It is time for another Windows 11 feature drop with new capabilities, changes, and fixes. After releasing the "Moment 2" update in late February 2023, Microsoft is about to ship the next release, unofficially called "Moment 3." Here is everything you need to know about it.
If you are new to Windows 11, we recommend checking out our reviews for version 22H2 (a massive update), Moment 1, and Moment 2. Also, those trying Windows 11 for the first time should see our article listing the ten most requested features Microsoft has already brought to its operating system.
| Windows 11 "Moment 3" Update | |
|---|---|
| Build Number | 22621.1776 |
| Release Date | TBA Allegedly late May or early June 2023 |
| How to get the update | Windows Insider Program - Release Preview Channel Will be available via Windows Update once released. |
| Changes in hardware requirements | TBA |
What is new in Windows 11 "Moment 3" Update?
The upcoming Windows 11 feature update is a part of Microsoft"s new approach to servicing Windows. Instead of releasing one big update every year (as initially planned), the company ships new features as a part of monthly cumulative updates. Therefore, the changelog for each "Moment" update is smaller than what we received in the first "big" update for Windows 11 in the second half of 2022.
Table of contents:
- Taskbar and Notifications Improvements
- Task Manager Improvements
- Settings Improvements
- Widgets Improvements
- Accessibility Improvements
- All sorts of fixes
- Bonus - Wallpapers
Taskbar and Notifications Improvements
Windows 11 users will be happy to find a couple of excellent additions to the taskbar. For example, the network icon can indicate an active VPN connection with a small lock icon. However, it is worth noting that the indicator appears only when you use "native" VPN connections set up in the Settings app. Unfortunately, the icon remains unchanged if you use third-party VPN applications.
For many, an updated taskbar clock will be the best change in the "Moment 3" update. The clock can now display seconds, one of the most requested features from users migrating from Windows 10 to 11.
To enable this change, head to Settings > Personalization > Taskbar > Taskbar Behaviors and check the "Show seconds in system tray clock" option. Microsoft warns that that may increase power consumption, which is a statement we have yet to test.
Another great quality-of-life improvement in the Windows 11 "Moment 3" update is a button that lets you copy two-factor authentication codes from notifications with a single click. This feature is already available on Android and iOS, and now Microsoft is bringing it to its desktop operating system, allowing it to recognize two-factor authentication codes in your notifications—no more opening emails just to copy a few numbers.
Note that the button to copy 2FA codes from notifications does not support languages other than English. Sadly, it will take some time for Microsoft to bring this convenience to those using Windows 11 with other languages.
Task Manager Improvements
Task Manager in Windows 11 now supports live kernel memory dump, a feature for gathering data to troubleshoot a specific issue while the operating system continues running. A regular user is unlikely to find this change useful, but it will serve great to developers in need of investigating unresponsive applications or other issues.
You can create a live kernel memory dump by heading to Task Manager > Details. Right-click the system process and select the "Create live kernel memory dump file" option.
Settings Improvements
Touch Keyboard Improvements
The Touch Keyboard settings section under Settings > Time & Language > Typing has received a new dropdown with three options:
- The Never option prevents the touch keyboard from opening all the time.
- The When no keyboard attached option ensures the touch keyboard appears on the screen when you use a touch-enabled device as a tablet without a physical keyboard.
- Finally, the Always option is self-explanatory: Enabling this will make the touch keyboard appear whenever you click a text input field.
Content Adaptive Brightness Control (CABC)
CABC is an energy-saving feature for laptops and tablets which can preserve the battery by lowering or raising the brightness depending on the content on the screen. Although it is not new in Windows 11, the latest update introduced more customization: toggled off, on battery only, and always on.
Note that the setting will not appear on your laptop or tablet if the manufacturer has not enabled it. Check if your computer supports it by heading to Settings > System > Display > Brightness.
USB4 Settings Page
Those with a modern computer with USB4 ports can check out a new Settings page that provides information about USB4-based hubs and connected devices. It will not appear on systems without USB4 with the Microsoft USB4 Connection Manager.
Print Screen Key Changes
The Windows 11 "Moment 3" update changes the default behavior for the Print Screen key, one of the oldest methods to take screenshots in Windows. Instead of copying what is on the screen to the clipboard, hitting the key now launches the Snipping Tool app.
Microsoft understands that some users will dislike the change, so it allows reverting to the old behavior in Settings > Accessibility > Keyboard.
Multitasking Changes
Windows 11 allows displaying browser tabs when pressing Alt + Tab or using Snap Assist. In addition to displaying three, five, or all tabs, Windows 11 users can toggle on a new option that bumps that number to twenty. This one is for you, tab-hoggers.
Better Cloud Storage Management
The Settings app now has a dedicated section for all your OneDrive subscriptions and a better breakdown of the stored content.
And finally, after updating to the Windows 11 "Moment 3" Update, users will notice search performance improvements in the Settings app.
Widgets Improvements
The update does not offer much for Windows Widgets. All it introduces is a redesigned widget picker that lets you preview a widget before pinning it to the board. There are rumors about Microsoft planning to let users place widgets on the desktop, but the capability is nowhere to be found in "Moment 3."
