- Windows 11 builds 26100.7309 and 26200.7309 (KB5070311) arrive in the Stable Channel as an optional install for the last cumulative update in 2025 for version 25H2 and 24H2.
- This preview rolls out File Explorer dark mode changes, an option to disable Drag Tray, Quick Machine Recovery changes, Windows Search UI improvements, and more.
- Windows 11 build 22631.6269 (KB5070312) is now available in the Release Preview Channel for version 23H2, as part of the December 2025 update with non-security fixes.
- The builds 26100.7309 and 26200.7309 were released with small changes without changing the update knowledge base (KB5070311). – UPDATE 11/29
UPDATED 12/2/2025: Microsoft is rolling out Windows 11 builds 26100.7309 and 26200.7309 (KB5070311) in the Stable Channel as a preview of the December 2025 Security Update as an optional install. In addition, Windows 11 build 22631.6269 (KB5070312) for version 23H2 is available in the Release Preview Channel of the Windows Insider Program as part of the next cumulative update.
According to the change logs, the update KB5070311 ships with dark mode improvements for File Explorer, Mobile Devices settings now accessible within the Settings app, and the ability to disable the Drag Tray feature from the Nearby Sharing settings page. In addition, you’ll find changes for Quick Machine Recovery, Widgets, keyboard, cursor, Windows Search, and much more.
Furthermore, the KB5070312 update for Windows 11 brings the Country and Operator Settings Asset (COSA) to the latest update for specific mobile operators, and introduces fixes for File Explorer and Group Policy and Configuration.
It’s important to note that version 23H2 reached end of support on November 11, 2025, but extended support for organizations will continue until November 10, 2026.
Microsoft does not reveal the final names of updates intended for the Stable Channel during early development. While in preview, these are labeled as non-security updates. The official name, such as the “December 2025 Security Update,” is assigned only after the update is released on Patch Tuesday.
- What’s new on Windows 11 25H2 and 24H2 update (KB5070311)
- What’s new on Windows 11 23H2 update KB5068865
- Windows 11 December 2025 Patch Tuesday – Manual installation process
- Windows 11 December 2025 Patch Tuesday – Update history
What’s new on Windows 11 25H2 and 24H2 update (KB5070311)
Microsoft is currently rolling out these new features, improvements, and fixes as part of the December 2025 Security Update for Windows 11 24H2 and version 25H2.
Start menu and Windows Search changes
Starting with this release, Microsoft is updating the design of the Windows Search interface so that the panel matches the height of the Start menu panel.
It’s a small change, but when the company introduced the new Start menu, the system introduced design inconsistencies between the two experiences.
Desktop Spotlight new options
When Windows Spotlight is set as your desktop background, the context menu now includes options such as “Explorer background” and “Next desktop background.”
The Explorer background option opens the web browser to the page with more information about the current background, while the Next desktop background sets a different wallpaper.
Disable the Drag Tray feature
In this release, on Settings > System > Nearby sharing, you’ll find a new option to disable the Drag Tray feature.
Furthermore, with the release of the update KB5070311, Drag Tray now supports multi-file sharing, shows more relevant apps, and makes it easy to transfer files to another folder.
Keyboard improvements
Keyboard backlight performance has improved on supported HID-compliant keyboards. For example, keyboards will now display keys clearly in low-light environments, and the backlight adjusts to help conserve power.
File Explorer dark mode improvements
File Explorer is getting a visual refresh with a more consistent dark mode experience. Specific dialogs, such as copy, move, delete, and error messages, now better match the dark theme, with updated progress bars, charts, and confirmation prompts for actions like skip and override.
The updated version of the file manager also includes bug fixes, including thumbnails that now display correctly for video files with certain EXIF metadata. A legacy white toolbar will no longer appear at random. And the “File” context menus now show the correct app icon next to “Open,” instead of a generic placeholder.
Microsoft also notes that it’s testing out a new context menu for File Explorer that removes some of the clutter from this experience. Common actions, such as Share, Copy, and Move, will now appear in one organized menu. However, not everyone will receive this updated context menu until the company figures out the best approach.
Windows Share improvements
The share experience has been updated to share OneDrive files through other apps using the Copy link option under the “Share using” section.
Mobile Device settings
Although you have been able to control the mobile device settings from the Settings app, this action required you to open a secondary page detached from the experience.
However, starting with the update KB5070311, Microsoft is incorporating the option to connect your mobile devices from within the “Mobile devices” page.
Keyboard and text cursor in Settings
Starting with builds 26100.7309 and 26200.7309, the Settings app ports more features from Control Panel, including character repeat delay and rate, and cursor blink rate, which you can now configure from Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Keyboard.
