Microsoft releases Windows 11 Build 25211 with Widget improvements

Slipping a day from its usual weekly release schedule, Microsoft has today released a new Insider build for those testers in the Dev Channel.

Build 25211 introduces some changes and improvements based on Insider feedback, as well as a new settings experience for Widgets.

This update sees the widget picker and Widgets settings being separated. Microsoft says this will make it easier for users to find and interact with each view.

Other changes and improvements in this build include:

[Taskbar]

• Based on user feedback, Microsoft has added Task Manager to the context menu when right-clicking on the taskbar.

[System Tray]

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

[File Explorer]

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

[Settings]

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

Fixes in this build include:

[General]

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

[File Explorer]

• Fixed the issue where the command bar items like copy, paste, and empty Recycle Bin were unexpectedly not be enabled sometimes when they have been.
• Fixed an issue which was causing unexpected black bars on the sides of horizontal scroll bars when using dark mode.

[Start]

• When you have Start set to show more pinned items, the animation for opening folders lower on the page will now appear from the right place.

[Taskbar]

• Fixed a high hitting Shell Experience Host crash in recent Dev Channel builds, impacting Quick Settings launch reliability.

[Input]

• The gripper for moving the emoji panel and touch keyboard should now update color correctly when you switch between dark and light mode.
• Fixed a memory leak when repeatedly invoking the input switcher.

[Settings]

• Fixed a Settings crash which could happen when changing your mobile hotspot name.
• Updated the examples used in the Short time selection under Time & Language > Language & Region > Regional Format, to make the 12 hour options (vs 24 hour) a little more obvious by showing morning and afternoon times.

[Task Manager]

• Tweaked the graphs in the Performance page to use a bit more transparency so it’s easier to see the grid lines underneath.
• Made another fix to improve Task Manager reliability.
• Fixed a black flash while might be seen when launching Task Manager in light mode.
• Fixed a few issues where the font color of certain elements wasn’t correct / readable when using a contrast theme.

[Other]

• Fixed an issue where Narrator would read out the details of the calendar that opens from selecting the date and time from the taskbar when it was collapsed.
• Fixed an issue where explorer.exe was crashing repeatedly in Windows Sandbox for Insiders with the tablet optimized taskbar and updated system tray.
• Fixed an issue which could lead to hangs in certain apps when opening the Open File Dialog.
• Fixed an issue which was making the screen go black for some Insiders when enabling HDR recently.
• Fixed an issue where after using the Open With dialog, the process might stay running even if it wasn’t in use anymore.
• Fixed an issue which was leading to increased CPU usage for WSL2 users on ARM64 PCs even when WSL was idle.
• Fixed an issue where closing the print dialog could lead to an app crash in the last couple flights.

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

Known issues in this flight include:

[General]

• Microsoft is looking into reports that audio stopped working for some Insiders after upgrading to the latest flights.
• Microsoft is investigating reports of a few different apps having started crashing in recent builds.
• [NEW] Microsoft is investigating reports that various UI elements in apps appear to be disappearing and reappearing sometimes in recent builds.

[Tablet-optimized taskbar]

• The taskbar sometimes flashes when transitioning between desktop posture and tablet posture.
• The taskbar takes longer than expected to transition to the touch-optimized version when switching between desktop posture and tablet posture.
• Using the left or right edge gestures can result in the Widgets or Notification Center (respectively) to overlap with or look truncated by the taskbar.
• When using the bottom right edge gesture to see Quick Settings, the taskbar sometimes stays stuck in the expanded state, instead of dismissing to collapsed state.
• When there are no running windows on the desktop, the taskbar can sometimes collapse, when it should be expanded.

[Widgets]

• In right-to-left display languages like Arabic, content animates out of view before the widgets board resizes when clicking to expanded view of the widgets board.
• Notification badge number may appear misaligned on the taskbar.

Image credit: rawf8 / Shutterstock