Microsoft today released Windows 10 build 14926 for both PCs and phones to the Fast ring. It"s the first new build from the Development Branch in two weeks. If it"s not obvious, it"s a Redstone 2 build, which is the codename for the next feature update to Windows 10, slated to arrive in April 2017.
According to rumors, Redstone 2 - along with Redstone 3 - is going to have a larger focus on Windows 10 Mobile, which would be a very welcome change for Windows phone users. Unfortunately, it looks like Microsoft may be holding off on the Surface Phone until Redstone 3, so it"s possible that the firm may have delayed its plans.
We did get one new feature for phones today, new Wi-Fi settings. On top of that, there"s a long list of fixes, improvements, and known issues. Here"s what got fixed and improved:
We fixed a scaling issue on devices such as the Lumia 635, 636, or 638 where the bottom of certain apps, like Messaging and Maps, would get cut off and rendered off screen.
We heard you and we have addressed the largest cause of reliability issues in Microsoft Edge running on Insider Preview builds. This should improve reliability on major websites such as Facebook and Outlook.com.
We fixed an issue resulting in the sound of key presses and lock/unlock being barely audible when the phone was using a moderate volume.
We fixed an issue where, if Quiet Hours had been turned on, banner notifications might not start appearing again until Action Center was opened or an interactive notification popped up and was dismissed.
We fixed an issue where Cortana would crash when trying to open Reminders page.
We have improved the reliability of VPN Settings page via Settings > Network & wireless > VPN.
We fixed an issue resulting in the thumbnail for portrait videos displaying with an incorrect aspect ratio in the Photos app when panning through the Camera Roll.
Here are the known issues:
Some devices such as the Lumia 650 will fail to install this build with Error 0x80188308. We are currently investigating this issue.
Action Center no longer closes if you swipe up on the empty space (area of Action Center that doesn’t show any notifications).
Using your phone as a mobile hotspot will work the first time but subsequent attempts to use the feature will result in the inability to enable the hotspot until the phone is rebooted.
ADDED: We are investigating small set of isolated reports that after upgrading to Build 14926, the pin pad is no longer visible to unlock the phone even after rebooting the phone. If you have hit this issue, you can following the steps here for resetting an unresponsive phone (hard reset) which gets your phone back into a working state on Build 14926.
ADDED: We are also investigating reports that after upgrading to Build 14926, some phones lose the ability to use their SIM card. A hard reset also fixes this issue as well. See this forum post for more information.
It"s always worth checking out the known issues to see if it"s going to be worth it for you to install the build. Of course, if you have a Lumia 650, you won"t even have the option to. The phrase, "Some devices such as" implies that there may be more, so we"ll keep you updated if we find any.
To grab build 14926, head over to Settings -> Update & security -> Phone update -> Check for updates. If you"re not on the Fast ring yet but you want to be, go to the Windows Insider Program tab and tap Get started. Once your phone reboots, go back and make sure its set to the Fast ring.
Update: Article was updated to reflect two new known issues.