New Windows 11 Build 22624.1470 – Clock with Seconds in the Taskbar, New VPN Icon, and Fixes (Beta)

In this article, we will talk about the latest Windows 11 Insider Preview Build for the Beta Channel, which is Build 22624.1470.

Starting today, Microsoft is releasing updates to the Beta Channel that put Windows Insiders into one of two groups similar to what they did back in 2019:

• A group of Insiders in the Beta Channel will receive Build 22623.xxx updates that will have new features getting rolled out or turned on via an enablement package like how we release updates for Windows 10 today.
• A group of Insiders in the Beta Channel will receive Build 22621.xxx updates that will have new features turned off by default.

This way, Microsoft will be able to test out new features easier.

If you receive the Build that has all the features automatically turned off, you can enable them manually in 2 ways:

• Search for Update in the Settings App Windows Update
• Use Vivetool to manually enable the features

Insiders who were previously on Build 22623 will automatically get moved to Build 22624 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 in the Beta Channel who chose the option to unenroll their device under “Stop getting preview builds” under Settings > Windows Update > Windows Insider Program and are currently on Build 22621.1325 or 22623.1325 will NOT receive this update. These Insiders are part of the off-ramp out of the Beta Channel running until March 8^th, 2023 as described here in this blog post.

USB4 Settings Page

We are adding a USB4 hubs and devices Settings page for users under Settings > Bluetooth & devices > USB > USB4 Hubs and Devices. USB4 enables new productivity scenarios for docking, high performance peripherals, displays and charging. The USB4 settings page provides information about the system’s USB4 capabilities and attached peripherals on a USB4 capable system. These insights are meant to assist with troubleshooting in case users need support from their device manufacturer (OEM) or system administrator. The features provided by this page are:

• View the tree of connected USB4 hubs and devices.
• View attributes and capabilities associated with the USB4 domain.
• Copy the details into the clipboard so it can be shared with customer support or system administrators for troubleshooting.

If the system does not support USB4 with the Microsoft USB4 Connection Manager, this page will not be displayed.

To confirm whether your system is USB4 capable or not, check for “USB4 Host Router” populating in the Device Manager.

New Copy Button for 2FA Codes

Users will now see a copy button for quickly copying two-factor authentication (2FA) codes in notification toasts from apps installed on the PC or from phones linked to the PC. We make a best effort to determine if a notification toast has an authentication code but please send us feedback if we got it wrong or if we failed to detect the code in a notification toast.

New VPN Icon

Microsoft also added a glanceable VPN status into the system tray when connected to a recognized VPN profile. The VPN icon, a small shield, will be overlayed in your system accent color over the active network connection.

Clock with Seconds in the Taskbar

Microsoft is also introducing the capability to show seconds in the clock on the system tray. This feature can be enabled by toggling the option listed under Settings > Personalization > Taskbar in the Taskbar behavior section. You can also right-click on taskbar to quickly get to taskbar settings. UPDATE: This experience is currently not working in this Build

Search on the Taskbar

The search box on taskbar will be lighter when Windows is set to a custom color mode. Specifically, when the Windows 11 mode is set to dark, and the app mode is set to light under Settings > Personalization > Colors you will see a lighter search box on taskbar.

Fixes in Build 22621.1470

Live Captions

• We fixed the issue causing live captions to not work for Chinese Traditional on Arm64 devices.

Fixes for Both Builds 22624.1470 and 22621.1470

Search on the Taskbar

• Fixed rendering issues when using the touch keyboard with the search box on taskbar.
• Fixed an issue when double clicking the search highlight glyph in the search box makes it disappear.
• Fixed an issue where the search box would randomly disappear.
• Fixed an issue where the search icon flips incorrectly for right-to-left (RTL) languages.
• Fixed on issue where you might have seen some text flicker in the search box when you click into it.
• Fixed an issue where the search box might disappear on one monitor if you are using multiple monitors.
• Made some accessibility fixes to the settings for search under Settings > Personalization > Taskbar.

For more information about this Build, you can check this article from the Microsoft Blog.

For a more in-depth presentation of this Build, you can watch the video below from the youtube channel.