Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22616

Hi all, last Thursday Microsoft released Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22616 to the Dev and Beta Channels.

Quick & smooth upgrades here, Smart App Control still triggers some messages during the upgrade but didn’t seem to break the upgrade or disable any devices post upgrade.

Changes and Improvements

[General]

• [REMINDER] The build watermark at the lower right-hand corner of the desktop is no longer present in this build. This doesn’t mean we’re done, and the watermark will return to Insiders in a future build.

[Taskbar]

• As a result of feedback from Windows Insiders, we have decided to disable the changes to the system tray introduced in Build 22581 for now. The system tray and specifically the “Show hidden icons” flyout will now function the same way it did with the original release of Windows 11, including the ability to rearrange icons in the flyout. We hope to bring these changes back in the future after further refinement of the experience by addressing some of the feedback we have received. As we’ve mentioned previously, features we try out in the Dev or Beta Channels may not always ship.

[Other]

• Previously, we shared new requirements for internet and MSA on the Windows 11 Pro edition. Today, Windows Insiders on Windows 11 Pro edition will now require MSA and internet connectivity during the initial device setup (OOBE) only when setting up for personal use. If you choose to setup device for Work or School, there is no change, and it will work the same way as before.

Fixes

[General]

• We fixed an issue where performance and reliability of explorer.exe could degrade over time, eventually resulting in a bugcheck, in the recent Insider Preview builds.

[Taskbar]

• We fixed the issue causing the “Show hidden icons” flyout in the system tray to disappear completely for some Insiders, even though it shows as “on” under Settings > Personalization > Taskbar and “Other system tray icons”.

[Input]

• Fixed an issue which was leading to some apps crashing when pressing the half-width/full-width key while using the Japanese IME.

[Widgets]

• Fixed an issue where if you tried to open the widgets board using a gesture from the side of the screen, you would see the widgets board open and then immediately close.
• Fixed an issue where users were unable to use the swipe functionality to reliably invoke Widgets.

[Settings]

• Fixed an issue that could cause Quick Settings to crash when projecting to certain wireless devices.

[Windowing]

• Addressed an issue where using the 3-finger on-screen touch gesture for minimizing could cause animations to stop working across the system.
• Fixed an issue impacting DWM reliability in recent flights.
• Fixed an issue which was causing some apps like Settings to open blank if they were re-opened an upgrade or reboot.

[Task Manager]

• We fixed an issue that was causing the process list to fluctuate between Apps & Background groups when clicking on Efficiency mode from the command bar

[Windows Sandbox]

• Fixed an underlying issue which could cause some text in Windows Sandbox to appear as black boxes in certain cases.

[Other]

• Fixed an issue leading to Windows Update notifications showing they were sent from “Windows.SystemToast.WindowsUpdate.MoNotification” instead of “Windows Update”.

Known issues

[Live captions]

• Certain apps in full screen (e.g., video players) prevent live captions from being visible.
• Certain apps positioned near the top of the screen and closed before live captions is run will re-launch behind the live captions window positioned at top. Use the system menu (ALT + Spacebar) while the app has focus to move the app’s window further down.

REMINDER: Window for switching from Dev Channel to the Beta Channel is closing soon!

Now that the Dev and Beta Channels are receiving the same builds, the window is still open (but closing soon!) for you to switch channels following these simple steps:

1. Open Settings > Windows Update > Windows Insider Program.
2. Select Choose your Insider settings
3. Select Beta Channel.
4. The next time you receive an update, it will be for your new channel.

IMPORTANT: This window will close once we release builds with higher build numbers to the Dev Channel. If your device stays on the Dev Channel and receives a build that is a higher build number than what is in the Beta Channel, you will have to do a clean installation of the released version of Windows 11 on your device to switch to the Beta Channel.

No action is required if you want to continue receiving the Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds in the Dev Channel.

source: Windows Blogs