Articles about Windows Insider Preview

Having already introduced a new subscription management feature to the Accounts section of Settings, Microsoft is taking things further with the release of Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25126.

The latest build has just been launched on the Dev Channel, and it sees the roll out of new account settings page improvements as well as numerous fixes. The change in Settings means that it is easier to see details of all supported Office perpetual products linked to your account, in addition to Microsoft 365 subscriptions

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It’s Wednesday, so that usually (with occasional exceptions) means a new Windows 11 test build. Not today though, today Microsoft rolls out two new builds -- one for the Dev Channel (Build 25115) and one for the Beta Channel (Build 22621).

The Dev Channel flight comes with one new feature, but there is some bad news -- it won’t be offered to ARM64 PCs.

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Today, Microsoft rolls out a new Windows 11 build to Insiders on the Dev and Beta Channels. This flight includes a few changes and fixes, including sorting a problem with the 'Show hidden icons' flyout in the system tray.

The big new addition in Build 22616 though is the new 'controller bar' aimed at Windows gamers with an Xbox controller.

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There was no new build for Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel last week, and it looked as if we might not get one this week either, but at the death Microsoft releases a new build in time for the weekend.

Build 22610 introduces some new group policies for IT administrators, an update to the Family Safety Widget, and a large number of new fixes. However, it also introduces two known issues to be aware of.

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In recent builds of Windows 11, Microsoft has been giving Task Manager more attention than usual. We have already seen the addition of new keyboard shortcuts and a new Efficiency mode, but there are more changes on the way.

Having given Task Manager a modern makeover, complete with support for dark mode, Microsoft is now giving users the option of adding a splash of color to the utility.

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Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel can usually expect to receive a new Windows 11 build on a Wednesday, although this sometimes slips.

If the company doesn’t manage to get a new flight out on that day, then there’s a good chance it will arrive on Friday instead, in time for the weekend. Sometimes though, for reasons out of the software giant’s control, quality issues mean no new build.

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Microsoft has announced that it is beginning the final phase of disabling the SMB1 file-sharing protocol in Windows. Having already disabled SMB1 by default in Windows 10 and Windows Server, the company is now doing the same for Windows 11 Home.

While conceding that the ditching of SMB1 may "cause a consumer pain among folks who are still running very old equipment" and acknowledging that this is a "group that's the least likely to understand why their new Windows 11 laptop can't connect to their old networked hard drive", Microsoft says that the time has come for the aging technology to be dropped.

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Patch Tuesday may have come and gone, but this does not mean that Microsoft has finished pushing out updates for Windows. The latest to be released is the KB5012643 update for Windows 11 and it is jam-packed with fixes for various issues.

Among the numerous improvements are a fix for an issue that caused extremely slow startup times, as well as addressing a memory leak. The update also improves the Secure Boot and Trusted Platform Module (TPM) components.

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Great news for Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel today, as in addition to a new Windows 11 build, there’s also an updated version of the new Media Player available to install.

This new release offers some new features, and also improves performance for users with very large media libraries.

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Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel today not only get a new build to play around with but also new ISO files to allow for a clean install.

In Build 22598, Microsoft is trying out auto-launching of the Get Started app with some Insiders, and testers in China on Lenovo PCs will now be able to update to the latest builds once more after they were briefly blocked.

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There was no new Windows 11 build for Insiders last week, but Microsoft is back to its usual release schedule this Wednesday and once again the latest flight is being made available to both the Dev and Beta Channels.

This means that Build 22593 doesn’t have any of the more experimental new features typically found in Dev Channel builds, but it does come with some changes and improvements, as well as a huge number of fixes. Insiders can also easily switch from the Dev Channel to the Beta Channel, should they wish to.

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It’s Wednesday, which typically means a new Windows 11 build for Insiders in the Dev Channel, but today's flight, Build 22581, is being made available for those in the Beta Channel as well, giving those users the opportunity to at last try out new features, such as Live Captions, Start folders, the redesigned Task Manager, and the tablet optimized taskbar.

The fact that both Dev and Beta testers are receiving the same build means that Insiders will now have the rare chance to switch Channels, should they wish to. Dev Channel releases have become much more experimental recently, which won’t suit everyone.

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With Windows 11 now very much Microsoft's focus, it might come as something of a surprise to find that the company is still adding things to Windows 10 -- but with the release of the KB5011543 update, this is precisely what is happening.

This is a preview of the update that will be officially released on April's Patch Tuesday, and it is designed for Windows 10 20H2, Windows 10 21H1 and Windows 10 21H2. What can you expect in this update? In addition to the arrival of search highlights -- with slightly different looks for enterprise users and ordinary consumers -- there are numerous bug fixes, and changes to the Action Center.

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Microsoft runs occasional bug bashes for Insiders to help find and eradicate flaws in preview versions of its operating system, and the latest one is live now and will run until March 22.

The software giant didn’t roll out a new build to Dev Channel Insiders on Wednesday this week, as is usually the case, so instead it’s delivering new build 22579 today, along with ISO files for it. There are some new features and improvements to be enjoyed in this flight, including the ability to name your folders on Start, and site suggestions in the Get Started app that you can pin to your taskbar.

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Windows Insiders in the Beta and Release Preview Channels today get a new Windows 11 build to install.

Build 22000.588 (KB5011563) comes with one big new feature and a number of major fixes including one for an issue that added an annoying delay to Windows startup.

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