Although native support for Android apps may’ve been axed, there are third-party workarounds, which is what this guide will delve into. It’ll explain the idea and working behind bringing Android to Windows and subsequently detail the methodology for installing Windows Subsystem for Android via alternate modified packages.

What is Windows Subsystem for Android?

The Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA), more commonly referred to as the “Amazon Appstore on Windows,” sought to bring native Android functionality to Windows. It allowed Android apps to run on Windows without an external emulator.

While the ARM vs. x86 debacle made it hard for Android to find the same performance gaps on x86 as it did on mobile devices, WSA ran apps on an ARM emulator provided by Intel Bridge Technology. For Windows on ARM devices, these apps ran natively.

WSA didn’t just run an emulator; it allowed a limited selection of Android apps on the Amazon Appstore to behave like actual Windows apps. These apps had their own icons, ran in separate Windows, and were miles ahead of traditional emulators when it came to raw performance.

With such a cohesive environment, WSA not only provoked the thought of Windows challenging Apple’s ecosystem but also the idea that the benefits of knitting together two of the most popular operating systems would be endless. However, it didn’t last long.

READ MORE: How to Sideload Android Apps on Windows 11? Android Subsystem for Windows 11 ➜

End of Support

If you head on over to Microsoft’s official webpage for WSA, you’ll find a disclaimer citing Microsoft decision to pull the plug on WSA. The support for native Android functionality on Windows is being deprecated, and new users will no longer be eligible to use the service.

Why Isn’t WSA Officially Available?

In March 2024, Microsoft announced that WSA, and subsequently all games and apps that used the service, would be shelved. Older users will continue to receive support till March 5, 2025, but the rest, unfortunately, won’t be able to use the service.

For this reason, many independent developers have taken it upon themselves to release modified packages for WSA. Keep in mind, though, that Appuals strictly condones piracy. This article is published solely to educate and inform the public, and not to encourage or facilitate any unauthorized use of deprecated WSA builds.

READ MORE: How to Run Android Apps in Windows 11 Insider Preview? ➜

Install WSA via Modified Packages

The original release of WSA did not come with the Google Play Store. Instead, it solely relied on the limited selection of apps on Amazon’s Appstore. However, the community has developed workarounds that allow users to sideload and install the Play Store using Google Apps (GAPPS) via Magisk.

The section below will procedurally outline steps to install WSA on any Windows machine, with the Play Store included.

1) Get WSABuilds from GitHub

WSABuilds is essentially a GitHub repository by MustardChef, which allows you to install pre-built and pre-modded versions of WSA complete with root access. The repository contains download links to Windows 10 and Windows 11 versions, each for ARM and x86 processors, too.

Simply, head on to the website and download the appropriate version of WSA. The same page also contains instructions to uninstall or update the installed version on your PC. The project is in active development and has a dedicated Discord server for frequent updates and sharing bug reports.

2) Select the Appropriate WSA Version

For each release of WSA, the repository contains multiple versions, each with a different set of pre-loaded functionality. For instance, you could download the base version with or without the Amazon Appstore. Likewise, you have the option to choose to remove or keep the modded Play Store along with root access.

3) Install the Windows Subsystem for Android

The downloaded file will be compressed in a .zip format, which will need to be extracted via a file archiver tool such as 7-Zip or WinRAR. It’ll extract the main WSA folder where you’ll find all necessary files for installation.

Within the folder, locate the “Run.bat” batch file, which itself will initiate the installation process. you may see a Command Prompt or Windows PowerShell window pop-up with the “MagiskonWindows” tile. This will install the app, and once done, launch WSA.

4) Set-up Google Play Store

Once the installation process is complete, both WSA and the Google Play Store will automatically open on your screen. To set up the Play Store, simply enter your Google account credentials. This will log you into the Play Store and allow you to download and install any Android apps you want on your device via WSA.

READ MORE: How to Install Google Play Store on Windows 11 WSA? ➜

Conclusion

Microsoft has pulled the plug on supporting Android apps natively on Windows, in that Windows Subsystem for Android will be deprecated by the next year. This puts developers and users who’ve developed a connection to the service in a spot where they have to leverage community-driven services, and third-party packages to go on running WSA on their machines.

At this point in time, there is no mention of whether or not the WSABuilds will continue to function even after the deprecation timeline, but with active development on the project, and more demand soaring in for third-party WSA packages, it’ll not be long before the maintainers push out a statement addressing these concerns.

The post How to Install WSA with Google Play Store & Magisk appeared first on Appuals.

This led to widespread system crashes and significant disruptions across important sectors, including airlines, hospitals, banking, and police operators. Since then, Crowdstrike has deployed a fix to address the issue. However, resolving the BSOD requires manual intervention, which involves booting into Safe Mode to delete the problematic “sys driver files” that crash the primary CrowdStrike driver.

Now, how can you resolve this mess? Here are some effective solutions for affected users.

1. Perform a System Restore

System Restore, a utility integrated into Windows, allows you to revert your Windows state to a previous restore point. We can use this to revert the changes CrowdStrike caused to our windows restoring your system settings and files to their previously stable condition.

How to use System Restore? Here are the steps:

1. Power on your computer and immediately long-press the power button to turn it off. Repeat this three times.
2. After the third restart, you should see ‘Preparing automatic repair‘ along with the Windows loading screen. 
   

   

3. From here, Windows will ask you to “Choose an option“. Here, select the second “Troubleshoot” option.
   

   

4. Next, Windows will prompt with a message saying “your PC did not start correctly“. Here, instead of restarting it again, press the “Advanced options” button.
   

   

5. Once it restarts, you’ll have the Advanced options screen, here select “System Restore“.
   

   

6. Select a restore point before the update caused the issue and follow the prompts to complete the restoration.

If this doesn’t resolve your issue or you don’t have a restore point created, don’t fret just yet; we still have other methods that can resolve this issue.

READ MORE: How to Create a System Restore Point on a Windows ➜

2. Delete the Problematic File

Safe Mode is a recovery state in which Windows starts with only the essential drivers and services, bypassing problematic software that is causing the Blue Screen of Death or other errors. Here, you can safely delete the CrowdStrike driver file called “C-00000291.sys“ which can prevent your system from starting normally.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to this process:

1. Boot into Advanced options by following the steps explained in the first method. But, this time select the Startup Settings option.
   

   

2. After your PC restarts, you’ll see a list of options. Press the F4 key (or the key corresponding to “Enable Safe Mode”) to start your computer in Safe Mode.
   

