REMINDER: All Windows Insiders in the Beta Channel will now be on the same build (Build 22635.xxxx) via an enablement package. For Windows Insiders in the Beta Channel who want to be the first to get features gradually rolled out to you, you can turn ON the toggle (shown in the image below) to get the latest updates as they are available via Settings > Windows Update. Over time, we will increase the rollouts of features to everyone with the toggle turned on. Should you keep this toggle off, new features will gradually be rolled out to your device over time once they are ready.
Going forward, we will document changes in Beta Channel builds in two buckets: new features, improvements, and fixes that are being gradually rolled out for Insiders who have turned on the toggle to get the latest updates as they are available and then new features, improvements, and fixes available to everyone in the Beta Channel.
Changes and Improvements gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on*
[Start menu]
- This update starts the roll out of the new account manager on Start menu. When you sign in with a Microsoft account, the new design gives you a quick glanceable view of your account benefits and makes it easy to manage account settings.
[Windows Share]
- If your Microsoft account uses a Gmail address, you can now send email to yourself from Windows share window and receive it in your Gmail account.
[Settings]
- To ensure you don’t lose access to your Microsoft account, we’re beginning to roll out a new banner with a “Add now” button under Settings > Account for adding a recovery email address if you haven’t added one for your Microsoft account yet. This will only show if you are signed in with a Microsoft account.
- We are introducing a new Game Pass recommendation card on the Settings homepage. The Game Pass recommendation card on Settings Homepage will be shown to you if you actively play games on your PC. As a reminder – the Settings homepage will be shown only on the Home and Pro editions of Windows 11 and if you’re signed into Windows with your Microsoft account.
New features rolling out for everyone in the Beta Channel
Widgets Board Improvements
We are introducing a new navigation bar on the left allowing you to switch between a dedicated widgets dashboard and other integrated dashboards like Discover. As part of this change, we are introducing the ability for developers to send notifications to the taskbar button with their custom dashboards for the Widgets board. Developers can check out this documentation on how to implement this capability with their Widgets dashboards. To manage notifications from multiple dashboards, Widgets is also providing more granular control over what content shows on the Widgets button on the taskbar. You can go to Widgets Settings > Notifications and enable or disable taskbar notifications from individual dashboards. NOTE: These changes are only initially available to Windows Insiders in the European Economic Area (EEA).
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Widgets.
Changes and Improvements gradually being rolled out to everyone in the Beta Channel
[Widgets]
- We are making some improvements to the Widgets button on the taskbar so that the icons on the taskbar are clearer and we are rolling out a larger set of animated icons too.
Known issues
[General]
- We are investigating an issue where Internet Information Services (IIS) and Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) may not work after installing this update.
- [NEW] We’re working on the fix for an issue causing Settings to crash when copying text in certain cases. As a workaround, please use the extract text option in Snipping Tool for the time being if you are impacted.
[Copilot in Windows*]
Windows Insiders in the Beta Channel who have the updated Copilot in Windows experience that introduces the ability for Copilot to act like a normal application window may see the following known issues:
- [NEW] We are aware of reports by Insiders in the Canary, Dev, and Beta Channels that Copilot is auto-launching unexpectedly after restarting their PCs. We hope to have a fix for this issue soon and is unrelated to the auto-launching experience we tried out with Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels in early February which we stopped rolling out in March.
- Voice access does not work reliably with the updated Copilot in Windows experience that introduces the ability for Copilot to act like a normal application.
- Using Windows Ink to write in Copilot will not work with the updated Copilot in Windows experience.
[Widgets]
- [NEW] We’re working on the fix for an issue causing Widgets to crash for some Insiders when interacting with the Widgets board.
Windows Insiders in the Beta Channel who have the new position for the Widgets entry-point on left-aligned taskbars may see the following known issues:
- Swipe invocation for Widgets may not work if taskbar is center-aligned instead of left-aligned.
- Unpinning Widgets from the taskbar may not work if taskbar is center-aligned instead of left-aligned.
- The Widgets board is incorrectly positioned when Copilot is in side-by-side mode.
- Turning on/off Widgets in taskbar settings may refresh the taskbar.
About the Beta Channel
The Beta Channel is the place we preview experiences that are closer to what we will ship to our general customers. Because the Dev and Beta Channels represent parallel development paths from our engineers, there may be cases where features and experiences show up in the Beta Channel first. However, this does not mean every feature we try out in the Beta Channel will ship. We encourage Insiders to read this blog post that outlines the ways we’ll try things out with Insiders in both the Dev and Beta Channels.
*Getting new features: For Windows Insiders in the Beta Channel who want to be the first to get features gradually rolled out to you, you can turn ON the toggle to get the latest updates as they are available via Settings > Windows Update. Over time, we will increase the rollouts of features to everyone with the toggle turned on. Should you keep this toggle off, new features will gradually be rolled out to your device over time once they are ready.
**Availability of Copilot in Windows: Copilot in Windows in preview is being rolled out gradually to Windows Insiders in select global markets. The initial markets for the Copilot in Windows preview include North America, United Kingdom and parts of Asia and South America. It is our intention to add additional markets over time.
Important Insider Links
- Want to learn how we made Windows 11? Check out the Inside Windows 11 website to hear and meet our makers from Engineering, Design and Research to share their insights and unique perspectives throughout this journey.
- You can check out our Windows Insider Program documentation here.
- Check out Flight Hub for a complete look at what build is in which Insider channel.
Thanks,
Amanda & Brandon
