Windows 11 has been released, but behind the scenes, Microsoft is constantly working to improve the newest version of Windows. The company frequently rolls out public preview builds to members of its Windows Insider Program, allowing them to test out — and even help shape — upcoming features.
The Windows Insider program is divided into three channels:
- The Dev Channel is where new features are introduced for initial testing, regardless of which Windows release they’ll eventually end up in. This channel is best for technical users and developers and builds in it may be unstable and buggy.
- In the Beta Channel, you’ll get more polished features that will be deployed in the next major Windows release. This channel is best for early adopters, and Microsoft says your feedback in this channel will have the most impact.
- The Release Preview Channel typically doesn’t see action until shortly before a new feature update is rolled out. It’s meant for final testing of an upcoming release and is best for those who want the most stable builds.
The Beta and Release Preview Channels also receive bug-fix builds for the currently shipping version of Windows 11.
Not everyone can participate in the Windows 11 Insider program, because the new operating system has more stringent system requirements than Windows 10. As outlined in this Microsoft blog post, if your PC fails to meet the minimum hardware requirements for Windows 11, you cannot join the Windows 11 Insider Program.
Use the links below to find information about the Windows 11 preview builds that have been released:
For each build, we’ve included the date of its release, which Insider channel it was released to, a summary of what’s in the build, and a link to Microsoft’s announcement about it.
Note: If you’re looking for information about updates being rolled out to all Windows 11 users, not previews for Windows Insiders, see “Windows 11: A guide to the updates.”
Table of Contents
Dev Channel
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25115
Release date: May 11, 2022
Released to: Dev Channel
This build has a new feature called suggested actions. With it, when you copy a date, time, or phone number, Windows will suggest related actions such as creating a calendar event or making a phone call with an app. The build also fixes a variety of bugs, including one in File Explorer that displayed the error 0x800703E6 when copying files from Google Drive, and another that caused the Task Manager to become unreadable in dark mode when the CPU reached 100%.
The build has three known issues, including one in which some apps in full screen (for example, video players) prevent live captions from being visible, and another in which when certain apps positioned near the top of the screen are closed before live captions is run, they relaunch behind the live captions window positioned at top.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25115.)
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22616
Release date: May 5, 2022
Released to: Dev and Beta Channels
This build fixes a wide variety of bug fixes, including one in which the widgets board did not open successfully when using the opening gesture from the side of the screen, another in which performance and reliability of explorer.exe degraded over time, eventually resulting in a bug check, and another in which using the 3-finger on-screen touch gesture for minimizing windows could cause animations to stop working across the system.
The build has two known issues, including one in which some apps in full screen (for example, video players) prevent live captions from being visible, and another in which when certain apps positioned near the top of the screen are closed before live captions are run will relaunch behind the live captions window positioned at top.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22616.)
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22610
Release date: April 29, 2022
Released to: Dev and Beta Channels
This build adds the following new MDM and group policies for IT administrators:
- Disable Quick Settings flyout
- Disable Notification Center and calendar flyouts
- Disable all taskbar settings
- Disable search (across Start and taskbar)
- Hide Task View from taskbar
- Block customization of ‘Pinned’ in Start
- Hide ‘Recommended’ in Start
- Disable Start context menus
- Hide ‘All apps’ in Start
It also updates the Family Safety widget that includes a new location sharing view that shows where your family members are using the Family Safety app.
There are also a wide variety of bug fixes, including for a bug in which an Administrative Template error no longer popped up when opening Group Policy editor, another that prevented Shift + Right-click on a taskbar icon from opening the expected context menu, and another in which app icons like Microsoft Edge were cut off on the bottom in Start’s all apps list.
The build has five known issues, including one in which the widgets board may not open successfully when using the gesture from the side of the screen, and another in which some apps in full screen (for example, video players) prevent live captions from being visible.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22610.)
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22598
Release date: April 13, 2022
Released to: Dev and Beta Channels
This build fixes a wide variety of bugs, including one in which File Explorer’s context menu sometimes did not render completely and was sometimes transparent, and another in which the Task Manager’s memory composition graph was blank instead of filled in with the appropriate color.
The build has more than a dozen known issues, including one in which the widgets board may not open successfully when using the gesture from the side of the screen, another in which some apps in full screen (for example, video players) prevent live captions from being visible, and another in which the taskbar doesn’t always automatically collapse after launching an app or tapping outside of the expanded taskbar on 2-in-1 devices.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22598.)
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22593
Release date: April 6, 2022
Released to: Dev and Beta Channels
In this build, recent and pinned files displayed in Home are now searchable using the search box in File Explorer, even if they are not local files, so you can find Office files recently shared with you.
There are also a wide variety of bug fixes, including for a bug in which app icons were unexpectedly animating in from the upper left of the taskbar when launching a new app, another that caused Windows Spotlight to unexpectedly stop updating for a prolonged period of time, and another that caused Narrator to read dialog buttons incorrectly in scan mode.
