It’s a new week, which means it’s time for a new Windows Insider build. Today, Windows 11 build 22454 is heading out to Dev channel users, bringing the second build from the rs_prerelease branch. This is a branch that has begun serving Insiders builds of the OS that are not tied to a specific version, meaning that bits released to this branch might not make it in time for the first Windows 11 version heading out next month.
Considering these are still early builds, there is not much in the way of features. For today, the only major change comes to the right-click menu for the Recycle bin on the desktop. That is accompanied by the addition of the ability to pin a network share in File Explorer to Quick Access without hitting the more options button. Additionally, there are improvements to the Korean IME.
Along with these improvements, there is a ton of fixes in store for the build. The firm notes that a bunch of these fixes will also make it to the “release version” of the OS in the way of servicing updates when it heads out to users starting October 5. Interestingly, today’s Beta channel build does not come with many bug fixes, which is odd considering that that channel is flighting builds that are slated for release next month.
Here is the complete list of improvements in build 22454:
Right-clicking on Recycle Bin on the desktop now uses the new modern context menu.
Added an option when right clicking a network share in File Explorer to pin it to Quick Access without having to click Show more options.
We have begun releasing an updated version of the Korean IME with adjustments made based on Windows Insider feedback. We believe this will provide a more reliable input experience for Korean on Windows 11. The updated version of the Korean IME follows the new visual design of Windows 11 with acrylic in the candidate window, a new selection visual, and dark mode support. It also improves improved performance and compatibility. The updated Korean IME is rolling out to a subset of Insiders in the Dev Channel first, to help us quickly identify issues that may impact performance and reliability. Over time, it will roll out to everyone in the Dev Channel. Please file feedback via Feedback Hub under Input and Language > Text Input.
And here are the long listed of fixes made in this build, which is always a welcome aspect:
[General]
We fixed the issue that was causing PCs with Windows Defender Application Guard (WDAG) enabled to bugcheck continuously. PCs with WDAG enabled should now receive Build 22454.
[Start]
Windows Terminal is listed again when right-clicking on the Start button (WIN + X).
Narrator should announce the Start launch more reliably now.
[Taskbar]
The Desktops flyout should now dismiss properly for Narrator users when scanning with item navigation across the Task View button.
Fixed an issue where the preview thumbnails for Desktops were not rendering correctly for certain aspect ratios.
Fixed a rounding issue that was making the volume icon tooltip show the wrong number in some cases.
The input indicator, Quick Settings, and notification center icon tooltips will no longer display behind the flyouts when they’re open.
Addressed an underlying issue that was resulting in the volume icon in the Taskbar displaying sound was muted when that was not the case.
Fixed an issue that could cause the Taskbar to unexpectedly get stuck on top of full screen applications, such as PowerPoint presentations, after interacting with the Taskbar previews.
Taskbar icons should no longer flicker when you mouse over them while using a contrast theme.
Fixed an issue where app icons would occasionally unexpectedly animate onto the Taskbar from somewhere other than from below.
Shift + Click on an app icon in the Taskbar to launch a new instance of that app (for apps that support multiple instances) is now working again.
Did some work to address an issue where app icons could get stuck in an alert state in the Taskbar even if the app in question was closed.
[Input]
Fixed an issue that was causing the text candidates to not appear after the first time the handwriting panel was invoked.
Mitigated a stutter in the animation when tapping a text field to invoke the touch keyboard.
Fixed a bug that was causing clipboard history to not render for some people.
Displaying 3rd party IME icons in the input indicator should be more reliable now.
Addressed an explorer.exe crash that could happen when changing window focus while using the touch keyboard.
Fixed an issue for people who’d opted into the previous version of the Japanese IME that was causing certain games to crash.
Fixed an issue where the tip for voice typing when using the touch keyboard wouldn’t be connected to the microphone button.
Addressed an issue where the touch keyboard could get into a state where the key labels would be invisible due to the wrong background color being used.
Mitigated an issue that was leading to the touch keyboard settings flyout having white on white text sometimes.
Did some work to address an issue where interacting with the expressive input button in the touch keyboard could result in the candidate area having a broken layout.
[File Explorer]
Improved the reliability of context menu invocation.
Mitigated a couple of issues that were causing leaks when using File Explorer.
The context menu will now not immediately dismiss when the option to open things with a single-click is enabled in File Explorer.
