May 03

Announcing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 16184 for PC + Build 15208 for Mobile

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Last week Microsoft released Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 16184 for PC to Windows Insiders in the Fast ring. and Windows 10 Mobile Insider Preview Build 15208 to Insiders in the Fast ring.

This Build is running smoothly & the new stuff is awesome 🙂 certainly worth a look:

some devices are having problems with the update stopping on a x80070003 error, currently looking into a fix, looks like if you have this you’ll have to use dism with the retorehealth option to fix the current build 1st.

What’s New in Build 16184 For PC

My People: Technology is all about making it easier for you to connect with your most important people. Whether you want to share a photo, make plans for dinner, or get an answer from a friend or coworker – My People is here to take it to the next level and bring the people you care about most to the center of your experience.

You can now:

  • Pin your people to the taskbar – we’ll suggest some to start with, or you can pick your own! (Note: you are currently limited to having 3 people pinned to your taskbar currently.)
  • View multiple communication apps together and filtered to each person on your taskbar.
  • Choose the app you want to use to chat and we’ll remember for next time.

By now, you are wondering ‘but how do I host this party in my taskbar?’. To start with, go to the Store app and make sure you have all the latest updates for the Skype, Mail, and People apps. Then click on the People icon in the taskbar to activate the first run experience and get setup.

Note: Contact syncing is enabled by default following system settings in versions 11.13+ of Skype If you have an older version of Skype you will need to manually enable contact syncing via the Skype app settings.

Have feedback you want to share with the team? We want to hear it! You can send us feedback by tapping the ellipsis in the People flyout and selecting “Send feedback”, or by opening the Feedback Hub and sharing your thoughts in the Desktop Environment > My People section. We have some more work on its way for this that will soon be lighting up for Insiders, including our improved Share story for People, so stay tuned!

New experience for Gmail accounts in Windows 10 Mail & Calendar apps: Last week, we announced we’re introducing a new experience for Gmail accounts in the Windows 10 Mail and Calendar apps that brings our latest features such as Focused Inbox and richer experiences for travel reservations and package deliveries that were previously only available to those with an Outlook.com or Office 365 email address. Windows Insiders will be the first to try out the new experience as the roll-out gradually happens over the next few weeks. You”ll know the new experience is available for your account when you are prompted to update your Gmail account settings.

Changes, improvements, and fixes for PC

  • We fixed an issue where night light could get stuck in a disabled state.
  • We’ve updated Start to use the improved XAML scrollbar style announced during Creators Update development.
  • We fixed an issue from recent flights where dragging an app from Start’s All apps list into the tile grid would result in Start crashing.
  • We fixed an issue for those using Windows in Japanese, where on first login after an upgrade certain apps would unexpectedly appear at the bottom of the Start’s All apps list for an hour or until being launched, instead of the normal sorted position.
  • Since the preview picture in Start Settings only previewed background and theming changes, which are already available to be previewed on their corresponding Settings pages, we’ve made the decision to remove it.
  • We’ve improved the loading performance of the Notification Settings page.
  • Some audio drivers have an ‘encoding Audio Processing Object’ feature; this is commonly known as ‘Dolby Digital Live’ or ‘DTS Connect’. This takes the output of the Windows audio engine mix, encodes it (as Dolby Digital, DTS, or some other format) and sends it out over a S/PDIF optical link for decoding by an external audio receiver. An issue was introduced which resulted in this feature no longer working, which is now fixed.
  • We fixed an issue from recent flights resulting in Photos crashing if you opened a picture from the Collection page and then pressed the back button in the title back.
  • We fixed an issue resulting in Counter Strike Global Offensive hanging or freezing during game play on the latest builds (16176+).
  • We fixed the issue where pressing F12 to open the Developer Tools in Microsoft Edge while F12 is open and focused may not return focus to the tab F12 is opened against, and vice-versa.

Known issues for PC

  • ADDED: PC Reset via Settings > Update & security > Recovery will not work on this build.
  • Some Insiders have reported seeing this error ‘Some updates were cancelled’. We’ll keep trying in case new updates become available. in Windows Update. See this forum post for more details.
  • Double-clicking on the Windows Defender icon in the notification area does not open Windows Defender. Right-clicking on the icon and choosing open will open Windows Defender.
  • Surface 3 devices fail to update to new builds if a SD memory card is inserted. The updated drivers for the Surface 3 that fix this issue have not yet been published to Windows Update.
  • exe will crash and restart if you tap any of the apps listed in the Windows Ink Workspace’s Recent Apps section.
  • Insiders who use Simplified Chinese IMEs or the Traditional Chinese Changjie or Quick IME to input text will find that the candidate window doesn’t appear when typing into certain apps. If you press space, the first candidate will be finalized. Using the number keys will not finalize any other candidate. If the candidate you need is not the first one, for now you will have to enter your text into an app where the candidate window appears, such as Notepad, and copy it into the desired text field.
  • Navigating to Settings > Update & security > Windows Update may crash Settings app. You can simply re-open the Settings app again and it should work again.
  • The “Save” dialog appears to be broken in several desktop (Win32) apps. The team is investigating. This will break things such as Chinese IME, etc.
  • Localized apps on localized x64 Windows 10 Insider Preview builds will not work.
  • We’ve heard some reports that the Action Center isn’t opening as reliably in recent builds, and are investigating.

Changes, improvements, and fixes for Mobile

  • We’ve fixed the issue where some Insiders were unable to open both the Connect UX page and/or the “Add Bluetooth or other devices” setting on the Bluetooth Settings page.
  • We fixed an issue resulting in an unexpected extra ~20 sec being added to the phone shutdown process due to a deadlock if you tried to shut down soon after switching from one network to another.

Known issues for Mobile

  • A small percentage of devices may experience text message backup loss related to backup and recovery of the messaging database.
  • The copyright date is incorrect under Settings > System > About. It shows as 2016 when it should be 2017. Thanks to the Windows Insiders that reported this!
  • Insiders may experience random shutdowns on some devices.
  • In some cases, the WeChat app may crash on launch.

