Windows 11 build 22563

Windows 11 build 22563 is the twenty-first 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 24 February 2022.

Prior to its release, the build number was mentioned in an issue posted to the GitHub repository of Microsoft Azure CLI on the same day.

Taskbar
On 2-in-1 PCs, the taskbar will be automatically shrank into a compact view with a bottom bar when the keyboard is detached. The Start icon, all pinned apps and the Widgets entry point will be hidden. Users can swipe up the bottom bar to switch back to the full view.

Users can change this behavior with the "Automatically hide the taskbar when using your device as tablet" option under Personalization > Taskbar > Taskbar behaviors page in the Settings app.

This feature can be enabled on any device by running the following command with ViveTool from an elevated Command Prompt window:

Shell

 * Three of the most recent Microsoft Edge tabs will be displayed as suggested windows by default in snap assist if the Edge window is snapped.
 * The updated accessibility flyout on the login screen, initally introduced in build 22557, has been rolled out to all users.
 * The positioning of the flyout above the button has also been improved.
 * The volume flyout has been updated when using the hardware keys on keyboard to account for cases where there is no working audio.
 * The auto-hide taskbar will now stay expanded while using Task view to switch desktops.
 * The UI appearence when dragging an item over the taskbar or any UWP app's window frame has been updated to respond to dark mode and contrast themes.
 * The mute icon in the taskbar has been updated so that the tooltip now gives a hint for the keyboard shortcut ⊞ Win.
 * The fade-in/out animation for newly added or removed recommended items in the Start menu has been added.
 * The input switcher background color will now follow the custom accent color if "Show accent color on Start and Taskbar" option is enabled in color settings.
 * The smoothness of the animation when invoking Task View using the 3-finger on screen gesture has been improved.
 * The margins for snapping to the left and right side of the screen has been made a little bigger.
 * The search icon on the taskbar has been changed.
 * The "Open With" dialog box has been redesigned to align with the design aesthetics of Windows 11.
 * This change is only available to a subset of users, but can be enabled by running the following command with ViveTool from an elevated Command Prompt window:
 * The ability to show query suggestions below the search box in Start menu has been added.
 * This change is only available to a subset of users, but can be enabled by running the following command with ViveTool from an elevated Command Prompt window:
 * A new panel has been added to the Quick Settings flyout for managing Bluetooth devices.
 * This change is only available to a subset of users.
 * The hitboxes for additional system tray icons have been unified with those for Quick Settings and date/time clock.
 * This change will only show if the tablet-optimized taskbar is enabled on the device.

Widgets
The widgets and news feed have been combined together as a dynamic blended feed.
 * As part of this change, the "Add widgets" button has been moved to the upper-right corner of the Widgets board (next to the account icon).
 * These changes are only available to a subset of users.

Settings
The Action history subpage under Privacy & security page has been redesigned in order to align with the design aesthetics of Windows 11.
 * This change is only available to a subset of users, but can be enabled by running the following command with ViveTool from an elevated Command Prompt window:

Miscellaneous

 * A new group policy for toggling Windows Update notifications on and off has been added.
 * Search from Quick Access has been expanded to include content from OneDrive, Downloads, and any indexed location.
 * 37 new emoji characters (as part of Emoji 14.0) have been added to the emoji picker.
 * The ability to choose the skin tones between the two hands in the hand-shake emoji has been added.
 * Some improvements have been made to the emoji search results, including generally putting a stronger preference in the search results to the exact name match of emoji (for example, the balloon emoji first when searching for balloon) over the various other emoji that might be returned for those keywords.
 * Files in Quick Access without any local presence (for example, files shared to users from another OneDrive) will now show thumbnails and work with OneDrive sharing.
 * The performance of launching the input switcher for the first time has been improved.
 * Some texts have been added to show Disconnecting to communicate if work is in progress after the Disconnect button in the VPN section of Quick Settings is clicked.

General

 * Fixed a few issues impacting  reliability.
 * Fixed a  crash that was happening when using the French (Canada) display language, related to the battery icon tooltip.
 * Fixed an issue where Managed VPN profiles with IPv4 routes specified might disconnect frequently.
 * Fixed the bug in build 22557 with files containing placeholder CodeView debug symbol GUIDs.

