KB5083806

Microsoft has released the optional preview update KB5083806 (Build 28000.1890) for Windows 11, version 26H1. This update is distributed in two phases: gradual rollout and broad deployment. With gradual rollout, features reach devices in stages, so their availability depends on the specific device.

Broad deployment is the simultaneous release for all compatible devices, typically after general availability (GA). This part of the update (gradual rollout) includes new features, improvements, and fixes for AI capabilities and the overall Windows 11 experience. Text in square brackets indicates the component or area of changes.

• Narrator. Narrator now provides detailed image descriptions on Copilot+ PCs and works with Copilot on all Windows 11 devices. The Narrator key + Ctrl + D describes the image in focus, and Narrator key + Ctrl + S describes the entire screen. Copilot opens with the image ready, and you can enter a prompt for a custom description. The image is transmitted only after the user explicitly chooses to describe it. On Copilot+ PCs, Narrator provides instant on-device descriptions, and the Ask Copilot feature is available for additional details.
• Smart App Control. You can now enable and disable Smart App Control (SAC) without a clean reinstallation of the system. Settings are available under Settings > Windows Security > App & browser control > Smart App Control. When enabled, the feature blocks untrusted or potentially dangerous apps. For more details, see the App & browser control in Windows Security page. The feature was first announced in January 2026 (KB5074105) and its deployment has now begun.
• Account settings. Microsoft 365 Family subscribers can switch to another Microsoft 365 plan under Settings > Accounts. To hide the switch suggestion, disable Recommended content in Settings. The design of dialog boxes under Settings > Accounts > Other users has also been improved — they now match the modern look of Windows and support dark theme. The visibility of the dialog box option depends on whether a work or school account with domain join is present on the device.
• Input. On the pen settings page, configuration options for the back button have been updated. A new option Same as Copilot key allows the pen’s back button to open the same app as the Copilot key.
• Settings (System). The Settings > About page has been refined: a more structured and intuitive interface is presented, with clear device specifications, easy navigation to related components, including a quick jump to the Storage section. The device information card on the main Settings page simplifies key specifications and ensures interface consistency from the main card to the Settings > System > About page — making data easier to view and understand. Reliability and performance of opening the main Settings page have been improved, as well as the reliability of downloading required updates when prompted in Settings > System > Advanced.
• File Explorer. Improved reliability of unlocking files downloaded from the internet for preview in File Explorer. You can now use voice input (Win + H) when renaming a file in File Explorer. Also, in the Advanced Security Settings window for a folder in File Explorer, it is now possible to sort permission entries by the Principal column.
• Display. Monitors can now report refresh rates above 1000 Hz. When using a native monitor connection via USB4, the USB controller can now enter minimal power consumption mode while the PC is asleep, helping to save battery life. Improved reliability of automatic screen rotation after waking from sleep, and HDR reliability on displays with incompatible DisplayID 2.0 blocks. Monitors with DisplayID now report more accurate size when using the WMI monitor API.
• Printing. Basic support for connecting printers from previous versions has been updated to Windows 10 version 1607 and Windows Server 2016 (build 14393).
• Safe Mode. Improved reliability of taskbar component loading in Safe Mode.
• Voice Access. Improved recognition and recording of numbers when using Voice Access in English.
• Start Menu. Improved reliability of applying the Start menu layout via Group Policy when the desktopAppLink parameter is present in the JSON.
• Remote Desktop. The PowerShell command Set-RDSessionCollectionConfiguration now recognizes the DisableSeamlessLanguageBar parameter.
• Audio. Improved handling of short MIDI messages in cases where the application initializes without providing buffers for long messages.
• System File Checker. Fixed an unnecessary error message that could appear when running sfc /scannow.
• Windows Hello. Improved reliability of Windows Hello Fingerprint on certain devices.

In the broad deployment phase, this security update includes quality improvements. Fixed an issue where using ntdsutil.exe with 8 KB database pages caused the NTDS.dit database to be updated, after which it became unmountable (Active Directory). Also resolved a known issue with the Remote Desktop connection security warning dialog box: the window could display incorrectly when connecting multiple monitors with different scaling settings. The issue could occur after installing the April 2026 security update (KB5083768).

Cumulative update 5083806 for PCs is installed manually via Windows Update. To check, go to Settings > Windows Update and click Check for updates. When you see that 2026-04 Preview Update (KB5083806) (28000.1896) is available, click Download and install. A reboot is required to complete installation. After the update, the Windows 11, version 26H1 build number will change to 28000.1896.

To have preview updates installed automatically, turn on the Get the latest updates as soon as they are available option in Settings > Windows Update.

How the new features work:

Narrator: On Copilot+ PCs, the feature uses a local neural network for instant on-device image descriptions without sending data to the cloud. Pressing Narrator key + Ctrl + D captures the focused area, extracts visual features, and generates alt‑text locally. On all devices, images are sent to Microsoft servers only after explicit user consent; Copilot then returns a description and allows custom prompts.

