Windows 11 build 22518.1000

Windows 11 build 22518 is the fourteenth Insider Preview build of Nickel, the 22H1 development semester of Windows as a service. It was released to Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel on 8 December 2021.

Voice access
A new feature named "voice access" has been added for navigating with Windows and authoring text by using human voice.
 * The feature has been available in English (United States) language only.
 * The settings can be accessed in the Speech section under Accessibility page in the Settings app.
 * Users can use voice commands or keyboard shortcuts (Alt and Alt) to control whether voice access is listening or not listening.

Features
Several previously available features have been rolled out to all users.
 * The Spotlight collection feature (initially introduced in Windows 10 build 20231.1000 and available to a subset of users who opt for a clean installation of build 22509).
 * This feature has been available for users in selected countries only.
 * The ability for personalized combinations of emoji (initially introduced in build 22504).
 * The ability to display the clock and date on all connected monitors' taskbars (initially introduced in build 22509).

Widgets
The Widgets entry point has been updated to be shown on the left side of the taskbar with live weather content.
 * The Widgets board can be opened by hovering over the entry point.
 * On a left-aligned taskbar, the Widgets entry point will be shown to the right side of the Task view icon.

File Explorer

 * Several options have been added to File Explorer's right-click context menu:
 * "Install" for font files and  files.
 * "Install certificate" for  files.
 * "Map network drive" and "Disconnect network drive" for This PC.
 * "Disconnect" for network drives.
 * The performance of folder navigation has been improved.

Shell

 * The design of input switcher has been updated with Acrylic background.
 * The "Filter" dropdown menu in File Explorer, which initially appeared in build 22494, has been removed.
 * The visibility of the text in the recent searches flyout (if a contrast mode was enabled) has been improved.
 * The consistency of the background color of the command bar and menu dropdowns when a contrast mode was enabled has been improved.
 * A tooltip will be shown for truncated text in the recent search flyout when hovering over items in the layout.

Settings

 * The preview screen in text input section under Personalization page, which had been missing despite being announced since build 22504, has been added.
 * A new extra-large candidate height option for Simplified Chinese IME users has been added to text input section under Personalization page.

Miscellaneous

 * Windows Subsystem from Linux (WSL) has been available in the Microsoft Store.
 * An underlying platform change has been made to improve the overall performance and reliability of the input switcher for users using multiple keyboard languages and layouts.

Bugfixes

 * Fixed an  crash related to having websites pinned to the taskbar.
 * Some work has been made to address an issue where an invisible window frame for the recent searches flyout could end up stuck on the screen, consuming input in that area.
 * The recent searches flyout will have an accessible name when a screen reader sets focus to it, instead of just saying button.
 * Fixed an issue which was causing the search icon in the recent searches icon to become a garbage character for users using the Chinese display language.
 * Fixed a high hitting Search crash.
 * Some work has been done to help reduce the likelihood of keystrokes getting dropped when users start the search by pressing ⊞ Win key and start typing.
 * The "Run as administrator” and "Open file location” options should be visible again to select on the side of the search window when using Search to run commands.
 * Ctrl should work again for commands.
 * Mitigated an issue that could lead to not being able to add network drives as a source in Media Player.
 * Fixed an issue that could lead to seeing an unexpected blank icon after compressing a file, instead of the one corresponding to the default app for handling that file type.
 * Right-clicking on a folder and then quickly closing and reopening the File Explorer window should no longer lead to an  crash when the "run as a separate process” option is enabled.
 * Some unexpected characters in the dialog when moving user account folders to another location have been removed.
 * When right-clicking on files in File Explorer, the icon next to Microsoft Edge Canary, Beta or Dev should display correctly (if installed) under Open With submenu, instead of showing a generic icon.
 * Addressed an issue that could lead to icons for app entries (like Windows Terminal) in the context menu going missing / being invisible sometimes.
 * If users pressed ⊞ Win and have navigated to the emoji or GIFs section with a search term, when going back to the main page, the search query will be cleared out.
 * The IME candidate window should now appear more reliably when typing into Search immediately after booting the computer.
 * Fixed an issue where u-mode/v-mode/name-mode wasn't not showing candidates when typing with the Simplified Chinese IME.
 * Fixed an issue where the Japanese IME was unexpectedly displaying candidates in horizontal mode instead of vertical mode.
 * Fixed an issue where the IME toolbar might randomly show on the lock screen.
 * Addressed an issue where the keyboard focus wouldn't always be in the right place after pressing ⊞ Win.
 * When personalizing the family emoji in the emoji panel, the UI should no longer unexpectedly dismiss when clicking the white space.
 * Clicking on the personalized family emoji in the most recently used list in the emoji panel should no longer unexpectedly invoke the customization UI.
 * The popup suggesting user move focus should work again when trying to start voice typing by press ⊞ Win without setting focus to a text box first.
 * Fixed issue where snap group thumbnails weren't updating in real time in task view after a group window is moved to a different desktop.
 * Fixed an issue that was causing Settings app to crash when going to open options for added languages.
 * Fixed a few issues on the Text Input subpage under Personalization page in Settings app, including:
 * The preview image for current set up should be showing now.
 * Added a few keywords to help search for this page.
 * Improved read out of the page for screen reader users.
 * Searching for the word widgets should return to the corresponding Settings page with that toggle.
 * Mitigated an issue believed to be causing users with certain devices to be experiencing bug checks with the error  in recent Nickel builds.
 * Fixed an issue where users updating from Windows 11 builds 22000.xxx, or earlier, to newer Nickel builds using the latest Dev Channel  would receive the following warning message:


 * Some excess padding on the left of the boot logo has been removed, which was causing it to look off-center compared to the progress wheel.
 * Addressed an issue where UAC was unexpectedly showing "Unknown program” when trying to elevate certain programs, despite them having proper names.
 * Fixed an issue leading to Narrator unexpectedly saying "No item in view” sometimes when tabbing to  text boxes.
 * Fixed a crash that was leading to login issues in out of box experience, as well as issues resetting user's PIN from the lock screen in build 22504 and build 22509.
 * Fixed an issue leading to Acrylic elements unexpectedly not working in certain places in previous Nickel builds.
 * Mitigated an issue leading to some users unexpectedly seeing "Something went wrong” when trying to click the "stop recording” button when recording a message in Voice Recorder.

Bugs and quirks

 * This build is not available to devices in the ARM64 architecture due to an issue that causes these devices to rollback when attempting to update to this build, though the incomplete UUP pack of this build in the aforementioned architecture are uploaded to the Windows Update server.
 * The Desktop Window Manager may crash (causing the screen to flash repeatedly) when trying to use certain apps.
 * The network icon may sometimes goes missing in the taskbar. Restarting  can fix this bug.
 * The Search panel may not open after clicking the Search icon on the taskbar. Restarting  can fix this bug.
 * The signal strength indicators may not reflect the correct signal strength when viewing the list of available Wi-Fi networks.
 * Changing the taskbar alignment may cause the Widgets button to disappear from taskbar.
 * Widgets board may not have the correct resolution when hovering the entry point on a secondary monitor.
 * The Widgets board may be temporarily blank.
 * Links may not open properly when opening the widgets board using hover.
 * When having multiple monitors, Widgets content on taskbar may get out of sync between monitors.
 * Several voice access bugs have been existed:
 * Voice access is not yet fully compatible with screen readers like Narrator, and users may experience gaps or unexpected behavior running these together.
 * Some text authoring commands, e.g., "select that" or "delete that", may not work as expected across Windows applications.
 * The command "press Windows L" can not be used to lock the computer via voice.
 * Recognition of some punctuation marks and symbols such as @ sign may not accurate.