Build 27938 for Windows 11 brings new features for File Explorer, Taskbar, and more (Canary)

Windows 11 build 27938 (Canary) introduces AI-powered context menu actions in File Explorer, a new clock comes to the Notification Center, and a new Settings view to manage AI text and image generation activities.
It also includes fixes for Reset this PC, File Explorer, WMI, Lock Screen, Search, Task Manager, and several system stability issues.

Microsoft is now rolling out Windows 11 build 27938 in the Canary Channel of the Windows Insider Program, introducing several new features for File Explorer, the Taskbar, and the Settings app, which the company has already made available in the Dev and Beta Channels.

According to the official notes, build 27938 for Windows 11 included an updated version of File Explorer with new AI actions, the Notification Center gained a new clock with seconds, and the Settings app added a new feature to control AI activities from third-party apps.

In this release, the company is also making available several fixes for the “Reset this PC” feature, File Explorer, Windows Management Instrumentation, Lock Screen, Search, Task Manager, and more.

Finally, on August 29, 2025, Microsoft also rolled out build 27934 in the Canary Channel, but this preview only includes a small set of fixes and no new features.

What’s new in Windows 11 build 27938

These are the new features and changes rolling out in the Canary Channel for Windows 11.

New AI actions in File Explorer

Microsoft continues to integrate AI into File Explorer with the introduction of “AI actions.”

File Explorer AI actions / Image: Mauro Huculak

AI actions enable you to interact with files without needing to open them. You only need to right-click and choose an action:

Bing Visual Search: Quickly identify objects and landmarks or shop for items based on an image.
Blur Background: Automatically detects backgrounds in images and blurs them with customizable intensity.
Erase Objects: Remove unwanted elements from photos using Generative Erase.
Remove Background: Instantly cut out a subject from an image with one click.

These actions are currently available for JPG, JPEG, and PNG file formats.

If the new AI actions are not part of the context menu, you might be able to enable them manually by running this ViveTool command: vivetool /enable /id:54792954,55345819,48433719

Clock with seconds in Notification Center

This preview adds the ability to add a clock with seconds in the Notification Center.

Notification Center clock with seconds / Image: Mauro Huculak

To display the full clock with seconds in Notification Center, open Settings > Time & language > Date & time, and turn on the “Show time in the Notification Center” toggle switch.

Notification Center with clock with seconds / Image: Mauro Huculak

This feature does not appear by default, but the company is also developing a toast notification to inform you about the clock, with an option to turn it on automatically.

You might be able to enable the feature manually with the ViveTool by running the vivetool /enable /id:42651849,48433719 command.

Text and image AI generation activities

You will also notice a new “Recent activity” option in Settings > Privacy & security > Text and image generation, which allows you to view recent requests to use text and image generation with AI from different third-party applications installed on your computer.

Recent Activity for AI text and image generation / Image: Mauro Huculak

Other fixes and changes

Alongside the changes from the Settings app, File Explorer, and Taskbar, the company is also pushing several fixes, including:

Recovery: Fixed the issue preventing the “Reset this PC” option under Settings > System > Recovery.
File Explorer: Fixed issues where low-space drive indicators in dark mode appeared with incorrect colors (for example, light red or black for available space), and another issue where thumbnails for video files with certain EXIF metadata weren’t showing.
Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI): Improved performance related to WMI Registry scanning.
Lock Screen: Fixed an issue causing some sign-in options to display blank icons.
Search: Reduced instances where search could get stuck in a loading state.
Input: Resolved an issue where the touch keyboard wouldn’t work with Changjie, Bopomofo, or Japanese IMEs if you had switched to a previous version of the IME.
Task Manager: Fixed a bug causing Task Manager to freeze when navigating to the Performance section.
Other: Fixed bugcheck issue with IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL citing ntoskrnl.exe when entering Safe Mode, and another with CRITICAL_PROCESS_DIED affecting some users.

As part of the known issues, the company notes:

General: Some users may encounter a rollback when installing this build, with error codes 0xC1900101-0x20017 or 0xC1900101-0x30017. Also, the Settings > System > Storage > Temporary files option may become stuck during scanning, and the option to clean up previous Windows installations may be missing.
Developers: PIX on Windows cannot play back GPU captures on this version.
Graphics: Checking an issue causing screen flickers in browsers and potentially other scenarios in the latest Canary builds.
Audio: Some users are experiencing audio failures, with Device Manager displaying yellow exclamation marks on devices such as “ACPI Audio Compositor.” The error reads: “Windows cannot load the device driver for this hardware. The driver may be corrupted or missing.”

Install Windows 11 build 27938

To download and install this Windows 11 build, enroll your device in the Canary Channel through the “Windows Insider Program” settings, located in the “Update & Security” section. Once you enroll the computer in the program, you can download the build from the “Windows Update” settings by turning on the “Get the latest updates as soon as they’re available” option and clicking the “Check for Updates” button.