Here is how the new picker compares to the old one:
Accessibility improvements
The update does not contain new accessibility features. Instead, it builds upon those introduced in the previous updates, namely Live Captions and Voice Access. System-wide offline Live Captions now support the following languages:
| Chinese (Simplified and Traditional) | French (France and Canada) |
| German | Italian |
| Japanese | Portuguese (Brazil and Portugal) |
| Spanish | Danish |
| English (Ireland and other dialects) | Korean |
You can toggle Live Captions using the Win + Ctrl + L shortcut or the Quick Actions Menu > Accessibility. Note that the first launch requires downloading an extra package, after which you can use Live Captions offline. To change the language, click the button with a gear icon and select Caption language.
Another accessibility-related change in the "Moment 3" update is Voice Access improvements. As the name implies, Voice Access is a feature that lets you control a Windows 11 PC with your voice. With the latest OS release, Voice Access received a redesigned help page with a description for each command and its variations.
Besides, Voice Access now supports the following English dialects (sadly, English remains the only supported language):
- English (United Kingdom)
- English (India)
- English (New Zealand)
- English (Canada)
- English (Australia)
Finally, Voice Access received new text selection and editing commands. You can tell your computer to highlight text from one part to another, delete something, apply specific formatting, etc.
Lots of fixes
Now here are less prominent, but still important fixes, changes, and improvements in the Windows 11 "Moment 3" update:
- This update addresses an issue that affects Narrator. It now announces text attributes correctly for words, such as “misspelled”, “deletion change,” and “comment”.
- This update addresses an issue that affects searchindexer.exe. It stops working after you sign out. This issue occurs after you upgrade your machine to Windows 11 Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) and sign in to that machine.
- This update addresses an issue that affects Server Message Block (SMB). You cannot access the SMB shared folder. The errors are, “Not enough memory resources” or “Insufficient system resources”.
- The update addresses an issue that sends unexpected password expiration notices to users. This occurs when you set up an account to use “Smart Card is Required for Interactive Logon” and set “Enable rolling of expiring NTLM secrets”.
- This update addresses an issue that affects the Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (LSASS). It stops working. This occurs when you use Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD).
- This update addresses an issue that affects the Storage Spaces Direct (S2D) cluster. It might not come online. This occurs after a periodic password rollover. The error code is 1326.
- This update addresses an issue that affects access to Tab settings for IE mode sites.
- This update addresses an issue that affects dot sourcing. It fails files that contain class definition in Windows PowerShell.
- This update addresses an issue that affects the use of Event Viewer. The issue limits the number of event sources that users who are not administrators can access.
- This update addresses an Event Viewer issue. It affects the rendering of a forwarded event log.
- This update addresses a memory leak. It occurs every time you print a rich text document.
- This update addresses an issue that affects a computer when it renders a halftone bitmap. The computer stops working.
- This update addresses an issue that affects devices that have multiple, discreet GPUs. You cannot choose the high-performance GPUs from the default graphics settings page.
- This update addresses an issue that stops your device from working when it resumes from Modern Standby. The error is 0x13A KERNEL_MODE_HEAP_CORRUPTION.
- This update addresses an issue that affects applications that perform certain actions in a callback. The applications might stop working. These actions include closing a Window (WM_CLOSE).
- This update changes the support phone number for Microsoft India for Windows activation.
- This update changes the international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) ranges for certain mobile providers.
- This update addresses an issue that affects the Windows Firewall. The firewall drops all connections to the IP address of a captive portal. This occurs when you choose the Captive Portal Addresses option.
- This update addresses a multi-function label printer issue. It affects the installation of some of them.
- This update addresses an issue that affects devices that are joined to Azure Active Directory (Azure AD). The Windows Firewall cannot apply the correct domain and profile for them.
- This update addresses an issue that affects audio playback. It fails on devices that have certain processors.
- This update addresses an issue that affects the touch keyboard. It shows the wrong layout for the French-Canadian language.
- This update addresses an issue that affects Windows Defender Application Control (WDAC). It might create audit events that you do not need. This occurs when you choose the Disabled: Script Enforcement option.
- This update addresses an issue that affects the touch keyboard. Sometimes, it does not show the correct layout based on the current input scope.
- This update addresses an issue that affects the Chinese and Japanese Input Method Editor (IME). When you search the Emoji Panel (Windows key + period ( . ), search might fail for some of you.
- This update addresses an issue that affects the Chinese and Japanese Handwriting Panel. It does not show text prediction candidates or stops responding. This occurs when you select a word from the candidate list of the Handwriting Panel.
- This update addresses an issue that affects the runas It stops working. The device behaves as if you did not sign in to your account.
- This update addresses an issue that might affect a large reparse point. You might get a stop error when you use NTFS to access it. This issue occurs after a canceled FSCTL Set operation changes the reparse tag.
- This update addresses a known issue that might affect some speech recognition apps. They might have sporadic speech recognition, expressive input, and handwriting issues. This occurs when the display language is Chinese or Japanese. The apps might not recognize certain words. They might not receive any input from speech recognition or affected input types. This issue is more likely to occur when the apps use offline speech recognition. For app developers, this issue only affects speech recognition that uses Speech Recognition Grammar Specification (SRGS) in Media.SpeechRecognition. This issue does not affect other types of speech recognition.
Bonus - Wallpapers
As usual, here are the wallpapers we used in this review:
What do you think about the Windows 11 "Moment 3" update? Share your thoughts in the comments.