Windows 11
Content:
Microsoft has released an optional cumulative update KB5055629 (builds 22621.5262 and 22631.5262) for Windows 11 versions 22H2 and 23H2, which brings fixes for discovered issues and various improvements.
The innovations described below are not available to all Insiders as they are being deployed in phases.
- File Explorer:
- The "Home" page in File Explorer now displays personalized elements for convenient access to Microsoft 365 content in Windows.
- Improved performance when extracting archived files in File Explorer. This will be particularly noticeable when unpacking large numbers of small files.
- Narrator:
- Added a new feature called "Speech Recap" that allows you to track what Narrator has spoken and quickly access it for reference. Using simple keyboard shortcuts, you can quickly access spoken content, follow real-time transcription, and copy what Narrator last voiced.
- Phone Link:
- A new "Phone Link" sidebar has appeared in the Start menu in Windows 11, offering a quick and convenient way to interact with your connected smartphone. With it, you can make phone calls, send SMS messages, access your photos, and share content between your PC and smartphone.
- Widgets:
- Web developers can now use existing web content to create dynamic and interactive widgets that can be added to the Widgets panel in Windows 11. Read more about this in Microsoft's documentation.
- Users in the European Economic Area (EEA) can now add, remove, and rearrange widgets on the lock screen, such as "Weather", "Sports", "Traffic", and others. You can add any widget that supports resizing to the lock screen. To configure lock screen widgets, go to "Settings" → "Personalization" → "Lock screen".
- Desktop Icons:
- Updated logic for application icons on the desktop. Packaged apps will no longer have an accent color background (for example, if you drag the "Snipping Tool" app icon from the Start menu to the desktop). Icons should also appear larger to make them easier to distinguish.
- Share Feature:
- The "Share" window now allows you to quickly edit images before sending them, such as cropping, rotating, or applying filters.
- Start Menu:
- Fixed an issue where pinned app pages couldn't be switched in the Start menu using touch screen.
- Fixed an issue where the "Sign out" button and additional options might not appear in the account manager in the Start menu when using enlarged text size.
- Taskbar:
- Fixed an issue where after using the WIN + T shortcut, arrow keys would work in the wrong direction in Arabic or Hebrew systems.
- Server Message Block (SMB):
- Fixed an issue where an Excel file hosted on an SMB share with Access Based Enumeration enabled and containing links to multiple other files on network shares might open slower than usual.
- Sign-in:
- This update fixes an issue affecting the USBxHCI controller and all USB-connected devices on PCs based on the latest Intel processor architecture. The built-in USB camera won't work for Windows Hello sign-in unless you manually disable Enhanced Sign-in Security (ESS). To disable ESS, go to "Settings" → "Accounts" → "Sign-in options" → "Advanced settings" → "Sign-in with external camera or fingerprint reader" → toggle the switch to ON. If you create a Windows Hello container in Windows 11 version 23H2, this might prevent you from using ESS after updating to Windows 11 version 24H2.
- Xbox:
- Fixed an issue with Xbox Elite wireless controllers with certain firmware versions where the keyboard might not work and show an error indicator in Device Manager.
- Fixed an issue where the driver verifier would stop responding during game controller driver certification, affecting Windows Hardware Quality Labs testing.
- Windows Kernel Vulnerable Driver Blocklist File (DriverSiPolicy.p7b):
- Added new drivers vulnerable to Bring Your Own Vulnerable Driver (BYOVD) attacks to the blocklist.
Happy updating!
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