   

Once successfully in Safe Mode, follow these instructions to delete the problematic file:

1. Press the search icon in the taskbar, then type ‘Command Prompt‘ or ‘cmd‘ and select ‘Run as administrator.‘
   

   

2. In the Command Prompt type ‘del C:\Windows\System32\drivers\CrowdStrike\C-00000291*.sys’ and press enter.
   

   

3. Reboot your computer and check if the issue is resolved.

Normally, this process should go smoothly. However, if your Windows doesn’t let you delete this file, here are some guides that may help you:

• How to delete files and folders that won’t delete in Windows?
• 4 Verified Solutions to Fix ‘Could not find this item’ Error
• How to Take Ownership of Files and Folders?

3. Disable the CSAgent Service

Still stuck? This last method will resolve your issue as it disables the “CSAgent” service, a core component of CrowdStrike’s Falcon endpoint protection platform. While it provides security features such as malware detection, threat prevention, and response capabilities, this core component was also afflicted by the faulty update causing the BSOD.

Disabling this service prevents the faulty CrowdStrike component from loading during system startup, allowing the system to boot and operate normally. To disable this service follow these steps:

1. Boot into Safe Mode using the instructions presented in the second method.
2. Press Win+R, type “regedit” and hit Enter.
   

   

3. This will open Registry Editor. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\CSAgent.
   

   

4. In the right pane, find the key named “Start“, double-click it, and change its value of 1 with 4.
   

   

5. Get out of Safe Mode by restarting your computer

READ MORE: Troubleshoot Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) Caused by Windows Update ➜

Wrapping Up

The widespread BSOD issue caused waves on the Internet with people sharing TikToks of hundreds of people waiting for the flights to be rescheduled and baking systems facing severe disruptions. All of this due to a single faulty update. However, as quickly as the issue came, the solutions were also starting to show up just as our article should hopefully help you fix the BSOD issue in no time.

The post How to Fix Blue Screen of Death Caused by CrowdStrike? appeared first on Appuals.

WordPad has been a part of Windows for decades, succeeding as a more feature-rich alternative to Notepad and more basic word processors. Microsoft, however, has decided that the time has come to eliminate the app, claiming that development has ceased and that it will be shut down permanently.

WordPad will be discontinued at some unspecified point in the future, according to Microsoft. The business recommends Notepad for the most basic tasks, while Microsoft Word is recommended for more complex tasks.

In a notice posted to its support pages, Microsoft says:

WordPad is no longer being updated and will be removed in a future release of Windows. We recommend Microsoft Word for rich text documents like .doc and .rtf and Windows Notepad for plain text documents like .txt.

Unlike Paint, which received so many objections from users that Microsoft ultimately reversed its decision to remove it from Windows, WordPad is unlikely to meet the same fate. While the basic word processor has a place in Windows history, its devoted following is much smaller and less intense than Paint’s.

This is all we know for now, but rest assured that we will keep you updated as new information becomes available.

The post Microsoft Eliminating WordPad in Upcoming Windows Update appeared first on Appuals.

Changes and Improvements

[General]

• [REMINDER] Insider Preview Build Expiration: The expiration date for Insider Preview builds flighted to the Dev Channel has been updated to 9/15/2024 starting with Build 23526. Please make sure you are updated to the latest build in the Dev Channel.
• In the European Economic Area (EEA), Windows system components use the default browser to open links.

[Search on the Taskbar]

• We’re re-introducing the search experience for invoking the search flyout when you hover over the search box gleam. This behavior can be adjusted by right-clicking on the taskbar, choosing “Taskbar settings” and adjusting your preferred search box experience.

Fixes

[General]

• Fixed an issue which was causing explorer.exe to not work in safe mode.

[File Explorer]

• Fixed an issue which could cause explorer.exe to crash when closing File Explorer.
• Fixed an issue which was causing File Explorer to crash when navigating to Gallery if you had a large number of images.
• Fixed an issue where “Automatically type into the Search Box” wasn’t working when File Explorer was open to Home.
• Fixed an issue where if you tried to copy and paste, a file out of a compressed folder and into a OneDrive folder might fail with an error code.

[HDR Backgrounds]

• Fixed an issue which could cause HDR wallpapers to appear washed out when HDR was enabled.

[Task Manager]

• Fixed an issue where it wasn’t possible to move the Task Manager window with touch or pen.
• Fixed an issue where Task Manager was crashing when using the reset to default button in Settings.
• Fixed an issue which was causing sporadic crashes when using Task Manager, including when ending tasks.
• Fixed an issue where if you did a search and then cleared it, the view would still be filtered even though there was no search anymore.
• Fixed an issue where the search icon would become overlapped with the Task Manager text in the title bar.
• Did some work to help improve the performance when switching between different pages in Task Manager.
• Updated the summary view for the Performance page (that you see when double clicking the graphs in the navigation pane) to make the window smaller.

NOTE: Some fixes noted here in Insider Preview builds from the Dev Channel may make their way into the servicing updates for the released version of Windows 11.

Known issues

[Start menu]

• Some apps under All apps on the Start menu, such as PWA apps installed via Microsoft Edge, may incorrectly be labeled as a system component.

[Search on the Taskbar]

• Sometimes the tooltip when mousing over the search box does not match the current search highlight.

[Windows Copilot]

• You can use Alt + Tab to switch out of Windows Copilot, but not back into it. Windows + C will move focus back to Windows Copilot
• When first launching or after refreshing Copilot while using voice access you’ll need to use “Show grid” commands to click in the “Ask me anything” box for the first time.

The post Windows Insider Preview Build 23531 Released for the Beta Channel appeared first on Appuals.

What you see next will be determined by your choices during the “out of the box” phase. If “Development Intent” is selected during OOBE, for instance, Dev Home will be launched immediately.

Microsoft has also detailed the update’s features and improvements, including a new appearance for the Task Manager settings page.

New Post-OOBE Feature

Beginning with build 25936, Windows has released new experiences for users after they complete OOBE (“out of the box experience”). These experiences begin automatically after you complete OOBE.

• If you choose ‘Development Intent’ within the ‘Let’s Customize Your Experience’ page during OOBE, Dev Home will be automatically launched on your device after logging in and reaching the desktop for the first time after OOBE setup.
• If you choose ‘Development Intent’ within the ‘Let’s Customize Your Experience’ page during OOBE, the Get Started app will be automatically launched on your device after logging in and reaching the desktop for the first time after OOBE setup. The Get Started app will show you a personalized flow that will help you learn more about Dev Home and give you the opportunity to open Dev Home.
• If you choose to ‘Restore’ your device during OOBE, the Get Started app will be automatically launched on your device after you log into your device for the second time after completing OOBE. The Get Started app will show you a personalized flow that will help you learn about key apps and settings, tell you that Windows has restored on your device and show you how to access your restored apps on Start menu or taskbar.