If you press F11 to full screen File Explorer, then use WIN + Shift + Left/Right to change what screen the window is displaying on, pressing F11 again will no longer jump the window back to the original screen.
[Settings]
Mitigated an issue when typing with certain 3rd party IMEs into the search box in Settings that could result in the candidate window being rendered elsewhere on-screen (not attached to the search box) and/or characters inserted into the search box not displaying.
We did some work to help address an issue that was making the Windows Insider Program page in Settings appear blank sometimes.
The mouse pointers under Accessibility > Mouse pointer and touch are no longer invisible for Arabic and Hebrew display languages.
System > Storage > Show more categories > Other should no longer always say it’s managed by group policy even when it isn’t.
Added some links to “Find my device” in Settings to help you learn more about the privacy resources.
Start time and end time pickers under Focus Assist > During these times are now visible when focus is set while using a contrast theme.
Addressed a crash that could happen when using Sound Settings.
Fixed an issue with the volume slider in Quick Settings that was causing the volume to sometimes to save at a slightly different level than what was actually set.
[Logging in and Authentication]
Fixed a crash that could happen when the network icon updated states on the login screen.
[Windowing]
Made a change to address an issue where title bar options including close, minimize and maximize where not appearing as expected in certain apps when moving the mouse to top of the screen while the app was maximized.
[Other]
Improved icon rendering for certain apps in the Search hover flyout.
Addressed an issue that was causing overlapping text in the Share window for certain languages.
Made some performance improvements when switching to the Details tab of Task Manager.
If the Windows Security app is open when switching to dark mode, the UI elements should respond better now and not have unreadable text.
If there are a large number of exclusions listed under Virus and Threat Protection in the Windows Security app, it will now display a progress indicator when loading them.
Fixed some text clipping in the Windows Security app when using the option in Accessibility Settings to increase the text size.
Mitigated an issue that was causing the WM_CTLCOLORSTATIC message used in certain apps to be ignored, so the colors in some places wouldn’t appear correctly.
Fixed a leak when the desktop background was set to a slideshow, impacting performance over time until explorer.exe was restarted.
Mitigated an issue that was causing some PCs to bugcheck while in modern standby.
Fixed an issue that was causing slower Wi-Fi speeds after enabling Hyper-V and creating an External V-Switch.
When animations are disabled in the system, there should no longer be a fade animation in UWP apps like Settings or the Feedback Hub when transitioning from the splash screen to the app content.
Lastly, there are a bunch of known issues that the firm has listed, as always. While there aren’t any major issues as such, pre-release builds always contain rough edges and bugs may show up after the builds get to more testers. Here is the complete list:
[General]
We’re working on a fix for an issue that is causing some Surface Pro X’s to bugcheck with a WHEA_UNCORRECTABLE_ERROR.
[Start]
In some cases, you might be unable to enter text when using Search from Start or the Taskbar. If you experience the issue, press WIN + R on the keyboard to launch the Run dialog box, then close it.
System is missing when right-clicking on the Start button (WIN + X).
[Taskbar]
The Taskbar will sometimes flicker when switching input methods.
We’re investigating an issue in this build where app icons in the Taskbar are getting cut off by the “show hidden icons” button and aren’t centered when using multiple monitors.
[Search]
After clicking the Search icon on the Taskbar, the Search panel may not open. If this occurs, restart the “Windows Explorer” process, and open the search panel again.
Search panel might appear as black and not display any content below the search box.
[File Explorer]
If you right click files in OneDrive locations in File Explorer, the context menu will unexpectedly dismiss when you hover over entries that open sub-menus, such as “Open with.”
[Widgets]
The widgets board may appear empty. To work around the issue, you can sign out and then sign back in again.
Widgets may be displayed in the wrong size on external monitors. If you encounter this, you can launch the widgets via touch or WIN + W shortcut on your actual PC display first and then launch on your secondary monitors.
[Windows Sandbox]
We’re investigating an issue in which Windows Sandbox may not launch for some Insiders after upgrading to this build.
[Microsoft Store]
We continue to work to improve search relevance in the Store.
Those in the Beta channel will be receiving Windows 11 build 22000.184. It will not be surprising if the firm promotes that version to the Release Preview channel soon, considering that they are already available for commercial customers to test.