Smart App Control (SAC): This is a cloud‑powered, AI‑based reputation mechanism for executables. Previously enabling it required a clean OS reinstall; now settings are stored in the registry and App & browser control policies and can be changed dynamically. When active, SAC checks digital signatures, behavior, and known signatures via the Microsoft Intelligent Security Graph, blocking unknown or untrusted apps without reinstalling Windows.

Account settings: Dialog boxes now use WinUI XAML components instead of legacy user32.dll resources, providing dark theme and scaling support. Switching Microsoft 365 plans is tied to subscription state via licensing APIs. Hiding the switch suggestion is controlled by the DisableRecommendedContent registry key. Display of options for a domain‑joined account depends on the presence of a DomainJoined object in WMI.

Input: Back‑button configuration on the pen now separates hardware events. The OS sends a key code, and the new Same as Copilot key option maps the physical pen button to the same virtual scan code as the Copilot key on the keyboard. Thus the system launches the same app configured in Settings > Personalization > Text input, regardless of the input source.

Settings (System): The “About” page has been rebuilt using Settings Page Visibility URIs and custom views. The device specifications card on the main page draws data from SystemInformation via Windows.System.Profile. Page loading is now asynchronous – the API no longer blocks the UI thread when calling the ms-settings: scheme. Update downloading through the Windows Update background service is more reliable when invoked from advanced settings.

File Explorer: Unlocking files downloaded from the Internet uses the Zone.Identifier mechanism. For preview, Explorer temporarily removes the BLOCKED flag from the NTFS alternate stream. Voice input during rename integrates the Windows.Speech.VoiceCommand API into the edit field. Sorting permission entries in the Advanced Security Settings window is implemented by enumerating Trustee objects from the ACL, with sorting by principal name using CompareStringOrdinal.

Display: Support for refresh rates >1000 Hz requires the new Display Rate Management (DRM) in the DxgkDdiSetTimingsFromVidPn DDI and a driver that reports MonitorFreqRange. Minimal USB4 power consumption during PC sleep is achieved by transitioning the controller to U4LinkPowerState.LowPower while retaining context. DisplayID fixes involve overwriting corrupted DisplayID 2.0 blocks in the monitor.sys driver, correcting physical size via EDID recalculation.

Printing: Basic printer support now requires a minimum kernel (ntoskrnl.exe) build 14393. Drivers that use legacy XcvData or a V4 print driver without Print Configuration compatibility will not load. The system checks compatibility via VersionAdaptation during installation, filtering out printers whose minimum driver requires an older spoolsv.exe version.

Safe Mode: Loading the taskbar in Safe Mode now uses an isolated Explorer.exe process with a minimal set of TaskbarHost.dll components, bypassing problematic extensions. The system initializes only basic ITaskbarList interfaces and does not load third‑party shell hooks. The dependency on ShellExperienceHost.exe – which could freeze due to limited services – has been removed.

Voice Access: Number recognition has been improved by using a separate language model Grammar_Number_Digits that replaces the default dictation grammar when number entry mode is active. The mechanism uses ISpGrammarBuilder to dynamically add rules for digits 0‑9 to the active grammar. In English locale, conflicts between numbers and homophones (two / to / too) are resolved via semantic marker priorities.

Start Menu: When applying a JSON layout via Group Policy, the desktopAppLink parameter is now correctly resolved to an AppUserModelID or a .lnk path. The system checks for the existence of the desktop app using IShellLinkW and IPublishedApp. The previous error occurred because links to non‑existent PackageFamilyName entries were not validated – now such entries are removed from the layout before being applied to StartDock.lv.

Remote Desktop: The DisableSeamlessLanguageBar parameter in the Set-RDSessionCollectionConfiguration command controls the registry key fDisableSeamlessLanguageBar under the Terminal Server branch. With value 1, the RDP client does not synchronise the language bar with the host, preventing layout conflicts between the session and the local workstation. The change applies without restarting the collection.

Audio: Short MIDI messages are now handled via buffering in the system driver wdmaud.drv even if the application did not provide a buffer for long messages. The mechanism allocates a private memory pool for MIDIHDR and automatically converts short events into the standard MIDI_LONGMSG structure, preventing data loss.

System File Checker: The erroneous message when running sfc /scannow was caused by an inaccessible CBS.log during early initialisation. The fix adds a check on the _CbsLogHandle file descriptor: if writing is impossible, the utility continues scanning without outputting an error, logging the message only in debug mode via OutputDebugString.

Windows Hello: Fingerprint sensor reliability has been increased by adjusting initialisation timings in the WudfUsbccidDriver.dll driver. The system now waits for a stable response from the sensor via IOCTL_BIOMETRIC_GET_ATTRIBUTES for up to three attempts with exponential backoff. The issue where the device entered an incorrect state after Device Power State D3 due to premature USB bus reset has been fixed.

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