Microsoft today released two new Windows 10 previews for PCs. This is a rare occurrence for the Windows Insider program, though builds are sometimes released in quick succession. The first build is part of the RS4 branch, which represents the next Windows 10 update the company has yet to announce (but is likely to ship soon), and the second build is from the RS5 branch, which represents the Windows 10 update that will arrive much later this year. Oh, and Microsoft also introduced the Windows App Preview Program today.
Windows 10 is a service, meaning it was built in a very different way from its predecessors so it can be regularly updated with not just fixes, but new features, too. Microsoft has released four major updates so far: November Update, Anniversary Update, Creators Update, and Fall Creators Update.
Windows 10 build 17101
This RS4 build features input and app permission improvements, as well as Windows 10 Pro for Workstations features. The focus is now on stabilization, meaning you can expect more builds more quickly as they will include mostly bug fixes.
The first update consists of emoji designs (see above for before and after) and emoji search coming to more languages. You can now find an emoji by keyword in over 150 locales.
As for app permissions, you can now decide which UWP apps can access your full file system (Settings => Privacy => File System Access). Certain UWP apps will be granted permission to have broad file system access, as decided on a per-app basis by Microsoft. You can turn access on or off globally and then drill down for each app that has requested the capability.
Advanced users are getting an Ultimate Performance power scheme for demanding workloads on workstations, which builds on the current High-Performance policy by eliminating micro-latencies associated with fine-grained power management techniques. They are also getting productivity focused out-of-box applications in place of consumer applications and games.
This desktop build includes the following general bug fixes and improvements:
- Fixed an issue from the last flight were some PCs failed to resume from hibernate (requiring a hard reboot to recover).
- Fixed an issue resulting in 3 and 4 finger gestures on the touchpad being unresponsive in the last two flights.
- Fixed an issue after upgrading to the last flight where Start didn’t work for Insiders who’d had HomeGroup added as a folder to appear on Start.
- Updated the touch keyboard so that if you try to shapewrite in an unsupported text field or when the typing resources aren’t installed, you won’t see the shapewriting trail as you swipe your finger over the keys.
- Fixed an issue where the touch keyboard showed an English layout with no IME on/off key when an East Asian keyboard is the only input method on your system.
- Fixed an issue where if you install a font product from the Microsoft Store, then later install a new build (feature update), the Store package will remain installed, but the fonts within the package are not installed. Until this is fixed, the temporary workaround is to uninstall the product from the Apps page in Settings, then re-acquire the product from the Store.
- Fixed an issue where the touch keyboard might stop invoking automatically after locking the PC and then unlocking the PC by using the touch keyboard to enter your PIN or password.
- Fixed an issue where the Japanese IME sometimes wouldn’t turn on correctly.
- Fixed an issue where the floating dictation UI could be unexpectedly tiny.
- Fixed an issue that could result in the mouse cursor suddenly jump to screen corner while mouse was moving in a List Control.
- Fixed an issue that could result in tabs hanging and not loading content recently in Microsoft Edge after using the browser for a few days with an adblocker enabled.
- Fixed an issue resulting in newly installed Microsoft Edge extensions not appearing in the Extensions pane in the last two flights.
- Fixed an issue in Microsoft Edge where favicons in light theme were unexpectedly getting black backgrounds.
- Fixed an issue that could result in UWP apps sometimes launching as small white rectangular boxes.
- Fixed an issue resulting in certain fingerprint readers not working in recent flights.
- Fixed an issue where Windows Hello failed to work on Surface Laptops with the last build.
- Fixed an issue that could result in the labels for files on the desktop overlapping their icons.
- Updated the “Advanced graphics settings” link on the Display Settings page to now just say “Graphics Settings”.
- When your volume is muted, the volume icons in the Sound Settings page will also now appear muted.
- If you click the Reset button on the App volume and device preferences page, it will now also reset any app specific volumes you’ve set back to default (100%).
- Fixed an issue resulting in app updates failing in the Microsoft Store with error 0x80070057 in recent builds.
