Preview builds for the Dev Channel
Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 21390
Release date: May 26, 2021
Released to: Dev Channel
This build primarily fixes a number of minor issues, including one in which when using dark mode, the text in the File Explorer search box was black on a black background, and another in which Task Manager showed the incorrect icon for some processes.
There are several known issues in this build, including one in which the Windows Camera App does not respect the default brightness setting set via the new Camera Settings page, and another in which search results are no longer following the dark theme.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 21390.)
Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 21387
Release date: May 21, 2021
Released to: Dev Channel
This build has more than a dozen bug fixes, including one that caused the Windows Update page becoming unresponsive after Pause Updates was clicked, and two that caused problems when printing to USB printers.
The build has a number of known issues, including one in whichthe Windows Camera App does not use the default brightness setting set via the new Camera Settings page, and another in which elements of Search (including the search box in File Explorer) are no longer displaying correctly in the dark theme.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 21387.)
Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 21382
Release date: May 14, 2021
Released to: Dev Channel
This build includes a feature that lets creative and artistic apps that use International Color Consortium (ICC) display color profiles, such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom Classic, and CorelDraw, get accurate color and access the full gamut of HDR displays.
There are more than a dozen fixes, including one that caused pixilation when a colored mouse pointer was set to be a large size, and another that caused some devices to be listed twice on the Printers and Scanners page in Settings.
The build has a number of known issues, including one in which Windows Camera App does not use the default brightness setting set via the new Camera Settings page, and another in which elements of search (including the search box in File Explorer) no longer display correctly in the dark theme.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 21382.)
Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 21376
Release date: May 6, 2021
Released to: Dev Channel
This build makes several small updates to improve the drag-and-drop default cursor design in scenarios like dragging and dropping into Outlook, among other minor tweaks.
There are more than two dozen fixes, including for a bug in which the Windows Update icon would not display in the notification area when an update was pending reboot, and another that could result in apps hanging after the user pressed Alt-Shift.
The build has a number of known issues, including one in which Windows Camera App does not use the default brightness setting set via the new Camera Settings page, and another in which elements of Search (including the search box in File Explorer) are no longer displaying correctly in the dark theme.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 21376.)
Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 21370
Release date: April 29, 2021
Released to: Dev Channel
This build makes Bluetooth audio streaming easier, tweaks icons in File Explorer’s address bar, and improves the touch keyboard launch animation to make it smoother.
There are more than a dozen fixes, including for a bug in which broken characters appeared in text across Settings, and another in which Cortana didn’t launch from the taskbar after its icon was clicked.
The build has a number of known issues, including one in which the update process hangs for extended periods of time when attempting to install a new build, and another in which elements of Search (including the search box in File Explorer) are no longer displaying correctly in dark theme.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 21370.)
Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 21364
Release date: April 21, 2021
Released to: Dev Channel
This build offers the first preview of support for GUI applications in the Windows Subsystem for Linux. You’ll be able to run GUI editors, tools, and applications in order to develop, test, build, and run Linux apps.
Task Manager now supports process classification to identify resource consumption under Microsoft Edge. Task Manager also gets a new, experimental Eco mode that lets you throttle apps that use high system resources so you can give priority to other apps, leading to faster foreground responsiveness and better energy efficiency.
There are more than two dozen fixes, including for a bug in which the About page in Settings sometimes appeared blank, and another in which Windows Firewall unexpectedly reported an error when updating existing rules to Block.
The build has a number of known issues, including one in which the update process hangs for extended periods of time when attempting to install a new build, and another in which elements of Search (including the search box in File Explorer) no longer display correctly in the dark theme.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 21364.)
Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 21359
Release date: April 14, 2021
Released to: Dev Channel
This build has a new option under the Start menu’s Power menu to restart apps after signing in when you reboot your device.
There are more than two dozen bug fixes, including one in which Windows Update Settings might unexpectedly display two separate strings saying that updates are managed by your organization, and another in which after upgrading to recent builds you couldn’t connect using remote desktop until you rebooted your PC.
