- Windows 11 22H2 receives builds 22621.1680 and 22624.1680 (KB5025303) in the Beta Channel.
- This update rolls out with new visuals for the Widgets experience.
- It also comes with various fixes and improvements.
Microsoft releases Windows 11 build 22624.1680 (KB5025303) with new features enabled by default and the preview build 22621.1680 (KB5025303) with features turned off by default for computers enrolled in the Beta Channel.
Build 22624.1680 and 22621.1680 for Windows 11, and according to the official changes, it introduces an updated version of the Widgets board featuring three columns wide and new animated icons for the Widgets button in the Taskbar. In addition, this release brings a slew of fixes and improvements for both versions of the build.
Changes and fixes for build 22624.1680
Starting with build 22624.1680, Windows 11 has a new Widgets board that can feature up to three columns on supported devices, and the icons that appear in the Widgets buttons in the Taskbar now include new animations.
As part of the fixes and other improvements, this flight includes the following:
File Explorer
- Shift + Right-clicking on a file or folder should open “Show more options” again now.
- Adjusted how the Windows Narrator was reading out the access keys after pressing the menu key to making it clearer.
Input
- Fixed an issue where the touch keyboard and PIN entry weren’t appearing on the login screen for touch-capable PCs in the previous flight due to an underlying crash.
Live Captions
- Fixed an issue that was causing clipping in live captions text for non-English languages.
- Fixed an issue in “Language & region” settings that caused language feature installation progress to be hidden.
- Adding enhanced language recognition support in the “Language & region” settings will now install the right files on ARM64 devices. You will no longer need to restart live captions after switching between caption languages installed from Language & region settings.
Notifications
- Fixed an issue where 2FA codes weren’t being recognized if they were in parentheses.
Task Manager
- Fixed an issue where if you searched for service host in the Processes section, it wasn’t returning any results.
- Improved the performance of the expand all / collapse all View options on the Processes page.
- Fixed an issue where the search icon could end up overlapping the Task Manager icon in the title bar.
- The search box should no longer be cropped at the top when the window is maximized.
- Fixed an issue impacting Task Manager reliability.
- Double-clicking Task Manager’s title bar to maximize the window should work again now.
Changes and fixes for build 22624.1680 and 22621.1680
These are the fixes and enhancements for both previews builds in the Beta Channel:
- Changes firewall settings. You can now configure application group rules.
- Addresses an issue that affects the legacy Local Administrator Password Solution (LAPS) and the new Windows LAPS feature. They fail to manage the configured local account password. This occurs when you install the legacy LAPS .msi file after you have installed the April 11, 2023, Windows update on machines that have a legacy LAPS policy.
- This update affects the Islamic Republic of Iran. The update supports the government’s daylight saving time change order from 2022.
- Addresses an issue that affects apps that use DirectX on older Intel graphics drivers. You might receive an error from apphelp.dll.
- Addresses an issue that affects the Resilient File System (ReFS). A stop error occurs that stops the OS from starting up correctly.
- Addresses an issue that affects protected content. When you minimize a window that has protected content, the content displays when it should not. This occurs when you are using Taskbar Thumbnail Live Preview.
- Addresses an issue that affects the Unified Write Filter (UWF). When you turn it off by using a call to Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI), your device might stop responding.
- Addresses an issue that affects the Chinese input method. You cannot see all of the first suggested item.
- Addresses an issue that affects SMB Direct. Endpoints might not be available on systems that use multi-byte character sets.
- Addresses an issue that affects mobile device management (MDM) customers. The issue stops you from printing. This occurs because of an exception.
- Addresses an issue that affects the Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (LSASS) process. It might stop responding. Because of this, the machine restarts. The error is 0xc0000005 (STATUS_ACCESS_VIOLATION).
- Addresses an issue that affects Microsoft Edge IE mode. The Tab Window Manager stops responding.
- Addresses an issue that affects signed Windows Defender Application Control (WDAC) policies. They are not applied to the Secure Kernel. This occurs when you enable Secure Boot.
- This update changes the app icons for certain mobile providers.
- Addresses an issue that affects MySQL commands. The commands fail on Windows Xenon containers.
- Addresses an issue that displays Task View in the wrong area. This occurs when you close a full screen game by pressing Win + Tab.
- Addresses an issue that occurs when you use a PIN to sign in to Windows Hello for Business. Signing in to Remote Desktop Services might fail. The error message is, “The request is not supported”.
- Addresses an issue that affects Microsoft Edge IE mode. Pop-up windows open in the background instead of in the foreground.
- Addresses an issue that affects Administrator Account Lockout policies. GPResult and Resultant Set of Policy did not report them.
In addition to the improvements, Microsoft is also warning about some known issues with the Taskbar search experience and Widgets.
Install build 22624.1680
To download and install the Windows 11 build 22624.1680, 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 22624.1680 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 22621.1680, you can turn on the “Get the latest updates as soon as they’re available” toggle switch to switch to build 22624.1680.
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].