It’s taken almost five years, but Microsoft is finally bringing back the ability to move the Windows taskbar to the top or sides of your screen. The movable taskbar is part of some much bigger changes coming to Windows 11 this year in response to growing criticism of the operating system’s performance, reliability, and user experience.

“Repositioning the taskbar is one of the top asks we’ve heard from you,” says Windows chief Pavan Davuluri. “We are introducing the ability to reposition it to the top or sides of your screen, making it easier to personalize your workspace.”

You’ll soon be able to move the taskbar around freely.

Image: Microsoft

 

This taskbar change will be available to Windows Insiders in the coming weeks, before rolling out to all Windows 11 users later this year. Microsoft is also working on a smaller taskbar that will be available as an option later this year.

Windows has had a movable taskbar for decades, but Windows 11 removed this functionality at launch in 2021. I initially hated the new Windows 11 taskbar because it lacked functionality like displaying the time and date on multiple monitors, small icons, or the ability to move the taskbar around. The taskbar was so bad because Microsoft rebuilt it for Windows 10X, which was originally going to run on dual-screen devices before being reworked into Windows 11 for laptops.

Microsoft has been steadily bringing back most of the good parts of the Windows 10 taskbar, and it also recently started testing an agenda calendar view in the Windows 11 notification center. This was also removed from Windows 11, despite being part of Windows 10.

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Posted Saturday 21 March 2026 at 5:55 am AEST (my time).

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Microsoft has faced a breakdown of trust in Windows 11 and a backlash over AI additions to its operating system in recent months. After promising to rebuild trust in Windows earlier this year, Microsoft’s Windows chief, Pavan Davuluri, is now revealing the company’s plan to fix Windows 11 — and there are a lot of changes on the way.

“Over the past several months, the team and I have spent a great deal of time analyzing your feedback,” says Davuluri in a blog post committing to Windows quality improvements. “What came through was the voice of people who care deeply about Windows and want it to be better.”

Windows 11 will start with a first batch of improvements, followed by much broader changes throughout the rest of the year. The initial changes will start being previewed throughout this month and April, and include the ability to reposition the taskbar to the top or sides of a screen, a reduction of “unnecessary” Copilot integration in apps like Snipping Tool, Photos, and Notepad, and changes to make Windows updates less disruptive with “fewer automatic restarts and notifications” and the ability to skip updates during initial device setup.

You’ll soon be able to move the taskbar around freely.

Image: Microsoft

 

Microsoft is also focused on improving File Explorer in its initial wave of Windows 11 fixes. “Our first round of improvements will focus on a quicker launch experience, reduced flicker, smoother navigation and more reliable performance for everyday file tasks,” promises Davuluri. The widgets section of Windows 11 is also getting more personalization features and “quieter defaults” in the coming months.

Beyond these initial fixes, Microsoft has even bigger plans to improve Windows 11 quality this year, by focusing on performance, reliability, and “well-crafted experiences.” Davuluri’s fix list, which you can read in full below, focuses on core stuff like how fast Windows 11 starts and responds, how stable it is, and how consistent it is to use.

Microsoft is focusing on improving overall system performance to make apps and built-in features feel more responsive. Part of the changes include “reducing resource usage by Windows” to make launch time of apps like File Explorer faster.

Memory efficiency is also being improved this year to lower the “baseline memory footprint for Windows and freeing up more capacity for the apps you run.” That’s a particularly important change given the RAM crisis right now, and could open the door to Windows running better on devices with 8GB of RAM. Apple has already shown how the MacBook Neo can handle daily tasks with just 8GB, and Windows OEMs will want to respond with similarly priced systems, but only if Windows can handle the lower specs.

Microsoft’s focus areas for Windows 11 improvements.

Image: Microsoft

 

Microsoft is also planning to reduce the latency of interactions with the Start menu, by moving more core parts of Windows to WinUI3. Microsoft has been promising improvements for its modern native user interface framework for years, but it hasn’t done enough to make Windows 11 feel as responsive as Windows 10. Hopefully, this time is different.

File Explorer is also a big focus for the rest of the year, with promises to improve search, navigation, and file operations. “Copying and moving large files will be faster and more reliable,” says Davuluri, and the changes will include “faster launch and responsiveness for common file tasks.”

The underlying reliability of Windows is also on the fix list. “Across the operating system, we will focus on improving the baseline reliability of areas such as the Windows Insider Program, drivers and apps, updates and Windows Hello,” says Davuluri. Part of this are promises of fewer OS-level crashes. Interestingly, Davuluri is also committing to “more consistent device wake,” which has been a problem for laptops and handheld gaming PCs for years.

If you’ve ever been annoyed by Windows updates, Microsoft is finally listening here by moving to a single monthly reboot and the ability to pause updates for as long as you want. You’ll also be able to restart or shut down without being forced to install updates.

Alongside the taskbar finally being able to be moved to the top or sides of a screen, Microsoft is also working on a smaller taskbar option and changes to make the Start menu and taskbar feel more consistent. The search experience that’s part of the taskbar and Start menu is also a big focus for this year. Davuluri is promising “clearer and more trustworthy results, with results from content on your device easy to understand and clearly distinct from web results.”

Developers will be pleased to hear that Microsoft is also focusing on improving the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) experience. File performance between Linux and Windows is set to improve, as well as network compatibility and throughput, and more “streamlined first-time setup and onboarding experience.” Businesses will also get stronger policy controls around WSL, as well as better enterprise management capabilities.

Windows Hello biometric authentication is also getting some reliability improvements this year. Microsoft is promising “more reliable facial recognition” and faster “more dependable fingerprint sign-in.” Hopefully that means Windows Hello will once again work properly in dark rooms.

Microsoft’s fix list for Windows 11 is pretty broad — and I encourage you to read the full memo below — but one thing that’s missing is a direct commitment to respect browser defaults. A big part of the trust issues with Windows 11 stem from the fact the OS has become very annoying to use, with Microsoft even resorting to using malware-like pop-ups to try and get people to use Edge and Bing. Microsoft isn’t directly addressing this feedback in its fix list today, but there is a promise of improving the experience of the OS.

“This year, you will see us invest in raising the bar on the overall usability of the experience, with moreopportunities for personalization, less noise, less distraction and more control across the OS,“ says Davuluri. ”That includes being thoughtful about how and where we bring AI into Windows, leading with transparency, choice and control, so that new capabilities enhance the experience rather than complicate it.“

Microsoft’s promises will be tested by its Windows Insider community in the months ahead. Microsoft is rolling out a big redesign to its Feedback Hub today to make it faster and easier to submit feedback on Windows 11.