The build has a number of known issues, including one in which the update process hangs for extended periods of time when attempting to install a new build, and another in which the Windows Camera App does not use the default brightness setting set via the new Camera Settings page.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 21359.)
Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 21354
Release date: April 7, 2021
Released to: Dev Channel
This build offers new personalization options for news and interests on the taskbar. A new button links to a page that lets you choose specific topics that you’re interested in. You can search for topics or publishers you want to follow, and also browse through more than a dozen categories, including different types of news, entertainment, and sports.
In addition, you can now turn off content adaptive brightness control (CABC), which improves battery performance but decreases image quality. There’s also a new camera settings page so you can easily add and remove cameras and configure the default image settings of each one.
There are also more than two dozen bug fixes, including for one in which all folders pinned to Quick Access in File Explorer disappeared, and another in which the tooltip text for items in Start’s Power button menu wasn’t displaying correctly.
The build has a number of known issues, including one in which the update process hangs for extended periods of time when attempting to install a new build, and another in which elements of Search (including the search box in File Explorer) are no longer displaying correctly in the dark theme.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 21354.)
Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 21343
Release date: March 24, 2021
Released to: Dev Channel
This build introduces colorful new icons for File Explorer and improves Windows Sandbox and Microsoft Defender Application Guard (MDAG).
There are also a half dozen bug fixes, including for an issue that caused some devices with Realtek network adapters running driver version 1.0.0.4 to experience an intermittent loss of network connectivity, and another that caused a memory leak when interacting with the Recycle Bin.
The build has a number of known issues, including one in which the update process hangs for extended periods of time when attempting to install a new build, and another in which all folders pinned to Quick Access in File Explorer disappear.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 21343.)
Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 21337
Release date: March 17, 2021
Released to: Dev Channel
This build includes new capabilities for controlling virtual desktops, including reordering and customizing the backgrounds for each virtual desktop. File Explorer also gets some minor design changes.
There are also nearly two dozen bug fixes, including for one that caused the Windows Security icon in the taskbar to become unresponsive, and another in which Search didn’t open after clicking the search box in the taskbar.
The build has a number of known issues, including one in which the update process hangs for extended periods of time when attempting to install a new build, and another in which some devices with Realtek network adapters running driver version 1.0.0.4 may experience intermittent loss of network connectivity.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 21337.)
Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 21332
Release date: March 10, 2021
Released to: Dev Channel
This build has nearly two dozen bug fixes, including fixing an issue in which clipboard history did not update to display the latest entries, and another in which some Settings search results were missing.
The build has a number of known issues, including one in which the update process hangs for extended periods of time when attempting to install a new build, and another in which some devices with Realtek network adapters running driver version 1.0.0.4 may experience intermittent loss of network connectivity.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 21332.)
Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 21327
Release date: March 3, 2021
Released to: Dev Channel
With this build, the news and interest feature on the taskbar gets a new design. It includes more color and more frequent updates, as well as “cards” that let you see article text at a glance.
There are more than a dozen bug fixes, including fixing an issue that made Start and certain apps less reliable, and another that caused some upgrades to get stuck at 88%.
The build has a number of known issues, including one in which the update process hangs for extended periods of time when attempting to install a new build, and another in which “up to date” status is not displayed under Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 21327.)
Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 21322
Release date: February 24, 2021
Released to: Dev Channel
This build has only a few minor changes, including one in which the 3D Objects folder will no longer be shown as a special folder in File Explorer. If you need to access this folder, you can do so by typing %userprofile% in File Explorer or through the navigation pane option Show all folders.
There are ten bug fixes, including for a bug that caused your PC to bug check when switching between users, and another that caused deleted files to unexpectedly remain visible on the desktop until the desktop was refreshed.
The build has a number of known issues, including one in which the update process hangs for extended periods of time when attempting to install a new build, and another in which the Start menu layout may reset.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 21322.)
Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 21318
Release date: February 19, 2021
Released to: Dev Channel
With this build, you can copy text-based entries in your clipboard history in plain text, without formatting such as font, color, or size. That will allow an entry to match the formatting of the destination document.
In addition, the notification when pairing supported Bluetooth devices will now stay on the screen a little longer, giving you the chance to interact with it before it goes away.
There are also a wide range of bug fixes, including for one in which the right side of the quick actions area of the Action Center was truncated, and another in which Reset my PC with the “Keep my files” option selected was failing.
The build has a number of known issues, including one in which the update process hangs for extended periods of time when attempting to install a new build, and another in which domain networks appear with the wrong firewall profile, which may block some local network services.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 21318.)
Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 21313
Release date: February 12, 2021
Released to: Dev Channel
In this build the Chromium version of Microsoft Edge replaces the previous version of the browser (which Microsoft calls Microsoft Edge Legacy). All future Windows 10 Insider builds will come with the Chromium version of Edge rather than Microsoft Edge Legacy. Those who are interested in trying out new features in the Chromium version of Edge before they are officially released can sign up for it in the Microsoft Edge Insider website.
The build includes a wide variety of bug fixes, including for one in which some Insiders experienced an IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL bug check when attempting to upgrade to a newer build, and another in which the text on the taskbar button could look pixelated on high-resolution screens.
The build has a number of known issues, including one in which the update process hangs for extended periods of time when attempting to install a new build, and another in which Domain networks appear with the wrong firewall profile, which may block some local network services.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 21313.)
Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 21301
Release date: January 27, 2021
Released to: Dev Channel
This build improves the touch keyboard in several minor ways. When the keyboard is undocked, it now switches to the Small keyboard layout, making it easier to move the keyboard around using the gripper region at the top of the keyboard. Small and split layouts now feature an updated symbol’s view based on the default layout. And the settings menu now has a nested structure for improved clarity and less clutter.
Note that this feature is being rolled out initially only to a subset of Insiders in the Dev Channel, to test it for performance and reliability. Eventually, it will be rolled out to all Insiders in the Dev channel.
In addition, there are several small overall changes, including one in which when you right-click locally saved files displayed in jump lists, you now have an Open File Location option, in addition to Open.
There are also more than a dozen bug fixes, including for one that could result in VPN repeatedly connecting and disconnecting in a loop, and another that caused Task Manager to crash when switching to the Details tab.
There are more than a dozen known issues, including one in which Miracast users may experience very low frame rates, and another in which the update process hangs for extended periods of time when attempting to install a new build.
(Get more info about Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 21301.)
Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 21296
Release date: January 21, 2021
Released to: Dev Channel
This build rolls out changes to clipboard history first detailed in Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 20206 and the ability to manage and create Storage Spaces from Settings described in Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 21286.
In addition, there are nine bug fixes, including for a bug that caused the Program Compatibility Assistant to unexpectedly use up a large amount of CPU resources, and another in which the Windows Security app showed both a “check for updates” button and link at the same time.
The build has more than a dozen known issues, including the update process hanging for extended periods of time when attempting to install a new build and another in which some 32-bit systems may lose network connection after installing the build. If you are running a 32-bit version of Windows, Microsoft says you may wish to pause updates until the issue is resolved.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 21296.)
Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 21292 (RS_PRERELEASE)
Release date: January 13, 2021
Released to: Dev Channel
This build adds fixes a wide variety of bugs in a feature introduced in Build 21286 that lets you get a customizable feed of news, weather and other updates via the taskbar.
In addition, there are several other bug fixes, including for an issue in which explorer.exe was hanging and or crashing, particularly after interacting with audio/video, and another in which it wasn’t possible to sort processes in Task Manager by status.
The build has nearly two dozen known issues, including rendering and graphic issues after resizing certain app windows, and the update process hanging for extended periods of time when attempting to install a new build.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 21292.)
Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 21286 (RS_PRERELEASE)
Release date: January 6, 2020
Released to: Dev Channel
This build introduces a feature that lets you get a customizable feed of news, weather, and other updates via the taskbar. In addition, you can now manage all of your storage locations via the Settings app. There’s also a new tool named DiskUsage that lets you get information about your disk usage via the command line.
The build has a wide variety of bug fixes, including for a bug that caused some printers to get stuck when connecting via Settings, and another that could unexpectedly sign you out of apps and websites after rebooting your PC.
The build has more than two dozen known issues, including rendering and graphic issues after resizing certain app windows, as well as the update process hanging for extended periods of time when attempting to install a new build.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 21286.)
Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 20279 (FE_RELEASE)
Release date: December 14, 2020
Released to: Dev Channel
This build is, in the words of Microsoft, is “largely the same as Build 20277” (see below). Microsoft released it in order to test its ability to quickly follow one build with another. Windows Insiders who updated to Build 21277 (RS_PRERELEASE) are not being offered this build because they are on a newer build.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 20279.)
Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 21277 (RS_PRERELEASE)
Release date: December 10, 2020
Released to: Dev Channel
For now, Microsoft is automatically pushing FE_RELEASE builds to Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel. Build 20277 (see below) is an FE_RELEASE. All Dev Channel Insiders will be moved to the RS_PRERELEASE branch sometime after the holidays.
If you want to move to the RS_PRERELEASE branch now, however, you can choose to install Build 21277, which is being offered as an optional update through the “seeker” experience in Windows Update. Once you install Build 21277, you will continue to receive RS_PRERELEASE builds.
Note that once you to install a RS_PRERELEASE build, you cannot move back to the FE_RELEASE branch. However, you will still have the option to roll back to a previous version for up to 10 days or until you take another build.
Build 21277 introduces x64 emulation in preview for Windows 10 on ARM PCs and adds support for Unicode Emoji 12.1 and 13.0. There are also a wide variety of bug fixes, including for a bug that caused Microsoft Edge windows to be unexpectedly grouped with File Explorer in the taskbar, and another in which limiting a search in File Explorer to a specific folder was unexpectedly returning results from the subfolders.
There are also a number of minor changes and improvements, including a smoother animation when opening or closing a window and the ability to uninstall the Snipping Tool.
There are five known issues in the build, including one in which the update process may hang for extended periods of time when attempting to install a new build, and another in which no drives appear under Settings > System > Storage > Manage Disks and Volumes. As a workaround, you can manage your disks using the classic Disk Management tool.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 21277.)
Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 20277 (FE_RELEASE)
Release date: December 10, 2020
Released to: Dev Channel
Build 20277 is being offered to Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel as part of the FE_RELEASE branch. You may alternatively seek out and install Build 21277 (see above), which is from the RS_PRERELEASE branch. If you do, you will continue to receive RS_PRERELEASE builds. If you choose to remain in the FE_RELEASE branch, you will continue to receive automatic FE_RELEASE updates until sometime after the holidays, when all Dev Channel Insiders will be moved to the RS_PRERELEASE branch.
The build fixes two issues, one that could result in the WinRE volume label being lost after multiple upgrades and another that could result in apps failing to update with error code 0x80073D02.
There are five known issues in the build, including one in which the update process may hang for extended periods of time when attempting to install a new build, and another in which no drives appear under Settings > System > Storage > Manage Disks and Volumes. As a workaround, you can manage your disks using the classic Disk Management tool.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 20277.)
Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 20270
Release date: December 3, 2020
Released to: Dev Channel
This build lets those who sign into Cortana with their corporate credentials use Cortana to open and search for files by natural-language spoken and typed queries, such as “Hey Cortana, find my recent PDFs.”
The build also fixes several minor issues, including one in which some dialog boxes, such as Properties, displayed black text on dark backgrounds, and another in which certain apps unexpectedly closed when clicking the Maximize button.