- Fixed an issue resulting in app updates failing in the Microsoft Store with error 0x803FB005 in recent builds.
- Fixed an issue where bringing up Game bar using the Xbox button on an Xbox One controller didn’t work in some games.
- Fixed an issue where in the text box for the Mixer stream title using non-character keys (e.g. Tab, Delete, Backspace, etc.) might cause the game to hang for a few seconds.
- Fixed an issue where keyboard and mouse input might not work correctly in the Game bar when playing a first person game (e.g. Minecraft).
- Fixed an issue where in some games—such as Destiny 2 and Fortnite—mouse and keyboard input would still go to the game while Game bar was open.
- Fixed an issue during first shutdown/boot, or reboot, where for some users the device goes into a boot loop and the OS never loads.
Today’s update bumps the Windows 10 build number for PCs from 17093 (made available to testers on February 7) to build 17101. The former had 16 known issues, while the latter only has five, further indicating that we’re getting close to a release.
Windows 10 build 17604
This RS5 build is for Windows Insiders who have chosen to “Skip Ahead,” meaning they continue to receive builds from the RS_PRERELEASE branch. Only a small subset of Insiders can opt into Skip Ahead, as Microsoft still needs testers helping with RS4.
Microsoft has given its usual warning for a new branch of builds:
Please be aware that builds from RS_PRERELEASE will get less stable as teams start checking in new code. So, things will likely be a little rough as they normally are at the beginning of the development cycle for a new Windows 10 release. If this concerns you or makes you uncomfortable, you may want to consider opting out of Skip Ahead and simply wait for the Fast ring to transition back to RS_PRERELEASE down the road.
This build includes only the following general bug fixes and improvements:
- Fixed an issue from the last flight were some PCs failed to resume from hibernate (requiring a hard reboot to recover).
- Fixed an issue after upgrading to the last flight where Start didn’t work for Insiders who’d had HomeGroup added as a folder to appear on Start.
- Updated the touch keyboard so that if you try to shapewrite in an unsupported text field or when the typing resources aren’t installed, you won’t see the shapewriting trail as you swipe your finger over the keys.
- Fixed an issue which may have caused a Microsoft Edge tab to crash after playing video when some extensions are enabled
- Fixed an issue resulting in newly installed Microsoft Edge extensions not appearing in the Extensions pane in the last two flights.
- Fixed an issue where the touch keyboard showed an English layout with no IME on/off key when an East Asian keyboard is the only input method on your system.
- Fixed an issue that could result in the mouse cursor suddenly jump to screen corner while mouse was moving in a List Control.
- Fixed an issue resulting in certain fingerprint readers not working in recent flights.
- Fixed an issue where Windows Hello failed to work on Surface Laptops with the last build.
- Updated the “Advanced graphics settings” link on the Display Settings page to now just say “Graphics Settings”.
- When your volume is muted, the volume icons in the Sound Settings page will also now appear muted.
- If you click the Reset button on the App volume and device preferences page, it will now also reset any app specific volumes you’ve set back to default (100%).
- Fixed an issue resulting in app updates failing in the Microsoft Store with error 0x80070057 in recent builds.
This build has 10 known issues. Don’t install either on your production machine.
Windows App Preview Program
New builds aside, Microsoft is also making it easier for Windows Insiders to try out the latest app updates without having to opt into Skip Ahead. The Windows App Preview Program allows testers in any ring to opt in to preview individual apps.
Insiders can opt into previews (go to the Settings or About page of the app and click “Join preview”) for the following first wave of apps:
- Feedback Hub
- Microsoft Photos
- Microsoft Sticky Notes
- Microsoft Tips
- Paint 3D
- Windows Alarms & Clock
- Windows Calculator
- Windows Camera
- Windows Mixed Reality Viewer
- Windows Voice Recorder
Windows Insider who have already opted into Skip Ahead don’t need opt in to preview these apps, as Microsoft will simply push the latest app updates to them as before.