Windows 10 version 22H2 is the twelfth feature update that Microsoft will be rolling out during the fall for devices that do not meet the requirements or users who are not ready to upgrade to Windows 11.
Like the previous release, the new feature update is not expected to include any significant changes or new features as the development focus is on Windows 11 moving forward. Instead, the company plans to push more fixes and a small scope of improvements targeted to business customers.
Since version 22H2 will be a minor update, it’ll download and install as a regular monthly cumulative update without requiring reinstallation for devices already running version 21H2, 21H1, or 20H2.
Microsoft has yet to announce the official release date for Windows 10 22H2, but the company is expected to begin the rollout sometime in the fall. However, the update is already available for testing in the Release Preview Channel as build 19045.1865 (KB5015878) with a couple of improvements for Focus assist and Windows Autopilot and several fixes. (You will also notice that the build number is slightly changing from 19044 on version 21H2 to 19045 for version 22H2.)
New features for Windows 10 22H2
These are the new features, fixes, and improvements coming to the next update of Windows 10:
- Provided the ability for you to consent to receive urgent notifications when focus assist is on.
- Restored functionality for Windows Autopilot deployment scenarios that are affected by the security mitigation for hardware reuse. This update removed the one-time use restriction for self-deploying mode (SDM) and pre-provisioning (PP). This update also re-enabled any User Principal Name (UPN) display in user-driven mode (UDM) deployments for approved manufacturers.
- Reduced the overhead of resource contention in high input/output operations per second (IOPS) scenarios that have many threads contending on a single file.
- Improved the reliability of a push-button reset after an OS upgrade.
- Fixed an issue that makes the tenant restrictions event logging channel inaccessible if you remove the EN-US language pack.
- Fixed an issue that prevents troubleshooters from opening.
- Updated the Remove-Item cmdlet to interact with Microsoft OneDrive folders properly.
- Fixed an issue that causes certain docking stations to lose internet connectivity when waking from Sleep mode.
- Added functionality that caches additional audio endpoint information to improve the OS upgrade experience.
- Fixed an issue that might cause consecutive video clip playback to fail in games that use DX12.
- Fixed an issue that affects certain games that use the XAudio API to play sound effects.
- Fixed an issue that causes port mapping conflicts for containers.
- Fixed an issue that causes Code Integrity to continue trusting a file after the file has been modified.
- Fixed an issue that might cause Windows to stop working when you enable Windows Defender Application Control with the Intelligent Security Graph feature turned on.
- Fixed an issue that affects the height of the Search box when you use multiple monitors that have different resolutions as measured dots per inch (DPI).
- Fixed an issue that prevents the Storage Migration Service (SMS) from completing inventory on servers that have many shares. The system logs error event 2509 in Microsoft-Windows-StorageMigrationService/Admin channel (ErrorId=-2146233088/ErrorMessage=”Invalid table id”).
- Fixed an issue that causes the Windows profile service to fail sporadically. The failure might occur when signing in. The error message is, “gpsvc service failed to sign in. Access denied”.
The company has also released the ISO file for those who want to test the new version by doing a clean install or in-place upgrade. You can download the ISO file for Windows 10 22H2 from the Windows Insider Program download page.
Technically, the next feature update won’t bring anything exciting, but installing it will still be important to maintain the device supported until the next update.
If your computer meets the minimum requirements, your best option is to upgrade to Windows 11. The reason is that Windows 10 is now in maintenance mode to honor the lifecycle and nothing more. If you upgrade to Windows 11, you will access the redesigned desktop experience and many new features. Furthermore, Microsoft is already planning to release Windows 11 22H2 on September 20 with even more changes.
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].