Plenty of new builds for Windows Insiders to test this week. We had one on Monday for the PC, an accidental release for mobile yesterday and now a PC and Mobile build. There are new features for PC and Mobile, once again it tends to be more PC features.
The changes to Microsoft Edge including the ability to share tabs that you have set aside (set aside was added in the previous PC build). It is now easier to import settings from other browsers and there is new Run without saving option. Other changes include improved web notes that now using Windows Ink so you get the full set of ink colours and sliders.
On the PC Cortana can now help you pickup where you left off, Action Center will have links to recently opened Microsoft Edge tabs so you can open a page on one device and then continue reading it on another. There are also progress bars in notifications and improved scroll bars.
Inline progress bar for notifications (PC): Based on your feedback, app developers can now send toast notifications with a progress indicator to show progress to the user, such as download progress, exercise progress, etc. As a highly related but separate feature, we now also support developers to update an existing notification through “data-binding”. Please go to Tiles and Toast MSDN Blog to find out more.
There are new Bluetooth APIS (GATT) for Bluetooth LE:
New Bluetooth APIs (PC & Mobile): This is the first build you can try out the new APIs that enable GATT Server, Bluetooth LE Peripheral role and unpaired Bluetooth LE device connectivity. We will be flighting an updated SDK tomorrow, please look for 15003 or greater SDK. For more information, the Windows developer blog will have post tomorrow on GATT Server once the SDK flights.
On the mobile the way text scaling and zoon has changed. You can now zoom right up to 500% just as you can on other mobile browsers. There is an app reset option to fix broken apps (this was in yesterday’s build) and for US users improved control of music playback via Cortana.
Other changes on mobile:
- You can now delay updates as you can in the PC for up to 35 days
- The option to connect and disconnect Bluetooth audio devices directly from settings
- Web payments API
- Improved legibility for UP apps in high contrast mode
Look out for my hands on video soon and here are the full list or additional changes and known issues via the Windows Blog:
Other changes, improvements, and fixes for PC
We fixed an issue where tearing off a tab in Microsoft Edge (using your mouse to drag a tab into its own window) might cause your PC to bugcheck (GSOD).
We fixed an issue where going to Battery settings page via Settings > System > Battery crashes the Settings app.
We fixed an issue where the Virtual Touchpad was is missing from the taskbar context menu.
We fixed an issue where the touch keyboard button might be missing from the taskbar on touch machines.
We fixed an issue where Windows Hello was giving a “Couldn’t turn on the camera” error on the Lock screen.
We fixed an issue where Remote Desktop connections might unexpectedly fail due to an error saying invalid credentials (when in fact the credentials had been valid).
We fixed an issue that could result in the quick action section being missing from Action Center.
We fixed an issue where Surface pen clicks might not work after cycling Bluetooth off/on.
We fixed an issue where the Data Usage page in Settings might not load.
We’ve updated the Virtual Touchpad to be a little bigger.
We’ve fixed an issue resulting in the Netflix app potentially displaying a black screen rather than the expected video content.
Other changes, improvements, and fixes for Mobile
In response to your feedback, alarm sounds will start at a slightly higher volume level. (They will then ramp up to full volume, as before).
We fixed an issue Insiders with certain devices, such as the Lumia 950, may have experienced where their phone sometimes took an unexpectedly long time to show up after connecting to their PC.
We fixed an issue where System related notification toasts (e.g. Bluetooth, USB/Autoplay, etc.) didn’t work.
We’ve updated the experience when using Cortana to receive incoming SMS messages over Bluetooth to make it more reliable. To enable this feature if it is not already, open Cortana settings and make sure one of the following Bluetooth options is on: “Bluetooth and wired headsets” or “Bluetooth only”.
We fixed an issue where video recorded in portrait mode might not playback with the correct aspect ratio.
We fixed an issue on recent Insider builds resulting in the Skype Preview tile not updating with an alert badge when a new message had been received.
We fixed an issue where certain websites pinned to Start from Microsoft Edge when tapped would perform a web search rather than opening to that page.
We fixed an issue where the SIM Pin dialog would display truncated text in certain languages.
We fixed an issue that could result in the phone getting stuck at the Goodbye screen when rebooting if Bluetooth was enabled.
We fixed an issue resulting in the Outlook Calendar sometimes displaying the wrong date on its live tile after a new day has begun.
We fixed a bug that was preventing Notification Listener apps (like wearable apps) from accessing notifications on recent builds.