Cursor blink rate is available through Settings > Accessibility > Text cursor.
Device info card in Settings Home page
A new “Device info” card now appears on the Settings home page (United States only, when signed in with a Microsoft account), showing key specs and usage info at a glance, with quick access to the full “About” page.
Also, on the Home page of the Settings app, the Game Pass card description has been updated to reflect the new branding and benefits.
About page redesign in Settings
The “About” page has also been redesigned. First, the page no longer shows key specifications with cards for storage, graphics card, memory, and processor. Instead, the page now shows the device name with an option to rename the computer.
Also, the “Device specifications” section has been renamed to “Device info,” and separates the frequently asked questions into a new section known as “Device insights.”
Furthermore, the “Windows specifications section” is now known as “Windows info,” and finally, the “Related” section at the bottom of the page now includes access to the “Storage” settings page.
Taskbar improvements
Taskbar app group animations have been refined. When hovering and sliding between apps, you’ll now see smoother preview transitions.
Also, this update resolves an issue where the “Automatically hide the taskbar” setting could turn off unexpectedly after a message about a hidden toolbar, and addresses a problem where voice access commands didn’t reliably trigger Taskbar items when using number-based interactions.
In addition, it’s now possible to share an open app window with Copilot directly from the Taskbar. You only have to hover over the app icon and select the “Share with Copilot” to start a conversation with the chatbot using Copilot Vision.
Quick Machine Recovery changes
In this release, on devices with the “Quick Machine Recovery” and “Automatically check for solutions” settings enabled, the feature will now run a one‑time scan by default, rather than running scans in a loop.
If a resolution to the problem isn’t available right away, you won’t be left waiting. Quick Machine Recovery will list the most appropriate recovery options.
Virtual Workspaces in Advanced settings
Virtual Workspaces can now be enabled through Settings > System > Advanced. This feature lets you toggle virtual environments, such as Hyper-V, Virtual Machine Platform, Windows Hypervisor Platform, Windows Sandbox, and others.
Widgets’ new design for feed and settings
Starting with the KB5070311 update, Windows 11 introduces a new Widgets dashboard design with a settings page rather than a page overlay, making the dashboard feel more like an app.
Also, when live weather is visible in the Taskbar, launching the Widget board now opens the first dashboard in your navigation bar (rather than the last one you used) for a more consistent experience.
If you want to change the behavior, from the Widgets settings, re-arrange your preferred default dashboard to the top position.
Finally, from the left navigation page, you’ll notice badges in the page icons showing the number of corresponding unseen alerts.
Haptic feedback for digital pens
Builds 26100.7309 and 26200.7309 also bring haptic feedback support for digital pens with new tactile responses during certain interactions with the system elements.
Xbox Full Screen Experience for handheld devices
Microsoft is bringing the Xbox Full Screen Experience to more handheld devices, in addition to the ASUS ROG Ally and ROG Ally X. (The company is also working to bring this experience to all PCs, but this isn’t the update.)
The FSE feature transforms the traditional Windows 11 desktop into a controller-friendly, console-like interface. The primary goal is to strip away the complexities and resource overhead of a standard desktop operating system, offering a streamlined, dedicated gaming environment.
When enabling this experience, the device won’t be loading the standard Windows Explorer shell and suppressing unnecessary background processes. Microsoft says the full-screen experience can free up approximately 2GB of system memory.
Once you enable the feature from Settings > Gaming > Full screen experience, you can access the experience from Task View, Game Bar settings, or use “Windows key + F11” hotkey to toggle FSE.
In addition to installing this preview build, the company also notes that not only is this feature rolling out gradually, but you also have to be registered in the Xbox Insiders program.
Camera (Copilot+ PC)
Windows Studio Effects brings AI-powered camera enhancements to secondary cameras (such as a USB webcam or your device’s built-in rear camera).
To enable it, open Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Cameras, select your preferred camera from the list, then open Advanced camera options and turn on the “Use Windows Studio Effects” toggle switch.
Once enabled, you can change the effects directly from the camera’s settings page or via the quick settings menu on the Taskbar.
Click to Do new actions menu (Copilot+ PC)
In this release, the company is also updating the Click to Do actions menu that now matches more closely the design of the File Explorer context menu with inline options for Copy, Save, Share, and Open, as well as with the Copilot prompt box and the content-specific features.
Also, when a new large image or table appears on the screen, the actions menu opens automatically to access actions and view results quickly.