The build has more than a dozen known issues, including one in which the widgets board may not open successfully when using the gesture from the side of the screen, and another in which some apps in full screen (for example, video players) prevent live captions from being visible.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22593.)
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22581
Release date: March 23, 2022
Released to: Dev and Beta Channels
This build includes several minor changes to the taskbar, including having the top border line extend across the entire taskbar regardless of device type. There are also a wide variety of bugs thar have been fixed, including one in which the Search box at the top of the Start menu would flicker, and another in which Task Manager wasn’t populating the details of the Status column in the Startup Apps page.
The build has more than a dozen known issues, including one in which when you enter search terms in File Explorer’s search box, suggested results may not show, and another in which after rearranging widgets in the widgets board, widgets in the pinned section may render incorrectly.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22581.)
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22579
Release date: March 18, 2022
Released to: Dev Channel
This build allows IT administrators to exclude USB removable drives from BitLocker encryption. This solves the problem of automatic or accidental encryption of storage built into specialized devices like video cameras, voice recorders, conferencing systems, and medical devices.
There are also a variety of minor changes, including one that lets you name your app folders in the Start menu, and another that puts the new Run New Task button on all pages of Task Manager.
The build fixes a wide variety of bugs, including one in which Start’s folders were still showing animations even if you had animation effects disabled, and another in which explorer.exe crashed when dragging certain windows across snap layouts at the top of the screen.
The build has a dozen known issues, including one in which opening suggested results shown while entering search terms in File Explorer’s search box may not work, and another in which when rearranging widgets in the widgets board, you may experience problems with widgets in the pinned section rendering incorrectly.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22579.)
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22572
Release date: March 9, 2022
Released to: Dev Channel
This build lets you set family controls for browsing in Microsoft Edge, and introduces a video editor called Clipchamp that offers tools like trimming, splitting, transitions, and animated text. For real-time content capture, Clipchamp has a built-in webcam and screen recorders.
There are a variety of small changes, including a Print Queue with an updated design to align with Windows 11 design principles. In addition, Shift + right-clicking in File Explorer and the desktop will now open the “Show more options” context menu.
The build also fixes several dozen bugs, including one in which scroll bars didn’t render appropriately on some Win32 applications, and another in which custom mouse pointers reverted to the default Windows one after rebooting.
The build has more than a dozen known issues, including one in which opening suggested results shown while entering search terms in File Explorer’s search box may not work, and another in which when rearranging widgets in the widgets board, you may experience problems with widgets in the pinned section rendering incorrectly.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22572.)
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22567
Release date: March 2, 2022
Released to: Dev Channel
This build attempts to increase the use of renewable energy by installing Windows 11 updates at times of the day that are more likely to have higher availability of renewable energy such as solar, wind, and hydro. This feature will only be enabled when your PC is plugged in and regional carbon intensity data is available to Microsoft.
The build also allows you to link your Android phone to your PC during setup. It also introduces a new security feature, Smart App Control (SAC), that blocks untrusted or potentially dangerous applications.
There are a variety of small changes, including an updated “Open with” dialog box that better aligns with Windows 11 design principles.
The build also fixes several dozen bugs, including one in which the Windows startup sound didn’t play, and another in which explorer.exe would sometimes crash when opening the context menu.
The build has more than a dozen known issues, including one in which scroll bars are not rendering appropriately on some Win32 applications, and another in which opening suggested results shown while entering search terms in File Explorer’s search box may not work.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22567.)
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22563
Release date: February 24, 2022
Released to: Dev Channel
This build includes a new taskbar feature in which it automatically adjusts to an optimized version when it detects a device is being used as a tablet. The taskbar can then either be collapsed or expanded. When collapsed, it disappears, giving you more screen space. When expanded, the taskbar is optimized to use with touch. You can easily switch between the two states by swiping up or down on the bottom of the tablet.
In this build, widgets and news feeds are mixed into the same feed, so you can more easily see changing information at a glance. There’s also a new feature for IT admins in education: the ability to use group policy to turn off all Windows Update notifications so as not to distract students.
A variety of smaller improvements have also been made, including an expanded search from Quick Access that includes content from OneDrive, Downloads, and any indexed location.
The build also fixes several dozen bugs, including one in which pop-up dialogs (for example, when adding an optional feature) in Settings were launching left aligned instead of centered, and another in which the navigation bar in Task Manager was showing black glitches when you launched Task Manager from a minimized state. Also fixed was a long-standing bug in which the taskbar sometimes flickered when switching input methods.
The build has more than a dozen known issues, including one in which the File Explorer search box may not work when typing and clicking a suggestion, and another in the Task Manager in which the Efficiency mode icon is missing on some child processes.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22563.)
