What you need to know

• Microsoft has improved animations within PowerPoint for the web.
• Feedback to the company explained that the previous workflow for animations was "daunting," so Microsoft revamped how to set and customize animations within PowerPoint.
• The Animation Pane now features cards for each item that can be customized and reordered with a familiar drag and drop movement.

Microsoft just rolled out an update to PowerPoint for the web that improves animations. The web version of PowerPoint now has an Animation Pane that's easy to use and that provides more controls over animations within a presentation. Each item within the Animation Pane has a card that can be reordered using drag and drop and that can be customized with a few clicks.

Microsoft explained in its blog post announcing the improvements that many find the current animation workflow to be "quite daunting." The update should fix that, as it has a more modern interface that is easier to use.

The updated animation features are available now, apart from a preview feature that Microsoft teased. At some point in the near future, you'll also be able to preview animations within PowerPoint for the web using a preview button.

Fixing PowerPoint animations

Animations are easier to control and customize after an update to PowerPoint for the web. (Image credit: Future)

When it comes to ease of use, there's little to say about PowerPoint animations that would be considered a compliment. The best thing I can say is that animations work if you can figure them out. But the overall interface is clunky, and the web version of PowerPoint has even less animation controls than the desktop version.

The new animation pane within PowerPoint for the web is even easier to use than PowerPoint for the desktop's version. The same general options are there, but they're laid out in a way that's easier to understand and customize. Maybe I've gotten used to the drag and drop interface of smartphone apps, but the new animation pane within PowerPoint for the web just feels right.

Microsoft's blog post about the new animation features listed three priorities: being intuitive, being quick and efficient, and having a simple workflow. Based on my early testing, I'd say the new animation features check all of those boxes. The learning curve is smaller, the interface is more natural, and animations are easier to control and customize.

How to use animations in PowerPoint for the web

Microsoft outlines the steps on how to use animations in PowerPoint for the web. As a quick reminder, these features roll out gradually, so you may not see the updated animation options yet.

1. Open an existing presentation and select an object you want to animate. 
2. Select Animations > Animation Pane. 
3. In the Animation pane, click the Add Animation button. 
4. In the animation card for the selected object, edit the animation properties as needed.  
5. To add more than one animation to the selected object, click the Add button at the top of the task pane and notice that corresponding cards are added to the Animations pane.
6. To delete an applied animation, click the Delete icon in the top right corner of the corresponding card.
7. To reorder animations, select the six-dots (reordering dots) icon in the top-left of the card and drag the card to place the selected animation in a new position.

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There could be many reasons for Chrome's popularity. If you are mainly concerned about performance and wondering which web browser you should choose, there are web-based benchmarks available.

Of course, web browsing, like every computing workload, is heavily reliant on the system you have at hand. While surfing the internet have always been thought of as something on the lighter side of the workload scale, the web is getting more and more complex every day, and such, it is futile to expect a decent experience from something that is not powerful enough.

So, assuming you have a decent PC or a phone, to help users determine which is the best web browser out there, Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Mozilla, came together to help build the latest version of Speedometer, 3.0. On the announcement blog post on browserbench.org today, it says:

This is the first time the Speedometer benchmark, or any major browser benchmark, has been developed through a cross-industry collaboration supported by each major browser engine: Blink/V8, Gecko/SpiderMonkey, and WebKit/JavaScriptCore.

 

[...]

 

The primary goal of Speedometer 3 is to reflect the real-world Web as much as possible, so that users benefit when a browser improves its score on the benchmark.

Here is the gist of the improvements in Speedometer 3.0:

• Improved runtime measurement for both synchronous and asynchronous works
• Updated JavaScript UI frameworks based on usage stats
• Inclusion of complex DOM (Document Object Model) versions
• Performance testing of Single Page Application (SPA) content from news sites (example: Neowin)
• Canvas rendering, charting, and dashboard performance evaluation
• JavaScript and WYSIWYG code editor performance assessment

You can find more technical details regarding these in the blog posts from Google's Chromium, Microsoft's Edge, and Apple's WebKit teams.

