Earlier, we took a look at Build 25252, which just got released to the Windows 11 Dev Channel. A lot to see there, so we invite you to have a gander. Also, since we’re on the topic of Windows 11, remember that it is now supported by the new VMware Workstation 17.0 Pro, just in case you didn’t know. Getting back on topic, we’re about to review builds 22621.1020 and Build 22623.1020, as they just got released to the Beta Channel.

What should I expect from Builds 22621.1020 and 22623.1020?

First of all, yes, there are two builds. Microsoft has released an update with two new builds, which are 22621.1020 and 22623.1020 (KB5020035) to the Beta Channel. This has been going on for quite some time now, so everybody is surely accustomed to the way Beta Channel Insiders receive their goodies. And, if you are a Beta Channel Insider, you surely know that build 22623.1020 comes with new features, while build 22623.1020 has new features off by default. SPONSORED Keep in mind that Insiders who were previously on Build 22622 will automatically get moved to Build 22623 via an enablement package. Through this release, Microsoft is announcing support for new Braille displays and new Braille input and output languages in Narrator. Some of the new braille displays we support include the APH Chameleon, the APH Mantis Q40, the NLS eReader, and many more.

Fixes

[General]

The spelling dictionary now uses a language-neutral word list and syncs across all devices that use the same Windows account (Microsoft accounts and AAD) is now available to all Windows Insiders in the Beta Channel. Users can toggle this feature via Settings > Accounts > Windows backup > Remember my preferences > Language preferences.

[Taskbar & System Tray]

Fixed a high hitting explorer.exe crash in the previous Beta Channel flight related to the system tray. This crash is also believed to be the cause of some Insiders experiencing a repeated explorer.exe crash when entering safe mode on that flight. Fixed an issue which was causing certain third-party app icons in the system tray to be unresponsive after the latest system tray changes. The Windows Update icon in the system tray should no longer look pixelated after changing between light and dark mode.

[Windowing]

If you have two monitors on top of each other, the Desktops list in Task View should no longer appear to be floating in the middle of Task View.

[Task Manager]

Moved the open navigation pane button to be under the title bar when Task Manager is wide enough to expand it inline – in doing so, addressed an issue where you couldn’t drag Task Manager from the area in the title bar above the navigation pane if the navigate pane was expanded. The Delete key should work in the search box now.

Fixes for BOTH Build 22621.1020 & Build 22623.1020

Combined Windows Spotlight with Themes on the Personalization page. This made it easier for you to discover and turn on the Windows Spotlight feature. Provided the full amount of storage capacity of all your Microsoft OneDrive subscriptions. We also displayed the total storage on the Accounts page in the Settings app. Gave Microsoft OneDrive subscribers storage alerts on the Systems page in the Settings app. The alerts appeared when you were close to your storage limit. You could also manage your storage and purchase additional storage, if needed. Added the organizational messages feature. With it, third-party companies could provide content to their employees. They did not need to use the default behavior of Windows. Fixed an issue that affected protocol activation of the Settings app. The app failed to open a page under the Accounts category. Fixed an issue that affected certain applications. They stopped working. This occurred when you used keyboard shortcuts to change the input mode for the Japanese Input Method Editor (IME). Fixed an issue that affected cluster name objects (CNO) or virtual computer objects (VCO). Password reset failed. The error message was, ” There was an error resetting the AD password… // 0x80070005”. Fixed an issue that might have caused certain apps to stop responding. This occurred when you opened the Open File dialog. Fixed an issue that sometimes affected File Explorer when you opened a file. Because of that, there was high CPU usage. Fixed an issue that affected Microsoft Defender for Endpoint. Automated investigation blocked live response investigations. Fixed an issue that affected Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM) authentication hardening. We would automatically raise the authentication level for all non-anonymous activation requests from DCOM clients to RPC_C_AUTHN_LEVEL_PKT_INTEGRITY. This occurred if the authentication level was below Packet Integrity. Fixed an issue that affected microphone streams that used the Listen To feature to route to the speaker endpoint. The microphone stopped working after you restarted the device. Fixed an issue that caused File Explorer to stop working. This occurred when you closed context menus and menu items.

Known issues

[General]

Looking into reports that audio stopped working for some Insiders in recent Beta Channel builds.

[Taskbar & System Tray]

The taskbar sometimes flashes when transitioning between desktop posture and tablet posture. The taskbar takes longer than expected to transition to the touch-optimized version when switching between desktop posture and tablet posture.

[Task Manager]

Filtering by publisher name does not match correctly on the Processes page. Some services may not show in the Services page after filtering is applied. If a new process is starting while a filter is set, then that process may appear for a split second in the filtered list. Some dialogs may not render in the correct theme when applied from Task Manager Settings page. The data content area of the Processes page may flash once when theme changes are applied in the Task Manager Settings page. There’s an issue we’re investigating where Task Manager isn’t displaying light and dark content correctly, leading to unreadable text. This happens when you have your mode in Settings > Personalization > Colors set to Custom – as a workaround for the time being, please switch it to Light or Dark. The Startup apps page in Task manager does not list any apps for some Insiders. If you are impacted, please use Settings > Apps > Startup for the time being.

THere you have it, folks! That’s pretty it much it for the Beta Channel release for Windows 11 as far as this week is concerned.

What can I do if I can’t install KB5020035?

Also, make sure to report any other issues you might come across, in order for Microsoft to address and improve the overall OS experience for us all. This is everything you can expect if you are a Windows Insider. Leave a comment below if you found any issues since installing this build.

Name * Email * Commenting as . Not you? Save information for future comments
Comment

Δ