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22557
Release date: February 16, 2022
Released to: Dev Channel
This build includes many new features, including the ability to group pinned apps into folders in the Start menu; the Do not disturb feature, which lets you silence notifications; and the Focus feature, which turns off a variety of Windows actions that may be distracting.
Also new is integration of OneDrive and File Explorer, which will let you see your OneDrive sync status and quota usage without having to leave File Explorer. There are also a variety of new touch gestures. A new way of snapping windows into Snap Layouts has been introduced as well.
Default battery settings have been changed in order to reduce energy consumption. Task Manager has been redesigned to be in more in keeping with Windows 11 design principles, including a new hamburger-style navigation bar and a new settings page.
A variety of smaller improvements has also been made, including drag-and-drop support on the taskbar and a faster and more accurate search.
The build also fixes several dozen bugs, including one in which Task View crashed if you held down the Ctrl key while hovering over it, and another in which explorer.exe crashed when you clicked on More Keyboard Settings in the input switcher.
The build has more than a dozen known issues, including the taskbar sometimes flickering when switching input methods, and another in which after clicking the Search icon on the taskbar, the Search panel may not open.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22557.)
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22543
Release date: January 27, 2022
Released to: Dev Channel
This build introduces more “natural”-sounding voices for Narrator along with new Narrator keyboard shortcuts, and also updates the media controls that appear on the Lock screen when playing music in a supported app.
The build also fixes many bugs, including one in which Task Manager crashed when switching to the Performance tab, another that caused explorer.exe to crash when dragging and dropping a file out of a zipped folder in File Explorer, and another that caused the cursor to disappear in certain apps.
The build has five known issues, including the taskbar sometimes flickering when switching input methods, and another in which after clicking the Search icon on the taskbar, the Search panel may not open.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22543.)
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22538
Release date: January 19, 2022
Released to: Dev Channel
This build gives new capabilities to voice access, including spelling words and entering numbers, punctuation marks, and symbols and emojis. There are also a wide variety of bug fixes, including for a bug in which pressing the hardware buttons for volume up/down caused explorer.exe to crash, and another in which Settings sometimes crashed when viewing the properties of a Wi-Fi network.
The build has five known issues, including the taskbar sometimes flickering when switching input methods, and another in which after clicking the Search icon on the taskbar, the Search panel may not open.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22538.)
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22533
Release date: January 12, 2022
Released to: Dev Channel
This build updates the flyout design for hardware indicators for brightness, volume, camera privacy, camera on/off, and airplane mode to follow what Microsoft calls “Windows 11 design principles.” The new flyouts appear when you press the volume or brightness keys on a laptop.
The build also fixes 16 bugs, including one that wouldn’t allow you to import photos from certain cameras and mobile phones into the Photos app, and another in which holding the Ctrl key and hovering your mouse over the Task View icon in the taskbar crashed explorer.exe.
The build has more than a dozen known issues, including the taskbar sometimes flickering when switching input methods, and another in which after clicking the Search icon on the taskbar, the Search panel may not open.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22533.)
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22526
Release date: January 6, 2021
Released to: Dev Channel
This build fixes nine bugs, including one in which the Search flyout became stuck on the screen and appeared transparent except for its border, and another in which the Widgets panel would temporarily become blank, showing only an Add Widgets button, which when clicked on opened to a blank dialog box.
The build has more than a dozen known issues, including the taskbar sometimes flickering when switching input methods, and another in which after clicking the Search icon on the taskbar, the Search panel may not open.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22526.)
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22523
Release date: December 15, 2021
Released to: Dev Channel
This build brings the snap groups feature to Alt-Tab and Task View, allowing you to easily choose from a number of pre-set ways to automatically arrange your open windows. The build also squashes a wide variety of bugs, including the battery icon tooltip unexpectedly showing a percent above 100, and Settings content getting truncated when the Settings window is made small.
The build has more than a dozen known issues, including the taskbar sometimes flickering when switching input methods, and another in which the Search panel may not open after the Search icon on the taskbar is clicked.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22523.)
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22518
Release date: December 8, 2021
Released to: Dev Channel
This build includes a new set of photos that can be used as desktop backgrounds, plus a new widget that delivers live weather content on the widget panel. It also introduces Voice Access, which lets you control your PC and create and edit text using your voice.
A wide variety of bugs have been squashed, including an explorer.exe crash related to having websites pinned to the taskbar, and another in which Snap Group thumbnails weren’t updating in real time in Task View after you moved a group window to a different desktop.
The build has more than a dozen known issues, including the taskbar sometimes flickering when switching input methods, and another in which after clicking the Search icon on the taskbar, the Search panel may not open.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22518.)
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22509
Release date: December 1, 2021
Released to: Dev Channel
This build improves the way that Narrator can control Microsoft Edge. In addition, it lets you right-click on Start to quickly access Start settings and customize the “More pins” or “More recommendations” layout options. It also brings a variety of settings from Control Panel into the Settings app, including moving the advanced sharing settings (such as Network discovery, File and printer sharing, and public folder sharing) to a new page in the Settings app under Advanced Network Settings.
