Microsoft brings free Windows 11 upgrade, big improvements to File Explorer, with new builds

The new Experimental channel and Beta channel builds bring a new Windows 11 upgrade option and more.

Microsoft, today, has released the newest builds to the Windows 11 Beta channel and Experimental channel Insider programs for users flighting those channels. The Experimental build is available as build 26300.8376; the Beta build under build 26220.8370. The new builds bring a new upgade option for K–12 education environments, some big improvements to Trackpad settings and the File Explorer, and more. The full changelog is given below:

[Touchpad]

We’re adding new gesturing-related functionality to precision touchpads in Settings. The new features should be widely available across applications, with the exception that WinUI3-based UI requires new WinAppSDK versions for complete functionality - we're in the process of bringing the necessary changes to versions 1.8 and 2.0.

• Scroll / zoom speed: control the baseline speed for these gestures
• Automatic scrolling: scrolling continues indefinitely without lifting your fingers. Activate by either bringing your fingers near the edge of the touchpad while scrolling, or holding them still and pressing harder (requires hardware support).
• Accelerated scrolling: repeatedly scrolling increases their speed, allowing quick traversal of long documents.
• Single-finger scrolling: perform a vertical scroll with a single finger starting from the left or right side of the touchpad.

Touchpad improvements bring new gesture capabilities including automatic scrolling, gesture speed controls, accelerated scrolling, and optional single-finger scrolling support.

[File Explorer]

We’ve made several updates to improve reliability, readability, and overall usability in File Explorer:

• Address Bar improvements
  • The address bar now supports paths containing double backslashes and quotation marks (for example, C:\Users\user or "C:\Users\user"), improving compatibility with a wider range of inputs.
  • Improved reliability of the Address Bar suggestion dropdown so it now consistently closes after an item is selected.
• More readable file size formatting
  • File sizes in the Details view now display using appropriate units (KB, MB, GB) instead of KB-only, making them easier to understand at a glance.
• Refinements to the rename experience
  • Fixed an issue where text would be repeatedly selected while renaming items in folder views.
  • Fixed an issue where updated names (case-only changes) were not immediately reflected in folder views across local and cloud storage.
• Improved keyboard navigation of File Explorer context menu in flyouts.

[EDU]

Free upgrade path to Windows 11 Pro Education for K-12

Windows Insiders in K–12 education environments can now experience a seamless upgrade path from Windows 11 Home to Windows 11 Pro Education edition—at no additional cost. This enables educational organizations to procure Windows 11 Home devices, upgrade them to Windows 11 Pro Education, and bring devices under school management.

Instructions:

• Sign in to the device using a local account

• Launch an elevated Command Prompt and initiate the upgrade by running Clipupgrade.exe

• Sign in with your K–12 organization account to validate eligibility

• The device prepares the upgrade and completes after a restart

   

Please note: This upgrade is one-way only. Reverting to Windows Home is not supported without a clean OS reinstall.

[Administrator Protection]

• Improved reliability of Japanese IME usage when Administrator Protection is enabled.

[Other]

• Fixed a WPN hang in the previous flight, which was leading to notification issues and certain apps hanging on launch.

• Improved reliability of loading desktop app icon shortcuts.

   

You can find the official support articles here (Beta, Experimental) on Microsoft's website.

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Saturday 9 May 2026 at 7:21 am AEST (my time).

News posts: 2023 5,800+ | 2024 5,700+ | 2025 5,700+ | 2026 (to end of April) 1,700

RIP Matrix