“Thank you for holding us to a high standard,” says Davuluri. “Windows is as much yours as it is ours.”

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Posted Saturday 21 March 2026 at 5:53 am AEST (my time).

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It is a big day for Windows users, especially those frustrated with the current state of Windows 11. Just a couple of months after promising to fix Windows 11 in 2026, Microsoft is finally ready to ship those fixes. Today, in a post on the official Windows Blogs website, Windows boss Pavan Davuluri revealed plans to address the most popular complaints from Windows 11 users in areas like the taskbar, File Explorer, Windows Update, and more.

Starting with the taskbar, Microsoft is finally bringing back the ability to change its default position. Soon, you will be able to have it on top of your screen or on its sides so that it better fits your workflow and monitor. Just right-click the taskbar and select where the taskbar should go.

Back in the day, Microsoft said changing the taskbar position was not important (despite a lot of feedback from users), and now, the company stands corrected and admits that the operating system needs its taskbar customization back.

File Explorer is another thing Windows 11 users often grumble about. Slow and buggy, it often drives users to third-party alternatives, and now, Microsoft is fixing it by making the default file manager in Windows 11 faster and more dependable. The first set of improvements for one of the most important bits of Windows 11 includes faster launch, reduced flicker, smoother navigation, and better performance in everyday tasks. Also, look out for lower search latency, faster context menus, and more reliable file copying and moving.

Next, we have Windows Update, a critical part of Windows 11 that is often mocked for the lack of user choice, forced updates, and poor stability. Microsoft is addressing that by allowing you to skip Windows updates during the initial setup to get to the desktop faster, and the long-requested ability to turn off your PC without applying pending updates. Also, Microsoft is letting you pause Windows Update for a longer period (the company says for "as long as you want"), with only one mandatory restart per month.

Windows 11 users often grind their teeth when it comes to AI, and Pavan wants them to know that Microsoft is not deaf to their complaints. Going forward, Microsoft promises to be more intentional about how and where Copilot shows up across Windows 11 so that the operating system can deliver meaningful and useful, not forced experiences. To show you that Microsoft means business, the company is removing "unnecessary Copilot entry points" in apps like Snipping Tool, Photos, Widgets, and Notepad.

The Windows Insider Program is getting some love, too. Some time ago, I published an editorial about all the annoying stuff in the program and how Microsoft should fix it. The company is now doing so by making it easier to understand channels, giving faster access to new features, more stable builds, and clearer visibility on how feedback improves Windows 11. As part of this, Microsoft is giving Feedback Hub a big update that makes it faster and easier to submit your thoughts and engage with other insiders.

It is not all about new features, though. Windows 11 is often slammed for worse resource usage, which, in the times of crazy RAM prices, is a serious issue. Microsoft says that this year, users will see changes that improve memory efficiency and lower the overall memory footprint. The latter means that Windows 11 should take less RAM by default, leaving you more memory for apps and games.

Windows 11 should also get much more stable with fewer system crashes, more reliable drivers, better connections with accessories, faster wake time, and more.

As you can see, Microsoft has a lot in store for Windows 11 users and insiders going forward. It is a tremendous work to do, and it will take Microsoft some time to ship it to all users. The good news is that you do not have to wait years to see these promises come to action. The first preview builds with the promised changes will be available this month and throughout April, so stay tuned for new builds.

Of course, some stuff remains unaddressed, like mandatory Microsoft Account requirements or higher hardware requirements, but at least Microsoft is finally doing to Windows 11 what users actually want and not just shoving in questionable AI features that nobody asked for.

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Posted Saturday 21 March 2026 at 5:49 am AEST (my time).

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Friday Windows 11 preview builds are here, and Microsoft is offering Windows Insiders four new updates to try. Build 26300.8085 is out in the Dev Channel, and build 26220.8079 arrived in the Beta Channel, with two more builds available for Canary Channel users. Dev and Beta Channels are where Microsoft introduces new features first, so here is what is new in today's releases.

Unlike previous updates, today's Dev Channel build does not share its changelog with the Beta Channel build. New features and improvements include the following:

[Pointer Indicator: Accessibility setting for low vision Windows users]

We are resuming the rollout of the Point Indicator Accessibility setting. This feature enables low vision users on Windows to easily locate and use their cursor to increase productivity and efficiency when using a Windows device.

To enable this experience, go to Settings > Accessibility > Mouse pointer and touch and enable the Pointer indicator setting. You can also search for the setting by name. When the setting is enabled, you can toggle it on/off with the keyboard shortcut, Win + Ctrl + Shift + X.

[Windows Magnifier]

• Windows magnifier can now magnify protected content.

[Network and Sharing]

• We fixed an issue where the Network and Sharing Center could incorrectly display two active Wi-Fi connections after switching from one Wi-Fi network to another. The Network and Sharing Center now correctly reflects a single active Wi-Fi connection when you connect to a new network.

[Input]

• Improved explorer.exe reliability when closing the input flyout.
• Improved reliability of configuring the fluid dictation option in voice typing (Windows key plus H) settings.

[Feedback Hub]

Introducing the new Feedback Hub, bringing a refreshed, modernized experience:

• Simpler feedback submission flow: Feedback is now submitted using a single unified template, with the added ability to search categories. The feedback form itself has been modernized enabling for faster iteration and future improvements.

  

   

• Simpler navigation: My Feedback now lives directly in the navigation pane, and Community feedback (formerly All feedback) makes it easier to discover and engage with feedback from others. The Announcements page has been removed to focus more on giving and exploring feedback. You can still find announcements on the Windows Insider Blog.
• New compliment feedback type: Call out what’s working well.
• Private or public feedback: Choose whether your feedback is visible to the Insider community.
• New focused feedback experience: a new smaller Feedback Hub surface, making it easier to provide quick, in-the-moment feedback. You can expand to the full Feedback Hub experience by pressing the button in the upper right corner.

  

   

• Improved screenshot capture and review tooling: making it easier to capture and include visuals when sharing feedback.

As for the Beta Channel build, it only contains the following:

[Input]

• Improved explorer.exe reliability when closing the input flyout.
• Improved reliability of configuring fluid dictation option in voice typing (Windows key plus H) settings.