These experiences will help you learn about new features in Windows 11 and help you complete your device setup. These experiences will only be available to a small subset of Insiders in the Canary Channel at first and you may see different variations of these experiences.

Changes and Improvements

[General]

• [REMINDER] Insider Preview Build Expiration: The expiration date for Insider Preview builds flighted to the Canary Channel has been updated to 9/15/2024 starting with Build 25931. Please make sure you are updated to the latest build in the Canary Channel.

[Dynamic Lighting]

• We have added the ability to choose a custom colour to light up your devices with.

[Task Manager]

• We’ve updated the Task Manager settings page to match the design principles of Windows 11. The design has a similar look and feel to the Settings in Windows 11 and provides a cleaner UI separating categories into different sections.

[Settings]

• The end task feature under System > For Developers no longer requires Developer Mode to be enabled first before it can be used.

Fixes for known issues

• Fixed the underlying crash which was causing .NET updates to get stuck requesting restart in Windows Update Settings in recent Canary Channel builds.
• Fixed a few issues which were causing the End Task option in the taskbar to not work, or to close more than just the app you had selected.

The post Windows Testing New Post-OOBE Experiences in the Latest Insider Preview Build appeared first on Appuals.

• Build 22631.2262 = New features rolling out.
• Build 22621.2262 = New features off by default.

REMINDER: Insiders who were previously on Build 22624 will automatically get moved to Build 22631 via an enablement package. The enablement package artificially increments the build number for the update with new features getting rolled out and turned on to make it easier to differentiate from devices with the update with features off by default. This approach is being used for the Beta Channel only and is not indicative of any changes or plans for final feature rollouts.

Insiders who landed in the group with new features turned off by default (Build 22621.xxxx) can check for updates and choose to install the update that will have features rolling out (Build 22631.xxxx).

New Features

New Settings Homepage

Windows has introduced a brand-new Settings homepage that combines many new features on a single page. The new homepage provides you with a more dynamic and personalized experience. It gives you an overview of your device, quick access to key settings, and helps in the management of your Microsoft account.

The new settings homepage features interactive cards that represent various device and account settings, arranged by frequently used functions. Each card has been optimized to provide the most relevant information and controls. This release contains 7 cards with more coming soon, according to Windows

Here’s an overview of each card:

1. Recommended settings: This card adapts to your specific usage patterns, providing timely and relevant settings options. It’s designed to streamline your settings management and save you time.
2. Cloud storage: Gives you an overview of your cloud storage use and lets you know when you’re nearing capacity.
3. Account recovery: This helps keep your Microsoft account more secure by helping you add additional recovery info so you never get locked out of your account, even if you forget your password.
4. Personalization: This brings customization to the forefront by offering one-click access to update your background theme or change your colour mode.
5. Microsoft 365: Provides a quick glimpse of your subscription status and benefits, along with the ability to take some key actions right in Settings instead of going to the web.
6. Xbox: Similar to the Microsoft 365 card, you’ll be able to view your subscription status and manage the subscription from the Settings app.
7. Bluetooth Devices: To simplify your Bluetooth device management experience, we’ve brought this to the forefront so you can quickly access and connect to your favourite Bluetooth-enabled devices.

You can quickly take action from the homepage with just one click, making the process seamless. The homepage is unique since it evolves over time and adapts to your use and interests, providing the most relevant and useful information based on your usage

NOTE: This experience will only be available on Windows 11 Home and Pro editions and not on devices managed by organizations.

[We are beginning to roll this out, so the experience isn’t available to all Insiders in the Beta Channel just yet as we plan to monitor feedback and see how it lands before pushing it out to everyone.]

Backup and Restore improvements

Following on the app restore feature published by Windows last year, the company is bringing additional backup and restore features in this version to make transitioning to a new PC easier than ever before and to assist app developers in retaining consumers during this new PC transition. The purpose of these modifications is to put users on a desktop that seems familiar to them and get them back to work on their new PC in minutes.

• Windows Backup app – we’re introducing this new app to quickly get your current PC backed up and ready to move to a new PC.
• App pins – your Store apps from your prior PC will be pinned where you left them, both on taskbar and in the Start menu.
• Settings – Settings from your previous device will restore to your new PC to help you get back into the flow as quickly as possible.

Once you’re backed up either via the new Windows Backup app or by visiting Accounts/Windows Backup in settings, you can try out the new restore during the out-of-box- experience (OOBE) when setting up a new PC or by resetting an existing PC with this build.

Users will see pins for their desktop app restored on the taskbar and Start Menu, including desktop apps that were not installed from the Microsoft Store.

Desktop apps that are available in the Microsoft Store can be restored by clicking on the app pin to get started.  For apps that aren’t available in the Microsoft Store, you’ll be directed to the web to download the installer.

NOTE: An easy way for Insiders to try this experience out is by running the Windows Backup app on a PC running this build and choosing “Reset this PC” under Settings > System > Recovery and then going through OOBE for the new restore experience.

For developers, review the developer best practices to learn more about how to provide the best restore experience for your app. Note that in this build not all settings and app types are supported, including Android apps. Backing up a Work or School account is also not supported.

Changes and Improvements in Build 22631.2262

[File Explorer]

• Made some changes which should noticeably help improve the performance of the “calculating” phase when sending a large number of files at once in File Explorer to the recycle bin.

[Cast]

• Building off the Cast improvements introduced with Build 22631.2129, we have updated the Cast flyout in Quick Settings with additional support for you in case you face any trouble discovering nearby displays, fixing connections, and more.

[Dynamic Lighting]

• You can now instantly sync your Windows accent color with the devices around you with the “Match my Windows accent color” toggle under “Effects” for Dynamic Lighting via Settings > Personalization > Dynamic Lighting.
• We have added the ability to choose a custom color to light up your devices with.

Fixes in Build 22631.2262

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• Fixed an issue where after upgrading the Bluetooth icon in the system tray might not display in the system tray after upgrade even though your PC supported Bluetooth and the Bluetooth options were shown in Settings.
• Fixed an issue where the new bell icon might be very difficult to see in some cases because it was using a dark outline when your taskbar was dark.
• Fixed an issue where the titles were missing from taskbar previews when turning on tablet-optimized taskbar while using uncombined taskbar.
• Fixed an issue where app icons on the taskbar would become empty (with no icon) in recent Insider builds after switching between desktops.
• Fixed an issue where if the taskbar was set to uncombined it would still show animations even if they’d been turned off.
• Disabled the setting for uncombining taskbar buttons on other screens by default when no secondary monitors are connected.
• Fixed an issue where using drag to rearrange icons in the overflow area wasn’t working well when the taskbar was set to uncombined.
• Fixed an issue where uncombined taskbar’s app indicators weren’t shown correctly after it showed something was being downloaded.
• Fixed an issue where the hidden icons flyout might close unexpectedly when using keyboard navigation to move focus between icons.

