Windows 11 build 23493

10.0.23493.1000.ni_prerelease.230624-1828

Build of Nickel
OS family	Windows 11 (NT 10.0)
Version number	10.0
Build number	23493
Build revision	1000
Architecture	AMD64, ARM64
Build lab	ni_prerelease
Compiled on	2023-06-24
Expiration date
Timebomb	2023-09-15 (+83 days)
SKUs
Home (N, Single Language, China) SE (N) Pro (N, Single Language, China) Pro Education (N) Pro for Workstations (N) Education (N) Enterprise (Evaluation, G, GN, N, N Evaluation) IoT Enterprise Team
About dialog

Windows 11 build 23493 is an Insider Preview build of Nickel, the 22H2 development semester of Windows as a service. It was released to Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel on 29 June 2023.

New features and changes

Windows Copilot

Windows Copilot, which was partially implemented in build 23481, is fully functional in this build. It is currently a web-based app running inside Microsoft Edge-powered container, and will appear as a sidebar docked to the right side of the screen alongside the desktop or open windows when invoked by clicking the Copilot button on the taskbar or pressing ⊞ Win+C.

The latest version of Microsoft Edge (version 115.0.1901.150 or higher) is required for Windows Copilot to work. The support of third-party plugins, previously announced during the Microsoft Build 2023 conference, has not yet been implemented. It's also only available to a subset of users, but can be activated by enabling the 41655236, 42105254, 44774629, 44776738 and 44850061 velocity staging keys.

Settings

A new Home page has been added and rolled out to a subset of users. This page includes seven interactive cards that represent various device and account related settings, listed as follows:

• Recommended settings: Provides entry points for recent and commonly used settings based on user's specific usage patterns.
• Cloud storage: Provides the overview of Microsoft OneDrive's cloud storage.
• Account recovery: Prompts users to add a additional recovery email address.
• Personalization: Provides the basic settings under the Personalization page, including themes and color mode selections.
• Microsoft 365: Provides the status and benefits for Microsoft 365 subscription.
• Xbox: Provides the status for Xbox Game Pass subscription.
• Bluetooth devices: Provides the quick access to Bluetooth device management.

The Home page is only available on the Home and Pro SKUs, and can be activated by enabling the 42058313, 42058345, 42977909, 44049197 and 44124573 velocity staging keys.

File Explorer

The performance of archive functionality during compression has been improved.

Shell

• The redesigned Sound output page in Quick Settings, initially implemented in build 25281, has been backported to this build.
• The smart suggestions feature in snap layouts has been implemented. This feature is only available to a subset to users, but can be activated manually by enabling the 42500395 velocity staging key with the variant parameter set to 1 or 2.
• A new API for invoking a pop-up confirmation notification for pinning app to the taskbar has been implemented.
• When switching between virtual desktops by pressing the key combination ⊞ Win+Ctrl+← or →, a pop-up showing the name of the current desktop will appear at the bottom of the screen.
• The support of JPEG XR high dynamic range (HDR) wallpaper on HDR displays has been implemented. This feature is disabled by default, but can be activated manually by enabling the 41135193 velocity staging key.

Backup

When restoring the system using Windows Backup, the pins for restored desktop apps will appear on the taskbar and Start menu. Clicking on the app pins will download and install apps from Microsoft Store automatically (for UWP apps) or direct to the web to download the installer (for Win32 apps.)

Narrator

The following Narrator natural voices have been added:

• Japanese: Microsoft Nanami (Female), Microsoft Keita (Male)
• English (United Kingdom): Microsoft Sonia (Female), Microsoft Ryan (Male)

Miscellaneous

• A new deep link URI scheme has been implemented for apps to redirect to appropriate page under Apps > Default apps in the Settings app to change a default app assignments.
• The native support for additional archive file formats using the libarchive open-source project, including .7z, .rar, .tar, .gz and many others, has been added. This support was initially announced during the Microsoft Build 2023 conference.

Bugfixes

General

Fixed an underlying issue that was causing multiple explorer.exe crashes in certain cases.