There are a wide variety of bug fixes, including one in which the Start, Search, Task View, Widgets, and Chat icons in the taskbar no longer unexpectedly enlarge when the system scaling is set to 125%, and another in which hovering your mouse back and forth between different desktops in Task View will no longer result in the displayed thumbnails and content area unexpectedly shrinking.
The build has four known issues, including the taskbar sometimes flickering when switching input methods, and another in which after clicking the Search icon on the taskbar, the Search panel may not open.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22509.)
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22504
Release date: November 17, 2021
Released to: Dev Channel
This build applies the 13 themes for the touch keyboard to other input methods, including IMEs, the emoji panel, and voice typing. It also lets you use the Windows key + Alt + K keyboard shortcut to toggle the new mute icon in the taskbar when it’s showing.
There are also a wide variety of bug fixes, including for one in which snap layout options randomly put windows on other monitors, and another in which text was duplicated if the caret was moved while using voice typing.
The build has seven known issues, including the taskbar sometimes flickering when switching input methods, and another in which after clicking the Search icon on the taskbar, the Search panel may not open.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22504.)
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22499
Release date: November 10, 2021
Released to: Dev Channel
This build lets you quickly share content from open app windows directly from your taskbar to your Teams meeting calls. In addition, a wide variety of bugs have been fixed, including one in which Clipboard history wasn’t working properly, and another in which explorer.exe crashed when using the touch keyboard.
The build has 10 known issues, including the taskbar sometimes flickering when switching input methods and the Search panel sometimes not opening when the Search icon on the taskbar is clicked.
On November 12 Microsoft noted that it is starting to roll out Cumulative Update Build 22499.1010 (KB5008400) to test the servicing pipeline for builds in the Dev Channel; the update does not include anything new.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22499.)
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22494
Release date: November 3, 2021
Released to: Dev Channel
With this build you can mute and unmute your microphone from the taskbar during a Microsoft Teams call. In addition, a wide variety of bugs have been fixed, including one in which context menus crashed when you tried to scroll through them, and another in which some devices had a black screen when coming out of sleep.
The build has eight known issues, including the taskbar sometimes flickering when switching input methods, and another in which after clicking the Search icon on the taskbar, the Search panel may not open.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22494.)
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22489
Release date: October 27, 2021
Released to: Dev Channel
This build includes a new settings page that displays information about your Microsoft account, including your subscriptions for Microsoft 365, links to order history, payment details, and Microsoft Rewards. Note that it’s only being rolled out to a small group of Insiders at first.
A wide variety of bugs have been fixed, including one in which explorer.exe crashed sometimes when using the Desktops flyout context menu, and another in which Settings crashed in certain cases after going to Windows Update.
The build has nine known issues, including the taskbar sometimes flickering when switching input methods, and another in which the Search panel may not open after the Search icon on the taskbar is clicked.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22489.)
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22483
Release date: October 20, 2021
Released to: Dev Channel
This build includes a new feature that lets you right-click on either “Recommended” or the “More” button in Start to refresh the items shown there. In addition, it has a number of bug fixes, including one that caused Search to appear black and not display any content below the search box, and another that caused cellular data to not work on certain devices.
The build has 10 known issues, including the taskbar sometimes flickering when switching input methods, and another in which the Search panel may not open after the Search icon on the taskbar is clicked.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22483.)
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22478
Release date: October 14, 2021
Released to: Dev Channel
This build includes new emojis that conform to Microsoft’s Fluent design standards. It also lets you log in to a closed laptop using Windows Hello facial recognition on a connected external monitor if it has a camera attached that supports it.
The build also fixes a wide variety of bugs, including one in which the Notification Center refused to launch, and another in File Explorer in which the “Show hidden items” option was out of sync when multiple File Explorer windows were open.
The build has eight known issues, including the taskbar sometimes flickering when switching input methods, and another in which after the Search icon on the taskbar is clicked, the Search panel may not open.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22478.)
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22471
Release date: October 4, 2021
Released to: Dev Channel
This build has more than a dozen bug fixes, including for a bug that sometimes caused the taskbar’s hidden icons flyout to have sharp corners instead of rounded corners, and another that caused explorer.exe to crash sometimes when closing File Explorer windows.
The build also has 10 known issues, including the taskbar sometimes flickering when switching input methods, and widgets displaying in the wrong size on external monitors.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22471.)
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22468
Release date: September 29, 2021
Released to: Dev Channel
The build has two minor new features. When you click a VPN connection in VPN Settings, you can now see some statistics about the connection. And you can now turn off recent searches when hovering over the Search icon in the taskbar.
There are also more than a dozen bug fixes, including for a bug in which some drives did not display in Defragment and Optimize Drives, and another that caused unexpected flickering in certain apps such as Microsoft Edge when using multiple monitors with different refresh rates.