Source: Windows Blog

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Apr 21

Announcing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 16179 for PC + Build 15205 for Mobile

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2 days ago Microsoft released Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 16179 for PC to Windows Insiders in the Fast ring. this build immediately show an even fast response to any interaction, feels like a band new pc! Also Windows 10 Mobile Insider Preview Build 15205 was released to Insiders in the Fast ring.

What’s New in Build 16179 For PC

Revert VM: Continuing our theme of simplifying Hyper-V for developers on Windows 10 (see What’s New), we’re introducing automatic checkpoints so that you’ll always be able to undo a mistake in your virtual machine – you can now always revert to the last time you started a virtual machine.

Introducing Power Throttling*: You may remember some of the power experiments we did back in January with Build 15002. Power Throttling was one of those experiments, and showed to have up to 11% savings in CPU power consumption for some of the most strenuous use cases. So, we’re turning this on for everyone starting with last week’s build. Check out our complete blog post on this for more details!

*Power throttling is a temporary working name for this feature and may change before the release of the next Windows 10 update.

Changes, improvements, and fixes for PC

  • We fixed the issue causing apps that use the Desktop Bridge (‘Centennial’) from the Store such as Slack and Evernote will cause your PC to bugcheck (GSOD) when launched with a “kmode exception not handled” in ntfs.sys error.
  • We fixed an issue where adding Hindi to your language list and downloading the on-demand language resources would result in Microsoft Edge crashing on launch and file search returning no results via Cortana or Windows Explorer.
  • We fixed an issue where desktop icons would sometimes move around unexpectedly when “Auto arrange icons” was set to On and “Align icons to grid” was set to Off.
  • The existing Group Policy to disable the lock screen is now available for those on the Pro edition of Windows 10. Appreciate all who shared feedback on the subject. Note, the Group Policy text has not yet been updated to incorporate this change, that will happen with a later flight.
  • We fixed a rendering issue from previous flights where specific multi-monitor and projection configurations could fail depending on the hardware used. This could have impacted all Surface (Surface Book, Surface Pro, etc.) devices as well as other devices using similar chipsets. Another symptom may have been to see screen flickering and potentially being logged out when any screen mode change occurred.
  • We fixed an issue resulting in the location icon being continually on in the taskbar after the first time the Action Center was opened if the night light quick action was visible.

Known issues for PC

  • Some Insiders have reported seeing this error “Some updates were cancelled. We’ll keep trying in case new updates become available” in Windows Update. See this forum post for more details.
  • Double-clicking on the Windows Defender icon in the notification area does not open Windows Defender. Right-clicking on the icon and choosing open will open Windows Defender.
  • Surface 3 devices fail to update to new builds if a SD memory card is inserted. The updated drivers for the Surface 3 that fix this issue have not yet been published to Windows Update.
  • Pressing F12 to open the Developer Tools in Microsoft Edge while F12 is open and focused may not return focus to the tab F12 is opened against, and vice-versa.
  • exe will crash and restart if you tap any of the apps listed in the Windows Ink Workspace’s Recent Apps section.
  • Insiders who use Simplified Chinese IMEs or the Traditional Chinese Changjie or Quick IME to input text will find that the candidate window doesn’t appear when typing into certain apps. If you press space, the first candidate will be finalized. Using the number keys will not finalize any other candidate. If the candidate you need is not the first one, for now you will have to enter your text into an app where the candidate window appears, such as Notepad, and copy it into the desired text field.
  • Navigating to Settings > Update & security > Windows Update may crash Settings app. You can simply re-open the Settings app again and it should work again.
  • The “Save” dialog appears to be broken in several desktop (Win32) apps. The team is investigating.
  • ADDED 4/20: Counter Strike Global Offensive will hang or freeze during game play on the latest builds (16176+).

Changes, improvements, and fixes for Mobile

  • We fixed the targeting issue that caused some variants of the Alcatel IDOL 4S to not receive Build 15204 last week. All variants of the Alcatel IDOL 4S should receive Build 15205.
  • FYI: We fixed the issue where supported Windows 10 Mobile devices were showing the update to the Windows 10 Anniversary Update as “not yet available” in the Upgrade Advisor app.
  • We fixed an issue where Continuum would stop working when HP Elite X3 case is closed.
  • We fixed an issue where Continuum would hang or render incorrectly after disconnecting on devices like the Lumia 950.
  • We fixed an issue with Microsoft Edge where you might get into a bad state after opening a new Microsoft Edge windows and screen off with the JIT process suspended.
  • We fixed an issue with where the device screen might stay black when disconnecting from a Continuum dock after screen has timed out normally.
  • We fixed an issue with backup and restore which impacts users with slower network connection.
  • We fixed an issue around Microsoft Edge reliability.

Known issues for Mobile

  • A small percentage of devices may experience text message backup loss related to backup and recovery of the messaging database.
  • For Insiders who have upgraded from a prior 150xx build to this build, the “Add Bluetooth or other devices” Settings page and the Connect UX page may fail to open.
  • The copyright date is incorrect under Settings > System > About. It shows as 2016 when it should be 2017. Thanks to the Windows Insiders that reported this!
  • Insiders may experience random shutdowns on some devices.

Source: Windows Blog

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Apr 18

Announcing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 16176 for PC + Build 15204 for Mobile

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Microsoft released Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 16176 for PC to Windows Insiders in the Fast ring. We’re continuing work to refine OneCore with some code refactoring so that teams can start checking in new code. So, you still won’t see any noticeable changes or new features in new builds just yet.