[File Explorer]

• Fixed an issue where in some cases, the context menu background in File Explorer appeared transparent. This also impacted the command bar dropdown menus.
• Fixed an issue where the context menu and dropdown menus in File Explorer weren’t working with touch.
• Fixed an issue which was causing the search box in File Explorer to not work well with IMEs.
• Fixed a white flash in dark mode when switching between Home and Gallery.
• Fixed an issue impacted File Explorer reliability.
• Fixed an issue where “Automatically type into the Search Box” wasn’t working when File Explorer was open to Home.
• Fixed an issue where pasting using the context menu in the address bar wasn’t working (or other context menu actions in the address bar).
• Added a little more space between Home in the navigation page and the bottom of the command bar.

[Input]

• Fixed an issue where typing with the Japanese and Chinese IMEs may not have performed as expected in certain apps in the last few flights when you had selected the option to use the previous version of the IME. If you are continuing to experience issues with this build installed, please file feedback.
• Fixed an issue where when inking into a text field, if you were writing in Chinese, certain characters were being perceived as taps and not working.
• Fixed an issue where inking into a text field while magnifier was running was not working well as the ink was offset.

[HDR Wallpapers]

• Fixed an issue which could cause sporadic explorer.exe crashes when using an HDR wallpaper.

[Task Manager]

• Fixed an issue where Task Manager was crashing when using the reset to default button in Settings.
• Did some work to help improve the performance when switching between different pages in Task Manager.

[Other]

• Fixed an issue which could cause sporadic explorer.exe crashes when using an HDR wallpaper.

Fixes for BOTH Build 22621.2262 & Build 22631.2262

• We fixed the issue causing the “Check for updates” button to not appear as expected under Settings > Windows Update. After updating to this build, the “Check for updates” button should appear as expected. If you are on the previous Beta Channel flight, you can manually check for updates by opening Windows Terminal (or the Run dialog) and entering the USOClient StartInteractiveScan command which will perform the same function as clicking the “Check for updates” button in Windows Update. Note that running the command will not display any output. To confirm that the operation was successful, you can run the command while the Windows Update settings page is open. You should see your device checking for updates.
• Fixed an issue where removing a monitor while connected to a Cloud PC could result in a black screen with only a mouse visible in recent builds.

Known issues

[General]

• We’re working on the fix for an issue causing explorer.exe to crash on the login screen when attempting to enter safe mode.

[File Explorer]

• Investigating an issue where the icons on your desktop may all go blank. Right-click and refresh on the desktop will bypass the issue if it occurs.

[Narrator]

• You may see some of the strings are NOT localized to the selected language. This will be fixed in a future flight.

The post Windows Introduces All-New Settings Homepage in Latest Insider Preview Build appeared first on Appuals.

With the Dev & Canary Channel Preview Builds releasing this week, Windows has also released the Insider Preview Build 22631.2199 and 22621.2199 for its Beta Channel today. Introducing a variety of new features and major bug fixes that were necessary to smoothen the user experience.

• Build 22631.2199 = New features rolling out.
• Build 22621.2199 = New features off by default.

REMINDER: Insiders who were previously on Build 22624 will automatically get moved to Build 22631 via an enablement package. The enablement package artificially increments the build number for the update with new features getting rolled out and turned on to make it easier to differentiate from devices with the update with features off by default. This approach is being used for the Beta Channel only and is not indicative of any changes or plans for final feature rollouts.

Insiders who landed in the group with new features turned off by default (Build 22621.xxxx) can check for updates and choose to install the update that will have features rolling out (Build 22631.xxxx).

New Features

Snipping Tool Update

Windows is rolling out an update to Snipping Tool (version 11.2306.43.0 and higher) to Windows Insiders in the Beta Channel. This update introduces new buttons to edit in Paint for screenshots and edit in Clipchamp for screen recordings.

Archive File Support

As announced at the Build conference back in May, this build adds native support for reading additional archive file formats using the libarchive open-source project such as:

• .tar
• .tar.gz
• .tar.bz2
• .tar.zst
• .tar.xz
• .tgz
• .tbz2
• .tzst
• .txz
• .rar
• .7z
• And more!

Please note that encrypted archives are currently not supported.

Changes and Improvements in Build 22631.2199

[Start menu]

• For files that do not have rich thumbnail previews that can be provided, it will no longer show a blank preview area. This is part of the work for rich thumbnail previews (tooltips) for cloud files on Start that began rolling out with Build 22631.2129.

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• You can now turn on never combined mode on the taskbar by right-clicking on the taskbar, choosing “Taskbar settings” and under “Taskbar behaviors” simply adjusting “Combine taskbar buttons and hide labels” to never. And we provide a separate setting for turning this on for other taskbars (multiple monitor scenarios for example).

[Narrator]

We have made the following improvements for Narrator:

• Changed default verbosity level from 2 to 3 which will now announce “Immediate Context Name and Type”. The Control context type like “list” or “toolbar” will allow users to better understand the focused control – same default as JAWS and NVDA.
• Narrator users are unblocked for typing Traditional Chinese characters in Windows by addition of Traditional Chinese dictionary for detailed reading.

We have made the following improvements for Narrator with Braille:

• When navigating to any attachment in Outlook with scan mode, narrator announces the & of the attachment, the same is now reflected on braille display.
• Navigate to different headings in Scan Mode using down arrow, or ‘Space + 4’ key in Braille device, now navigating to heading is reflected in Braille.
• When navigating a list with items , whenever Narrator announces index with the menu item name, Braille display also reflects the same index values as “1 of 4”.

[Settings]

• The end task feature under System > For Developers no longer requires Developer Mode to be enabled first before it can be used.

Fixes in Build 22631.2199

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• Fixed an issue causing app icons in the taskbar to not be able to move, and start overlapping once you tried to do this, in the previous flight.
• Fixed an issue causing the safely remove hardware icon to not appear when expected in the system tray.
• Fixed an issue where the End Task feature wasn’t working if you tried it when there were multiple windows open of that app.
• Fixed an issue where using End Task on certain apps would cause other unrelated apps to close.

[File Explorer]

• We’ve done some work to improve the performance of archive functionality during compression on Windows.

[Input]

• Fixed an issue causing typing with the Japanese and Chinese IMEs to not work correctly after the latest flights for some Insiders.

