Microsoft releases KB5015882 update for Windows 11 with new upgrade options, Explorer crash fixes, and more

It is the time of the month when Microsoft unleashes its C release updates on eager Windows users. As such, the company has released a preview of the KB5015882 update for Windows 11, bringing a number of important changes and bug fixes.

Although this is a non-security update, KB5015882 remains significant for a number of reasons. Not only does it address an issue that caused explorer.exe to hang, but it also introduces new upgrade options and makes changes to focus assist.

See also:

• Microsoft updates Windows 11 to block RDP and other brute force attacks by default
• If you have KB5015888 installed, you can take part in Microsoft's 'special' Windows 11 Bug Bash
• Microsoft changes its policy against the sale of open source software in the Microsoft Store

The update to the Windows 11 OOBE (out of box experience) is an interesting one. Microsoft says that it: "Gives you the option to update to a newer Windows 11 version at the very first startup of Windows if your device is eligible".

While KB5015882 is not a security update, this change could be regarded as a security feature as it means that more users will be given the opportunity to install the latest, most secure version of Windows 11 sooner than ever.

The company pulls out the following highlights of the update for attention:

• New!  Gives you the option to receive urgent notifications when focus assist is on. Focus assist is like a do not disturb mode that hides notifications. 
• New! Gives you the option to update to a newer Windows 11 version at the very first startup of Windows if your device is eligible.
• Addresses an issue that causes File Explorer to stop working when you use the play and pause keyboard buttons on certain devices.
• Addresses an issue that causes File Explorer to stop working when you use the Start menu’s context menu (Win+X) and an external monitor is connected to your device.
• Addresses an issue that displays a blank window that you cannot close when you hover over the search icon on the taskbar.
• Addresses an issue that prevents certain troubleshooting tools from opening.

Microsoft also shares a lengthier list of key changes included in this update:

• New! Provides the ability for you to consent to receive urgent notifications when focus assist is on.
• New! Provides the option for eligible devices to update to a newer Windows 11 version during the out-of-box experience (OOBE) when you first sign in. If you choose to update to a newer version, the update process will begin shortly after the update is installed on the device.
• New! Restores functionality for Windows Autopilot deployment scenarios that are affected by the security mitigation for hardware reuse. This update removes the one-time use restriction for self-deploying mode (SDM) and pre-provisioning (PP). This update also re-enables any User Principal Name (UPN) display in user-driven mode (UDM) deployments for approved manufacturers.
• Addresses an issue in UIAutomation() that causes an application to stop working.
• Addresses an issue that prevents the Startup Task API from working as expected for certain apps.
• Improves the reliability of a push-button reset after an OS upgrade.
• Addresses an issue that makes the tenant restrictions event logging channel inaccessible if you remove the EN-US language pack.
• Addresses an issue that causes certificate-based machine account authentication to fail in some circumstances after you install the May 10, 2022 security updates on domain controllers.
• Addresses an issue that affects the Arm64EC code you build using the Windows 11 software development kit (SDK).
• Updates the Remove-Item cmdlet to properly interact with Microsoft OneDrive folders.
• Addresses an issue that prevents certain troubleshooting tools from opening.
• Addresses an issue that causes port mapping conflicts for containers.
• Addresses an issue that causes Code Integrity to continue trusting a file after the file has been modified.
• Addresses an issue that might cause Windows to stop working when you enable Windows Defender Application Control with the Intelligent Security Graph feature turned on.
• Deploys search highlights to devices. To access the policy for search highlights (on a device that has installed the June 2022 Cumulative Update Preview or July 2022 monthly quality update), go to C:\Windows\PolicyDefinitions and locate Search.admx. For your convenience, we will be publishing an updated version of the Administrative Templates (.admx) for Windows 11, version 21H2 to the Microsoft Download Center soon.
• Addresses an issue that causes explorer.exe to stop working when you use the play and pause keyboard buttons on certain devices.
• Addresses an issue that causes explorer.exe to stop working when you use the Start menu’s context menu (Win+X) and an external monitor is connected to your device.
• Addresses an issue that displays a blank window that you cannot close when you hover over the search icon on the taskbar.
• Reduces the overhead of resource contention in high input/output operations per second (IOPS) scenarios that have many threads contending on a single file.
• Addresses an issue that causes the Windows profile service to fail sporadically. The failure might occur when signing in. The error message is, "gpsvc service failed to sign in. Access denied".

If you are interested in seeing what KB5015882 has to offer, you can check for optional updates via Windows Update. You can also download the update directly from the Microsoft Update Catalog.

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