[Network and Sharing]

• We fixed an issue where the Network and Sharing Center could incorrectly display two active Wi-Fi connections after switching from one Wi-Fi network to another. The Network and Sharing Center now correctly reflects a single active Wi-Fi connection when you connect to a new network.

You can find the announcement blog post here (Dev Channel) and here (Beta Channel).

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Posted Saturday 21 March 2026 at 5:47 am AEST (my time).

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Microsoft has released a couple of new Windows 11 builds for Insiders flighting the Canary channel. The new builds, 29550.1000, and 28020.1743 under KB5081339, have landed with some new features and improvements. On build 28020.1743, these features include upgrades for shared audio, right-click context menu, File Explorer, and more. The Feedback Hub is also being redesigned as part of both the new builds.

The full changelog is given below:

Changes and Improvements gradually being rolled out with toggle on*

[Shared audio (preview) gets more control]

• Shared audio (preview) was first announced last fall, and allows 2 people to share audio between their two capable Bluetooth LE Audio headphones, speakers, earbuds, or hearing aids. With this update Windows now provides individual sliders for each listener which adjusts their volume without affecting the other. You can continue to adjust volume for both listeners at the same time through the main volume controls available through Quick Settings or on-device and keyboard controls.
• You’ll also see a new taskbar indicator while you’re sharing, giving a quick reminder that audio is still being shared. Clicking the indicator is a fast path to open sharing settings to change volume or stop sharing.
• The LE Audio accessory ecosystem also continues to grow. In addition to the accessories announced before, we’re excited to share that the Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 and Buds 4 Pro, Sony WF‑1000XM6, and Xbox Wireless Headset all have support for shared audio!

• Feedback: Share your thoughts in Feedback Hub (WIN + F)under Devices and Drivers > Bluetooth – Audio quality, glitches, choppiness and stuttering.

[Context Menu]

• When right clicking on a .exe, .bat, or .cmd file, the context menu’s “Open” verb will now match the icon associated with the file’s default app.

• Feedback: Share your thoughts in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under File Folders and Online Storage > File Explorer.

[File Explorer]

• Improved reliability of unblocking files downloaded from the internet in order to preview them in File Explorer.

[Feedback Hub]

Introducing the new Feedback Hub, bringing a refreshed, modernized experience.

What’s new in Feedback Hub

• Simpler feedback submission flow: Feedback is now submitted using a single unified template, with the added ability to search categories. The feedback form itself has been modernized enabling for faster iteration and future improvements.
• Simpler navigation: My Feedback now lives directly in the navigation pane, and Community feedback (formerly All feedback) makes it easier to discover and engage with feedback from others. The Announcements page has been removed to focus more on giving and exploring feedback. You can still find announcements on the Windows Insider Blog.
• New compliment feedback type: Call out what’s working well.
• Private or public feedback: Choose whether your feedback is visible to the Insider community.
• New focused feedback experience: a new smaller Feedback Hub surface, making it easier to provide quick, in-the-moment feedback. You can expand to the full Feedback Hub experience by pressing the button in the upper right corner.

• Improved screenshot capture and review tooling: making it easier to capture and include visuals when sharing feedback.

Feedback: Your feedback helps shape what comes next, so try out the new experience and share your thoughts in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Apps > Feedback Hub.

You can find the official blog post here (link1, link2) on Microsoft's website.

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Posted Saturday 21 March 2026 at 5:45 am AEST (my time).

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Firefox users are about to get a new privacy perk. Mozilla is adding a free, built-in VPN to the browser early next week.

The company has been testing its free VPN option with select users since late last year and will debut the feature with Firefox version 149 on March 24. When available, the VPN toggle will appear to the right of the search bar. A support page for the beta launch indicates you might require a Mozilla account to activate the VPN.

At launch, the VPN service will be free for 50GB of data per month in the US, UK, Germany, and France. Mozilla hasn’t specified if users will be able to pay for higher limits or if they will have to wait for the monthly cap to reset. We’ve reached out for clarification.

There are plenty of free VPN offerings on the market, but most come with strict usage limitations, and some compromise on data privacy. Mozilla says its free VPN is built on its data principles and “commitment to be the world’s most trusted browser.”

“It routes your browser traffic through a proxy to hide your IP address and location while you browse, giving you stronger privacy and protection online with no extra downloads,” the company adds.

That said, the browser’s free built-in VPN offer may have its own limitations. According to Mozilla’s FAQ for the beta launch, the service connects to “the most performant VPN location available” near you, so it may not help with state-wide bans on sites like Pornhub.

Additionally, the built-in VPN only protects your Firefox browsing activity. For device-wide protection, you’ll need to choose from other free or paid VPNs, including Mozilla’s own.

Firefox 149, on the other hand, will also add a Split View option to view webpages side by side. It will also begin testing a Smart Window for quick AI-powered help while browsing, and Tab Notes for leaving notes while browsing multiple tabs.

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It has been a tough week at Microsoft for sure. The company had to deal with a large Microsoft 365 services outage. Before that, the tech giant had to release a couple of hotpatch updates including KB5084897 that was issued to fix Bluetooth problems.

Speaking of which, Microsoft today has confirmed that the latest Patch Tuesday update for Windows 11 25H2 and 24H2 is causing connectivity problems related to the internet, and like the outage reported earlier, the bug does not allow signing in to use any of the free Microsoft apps which include Teams Free, OneDrive, Excel, Word, Edge, and Copilot.

We had already reported on several potential issues users had been having post this update which included reboot loops, system freezes, and more. However, this particular bug was not something we uncovered. Microsoft has documented the issue in its newly opened issue where it says:

"Following installation of Windows updates released March 10, 2026 (KB5079473) sign in with Microsoft accounts might fail for some Microsoft applications, including Microsoft Teams Free or OneDrive. As a result of this issue, sign in attempts will display an error message with text similar to "You'll need the Internet for this. It doesn't look like you're connected to the Internet". This appears even if the device is connected to the internet. ... Other applications affected include Microsoft Edge, Excel, Word, and Microsoft 365 Copilot. Whenever a feature in these applications requires Microsoft account sign in, the same message can be encountered."

Microsoft has issued a workaround for the problem which requires you to be connected to the internet when restarting the affected device, although it also adds that the problem may resolve itself. The company has explained: "This issue occurs when the device enters a specific network connectivity state, and may resolve on its own. If you encounter this issue, restart the device while keeping it connected to the internet. This should repair the device connectivity state and prevent the issue from occurring. However, please note that if the device is restarted without an active internet connection, it might return to a connectivity state where the issue can occur again."