Known issues for PC
After updating to this build, nonstop exceptions in the Spectrum.exe service may occur causing PCs to lose audio, disk I/O usage to become very high, and apps like Microsoft Edge to become unresponsive when doing certain actions. As a workaround to get out of this state, you can delete C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Spectrum\PersistedSpatialAnchors and reboot. For more details, see this forum post.
We are investigating certain situations in which PCs might bugcheck (GSOD) during the installation of new builds (15002+) causing the PC to rollback to the previous build.
When clicking on certain elements in desktop (Win32) games, the game minimizes and cannot be restored.
Desktop shortcuts containing the “%” character (usually URI shortcuts with escaped characters) will result in a cyclical explorer.exe crash. To resolve this, use Task Manager to open PowerShell, and edit the shortcut to not include a % in the path.
When projecting to a secondary monitor, if you set the connection to “Extended”, Explorer.exe may start crashing in a loop. If this happens, turn off your PC, disconnect the secondary monitor, then restart your PC.
Windows Insiders will unexpected see a “Holographic” entry on the main page of Settings.
Brightness changes made via Settings > System > Display will unexpectedly revert after closing the Settings app. For now, please use either Action Center, power flyout or brightness keys to change the brightness.
The list of apps in the Surface Dial “Add an app” page via Settings > Devices > Wheel may unexpectedly be empty. If that happens, tap the “Browse for an app” button at the bottom of the screen to pick the desired app instead.
Taskbar preview icons are unexpectedly small on high-DPI devices.
Quicken will fail to run with an error stating .NET 4.6.1 is not installed. For Insiders familiar with Registry Editor, there is an optional workaround. Take ownership of the following registry keys and edit the “version” value to be 4.6.XXXXX instead of 4.7.XXXXX:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\NET Framework Setup\NDP\v4\Client
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\NET Framework Setup\NDP\v4\Full
Note: Please take caution when editing the registry. Changing the wrong value can have unexpected and undesirable results.
Using CTRL + C to copy in Command Prompt won’t work.
Some websites in Microsoft Edge may unexpectedly show “We can’t reach this page”. If you encounter this, please try accessing the site from an InPrivate tab.
Dragging apps from the all apps list to pin on Start’s tile grid won’t work. For now, please right-click on the desired app in order to pin it.
Miracast sessions will fail to connect.
On certain hardware types (e.g.: Acer Aspire), the Netflix app crashes when starting a movie.
3rd party UWP apps would crash on devices if the DPI settings on the machine are >=150% (Generally people do this on high resolution devices – Surface book etc.).
If you upgrade from Windows 8.1 directly to Build 15002, all your store apps are lost during upgrade process but you can go and re-download all the lost apps from the Store.
When using Microsoft Edge with Narrator, you may hear “no item in view” or silence while tabbing or using other navigation commands. You can use Alt + Tab when this happens to move focus away from and back to the Edge browser. Narrator will then read as expected.
Saying “Hey Cortana, play <item> on <AppName>” doesn’t work immediately after installing the app. Wait 5 minutes for indexing to begin and try again.
ADDED: Under Settings > Update & security > Windows Update you might see the text “Some Settings are managed by your organization” even though your PC isn’t being managed by an organization. This is a bug caused by an updated flight configuration setting for Insider Preview builds and does not mean your PC is being managed by anyone.
Known issues for Mobile
The Windows Hello greeting is missing from the lock screen. Showing the animation and user name is important for letting you know we have securely identified you. Of course, we also recognize the essential purpose of the Windows Hello feature is getting you to your Start screen without delay. We’re working hard to make sign-in as quick as possible across all Windows Hello scenarios.
AAD Identity Settings Sync: You may not see your Favorites or Reading List roam down in Microsoft Edge if you try to immediately open these tabs after opening Microsoft Edge. You can open Microsoft Edge, wait 30 seconds, and then open favorites and Reading List to see content.
AAD Identity Settings Sync: Microsoft Edge does not sync Reading List from PC to phone unless there is a restart.
AAD Identity Settings Sync: Microsoft Edge is syncing passwords on phone but not showing them in “saved passwords” in Microsoft Edge settings.
When you receive a new email notification and tap on it to open the message, it doesn’t open the Mail app or message.
New option to pause updates contains text referencing PC-only Windows Defender.
Insiders with certain devices, such as the Lumia 635 and 636, may not be able to manually change the brightness. The brightness will still automatically adjust if it is set to do so, so please use that for the time being while we investigate.
The ninja cat emoji display in two characters on the keyboard instead of the expected one.
Adding a new card / paying with an existing card will not work in Microsoft Wallet.