Microsoft releases KB5008353 update to fix audio and taskbar problems in Windows 11

We are coming to the end of the month and that means it is time for Microsoft to unleash the preview versions of the Windows updates that will be released on Patch Tuesday. As such, the company has released the KB5008353 update preview for Windows 11, addressing dozens of issues.

The list of changes, fixes and improvements included in this optional, non-security update is fairly lengthy, but there are some definite highlights. Among the most significant changes are fixes for problems with Bluetooth audio, as well as fixes for issues with Windows 11's taskbar that caused app icons to appear unnecessarily.

See also:

• Microsoft seems to have changed its mind about killing off the Control Panel in Windows 11
• Microsoft is forcibly upgrading some Windows 10 computers
• How to unlock the updated Task Manager Microsoft has hidden in Windows 11

The update also addresses another taskbar problem that causes the volume icon to show that sound is muted when it is not, as well as fixing a problem with auto-hiding the taskbar.

KB5008353 is an optional update that you can install using Windows update, or by downloading it from the Microsoft Update Catalog

Microsoft draws attention to the following highlights of the update:

• Updates an issue that causes the audio service to stop responding on some devices that support hardware-accelerated Bluetooth audio.
• Updates an issue that affects icons for apps when the apps are not running. On the taskbar, these icons might display as active as if the apps are running.
• Adds a new Your Microsoft Account page to the Accounts category in Windows Settings for Home and Professional editions.
• Updates an issue that incorrectly shows the volume icon in the taskbar as muted.
• Updates an issue that causes a device to stop working when it’s connected to multiple displays.
• Updates an issue that affects the auto-hide feature of the taskbar. The taskbar might not reliably appear when you hover over the primary or secondary display.
• Updates an issue that might prevent icons from appearing on the taskbar of a secondary display.
• Improves auto brightness to provide a better response under low light conditions on all the supported systems.
• Updates daylight savings time to start in February 2022 instead of March 2022 in Jordan.
• Adds the HelpWith feature, which uses Microsoft Bing technologies to suggest Help topics that are relevant for each Settings page. 
• Updates an issue that displays outdated battery percentages for connected Bluetooth devices on the Bluetooth and other devices page in Settings.
• Updates a known issue that might prevent some image editing programs from rendering colors correctly on certain high dynamic range (HDR) displays. This frequently affects white colors that might display in bright yellow or other colors.

The company also pulls out a number of key changes for attention:

• Improves the reliability of application installations on ARM64 devices.
• Updates daylight savings time to start in February 2022 instead of March 2022 in Jordan.
• Addresses an issue that causes ARM64 devices to stop responding when they hibernate or resume from hibernation.
• Addresses an issue that affects predictive pre-rendering in Microsoft Edge Internet Explorer mode.
• Addresses an issue that sometime prevents you from entering strings in the Input Method Editor (IME).
• Addresses an issue that causes the audio service to stop responding on some devices that support hardware-accelerated Bluetooth audio.
• Addresses an issue in which the text that informs a customer about the Windows update progress is incorrect for Japanese.
• Addresses an issue that affects icons for apps when the apps are not running. On the taskbar, these icons might display as active as if the apps are running.
• Addresses an issue that might cause VPN profiles to disappear. This issue occurs when you use Microsoft Intune or a third-party mobile device management (MDM) tool to deploy VPN profiles on Windows 11 (original release).
• Addresses an issue that affects applications that are written to only integrate with Azure Active Directory (AAD). These applications will not work on machines that are joined to Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS).
• Addresses an issue that might cause the Get-TPM PowerShell command to fail when it attempts to report Trusted Platform Module (TPM) information. The command fails with the error, “0x80090011 Microsoft.Tpm.Commands.TpmWmiException,Microsoft.Tpm.Commands.GetTpmCommand”.
• Addresses an issue that causes a remote desktop protocol (RDP) session to disconnect or the screen to be blank for Server Core. This issue occurs when you install the AppCompat feature.
• Addresses an issue that affects windows.system.profile.retailinfo.dll.
• Addresses some issues that affect File Explorer’s performance when you browse for files and select files.
• Adds a new Your Microsoft Account page to the Accounts category in Windows Settings for Home and Professional editions.
• Addresses an issue that incorrectly shows the volume icon in the taskbar as muted.
• Addresses a reliability issue that causes File Explorer and desktop context menus to stop working.
• Addresses an issue that fails to pass the Shift KeyUpevent to an application when you use the Korean IME.
• Adds the HelpWith feature, which uses Microsoft Bing technologies to suggest Help topics that are relevant for each Settings page. 
• Addresses an issue that prevents the touch keyboard from appearing on the lock screen when a device has a Microsoft account (MSA).
• Addresses an issue that affects the loading of badging information on the taskbar, which sometimes causes a device to stop working.
• Addresses an issue that prevents some options from appearing on the Win+X menu.
• Addresses an issue that causes a device to stop working when it’s connected to multiple displays.
• Addresses an issue that affects the auto-hide feature of the taskbar. The taskbar might not reliably appear when you hover over the primary or secondary display.
• Addresses an issue that sometimes prevents you from using the Chinese Simplified IME.
• Addresses an issue that might prevent icons from appearing on the taskbar of a secondary display.
• Addresses an issue that fails to install certain printer companion applications when the printer device driver is installing.
• Addresses an issue that displays outdated battery percentages for connected Bluetooth devices on the Bluetooth and other devices page in Settings.
• Addresses an issue that prevents IP cameras from connecting and streaming to certain DirectShow (DShow) applications.
• Improves the auto brightness algorithm to provide a better response under low light conditions on all the supported systems.
• Addresses an issue that causes lsass.exe to stop working and the device restarts. This issue occurs when you query Windows NT Directory Services (NTDS) counters after the NTDS service has stopped.
• Addresses an issue that causes a deadlock in the WebDav redirector. This issue occurs when you attempt to read a file from the local TfsStore, which causes the system to stop responding.
• Addresses a performance regression issue that occurs when you enable the update sequence number (USN) journal.
• Addresses an issue that fails to apply the Group Policy Object (GPO) “Do not allow compression on all NTFS Volume” in some cases.
• Addresses an issue that prevents Robocopy from retrying the file copy process.
• Addresses a known issue that might prevent some image editing programs from rendering colors correctly on certain high dynamic range (HDR) displays. This frequently affects white colors that might display in bright yellow or other colors.
• Addresses an issue that causes Windows to stop working and generates the error, “IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL”.
• Addresses a memory leak that occurs when you call WinVerifyTrust(). This issue occurs if verification fails for the first signature of a file that has multiple signatures.
• Adds an audit event to Active Directory domain controllers that identifies clients that are not compliant with RFC 4456. For more information, see KB5005408: Smart card authentication might cause print and scan failures.

There is a lingering known issue relating to email searches, as Microsoft explains:

Recent emails might not appear in the search results of the Microsoft Outlook desktop app. This issue is related to emails that have been stored locally in a PST or OST files. It might affect POP and IMAP accounts, as well as accounts hosted on Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft 365. If the default search in the Microsoft Outlook app is set to server search, the issue will only affect the advanced search.

The company suggests the issue can be avoided by disabling Windows Desktop Search until a fix is produced.

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