Windows 11 build 25158 outs with a new search button

A new preview of Windows 11 (build 25158) introduces a new Taskbar search button, tweaks for Widgets, and DoT for networking.

Windows 11 build 25158
  • Windows 11 receives build 25158 with new features and changes.
  • Build 25158 introduces a new Taskbar search interface.
  • This flight also adds DNS over TLS for Windows DNS.
  • Also, the update receives a lot of fixes and improvements.

Microsoft is rolling out Windows 11 build 25158 for devices enrolled in the Dev Channel of the Windows Insider Program. This is a small update that brings visual changes, fixes, and some improvements.

Build 25158 for Windows 11, according to the company, introduces a new search button for the Taskbar and removes the search widget from the desktop. It also adds more dynamic content for Widgets, support for DNS over TLS, and the Nyala font has been updated to support syllables for the Gurage language orthography.

Taskbar search button

Starting this release, you will find a new search interface that brings back the search box to the Taskbar.

Windows 11 Search UI
Windows 11 Search UI (Source: Microsoft)

Widgets

As part of the Widgets experience, this flight brings more dynamic content to Taskbar with notification badging. Also, when you open the Widgets board a banner will appear at the top of the board providing more information on what triggered the notification badge.

Taskbar weather widget
Taskbar weather widget (Source: Microsoft)

DNS over TLS

DNS over TLS testing is now available for Windows DNS client query protection. The DoT protocol is available in addition to DNS over HTTPS (DoH), which is already supported in Windows 11 and Windows Server 2022.

Input

Also, the Nyala font has been updated to support syllables for the Gurage language orthography from the Ethiopic Extended-B Unicode range.

Fixes and improvements

This release also includes a bunch of improvements and bug fixes.

File Explorer

  • Fixed an issue where closing command bar flyouts could in some rare cases crash explorer.exe.
  • Fixed an issue that could lead to explorer.exe crashing when navigating through File Explorer with OneDrive enabled.
  • CTRL + F4 should work to close the current tab now.
  • Opening a zipped folder in a new tab should no longer have a blank tab name.
  • If the focus is on the tab row, CTRL + W will no longer unexpectedly close two tabs instead of just the tab in focus.
  • Fixed an issue where Ctrl + Tab wouldn’t cycle in the correct order after rearranging tabs.
  • We made some adjustments so when using “Show full path in the title”, the folder name is always visible in the tab at the top of File Explorer.

Taskbar

  • Fixed an underlying issue that could lead to pinned app icons getting stuck on the taskbar after uninstalling the app in recent flights.
  • Fixed a high-hitting explorer.exe crash in the last few flights related to loading Widgets.

Start

  • Start shouldn’t crash anymore when using CTRL + Shift + Right Arrow to move a pinned app into a folder that’s the last item in Start.
  • Fixed a crash some Insiders were experiencing when opening Start.
  • Narrator will now read the prompt that opens when trying to uninstall an app from Start correctly.

Search

  • Fixed an issue when using “IRowsetPriorititization” where setting the scope priority for a query rowset did not properly alter the indexing speed of the rowset, resulting in slower indexing overall.
  • Searching for “power mode” should now return an entry for power modes in Settings.

Settings

  • Updated the “System” entry under Network & Internet > Advanced network settings > Data Usage, to now be called “System and Windows Update” to help make it more clear.
  • Made another fix to address an issue where the “Listen to this device” option for audio devices would stop working after a reboot.
  • Fixed a crash some Insiders were seeing when navigating Bluetooth & Devices > Printers & Scanners.
  • Fixed an issue where the “Allow Bluetooth devices to find this PC” checkbox under Bluetooth & Devices > Devices > More Bluetooth Settings wouldn’t display the correct state sometimes.
  • Fixed an issue that was causing Quick Settings to crash for ARM64 PCs when attempting to use the Cast section to cast to certain devices.
  • Fixed an issue that could cause the eye icon beside the Wi-Fi password box in Quick Settings to disappear after its first use.

Input

  • Fixed a crash in textinputhost.exe initialization which was happening in some cases in recent flights.
  • Fixed an issue where the “Sync across your devices” option under Settings > System > Clipboard wouldn’t stay enabled.
  • Updated the Times New Roman font family so it includes U+061D / ARABIC END OF TEXT MARK.

Windowing

  • Made some improvements to help with the performance of opening Task View.

Narrator

  • Made a fix so the two-finger triple tap touch gesture to dismiss context menus with Narrator is working correctly again.

Task Manager

  • Fixed an issue where some services were being unexpectedly grouped under Microsoft Edge when they weren’t actually child processes.

Other fixes

  • Fixed an issue that would lead to losing network connectivity after turning on a mobile hotspot.
  • Addressed an issue that could result in the mobile hotspot button getting unexpectedly stuck in a greyed-out state in certain cases.
  • Fixed an underlying issue that was leading to Your Phone crashes in certain cases.
  • Fixed an underlying issue where Microsoft Defender Application Guard windows weren’t visible in the last few flights.
  • Fixed a crash that could happen when using suggested actions.
  • Fixed an underlying issue when recording game clips using the Xbox Game Bar, which could lead to the resulting saved video not displaying correctly when viewed later on an iOS device.
  • Made some improvements to help address an issue resulting in apps in the Microsoft Store failing to download with error 0x80080204.
  • Addressed an underlying issue leading to Microsoft Store app remediation failures with error 0x803FB004.
  • Did some work to address an issue where the print dialog wasn’t launching centered in the application (for example, in Notepad).
  • Fixed an issue causing some Insiders to experience bugchecks with the error message KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED in NetAdapterCx.sys in recent flights.
  • Fixed an issue that was leading some PCs to hang at a black screen when resuming from a low power state in recent flights.
  • Fixed an issue believed to generally be impacting performance across Windows shell experiences in the last few flights.
  • Fixed an issue where the Mica material and Acrylic blur effect was rendering incorrectly in OS surfaces like the Start menu, Notification Center, and other areas sometimes in recent flights.

Furthermore, there are some other known issues with File Explorer, Widgets, and Live Captions.

Install Windows 11 build 25158

If you want to download and install the Windows 11 build 25158, you need to enroll your device in the Dev Channel using the “Windows Insider Program” settings from the “Update & Security” section.

Once you enroll the computer in the program, you can download build 25158 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.

About the author

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].