There are five known issues with this build, including one in which the update process may hang for extended periods of time when attempting to install a new build, and another in which no drives appear under Settings > System > Storage > Manage Disks and Volumes. As a workaround, you can manage your disks using the classic Disk Management tool.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 20270.)
Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 20262
Release date: November 18, 2020
Released to: Dev Channel
This build has 10 minor bug fixes, including for a bug in which certain apps unexpectedly launched transparently, with no content visible, and another in which Settings could crash when navigating to Storage Sense.
There are six known issues with this build, including one in which the update process may hang for extended periods of time when attempting to install a new build, and another in which no drives appear under Settings > System > Storage > Manage Disks and Volumes. As a workaround, you can manage your disks using the classic Disk Management tool.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 20262.)
Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 20257
Release date: November 11, 2020
Released to: Dev Channel
This build makes changes to the Your Phone app, which now lets you run multiple Android mobile apps side by side on your Windows 10 PC on supported Samsung devices. Apps launch in separate windows, allowing you to interact with multiple apps at the same time even if the Your Phone app is not open. You can pin your apps to Favorites, the Windows 10 taskbar, or the Start menu for easy access to them. You can also search for your previously pinned apps via Windows search from within your Start app list.
There are also a variety of minor bug fixes, including for a bug in which the windows.old folder was not completely deleted when performing disk cleanup, and another in which apps wouldn’t launch from browser links.
There are six known issues with this build, including one in which the update process may hang for extended periods of time when attempting to install a new build, and another in which no drives appear under Settings > System > Storage > Manage Disks and Volumes. As a workaround, you can manage your disks using the classic Disk Management tool.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 20257.)
Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 20251
Release date: November 4, 2020
Released to: Dev Channel
This update has nine minor bug fixes, including for one that caused the background of some dialogs to unexpectedly appear gray instead of white, another that could cause the Settings app to hang when checking for updates right after an upgrade, and another that sometimes caused the Settings app to send a notification that just said “new notification.”
There are eight known issues with this build, including one in which the update process may hang for extended periods of time when attempting to install a new build, and another in which Arm PCs such as the Surface Pro X won’t allow Windows PowerShell to launch. As a workaround, you can use “Windows PowerShell (x86)” or “Windows PowerShell ISE (x86)” from the Start menu, or else download the new PowerShell 7, which runs natively on Arm.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 20251.)
Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 20246
Release date: October 29, 2020
Released to: Dev Channel
This update temporarily removes several features that debuted in earlier Dev Channel builds, including an emoji picker, a redesigned touch keyboard, and voice typing. The update adds a new automatic Linux distro installation to the wsl.exe --install command; typing wsl.exe --install into the command line now installs a fully set-up Windows Subsystem for Linux instance ready to go, including a Linux distro of choice.
The build includes a variety of bug fixes, including for one that caused Settings to crash sometimes when clicking the Update and Security category, another that caused Storage Settings to unexpectedly show incorrect category sizes (a higher number than what was visible in File Explorer), and another in which some devices experienced a KMODE_EXCEPTION bugcheck when using certain virtualization technologies.
There are seven known issues with this build, including one in which the update process may hang for extended periods of time when attempting to install a new build, and another that could cause a crash when disconnecting certain audio devices while playing audio.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 20246.)
Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 20241
Release date: October 21, 2020
Released to: Dev Channel
This update introduces theme-aware splash screens for Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps. When an app is launched, the splash screen color will match your default app mode. So if you have the light theme turned on, you’ll see a light theme splash screen, and if you have the dark theme turned on, you’ll see a dark theme splash screen.
In addition, when you defragment your hard drives (Settings > System > Storage > Optimize Drives), there are several new options, including the ability to see all volumes, including hidden ones.
There are also a variety of bug fixes, including for one in which robocopy wouldn’t preserve the directory dates when using the move command, and another in which the System Information window (msinfo32) crashed on launch.