[Narrator]

• Fixed an issue where Narrator was not reading various list items in a combo box on various web pages when navigating with up and down arrow.
• Fixed an issue where Narrator was incorrectly announcing combo boxes as read-only even when users could actually select different values from the combo box list items.
• Addressed the issue where Narrator was not announcing the checked and unchecked status of radio buttons but was announcing selected for every item.
• Fixed an issue where Narrator was announcing older information while navigating in date/time picker using arrow keys.
• Fixed an issue where Narrator was incorrectly reading contents of previous cell and the current cell when navigating in a table using right and left arrow keys.
• Fixed an issue where Narrator is incorrectly reading older Window title even after navigating to inner control.
• Fixed an issue where Narrator is reading entire paragraph when up arrow is invoked in online word document.
• Fixed an issue where Narrator was incorrectly reading out last word of previous paragraph when a new paragraph started with a punctuation mark.
• Fixed a bug where Narrator was not announcing the character being deleted when using backspace key in some text fields on the web.
• Fixed an issue in narrator where while entering any number in CVV edit field, Narrator should only announce as “hidden”, instead of “CVV edit, hidden new line selected”.
• Fixed an issue where Narrator is not able to detect different headings on some web pages in scan mode while using “h” key to navigate.
• Fixed an issue where Narrator scan mode arrow navigation skipped first item in container.
• Fixed an issue, where Narrator is skipping the first item after navigating via landmark using “d” key in scan mode.
• Fixed an issue where Narrator focus did not move past the first check box if there was a list of check boxes when using up and down arrow key in scan mode.
• Fixed an issue where Narrator was not activating combo box when navigating using up and down arrow and using enter/spacebar to activate it in scan mode.
• Fixed an issue where Narrator would collapse the combo boxes in scan mode when navigating with up and down arrows.
• Fixed an issue where navigation commands are not executed as expected in a dialog box when you enter the dialog the second time.
• Fixed an issue where Narrator find was not working consistently on web pages when using Narrator key + Ctrl + F key combination.

[HDR Wallpaper]

• Fixed an issue where your HDR wallpaper might appear washed out although HDR was enabled.
• Fixed an issue where it wasn’t possible to select .JXL files for your wallpaper slideshow.

[Task Manager]

• Updated the summary view for the Performance page (that you see when double clicking the graphs in the navigation pane) to make the window smaller.

Fixes for BOTH Build 22621.2199 & Build 22631.2199

• New! This update adds new functionality that affects app defaults. To learn more, see A principled approach to app pinning and app defaults in Windows.
• This update addresses an issue that causes Windows to fail. This occurs when you use BitLocker on a storage medium that has a large sector size.
• This update addresses an issue that affects Remote Desktop sessions. Sometimes you receive a wrong error message when you try to sign in to a session.
• This update addresses an issue that affects the search icon. When you select it, the Search app does not open. This occurs after a machine has been asleep.
• This update addresses an issue that affects It does not correctly identify the search box on the taskbar and search highlights within the search box.
• This update adds a new API for D3D12 Independent Devices. You can use it to create multiple D3D12 devices on the same adapter. To learn more, see D3D12 Independent Devices.
• This update addresses an issue that affects disk partitions. The system might stop working. This occurs after you delete a disk partition and add the space from the deleted partition to an existing BitLocker partition.
• This update addresses an issue that affects Start menu icons. They are missing after you sign in for the first time.
• This update supports daylight saving time (DST) changes in Israel.
• This update improves the reliability of the Search app.
• This update addresses an issue that affects print jobs that are sent to a virtual print queue. They fail without an error.
• This update addresses an issue that affects the search box size. Its size is reduced in tablet posture mode on Microsoft Surface Pro and Surface Book devices.
• This update addresses an issue that affects the TAB key. Using it to browse search results requires additional actions.
• This update addresses an issue that affects the Group Policy Service. It will not wait for 30 seconds, which is the default wait time, for the network to be available. Because of this, policies are not correctly processed.
• This update addresses an issue that affects settings. They do not sync even if you turn on the toggle on the Windows Backup page in the Settings app.
• This update addresses an issue that affects the Resultant Set of Policy (RSOP). The Windows LAPS “BackupDirectory” policy setting was not being reported. This occurs when the setting is set to 1, which is “Back up to AAD.”
• This update addresses an issue that causes high CPU use. This occurs when you enable the “fBlockNonDomain policy.”
• The update addresses an issue that affects those who use Windows Update for Business. After you are asked to change your password at sign in, the change operation fails. Then you cannot sign in. The error code is 0xc000006d.
• This update addresses an issue that affects a WS_EX_LAYERED window. The window might render with the wrong dimensions or at the wrong position. This occurs when you scale the display screen.

Known issues

[General]

• [NEW] After updating to this build, the “Check for updates” does not appear as expected under Settings > Windows Update. To manually check for updates, you can open Windows Terminal (or the Run dialog)and enter the USOClient StartInteractiveScan command which will perform the same function as clicking the “Check for updates” button in Windows Update. Note that running the command will not display any output. To confirm that the operation was successful, you can run the command while the Windows Update settings page is open. You should see your device checking for updates.
• We’re working on the fix for an issue causing explorer.exe to crash on the login screen when attempting to enter safe mode.

[File Explorer]

• In some cases, the context menu background in File Explorer may appear transparent.
• Investigating an issue where the icons on your desktop may all go blank. Right-click and refresh on the desktop will bypass the issue if it occurs.

[Narrator]

• You may see some of the strings are NOT localized to the selected language. This will be fixed in a future flight.

The post Snipping Tool Gets Paint/Clipchamp Integration in Latest Beta Insider Preview Build 22631.2199 appeared first on Appuals.

Windows has clarified that the expiry date for this build is September 15th 2024, however, this is not an accurate estimation of the release date for these features.

Work on rich thumbnail previews (tooltips) continues in this version, and tips without a rich preview will no longer display a blank preview area. Cast is also getting improved, with a “Can’t find a device?” link added to Quick Settings. Additionally, many improvements have been made which can be seen listed down below

Changes and Improvements

[General]

• Insider Preview Build Expiration: The expiration date for Insider Preview builds flighted to the Dev Channel has been updated to 9/15/2024 starting with Build 23526. Please make sure you are updated to the latest build in the Dev Channel.

[Start menu]

• For files that do not have rich thumbnail previews that can be provided, it will no longer show a blank preview area. This is part of the work for rich thumbnail previews (tooltips) for cloud files on Start that began rolling out with Build 23511.

[Cast]

• Building off the Cast improvements introduced with Build 23516, we have updated the Cast flyout in Quick Settings with additional support for you in case you face any trouble discovering nearby displays, fixing connections, and more.

[Narrator]

We have made the following improvements for Narrator:

• Changed default verbosity level from 2 to 3 which will now announce “Immediate Context Name and Type”. The Control context type like “list” or “toolbar” will allow users to better understand the focused control – same default as JAWS and NVDA.
• Narrator users are unblocked for typing Traditional Chinese characters in Windows by addition of Traditional Chinese dictionary for detailed reading.