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From removing one of the most wanted features in Windows 11 to spamming the lock screen with Copilot ads, last week saw Microsoft making some controversial changes to Windows. But nothing was controversial about the features Microsoft added to its roadmap.

It’s that time of the week again when we bring the latest new features Microsoft added to the Microsoft 365 Roadmap page. From giving you updates about noteworthy features coming to Microsoft 365 apps, including one of the best video conferencing apps, Microsoft Teams, to explaining how those capabilities can align with your workflow, our weekly digest puts an end to your anticipation about what's coming next to Microsoft 365.

Microsoft Teams: new call capability and Copilot features

Transfer Teams calls to mobile calls

Microsoft added a couple of useful Teams features to its roadmap for mobile users, including allowing users to transfer Teams calls to mobile calls and strengthening Copilot.

Teams users on mobile will be able to transfer their ongoing Teams calls to the phone's native dialer. The transfer will be seamless, "without any disruption or loss of context", according to Microsoft (Feature ID: 385349). However, it isn't clear whether this is an attempt to integrate Teams calls with regular phone calls. But it'll surely give you more control in managing your Teams calls.

Microsoft plans to introduce the ongoing call transfer capability for iOS and Android phones next month.

Copilot can now answer questions and provide citations on mobile

Being able to ask questions after meetings (Feature ID: 384363) and Citations support (Feature ID: 331507) for Copilot in Teams are two other noteworthy features that will be available for Teams users on Android and iOS next month.

Teams users will be able to ask questions after the meeting ends, and for every Copilot statement, there will be a citation number, clicking on which reveals various details, including the speaker the citation is attributed to on a transcript viewer, the exact quote from the source, and the time stamp of when the quote occurred during the meeting.

Microsoft Outlook: Teams integration for mobile, and more ways to organize your emails

The Teams chat won’t open on Outlook mobile, though. Instead, it’ll open the Teams app if you’ve it installed on your phone. If you don’t have it installed, clicking the option to open Teams chat will simply tell you to download and install the Teams app on your phone. Microsoft is also eyeing next month for its release.

Show online archive storage

Microsoft has plans to replace the legacy Outlook with the new web-based Outlook for Windows. Before that happens, Microsoft wants to ensure that important features in the Outlook desktop client are also available for the new Outlook for Windows app. Promising users to give information on online archive storage in the new Outlook for Windows (Feature ID: 386902) is a step in that direction.

The new Microsoft Outlook app currently displays emails you archived in the Archive folder, but it doesn't show you the size of the folder. This will change in June when Microsoft will display archive storage information in the new Outlook for Windows. The feature will help users monitor storage usage and make informed decisions about which emails to delete and which ones to move to regular folders to ensure sufficient storage for archiving emails, thus helping you better organize your emails. All of this will also be available for the Outlook web client in the same month.

New search folders

If you want to find specific emails, you're better off using the search folder capability in Outlook. Search folders are virtual folders that display emails from a certain sender or other parameters you've set. In the new Outlook for Windows and the web, the parameters that you'll able to set include Unread email, Flagged for follow-up, Email either unread or flagged for follow-up, and Email sent directly to me.

On top of those aforementioned parameters, users will get two more options in the new Outlook for Windows and the web: Categorized email and Mail from specific people (Feature ID: 386903). Choosing the first option will help users filter emails that belong to specific categories.

The other option is self-explanatory — it'll help you quickly find emails from a particular sender or contact. So, if you receive a large number of emails from certain contacts, it can help you save time and effort in sorting those.

The aforementioned search folders will be available for the new Outlook for Windows and the web client next month.

Keep your expectations in check about the release timeline

Launch timelines mentioned in the Microsoft 365 Roadmap site are subject to change. So, if something goes wrong, Microsoft will delay those functionalities to a later month. But what will not change is our commitment to bringing you the latest roadmap update every week. We'll be back with another roundup, explaining new features that will be added to Microsoft 365.