The positive is that Entra ID or Azure Active Directory authentications and sign-ins are not affected by this issue.

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Posted Friday 20 March 2026 at 5:13 pm AEST (my time).

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Radeon graphics users have a new graphics driver waiting for them, as AMD has brought out the Adrenalin Edition 26.3.1 release. This is carrying day-one support for two brand-new games. Crimson Desert and Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, but its biggest draw is the FSR upgrade to version 4.1 on RX 9000 graphics cards.

According to Jack Huynh, AMD's SVP and GM of Computing and Graphics, FSR 4.1 will deliver "Sharper image quality for ML-based upscaling, delivering finer details and smoother camera motion across all ML-powered AMD FSR games."

AMD has also updated its Ray Regeneration real-time denoising tech to 1.1 with this driver, which should further enhance reflections and global illumination in games. Moreover, using FSR in Ultra Performance mode will now draw out even more frame rates than before.

Here are the fixed issues in this driver:

• Intermittent application crash or driver timeout may be observed while loading a saved game in Cyberpunk 2077 with Path Tracing enabled.
• Users may experience intermittent loss of mouse and keyboard functionality both in-game and on the desktop when interacting with AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition.
• System crash may occur when repeatedly changing in-game AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition settings or when alt-tabbing on Radeon™ RX 7000 and above series graphics products.
• Failure to enable AMD Noise Suppression in AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition on Radeon™ RX 6000 and above series graphics products.

The known issues are these:

• Intermittent application crash or driver timeout may be observed while playing Battlefield 6 on AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370. AMD is actively working on a resolution with the developer to be released as soon as possible.
• Texture flickering or corruption may appear while playing Battlefield 6 with AMD Record and Stream on some AMD graphics products.
• AMD FSR Upscaling and AMD FSR Frame Generation may show as inactive in AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition while playing Battlefield 6 when enabled on Radeon™ RX 9000 series graphics products.
• Intermittent application crash or driver timeout may be observed while playing Death Stranding 2 on Radeon™ RX 5000 series products.
• Intermittent application crash or driver timeout may be observed while playing RoadCraft on Radeon™ RX 9000 series products.

The newly released AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition 26.3.1 driver is now available for download from the AMD Software app. Find the official changelog here.

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Posted Friday 20 March 2026 at 1:04 pm AEST (my time).

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Valve has just released SteamOS 3.8.0 in preview, and it’s a doozy.

Not only is it the first release to support the upcoming Steam Machine living room gaming PC, it comes with long-awaited features for Valve’s handhelds and more support for other companies’ handhelds than we’ve seen to date — including Microsoft and Asus’ Xbox Ally series, the Lenovo Legion Go 2, the OneXPlayer X1, and additional support for MSI, GPD, Anbernic, OrangePi, and Zotac.

The one that excites me most: Valve is adding genuine hibernation and “memory power down” modes to the Steam Deck — though just the LCD model to start — which should help extend battery life when you hit the power button or leave them idle. Some Windows machines currently last longer than the Steam Deck when asleep, because they self-hibernate to save power, while the Steam Deck has an instant-on sleep mode.

Plus, Valve has finally added a setting in its gaming mode to let you use your Bluetooth headset microphones — something I’ve been asking for since the beginning. (Valve did add it to the Linux desktop mode last year.) And the Steam Deck LCD is finally getting Bluetooth Wake re-enabled, so you can turn on your TV-connected Deck with a wireless controller from your couch.

The update comes with all sorts of improvements for the Linux desktop modes that sound like they’ll come in handy on a Steam Machine plugged into a TV or monitor, too, including desktop HDR, VRR display support, per-display scaling, “improved windowing behavior for games running in Proton,” and an upgrade to KDE Plasma 6.4.3 among other things.

And for a Steam Machine or Steam handheld plugged into a home entertainment system, they can now detect how many audio channels you have over HDMI to enable surround sound. (I believe surround sound was already a thing, so perhaps this is just a different and better automatic implementation.)

There’s also a new Arch system base and an updated graphics driver.

Perhaps most surprisingly, the “Non-Deck” section of the changelog is huge. Valve says long-pressing your power button should work “across a wide variety of devices” to power off, restart, or switch to the desktop mode. You should be able to change your processor’s power modes on the Xbox Ally now, and night mode and screen color settings should work on AMD Z2 Extreme handhelds in general.

There’s also “Greatly improved video memory management with discrete GPU platforms,” you can limit how far the battery charges in any of the Lenovo Legion Go handhelds (in desktop mode), and it should fix “washed out colors for Zotac and OneXPlayer handhelds with OLED.”

Valve began offering SteamOS for non-Valve handhelds last May, but the company’s hardware team doesn’t like to promise too much in the way of support and doesn’t currently let most rivals ship handhelds with preloaded SteamOS — Lenovo’s the only partner we’re aware of, and its second SteamOS handheld will be a variant of the Legion Go 2 in June. If you want to put it on a different handheld, that requires sideloading and is at your own risk, despite Valve’s improvements.

There’s a lot in this update, and it’s possible I missed a feature you care about, so check out the whole changelog here and below.

Image: Valve

Image: Valve

 

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Posted Friday 20 March 2026 at 1:03 pm AEST (my time).

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OpenAI is working on a desktop “superapp” that merges its ChatGPT app, the Codex AI coding app, and its AI-powered Atlas browser into one app, The Wall Street Journal reports. The company is making the change as part of an effort to simplify its various product efforts, according to a memo cited by the WSJ from Fidji Simo, OpenAI’s CEO of Applications. Fragmentation “has been slowing us down and making it harder to hit the quality bar we want,” Simo said.

OpenAI made waves last year with splashy announcements like the Sora video app and buying Jony Ive’s AI hardware company. But it has been facing increased competition from Anthropic as of late, especially following Claude Code’s surge in popularity. The WSJ reported on Monday that OpenAI leaders have been looking at things to deprioritize, with Simo telling employees last week that they needed to avoid being “distracted by side quests.”

“Companies go through phases of exploration and phases of refocus; both are critical,” Simo said on X in a post quoting the WSJ’s Berber Jin, who wrote Thursday’s story. “But when new bets start to work, like we’re seeing now with Codex, it’s very important to double down on them and avoid distractions. Really glad we’re seizing this moment.”

