- Microsoft made available a new preview of Windows 11 (build 25921) in the Canary Channel.
- This flight introduces support for HDR wallpapers, changes to the Start menu, and networking.
- The update also ships with a known networking issue.
Windows 11 build 25921 has arrived for devices enrolled in the Canary Channel of the Windows Insider Program, and it includes some new changes and improvements.
Build 25921 for Windows 11, according to the official changes, you can now set JXR images as desktop background. The Start menu makes the “Recommended” section more useful with a rich preview when hovering over files. Starting with this flight, the Microsoft Teams (free) app replaces the Chat experience. The Task View feature now gets a few new changes and more.
Windows 11 build 25921 changes
These are all the new features and improvements for the latest release of Windows 11 in the Canary Channel:
HDR wallpapers
Windows 11 now has the ability to use JXR files as desktop backgrounds, and if you have an HDR display, they will render in full HDR.
If you have multiple displays attached to your device, the background will show as HDR or SDR, depending on each display’s capabilities. This makes it possible for your device to intelligently dim your screen when you look away and brighten it again when you look back.
Start menu
As part of the Start menu changes, the “Recommended” section now offers a richer preview when hovering over files for devices enrolled using an AAD account, but the company says that the feature will also come to users with a Microsoft account. Additionally, when right-clicking on cloud file recommendations, there is now an option to quickly share these files.
Users logged in with a local account or Microsoft Account will see this experience when hovering over files (cloud files and local files) under Recommended on the Start menu.
Taskbar
When navigating between desktops in Task View, labels will be shown. In addition, new sliding animations will show when you change your desktops using trackpad gestures, touch gestures, hotkeys, and by clicking on the Task View flyout.
Networking
Finally, the company is rolling out a new asynchronous error-handling feature in the DHCP client service that will allow for faster response time for some runs of “ipconfig /renew” on the Windows command line.
In this flight, Microsoft is only noting one known issue about the devices with mobile broadband connectivity not being able to connect to a wireless network as a result of an issue in which the APN configuration may get lost on the upgrade.
Installing builds
To download and install the Windows 11 build 25921, you must enroll your device in the Canary 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 by clicking the “Check for Updates” button.
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 14 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 20 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].