We have made the following improvements for Narrator with Braille:

• When navigating to any attachment in Outlook with scan mode, narrator announces the & of the attachment, the same is now reflected on braille display.
• Navigate to different headings in Scan Mode using down arrow, or ‘Space + 4’ key in Braille device, now navigating to heading is reflected in Braille.
• When navigating a list with items , whenever Narrator announces index with the menu item name, Braille display also reflects the same index values as “1 of 4”.

Fixes

[Start menu]

• Fixed an issue that was making the System label in Start’s all apps list the wrong color in high contrast themes.

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• Fixed an issue where the taskbar wasn’t loading for some Insiders when logging into their PC after installing the previous build.
• Disabled the setting for uncombining taskbar buttons on other screens by default when no secondary monitors are connected.
• Fixed an issue where if the taskbar was set to uncombined it would still show animations even if they’d been turned off.
• Fixed an issue where app icons on the taskbar would become empty (with no icon) in recent Insider builds after switching between desktops.
• Fixed an issue where the hidden icons flyout might close unexpectedly when using keyboard navigation to move focus between icons.
• Fixed an issue where using drag to rearrange icons in the overflow area wasn’t working well when the taskbar was set to uncombined.
• Fixed an issue where the new bell icon might be very difficult to see in some cases because it was using a dark outline when your taskbar was dark.
• Fixed an issue where if you had enabled the End Task option in the taskbar, the setting wouldn’t persist across upgrades.
• Fixed an issue where after upgrading the Bluetooth icon in the system tray might not display in the system tray after upgrade even though your PC supported Bluetooth and the Bluetooth options were shown in Settings.

[Start menu]

• Fixed an issue where if you attempt to uninstall certain apps, it would just open Settings and not navigate to the Installed Apps page.

[File Explorer]

• Fixed a high hitting explorer.exe crash when launching or interacting with File Explorer in the last couple flights.
• Fixed an issue where using the Reset Folders button in Folder Options could cause explorer.exe to crash.
• Fixed an issue where the chevrons in the File Explorer address bar were pointing in the wrong direction if your display language was set to Arabic or Hebrew.
• Fixed an issue where saving files to OneDrive locations in File Explorer could take a very long time, making it seem like the app you were saving from had become unresponsive, in the latest Insider builds.
• Fixed an issue where the context menu and dropdown menus in File Explorer weren’t working with touch.
• Made another fix for the issue causing the context menu and dropdown menu backgrounds to be transparent.
• Fixed an issue where the menu shown when doing a right click drag on one of the newly supported archive formats didn’t have an extract option like it does for zip files.

[Dev Drive]

• Fixed an issue where Dev Drives might not auto-mount after upgrading to a new build, causing apps that tried to access them to not work.
• Improved error messages if Dev Drives fail to format.
• Fixed an issue related to the use of Dev Drives which could cause a bugcheck with an INVALID DATA TRAP on upgrade (and then the upgrade would roll back).

[HDR Backgrounds]

• Fixed an issue which could cause sporadic explorer.exe crashes when using an HDR wallpaper.

[Narrator]

• Fixed an issue where Narrator was not reading various list items in a combo box on various web pages when navigating with up and down arrow.
• Fixed an issue where Narrator was incorrectly announcing combo boxes as read-only even when users could actually select different values from the combo box list items.
• Addressed the issue where Narrator was not announcing the checked and unchecked status of radio buttons but was announcing selected for every item.
• Fixed an issue where Narrator was announcing older information  while navigating in date/time picker  using arrow keys .
• Fixed an issue where Narrator was incorrectly reading contents of previous cell and the current cell when navigating in a table using right and left arrow keys.
• Fixed an issue where Narrator is incorrectly reading older Window title even after navigating to inner control.
• Fixed an issue where Narrator is reading entire paragraph when up arrow is invoked in online word document.
• Fixed an issue where Narrator was incorrectly reading out last word of previous paragraph when a new paragraph started with a punctuation mark.
• Fixed a bug where Narrator was not announcing the character being deleted when using backspace key in some text fields on the web.
• Fixed an issue in narrator where while entering any number in CVV edit field, Narrator should only announce as “hidden”, instead of “CVV edit, hidden new line selected”.
• Fixed an issue where Narrator is not able to detect different headings on some web pages in scan mode while using “h” key to navigate.
• Fixed an issue where Narrator scan mode arrow navigation skipped first item in container.
• Fixed an issue, where Narrator is skipping the first item after navigating via landmark using “d” key in scan mode.
• Fixed an issue where Narrator focus did not move past the first check box if there was a list of check boxes  when using up and down arrow key in scan mode.
• Fixed an issue where Narrator was not activating combo box when navigating using up and down  arrow and using enter/spacebar to activate it in scan mode.
• Fixed an issue where Narrator would collapse the combo boxes in scan mode when navigating with up and down arrows.
• Fixed an issue where navigation commands are not executed as expected in a dialog  box when you enter the dialog the second time.
• Fixed an issue where Narrator find was not working consistently on web pages when using Narrator key + Ctrl + F key combination.

[Input]

• Fixed an issue where typing with the Japanese and Chinese IMEs may not have performed as expected in certain apps in the last few flights when you had selected the option to use the previous version of the IME. If you are continuing to experience issues with this build installed, please file feedback.
• Fixed an issue where when inking into a text field, if you were writing in Chinese, certain characters were being perceived as taps and not working.
• Fixed an issue where inking into a text field while magnifier was running was not working well as the ink was offset.

[Other]

• Fixed an issue where removing a monitor while connected to a Cloud PC could result in a black screen with only a mouse visible in recent builds.
• Made some fixes to improve how the Share dialog worked with screen readers, as well as addressing some other accessibility issues.

NOTE: Some fixes noted here in Insider Preview builds from the Dev Channel may make their way into the servicing updates for the released version of Windows 11.

Known issues

[General]

• We’re working on the fix for an issue causing explorer.exe to crash on the login screen when attempting to enter safe mode.

[Start menu]

• Some apps under All apps on the Start menu, such as PWA apps installed via Microsoft Edge, may incorrectly be labeled as a system component.

[Search on the Taskbar]

• Sometimes the tooltip when mousing over the search box does not match the current search highlight.

[Windows Copilot]

• You can use Alt + Tab to switch out of Windows Copilot, but not back into it. Windows + C will move focus back to Windows Copilot
• When first launching or after refreshing Copilot while using voice access you’ll need to use “Show grid” commands to click in the “Ask me anything” box for the first time.

The post Windows Releases Latest Insider Preview Build 23526 for Dev Channel appeared first on Appuals.