OpenAI spokesperson Lindsey Held declined to comment. The mobile version of ChatGPT isn’t changing, according to the WSJ.

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Posted Friday 20 March 2026 at 1:02 pm AEST (my time).

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Google is finally bringing a dedicated Gemini app to the Mac. The company has started beta testing an early version of the app with select users. Right now, Mac users can only access Gemini through a web browser.

The current beta is still in its early stage, as Google notified testers this week that the initial version will only include core features of existing Gemini clients. The interface reportedly looks a lot like the existing Gemini apps for the iPhone and iPad.

According to the report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, testers are currently evaluating tasks like web search and document analysis. They are also testing its ability to generate media or solve complex math problems.

App code references “Desktop Intelligence,” which could hint at the ability to share your desktop with Gemini for additional context. Although running AI agents on Macs has been quite popular lately, there are no indications at the moment that the Gemini client will have agentic capabilities.

Desktop intelligence could also mean that you’ll be able to connect Gemini to external services like email clients or productivity apps and let AI perform tasks for you. Providers like OpenAI and Anthropic, which already have native Mac apps for their respective AI models, offer a wide range of integrations with their clients. Anthropic’s Claude is especially successful at this, as it allows users to connect basically any external service to it through MCP servers. It’s still early to tell if the Gemini client for Mac will support MCP server integration.

There is no official timeline for when the Gemini app will roll out to all Mac users. Only a select group of beta testers have access to it right now.

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Posted Friday 20 March 2026 at 1:01 pm AEST (my time).

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Microsoft has been caught slacking. Despite its trillion-dollar market capitalization, the tech giant used AI-generated images in an official Windows Learning Center blog post, which is supposed to be promoting Windows 11 features.

As noted by Windows Latest, the Copilot‑generated images contained glaring errors — most notably, they incorrectly showed two Start menus on Windows 11’s Taskbar (via VideoCardz).

It's still unclear why Microsoft opted to use AI-generated images instead of professional product shots or real screenshots. My guess is that it might be a subtle play by the company to showcase Copilot's image-generation capabilities.

Windows 11 has already received several feature updates, and all of them have one common thing – they are H2-releases. These days, Microsoft ships "big" updates for Windows 11 in the second half of each year, hence the name. However, the latest version is a rather unique one. Windows 11 version 26H1 is the first update to break away from the traditional H2 release cycle. After sharing initial details about version 26H1, Microsoft revealed information about its lifecycle.

Like every other Windows 11 release, version 26H1 will be supported for two years. Support started last month, on February 10, 2026 (when Microsoft released the February 2026 Patch Tuesday updates). Count two years from that, and you get to March 14, 2028. That is the day when Windows 11 version 26H1 will run out of support.

Although Windows 11 version 26H1 is different from everything that Microsoft has released so far, it has the same lifecycle logic as the other versions. Home and Pro editions get 24 months of support, while Enterprise and Education get 36 months of support.

For those unfamiliar with Windows 11 version 26H1, it is a special platform update designed for upcoming PCs with Snapdragon X2 processors. Microsoft has not confirmed it, but the rumor says that the operating system will also power NVIDIA's first ARM processors for Windows PC. Existing hardware, including Snapdragon X1 PCs, won't get version 26H1. Instead, Microsoft will update them to version 26H2 later this year. At the same time, PCs with version 26H1 won't get version 26H2, as Microsoft plans to unify the two operating systems in 2027.

Microsoft currently supports three Windows 11 versions: 24H2, 25H2, and 26H1. Version 24H2 will be out of support on October 13, 2026. You can find more details about Windows 11's support lifecycle in the official documentation.

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Posted Friday 20 March 2026 at 5:01 am AEST (my time).

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You've probably heard of Opera GX, a specialized version of the Opera browser built from the ground up for PC gamers. It has a distinct design featuring all the gamer-y aesthetics like neon accents, RGB hardware sync, and a dark, angular interface. The browser launched for Windows way back in June 2019, with a macOS version following a couple of months later.

But for the longest time, Opera GX was unavailable on Linux. That wait ends today, as you can finally install and run GX natively on the popular Linux distros, including Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, and OpenSUSE, with Flatpak support on the way.

Opera GX on Linux ships with GX Mods, which let you completely overhaul the browser's look and feel. You can install packages that alter the UI theme, live wallpapers, keyboard typing sounds, and even the background music.

There's also GX Control, the browser's flagship feature, which gives you a control panel with hard limiters. You can cap exactly how much of your CPU the browser is allowed to use. A RAM limiter lets you set a memory ceiling, and a network limiter can throttle the browser's bandwidth.

Other nice-to-haves include Split View, Tab Islands, and a panic button. That last one might come in handy if a family member walks in while you are looking at something private. You can slam the F12 button, and Opera GX will instantly hide your current tabs and open a new emergency window displaying totally "boring" websites like Wikipedia, which you can pre-select. Once the coast is clear, hitting F12 again brings all your old tabs back.

The Opera GX team promises the Linux community it is "here for the long term," with a dedicated group to handle the usual stuff like bug fixes and regular updates. Linux users are often privacy-conscious, so the GX team is trying to sell its browser to them on that argument. The company claims Opera GX does not track your data, and the browser has a built-in ad blocker and a zero-log VPN.

Opera GX for Linux is available for download here.

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Posted Friday 20 March 2026 at 4:59 am AEST (my time).

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If you were reading Neowin last week, you may have seen that Microsoft released Visual Studio Code 1.111 and switched to a weekly release schedule. Now, the Redmond giant has just published the next version, 1.112. Despite moving to a weekly release cadence, this new version is still packed with lots of new features.

If you want to delve into the minutiae of this release, then check out the release notes, however, we will just have a look at the most notable features that Microsoft pinned to the top of said release notes to get an idea of the main features.

In VS Code 1.112, Microsoft has added the ability of the integrated browser to debug web apps end-to-end without ever leaving VS Code. The integrated browser now lets you open web apps directly in the editor so you can start debugging more seamlessly. According to Microsoft, this enables you to interact with the web app, set breakpoints, step through code, and inspect variables without needing to leave VS Code.

Now, I am unsure if any of you have tried Google’s Antigravity IDE, but when I finally gave it a whirl a few weeks ago I was stunned to see the AI build an app for me, launch a Google Chrome window, and then make a video recording of it testing the app so that it could go back and fix remaining issues. Part of this magic is providing AI permissions it needs to work autonomously.

