What you need to know
- Microsoft released Builds 22621.870 and 22623.870 to Insiders in the Beta Channel this week.
- Build 22623.870 improves the Narrator Braille Driver Solution.
- Both builds improve the Microsoft Account experience in Settings and add new privacy options related to biometric data.
Microsoft released two Beta Channel Insider builds of Windows 11 last night, bringing the grand total of Insiders updates this week to four. While that in itself isn’t unique, it’s relatively rare that all four builds within a week have new features. That’s the case, however, as both Windows 11 Build 22621.870 and 22623.870 bring something new to the OS.
Build 22623.870 improves Braille support and includes a handful of fixes. Both updates add new options for biometric data and the Microsoft Account experience in Settings.
Build 22623.870: What’s new
Narrator Braille Driver Solution
- Braille devices will continue working while switching between Narrator and third-party screen readers as narrator will automatically change Braille drivers.
Build 22623.870 changes & improvements
Taskbar
- Based on your feedback, we’ve added Task Manager to the context menu when right-clicking on the taskbar. We are beginning to roll this out, so the experience isn’t available to all Insiders in the Beta Channel just yet.
Build 22623.870 fixes
Tablet-optimized taskbar
- Improved how touch gestures and their animations with the tablet-optimized taskbar work with the touch keyboard.
System Tray Updates
- Fixed an issue causing explorer.exe to crash when dragging icons in the system tray.
Build 22621.870 & Build 22623.870 fixes
- New! We added improvements to the Microsoft Account experience in Settings. For instance, you can manage your Microsoft One Drive subscription and related storage alerts.
- New! We added a new consent form for those of you enrolled in Windows Hello Face and Fingerprint. You have new choices for your biometric data. You can keep storing your biometric data or open Settings to delete the data if you have not used your face or fingerprint for authentication in over 365 days. You also have these options if you upgraded to Windows 11 and have not yet seen the new Hello Learn More Privacy text.
- New! We enhanced search visual treatments on the taskbar to improve discoverability. This is available to a small audience initially and deploys more broadly in the months that follow. Some devices might notice different visual treatments as we gather feedback. To learn more about why you might be seeing these changes, see Search for anything, anywhere (opens in new tab).
- We updated DriverSiPolicy.p7b for the Windows kernel vulnerable driver blocklist. This update includes drivers that are vulnerable to Bring Your Own Vulnerable Driver (BYOVD) attacks.
- We extended original equipment manufacturer (OEM) control of Hypervisor-protected Code Integrity (HVCI) enforcement for targeted hardware configurations.
- We fixed an issue that affects the Microsoft Azure Active Directory (AAD) Application Proxy connector. It cannot retrieve a Kerberos ticket on behalf of the user. The error message is, “The handle specified is invalid (0x80090301).”
- We fixed an issue that affects cached credentials for security keys and Fast Identity Online 2.0 (FIDO2) On hybrid domain-joined devices, the system removes these cached credentials.
- We fixed an issue that might cause vertical and horizontal line artifacts to appear on the screen.
- We fixed an issue that affects title bars when you use third-party tools to customize them. The title bars did not render. This update ensures that title bars render; however, we cannot guarantee all text customizations will work as before.
- We fixed an issue that might fail to sync the audio when you record game play using the Xbox Game Bar.
If you’re in a different Insider ring, you also received an update this week. Those in the Release Preview Channel can update to Build 22621.754, and Dev Channel Insiders can grab Build 25227.