There are 10 known issues with this build, including one in which the update process may hang for extended periods of time when attempting to install a new build, and another in which some devices experience a KMODE_EXCEPTION bug check when using certain virtualization technologies.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 20241.)
Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 20236
Release date: October 14, 2020
Released to: Dev Channel
This update lets you change the refresh rate of your display, via Settings > System > Display > Advanced display settings. It also tweaks the Windows Search Box in several ways, including showing the last four items that you’ve searched for and opened, including apps, files, settings, and direct-nav URLs (for example, “computerworld.com”).
There are also many bug fixes, including for an issue in which some Office applications were crashing or missing after updating to a new build, and another in which File Explorer sometimes crashed when renaming a file.
There are 11 known issues with this build, including one in which the update process may hang for extended periods of time when attempting to install a new build, and another in which some devices experience a KMODE_EXCEPTION bug check when using certain virtualization technologies.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 20236.)
Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 20231
Release date: October 7, 2020
Released to: Dev Channel
This update gives enterprise customers the ability to modify file associations on a per-user or per-device basis. That means IT administrators can use Group Policy to set which apps will automatically open various file types or links. The feature is first being rolled out to a subset of Insiders in the Dev Channel, to help Microsoft identify issues that may impact performance and reliability. It will gradually roll out to everyone in the Dev Channel.
The update also has a wide variety of fixes, including for a bug that caused Action Center and notification buttons to vanish after switching between High Contrast Black and High Contrast White, and another in which Settings hung at launch for some Insiders.
There are 10 known issues with this build, including one in which the update process may hang for extended periods of time when attempting to install a new build, and another in which some Office applications crashed or were missing after updating to a new build.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 20231.)
Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 20226
Release date: September 30, 2020
Released to: Dev Channel
This update adds a new feature, Storage health monitoring, which is designed to detect hardware abnormalities for NVMe SSDs and notify users with enough time for them to act on them. Click the notification or go to the drive properties page in Storage Settings (Settings > System > Storage > Manage disks and volumes > Properties) for more details about any issue.
There is also a new settings page for the Your Phone app that lets you link a new device, remove an old device, and switch between active devices.
There are also a variety of small changes, including one in which in File Explorer if you right-click on a zipped OneDrive file set to online-only, you’ll now see an Extract All option, the same as if the file was available locally on the PC. In addition, there are several bug fixes, including for one that impacted taskbar performance and reliability on 2-in-1 convertible devices.
There are eight known issues with this build, including one in which the update process may hang for extended periods of time when attempting to install a new build, and another in which some Office applications crash or go missing after updating to a new build.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 20226.)
Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 20221
Release date: September 23, 2020
Released to: Dev Channel
This update adds a “Meet Now” feature to the taskbar, allowing you to quickly connect to others via Skype. The Your Phone app also lets you pin notifications from your phone to Windows 10.
There are also a variety of bug fixes, including for one in which the new Manage Disks and Volumes section in Settings wasn’t blocking the ability to change the drive letter of the system volume, and another in which the Start menu and Action Center became transparent when certain apps were open in the background.
There are eight known issues with this build, including one in which the update process may hang for extended periods of time when attempting to install a new build, and another in which some Office applications crashed or were missing after updating to a new build.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 20221.)
Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 20215
Release date: September 16, 2020
Released to: Dev Channel
This update adds dark theme search results to Windows 10 search. It also has a small number of bug fixes, including for one that could cause the Windows Security app to hang, and another that impacted voice typing reliability.
There are 10 known issues with this build, including one in which the update process may hang for extended periods of time when attempting to install a new build, and another in which some Office applications crash or are missing after updating to a new build.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 20215.)
Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 20211
Release date: September 10, 2020
Released to: Dev Channel
This update allows you to search the lists of file types, protocols, and apps when setting a default app for a certain task — a feature that was previously made available to some Windows Insiders and is now rolling out to all Insiders in the Dev Channel.
