Hello Windows Insiders, today we are releasing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26200 to the Canary Channel.
(Note the .5001 after the build number does not mean anything relevant to Windows Insiders and we will continue to use the primary build number for these flight blog posts.)
With the Canary Channel moving to a higher build number, the window closes on being able to switch to the Dev Channel without doing a clean-install of Windows. If you haven’t switched channels yet, you can still do so BEFORE taking Build 26200.
Developers, please note that for a short period of time, we will not be releasing a SDK for builds we flight to the Canary Channel.
Changes and Improvements
[General]
[REMINDER] As we’ve been mentioning previously that would happen, the build watermark at the lower right-hand corner of the desktop has returned.
[Widgets]
We are also 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.
As part of the Widgets board improvements that we began rolling out with Build 26090 a few weeks ago (which are now also rolling out to Insiders in the Dev Channel), 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).
[Taskbar & System Tray]
After trying out a different design for the energy saver icon in system tray a few months ago for PCs that are plugged in and do not have batteries (such as desktop PCs), we reverted the design back to the leaf icon a few builds ago. (This change is also present in Build 26100.)
Energy saver icon shown on the system tray for PCs that do not have batteries.
Fixes for known issues
[Taskbar & System Tray]
Fixed an issue that caused a dead zone you couldn’t click inside of next to the notification center.
Fixed an issue that was causing the page icons in quick settings to not work in secondary settings pages.
Fixed an issue where keyboard focus wasn’t shifting to the top item of the new page correctly after switching pages in quick settings.
[Input]
Fixed a tabtip.exe crash, which could impact the ability to input text.
[Windowing]
Fixed an issue which could cause RemoteApp windows to get cut off when using 200% scaling.
[Multiple Desktops]
Fixed an issue where the option to set a different wallpaper on each desktop wasn’t working.
Known issues
[General]
[IMPORTANT NOTE] We are investigating reports that some Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels are stuck on Build 26040 or Build 23620. The investigation is ongoing, however if you are impacted by this and really want to get onto the latest build in the Canary or Dev Channel today – you can download the latest ISO here and do a clean install and opt your device back into flighting in the Canary or Dev Channels.
[Copilot in Windows*]
[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 that introduces the ability for Copilot to act like a normal application window.
Reminders for Windows Insiders
The builds we release to the Canary Channel should not be seen as matched to any specific release of Windows and features and experiences included in these builds may never get released as we try out different concepts and get feedback. Features may change over time, be removed, or replaced and never get released beyond Windows Insiders. Some of these features and experiences could show up in future Windows releases when they’re ready.
Many features in the Canary Channel are rolled out using Control Feature Rollout technology, starting with a subset of Insiders and ramping up over time as we monitor feedback to see how they land before pushing them out to everyone in this channel.
To get off the Canary Channel, a clean install of Windows 11 will be required. As a reminder – Insiders can’t switch to a channel that is receiving builds with lower build numbers without doing a clean installation of Windows 11 due to technical setup requirements.
The desktop watermark shown at the lower right corner of the desktop is normal for these pre-release builds.
Check out Flight Hub for a complete look at what build is in which Insider channel.
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.