We are also releasing Windows 10 Mobile Insider Preview Build 15204 to Insiders in the Fast ring. As we release new builds from our Development Branch for PC, we will also be doing the same for Windows 10 Mobile just like we have been in the past. However, Windows Insiders will likely notice some minor differences. The biggest difference being that the build number and branch won’t match the builds we will be releasing for PC. This is a result of more work we’re doing to converge code into OneCore – the heart of Windows across PC, tablet, phone, IoT, HoloLens, Xbox and more as we continue to develop new improvements for Windows 10 Mobile and our enterprise customers.Starting with the Windows 10 Creators Update, these are the Windows 10 Mobile devices we will officially support in the Windows Insider Program going forward:

  • HP Elite x3
  • Microsoft Lumia 550
  • Microsoft Lumia 640/640XL
  • Microsoft Lumia 650
  • Microsoft Lumia 950/950 XL
  • Alcatel IDOL 4S
  • Alcatel OneTouch Fierce XL
  • SoftBank 503LV
  • VAIO Phone Biz
  • MouseComputer MADOSMA Q601
  • Trinity NuAns NEO

UPDATE: We’re seeing that some small percentage ~0.1% of eligible Mobile devices, including variants of the Alcatel IDOL 4S, are not being offered Build 15204. We’re working on updating the targeting to include them for the next flight.

Devices not on this list will not officially receive the Windows 10 Creators Update nor will they receive any future builds from our Development Branch that we release as part of the Windows Insider Program. However, Windows Insiders who have devices not on this list can still keep these devices on the Windows 10 Creators Update at their own risk knowing that it’s unsupported.

We recognize that many Insiders will be disappointed to see their device is no longer supported. We looked at feedback from our Windows Insiders and realized that we were not providing the best possible experience for our customers on many older devices. That helped us determine which devices we support for the Windows 10 Creators Update. We are continually listening to your feedback to provide the best experience for ALL of our customers.

For developers – you will need to set the minimum platform version in Visual Studio to be the Windows 10 Creators Update.

What’s New in Build 16176 For PC

Windows Subsystem for Linux Gains Serial Device Support: Windows COM ports can now be accessed directly from a WSL process!

Windows COM ports can now be accessed directly from a WSL process

More information can be found on the WSL Blog.  Additional features and fixes are posted on the WSL Release Notes page – keep the feedback coming!

Changes, improvements, and fixes for PC

  • You can now hold down the power button on your device for 7 seconds to trigger a bugcheck. This will only work on newer devices that don’t uses legacy ACPI power buttons.
  • Narrator will work again on this build.
  • We fixed the issue causing some apps and games to crash due to a misconfiguration of advertising ID that happened in a prior build.
  • We fixed an issue resulting in the Start menu and Action Center having a noticeable framerate drop in their animations on certain devices if transparency was enabled and there were open UWP apps.
  • We fixed an issue from the previous build where the Action Center could get into a state where dismissing one notification unexpectedly dismissed multiple.
  • We fixed an issue where the Clock and Calendar flyout was unexpectedly missing the agenda integration for some Insiders.
  • We fixed an issue from the previous build (Build 16170) resulting in Surface Books unexpectedly doing a disk check after waking from sleep due to it bugchecking during sleep.
  • We fixed an issue from the previous build resulting in Win32 app text sometimes not rendering, for example in File Explorer, until logging out and back in.
  • We fixed an issue where the Extensions Process was suspended inappropriately during Connected Standby, resulting in Microsoft Edge becoming unresponsive on wake if any extensions had been installed.

Known issues for PC

  • Apps that use the Desktop Bridge (“Centennial”) from the Store such as Slack and Evernote will cause your PC to bugcheck (GSOD) when launched with a “kmode exception not handled” in ntfs.sys error.
  • Some Insiders have reported seeing this error Some updates were cancelled. We’ll keep trying in case new updates become available in Windows Update. See this forum post for more details.
  • Double-clicking on the Windows Defender icon in the notification area does not open Windows Defender. Right-clicking on the icon and choosing open will open Windows Defender.
  • Surface 3 devices fail to update to new builds if a SD memory card is inserted. The updated drivers for the Surface 3 that fix this issue have not yet been published to Windows Update.
  • Pressing F12 to open the Developer Tools in Microsoft Edge while F12 is open and focused may not return focus to the tab F12 is opened against, and vice-versa.
  • exe will crash and restart if you tap any of the apps listed in the Windows Ink Workspace’s Recent Apps section.

Changes, improvements, and fixes for Mobile

  • We have added a new privacy page to the Windows 10 Mobile OOBE experience that allows you to quickly and effectively make common privacy changes while setting up the device. You can read more about our Windows 10 privacy journey here.
  • We fixed the issue where the keyboard would sometimes not appear when a text input field is selected in Microsoft Edge.

Known issues for Mobile

  • FYI: If you receive error 800b0109 while attempting to download this build, navigate to Settings > Update & security > Windows Insider Program and check for a restart message – please restart your device from there and then check for updates again and should be able to download the build as expected. 
  • For Insiders who have upgraded from a prior 150xx build to this build, the “Add Bluetooth or other devices” Settings page and the Connect UX page may fail to open.
  • Some users are reporting that pages are constantly reloading or refreshing, especially while they are in the middle of scrolling them in Microsoft Edge. We’re investigating.
  • There is an issue with Microsoft Edge where you might get into a bad state after opening a new Microsoft Edge windows and screen off with the JIT process suspended.
  • Continuum will stop working when HP Elite X3 case is closed.
  • Continuum hangs or renders incorrectly after disconnecting on devices like the Lumia 950.
  • The device screen might stay black when disconnecting from a Continuum dock after screen has timed out normally.

Source: Windows Blog

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Apr 11

Today Creators Update is rolling out

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If you’re not on an insider build, today’s the day Creators Update is rolling out, be on the lookout for lots of cool new features!

Below is a list of some of the new and updated content that discusses Information Technology (IT) pro features in Windows 10, version 1703 (also known as the Creators Update).

For more general info about Windows 10 features, see Features available only on Windows 10. For info about previous versions of Windows 10, see What’s New in Windows 10. Also see this blog post: What’s new for IT pros in the Windows 10 Creators Update.