Agent in the Settings app (Copilot+ PC)
As part of the AI agent for the Settings app improvements, you’ll find three key changes. The search results menu now shows more results with a scroll bar for easier navigation.
Also, the “Recommended” settings offer faster adjustments through inline agent options for recently modified items. In addition, when a setting can’t be changed further, a new dialog explains why and offers alternatives.
File Explorer (Copilot+ PC)
In the File Explorer for Copilot+ PCs, the search box placeholder text now reflects the upgraded Windows Search, making its enhanced capabilities more visible.
Windows Search (Copilot+ PC)
Also, as part of the Windows Search experience, when searching for images, you’ll find AI-categorized photos from the Photos app using semantic search.
Other fixes and changes
In addition to the new features and improvements, Windows 11 builds 26100.7309 and 26200.7309 ship various fixes, including:
- OneDrive: The new icon design is now in the “Accounts” section in the Settings app.
- Smart Cards: Fixed a logon error where the ECC Smart Card Logon Credential could trigger
STATUS_NOT_SUPPORTED(0xc00000bb). - Graphics: Improved performance when apps query monitor mode lists and resolution displays. Fixed brightness slider issues on all-in-one devices where changes could revert unexpectedly. Also resolved a bug causing some games to incorrectly report “Unsupported graphics card detected” despite using a supported GPU.
- Lock Screen: Fixed an issue where logging into a new account could be very slow the first time. Also addressed a memory leak that could occur when the lock screen is set to slideshow, which may impact performance or reliability over time.
- Security: Fixed an issue where the Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (LSASS) could become unstable due to an access violation.
- Network & Internet: A bug that could cause Settings to freeze when opening the “Network & Internet” section has been fixed.
What’s new on Windows 11 23H2 update KB5070312
The company has also released security fixes and improvements for Windows 11 23H2, as part of the update KB5070312 (build 22631.6269).
- Country and Operator Settings Asset (COSA): Profiles are now up to date for specific mobile operators.
- File Explorer: Fixed issues where the app became unresponsive to mouse clicks until restarted, and where extracting “.tar” files failed if file or folder names included more than 34 commonly used Chinese characters.
- Group Policy and Configuration: Resolved a problem where the
HideRecommendedSectionpolicy failed to suppress recommendations in Windows 11 Enterprise multi-session environments like Azure Virtual Desktop, even when applied via Group Policy or Configuration Service Provider (CSP)
Also, this version of the operating system won’t receive any new features, as this release has reached the end of support.
Windows 11 December 2025 Patch Tuesday – Manual installation process
To download and install this Windows 11 update, open the “Windows Update” settings, and from the “Windows Insider Program” page enroll the computer in the Release Preview Channel, and then from the main update settings, turn on the “Get the latest updates as soon as they’re available” option, and click the “Check for Updates” button.
If your computer is having issues after installing this package, you can use these instructions to uninstall the December 2025 update.
Windows 11 December 2025 Patch Tuesday – Update history
- Initial Release – Release Preview Channel:
- Windows 11 25H2 build 26200.7296 release date: November 17, 2025. Official notes.
- Windows 11 24H2 build 26100.7296 release date: November 17, 2025. (same).
- Windows 11 23H2 build 22631.6269 release date: November 13, 2025. Official notes.
- Windows 11 25H2 build 26200.7309 release date: November 26, 2025. (Re-released).
- Windows 11 24H2 build 26100.7309 release date: November 26, 2025. (Re-released).
- Second Release – Optional Install (Stable Channel):
- Windows 11 25H2 build 26200.7309 release date: December 1, 2025. Official notes.
- Windows 11 24H2 build 26100.7309 release date: December 1, 2025. (same).
- Windows 11 23H2 build 22631.xxxx release date: TBD.
- Final Release – Patch Tuesday (Stable Channel):
- Windows 11 25H2 build 26200.xxxx release date: December 9, 2025. Official notes.
- Windows 11 24H2 build 26100.xxxx release date: December 9, 2025. (same).
- Windows 11 23H2 build 22631.xxxx release date: December 9, 2025. Official notes.
Update December 2, 2025: This content has been updated with new information, and it’s been revised to ensure accuracy.
Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert and founder of Pureinfotech in 2010. With over 22 years as a technology writer and IT Specialist, Mauro specializes in Windows, software, and cross-platform systems such as Linux, Android, and macOS.
Certifications: Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA), Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP), VMware Certified Professional (VCP), and CompTIA A+ and Network+.
Mauro is a recognized Microsoft MVP and has also been a long-time contributor to Windows Central.
You can follow him on YouTube, Threads, BlueSky, X (Twitter), LinkedIn and About.me. Email him at [email protected].