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The new lines were spotted by @XenoPanther on X:

Zac Bowden from Windows Central claims those "super-cool looking" filters are part of "enhanced Studio Effects" for Windows 11, which should be coming later this year in version 24H2, along with "AI File Explorer" and other AI-powered features. Microsoft seems to be also working on a dedicated taskbar button for Windows Studio Effects (its purpose is unconfirmed since it does not work yet).

Besides spotting strings related to new AI video filters, Xeno discovered other interesting bits and pieces. The Local Experience Pack for build 26079 also mentions several components with the "NXT" prefix (next?):

Later this month, Microsoft is holding a special digital event. The company confirmed that it would focus on three things: Surface, Copilot, and Windows. Expect to see the Surface Pro 10 with an OLED display and the Surface Laptop 6 with ARM chips, new features for Copilot, and new AI-powered experiences for Windows 11 (some of them will require newer hardware with Neural Processing Units). One of those new features could be the new AI video filters.

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The images published on Samsung's official website confirm previous rumors about some of the capabilities Microsoft is preparing for its AI assistant. Most of them revolve around the idea of using natural language for various tasks. Here are some examples:

• Remind me what Smith said in his recent message
• Copy the link from Smith's message
• Reply to Shawn saying No Problem! on Messages
• Copy Printwork's email address
• Look up for Printwork's contact
• Write an email draft to Printworks to request a quote

Samsung says Copilot "can use apps, summarize text messages and even send messages directly from your PC." This clearly indicates a better integration between Copilot and the Phone Link app into Samsung's Galaxy smartphones. None of those features are currently available in the stable version of Windows 11.

Footnotes on the Samsung website say the new Copilot features will be available "on the Galaxy Book4 Series starting in Spring 2024." It is too early to tell whether Phone Link integration will be exclusive to Galaxy devices, but Microsoft is no stranger to locking features behind the Samsung badge.

Fortunately, we will soon know all the details since Microsoft is getting ready to host a special event on March 21, 2024. The company will showcase new Surface devices, such as the Surface Pro 10 and the Surface Laptop 6, and announce upgrades for Copilot and Windows 11.

In other Phone Link news, Microsoft recently announced that Windows Insiders can now use their Android smartphones as wireless webcams for their computers. The feature is now available for testing in the Windows Insiders program.

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The Outlook Calendar integration syncs your events to Evernote, allowing you to view your schedule and add notes to each entry. Calendar-linked notes include all the event details, such as date and time, location, participants, and more. In addition, all that information is searchable so that you can quickly and easily access the necessary information or share it with each or specific participant (even if they do not use Evernote).

In addition to improving Outlook integration, Evernote improved accessibility by making the calendar feature available in the sidebar on the desktop.

If you use Evernote and want to link your Outlook Calendar, follow the official guide published on Evernote's support website. Note that the feature requires a premium Evernote subscription. According to a blog post on the official website, Evernote Calendar is available for Personal, Professional, and Teams customers. Personal accounts can work with one external calendar, while Professional and Teams allow for up to five accounts.

Evernote says it plans to add even more features to the calendar functionality. For example, the company promises the ability to create events for external calendars, effectively turning Evernote into a "fully functional scheduling tool." Also, look out for reminder support in the Evernote Calendar for a unified daily overview.

In case you missed it, Evernote recently announced major changes to the feature set that is available for free users. 14 previously premium features are now available at no cost. They include note history and restore, offline notes, PDF annotation, email to Evernote, PDF export, business card scanning, spreadsheet preview, custom templates, boolean search, and many others.

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For example, in January last year, the company decided to test a new alert inside the Settings which would let users know that their cloud storage needed to be upgraded. Later on in the year in November, the tech giant added a dialog box which was essentially Microsoft asking why you needed to close OneDrive if you chose to do so.

On the topic of closing OneDrive, Microsoft has quietly published a new support document on its official website that aims to guide users on how they can turn it off. It is noteworthy that

The document is a small note that lets users know that they can simply unlink OneDrive if they needed to turn it off. It is a small article that links to a detailed guide Microsoft had published previously.

