In this article, we will talk about the latest Windows 11 Insider Preview Build for the Beta Channel, which is Build 22635.3420.
Microsoft is making some changes to the Beta Channel:
- They will no longer release 2 different builds for the Beta Channel, and everyone will now be on the same build
- Insiders who want all the new features will need to toggle on the get the latest updates as they are available setting in Windows Update
- Features will be tested in 2 different ways: new features, improvements, and fixes that are being gradually rolled out for Insiders who have turned ON the toggle to get the latest updates as they are available and then new features, improvements, and fixes gradually rolling out to everyone in the Beta Channel.
New Taskbar Layout
Microsoft is beginning to roll out a new position for the Widgets entry-point on left-aligned taskbars. The taskbar entry-point will move to the left of the systems tray and will be wider so you can see richer content from Widgets on your taskbar. When you launch the Widgets board, it will fly out from the right side instead of the left side.
File Explorer Drag and Drop
In response to feedback from Windows Insiders, drag-and-drop files with your mouse functionality between breadcrumbs is now available in the File Explorer Address Bar. Microsoft is beginning to roll this out today, so not all Insiders in the Beta Channel will see it right away.
Windows Share
- Users will be able to now generate QR codes for URLs and cloud file links through the Windows share window to seamlessly share webpages and files across their devices. To try this out in Microsoft Edge, just click the share button in the Edge toolbar and choose “Windows share options”.
- To prevent accidentally closing the Windows share window, clicking outside the Windows share window will no longer close it. To close the Windows share window, just press the close button at the top right corner.
Windows Backup
- If you have both Personalization and Other Windows settings toggled on under Settings > Accounts > Windows backup, many of your sound settings (including chosen sound scheme) will be backed up which can be restored via the Windows Backup app.
- Microsoft is beginning to roll out the ability to sign-in with your Microsoft account (MSA) directly within the Windows Backup app to save backups to your account.
Copilot in Windows
You can ask Copilot in Windows (in preview) for help ten times when you sign in to Windows using a local account. After that, you must sign in using a Microsoft account (MSA) or a Microsoft Entra ID account (formerly Azure Active Directory (Azure AD)). To sign in, use the link in the dialog that appears in Copilot in Windows. If you do not sign in, some Copilot features might not work. To learn more, see Welcome to Copilot in Windows and Manage Copilot in Windows.
New Lock Screen Widgets
This update adds Weather and more to your lock screen. Stay informed and efficient with dynamic updates that bring finance, traffic, and sports to your Lock screen, alongside weather. The card design has been improved with acrylic blur, card size, spacing, and font optimizations.To turn on this feature, go to Settings > Personalization > Lock screen. To learn more, see Personalize your lock screen. Note this feature might not be available to all users because it will roll out gradually.
Fixes in this Build
File Explorer
- Fixed an issue causing File Explorer to crash on launch for a small number of Insiders in the previous flight.
Multiple Desktops
- Fixed an issue where the option to set a different wallpaper on each desktop wasn’t working.
Search
- Fixed an issue which could potentially result in no app results showing in search anymore.
Task Manager
- Fixed an issue where Task Manager was holding onto process handles sometimes, leading to processes not stopping when you closed apps if you’d had Task Manager open.
Other Fixes
- New! This update affects Windows Hello for Business. IT admins can now use mobile device management (MDM) to turn off the prompt that appears when users sign in to an Entra-joined machine. To do this, they can turn on the “DisablePostLogonProvisioning” policy setting. After a user signs in, provisioning is off for Windows 10 and Windows 11 devices.
- New! This update improves the Remote Desktop Session Host. You can now set up its “clipboard redirection” policy to work in a single direction from the local computer to the remote computer. You can also reverse that order.
- This update addresses an issue that affects the Combine taskbar buttons and hide labels The app labels in the taskbar sometimes do not have the correct length, which cuts off the label text. This occurs when this setting is set to “When taskbar is full” or “Never.”
- This update addresses an issue that affects certain Neural Processing Units (NPU). They do not show in Task Manager.
- This update addresses an issue that affects a network resource. You cannot access it from a Remote Desktop session. This occurs when you turn on the Remote Credential Guard feature and the client is Windows 11, version 22H2 or higher.
- This update addresses an issue that affects Windows Defender Application Control (WDAC). It prevents a stop error that occurs when you apply more than 32 policies.
- This update addresses a deadlock issue in CloudAP. It occurs when different users sign in and sign out at the same time on virtual machines.
- This update addresses an issue that affects the Group Policy service. It fails after you use exe to apply an audit policy to the system.
- This update addresses an issue that affects the Settings app. It stops responding when you use it to remove Bluetooth devices.
- This update addresses an issue that affects Notepad. It fails to print to certain Internet Printing Protocol (IPP) printers when you use a print support app.
- This update addresses an issue that affects dsamain.exe. When the Knowledge Consistency Checker (KCC) runs evaluations, it stops responding.
- This update addresses an issue that stops some apps and features from being available. This occurs after you upgrade to Windows 11.
- This update affects MSIX applications. It helps their UI to localize correctly for all languages when you upgrade your OS.
- This update addresses an issue that affects the Microsoft Message Queue (MSMQ) PowerShell module. It does not load.
- This update addresses an issue that affects the existing AppLocker rule collection enforcement mode. It is not overwritten when rules merge with a collection that has no rules. This occurs when the enforcement mode is set to “Not Configured.”
- This update addresses an issue that affects Transport Layer Security (TLS), version 1.3. It causes Azure App Services to fail. This occurs when the web server attempts to connect to a third-party Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) server.
- This update addresses an issue that affects the touch keyboard and the candidate window for the Japanese and Chinese Input Method Editors (IME). They do not show after you come out of Modern Standby. To learn more, see Microsoft Japanese IME and What is Modern Standby.
- This update addresses an issue that affects some wireless headphones. Bluetooth connections are not stable. This occurs on devices that have firmware from April 2023 and later.
- This update addresses an issue that affects USB audio. It fails on some processors. This occurs after you pause, play, or resume from sleep.
- This update supports DST changes in To learn more, see Interim guidance for Kazakhstan time zone changes 2024.
- This update supports DST changes in To learn more, see Interim guidance for Samoa DST changes 2021.
- This update supports daylight saving time (DST) changes in Greenland. To learn more, see Greenland 2023 time zone update now available.
- This update supports daylight saving time (DST) changes in To learn more, see Interim guidance for DST changes announced by Palestinian Authority for 2024, 2025.
- This update addresses an issue that affects Secure Launch. It does not run on some processors.
- This update addresses a reliability issue. It affects a Virtual Remote App product when you use a custom shell to open it.
- This update addresses an issue that affects Containers that you create or deploy. Their status does not progress past “ContainerCreating.”
- This update makes Country and Operator Settings Asset (COSA) profiles up to date for some mobile operators.
- This update addresses an issue that affects the COM+ component. Some applications that depend on it stop responding.
- This update addresses an issue that affects the time service. You can configure it using mobile device management (MDM) or a Group Policy Object (GPO). But the Windows Settings app does not match what you have configured.
- This update addresses an issue that occurs when you use LoadImage() to load a top-down bitmap. If the bitmap has a negative height, the image does not load and the function returns NULL.
For more information about this Build, you can check this article from the Microsoft Blog.
For a more in-depth presentation of the New Build, you can watch the video below from the YouTube channel.