In VS Code 1.112, Microsoft has given Copilot CLI sessions more autonomy so that they can complete tasks with less interruptions. In this update, you can configure permissions for local agent sessions in chat to let agents run without having to get your approval so much. This release specifically adds this capability to the Copilot CLI sessions as well.

For Copilot CLI sessions, you can select three different permission levels: Default Permissions, which uses your configured approval settings; Bypass Approvals, which auto-approves all tool calls without showing confirmation dialogs and automatically retries on errors; and Autopilot which auto-approves all tool calls, auto-responds to questions, and continues working autonomously until the task is complete. Autopilot can be enabled with the chat.autopilot.enabled setting.

Other notable improvements include being able to run local MCP servers in a sandbox to limit what they can access on your machine; agent image support allowing it to work with screenshots, diagrams, and binary files directly in agent conversations; and the ability to share agent instructions and skills across all packages in a monorepo.

You can get this version by checking for updates in VS Code or by downloading the app from the VS Code website.

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Posted Friday 20 March 2026 at 4:57 am AEST (my time).

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Vivaldi Technologies has just released version 7.9 of its browser, bringing users three major changes: a customizable full-screen view, a new feature for split view, and composer improvements for the built-in Mail client.

The headline feature, UI Auto-hide, lets the entire browser interface step back while you work and reappear the moment you need it. Alongside it: Follower Tab, a new way to follow links without losing your place, and an update to the mail composer for Vivaldi Mail users.

With Vivaldi 7.9, users can enjoy a customizable full-screen view with the Ctrl + F11 or Cmd + F11 shortcut (also accessible via a dedicated icon in the status bar). While full-screen mode is nothing new in Chromium browsers, Vivaldi takes it to a new level by showing users what parts of the user interface are hidden and what are not. For example, you can make the browser hide only the address bar or the tab bar. You can also hover the cursor over an edge of the screen to bring the user interface up.

Next, Vivaldi 7.9 improves the split view mode with the "Follower tab" feature. You can right-click a link and select "Open Link as Follower Tab" to open it in a split view, with all subsequent link clicks opening in a new tab at the side. This lets you continue surfing the internet without losing your main tab. In addition to the right-click menu, you can create a follower tab with a shortcut or a mouse gesture.

Finally, the latest Vivaldi update offers meaningful updates for the built-in Mail client. The composer window is now movable, and memory usage is lower, especially when working with large inboxes. Finally, you can switch between rich text and plain text with a single toggle.

Vivaldi 7.9 is now available for download on Windows, macOS, and Linux (also available on iOS and Android). You can find the announcement blog post here, while the browser itself can be downloaded from the official website here.

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Posted Thursday 19 March 2026 at 6:01 pm AEST (my time).

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Lively Wallpaper includes several desktop backgrounds that are animated or interactive.

(Image credit: Future | Edited with Gemini)

Wallpapers are where it's at in 2026. After seeing so many people interested in the Windows 11 Bliss wallpaper and our Windows Central wallpaper, I took another look at an app for customizing wallpapers on Windows 11.

Lively Wallpaper lets you set animated and interactive wallpapers on your desktop. With it, you can make GIFs, videos, and webpages into wallpapers.

The app is also free and open-source, making it stand out from the ever-popular Wallpaper Engine that's available through Steam. If you already know you want to use animated wallpapers but need to compare Wallpaper Engine vs. Lively Wallpaper, we have you covered.

One thing I will point out is that what differentiates Lively Wallpaper from Wallpaper Engine is that Lively Wallpaper is designed with WinUI 3. Because of that, it feels right at home on Windows 11 and scales well to different screen sizes.

Lively Wallpaper comes with a pack of preinstalled wallpapers, but you can easily add more by clicking the "+" icon.

While it is possible to set a website as a wallpaper, I advise against using YouTube as a source. Doing so will result in an awkward experience of clicking through ads and having to maximize the video. Even if you have YouTube Premium, you'll have to click around a bit to get things to look good.

Lively Wallpaper's website states that the app has "~0% usage" when you are running fullscreen apps or games. In my testing, that has proven true on the CPU side of things. As I write this article, Lively Wallpaper is in the background doing nothing since I have Edge open fullscreen.

But some of your system's resources will still be used by Lively Wallpaper even when it is not active on your screen. Despite hovering between 0 percent to 0.3 percent CPU usage according to Task Manager, Lively Wallpaper currently uses 245.5MB of my PC's memory.

If I minimize Edge and other apps, Lively Wallpaper jumps to about 1 percent CPU usage and uses about 255MB of RAM.

I have a basic rainy day wallpaper with droplets moving around on my screen. Swapping to a YouTube video uses an astronomical 800MB of RAM. CPU usage also jumps to around 4.5 percent when showing the YouTube video as a wallpaper.

I'm on a workstation laptop with 32GB of RAM, so I don't especially care about an app taking up 255MB, or even 800MB, but I'd be less comfortable with that memory usage on a different PC. If you try the app, I'd love to hear how it performs on your system.

I'd argue that while using a YouTube video is possible, it's not the primary use case for this app. Lively Wallpaper is at its best when set to a lightly animated wallpaper.

Where do you get wallpapers for your PC?

I'm a bit surprised to see people so passionate about wallpapers. I've usually defaulted to basic ones or had a program swap them automatically. But having dipped my toe into the world of Windows wallpapers, I can see why it's a big part of PC customization for many.

Where do you get your wallpapers? Do you use any programs like Lively Wallpaper on your PC? Let me know in the comments.

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Posted Thursday 19 March 2026 at 12:30 pm AEST (my time).

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Opera 129 has just been released to the Stable channel for users of the niche browser to download. This version of Opera is based on Chromium 145.0.7632.117. This update brings several UI improvements, sidebar and services fixes, and several split-screen enhancements.

Before talking about those changes, it is worth mentioning that the security updates in this version include fixes for Chromium 0-day CVE-2026-3909 and CVE-2026-3910. It also brings multiple stability improvements across Mac, Windows, and Linux, including session restore, split-screen, content rules, and tab management.

In terms of UI improvements, this release fixes broken tab orders when opening bookmark folders; adds adjusted hover and active colors in split-screen domain chips; and fixes tab bar, address bar, and top bar display issues on macOS.

