Microsoft is back at it this week with a new build for Windows Insiders in the Dev channel, this time bringing the build number to 20206. While last week"s build 20201 was all about fixes, this one actually includes some very significant improvements, specifically for the touch keyboard experience.
Of course, just as with every other new build, there are still fixes and minor improvements in this build, as well as a handful of issues you"ll need to look out for if you"re installing the new build.
Starting with some of the smaller improvements:
- When annotated content and linked control Narrator commands are invoked on context which doesn’t have any linked controls available, Narrator will now say “No linked item”.
- When setting focus to Windows Explorer in the Processes tab of Task Manager, we’re updating the keyboard shortcut for the Restart option to now be Alt + R.
There are also a few bug fixes, though the list is relatively short:
- We fixed an issue where the new option to enable DNS encryption wasn’t persisting update.
- We fixed an issue leading to certain apps not launching due to nlsdl.dll being missing.
- We fixed a race condition in the last few builds that could result in some Insiders experiencing scaling issues after waking their PC from sleep when using multiple monitors.
- We fixed an issue that could result in the Narrator Home crashing when using the back button.
- We fixed an issue where after adding a VPN connection, Narrator focus would move to the Settings home button rather than read that the VPN connection had been successfully added.
- We fixed an issue from the last two flights resulting in Office documents opening blank when opened from File Explorer rather than from within the app.
- We’ve fixed an issue in the Mail app preventing syncing with certain mail services.
- We’ve fixed and issue causing some devices to receive bugchecks with error code KERNEL_MODE_HEAP_CORRUPTION.
- We fixed an issue that could result in Task Manager erroneously indicating that a non-UWP app had been suspended. We’ve mitigated an issue with the previous build causing some devices to download larger than normal amounts of data during the update process. This may have resulted in slower downloads and disk space warnings. If you continue to experience the issue with this build, please file a new feedback.
- We’ve made improvements to address issues where the new taskbar experience for pinned websites wasn’t working for some websites. If you continue encountering issues, please ensure you’re running the latest version of Microsoft Edge Dev or Canary, and report the issue using the Feedback button in Microsoft Edge if you are.
Finally, as usual, there"s a handful of know issues, though the list is also relatively short this time around. Microsoft does warn that some users are seeing long install times for builds, so you may need to be patient with this one. Here"s the full list:
- We’re looking into reports of the update process hanging for extended periods of time when attempting to install a new build.
- We’re working on a fix to enable live preview for pinned site tabs.
- We’re working on enabling the new taskbar experience for existing pinned sites. In the meantime, you can unpin the site from the taskbar, remove it from the edge://apps page, and then re-pin the site.
- We’re investigating reports of some Office applications crashing or missing after updating to a new build.
- We’re investigating reports of the Settings app crashing when opening Manage Disks and Volumes.
- We’re working on a fix for the Linux kernel not being installed when using the `wsl –install` command in the Windows Subsystem for Linux. For an immediate workaround run `wsl –update` to get the latest kernel version.
Windows 10 builds in the Dev channel include features and changes that aren"t necessarily planned for a release anytime soon, and as we wrote a few weeks ago, it"s possible that a major feature update to Windows 10 won"t arrive for over a year as the company makes room for Windows 10X to launch. As such, it"s hard to say when changes in these builds will make their way to public releases. If you"re joining the Insider program, you may have to deal with issues for a while until you can opt out of the Dev channel.