Windows 11 build 25281

Windows 11 build 25281 is the eighth Insider Preview and the seventh available client build of Zinc, the 23H2 development semester of Windows as a service. It was released to Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel on 19 January 2023.

Windows Spotlight

 * The new UI, initially implemented in build 25197 and later removed in build 25206, has been re-implemented with muitlple refined visuals. This feature is only available in the English (United States) language, and can be toggled on manually by enabling the,   (with the   parameter set to 0, 1 or 3 for multiple visuals),   and   velocity IDs.
 * The support of showing the "Learn more about this picture" icon at different positions has been implemented. This feature is disabled by default, but can be toggled on manually by enabling the  velocity ID with the   parameter set to 0, 2 or 3 for placing the icon at the bottom right, bottom center or top right corner, respectively.

Shell

 * The Sound output page in the Quick Settings has been redesigned with new volume mixer feature, which has been absent since the original release of Windows 11. As part of this change, a new keystroke for invoke the page directly (⊞ Win) has also been added. These features are disabled by default, but can be toggled on manually by enabling  velocity ID.
 * The printer icon in the system tray on the taskbar has been updated in order to better align with other icons.
 * The UAC dialog when switching a network between private and public has been updated to come to the foreground rather than being behind other windows.

Settings

 * The Graphics page under System > Display has been redesigned in order to align with the design aesthetics of Windows 11.
 * The pop-up prompt to confirm removing a paired Bluetooth device under the Bluetooth and Devices page has been removed.
 * The "Enter a product key" dialog (toggle via System > Activation) has been redesigned in order to align with the design aesthetics of Windows 11. This feature is disabled by default, but can be toggled on manually by enabling the  and   velocity IDs.

Miscellaneous

 * When navigating the taskbar using ⊞ Win and arrow keys, the position of the app icon will be called out by Narrator.
 * The ability to install Windows to the ReFS file system has been added. This feature is disabled by default, but can be toggled on manually by enabling the   velocity ID.

General

 * Fixed an issue where Narrator wasn't announcing when the @ mentions window popped up in Outlook.
 * Fixed an issue that was causing the system to get stuck when uninstalling some apps.
 * Fixed an issue which was causing the Windows print queue window to crash sometimes.
 * Fixed an issue which could cause SQL Server Management Studio to fail to launch.
 * Fixed an issue where Braille devices were incorrectly saying there was no screen on the latest version of Braille.

File Explorer

 * Fixed an  crash which could happen when closing File Explorer.
 * Fixed an issue that was causing the error dialog when network discovery is off to point to the wrong location to enable it.
 * Fixed an issue that causes File Explorer to crash in dark mode when the new Details pane is enabled.

Settings
Fixed an issue where SSID wasn't being populated on the properties page for Wi-Fi under the Network & Internet page.

Shell

 * Fixed an issue where Quick Settings might not be able to re-open after going to the Wi-Fi section and closing the flyout.
 * Fixed an  crash which could happen when right-clicking a snap group in Task View and selecting "show this group on all desktops."

General

 * The system may hang at the boot screen when resuming from sleep or hibernate on certain ARM64 devices.
 * Using Windows Hello to sign in with facial recognition may not work on certain ARM64 devices.
 * The system may take longer than expected to upgrade to this build in certain cases.
 * The screen may freeze when using the browser and certain apps, primarily media player apps.

Shell

 * The taskbar may sometimes be cropped in half when using the tablet-optimized taskbar.
 * On some locales, the default font used in several UI elements (such as the date and time on the taskbar) may change to regular Segoe UI instead of Segoe UI Variable.

Task Manager

 * Some dialogs may not render in the correct theme when applied from the Settings page.
 * The data content area of the Processes page may flash once when theme changes are applied in the Settings page.

Settings
Switching the Search entry point on the taskbar from the search box to the search icon via Personalization > Taskbar may fail in certain cases.

Safe mode

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