)
Release date: January 6, 2021
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22526.)
Release date: December 15, 2021
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22523.)
Release date: December 8, 2021
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22518.)
Release date: December 1, 2021
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22509.)
Release date: November 19, 2021
Released to: Beta and Release Preview Channels
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).
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.348.)
Release date: November 17, 2021
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22504.)
Release date: November 12, 2021
Released to: Beta and Release Preview Channels
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.346.)
Release date: November 10, 2021
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22499.)
Release date: November 4, 2021
Released to: Beta and Release Preview Channels
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview KB5008295.)
Release date: November 3, 2021
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22494.)
Release date: October 27, 2021
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22489.)
Release date: October 20, 2021
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22483.)
Release date: October 15, 2021
Released to: Beta and Release Preview Channels
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.282.)
Release date: October 14, 2021
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22478.)
Release date: October 4, 2021
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22471.)
Release date: September 29, 2021
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22468.)
Release date: September 22, 2021
Released to: 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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22463.)
Release date: September 16, 2021
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.194.)
Release date: September 15, 2021
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22458.)
Release date: September 9, 2021
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22454.)
Release date: September 9, 2021
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.184.)
Release date: September 2, 2021
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22449.)
Release date: September 2, 2021
Released to: Beta Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.176.)
Release date: August 27, 2021
Released to: Dev and Beta Channels
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.168.)
Release date: August 19, 2021
Released to: Dev and Beta Channels
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.160.)
Release date: August 12, 2021
Released to: Dev and Beta Channels
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.”
The build also rolls out the new Snipping Tool for Windows 11, and updated Calculator, Mail, and Calendar apps for Insiders in the Dev Channel. For details, see “First set of Windows app updates rolling out to Windows Insiders for Windows 11.”
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.132.)
Release date: August 5, 2021
Released to: Dev and Beta Channels
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.120.)
Release date: July 22, 2021
Released to: Dev Channel
This build introduces Microsoft Teams integration into Windows 11, including a Teams Chat flyout on the taskbar. For more details, see Microsoft’s blog post, “First Preview of Chat from Microsoft Teams begins rolling out to Windows Insiders.” Note that not every Insider will see the feature right away.
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.100.)
Release date: July 15, 2021
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000. 71.)
Release date: July 8, 2021
Released to: Dev Channel
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.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.65.)
Release date: June 28, 2021
Released to: Dev Channel
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:
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.
Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.51.
Read this next: What the enterprise needs to know about Windows 11
Preston Gralla is a contributing editor for Computerworld and the author of more than 45 books, including Windows 8 Hacks (O’Reilly, 2012) and How the Internet Works (Que, 2006).
Copyright © 2023 IDG Communications, Inc.
Copyright © 2023 IDG Communications, Inc.