Tablet-optimized taskbar
The following fixes will only show if the tablet-optimized taskbar is enabled on the device.
 * The top border line of taskbar will extend across the entire taskbar instead of stopping just before the system tray area.
 * The button styling for the hidden icons flyout has been improved to be consistent with the design of the rest of the system tray buttons.
 * The taskbar should no longer flicker when switching input methods or during other scenarios where system tray icons are added and removed.

Shell

 * Fixed an issue that was causing the Start menu to not open consistently with the new touch gesture when swiping up from the bottom of the screen.
 * Fixed an issue where the sleep icon in the Start menu's power menu would incorrectly show as Windows11-10.0.22543.1000-Icon2.svg/Windows11-10.0.22543.1000-Icon3.svg.
 * Fixed an issue causing the apostrophe in the power button tooltip to not display correctly.
 * Names of apps in folders no longer appear blurred briefly when opening folders in Start menu.
 * Fixed a crash when trying to share an app from the All apps list in Start menu.
 * Fixed an issue where the OneDrive icon wouldn't show up in the File Explorer command bar sometimes.
 * Removed a random white dot that was appearing in the context menu when right clicking on File Explorer's title bar in dark mode.
 * The chance that the recent searches flyout could get stuck on the screen has been reduced.
 * Addressed an issue in recent builds leading to some users experiencing an issue where search would open, but only show a magnifying glass in the window and not display any results.
 * Fixed an issue that was preventing users from using the minimize, maximize, and close buttons on maximized apps (and other scenarios) because Notification Center had kept focus.
 * The general reliability of Alt has been improved to help address scenarios where it could get stuck.
 * Addressed an issue that was impacting the performance when using Alt, Task view or snap assist in previous builds.
 * Snap group titles should appear properly when using Windows with an Arabic or Hebrew display language.
 * Some refinements to the snap layouts invocation experience have been made when moving a window to the top of the screen.
 * Fixed an issue where dragging a snapped window while snap assist is active would include a thumbnail of the dragged window.
 * When using the ↓ key to navigate through app thumbnails in snap assist, it will cycle to the top when the bottom is reached.
 * Fixed two crashes that could happen when using snap layouts on a secondary monitor or a portrait mode monitor.
 * Switching desktops using the keyboard shortcuts while the Start menu is open should no longer cause the desktop to unexpectedly switch back after closing Start menu.
 * Fixed an issue that was causing the back button in the sign in window of certain apps to not to be visible when using a contrast theme.

Input

 * Fixed an issue causing users to not see the updated Korean IME design in build 22557.
 * Fixed a couple issues with the coloring in the IME candidate window.
 * Addressed an  crash when switching input methods.
 * Fixed the Typing link name in the touch keyboard settings options, so it matches the Settings page that opens.

Settings

 * An explanation text for "Sync across your devices" option graying out in Clipboard subpages has been added.
 * Addressed an issue where pop up dialogs (for example, when adding an optional feature, or when configuring IP address) were launching left aligned instead of centered.
 * Addressed an issue where "RSAT: DNS Server Tools" would show that it was installed in Optional Features if users attempted to install it but wouldn't actually be installed.
 * Fixed an issue where Display settings might not show the option to change refresh rate when the device was in portrait mode.
 * Settings should no longer crash when attempting to uninstall apps via Installed apps subpage when User Account Control (UAC) settings are set to "Always Notify".
 * Mitigated a crash when attempting to access the Text input page in after upgrading if users have a custom touch keyboard appearance.
 * Addressed an issue where the Update History pages would appear blank.
 * Mitigated an issue related to the Windows Update page that could make Settings app hang.
 * The link to give feedback in Notifications subpage has been redirected to notifications feedback section in the Feedback Hub.
 * Fixed an issue preventing users from adding Bluetooth or Cast to the Quick Settings flyout.
 * The media controls above Quick Settings should now show when opening media or hiding when users close media more reliably.
 * Fixed an issue where the number in the volume popup that opens when using hardware keys didn’t match the volume number in Quick Settings.
 * Fixed an issue that was occasionally causing certain Bluetooth devices to not auto-connect after powering on or resuming the device from sleep/hibernate.

