Windows 11 build 22635.4870 (KB5050087) brings Lock Screen changes in Beta Channel

Microsoft is now rolling out Windows 11 build 22635.4870 (KB5050087) in the Beta Channel with some visual improvements for existing features, including Lock Screen and File Explorer.

As part of version 23H2 development, according to the official notes, the update KB5050087 for Windows 11 makes changes to the Lock Screen settings to organize your widgets. Also, File Explorer receives an update to show the person’s icons under the “Activity” column on the Home page.

In addition, the company is pushing a number of fixes for the Start menu, File Explore, USB devices, and more.

Windows 11 build 22635.4870 (Beta)

These are the most interesting changes coming to the Beta Channel with the build 22635.4870:

Lock Screen customizable widgets

Starting with the release of the update KB5050087, Windows 11 is making changes to the “Lock Screen” settings page that removes the “Lock screen status” setting and places it with a new “Your widgets” setting.

You can turn the “Your widgets” setting on or off to show or hide the widgets in the Lock Screen. When you open the settings, you can add, re-arrange, and remove widgets.

This is a welcome change since many users want to show the weather and perhaps the traffic information but not sports or financial details on the screen.

It’s important to note that the Lock Screen can now show a variety of widgets, not just weather, watchlist, traffic, and sports.

Furthermore, Microsoft is also introducing a new “Disable Widgets On Lock Screen” policy in the Group Policy Editor to allow administrators to control this feature from Computer Configurations > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Widgets.

The feature is rolling out to Insiders gradually, but you can enable the new setting manually using the ViVeTool and running the vivetool /enable /id:50179255,53672489 command (via @PhantomOfEarth).

File Explorer with user icons

This release also introduces an updated version of File Explorer, which will display the person’s icon under the “Activity” column and “Recommended” tab on the Home page.

Also, if you click or hover over the icon, it’ll display the Live Persona Card from Microsoft 365.

The improvement is available for those using a work or school account.

Fixes and improvements

Alongside the visual changes, Windows 11 build 22635.4870 also ships a few bug fixes and improvements.

The company fixed an issue causing the Start menu to crash when interacting with letters in the apps list and fixed incorrect colors in the account manager flyout when using a mixed dark and light custom mode on the “Colors” settings page.

This update fixes an issue where a minimized File Explorer window might not render correctly when restored. It also improves the app’s reliability by fixing an issue that caused frequent crashes for some Insiders. Also, there’s a fix for the “explorer.exe” crashes.

Finally, this update rolls out fixes for the “sihost.exe” background crash, USB camera detection, and Code 10 error (“This device cannot start”) when connecting to certain external audio management USB devices.

Installation process

To download and install this Windows 11 build, enroll your device in the Beta Channel through the “Windows Insider Program” settings from the “Update & Security” section. Once you enroll the computer in the program, you can download the build from the “Windows Update” settings and click the “Check for Updates” button.

Microsoft recently announced that computers in the Dev and Beta Channels are now receiving the same previews from version 24H2 development but as an optional install for those devices in the Beta Channel. However, this preview (build 22635.4870) belongs to the version 23H2 development.

You won’t receive these changes if you have already updated the system to Windows 11 build 26120.3073.