The build has nine known issues, including the taskbar sometimes flickering when switching input methods, and widgets displaying in the wrong size on external monitors.
Microsoft also announced that the redesigned Paint app for Windows 11 is beginning to roll out to Insiders in the Dev Channel.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22468.)
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22463
Release date: September 22, 2021
Released to: Dev Channel
The build has several minor new features, including one in which when you have a file or folder selected in File Explorer, you can now use Ctrl-Shift-C to copy the path to your clipboard. The build also fixes several dozen bugs, including one in which pressing F1 in File Explorer opened Windows 10 help instead of Windows 11 help, and another that caused File Explorer to hang when doing a search.
The build also has several dozen known issues, including the taskbar sometimes flickering when switching input methods, and widgets displaying in the wrong size on external monitors.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22463.)
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22458
Release date: September 15, 2021
Released to: Dev Channel
The build has more than a dozen bug fixes, including for one in which Settings sometimes crashed when trying to open the Display page, and another that made Start unreliable.
The build also has several dozen known issues, including the taskbar sometimes flickering when switching input methods, and widgets displaying in the wrong size on external monitors.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22458.)
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22454
Release date: September 9, 2021
Released to: Dev Channel
This build has a few extremely minor changes, including in which right-clicking on Recycle Bin on the desktop brings up the new modern context menu.
The build also has several dozen bug fixes, including for a bug in which PCs with Windows Defender Application Guard (WDAG) enabled bug-check continuously, and another in which taskbar icons flickered when you moused over them while using a contrast theme.
The build also has several dozen known issues, including the taskbar sometimes flickering when switching input methods, and widgets displaying in the wrong size on external monitors.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22454.)
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22449
Release date: September 2, 2021
Released to: Dev Channel
With this build, the Dev Channel moves back to receiving only builds from the active development branch (RS_PRERELEASE). This means the Dev Channel builds no longer match the version of Windows 11 that will be released on October 5th. Dev Channel builds represent the newest works in progress and are not always stable.
The build changes the way SMB compression (compression of files as they’re sent over a network) works. From now on, algorithms will not determine whether to compress files — files will always be compressed if a user asks for it.
Additionally, there are several minor changes in the build, including notifications now having acrylic backgrounds. There are also many bug fixes, including for one that caused the font in the taskbar previews to incorrect and another that crashed explorer.exe when using Alt-Tab.
The build also has more than a dozen known issues, including the taskbar sometimes flickering when switching input methods, and widgets displaying in the wrong size on external monitors.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22449.)
Beta and Release Preview Channels (original Windows 11 release)
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22621
Release date: May 11, 2022
Released to: Beta Channel
This build fixes several bugs, including one in File Explorer that displayed the error 0x800703E6 when copying files from Google Drive, and another that caused Smart App Control to block correctly signed applications.
The build has two known issues, including one in which some apps in full screen (for example, video players) prevent live captions from being visible, and another in which when certain apps positioned near the top of the screen are closed before live captions is run, they relaunch behind the live captions window positioned at top.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22621.)
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22616
Release date: May 5, 2022
Released to: Dev and Beta Channels
This build fixes a wide variety of bug fixes, including one in which the widgets board did not open successfully when using the opening gesture from the side of the screen, another in which performance and reliability of explorer.exe degraded over time, eventually resulting in a bug check, and another in which using the 3-finger on-screen touch gesture for minimizing windows could cause animations to stop working across the system.
The build has two known issues, including one in which some apps in full screen (for example, video players) prevent live captions from being visible, and another in which when certain apps positioned near the top of the screen are closed before live captions are run will relaunch behind the live captions window positioned at top.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22616.)
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22610
Release date: April 29, 2022
Released to: Dev and Beta Channels
This build adds the following new MDM and group policies for IT administrators:
- Disable Quick Settings flyout
- Disable Notification Center and calendar flyouts
- Disable all taskbar settings
- Disable search (across Start and taskbar)
- Hide Task View from taskbar
- Block customization of ‘Pinned’ in Start
- Hide ‘Recommended’ in Start
- Disable Start context menus
- Hide ‘All apps’ in Start
It also updates the Family Safety widget that includes a new location sharing view that shows where your family members are using the Family Safety app.
There are also a wide variety of bug fixes, including for a bug in which an Administrative Template error no longer popped up when opening Group Policy editor, another that prevented Shift + Right-click on a taskbar icon from opening the expected context menu, and another in which app icons like Microsoft Edge were cut off on the bottom in Start’s all apps list.
The build has five known issues, including one in which the widgets board may not open successfully when using the gesture from the side of the screen, and another in which some apps in full screen (for example, video players) prevent live captions from being visible.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22610.)