In terms of sidebar and services improvements, Opera 129 fixes Instagram, Deezer, and Google Meet panel issues and enables #gemini-in-sidebar and #google-translate-in-sidebar for all users. Regarding split-screen enhancement, this update prevents split-screen with detached Google Meet, fixes crashes when closing the last tab in split-screen, and improves recently closed split screen behavior.

You can find a complete list of updates in the changelog. To install this update manually, click the Opera menu, click Update & Recovery, then click Check for Updates, then press Update once the update finishes. If you don’t have Opera installed, you can get it from Opera.com for Mac, Windows, and Linux.

As a bit of background to this small web browser, StatCounter currently gives Opera just 1.78% of market share across desktop and mobile platforms.

Let us know in the comments what you think of Opera nowadays. Are you enticed by the power user features or is it not for you?

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Posted Thursday 19 March 2026 at 4:51 am AEST (my time).

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Mozilla just announced a handful of new features and updates coming to Firefox version 149 over the next few weeks. The highlight of the announcement is a free built-in VPN, which was promised a few months ago, along with some additional multitasking and productivity features.

The most significant addition is a completely free built-in VPN that requires no extra downloads or sketchy third-party extensions. This new privacy tool routes your web traffic through a secure proxy to hide your actual IP address from trackers. It will initially be available only to users in the UK, the US, France, and Germany.

Mozilla says it understands the untrustworthy nature of free VPNs, and so the company is making its own based on strict data principles:

“Free VPNs can sometimes mean sketchy arrangements that end up compromising your privacy, but ours is built from our data principles and commitment to be the world’s most trusted browser.“

However, there’s one caveat that might make this built-in VPN less attractive for some people. Namely, the VPN comes with a cap of 50 gigabytes of free monthly data, so you can’t use it infinitely.

Along with the new built-in VPN, Mozilla also announced a feature called Smart Window. This is the revamp of the existing AI Window feature, and is designed to quickly summarize articles, compare products, and more. Mozilla is basically following the trend of implementing these AI helpers we see in so many other software products today. If you don’t like it, Mozilla has also made it easy to disable AI features inside Firefox, so you can choose the experience that fits you best.

And finally, version 149 introduces a native Split View mode that lets you put two different web pages side by side in a single window. This productivity feature is becoming increasingly popular in other browsers, and now Firefox users will be able to try it soon. The update also brings a new Tab Notes tool for jotting down quick thoughts directly on your active tabs.

Mozilla is even throwing in a visual refresh and a brand new browser mascot named Kit to complete the overhaul.

Firefox version 149 for PC will begin rolling out on March 24th.

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Posted Wednesday 18 March 2026 at 5:36 pm AEST (my time).

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Towards the end of 2025, Neowin reported on the fact that Teams for macOS was getting native screen and window sharing support. At the time, the feature was launched in public preview, with general availability expected by mid-January. Now, however, Microsoft has delayed the GA rollout.

In its updated timeline, Microsoft started the general availability rollout in early January and will now complete it by mid-May, a whole four months behind schedule. That timeline applies to Worldwide and GCC tenants; for GCC High and DoD, the rollout began in mid-January and won’t complete until late May.

Microsoft said that this feature is designed to deliver a more polished experience to teams for macOS users by providing a more native experience. This feature is opt-in for users rather than administrators, so it will need switching on to be used, but this is controlled by the end user.

Once switched on, Teams will use macOS’ native screen sharing API which will allow users to share their screen or window directly from macOS during Teams meetings. Another nice thing about this implementation is that users will not need to do a restart of Teams when they toggle this feature, eliminating the chances of call interruptions.

For admins, while no action is required to enable the feature, Microsoft still recommends letting macOS users know about this new capability and updating any internal training materials or documentation as needed.

To enable this feature, open Teams and go to Settings and more > Settings > General. From there, find the Screen sharing selection and select the Use macOS content sharing radio button. Earlier reporting in January from Neowin also mentioned that you should keep the UX’s limitations in mind, including that it doesn’t allow giving or taking control of the screen.

You can find out more in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center under Message ID MC1187801.

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Posted Wednesday 18 March 2026 at 5:35 pm AEST (my time).

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We have already crossed the first half of the month of March, and it's now a good time to highlight the first wave of changes that Microsoft has made available on Windows 11 through the Windows Insider Program in the last two weeks.

So far in March 2026, the software giant has rolled out multiple visual refinements, performance improvements, platform changes, and some new features. For example, during the setup experience, it's now possible to customize the profile folder name. Microsoft added refinements to the policy to natively debloat the system. The Drag Tray feature has been renamed to Drop Tray, and much more.

In the Dev and Beta Channels, the company released builds 26300.8068, 26220.8062, 26300.7965, and 26220.7961, and in the Canary Channel, Insiders received builds 28020.1737 and 28020.1685, as well as build 29550 in the secondary path of the Canary Channel.

In this recap, I'll highlight the biggest changes available through the Windows Insider Program.

Biggest improvements from the Windows Insider Program in March 2026

These are the improvements that the software giant has rolled out since my last roundup of changes.

Initial setup with folder name option

Starting with builds 26300.8068 and 26220.8062, Microsoft began testing an updated version of the Out-of-box Experience (OOBE) that changes the "Name your device" page to allow you to set a custom name for the user folder.

Mozilla is finally ditching the iconic nameless red panda, wrapping itself around the globe, for a true mascot named Kit. It looks a lot more personal than a logo, which for two decades was the closest thing the browser had to a global representative. While regions like Japan had their own beloved mascot, Foxkeh, there was never a single character for everyone until now.

According to the company, we're in a "new internet era," and users deserve a new mascot to bring them "some warmth and familiarity when you’re browsing with Firefox."

In the browser, Kit can be found in places like the onboarding screen when you first install Firefox, pop-ups that introduce a new feature, or little confirmations you see after successfully changing a setting. Kit also appears outside the browser on the product website, the company's blog, and across its social media channels.

Kit is neither a red panda nor a fox, but simply a Firefox. When designing it, Mozilla (in partnership with creative agency JKR and illustrator Marco Palmieri) said it gave Kit no mouth because the team wanted to avoid creating a "talking cartoon" and that it's better for the character to lean into its eyes and body language instead.

Of course, the tail got some attention as well, with the team calling it a "signature detail" built to "carry motion and emotion even in still moments."

If you're worried about pronouns to use for Kit, Mozilla provided a list of acceptable pronouns: he/him, they/them, she/her, and it.

