Microsoft rolls out a new version of Windows 11 to Insiders registered in the Dev channel, as it tends to do almost every week. This time we get Windows 11 build 25236, and the focus seems to be more on fixes rather than any significant additions or changes to the experience.
One thing Microsoft mentions is that some users, especially those with the language set to US English, may start seeing pop-ups near the Search button on the taskbar, telling them about other ways to use Windows Search. This is an attempt to “reduce friction” in the search experience, according to Microsoft.
Other than that, this week is all about fixes for known issues. This includes a fix for situations where the Narrator might not speak when using certain voices, among a long list of fixes for the taskbar and system tray. Here is the full list:
[Narrator]
- We fixed the issue that caused natural voices like Microsoft David or Mark not to speak in Narrator.
[Taskbar & System Tray]
- Fixed an issue where opening the hidden icons caused a file explorer entry to appear on the taskbar.
- Fixed an issue that caused taskbar previews to freeze or appear blank and not open when using Windows key + (#) key commands to try to switch between windows.
- Show hidden icons in system tray should now resize with changes again to prevent empty spaces and columns.
- Fixed several issues related to the taskbar that affected explorer.exe reliability.
- Fixed an issue that caused the volume icon in the system tray to incorrectly display as muted.
- Fixed a GDI handle leak related to updating the notification center icon on the taskbar, which would eventually cause an explorer.exe crash for people who received a large number of notifications.
- Narrator will now announce the status of pinned and unpinned apps on the taskbar.
[File Explorer]
- Fixed an issue that caused File Explorer to crash when closing tabs for some people.
- Made another fix for an issue that could cause incorrect separators in the File Explorer navigation pane.
[Settings]
- Made a change to hide the battery graph on the Power & Battery page if a UPS is connected, as the capacity information it displayed was incorrect in that case.
- If you haven’t set up a kiosk, we’ve now updated the text on Accounts > Other Users > Kiosk to make it clearer that you need to do so, so it doesn’t appear to be a dead end.
- Fixed an issue where if you went into the properties of an audio device, this could cause it to unexpectedly appear in the list of output devices on System > Audio, even though it was actually an input device.
- In the accessibility settings for color filters, the inverted option should work correctly again now and not just set the PC to grayscale colors.
[Other]
- Fixed an issue that caused some insiders to see a bugcheck with the SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED error in recent builds.
Even with all these fixes, there are still a few known issues in this release. These are as follows:
[General]
- We’re looking into reports that audio stopped working for some insiders after upgrading to the latest flights.
- We are investigating reports of crashes with a few different apps and games in recent versions.
- We are investigating reports that various user interface elements in apps seem to disappear and reappear sometimes in newer versions.
- We are investigating reports that some apps such as Microsoft Edge unexpectedly display thick lines on the side of the window after the last flight.
- When using the latest ISO to install the Dev Channel build, you may get a SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION error check citing an error with win32kfull.sys. We are working on a solution.
- [NEW] We are investigating an issue in this version where switching the projection mode using WIN + P / Project section of Quick Settings does not work. As a workaround, you can switch the projection mode using the cast icon in the system tray (Win+K) for either Miracast or wired displays.
[Taskbar]
- The taskbar sometimes flashes when you switch between desktop and tablet mode.
- When using the bottom-right gesture to view quick settings, the taskbar sometimes remains stuck in expanded state, instead of dismissing to collapsed state.
[System Tray]
- Chat apps don’t flash new messages or open a preview when hovering over the system tray. We are working on a solution.
[Start menu]
- We are investigating reports of folders in the Start menu not opening on the first try.
- [NEW] We are investigating an issue that causes garbled text in the navigation headings of Start’s All Apps list for Chinese users.
[Input]
- We are investigating reports of the text cursor turning white on white when hovering over text fields, making it hard to see.
[Widgets]
- In right-to-left display languages like Arabic, the content animates out of view before the widget board resizes when you click to expand the widget board view.
That’s pretty much all there is to Windows 11 build 25236, but there’s also an app update rolling out to Windows Insiders. If you’re running version 22210.1401.x of the Microsoft Store, you may notice that the search results page now has improved performance while browsing the results, especially on lower end devices. In addition, Microsoft has made it easier to find apps and other offers that come with your PC, such as Game Pass subscriptions.
If you want to grab the latest version, you can simply check for updates in the Settings app if you’re signed up to the Dev Channel. The update should also install automatically sooner rather than later.
Source: Microsoft
