Hello Windows Insiders, today we are issuing Windows 11 Build 26100.3025 (KB5050094) to Insiders in the Release Preview Channel for Windows 11, version 24H2 (Build 26100).
Below is a brief overview of the new features and enhancements included in this update, categorized into two sections: gradual rollout and standard rollout. The text highlighted in bold within the brackets signifies the item or area of the modification being documented.
Gradual rollout
The features and enhancements listed below may not be accessible to all users as they will roll out gradually. Bold text in brackets identifies the area of the change being documented.
- [Taskbar] New! This update enhances the previews displayed when your mouse pointer hovers over applications on the taskbar. The animations for these previews have also been improved.
- [Windows Studio Effects] New! An icon will show up in the system tray when you utilize an app that supports Windows Studio Effects. This will only appear on devices equipped with a neural processing unit (NPU). Click on the icon to access the Studio Effects page within Quick Settings. To see which app is utilizing the camera, hover over the icon for a tooltip.
- [Fonts] New! This update introduces Simsun-ExtG, a new simplified Chinese typeface. It features the Biangbiang noodles character. Some applications may not yet display these new extension characters. The font includes 9,753 ideographs supporting Unicode Extensions G, H, and I. Refer to the list below.
- Unicode range G 30000-3134A (4,939 chars)
- Unicode range H 31350-323AF (4,192 chars)
- Unicode range I 2EBF0-2EE5D (622 chars)
- [File Explorer]
- New! You now have quick access to items that have been shared with you by others. Shared items encompass files, emails, Teams chats, and more. To view them, you must log in to Windows with a Microsoft account or a Microsoft Entra ID account. To find these shared items, navigate to the File Explorer Home page and select the Shared tab. If you log in using a Microsoft Entra ID account, you will have additional viewing options, including files you have shared with others. Moreover, the Recent, Favorites, and Shared sections of the page will showcase a wider variety of file types.
- New! When you right-click on items in the left pane, the “New Folder” option now appears in the context menu.
- Fixed: A search may unintentionally repeat after you perform a search.
- Fixed: The date and time properties of a file may update erroneously after it has been copied.
- Fixed: Icons on the details pane may not update as anticipated when a theme is changed, making it difficult to observe the transition between dark and light themes.
- Fixed: The search box may lose focus while you are typing.
- [Mobile hotspot] New! The Windows Mobile Hotspot now accommodates 6 GHz connections. This new band necessitates chips that support the feature along with updated drivers. Chips that support 6 GHz Wi-Fi may not necessarily support the 6 GHz mobile hotspot. To access this new band, navigate to Settings > Network & internet > Mobile hotspot. In the Network properties section, select Edit. The mobile hotspot will only utilize 6 GHz when it is enabled for compatibility with existing devices.
- [Settings] New! You can modify time zones in Settings > Time & Language > Date & Time. You do not need admin rights to make this adjustment.
- [Domains] Fixed: A device may fail to connect to a domain.
- [Mouse]
- Fixed: The mouse cursor may vanish when you hover over text fields in certain applications.
- Fixed: Enabling pointer trails causes the mouse cursor to become transparent, with a black box appearing behind it.
- Fixed: The mouse cursor may stutter during movement across the screen, even when the system is using minimal resources.
- [Pinyin Input Method Editor (IME)] Fixed: When switching between app windows, the IME language may switch from Chinese to English.
- [Snipping Tool] Fixed: Screenshots taken with the Snipping Tool may appear distorted when using two or more monitors with different display scaling.
- [Task Manager] Fixed: It takes an excessive amount of time to close after the application is shut down.
- [Microsoft Excel 2016] Fixed: Opening certain files may launch Excel, but the screen could remain stuck on the loading phase.
- [Dam.sys] Fixed: A watchdog timeout issue could arise when your PC resumes from sleep mode.
- [Windows update installation] Fixed: Cumulative updates might not install properly, with the error code being 0x800736b3. This happens after a feature on demand fails to install.
Normal rollout
This update encompasses the following features and improvements that are being rolled out as part of this update. Bold text in brackets denotes the area of the change being documented.
- [Windows Backup] New! After restoring from a backup via the Windows Setup experience (OOBE) on a new Windows PC, you will now have a standard Windows 11 taskbar. Your apps can still be found in the Start menu and Search, allowing you to pin your desired apps to your taskbar. This change is not yet being rolled out in the EEA (European Economic Area).
- [High dynamic range (HDR)] Fixed: The appearance of some games may seem oversaturated when utilizing Auto HDR.
Thank you,
Windows Insider Program Team