Windows 11 build 25262

Windows 11 build 25262 is the fourth Insider Preview and the third 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 9 December 2022.

Widgets
The sign-in requirement for Widgets has been removed. Therefore, users can now access the Widgets board without signing into an Microsoft account. This change can be toggled on manually by enabling the  and   velocity IDs.

Settings
The "Quick assistance from a friend" link has been added to the bottom of System > Troubleshooters.

Miscellaneous

 * The performance of launching the search window in certain cases has been improved.
 * The text in Wireless Display has been updated to prompt users to turn on the input if it's not enabled.

Boot environment
The CIMFS device type which has been present but unimplemented since an unknown build is now implemented.
 * Therefore, the CIMFS filesystem which was present since an unknown build but unusable due to requiring a device of type CIMFS which could not be created, is now usable.
 * An attempt to create or open a device of type CIMFS will wipe all derived BitLocker keys and cap PCR11 if it was not already capped.

General

 * Fixed an issue that was causing Windows Web Experience Pack to be missing after upgrading to build 25252 in certain cases, thus causing  to get stuck in a crash loop and preventing Widgets and Windows Sandbox from working properly.
 * Fixed an issue that was causing certain PCI devices (such as secondary drives) to not work properly with errors in Device Manager.
 * Fixed an issue where users would need to press ← Backspace after typing to see search results for,   or   files.

Shell

 * Fixed an issue where, with the system tray design updates, auto-hiding the taskbar would stop working after users had interacted with the hidden icons flyout.
 * Fixed an issue that was causing a gap between full screen windows and the taskbar on secondary monitors.
 * Fixed an issue that was causing the system tray area to shift as the numbers change in the clock.
 * Fixed an issue that was causing the top half of the media controls in Quick Settings to be missing sometimes.
 * Fixed an issue that was causing the Microsoft Account sign-in window to have a black title bar in certain cases when using light mode.
 * The following fixes will only apply if the new search box on the taskbar is enabled:
 * Fixed an issue where the search box would not show up on multiple monitors as expected when clicking on either one.
 * Fixed an issue where clicking the search box would cause it to momentarily flash before the Search page displayed.

File Explorer
Fixed an issue that was causing  to crash when opening certain items from the Recent section.

Settings
Fixed an issue that was causing the Wi-Fi section of Quick Settings to say network venue on certain entries unexpectedly.

Task Manager
Fixed an issue where the graphs on the performance page might not update, even though the real time update speed setting wasn't paused.

General

 * Several apps may crash on launch in certain cases.
 * The Cast to Device feature may not be working in certain cases.

Shell

 * Various UI elements in apps may disappear and reappear repeatedly.
 * Opening the Bluetooth section of Quick Settings may cause system to crash.
 * The taskbar may sometimes be cropped in half when using the tablet-optimized taskbar.
 * The following issues will only apply if the search box on the taskbar is enabled:
 * The search box may not render correctly and display visual artifacts.
 * The search box may appear to be floating on the desktop when changing the primary monitor.
 * Several layout issues with the text in the search box may appear on right-to-left locales.
 * Some Japanese IME candidate items may be clipped inside the search box.

Task Manager

 * Filtering by publisher name may not match correctly on the Processes page.
 * Some services may not show in the Services page after filtering is applied.
 * If a new process is starting while a filter is set, then that process may appear for a split second in the filtered list.
 * 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.
 * The Task Manager may not display light and dark content correctly with unreadable text when the "Choose your mode" option under Personalization > Colors in the Settings app is set to Custom.
 * The Startup apps page may not list any apps in certain cases.

Widgets

 * On right-to-left locales, the content may animate out of view before the Widgets board resizes when clicking to expanded view of the Widgets board.
 * The widgets board may get stuck open in an invisible state for users in certain regions, causing clicks on the left side of the screen to not work.
 * Pressing ⊞ Win may resolve this issue.

Safe mode

 * Enabling the search box/icon on the taskbar may cause  to hang or crash.
 * 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.