Latest Windows 11 Dev build 25236 brings interesting changes to Taskbar, and more

Microsoft has released a new Windows 11 Insider build 25236 to the Dev Channel. This is still version 22H2, since the Sun Valley 3 development, which was known as Windows 11 23H2, has seemingly been canceled in favor of releasing a major new Windows version every three years.

Here are the changes and improvements in build 25236:

[General]

• To improve the value of Search shortcuts and reduce friction in the broader Windows Search experience, we are trying out different ways to provide tips on how to use Windows Search via the taskbar. Only some English-speaking Windows Insiders in the U.S. will see this. If you do, be sure to give us feedback on what you think in Feedback Hub.

Example tip on how to better use Windows Search via the taskbar.

Here are the bug fixes:

[Narrator]

• We fixed the issue causing natural voices such as Microsoft David or Mark to not speak in Narrator.

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• Fixed an issue where if you opened the hidden icons flyout, it caused a File Explorer entry for it to appear in the taskbar.
• Fixed an issue that was causing the taskbar previews to freeze or show as blank and not open when using Windows key + (#) key commands to try and switch between windows.
• The show hidden icons flyout in the system tray should now responsively resize with changes again to prevent empty spaces and columns.
• Fixed multiple issues related to the taskbar which were impacting explorer.exe reliability.
• Fixed an issue that was causing the volume icon in the system tray to incorrectly show as muted.
• Fixed a GDI handle leak related to updating the notification center icon in the taskbar, which would eventually lead to an explorer.exe crash for people who received a large number of notifications.
• Narrator will now announce the pinned and unpinned status of apps in the taskbar.

[File Explorer]

• Fixed an issue which was making File Explorer crash when closing tabs for some people.
• Made another fix for an issue which could cause errant divider lines in File Explorer’s navigation pane.

[Settings]

• Made a change to hide the battery graph on the Power & Battery page if a UPS is connected, as the capacity information it displayed in that case wasn’t correct.
• If you don’t have a kiosk set up, we’ve now updated the text on Accounts > Other Users > Kiosk to make it clearer you need to do that, so it doesn’t appear to be a dead end.
• Fixed an issue where if you went into the properties for an audio device, this could make it unexpectedly show in the output devices list on System > Sound although it was actually an input device.
• In the accessibility settings for color filters, the inverted option should work correctly again now and not just set your PC to grayscale colors.

[Other]

• Fixed an issue causing some Insiders to see a bugcheck with error SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED in recent builds.

NOTE: Some fixes noted here in Insider Preview builds from the Dev Channel may make their way into the servicing updates for the released version of Windows 11.

The known issues are:

[General]

• We’re looking into reports that audio stopped working for some Insiders after upgrading to the latest flights.
• We’re investigating reports of crashes with a few different apps and games in recent builds.
• We’re investigating reports that various UI elements in apps appear to be disappearing and reappearing sometimes in recent builds.
• We’re investigating reports that some apps like Microsoft Edge are unexpectedly showing thick lines on the side of the window after the last flight.
• When using the latest ISO to install the Dev Channel build, you might get a SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION bugcheck citing an error with win32kfull.sys. We’re working on a fix.
• [NEW] We’re investigating an issue in this build where switching projection modes using WIN + P / the Project section of Quick Settings doesn’t work. As a workaround you can switch projection modes using the cast icon in the system tray (Win+K) for either Miracast or wired displays.

[Taskbar]

• The taskbar sometimes flashes when transitioning between desktop posture and tablet posture.
• When using the bottom right edge gesture to see Quick Settings, the taskbar sometimes stays stuck in the expanded state, instead of dismissing to collapsed state.

[System Tray]

• Chat apps aren’t flashing with new messages or opening a preview on hover in the system tray. We’re working on a fix.

[Start menu]

• We’re investigating reports that folders in Start menu don’t open on the first try.
• [NEW] We’re investigating an issue that causes garbled text in the navigation headings of Start’s all apps list for Chinese users.

[Input]

• We’re investigating reports that the text cursor becomes white on white when hovering over text fields, making it difficult to see.

[Widgets]

• In right-to-left display languages like Arabic, content animates out of view before the widgets board resizes when clicking to expanded view of the widgets board.

You can find the official blog post here.

Latest Windows 11 Dev build 25236 brings interesting changes to Taskbar, and more