While this build has no added feature, a slew of bug fixes and improvements have been made to smoothen the user experience of the OS

We have compiled the Fixes and Improvements for your ease down below.

Changes and Improvements

[Windows 365]

• Windows Insiders in the Dev and Beta Channels can participate in the public preview of Windows 365 Switch. Windows 365 Switch provides the ability to easily move between a Windows 365 Cloud PC and the local desktop using the same familiar keyboard commands, as well as a mouse-click or a swipe gesture through Task View on the Windows 11 taskbar. Please read this blog post for all the details on how to participate.

[Windows Copilot]

• Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel who login and are managed by AAD (soon to be Microsoft Entra ID) will see Windows Copilot enabled for them again without the need to enable it via Group Policy Editor.

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• To make it easier to enable never combined mode on the taskbar, we have updated the settings. You can turn never combined mode on by simply adjusting “Combine taskbar buttons and hide labels” to never. And we provide a separate setting for turning this on for other taskbars (multiple monitor scenarios for example).

[Dynamic Lighting]

• You can now instantly sync your Windows accent color with the devices around you with the “Match my Windows accent color” toggle under “Effects” for Dynamic Lighting via Settings > Personalization > Dynamic Lighting. This improvement started rolling out in last week’s Dev Channel flight.
• We have added the ability to choose a custom color to light up your devices with.

[Task Manager]

• We’ve updated the Task Manager settings page to match the design principles of Windows 11. The design has a similar look and feel to the Settings in Windows 11 and provides a cleaner UI separating categories into different sections. Oh, and we updated some dialogs in Task Manager too.

[Windows Spotlight]

• After doing an OS update, in certain cases such as using the default Windows 11 background or a solid color – Windows Spotlight may be enabled for you. If you decide you don’t want Windows Spotlight enabled, you can turn it off and in future OS updates it should not be enabled for you again unless you choose to re-enable the experience.

[Search on the Taskbar]

• Windows Search now uses the Microsoft Bing Search app to return web content and search results. In the European Economic Area (EEA), you can enable installed Microsoft Store apps that implement a web search provider to return web content and search results in Windows Search through Settings.

[Settings]

• The end task feature under System > For Developers no longer requires Developer Mode to be enabled first before it can be used.

[Other]

• In the European Economic Area (EEA), Windows will now require consent to share data between Windows and other signed-in Microsoft services. You will see some Windows features start to check for consent now, with more being added in future builds. Without consent to share data between Windows and other signed-in Microsoft services, some functionality in Windows features may be unavailable, for example certain types of file recommendations under “Recommended” on the Start menu.

Fixes

[File Explorer]

• Fixed an issue where you couldn’t drag a file out of an archived folder to extract it with one of the newly supported archive formats.
• Fix an issue where when extracting one of the newly supported archive formats using the Extract All option in the context menu, it wasn’t working unless Windows Explorer was set as the default for that file type.
• When trying to extract one of the new archive formats and the file is password encrypted, it will now show a message saying this isn’t currently supported.
• Fixed a bug where Insiders may have experienced a File Explorer crash when dragging the scroll bar or attempting to close the window during an extended file-loading process.

We fixed the following issues for Insiders who have the modernized File Explorer address bar that began rolling out with Build 23475:

• Fixed an issue which was causing the search box in File Explorer to not work well with IMEs.
• Fixed an issue where pasting using the context menu in the address bar wasn’t working (or other context menu actions in the address bar).

We fixed the following issues for Insiders who have the modernized File Explorer Home that began rolling out with Build 23475:

• Fixed an issue where when trying to scroll with touch on Home might result in everything getting selected.
• Fixed a white flash in dark theme when switching between Home and Gallery.

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• Fixed an issue that removed the USB icon and its options from the system tray.
• Fixed an issue where the titles were missing from taskbar previews when turning on tablet-optimized taskbar while using uncombined taskbar.
• Fixed an issue where uncombined taskbar’s app indicators weren’t shown correctly after it showed something was being downloaded.
• Fixed an explorer.exe crash impacting system tray reliability.
• Fixed an issue where the End Task feature wasn’t working if you tried it when there were multiple windows open of that app.
• Fixed an issue where using End Task on certain apps would cause other unrelated apps to close.

[HDR Backgrounds]

• Fixed an issue where your HDR wallpaper might appear washed out although HDR was enabled.
• Fixed an issue where it wasn’t possible to select .JXL files for your wallpaper slideshow.

[Other]

• If Get Help isn’t installed, when opening one of the troubleshooters in Settings, it will now prompt you to install it, rather than showing an error about not haven’t an app associated for the action.

NOTE: Some fixes noted here in Insider Preview builds from the Dev Channel may make their way into the servicing updates for the released version of Windows 11.

Known issues

[General]

• We’re investigating reports that the taskbar isn’t loading for some Insiders when logging into their PC after installing this build. See this forum post for more details and workaround options.
• We’re working on the fix for an issue causing explorer.exe to crash on the login screen when attempting to enter safe mode.

[Start menu]

• Some apps under All apps on the Start menu, such as PWA apps installed via Microsoft Edge, may incorrectly be labeled as a system component.

[Windows Copilot]

• You can use Alt + Tab to switch out of Windows Copilot, but not back into it. Windows + C will move focus back to Windows Copilot
• When first launching or after refreshing Copilot while using voice access you’ll need to use “Show grid” commands to click in the “Ask me anything” box for the first time.

[Input]

• We’re investigating reports that typing with the Japanese and Chinese IMEs is not working correctly after the last flight.

Widgets Update: Pin widgets board open

We are beginning to roll out an update to Widgets for Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels that lets you pin the widgets board open, so your widgets board is always just a glance away. To pin the board open, simply click the pin icon in the top right corner of the board. Once your board is pinned open, the widgets board will no longer light dismiss.

While the board is pinned, you can still close it by:

• Open the widgets board via the Widgets button on the taskbar.
• Pressing the ESC key while Widgets is in the foreground.
• Swiping on the left edge of the screen if you have a touch device.

To unpin the board, select the unpin icon in the top right corner of the board.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Widgets. 

Snipping Tool Update

We are beginning to roll out an update to Snipping Tool (version 11.2306.43.0 and higher) to Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels. This update introduces new buttons to edit in Paint for screenshots and edit in Clipchamp for screen recordings.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub by clicking here.

The post Snipping Tool Gets Clipchamp Integration in Latest Dev Insider Preview Build 23521 appeared first on Appuals.

• Build 22631.2191 = New features rolling out.
• Build 22621.2191 = New features off by default.