Note

Windows 10, version 1703 contains all fixes included in previous cumulative updates to Windows 10, version 1607. For info about each version, see Windows 10 release information. For a list of removed features, see Features that are removed or deprecated in Windows 10 Creators Update.

Configuration

Windows Configuration Designer

Previously known as Windows Imaging and Configuration Designer (ICD), the tool for creating provisioning packages is renamed Windows Configuration Designer. The new Windows Configuration Designer is available in Windows Store as an app. To run Windows Configuration Designer on earlier versions of Windows, you can still install Windows Configuration Designer from the Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit (ADK).

Windows Configuration Designer in Windows 10, version 1703, includes several new wizards to make it easier to create provisioning packages.

wizards for desktop, mobile, kiosk, Surface Hub

Both the desktop and kiosk wizards include an option to remove pre-installed software, based on the new CleanPC configuration service provider (CSP).

remove pre-installed software option

Learn more about Windows Configuration Designer.

Azure Active Directory join in bulk

Using the new wizards in Windows Configuration Designer, you can create provisioning packages to enroll devices in Azure Active Directory. Azure AD join in bulk is available in the desktop, mobile, kiosk, and Surface Hub wizards.

get bulk token action in wizard

Windows Spotlight

The following new Group Policy and mobile device management (MDM) settings are added to help you configure Windows Spotlight user experiences:

  • Turn off the Windows Spotlight on Action Center
  • Do not use diagnostic data for tailored experiences
  • Turn off the Windows Welcome Experience

Learn more about Windows Spotlight.

Start and taskbar layout

Enterprises have been able to apply customized Start and taskbar layouts to devices running Windows 10 Enterprise and Education. In Windows 10, version 1703, customized Start and taskbar layout can also be applied to Windows 10 Pro.

Previously, the customized taskbar could only be deployed using Group Policy or provisioning packages. Windows 10, version 1703, adds support for customized taskbars to MDM.

Additional MDM policy settings are available for Start and taskbar layout. New MDM policy settings include:

Cortana at work

Cortana is Microsoft’s personal digital assistant, who helps busy people get things done, even while at work. Cortana has powerful configuration options, specifically optimized for your business. By signing in with an Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) account, your employees can give Cortana access to their enterprise/work identity, while getting all the functionality Cortana provides to them outside of work.

Using Azure AD also means that you can remove an employee’s profile (for example, when an employee leaves your organization) while respecting Windows Information Protection (WIP) policies and ignoring enterprise content, such as emails, calendar items, and people lists that are marked as enterprise data.

For more info about Cortana at work, see (../configure/cortana-at-work-overview.md)

Deployment

MBR2GPT.EXE

MBR2GPT.EXE is a new command-line tool available in Windows 10 version 1703 and later versions. MBR2GPT converts a disk from Master Boot Record (MBR) to GUID Partition Table (GPT) partition style without modifying or deleting data on the disk. The tool is designed to be run from a Windows Preinstallation Environment (Windows PE) command prompt, but can also be run from the full Windows 10 operating system (OS).

The GPT partition format is newer and enables the use of larger and more disk partitions. It also provides added data reliability, supports additional partition types, and enables faster boot and shutdown speeds. If you convert the system disk on a computer from MBR to GPT, you must also configure the computer to boot in UEFI mode, so make sure that your device supports UEFI before attempting to convert the system disk.

Additional security features of Windows 10 that are enabled when you boot in UEFI mode include: Secure Boot, Early Launch Anti-malware (ELAM) driver, Windows Trusted Boot, Measured Boot, Device Guard, Credential Guard, and BitLocker Network Unlock.

For details, see MBR2GPT.EXE.

Security

Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection

New features in Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) for Windows 10, version 1703 include:

  • Detection
    Enhancements to the detection capabilities include:

    • Use the threat intelligence API to create custom alerts – Understand threat intelligence concepts, enable the threat intel application, and create custom threat intelligence alerts for your organization.
    • Improvements on OS memory and kernel sensors to enable detection of attackers who are using in-memory and kernel-level attacks
    • Upgraded detections of ransomware and other advanced attacks
    • Historical detection capability ensures new detection rules apply to up to six months of stored data to detect previous attacks that might not have been noticed
  • Investigation
    Enterprise customers can now take advantage of the entire Windows security stack with Windows Defender Antivirus detections and Device Guard blocks being surfaced in the Windows Defender ATP portal. Other capabilities have been added to help you gain a holistic view on investigations.

    Other investigation enhancements include:

    • Investigate a user account – Identify user accounts with the most active alerts and investigate cases of potential compromised credentials.
    • Alert process tree – Aggregates multiple detections and related events into a single view to reduce case resolution time.
    • Pull alerts using REST API – Use REST API to pull alerts from Windows Defender ATP.
  • Response
    When detecting an attack, security response teams can now take immediate action to contain a breach:

  • Other features
    • Check sensor health state – Check an endpoint’s ability to provide sensor data and communicate with the Windows Defender ATP service and fix known issues.

You can read more about ransomware mitigations and detection capability in Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection in the blog: Averting ransomware epidemics in corporate networks with Windows Defender ATP.

Windows Defender Antivirus

Windows Defender is now called Windows Defender Antivirus, and we’ve increased the breadth of the documentation library for enterprise security admins.

The new library includes information on:

Some of the highlights of the new library include:

New features for Windows Defender AV in Windows 10, version 1703 include:

In Windows 10, version 1607, we invested heavily in helping to protect against ransomware, and we continue that investment in version 1703 with updated beahvior monitoring and always-on real-time protection.

You can read more about ransomware mitigations and detection capability in Windows Defender AV in the Ransomware Protection in Windows 10 Anniversary Update whitepaper (PDF) and at the Microsoft Malware Protection Center blog.

Device Guard and Credential Guard

Additional security qualifications for Device Guard and Credential Guard help protect vulnerabilities in UEFI runtime. For more information, see Device Guard Requirements and Credential Guard Security Considerations.

