Summary
- New update for Windows 11 Insiders in Release Preview channel brings significant lock screen improvements.
- Expect changes to Windows Hello for Business and minor fixes in addition to the new lock screen experience.
- Enroll in Release Preview channel to receive this update now, or wait for general users to receive it next week.
Windows Insiders runningWindows 11 in the Release Preview channel are getting a new update today, and among the changes is a significant update to the lock screen adding more content to the experience.
The update is labeledKB5035942, and it brings us to build number 22621.3371 or 22631.3371, depending on whether you have Windows 11 version 22H2 or 23H2. It also makes some changes to Windows Hello for Business and a number of smaller fixes. It's essentially a preview of the next cumulative update, so you shouldn't expect a ton of groundbreaking new features.
Explaining the Windows Insider Program channels for Windows 11 betas
Microsoft's Windows Insider Program can be confusing if you're new, so here's everything you need to know for testing the Windows 11 beta.
The new lock screen experience
Microsoft has been working on some improvements for the Windows 11 lock screen over the past few weeks, having recently redesigned the weather experience for Windows Insiders. However, most recentlyWindows 10 users got a brand-new experience that includes not just weather, but information about sports, traffic, and finance, all things you can follow on Microsoft Start (MSN) websites.
Now, Microsoft is bringing that same experience to Windows 11 as well. If you follow your sports teams or stock markets through MSN, this should be a great way to have even quicker access to that information at a glance. MSN also powers the respective widgets in the Widgets board, so there's a chance you've already set this up to your liking in the past.
Smaller improvements are also in tow
Aside from the new lock screen, this update for the Release preview channel also brings a few improvements for business users. This includes enabling the Autopilot 2.0 feature as well as an enhancement for the Remote Desktop Session Host allowing you to set up the clipboard redirection policy to only work in a single direction. Additionally, Windows Hello for Business has a new policy to disable the post-login message on devices signed in using Microsoft Entra ID.
Otherwise, there are plenty of smaller improvements and plenty of fixes. We'll list those below if you want to get into the weeds:
- This update supports daylight saving time (DST) changes in Greenland.
- This update supports DST changes in Kazakhstan.
- This update supports DST changes in Samoa.
- This update affects MSIX applications. It helps their UI to localize correctly for all languages when you upgrade your OS.
- This update addresses an issue that affects the COM+ component. Some applications that depend on it stop responding.
- This update addresses an issue that stops some apps and features from being available. This occurs after you upgrade to Windows 11.
- This update addresses a deadlock issue in CloudAP. It occurs when different users sign in and sign out at the same time on virtual machines.
- This update addresses an issue that affects a network resource. You cannot access it from a Remote Desktop session. This occurs when you turn on the Remote Credential Guard feature and the client is Windows 11, version 22H2 or higher.
- This update addresses an issue that affects Containers that you create or deploy. Their status does not progress past “ContainerCreating.”
- This update addresses an issue that affects the time service. You can configure it using mobile device management (MDM) or a Group Policy Object (GPO). But the Windows Settings app does not match what you have configured.
- This update addresses an issue that affects certain Neural Processing Units (NPU). They do not show in Task Manager.
- This update addresses an issue that affects the touch keyboard and the candidate window for the Japanese and Chinese Input Method Editors (IME). They do not show after you come out of Modern Standby.
- This update addresses an issue that occurs when you useLoadImage() to load a top-down bitmap. If the bitmap has a negative height, the image does not load and the function returns NULL.
- This update addresses an issue that affects the Settings app. It stops responding when you use it to remove Bluetooth devices.
- This update makes Country and Operator Settings Asset (COSA) profiles up to date for some mobile operators.
- This update addresses an issue that affects Notepad. It fails to print to certain Internet Printing Protocol (IPP) printers when you use a print support app.
- This update addresses an issue that affects USB audio. It fails on some processors. This occurs after you pause, play, or resume from sleep.
- This update addresses an issue that affects Windows Defender Application Control (WDAC). It prevents a stop error that occurs when you apply more than 32 policies.
- This update addresses an issue that affects the existing AppLocker rule collection enforcement mode. It is not overwritten when rules merge with a collection that has no rules. This occurs when the enforcement mode is set to “Not Configured.”
- This update addresses an issue that affects the Group Policy service. It fails after you useLGPO.exe to apply an audit policy to the system.
- This update addresses an issue that affects Secure Launch. It does not run on some processors.
- This update addresses an issue that affects theCombine taskbar buttons and hide labels setting. The app labels in the taskbar sometimes do not have the correct length, which cuts off the label text. This occurs when this setting is set to “When taskbar is full” or “Never.”
- This update addresses a reliability issue. It affects a Virtual Remote App product when you use a custom shell to open it.
- This update addresses an issue that affects some wireless headphones. Bluetooth connections are not stable. This occurs on devices that have firmware from April 2023 and later.
- This update addresses an issue that affects Transport Layer Security (TLS), version 1.3. It causes Azure App Services to fail. This occurs when the web server attempts to connect to a third-party Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) server.
- This update addresses an issue that affectsdsamain.exe. When the Knowledge Consistency Checker (KCC) runs evaluations, it stops responding.
- This update addresses an issue that affects the Microsoft Message Queue (MSMQ) PowerShell module. It does not load.
As per usual, in order to get this update, you'll need to be enrolled in the Release Preview channel of the Insider Program. However, it shouldn't be long before it makes its way to general users as part of this month's optional update sometime next week. If you are in this Insider channel, the update should install automatically sooner rather than later.
