- The April 2024 Patch Tuesday rolls out as build 22631.3447 and 22621.3447 (KB5036893) on versions 23H2 and 22H2.
- This patch also addresses various security fixes and pushes additional improvements as part of the Moment 5 update.
- The update continues the rollout of the Digital Markets Act changes for Windows 11 users in the EU.
Microsoft is making available the update KB5036893 for Windows 11 23H2 and version 22H2 as the fourth Patch Tuesday update of the year on April 9, 2024. This update includes changes, several security fixes, and improvements.
The update KB5036893 bumps the version number to build 22631.3447 for version 23H2 and 22621.3447 for version 22H2. According to the official announcement, this release replaces the preview update KB5035942, which the company made available on March 26, 2024.
The update continues the rollout of the “Moment 5 update,” including Snap Layouts with app suggestions, improvements for Nearby Share with faster transfer speeds, and the feature will also turn on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth (if needed). You can now use Voice Access on multiple displays, and the feature is available in more regions, including France, Canada, Germany, Spain, and Mexico.
Microsoft is also pushing changes for the Windows Narrator, Casting, and Share, and the company is introducing new changes for Windows 365 Boot and Switch.
Furthermore, the Lock screen now shows weather information using dynamic data, and sports, traffic, and finance content uses different widgets. If the weather widget is enabled by default, you can control the feature from Settings > Personalization > Lock screen.
This update should also make changes available for European Union (EU) users and bring enhancements to comply with the Digital Markets Act (DMA). This includes the ability to uninstall Microsoft Edge, Bing, OneDrive, and virtually any app. The update KB5035942 modifies the operating system so that third-party companies can provide news feeds for the Widgets and web search capabilities to replace Bing results. Furthermore, when signing in, your Microsoft account won’t connect automatically to other Microsoft services, and the company is implementing a new workflow to collect user data.
As previously noted by the company with the original release of KB5035942, the April 2024 update (KB5036893) introduces the new Copilot actions menu. This menu changes the appearance of and animates the System Tray icon when the chatbot can offer help for text or images copied to the clipboard. You can use these instructions to enable or disable the Copilot suggestions on copy feature. Also, you can use the chatbot up to ten times without a Microsoft account or Entra ID.
In addition, build 22631.3447 introduces some improvements for businesses, including the ability for network administrators to set a policy for clipboard redirection from the local to the remote computer. Administrators can also use the Mobile Device Management (MDM) tool to configure the “DisablePostLogonProvisioning” to prevent prompts when users sign in to an Entra-joined computer.
Finally, this update ensures NPUs are visible in Task Manager. This guide explains all the new features of the Moment 5 update.
Microsoft is rolling out update KB5036894 for Windows 11 21H2, which includes various fixes and minor improvements to Windows Hello for Business, daylight saving time, networking, and more.
Fixes and other changes with builds 22621.3447 and 22631.3447
These improvements and fixes rolling out with the April update are the same as those available with the update KB5035942 back in March:
- Supports daylight saving time changes in Greenland, Kazakhstan, and Samoa.
- Enhances UI localization for all MSIX app languages upon the operating system upgrade.
- Fixes an issue where some applications relying on COM+ stop responding.
- Resolves apps and features unavailability post Windows 11 upgrade.
- Fixes a deadlock in CloudAP occurring with simultaneous user sign-ins and outs on VMs.
- Fixes access to network resources from “Remote Desktop” sessions with the Remote Credential Guard feature.
- Addresses containers not progressing past “ContainerCreating” status.
- Fixes mismatch between Settings app and configurations made through MDM or GPO for the time service.
- Fixes the touch keyboard and candidate window for Japanese and Chinese IMEs that do not appear after Modern Standby.
- Resolves an issue where loading top-down bitmaps with negative height fails.
- Fixes the Settings app freezing when removing Bluetooth devices.
- Updates COSA profiles for some mobile operators.
- Fixes Notepad’s inability to print to certain IPP printers.
- Addresses USB audio failure on some processors after pausing, playing, or resuming from sleep.
- Prevents a stop error from applying more than 32 WDAC policies.
- Ensures AppLocker’s existing rule collection enforcement mode isn’t overwritten during rules merge.
- Fixes Group Policy service failure after applying an audit policy with LGPO.exe.
- Addresses the non-functionality of Secure Launch on certain processors.
- Fixes incorrect label text length for taskbar app labels under certain settings.
- Addresses reliability issues with Virtual Remote App products when using a custom shell.
- Improves Bluetooth connection stability for wireless headphones.
- Fixes failure of Azure App Services due to TLS 1.3 when connecting to third-party LDAP servers.
- Fixes dsamain.exe stopping response when KCC runs evaluations.
- Addresses the MSMQ PowerShell module not loading.
- Fixes an issue affecting the “Combine taskbar buttons and hide labels” setting.
April 2024 update installation
You can download KB5036893 from Settings > Windows Update, click the “Check for Updates” button, and restart the computer.
If you prefer manually installing the April 2024 update for versions 23H2 and 22H2, download it from the Microsoft Update Catalog website.
If you downloaded the preview version of the update (KB5035942), only the changes will download and install on your computer.
In the case that the update is causing issues, you can use these instructions to uninstall the April 2024 update and roll back to a previous good working state.
Microsoft is also releasing the update KB5036892 for Windows 10 as part of the April Patch Tuesday update.
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].