Group Policy Security Options

The security setting Interactive logon: Display user information when the session is locked has been updated to work in conjunction with the Privacy setting in Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options.

A new security policy setting Interactive logon: Don’t display username at sign-in has been introduced in Windows 10 version 1703. This security policy setting determines whether the username is displayed during sign in. It works in conjunction with the Privacy setting in Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options. The setting only affects the Other user tile.

Windows Hello for Business

You can now reset a forgotten PIN without deleting company managed data or apps on devices managed by Microsoft Intune.

For Windows Phone devices, an administrator is able to initiate a remote PIN reset through the Intune portal.

For Windows desktops, users are able to reset a forgotten PIN through Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options.

For more details, check out What if I forget my PIN?.

Update

Windows Update for Business

The pause feature has been changed, and now requires a start date to set up. Users are now able to pause through Settings > Update & security > Windows Update > Advanced options in case a policy has not been configured. We have also increased the pause limit on quality updates to 35 days. You can find more information on pause in Pause Feature Updates and Pause Quality Updates.

Windows Update for Business managed devices are now able to defer feature update installation by up to 365 days (it used to be 180 days). In settings, users are able to select their branch readiness level and update deferral periods. See Configure devices for Current Branch (CB) or Current Branch for Business (CBB), Configure when devices receive Feature Updates and Configure when devices receive Quality Updates for details.

Windows Insider for Business

We recently added the option to download Windows 10 Insider Preview builds using your corporate credentials in Azure Active Directory (AAD). By enrolling devices in AAD, you increase the visibility of feedback submitted by users in your organization – especially on features that support your specific business needs. For details, see Windows Insider Program for Business.

Optimize update delivery

With changes delivered in Windows 10, version 1703, Express updates are now fully supported with System Center Configuration Manager, starting with version 1702 of Configuration Manager, as well as with other third-party updating and management products that implement this new functionality. This is in addition to current Express support on Windows Update, Windows Update for Business and WSUS.

Note

The above changes can be made available to Windows 10, version 1607, by installing the April 2017 cumulative update.

Delivery Optimization policies now enable you to configure additional restrictions to have more control in various scenarios.

Added policies include:

To check out all the details, see Configure Delivery Optimization for Windows 10 updates

Uninstalled in-box apps no longer automatically reinstall

When upgrading to Windows 10, version 1703, in-box apps that were uninstalled by the user won’t automatically reinstall as part of the feature update installation process. (Apps de-provisioned by IT administrators will still be reinstalled.)

Management

New MDM capabilities

Windows 10, version 1703 adds many new configuration service providers (CSPs) that provide new capabilities for managing Windows 10 devices using MDM or provisioning packages. Among other things, these CSPs enable you to configure a few hundred of the most useful Group Policy settings via MDM – see Policy CSP – ADMX-backed policies.

Some of the other new CSPs are:

  • The DynamicManagement CSP allows you to manage devices differently depending on location, network, or time. For example, managed devices can have cameras disabled when at a work location, the cellular service can be disabled when outside the country to avoid roaming charges, or the wireless network can be disabled when the device is not within the corporate building or campus. Once configured, these settings will be enforced even if the device can’t reach the management server when the location or network changes. The Dynamic Management CSP enables configuration of policies that change how the device is managed in addition to setting the conditions on which the change occurs.
  • The CleanPC CSP allows removal of user-installed and pre-installed applications, with the option to persist user data.
  • The BitLocker CSP is used to manage encryption of PCs and devices. For example, you can require storage card encryption on mobile devices, or require encryption for operating system drives.
  • The NetworkProxy CSP is used to configure a proxy server for Ethernet and Wi-Fi connections.
  • The Office CSP enables a Microsoft Office client to be installed on a device via the Office Deployment Tool. For more information, see Configuration options for the Office Deployment Tool.
  • The EnterpriseAppVManagement CSP is used to manage virtual applications in Windows 10 PCs (Enterprise and Education editions) and enables App-V sequenced apps to be streamed to PCs even when managed by MDM.

IT pros can use the new MDM Migration Analysis Tool (MMAT) to determine which Group Policy settings have been configured for a user or computer and cross-reference those settings against a built-in list of supported MDM policies. MMAT can generate both XML and HTML reports indicating the level of support for each Group Policy setting and MDM equivalents.

Learn more about new MDM capabilities.

Mobile application management support for Windows 10

The Windows version of mobile application management (MAM) is a lightweight solution for managing company data access and security on personal devices. MAM support is built into Windows on top of Windows Information Protection (WIP), starting in Windows 10, version 1703.

For more info, see Implement server-side support for mobile application management on Windows.

MDM diagnostics

In Windows 10, version 1703, we continue our work to improve the diagnostic experience for modern management. By introducing auto-logging for mobile devices, Windows will automatically collect logs when encountering an error in MDM, eliminating the need to have always-on logging for memory-constrained devices. Additionally, we are introducing Microsoft Message Analyzer as an additional tool to help Support personnel quickly reduce issues to their root cause, while saving time and cost.

Application Virtualization for Windows (App-V)

Previous versions of the Microsoft Application Virtualization Sequencer (App-V Sequencer) have required you to manually create your sequencing environment. Windows 10, version 1703 introduces two new PowerShell cmdlets, New-AppVSequencerVM and Connect-AppvSequencerVM, which automatically create your sequencing environment for you, including provisioning your virtual machine. Additionally, the App-V Sequencer has been updated to let you sequence or update multiple apps at the same time, while automatically capturing and storing your customizations as an App-V project template (.appvt) file, and letting you use PowerShell or Group Policy settings to automatically cleanup your unpublished packages after a device restart.

For more info, see the following topics:

Windows diagnostic data

Learn more about the diagnostic data that’s collected at the Basic level and some examples of the types of data that is collected at the Full level.