The update also allows users of the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) to attach and mount a physical disk inside of a WSL 2 distro. This enables them to access file systems that aren’t natively supported by Windows (such as ext4). And the update also lets the Your Phone app to drag and drop files between your PC and Samsung smartphones that include the smart screen feature.
The build fixes several bugs, including one that could result in Start menu tiles continuing to display an “app update in progress” progress bar after an app had already finished updating, and another that could result in the lock screen hanging.
There are 11 known issues with this build, including one in which the update process may hang for extended periods of time when attempting to install a new build, and another in which some Office applications crashed or were missing after updating to a new build.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 20211.)
Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 20206
Release date: September 2, 2020
Released to: Dev Channel
This update makes changes to the Windows Emoji Picker by introducing an updated design in keeping with Fluent Design principles, improving searching for emojis, and offering animated GIF support.
The update also introduces voice typing, an enhanced version of Windows dictation. It’s optimized for touch keyboards and has an updated back end that Microsoft says will improve accuracy. Some people will also get a new design of Windows’ touch keyboard with new animations and sounds, more labels and an easy way to use voice typing.
The build also fixes several bugs, including one that sometimes resulted in the Narrator Home crashing when using the back button, and another that could cause Task Manager to erroneously indicate that a non-UWP app had been suspended.
There are seven known issues with this build, including one in which the update process may hang for extended periods of time when attempting to install a new build, and another in which some Office applications crashed or were missing after updating to a new build.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 20206.)
Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 20201
Release date: August 26, 2020
Released to: Dev Channel
This minor update has several bug fixes, including for a bug in which the min/max/close buttons were stuck in their original positions after resizing a UWP app, and another in which HDR monitors appeared black when HDR was enabled.
There are 10 known issues with this build, including one in which the update process may hang for extended periods of time when attempting to install a new build, and another in which pinned sites don’t show all open tabs for a domain.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 20201.)
Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 20197
Release date: August 21, 2020
Released to: Dev Channel
With this update, you can now manage your hard disks in the Settings app. You’ll be able to view disk information, create and format volumes, and assign drive letters. To do it, go to Settings > System > Storage and click Manage Disks and Volumes.
There are also a variety of very small changes, including the way Alt + Tab works with Microsoft Edge tabs. It now has a default of displaying at most five tabs. You can change that by going to Settings > System > Multitasking.
There are also a number of bug fixes, including one in which pinned File Explorer folders in Start appeared with a darker background than other tiles in light mode, and another in which Font Settings and Themes Settings were displaying the old style of Microsoft Store icon.
There are seven known issues with this build, including one in which the update process may hang for extended periods of time when attempting to install a new build, and another in which pinned sites don’t show all open tabs for a domain.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 20197.)
Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 20190
Release date: August 12, 2020
Released to: Dev Channel
This update tweaks the Graphics section of Settings to let you specify a default high-performance GPU and to pick a specific GPU on a per-application basis.
In addition, there are eight bug fixes, including for one that could result in explorer.exe being unresponsive on touch-capable devices after resuming from hibernation, and another in which when Narrator was enabled it could result in the on-screen PIN pad unexpectedly appearing when focus was set to the login screen.
There are nine known issues with this build, including one in which the update process may hang for extended periods of time when attempting to install a new build, and another in which some Microsoft Store games protected with Easy Anti-Cheat may fail to launch.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 20190.)
Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 20185
Release date: August 5, 2020
Released to: Dev Channel
The build makes several changes to the Network section in Settings, including making DNS settings more accessible and letting you configure encrypting DNS controls in Settings. In addition, the Your Phone app can now run your Android applications on your PC from your phone.
The build also includes a wide variety of bug fixes, including for one in which the “close all windows” action in the taskbar didn’t always close all of the open tabs for pinned sites, and another in which dragging and dropping an app from Start menu’s “all apps” list over to the tile grid to pin it wasn’t working for certain apps.