File Explorer

• Fixed an issue where the count shown for selected files in the Details pane may have been extremely large.
• Fixed an issue where the Details pane was flashing white in dark mode when navigating or resizing the File Explorer window.
• Fixed an issue where the Delete key was not working if the the changes to the File Explorer introduced in build 23466.1001 are enabled.
• The following issues will only apply if the redesigned Home page is enabled:
  • Fixed an issue that was causing the file type icons to be displayed in place of file thumbnails under the Recommended section.
  • Fixed an issue that was causing the focus to not appear on the group header or files appropriately when navigating from another group to the Recommended section using a keyboard.
  • Fixed an issue that was causing explorer.exe to crash when navigating the Recommended section with the Tab ↹ key.

Taskbar

• Fixed multiple explorer.exe crashes that were impacting taskbar reliability.
• Fixed an issue when using uncombined taskbar that was causing focus to get lost when moving from the taskbar previews back to the taskbar icons.
• Fixed an issue impacting search reliability.

Task Manager

Fixed an issue where it wasn't possible to move the Task Manager window with touch or pen.

Settings

Fixed an issue where device icons were missing from the device cards under the Dynamic Lighting page.

Windows Ink

Fixed an issue where users couldn't use handwriting to erase text in Microsoft Edge.

Dev Drive

Fixed an issue where symbolic links might not work correctly when using Dev Drive.

Bugs and quirks

File Explorer

• File Explorer may crash when dragging the scroll bar or attempting to close the window during an extended file-loading process.
• The context menu background in File Explorer may appear transparent in certain cases.
• Users may experience thumbnail loading performance for dehydrated cloud files and memory usage in large collections if the Gallery page is enabled.
• Copying files out of large archive files or using the "Extract All" option may be slower than expected for solid .7z or .rar archive files.
• Clicking on the Share command may bring up the Windows share sheet (non-OneDrive) when the file recommendations feature is enabled.
• The following issues will only apply if the redesigned Home page is enabled:
  • The file name extensions may be displayed even if the "Hide extensions for known file types" option under Folder Options is checked.
  • Sync status icons for files backing up to a storage provider may not reliably displayed.
• The following issues will only apply if the changes to the File Explorer (introduced in build 23466) are enabled:
  • Users may notice missing craftmanship polish with the modernized address bar and search box.
  • Users may experience lost keyboard focus and missing keyboard shortcuts.
  • File Explorer may crash when clicking the ellipsis and chevron next to it in the address bar to open the flyout.

Taskbar

• After changing the Windows display language, the search box on the taskbar may continue to display in the previous language for a short time.
• Text scaling may not work in the search flyout.
• Navigating the search flyout on the taskbar with the keyboard arrow keys may not work as expected.

Windows Copilot

• When pressing Alt+Tab ↹ to switch out of Windows Copilot, users may not switch back into it.
• When first launching or after refreshing Windows Copilot while using Voice access, users may need to use "Show grid" commands to click in the "Ask me anything" box for the first time.

Dev Drive

The performance of Dev Drive may vary between different devices.

Windows Ink

The following issues will only apply if the updates to Windows Ink introduced in build 23481 are enabled:

• The address box in Microsoft Edge, as well as search boxes and comment fields in Microsoft 365 applications may not work correctly.
• Windows Ink may not convert handwriting to text into the main content in Microsoft 365 applications.

Dynamic lighting

• All-device settings changes may not propagate to per-device settings.
• Switching user accounts may turn off device LEDs.
• Using Wave and Wheel effects may result in typing not working in certain apps.

Shell

The copy button for copying two-factor authentication codes in notification toasts may not work.

Safe mode

• When logging in to Safe mode, explorer.exe may throw an Unknown Hard Error error and get stuck in a crash loop due to the 0xc0000005 (ACCESS_VIOLATION) exception with faulting module HolographicExtensions.dll.
• Clicking Bluetooth & devices and Personalization pages may crash the Settings app due to an overrun of a stack-based buffer 0xc0000409.

Gallery

• 

  Boot screen

• 

  Desktop with Windows Copilot UI

• 

  The Home page in the Settings app

External links

• Official announcement