Windows 10 Mobile enhancements

Lockdown Designer

The Lockdown Designer app helps you configure and create a lockdown XML file to apply to devices running Windows 10 Mobile, and includes a remote simulation to help you determine the layout for tiles on the Start screen. Using Lockdown Designer is easier than manually creating a lockdown XML file.

Lockdown Designer app in Store

Learn more about the Lockdown Designer app.

Other enhancements

Windows 10 Mobile, version 1703 also includes the following enhancements:

  • SD card encryption
  • Remote PIN resets for Azure Active Directory accounts
  • SMS text message archiving
  • WiFi Direct management
  • OTC update tool
  • Continuum display management
    • Individually turn off the monitor or phone screen when not in use
    • Individually adjust screen time-out settings
  • Continuum docking solutions
    • Set Ethernet port properties
    • Set proxy properties for the Ethernet port

The following new features aren’t part of Windows 10, but help you make the most of it.

Upgrade Readiness

Upgrade Readiness helps you ensure that applications and drivers are ready for a Windows 10 upgrade. The solution provides up-to-date application and driver inventory, information about known issues, troubleshooting guidance, and per-device readiness and tracking details. The Upgrade Readiness tool moved from public preview to general availability on March 2, 2017.

The development of Upgrade Readiness has been heavily influenced by input from the community the development of new features is ongoing. To begin using Upgrade Readiness, add it to an existing Operation Management Suite (OMS) workspace or sign up for a new OMS workspace with the Upgrade Readiness solution enabled.

For more information about Upgrade Readiness, see the following topics:

Update Compliance

Update Compliance helps you to keep Windows 10 devices in your organization secure and up-to-date.

Update Compliance is a solution built using OMS Log Analytics that provides information about installation status of monthly quality and feature updates. Details are provided about the deployment progress of existing updates and the status of future updates. Information is also provided about devices that might need attention to resolve issues.

For more information about Update Compliance, see Monitor Windows Updates with Update Compliance.

Source. TechNet

 

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Mar 28

BE-Com.eu is hosting E-Communications & Collaboration Day 20017 on May 3rd

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BE-Com.eu the Belgian Communication & Collaboration User Group is hosting a full day of sessions on

Skype for Business and Office 365

hope to see you there!

 

http://www.be-com.eu/?p=3055

 

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Mar 18

Announcing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 15061 for PC

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Builds keep rolling out feels like Christmas is early this year! Nice to have all my VPN’s back in Network Connections

Other changes, improvements, and fixes for PC

  • We fixed an issue resulting in some unexpected visual distortion when watching certain mp4 videos in Movies and TV on recent flights.
  • We fixed an issue resulting in OOBE crashing when you tapped the birthday date field when creating a new account and email address.
  • We fixed a recent issue resulting in certain VPN connections being unexpecting missing from Network Connections.
  • We fixed an issue where in recent flights, some Direct3D 9 games might periodically fail to launch. To work around this, it was necessary that your default display resolution be the recommended setting for your system. You can now return your display configuration to your preferred settings.

Known issues for PC

  • You will be unable to download new (additional) language packs on this build. Currently installed language packs will not be impacted.
  • If your PC fails to install this build on reboot with the error 8024a112, reboot manually again. If your PC appears to hang during the reboot, power your PC off and back on and the install will proceed.
  • Some Insiders have reported seeing this error “Some updates were cancelled. We’ll keep trying in case new updates become available” in Windows Update. If you encounter it, please try deleting the following registry key:
1
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsUpdate\Auto Update\RequestedAppCategories\8b24b027-1dee-babb-9a95-3517dfb9c552

See this forum post for more details.

  • Some apps and games may crash due to a misconfiguration of advertising ID that happened in a prior build. Specifically, this issue affects new user accounts that were created on Build 15031. The misconfiguration can continue to persist after upgrading to later builds. The ACL on the registry key incorrectly denies access to the user and you can delete the following registry key to get out of this state:
HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\AdvertisingInfo
  • There is a bug where if you need to restart your PC due to a pending update like with the latest Surface firmware updates, the restart reminder dialog doesn’t pop up. You should check Settings > Update & security > Windows Update to see if a restart is required.
  • [GAMING] Certain hardware configurations may cause the broadcast live review window in the Game bar to flash Green while you are Broadcasting. This does not affect the quality of your broadcast and is only visible to the Broadcaster.

Source: Windows Blog

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Mar 17

Announcing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 15060 for PC

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Yes we’re on a roll another Fast Ring Build released 15060, a surprise, the watermark is back!

Other changes, improvements, and fixes for PC
  • We fixed an issue resulting in the Settings icon appearing plating in the taskbar. This issue also resulted in another issue now fixed, where if Settings had been pinned to Start, the tile would become greyed out after the first time it was clicked. Thank you all for your feedback on this.
  • We fixed an issue resulting in 3rd party IMEs not showing up in Settings after being installed.
  • We fixed an issue in Microsoft Edge where quickly typing and deleting characters into a website’s search box while using the MS Pinyin IME might result in the IME becoming stuck and the website showing ‘Not responding’.
  • Surface Pro 3 and Surface 3 devices should no longer fail to update to new builds if a SD memory card is inserted if you have the latest Surface drivers and firmware installed.
  • We fixed an issue where taskhost.exe might crash after pressing Tab while quickly typing in UWP app sign in fields, resulting in not being able to type for a few seconds.
  • We fixed an issue for Insiders where, after a crash, Microsoft Edge might fail to launch again for a few minutes because previous instances were still suspended in the background.
  • We fixed the issues occurring when exploring pages using the F12 Developer Tools in Microsoft Edge with cross-origin iframes (e.g. the DOM explorer shows only the iframe DOM, the Console frame selector doesn’t list the iframes, etc.).
Known issues for PC
  • You will be unable to download new (additional) language packs on this build. Currently installed language packs will not be impacted.
  • If your PC fails to install this build on reboot with the error 8024a112, reboot manually again. If your PC appears to hang during the reboot, power your PC off and back on and the install will proceed.
  • Some Insiders have reported seeing this error “Some updates were cancelled. We’ll keep trying in case new updates become available” in Windows Update. If you encounter it, please try deleting the following registry key:
    1
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsUpdate\Auto Update\RequestedAppCategories\8b24b027-1dee-babb-9a95-3517dfb9c552

    See this forum post for more details.