Kit (he/she/they/them/it) is the user’s constant companion. Wherever they choose to roam, Kit will accompany and guide them with clever, playful encouragement and support — giving the user the confidence to run free.

The name "Kit" might remind you of "Renardo," the baby fox character created by Mozilla's Sean Martell, back in 2006, for developer events:

The developer community affectionately nicknamed him "Kit" (the term for a baby fox), and he was mostly used in developer campaigns (like the "Don't hurt the web" campaign).

Mozilla said that this new Kit was generated by humans (not AI) through hundreds of small choices, including tail flicks, textures, gradients, and proportions, and that you should not see Kit as a chatbot or AI assistant.

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Posted Wednesday 18 March 2026 at 12:18 pm AEST (my time).

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The March 2026 update for PowerToys is here, and it is a big one. Version 0.98 is now available, and it packs a brand-new taskbar-like tool, a redesigned user interface for Keyboard Manager, more new features for existing tools, and other changes.

Starting with new tools, we have Command Palette Dock, a new module that Microsoft announced a couple of months ago. Command Palette Dock is an extension to Command Palette, a universal launcher for Windows 10 and 11. The dock lets you pin favorite commands and extensions to have them always accessible.

Command Palette Dock has a bunch of built-in modules, including a resource monitor widget that shows CPU, GPU, network, and memory usage. Plus, you can customize the looks, change the position, and more. Command Palette Dock has its own APIs, so that developers can integrate their modules with the launcher.

The dock is not the only update to Command Palette. The launcher is now significantly faster, it received transparency support, and a few extra features, such as text preservation between launches and the ability to hide non-app results.

PowerToys Keyboard Manager, a handy tool that lets you remap keys and shortcuts, received a brand-new editor. It features more modern looks, a unified editor for shortcuts and keys, and the much-needed ability to toggle separate edits without deleting them. The new editor is in preview, and you must enable it before using.

CursorWrap, another recent addition to PowerToys, also received new features. Its behavior should now be more reliable on multi-monitor setups, and users can try new features, such as the ability to trigger it only when holding Ctrl or Shift and the module on single-monitor setups.

Always on Top, a handy tool that lets you pin a window on top of everything else, is now easier to activate. You can pin it by right-clicking the title bar, plus the new Ctrl + Shift + Plus/Minus key lets you adjust pinned window transparency.

Other improvements include a new video editor for ZoomIt for trimming screen recordings, the ability to hide Windows's stock "New" item in the context menu when New+ is enabled, and a new auto-copy hotkey for custom actions so that you can copy and execute them.

As usual, PowerToys 0.98 also packs a massive list of improvements and small fixes, which you can check out in the official documentation. You can download PowerToys 0.98 from GitHub or the Microsoft Store. If you already use PowerToys, go to Settings > General > Check for updates to get to the latest version.

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Posted Wednesday 18 March 2026 at 6:43 am AEST (my time).

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The Microsoft 365 Copilot app integrates the AI-powered Copilot assistant with Microsoft 365 suite apps, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, as well as other features like AI agents and Notebooks.

The forced rollout began in early December and was scheduled to be completed in mid-December for devices outside the European Economic Area (EEA), as the company announced in September.

"This app provides a centralized entry point for accessing Copilot experiences and AI-powered capabilities across Microsoft 365. This change simplifies access to Copilot and ensures users can easily discover and engage with productivity-enhancing features," Microsoft explained at the time.

However, Microsoft has now temporarily scrapped these plans but has yet to share why the rollout has been stopped.

"Automatic installation of the Microsoft 365 Copilot app on Windows devices with Microsoft 365 desktop apps, planned for December 2025, is temporarily disabled," the company said in a Microsoft 365 message center update.

"Existing installations remain unaffected. Admins can deploy the app via other methods and should await further updates. The change excludes EEA customers."

When and if the Microsoft 365 Copilot app begins rolling out automatically to eligible devices, it will be added to the Windows Start Menu and enabled by default. However, IT administrators responsible for managing Microsoft 365 app deployments will be able to opt out via the Apps Admin Center:

1. Sign in to the Microsoft 365 Apps admin center with an admin account.
2. Go to Customization > Device Configuration > Modern App Settings.
3. Select the Microsoft 365 Copilot app, then clear the Enable automatic installation of Microsoft 365 Copilot appcheck box.

As part of an effort to increase the Copilot AI assistant's user base, Microsoft also announced in late September 2025 that it will integrate Microsoft 365 Copilot agents into the Edge sidebar and added a new setting allowing Microsoft 365 admins to pin the Microsoft 365 Copilot app to the Windows taskbar.

Around the same time last year, the company also started rolling out the content-aware Copilot Chat to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote for paying Microsoft 365 business customers and the Gaming Copilot "personal gaming sidekick" on Windows 11 PCs for users aged 18 or older.

However, in January, Microsoft also began testing a new policy (RemoveMicrosoftCopilotApp) that would allow IT admins to uninstall Copilot from devices managed via Microsoft Intune or System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM).

Over the weekend, Windows Central also reported that Microsoft might be quietly canceling plans to ship several other Copilot-powered features introduced by Microsoft EVP Yusef Mehdi almost two years ago, which would have embedded Copilot into the Windows 11 Settings app, system notifications, and the File Explorer.

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Posted Wednesday 18 March 2026 at 6:42 am AEST (my time).

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A few days ago, Microsoft released an emergency OOB (out-of-band) update, KB5084597, which was to patch a critical network security vulnerability. Following that, today the company has published yet another OOB update, this time to fix broken Bluetooth which affects the visibility of Bluetooth devices since the Bluetooth settings do not appear on the Windows 11 Settings page or the Quick Settings menu on the Action Center panel.

Same as the last one, the new update is out for hotpatch-configured Windows 11 25H2 and 24H2 systems running Windows 11 Enterprise LTSC 2024. The release notes for the new KB5084897 update says:

"[Bluetooth] Fixed: This update addresses an issue where Bluetooth devices may not appear on the 'Bluetooth & devices' page in 'Windows Settings' or in 'Quick Settings', even if the devices are connected and functioning as expected. This issue could also prevent users from adding new devices because available devices did not appear in the list for connection."

You can find the support article here on Microsoft's official site. The update will be downloaded and installed automatically on hotpatch-enabled enterprise devices, the company notes.

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Posted Tuesday 17 March 2026 at 5:13 pm AEST (my time).

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