- Windows 11 22H2 receives builds 23381.2338 and 22631.2338 (KB5030305) in the Beta Channel.
- This update introduces a new Focus Sessions widget and an option to disable Phone Link.
- You can also uninstall more system apps from the operating system.
- This flight ships with several fixes and improvements for both builds.
Microsoft is making available two new builds in the Beta Channel, including Windows 11 build 22631.2338 (KB5030305) with new features enabled by default, expected to arrive with version 23H2, and the preview build 23381.2338 (KB5030305) with features turned off by default for computers enrolled in the Beta Channel.
Build 22631.2338 for Windows 11, according to the official changes, introduces a new “Focus Session” widget for the Widgets dashboard to quickly start and stop focus sessions on your computer, and starting with this flight, the company switched the Chat experience with the Microsoft Teams (free) app.
Also, for both builds (22621.2338 and 22631.2338), the “Phone Link” page in the Settings app includes an option to completely disable the feature. You can now uninstall the Camera, Photos, People, and Cortana apps. Finally, both builds roll out a bunch of fixes and improvements.
Windows 11 build 22631.2338 fixes and changes
This rollout also brings a bunch of fixes and improvements for build 22631.2338:
File Explorer
- Fixed an issue for dark mode users, where you would see a white flash when opening File Explorer.
- Fixed an issue where after changing between dark and light mode, the icons in the command bar and context menu might become very difficult to see.
- Adds some more improvements to help with the performance of loading Home. Also fixed a memory leak related to Home that would grow each time Home was refreshed or accessed.
Taskbar
- Fixed an issue where dragging app icons in the taskbar may sometimes lead to an explorer.exe crash.
- Fixed an issue which was causing some Insiders to see labels in their taskbar unexpectedly.
- Fixed an issue causing Task Manager to not launch for some Insiders.
Settings
- Fixed an issue where Settings wasn’t launching in safe mode for some Insiders.
Task Manager
- Fixed an issue where the dialog when collecting a process memory dump erroneously said it was collecting a kernel memory dump.
Dynamic Lighting
- Fixed an issue where you may not see the notification on first update to a build with dynamic lighting, letting you know that dynamic lighting is enabled.
General
- Fixed an issue which was causing some Insiders to see untranslated text in some areas across the system, including in File Explorer and Settings.
Windows 11 build 22631.2338 and 22621.2338 fixes and changes
These are the fixes and improvements for both builds:
- Added a new option under Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Phone Link to disable Phone Link altogether in Windows 11. This setting will prevent Phone Link from communicating with your mobile devices.
- The Camera app, Cortana, Photos app, and People app can be uninstalled.
- Completes the work to comply with the GB18030-2022 requirements. It removes and remaps characters for Microsoft Wubi input and Microsoft Pinyin U-mode input. You can no longer enter character codepoints that are not supported. All the required codepoints are up to date.
- Addresses an issue that affects sleep mode. After you resume sleep, a blank window appears that has the title “Windows Input Experience.”
- Affects the Key Distribution Center (KDC) and user security identifiers (SID). KDC now reads the user SID from the Subject Alternative Name (SAN) of a certificate. Because of this, mobile device management (MDM) providers can use offline templates to fill in the user SID. To learn more, see KB5014754.
- Addresses an issue that affects IMEPad. It stops working. This occurs when you enter end-user-defined characters (EUDC).
- Addresses an issue that affects authentication. Using a smart card to join or rejoin a computer to an Active Directory domain might fail. This occurs after you install Windows updates dated October 2022 or later. For more details, see KB5020276.
- Addresses an issue that affects Microsoft Excel. It stops responding when you try to share a file as a PDF in Microsoft Outlook.
- Addresses an issue that affects Remote Apps. The display of some elements is not aligned correctly.
- Supports daylight saving time (DST) changes in Greenland.
- Addresses an issue that affects account lockout event 4625. The format of the event is wrong in the ForwardedEvents log. This occurs when an account name is in the user principal name (UPN) format.
- Addresses an issue that affects XPath queries on FileHash and other binary fields. It stops them from matching values in event records.
- Changes the spelling of Ukraine’s capital from Kiev to Kyiv.
- Addresses an issue that affects Windows Defender Application Control (WDAC). AppID Tagging policies might greatly increase how long it takes your device to start up.
- Addresses an issue that affects events that have a TAB character. The events do not render, or you cannot forward them.
- Addresses an issue that might make Windows stop responding. This might occur if you use Microsoft OneDrive files that are compressed by NTFS.
- Addresses an issue that might cause a user-mode memory leak. It might occur when you call CopyFile() or MoveFile().
- Addresses an issue that affects an Application Virtualization (App-V) environment. Copy operations within it stop working. This occurs after you install the April 2023 update.
- Addresses an issue that affects some USB printers. Microsoft Defender stops them from printing.
- Addresses an issue that affects Microsoft Print to PDF. It uses the metadata for the name you sign in with as the author of a printed PDF. It should use the display name instead.
- Addresses an issue that is related to changes in the forwarding of events.
- Addresses an issue that affects the Microsoft Distributed Transaction Coordinator (DTC). It has a handle leak. Because of this, the system runs out of memory.
- Removes a blank menu item from the Sticky Keys menu. This issue occurs after you install KB5029351.
- Addresses an issue that affects application compatibility. It is related to Microsoft Defender for Endpoint.
As part of this rollout, Microsoft isn’t revealing any known issues, which indicates that Windows 11 23H2 is nearly complete.
Install build 22631.2338
To download and install the Windows 11 build 22631.2338, enroll your device in the Beta Channel using the “Windows Insider Program” settings from the “Update & Security” section.
Once you enroll the computer in the program, you can download build 22631.2338 from the “Windows Update” settings by clicking the “Check for Updates” button. However, you will need a device that meets the minimum system requirements to receive the update if you are new to the Windows Insider Program. If the device receives build 23381.2338, you can turn on the “Get the latest updates as soon as they’re available” toggle switch to switch to build 22631.2338.
Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 15 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 21 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me. Email him at [email protected].