Widgets

 * Fixed an issue where information such as temperature may not show on a left-aligned taskbar.
 * Fixed an issue where Widgets weather info may have shown different information across a multi-monitor setup.

Task Manager
Addressed an issue where the navigation bar in the updated Task Manager design was showing black glitches when launching it from a minimized state.

Narrator

 * Narrator will no longer jump up to the search box in Start after using the power or account menus.
 * After switching to the All apps section of the Start menu, Narrator will navigate to and read app information correctly.
 * Narrator in Word online will read the new line correctly when arrowing up and down between paragraphs.
 * Fixed an issue that was causing Narrator to stop reading or being able to move the cursor when entering tables in Microsoft Word.
 * Improved how Narrator reads content in the Accessibility flyout on the login screen.

General

 * When going through the OOBE on the Enterprise SKU, the network add screen may be skipped on the first attempt.
 * Users may encounter a hang at "0% Downloading" on Windows Update when trying to upgrade directly from Windows 10 to this build.
 * To bypass this issue, join the Beta Channel to install the offered Windows 11 build, and then switch to the Dev Channel to receive this build.
 * The "Print Queue Action Center" app (located in ) may appear in the Start menu and is not functional.
 * It may be served as a replacement for the legacy print queue dialog.

Shell

 * Right-clicking on the Start icon or pressing ⊞ Win may cause  to crash due to an access violation   in.
 * Devices with the tablet-optimized taskbar enabled would not be affected by this issue.
 * Dragging files with certain extensions may cause  to crash.
 * The taskbar icon and tooltip may not match the focus state.
 * The Clock app may not update Windows Focus state when configuring focus sessions within the app.
 * The File Explorer search box may not work when typing and clicking a suggestion.
 * Users may encounter issues regarding icon sizing, visual bugs, and text clipping in the flyout showing OneDrive storage.
 * The startup sound may not play when starting Windows.

Tablet-optimized taskbar
The following issues will only be encountered if the tablet-optimized taskbar is enabled on the device.
 * Users may not be able to use new touch gestures that start on the bottom of the screen until the keyboard is first removed or folded back.
 * Laptops, which don't support this feature but have it enabled, may not be able to use the touch gestures that start on the bottom of the screen.
 * The taskbar may not always automatically collapse after launching an app or tapping outside of the expanded taskbar on 2-in-1 devices.
 * Users may see overlapping components, such as Widgets overlapping with the taskbar as some areas of the OS are not yet tracking the height of the expanded taskbar on 2-in-1 devices.
 * Transition animations may still being tuned for going between expanded and collapsed taskbar on 2-in-1 devices.
 * Users may not be able to drag and drop the additional tray icons.

Widgets

 * When pinning from the Feed, the pinned widget may be placed at the top instead of below other pinned widgets.
 * This issue will be auto-corrected within 30 minutes.
 * Alternatively, signing out of Widgets board and immediately signing back in may solve this issue.
 * After rearranging widgets in the Widgets board, some users may experience problems with widgets in the pinned section rendering incorrectly.
 * Signing out of Widgets board and immediately signing back in may solve this issue.

Live captions

 * Certain apps in full screen (e.g., video players) may prevent live captions from being visible.
 * Certain apps positioned near the top of the screen and closed before live captions is run may re-launch behind the live captions window positioned at top.
 * Using the system menu Alt while the app has focus to move the app's window further down may solve this issue.
 * The very top of maximized apps (e.g., title bar window management buttons) may not be reached with touch while live captions is positioned at the top.

Task Manager

 * The Efficiency mode icon may be missing on some child processes.
 * Some settings options may not be preserved.
 * Users may encounter icon sizing and visual bugs.

Safe mode

 * Quick Settings and date/time clock on the taskbar may be missing due to the  service not running.
 * Opening File Explorer may lead  to crash due to an unhandled exception.
 * Clicking Bluetooth & devices and Personalization pages may crash the Settings app due to an overrun of a stack-based buffer.