Windows 11 Preview Build 22000.651 (KB5012643)
Release date: April 14, 2022
Released to: Release Preview Channel
This build fixes a wide variety of bugs, including one in which a memory leak affected Windows systems that are in use 24 hours each day of the week, another that caused video subtitles to be partially cut off, and another in which mobile device management (MDM) policies were not allowed on Windows Enterprise editions that were upgraded to Enterprise using Azure AD-joined subscription entitlement.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Preview Build 22000.651.)
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22598
Release date: April 13, 2022
Released to: Dev and Beta Channels
This build fixes a wide variety of bugs, including one in which File Explorer’s context menu sometimes did not render completely and was sometimes transparent, and another in which the Task Manager’s memory composition graph was blank instead of filled in with the appropriate color.
The build has more than a dozen known issues, including one in which the widgets board may not open successfully when using the gesture from the side of the screen, another in which some apps in full screen (for example, video players) prevent live captions from being visible, and another in which the taskbar doesn’t always automatically collapse after launching an app or tapping outside of the expanded taskbar on 2-in-1 devices.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22598.)
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22593
Release date: April 6, 2022
Released to: Dev and Beta Channels
In this build, recent and pinned files displayed in Home are now searchable using the search box in File Explorer, even if they are not local files, so you can find Office files recently shared with you.
There are also a wide variety of bug fixes, including for a bug in which app icons were unexpectedly animating in from the upper left of the taskbar when launching a new app, another that caused Windows Spotlight to unexpectedly stop updating for a prolonged period of time, and another that caused Narrator to read dialog buttons incorrectly in scan mode.
The build has more than a dozen known issues, including one in which the widgets board may not open successfully when using the gesture from the side of the screen, and another in which some apps in full screen (for example, video players) prevent live captions from being visible.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22593.)
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22581
Release date: March 23, 2022
Released to: Dev and Beta Channels
This build includes several minor changes to the taskbar, including having the top border line extend across the entire taskbar regardless of device type. There are also a wide variety of bugs thar have been fixed, including one in which the Search box at the top of the Start menu would flicker, and another in which Task Manager wasn’t populating the details of the Status column in the Startup Apps page.
The build has more than a dozen known issues, including one in which when you enter search terms in File Explorer’s search box, suggested results may not show, and another in which after rearranging widgets in the widgets board, widgets in the pinned section may render incorrectly.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22581.)
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.588
Release date: March 15, 2022
Released to: Beta and Release Preview Channels
This build allows Windows to display up to three high priority “toast” (popup) notifications simultaneously for apps that send notifications for calls, reminders, or alarms using Windows notifications. It also fixes more than two dozen bugs, including one that crashed SystemSettings.exe, and another that affected searchindexer.exe and prevented Microsoft Outlook’s offline search from returning recent emails.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.588.)
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.526
Release date: February 10, 2022
Released to: Beta and Release Preview Channels
The build fixes a wide variety of bugs, including one in which the Startup impact values didn’t display in Task Manager, another that caused a mismatch between a Remote Desktop session’s keyboard and the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) client when signing in, and another that that disconnected Offline Files on the network drive after you restarted Windows and signed in. This occurred if the Distributed File System (DFS) path was mapped to the network drive.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.526.)
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.466
Release date: January 14, 2022
Released to: Beta and Release Preview Channels
The build fixes a wide variety of bugs, including one that prevented some image editing programs from rendering colors correctly on certain high dynamic range (HDR) displays, another that incorrectly showed the volume icon in the taskbar as muted, and another that prevented the touch keyboard from appearing on the lock screen when a device has a Microsoft account (MSA).
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.466.)
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.348
Release date: November 19, 2021
Released to: Beta and Release Preview Channels
The build includes all the features and bug fixes of Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.346, and also fixes a bug that prevented apps, such as Kaspersky apps, from opening after you attempt to repair or update the apps using the Microsoft Installer (MSI).
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.348.)
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.346
Release date: November 12, 2021
Released to: Beta and Release Preview Channels
The build fixes a wide variety of bugs, including one that caused the system to stop working after you enabled Hyper-V, one that affected the System Memory Management Unit’s (SMMU) fault handling after hibernation, and another that caused some USB Print installers to report that they didn’t detect the printer after the printer was plugged in.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.346.)
Windows 11 Insider Preview KB5008295
Release date: November 4, 2021
Released to: Beta and Release Preview Channels
This build fixes a bug that prevented some users from opening or using certain built-in Windows apps or parts of some built-in apps, including the Snipping Tool, Touch Keyboard, Voice Typing, and Emoji Panel, Input Method Editor user interface (IME UI), and Getting Started and Tips.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview KB5008295.)
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.282
Release date: October 15, 2021
Released to: Beta and Release Preview Channels
The build fixes a wide variety of bugs, including an L3 caching issue that affected performance on devices with AMD Ryzen processors, another that caused distortion in the audio captured by voice assistants, and another in Windows Defender Exploit Protection that prevented some Microsoft Office applications from working on machines with certain processors.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.282.)