REMINDER: Insiders who were previously on Build 22624 will automatically get moved to Build 22631 via an enablement package. The enablement package artificially increments the build number for the update with new features getting rolled out and turned on to make it easier to differentiate from devices with the update with features off by default. This approach is being used for the Beta Channel only and is not indicative of any changes or plans for final feature rollouts.

The update has a variety of features that were released including a slew of bug fixes

HDR Background Support 

You can now set JXR files to be your desktop background and if you have an HDR display, they will render in full HDR.

First – make sure your device has an HDR display or is connected to a HDR display that supports HDR. You can check this by going to Settings > System > Display and checking the HDR toggle.

Next, download an HDR .JXR file to your device. Then right-click on your desktop, choose “Personalize” and then “Background”, and under “Personalize your background” – go and select the .JXR file you downloaded to your device.

You can download example .JXR files here to try this experience out on your HDR-capable device/display.

The background should load on your display. If you have multiple displays attached to your device, the background will show as HDR or SDR depending on each display’s capabilities. When using external displays attached to your device, we recommend running the HDR Calibration app for best picture quality. Please note that for this build, there may be some issues with the HDR version of the desktop background not correctly display on some laptops with HDR.

New Natural Voices for Narrator

Windows has introduced new natural voices in French, Portuguese, English (India), German and Korean that allow Narrator users to comfortably browse the web, read, and write mail, and do more. Natural Narrator voices use modern, on-device text-to-speech and once downloaded are supported without an internet connection.

To use one of the natural voices, add it to your PC by following these steps:

1. Open Narrator Settings by pressing the WIN + Ctrl + N hotkey.
2. Under Narrator’s voice, select the Add button next to Add natural voices.
3. Select the voice you want to install. You can install all voices, but you must install them separately.
   • The new French voices are Microsoft Denise (Female) and Microsoft Henri (Male)
   • The new Portuguese voices are Microsoft Francisca (Female) and Microsoft Antonio (Male)
   • The new English (India) voices are Microsoft Neerja (Female) and Microsoft Prabhat (Male)
   • The new German voices are Microsoft Katja (Female) and Microsoft Conrad (Male)
   • The new Korean voices are Microsoft SunHi (Female) and Microsoft InJoon (Male)
4. To start the download of the selected voice, select Install. The new voice will download and be ready for use in a few minutes, depending on your internet download speed.
5. When the new voice has downloaded, in Narrator settings select your preferred voice from the drop-down menu in Narrator’s voice > Choose a voice.

Note: If your display language is not set to any of the above languages, then in step 3 you will first need to select “Choose a different language” and then select the appropriate language followed by the specific voice.

Changes and Improvements in Build 22631.2191

[Windows 365]

• Windows Insiders in the Dev and Beta Channels can participate in the public preview of Windows 365 Switch. Windows 365 Switch provides the ability to easily move between a Windows 365 Cloud PC and the local desktop using the same familiar keyboard commands, as well as a mouse-click or a swipe gesture through Task View on the Windows 11 taskbar. Please read this blog post for all the details on how to participate.

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• REMINDER:As noted in our Beta Channel flight here, the settings for never combined mode for the taskbar were showing up under Settings > Personalization > Taskbar > Taskbar behaviors but do not enable the experience. We have temporarily removed the settings for this to fix the issue. The feature will be coming to a Beta Channel flight soon.

[File Explorer]

• We’ve added “Share” to the context menu in File Explorer in addition to having the share icon at the top of the context menu.
• Added more fields to show in the Details pane, including image dimensions for pictures, number of pages for .docx, space used and free information for drives, and many others.

[Windows Spotlight]

• After doing an OS update, in certain cases such as using the default Windows 11 background or a solid color – Windows Spotlight may be enabled for you. If you decide you don’t want Windows Spotlight enabled, you can turn it off and in future OS updates it should not be enabled for you again unless you choose to re-enable the experience.

Fixes in Build 22631.2191

[File Explorer]

• Fixed an issue which was causing File Explorer to crash when navigating to Home, as well as some other issues causing crashes.
• Fixed a memory leak in File Explorer with the latest updates which could cause explorer.exe crashes and other issues over prolonged usage.
• Fixed an issue where after refreshing Home, actions to pin and unpin favorite files might not work.
• Fixed an issue where the tooltip would get stuck on the screen when you scrolled Home with touch.
• Fixed an issue where collapsing and expanding the sections of Home didn’t always work.
• Fixed an issue where Home and Gallery could get stuck in the wrong colors if they were open when changing between light and dark mode.
• Fixed an issue where thumbnails in Gallery might not load after changing the view to a smaller icon size (for example, medium to small).
• Made some small adjustments to the size of elements, including reducing the size of the text.
• The ALT + D, CTRL + L, and F4 keyboard shortcuts should work now to set focus to the address bar.
• Fixed an issue where typing drive letters, %localappdata%, and certain other things in the address bar wasn’t causing suggested paths to appear in a dropdown.
• Fixed an issue where the icons displayed in the tabs in File Explorer could become out of sync with the current folder after navigating.
• Fixed an issue which was causing File Explorer to show “Working on it” in an empty folder.
• Fixed an issue where the image in the Details pane might get blurry after resizing the File Explorer window.
• Fixed an issue where the design of the details pane was displaying from left to right instead of right to left when using Hebrew or Arabic display languages.
• Fixed an issue where the text box for naming newly created files or folders on the desktop was showing in the wrong position (far away or way too close) relative to the thumbnail.
• Fixed an issue where ALT + P and Shift + Alt + P keyboard shortcuts weren’t working when focus was set to one of the images in Gallery.
• Fixed an issue where right clicking items in the navigation pane wouldn’t open a context menu after you changed folders.
• Fixed an issue which was causing explorer.exe to crash when trying to access an FTP address.
• Fixed an issue where selecting the dropdown arrows in the address bar was opening a blank menu.

[Dynamic Lighting]

• Fixed an issue where devices might show as empty squares in Settings > Personalization > Dynamic Lighting.

Known issues

[General]

• We’re working on the fix for an issue causing explorer.exe to crash on the login screen when attempting to enter safe mode.

[File Explorer]

• In some cases, the context menu background in File Explorer may appear transparent.
• In some cases, the icons on your desktop may all go blank. If this happens, using the refresh option in the desktop context menu should resolve it.

[Taskbar]

• We’re working on a fix for an issue causing the safely remove hardware icon to not appear when expected in the system tray.

[Input]

• We’re working on the fix for an issue causing typing with the Japanese and Chinese IMEs to not work correctly after the latest flights for some Insiders.

[Narrator]

• You may see some of the strings are NOT localized to the selected language. This will be fixed in a future flight.

The post HDR Background Support Now Available for Windows Beta Users, Thanks to Insider Preview Build 22621.2191 appeared first on Appuals.