Windows 8.1 build 9271

Windows 8.1 build 9271 is the earliest known and available build of Windows 8.1, which was shared on 27 June 2022, alongside Windows 8 builds 7777 and 7779. Due to its earliness, this build still identifies itself as its predecessor and still bears the 6.2 kernel version.

Despite being newer than the RTM build of Windows 8, it still uses the older wallpaper set found in late development builds of the aforementioned operating system, which suggests that this build was forked from a late development build of Windows 8. This change would be later reverted in the next build.

Changes
Extended the timebomb by one year to 15 January 2014.

Setup
Setup is mostly similar to its predecessor, although the fake Aero borders in the setup interface are now opaque.

Bugs and quirks

 * The Earth and Flowers theme retains the display names as seen in Windows 8 RTM while using the older wallpaper set found in late development builds of the aforementioned operating system.
 * The evaluation grace period timer is visible on the watermark at all times.