  • Some apps and games may crash due to a misconfiguration of advertising ID that happened in a prior build. Specifically, this issue affects new user accounts that were created on Build 15031. The misconfiguration can continue to persist after upgrading to later builds. The ACL on the registry key incorrectly denies access to the user and you can delete the following registry key to get out of this state:HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\AdvertisingInfo
  • There is a bug where if you need to restart your PC due to a pending update like with the latest Surface firmware updates, the restart reminder dialog doesn’t pop up. You should check Settings > Update & security > Windows Update to see if a restart is required.
  • [GAMING] Certain hardware configurations may cause the broadcast live review window in the Game bar to flash Green while you are Broadcasting. This does not affect the quality of your broadcast and is only visible to the Broadcaster.

Source: Windows Blog

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Mar 16

Announcing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 15058 for PC

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Last night Microsoft released another Build to the Fast Ring Insiders, Build 15058, another build without the build watermark on the lower right corner, we must be getting close to the Creators Update! Your 1607 (non-insider) Build is also showing a teaser in the update section:

Other changes, improvements, and fixes for PC

  • We fixed the issue causing a number of inbox apps to fail to launch (such as Store) and preventing any app updates from the Store from installing.
  • We fixed another issue causing some UWP apps would unexpectedly appear with their app package name in the title bar as opposed to the app name.
  • We fixed an issue where going to fullscreen or maximizing Microsoft Edge when Microsoft Edge’s window was snapped to a size smaller than half the screen would trigger back navigation.
  • We fixed an issue resulting in the mouse pointer staying visible when watching a video fullscreen in Microsoft Edge.
  • We fixed a crash Insiders may have sometimes experienced in recent builds when accessing the Wi-Fi Settings page via Settings > Network & Internet > Wi-Fi.
  • We fixed an issue where the desktop session sometimes crashed for Insiders after locking if the PC was set to lock on sleep. After this happened, trying to unlock the computer could result either seeing an unexpected “Can’t log in: The number of connections to this computer is limited and all connections are in use” error on the login screen, or a successful login only to find all open apps had been closed.
  • We fixed an issue where renaming an encrypted PDF would reset the default PDF reader if it was not currently set to Microsoft Edge.
  • We have improved video playback quality on the target device when using Miracast to wirelessly connect from a high DPI PC to another high DPI device.

Known issues for PC

  • Some PCs may fail to update to Build 15002 and higher due to SYSTEM_PTE_MISUSE error.
  • Some apps and games may crash due to a misconfiguration of advertising ID that happened in a prior build. Specifically, this issue affects new user accounts that were created on Build 15031. The misconfiguration can continue to persist after upgrading to later builds. The ACL on the registry key incorrectly denies access to the user and you can delete the following registry key to get out of this state:

HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\AdvertisingInfo

  • There is a bug where if you need to restart your PC due to a pending update like with the latest Surface firmware updates, the restart reminder dialog doesn’t pop up. You should check Settings > Update & security > Windows Update to see if a restart is required.
  • [GAMING] Certain hardware configurations may cause the broadcast live review window in the Game bar to flash Green while you are Broadcasting. This does not affect the quality of your broadcast and is only visible to the Broadcaster.
  • Issues may occur when exploring pages using the F12 Developer Tools in Microsoft Edge with cross-origin iframes (e.g. the DOM explorer shows only the iframe DOM, the Console frame selector doesn’t list the iframes, etc.).
  • Surface Pro 3 and Surface 3 devices will fail to update to new builds if a SD memory card is inserted. To take a new build, remove the SD memory card. You can re-insert the SD memory card after the latest build is installed.

Source: Windows Blog

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Mar 08

Office Blog: New basics training to get the most out of Office

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Getting users to use Office more efficiently can be quite a challenge, these new courses can get them started easily:

Today, we are rolling out six new training courses covering the basics of using Office. Like any subject math, chemistry or video games even when you understand more advanced concepts, you can stumble over the basics. We looked at what customers struggled with, both novice and expert alike, and Office Basics was born. Whether you work with Excel, Word, PowerPoint or another Office app, you can learn a lot in these short videos, like how to sign in to Office, rename files, add comments or insert hyperlinks.

Watch this short video for more information:

What else do you want to see in the Office Training Center? Let us know in the comments.

Source: Office Blogs

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Mar 02

Announcing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 15046 for PC

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Last Tuesday Microsoft released Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 15046 for PC to Windows Insiders in the Fast ring. This Build seems a lot more stable than the previous one… Enjoy upgrading!

As you can see, we have done quite a few experiments in the Creator’s Update so far to try out different colors and icons and we have loved co-creating the results you see today with you.

What’s new in Build 15046

Color of Cortana’s home on the taskbar: You had a LOT of opinions on this topic and we have been loving the enthusiastic feedback coming in! We finished our experiment with the color of Cortana’s home on the taskbar and for now, it’s back to the color it was before. Thanks for your feedback on this change.

Cortana on the taskbar

Windows Defender Improvements: Windows Defender Security Center has added a notification icon to the notification area so you can see your protection status at a glance. You can also easily launch the app from the notification icon. Windows Defender Antivirus notifications also now lead to Windows Defender Security Center when clicked. Also: Windows Defender Security Center can now be launched directly from the Settings app and the “App and Browser” page is now functional.

New Defender icon in notification area

Pick up where you left off in Cortana: We are experimenting with how we display what you can pick up where you left off across your devices in Cortana. Cortana now proactively shows you apps, files and websites from Microsoft Edge. Previously, this feature only displayed websites from Microsoft Edge in Action Center. Let us know what you think! (Available EN-US only.)