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.194
Release date: September 16, 2021
Released to: Beta Channel and commercial PCs in the Release Preview Channel
This build includes updates to the Snipping Tool, Calculator, and Clock with Focus Sessions apps.
The build also fixes several small issues, including one that caused some PCs to bug check during modern standby, and another that caused PowerShell to create an infinite number of child directories.
There are more than a dozen issues in this build, including one in which you might be unable to enter text when using search from Start or the taskbar, and another in which after clicking the Search icon on the taskbar, the Search panel may not open.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.194.)
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.184
Release date: September 9, 2021
Released to: Beta Channel and commercial PCs in the Release Preview Channel
This build fixes two small issues, including one in which a small set of languages were missing translations across the user interface, and another in which the “learn more info” about Windows Hello in the out-of-box experience (OOBE) wasn’t translated for non-English languages.
There are many known issues in this build, including one in which you might be unable to enter text when using search from Start or the taskbar, and another in which after clicking the Search icon on the taskbar, the Search panel may not open.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.184.)
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.176
Release date: September 2, 2021
Released to: Beta Channel
This build introduces a “Taskbar settings” page, which lets you hide and unhide icons on the taskbar. It also includes a small number of bug fixes, including one that caused some users to get an unexpected error when trying to take pictures with certain USB cameras, and another in which ratings and reviews weren’t available for some Microsoft Store apps.
There are many known issues in this build, including one in which you might be unable to enter text when using Search from Start or the taskbar, and another in which after clicking the Search icon on the taskbar, the Search panel may not open.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.176.)
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.168
Release date: August 27, 2021
Released to: Dev and Beta Channels
This build introduces a Microsoft 365 widget that displays relevant documents, news, and meeting recordings to enterprise users. It only works if you’re signed into your Azure Active Directory (AAD) account on Windows 11. And Chat with Microsoft Teams now supports more than 50 languages.
The build also includes five bug fixes, including for a bug in which typing certain phrases into the search box in Settings sometimes crashed Settings, and another in Microsoft Teams in which videos sometimes froze or displayed a black image during video calls.
There are many known issues in this build, including one in which you might be unable to enter text when using Search from Start or the taskbar, and another in which after clicking the Search icon on the taskbar, the Search panel may not open.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.168.)
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.160
Release date: August 19, 2021
Released to: Dev and Beta Channels
This build fixes a bug in which the taskbar sometimes showed the “location in use” icon even when it had been blocked in preferences.
For Insiders in the Dev Channel, this build also includes the revamped Windows Clock app, with a new feature called Focus Sessions that lets you do things such as set timers, automatically play music from Spotify, and work directly with Microsoft’s To Do app. Go here for details.
The build is also available as an ISO from the Windows Insider Preview Downloads page for those who want to install it from media rather than online. Using this method, users experience the full Windows 11 setup process.
There are many known issues in this build, including one in which you might be unable to enter text when using Search from Start or the taskbar, and another in which after clicking the Search icon on the taskbar, the Search panel may not open.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.160.)
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.132
Release date: August 12, 2021
Released to: Dev and Beta Channels
With this build, Insiders in the Beta Channel now have access to Chat from Microsoft Teams. The feature, which was previously rolled out to Insiders in the Dev Channel, includes one-to-one and group audio and video calling. You can create and join meetings, toggle your microphone and camera on or off, and choose your preferred speakers, mic, and camera. You can also share your screen, see the roster of participants, admit meeting participants from the lobby, chat, and see people’s video in a gallery view. For more details, see “First Preview of Chat from Microsoft Teams begins rolling out to Windows Insiders.”
The build also rolls out the new Snipping Tool for Windows 11, and updated Calculator, Mail, and Calendar apps for Insiders in the Dev Channel. For details, see “First set of Windows app updates rolling out to Windows Insiders for Windows 11.”
There are seven fixes in this build, including for a bug in which the taskbar repeatedly crashed inside the Windows Sandbox, and another in which the “location in use” indicator icon wasn’t showing up in the taskbar when it should have been.
There are many known issues in this build, including one in which you might be unable to enter text when using Search from Start or the taskbar, and another in which the Search panel may not open when you click the Search icon on the taskbar.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.132.)
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.120
Release date: August 5, 2021
Released to: Dev and Beta Channels
This build introduces a new family widget for MSA accounts (a single sign-on Microsoft account). It lets people see recent activity of members of their Microsoft family group. The build also fixes several dozen bugs, including one in which File Explorer didn’t show an updated scroll bar in dark mode; another that caused search in Settings to be in a permanently broken state, saying “No result” for every search; and one in which explorer.exe crashed when the Task View button was clicked.
There are many known issues in this build, including one in which you might be unable to enter text when using Search from Start or the taskbar, and another in which after clicking the Search icon on the taskbar, the Search panel may not open.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.120.)