The new support doc says:

Turn off OneDrive in Windows

Windows 10

 

If you don't want to use OneDrive, the easiest solution is to unlink it. Follow the steps in Turn off, disable, or uninstall OneDrive, for how to unlink, hide, and uninstall OneDrive from your PC.

Interestingly, if you noticed, Microsoft has aimed this article only towards Windows 10 users and the company has seemingly forgotten about the ones on Windows 11. Perhaps the mention latest Windows OS will be added later.

The article back-links to a detailed guide titled "Turn off, disable, or uninstall OneDrive". While this support doc itself is not new, Microsoft made a couple of updates to it earlier this year and one of them is massive.

First, the company has added a section to highlight a separate section that talks about unlinking OneDrive. The updated section says:

If you just don't want to use OneDrive, the easiest solution is to unlink it - see the steps below.

 

Tips: If you want to stop OneDrive for a while, or not use all of it, here are some other solutions:

 

• If you want to stop syncing for a short time, learn How to pause and resume sync in OneDrive.
• If you want to stop syncing a file, read How to stop or cancel sync in OneDrive.
• If you want to remove a OneDrive folder from your computer, follow the steps in Choose which OneDrive folders to sync to your computer.
• If you want to cancel your OneDrive subscription, see How to cancel your Microsoft subscription.
• If you want to sign out of OneDrive on the web, select your profile photo, then select Sign out.

Secondly, the page also added that OneDrive can be uninstalled on Windows 11 too, whereas this portion previously only mentioned Windows 10. The section reads:

Uninstall OneDrive

Windows 10/11

 

1. Select the Start button, type Programs in the search box, and then select Add or remove programs in the list of results.

    

   Open installed apps

    

2. Under Apps & features, find and select Microsoft OneDrive, and then select Uninstall. If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

This change could likely be a result of the recent DMA compliance updates that Microsoft announced back in November for the EU.

You can find the full guide on this page on Microsoft's official website.

Update: This article was published with the misconception that OneDrive could not be uninstalled on Windows 11 prior to the recent changes. However, that's not the case. Regardless, this is still official confirmation from Microsoft that you can indeed uninstall OneDrive on Windows 11 as well, just like on Windows 10. It is possible that Microsoft made this update following the recent changes it has been making to comply with the E.U.'s DMA.

We apologize for the oversight!

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These included a clear demarcation of stock apps as "system" apps. The ability to uninstall Edge and Bing web search were also added. The sign-in experience was also modified. You can view the full set of changes in the announcement article.

The deadline for such DMA compliance was set to March 6 2024, and as the company published details about the changes it made in a blog post. It stated:

Microsoft did make changes to Windows to comply with other provisions of the DMA and is delivering these changes to Windows PCs in the EEA.

 

• The Edge browser and the Bing web search functionality were redesigned so that users can uninstall these applications from Windows using the standard Windows mechanisms that are available for uninstallation if they choose to do so.
• Microsoft has enabled and provided instructions for third-party web search applications to offer web search services through the search box on the Windows task bar and to rely on any browser of their choice to show a search results page in the same way as the Microsoft Bing web search application. Similarly, Windows enables and has provided information to developers on how to create third-party news feeds in the Windows Widgets panel in the same way as Microsoft Edge.
• Microsoft also modified the sign-in experience on Windows. Prior to the DMA, Windows automatically signed users into other Microsoft products and services that combined data, including into Edge, Bing, and the Microsoft “Start” service (e.g. news, weather, etc.) when users are first signed into Windows. Windows will no longer automatically sign users into these services.

To help users understand the changes in a simplified way, Microsoft also published a graphic that you can view below:

The blog post also details other changes Microsoft had to make including on LinkedIn. You can find the official post on this page on Microsoft's website.