Improved translations: For Insiders who speak non-English languages, we wanted to let you know that we have heard your feedback on our translations and have been actively making improvements. With this build you should see improvements – particularly in OOBE and for some of our newer settings, but across the system as well. We encourage you to take a look around the system, and if you spot anything translation that doesn’t quite seem on point, please log feedback using the steps here.

Updated Gaming Settings icon: A lot of you sent in feedback on this. We listened and adjusted the Gaming icon in Settings to feel more inline with the other icons on the Settings home page.

Gaming Settings icon

Application Installation Control: You now have the option to control what type of apps are allowed to install on your PC. This setting is available by going to Settings > Apps > Apps & features. You can choose to only allow installation of Store apps, choose to be warned when installing a non-Store app but allow their installation, or choose to allow installation of apps from anywhere.

App Install Control

When you choose either of the Store options, you’ll see a warning when attempting to install a non-Store app. The warning will direct you to the Store where you can download an alternate app if available. In some cases, when there’s already an equivalent app in the Store, the warning will provide link to that app. This is an opt-in feature, and the default setting is to allow installation of apps from anywhere. (Note: This went live with last week’s build.)

Other changes, improvements, and fixes for PC

  • We fixed the issue causing a small percentage of PCs to fail to update to recent builds due to a corrupt registry key.
  • We fixed the issue causing Microsoft Edge and / or the taskbar to stop responding requiring you to open Task Manager to restart explorer.exe.
  • Windows Hello face authentication should work again on Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book devices.
    After updating to a new build, we’ve updated the text on the welcome screen to say “Might take several minutes” instead of “Might take several minutes or so”. Thanks to everyone who sent feedback on how the original phrasing was overly casual.
  • Cortana’s background is now black instead of the previous grey.
  • We fixed an issue in tablet mode where, with certain DPI levels, Start tiles would render on first launch of Start after entering tablet mode but on subsequent launches would appear blank.
  • We fixed an issue resulting in Shift+F10 not working to open context menus for websites displayed in Microsoft Edge.
  • We fixed an issue in Microsoft Edge where using the left/right arrow keys might sometimes unexpectedly result in forward/back page navigation.
  • We fixed an issue resulting in copy failing the first time you tried to copy a password from the LastPass extension in Microsoft Edge to a website.
  • We fixed an issue resulting in the Microsoft Edge app window being unexpectedly slow to follow your mouse when dragging it around the screen.
  • We fixed an issue in Microsoft Edge where, after opening a link in a new tab, tooltips might start drawing behind the Microsoft Edge window instead of on top.
  • We fixed an issue that could result in input no longer working in a particular Microsoft Edge tab after tearing it away to make a new window.
  • We fixed an issue resulting in Microsoft Edge launching on pen click when that was the configured pen click action in Pen and Windows Ink Settings.
  • We fixed an issue resulting in Microsoft Edge sometimes unexpectedly crashing when deleting characters typed using an IME (for example, the Japanese IME, or the MS Pinyin IME).
  • We fixed an issue resulting in drag and drop (for example, into an Outlook 2016 email) sometimes not working on PCs with multiple monitors where the two monitors have different DPIs.
  • We fixed an issue where the icon for Windows Insider Program under Settings > Update & security was shown as a square.
  • We fixed an issue where all windows on a PC using multiple monitors would move to the primary monitor after remoting into the machine from a single monitor remote desktop session.
  • We fixed an issue resulting in Storage Sense in Storage Settings failing to purge the recycle bin with certain machine configurations.
  • We fixed an issue resulting in an unexpected and unnamed 0 byte item listed under Manage Optional Features in Settings.
  • We fixed an issue where PC Reset wasn’t working in the last flight, the PC would boot to a blue screen saying that there was a problem resetting your PC.
  • We fixed an issue resulting in being unable to mount an ISO with the sparse file attribute set.
  • We fixed an issue where handwriting text candidates might stop working properly after using strikethrough to erase words written in the handwriting panel.
  • We fixed an issue resulting in the Korean IME’s composition indicator unexpectedly not appearing when typing jamo into certain text fields.
  • We fixed an issue where app updates in the Store may fail with error code 0x8020002B.
  • We fixed an alignment issue with entries on the Sign-in options Settings page.
  • We fixed the issue causing the Microsoft Edge F12 Developer Tools to intermittently crash, hang, and fail to accept inputs. If you continue to have issues with the F12 Developer Tools, send us feedback!
  • We fixed the issue where pressing F12 in Microsoft Edge multiple times invokes multiple F12 windows (all but one are non-functional).
  • We fixed the issue where toggling F12 between the docked and undocked state repeatedly can crash Microsoft Edge.

Known issues for PC

  • Some PCs will fail to update to this build at 71% and roll-back to the previous build. See this forum post for details.
  • [GAMING] Some popular games might minimize to the taskbar when launched. You can click on the game on the taskbar to get the game back.
  • [GAMING] Certain hardware configurations may cause the broadcast live review window in the Game bar to flash Green while you are Broadcasting. This does not affect the quality of your broadcast and is only visible to the Broadcaster.
  • Some UWP apps may unexpectedly appear with their app package in the title bar as opposed to the app name.
  • Pressing F12 to open the Developer Tools in Microsoft Edge while F12 is open and focused may not return focus to the tab F12 is opened against, and vice-versa.
  • Sometimes launching F12 will launch the F12 window behind the active Microsoft Edge window.
  • ADDED: Insiders with multiple monitors may encounter an issue where one of the monitors stops rendering (with the exception of the mouse). While rebooting will fix it, you can also resolve the issue via Settings > System > Display under the Multiple displays section, set it to only use the monitor that’s functional, then set it back to “Extend these displays” and the issue should be resolved.
  • ADDED: Some Insiders are reporting getting an 0x80070228 error when attempting to download this build. See this forum post for details.
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