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.100
Release date: July 22, 2021
Released to: Dev Channel
This build introduces Microsoft Teams integration into Windows 11, including a Teams Chat flyout on the taskbar. For more details, see Microsoft’s blog post, “First Preview of Chat from Microsoft Teams begins rolling out to Windows Insiders.” Note that not every Insider will see the feature right away.
There are also a variety of minor new features, including making the taskbar calendar flyout fully collapse when clicking the chevron in the top corner to give more room for notifications.
Several dozen bugs have been fixed, including one in which when you right-clicked the desktop or File Explorer, the resulting context menu and submenus appeared partially off screen, and another in which sign-in wasn’t working for widgets in some scenarios due to authentication hanging.
There are many known issues in this build, including one in which you might be unable to enter text when using Search from Start or the taskbar, and another in which the taskbar sometimes flickers when switching input methods.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.100.)
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.71
Release date: July 15, 2021
Released to: Dev Channel
This build introduces a new entertainment widget that displays new and featured movie titles in the Microsoft Store. There are also many bug fixes, including for one in which the new command bar didn’t appear when the “Open folders in a separate process” is enabled under File Explorer Options > View, and another that made Settings periodically crash when it launched.
There are many known issues in this build, including one in which you might be unable to enter text when using search from Start or the taskbar, and another in which the right-click menu and submenus from the desktop or File Explorer may appear partially off-screen.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000. 71.)
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.65
Release date: July 8, 2021
Released to: Dev Channel
Among other changes in this build, the Start menu now includes a search box, Power mode settings are now available on the Power & battery page in Settings, and several system alert dialog boxes, such as the alert for when your battery is running low or when you change your display settings, now adhere to the new Windows 11 visual design.
The build includes a wide variety of bug fixes, including one in which Settings could not be launched, another in which you could not pin and unpin apps from Start, another in which the command bar in File Explorer disappeared, and another in which the snap layouts did not appear until you rebooted your PC.
In addition, a remote code execution exploit in the Windows Print Spooler service, known as “PrintNightmare,” has been closed. For details, see CVE-2021-34527.
There are many known issues in this build, including one in which you might be unable to enter text when using Search from Start or the taskbar, and another in which the new command bar may not appear when “Open folders in a separate process” is enabled under File Explorer Options > View.
What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.
(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.65.)
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.51
Release date: June 28, 2021
Released to: Dev Channel
This first Insider Preview for Windows 11 is a big one and offers many of the new features expected to be part of the shipping version of the new operating system.
General interface changes: The Start menu is now centered, rather than pinned to the left of the screen. It includes a set of pinned apps as well as recently opened files in OneDrive on all your cloud-connected devices, including PCs and smartphones. The taskbar is centered as well and offers new animations. It includes a button on the lower-right corner for notifications and for making quick changes to your settings.
MicrosoftFile Explorer has a new command bar and new overall look, including new context menus. New themes have been added to the overall interface, and Windows sounds have been redesigned.
Widgets: Windows 11 comes with a set of resizable informational widgets for things such as news, the weather, your calendar, local traffic, a to-do list, photos from OneDrive, news, sports, and more.
Multitasking: Windows 10’s “Snap” feature that gives you control over how you can arrange your open windows gets a makeover. You can choose from pre-built Snap layouts and arrange them into predesigned Snap groups. Desktops available via Task View can now be reordered and have custom backgrounds.
Touch, inking, and voice input: The touch keyboard gets 13 new themes and can be resized. There’s also a voice typing launcher, and several new touch gestures. The build lets you quickly switch between additional languages and keyboards via a switcher that appears at the lower right on the taskbar next to Quick Settings. There’s also now a menu for customizing digital pens.
Other changes include:
- The Microsoft Store has been redesigned. Eventually Android mobile games and apps will be housed there, and be able to work on Windows 11.
- When you undock your laptop, the windows on your external monitor will be minimized. When you re-dock your computer to your monitor, Windows puts everything back where it was before.
- With Windows 11’s Dynamic Refresh Rate, your PC can automatically boost the refresh rate when you’re inking or scrolling to give you a smoother experience, and lower the refresh rate when you don’t need it to save power on your laptop.
- Settings has been redesigned, including left-hand navigation that persists between pages. There are also breadcrumbs to help you know exactly where you are in Settings.
- Windows 11 offers Wi-Fi 6E.
Known issues: There are more than two dozen known issues in this build across a wide variety of features, including the taskbar, Settings, Start, Search, Widgets and the Store. For example, when upgrading a device with multiple user accounts to Windows 11, Settings will fail to launch; after clicking the Search icon taskbar, the Search panel may not open; and when upgrading to Windows 11 from Windows 10 or when installing an update to Windows 11, some features may be deprecated or removed.
Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.51.
Read this next: What the enterprise needs to know about Windows 11
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