KB5101684

Microsoft has released the preliminary update KB5101684 (build 26200.8968) for Windows 11 version 25H2. It is distributed in two phases: a phased rollout, where new features become available on devices gradually, and a standard rollout, meaning a broad release for all compatible devices immediately after reaching the general availability stage.

• File Explorer. File sizes in the Details view are now displayed in appropriate units (KB, MB, and GB), not just in KB, simplifying perception at a glance. Middle mouse button click now opens a folder in a new tab also in the address bar and on the Home page for more consistent and convenient navigation. Fixed a gray flash during loading and unexpected scrolling to the top of the Home page in some cases. Improved the appearance of file thumbnails in the Recommended section on Home — they have become clearer and easier to read.
• Windows Search. Improved searching files in local, cloud, and connected content, including support for two-character search queries. Improved app search: better handling of typos and partial names of installed applications. Improved settings relevance — more useful settings are displayed higher in the search results.
• Voice Access. Added voice isolation, which helps to recognize the user's voice more accurately by reducing interference from other speakers and background noise. Three speech recognition modes are now available in Voice Access Settings > Speech Recognition Enhancement: Voice Isolation filters out other speakers and background noise (requires a one-time voice setup); Background Noise Removal Only filters out non-speech sounds such as keystrokes or door slams (no additional setup required); No Filtering uses the standard microphone signal without additional processing. To set up voice isolation, go to Voice Access Settings > Speech Recognition Enhancement and select Voice Isolation. Also added Korean language support in Voice Access.
• Widgets. Notification badges on the taskbar now use the Windows accent color instead of red, reducing the number of overly attention-grabbing alerts. Simplified lock screen widgets: for new users, only Weather is displayed by default.
• Touchpad. In Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Touchpad, new gesture settings for precision touchpads have appeared: scroll and zoom speed allows adjusting the base speed of scrolling and zooming gestures, and accelerated scrolling makes movement faster the more frequently the gesture is repeated, which is convenient for quickly moving through long documents.
• Start menu. Improved the reliability of saving Start menu view settings — the selected view is now saved. Improved keyboard navigation when the focus is set on the app list in the Start menu.
• Voice Typing. The Fluid dictation feature is now disabled by default for new users. A teaching tip is displayed when using the feature for the first time.
• Input. Improved saving of the selected mouse pointer size.
• Accessibility. Improved the magnifier experience on touchscreen devices. The horizontal and vertical touch bars used for panning the magnified area are now disabled by default and no longer overlap the magnified content. If you use touch panning, the bars can be re-enabled in Settings > Accessibility > Magnifier.
• Windows Hello. Enhanced Sign-in Security (ESS) now supports external fingerprint scanners. Secure login becomes available not only on devices with built-in scanners, but also on desktop computers and other Windows 11 PCs, including Copilot+ PCs. To get started, connect a supported fingerprint scanner with ESS, open Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options and follow the instructions for registration. The feature was announced in January 2026 (KB5074105) and is now beginning to roll out.
• Fonts. Restored support for Unicode variation sequences in the Myanmar Text font. Improved shaping and rendering of Mongolian Baiti font characters for more accurate and uniform text display.
• Account Manager. Updated the design of the Account Manager control in the Start menu, added an icon with subscription status. To open the Account Manager, open the Start menu and select your account picture in the lower left corner. Available for users signed in with a Microsoft account.
• Taskbar. Improved the reliability of loading the taskbar notification area on touch devices in tablet mode.
• AI Component. It is now possible to remove the AI image generation component on supported Copilot+ PCs where this component is installed.
• Windows Setup. Added a parental control notification during Windows setup with information about available family safety features.
• Power & battery. Changes to global power settings — display turn-off time, entering sleep mode and hibernation, power and sleep button actions, as well as lid close actions — are now applied to all power schemes. Improved the reliability of power settings: changes made in Settings are applied to all power schemes, so settings are saved consistently.
• Windows Update. Improved the calculation of update progress in Windows Update settings. Changed the post-update cleanup logic to improve system performance immediately after installing an update.
• Sounds. Improved system sounds when using Windows in dark mode.
• Date & time. Improved the detection of conditions for showing time zone change notifications. Improved the accuracy of Daylight Saving Time (DST) data for the Middle East Standard Time (Beirut), Morocco Standard Time (Casablanca), Israel Standard Time (Jerusalem), and Greenland Standard Time (Nuuk) time zones.
• Network. Improved the reliability of DHCP lease renewal in a number of scenarios, in particular when receiving a NACK from the DHCP server and on devices with Modern Standby.
• Print. Improved printing speed (pages per minute) for IPPS printers.
• Clipboard. Improved clipboard reliability in some Remote Desktop and Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) scenarios.
• Battery. Restored the ability to set the charge threshold at which battery saver turns on, in Settings > System > Power & battery.
• General Stability. Improved explorer.exe reliability, including when opening jump lists and recent files, when sending files and folders, as well as when using Task View and multiple desktops. Improved the reliability of Windows login and lock screens, especially when memory is low. Improved the reliability of the Start menu and taskbar at system startup.

To install the update, go to Settings > Windows Update and click Check for updates.

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