Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22621.870 and 22623.870 (Beta Channel)

Good evening friends! Microsoft has released new preview builds of Windows 11 (version 22H2) numbered 22621.870 and 22623.870 (KB5018499) for members of the Windows Insider Beta Program.

• Assembly 22623.870 – testing of new functions is available.
• Assembly 22621.870 – new features are disabled by default.

Reminder. Insiders who were previously on Build 22622 will be automatically upgraded to Build 22623 via the Service Pack. This package artificially increments the build number to make it easier for Microsoft engineers to distinguish between enabled and disabled devices by default.

If you are in a group with features disabled by default (build 22621.xxx), then check for updates and agree to install an optional update that will make these features available (build 22623.xxx).

Full build numbers:

• 10.0.22621.870.ni_release_svc_prod2.221007-1535
• 10.0.22623.870.ni_release_svc_prod2.221007-1535

Innovations in assembly 22623.870

Narrator Braille Driver Solution

Braille devices will continue to work when you switch between Narrator and third-party screen readers because Narrator will automatically change the braille drivers.

The necessary conditions:

You must remove the current braille support for Narrator if it is already installed by doing the following:

1. Open Options.
2. Go to Applications -> Optional Components -> Installed Components.
3. Find “Accessibility” -> “Braille Support”.
4. Expand “Accessibility” -> “Braille Support” and remove the feature.

Install the new version of Braille support:

1. Go to Settings -> Accessibility -> Narrator -> Braille.
2. Click on the “Details” button.
3. Download Braille from this window by clicking on the Download and Install button.
4. Once installed, go back to Settings -> Accessibility -> Narrator -> Braille.
5. Select the braille display driver used by your third-party screen reader in the Braille Display Driver option. This only needs to be done once.

More information about the change can be found in the documentation on the Microsoft website.

Changes and improvements in build 22623.870

• Task bar:
  • Based on feedback, Microsoft has added “Task Manager” to the context menu that appears when you right-click on the taskbar. The rollout of the feature has just begun, so it is currently not available to all Insiders on the Beta channel.

    

Fixes in build 22623.870

• Taskbar optimized for tablets:
  Note. These fixes will only appear if your device has a tablet-optimized taskbar enabled. This feature is currently not available to all Insiders in the Dev channel.
  • Improved touch gestures and their animation when using the touch keyboard.
• System tray updates:
  Note. These fixes will only appear if your device has a tablet-optimized taskbar enabled. This feature is currently not available to all Insiders in the Dev channel.
  • We fixed an issue resulting in explorer.exe crashing when dragging icons on the taskbar.

Fixes in both builds

• New! Made improvements to the Microsoft account in Settings. For example, you can now manage your OneDrive subscription and get information about the status of your cloud storage.
• New! Added a new biometric consent form for users who have enabled face or fingerprint sign-in in Windows Hello. You can now allow the system to continue storing biometric data or delete it using the Settings app if biometric authentication has not been used for more than 365 days. These options will also be available after you upgrade to Windows 11 if you haven’t seen the new Hello Learn More Privacy text yet.
• New! Improved visual appearance of “Search” on the taskbar to improve usability. Now the changes are available only to some insiders. In the coming months, they will become available to more users. It’s worth noting that there may be different visual changes to “Search” on some devices as Microsoft collects feedback on each of the options.
• Updated DriverSiPolicy.p7b to blacklist vulnerable Windows kernel drivers. The file now includes drivers that are vulnerable to Bring Your Own Vulnerable Driver (BYOVD) attacks.
• Extended original equipment manufacturer (OEM) control over hypervisor-protected code (HVCI) integrity for target hardware configurations.
• We fixed an issue that affected the Microsoft Azure Active Directory (AAD) Application Proxy Connector. Because of this issue, it was not possible to obtain a Kerberos ticket on behalf of the user. Error message: “The specified handle is invalid (0x80090301)”.
• We fixed an issue affecting the caching of credentials for Fast Identity Online 2.0 (FIDO2) security and authentication keys. On hybrid domain joined devices, the system removed these cached credentials.
• We fixed an issue that could cause artifacts in the form of vertical and horizontal lines to appear on the screen.
• We fixed an issue that affected window titles when using third-party tools to customize them. Because of this issue, the window title bars were not displayed. This update brings back the display of title bars; however, Microsoft does not guarantee that all text settings will work as before.
• We fixed an issue where audio might not sync properly when recording gameplay using the Xbox Game Bar.

Known Issues

• General:
  • We are investigating reports of some Insiders having audio playback stop working after updating to the latest builds on the Beta channel.
• Taskbar optimized for tablets:
  • The taskbar may flicker when switching between desktop mode and tablet mode.
  • Switching the taskbar to the touch version is taking longer than expected. This will be noticeable when switching between desktop mode and tablet mode.
  • When opening the Quick Actions menu with a gesture in the lower right corner of the screen, the taskbar may not collapse and remain in an expanded state.

I wish you a successful update!