Windows 11 build 23506

10.0.23506.1000.ni_prerelease.230714-1451

Build of Nickel
OS family	Windows 11 (NT 10.0)
Version number	10.0
Build number	23506
Build revision	1000
Architecture	AMD64, ARM64
Build lab	ni_prerelease
Compiled on	2023-07-14
Expiration date
Timebomb	2023-09-15 (+63 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 23506 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 19 July 2023.

New features and changes

Shell

• The Share flyout has been redesigned with the following changes to align with the design aesthetics of Windows 11:
  • A new search box for searching contacts across Microsoft Outlook.
  • The ability to display 8 to 10 suggested contacts instead of 4.
  • A new button to turn on nearby sharing, replacing the dropdown menu.
• The warning dialog on unsafe password copy and paste, initially implemented in build 25324, has been backported to this build.
• The fly-in transition effect has been added when switching between virtual desktops by pressing the key combination ⊞ Win+Ctrl+← or →.
• The Voice access toggle has been added to the Accessibility flyout on the lock screen.
• The redesigned Program Compatibility Assistant dialog, initially implemented in build 25276, has been backported to this build.
• The redesigned tooltip when hovering over a file in the Start menu's Recommended section, initially implemented in build 25905, has been backported to this build and rolled out to a subset of users. This change can be activated by enabling the 42105254 and 44270738 velocity staging keys.

Settings

• The Home page, initially implemented in build 23493, has been disabled by default due to an instability bug. It can still be activated by enabling the 42058313, 42058345, 42977909, 44049197 and 44124573 velocity staging keys.
• Two new energy recommendations, "Turn on Dark Mode" and "Turn on dynamic refresh rate to conserve energy", have been added under System > Power & battery > Energy recommendations.
• The "Spotlight activity" option under Privacy & security > Microphone, initially implemented in build 25905, has been backported to this build.
• The "Fix problems using Windows Update" option under System > Recovery, initially implemented in build 25905, has been backported to this build.
• The "Automatically manage color for apps" option under Display > Advanced display, initially implemented in build 25262, has been backported to this build.
• The icon for the Dynamic Lighting option under the Personalization page has been updated.
• The "Phone Link" button under Bluetooth & devices > Phone Link has been replaced by a toggle switch. This change is disabled by default, but can be activated by enabling the 43729731 velocity staging key.

Out-of-box experience (OOBE)

• The ability to configure backup preferences in second-chance out of box experience (SCOOBE) has been implemented.
• A new "Development" option has been added to the Let's customize your experience page. Turning it on will automatically launch the Dev Home and Get Started apps after completing OOBE.
• If Windows is restored from backup, the Get Started app will be launched automatically when logging in for the second time after completing OOBE.

Miscellaneous

• Windows Copilot, initially implemented in build 23481 and later available in build 23493, has been rolled out to all users.
• The new Outlook progressive web app, which based on the Outlook.com web service and served as an replacement for Windows Mail, has been included as an inbox app.
• Support for the COLRv1 font format, initially implemented in build 25905, has been backported to this build.
• A new EnablePasswordlessExperience CSP policy has been added, allowing users to navigate through certain core authentication scenarios (such as User Account Control and password managers in Microsoft Edge) using Windows Hello for Business instead of passwords.
• The performance when sharing files via Wi-Fi Direct has been improved.

Bugfixes

File Explorer

• Fixed an issue that was causing explorer.exe to crash when dragging tabs.
• Fixed an issue that was causing explorer.exe to crash when opening Gallery.
• The following bugfixes will only apply if the changes to the File Explorer (introduced in build 23466) are enabled:
  • Fixed an issue that was causing explorer.exe to crash when trying to access an FTP address.
  • Fixed an issue where selecting the dropdown arrows in the address bar was opening a blank menu.
• The following bugfixes will only apply if the redesigned Home page is enabled:
  • Fixed an issue that was causing the file name extensions to display even if the "Hide extensions for known file types" option under Folder Options is checked.
  • Fixed an issue that was causing explorer.exe to crash when pressing Tab ↹ to navigate the Recommended section.
  • Fixed an issue that was causing the focus to not appear on the group header or files appropriately when pressing Tab ↹ to navigate from another group to the Recommended section.
  • Fixed an issue that was causing explorer.exe to crash when opening the Home page.
• Fixed an issue where clicking on the Share option would bring up the Windows share sheet instead of the OneDrive share window.
• Fixed an underlying issue believed to be the cause of certain apps hanging when trying to use the open file dialog.

Shell

• Fixed an issue that was causing the copy button for quickly copying two-factor authentication (2FA) codes in notification toasts to not work as expected.
• Fixed an issue that was causing the notification badge on the widgets icon on the taskbar to get out of place.
• Fixed the issue that was causing text scaling to not work in the search flyout.

Dynamic lighting

• Fixed an underlying ctfmon.exe crash related to the Dynamic Lighting work.
• Fixed an issue where all-device settings changes were not propagating to per-device settings.

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.
• Users may notice missing craftmanship polish with the modernized address bar and search box if the visual changes to the File Explorer (introduced in build 23466) are enabled.
• Setting focus to the address bar by pressing Alt+D, Ctrl+L or F4 may not work.

Shell

The Safely Remove Hardware icon in the system tray on the taskbar may sometimes disappear.

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.

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

Switching user accounts may turn off device LEDs.

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

• 

  The redesigned Share flyout

• 

  The Let's customize your experience page in OOBE

External links

• Official announcement