Microsoft releases Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23545 & 25951

Microsoft has released new builds of Windows 11 for Windows Insiders on the dev and canary channels. Build 23545 is for devices on the dev channel and build 25951 is for devices on the canary channel.

Build 23545

The dev build changes to the search box in the taskbar and changes to Windows Share:

[Search on the Taskbar]

• Instead of providing a hover experience that opens the search box on the taskbar, we are trying out some different experiences for when you click on the search highlight gleam in the search box instead. In some cases, clicking on the gleam will take you to a Bing.com page for the search highlight. A tooltip will always be shown for the search highlight gleam when hovering over the search box. As a reminder, we regularly try out different concepts and get feedback with Insiders in the Dev Channel.

[Windows Share]

• We’re beginning to roll out the ability to quickly give your device a more friendly name to identify sharing to and from with nearby share under Settings > System > Nearby sharing.
• We’re also rolling out the ability to see Microsoft Teams (work or school) contacts and to send files to them directly within the built-in Windows share window if you’re signed in with an Entra ID (AAD) account.

There are plenty of fixes to File Explorer and the Task Bar:

Fixes

[File Explorer]

• Fixed an issue which could cause explorer.exe to crash when closing File Explorer.
• Fixed an issue where when switching between dark and light mode (or a contrast theme) File Explorer’s address bar, command bar, and context menu could get stuck in the wrong colors, making it difficult to see.
• Fixed an issue where if you launched File Explorer in dark theme you could see a bright white flash as content loaded.
• Fixed an issue where rapidly opening two File Explorer windows might make explorer.exe crash.
• Made a few more fixes to help improve File Explorer launch performance, including fixing a leak which would impact performance over time.
• Fixed an issue which could make explorer.exe crash when navigating away from Home.
• Fixed an issue where trying to open Gallery after new images had been added might result in a crash.
• Fixed an issue where the progress wheel in the tab would get stuck showing that File Explorer was loading a folder when the loading had actually already finished.
• Fixed an issue where File Explorer sorting changes wouldn’t persist in folders after you navigated away and back.
• Fixed an issue which could cause the icons in File Explorer tabs to be incorrect.
• Fixed an issue which was causing icons on the desktop to turn into white generic icons until you refreshed the desktop.

[Taskbar]

• Fixed a high hitting explorer.exe crash in the latest builds impacting taskbar reliability.

[Search on the Taskbar]

• Fixed an issue that was causing search to not launch sometimes in the latest Dev Channel builds.

[Input]

• We fixed the issue causing Unicode Emoji 15support which began rolling out with Build 23475 and the updated color font format with COLRv1 support that began rolling out with Build 23506 to no longer appear. These experiences should again be working with this build.
• Did some work to help address an issue that could cause the Japanese and Chinese IME candidate windows to not appear after using connected standby, due to a crash.
• Fixed a high hitting tabtip.exe crash that may have impacted the ability to type in the last couple flights.

[Settings]

• Fixed an issue where Settings wasn’t launching in safe mode for some Insiders.

[Other]

• Fixed an issue where trying to take window mode screenshots was taking screenshots of the entire screen instead of the app in focus for some Insiders.

NOTE: Some fixes noted here in Insider Preview builds from the Dev Channel may make their way into the servicing updates for the released version of Windows 11.

Known issues

[Start menu]

• Some apps under All apps on the Start menu, such as PWA apps installed via Microsoft Edge, may incorrectly be labeled as a system component.

[Windows Copilot]

• We heard feedback from Insiders in the Dev Channel that the Windows Copilot Preview is not available in some regions. We found an issue and plan to re-enable it for these Insiders with a fix in a future flight.
• You can use Alt + Tab to switch out of Windows Copilot, but not back into it. Windows + C will move focus back to Windows Copilot
• When first launching or after refreshing Copilot while using voice access you’ll need to use “Show grid” commands to click in the “Ask me anything” box for the first time.

Build 25951

The canary channel build has a new option for SMB NTLM Blocking, which enables administrators to block NTLM via SMB which helps reduce the attack vectors off the OS. Also with the build is the option to control which SMB dialects the Oi will negotiate.

Here are the other changes and known issues:

Changes and Improvements

[Lock screen]

• We’ve adjusted the network flyout on the Lock screen to better match the UI of the network flyout from quick settings in system tray on the taskbar.

Known issues

• Some popular games may not work correctly on the most recent Insider Preview builds in the Canary Channel. Please be sure to submit feedback in Feedback Hub on any issues you see with playing games on these builds.
• [NEW] We’re investigating reports that the print queue is no longer accessible.

Via