There are nine known issues in this build, including one in which some Microsoft Store games protected with Easy Anti-Cheat may fail to launch, and another in which Alt + Tabbing to a browser tab sometimes moves the previously active browser tab to the front of the Alt + Tab list.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 20185.)
Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 20180
Release date: July 29, 2020
Released to: Dev Channel
This update turns on new features first announced in the 20161 Insider build on July 1, including theme-aware tiles on the Start menu. Until now, only a small subset of Insiders have received those features.
Aside from that, the build it has only a few fixes and changes, including one that shrinks the new folder icon in the Start menu’s “All apps” list so it better aligns with the size of the other icons, another that fixes issues that could cause crashes when using Alt-Tab to switch to browser tabs.
There are ten known issues in this build, including one in which some Microsoft Store games protected with Easy Anti-Cheat may fail to launch, and another in which Alt-Tabbing to a browser tab sometimes moves the previously active browser tab to the front of the Alt-Tab list.
Note: Insider Preview Builds 20161 and below will expire on July 31st. To avoid the expiration, update to Insider Preview Build 20170 or newer.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 20180.)
Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 20175
Release date: July 22, 2020
Released to: Dev Channel
This update includes a new feature for Microsoft Edge, in which when you pin a web site to the taskbar, clicking it displays all the open tabs for the site in Edge. Note that existing sites pinned to your taskbar will not use this new behavior until you remove and re-pin them. The build also includes new icons for Sticky Notes and Snip & Sketch.
There are also a number of bug fixes, including for one in which tiles sometimes flashed unexpectedly in the Start menu when animating, and another in which Search didn’t close after selecting certain items in the search results.
There are ten known issues in this build, including one in which the update process may hang for extended periods of time when attempting to install a new build, and another in which live preview doesn’t work for pinned site tabs.
Note: Insider Preview Build 20161 and earlier builds will expire on July 31st. To avoid the expiration, update to Insider Preview Build 20170 or newer.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 20175.)
Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 20170
Release date: July 15, 2020
Released to: Dev Channel
This update makes changes to the Windows search bar. There’s a new two-column layout that lets you do searches more quickly and offers easier access to Quick Searches, which display local weather, top news, and other information.
In addition, you can now manage your sound devices in Settings, rather than in Control Panel. Go to Settings > System > Sound > Manage sound devices to see which sound device is the default and to set up a new default device or default communication device.
There are also a number of bug fixes, including for one in which the master volume slider in Sound Settings wouldn’t work after removing and re-pairing certain Bluetooth devices, and another in which modifier keys like Shift and Ctrl sometimes were dropped over a remote desktop connection.
There are six known issues with this build, including one in which the update process may hang for extended periods of time when attempting to install a new build, and another in which Task Manager reports 0.00 GHz CPU usage in the Performance tab.
The notes about the build also include a link to the just-released Microsoft Launcher v6, a launcher app for Android phones. Download it here.
Note: Windows Insiders with PCs that have AMD processors are not being offered this build because of a bug that affects the overall usability of these PCs. Microsoft expects the issue will be resolved by the time the next build is released.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 20170.)
Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 20161
Release date: July 1, 2020
Released to: Dev Channel
This update offers a variety of new features, including what Microsoft calls “freshening up the Start menu.” The colors behind app logos in the apps list have been removed, and tiles now have partially transparent backgrounds. In addition, in Microsoft Edge all open tabs will now appear when you use Alt + Tab. Microsoft is also taking information previously shown only in the Control Panel and displaying it in System > Settings > About.
There are a variety of bug fixes, including for one that caused some games and applications to crash at launch or fail to install, and another that caused some Bluetooth devices to no longer show their battery level in Settings.
There are seven known issues with this build, including one in which the update process may hang for extended periods of time when attempting to install a new build, and another in which Task Manager reports 0.00 GHz CPU usage in the Performance tab.
(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 20161.)