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Microsoft Teams - Mobile apps will be adding some new features in April

If you use Microsoft Teams via its iOS or Android apps, you should get some new features in April. One feature will let users ask questions to the Copilot AI assistant about any meetings after they have been held. Another upcoming mobile feature will also use Copilot in Teams to add a citation number for each Copilot statement. The citation is meant to show more details or the source that Copilot used to create the statement. The roadmap entry adds:

Users can select the citation to see which speaker the citation is attributed to, the exact quote from the transcript, as well as the time stamp of the quote in the transcript. Selecting a reference number will open a transcript viewer that displays the source of the response.

Users of the mobile Teams app will also soon be able to transfer any calls they game from the Teams app to their native mobile phone dialer. Finally, mobile users will be able to select a Teams meeting event on their Outlook calendar and go straight to that meeting on the Teams app.

Windows and Mac Teams users will also get a new feature in April.

We're continuing to provide a more tailored call delegation experience. Call delegators and delegates will now be able to see shared call history records for the shared line.

New Outlook for Windows and the Web - New email search filters are coming and more

Microsoft continues to add new features to the new Outlook app for Windows and on its web version. In May, the roadmap site says we can expect to see some new email search filters:

Categorized email search folders let you easily filter emails by assigned categories enhancing inbox organization. Mail from specific people search folders let you automatically collect and organize emails from designated senders or contacts.

In June, the roadmap says the new Outlook app will be able to see their online archive storage:

By displaying online archive storage information, users can proactively manage their email storage and make informed decisions about archiving, cleaning, and their regular and archived folders.

That's our look back at the latest additions to the Microsoft 365 Roadmap. You can come back in seven days for yet another update.

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Last summer, the original Opera desktop browser was rebuilt and rebranded as Opera One. As part of that, Opera’s developers incorporated AI features. They embedded OpenAI’s ChatGPT and even integrated their own GPT-based AI chatbot Aria which has (unlike ChatGPT) access to real-time web data.

Now, Opera has launched a new initiative called AI Feature Drops. It allows its testers to try new features based on artificial intelligence in advance and, presumably, affect the feature set of the stable version as explained by Executive Vice President at Opera, Krystian Kolondra:

“We’ve started the AI Feature Drops Program to allow people to test our newest AI explorations that either will or won’t make it to the official version of Opera One. We are excited to let our most engaged users test and share their feedback and suggestions with us.”

AI Feature Drops program is available in early access as part of the Opera Developer variant of the browser aimed at devs and early adopters.

The company behind Opera believes AI will soon help users perform more elaborate browser tasks, thus enhancing their experiences on the web. As part of its presented commitment to artificial intelligence, Opera has announced just this week that it will soon be deploying a new, fully green-energy-powered AI cluster in Iceland to power its future AI services.

The new cluster is an NVIDIA DGX SuperPOD, equipped with the newest NVIDIA H100 Tensor Core GPUs and the NVIDIA AI Enterprise software platform. The full-stack system will work as a single AI cluster serving Opera’s AI workloads.

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It's been a while since Windows 11's release, and yet the Start menu and the taskbar still feel a bit unfinished. There are a few options toggleable on the Start menu and taskbar that were present in modern Windows systems, but strangely missing within Windows 11. Fortunately, the popular Start replacement app, Start11, has stepped up to the plate and delivered what Microsoft hasn't, and it has gotten even better with the addition of auto-hiding the taskbar.

Start11 adds a missing feature to the Windows 11 taskbar

As reported by Windows Central, Start11 has released another update for its app. Start11 originated as a way to allow people to reclaim their Start menu on Windows 11, given that it's missing features present in Windows 10 and earlier. The newest update re-implements the "auto-hide taskbar" feature from previous versions; this will make the taskbar shrink down below the screen when it's not in use and will pop it back up again if you put your cursor around the bottom of the screen.

If this is the first time you've heard of Start11 and you're frustrated with the lack of customization options in Windows 11, it's worth giving the app a try. In recent months, Start 11 has brought back old features and added new ones, such as pinning websites to the Start menu. And while it isn't free, you can still give the demo a try to see if it's up to your speed. Given that there's plenty that Microsoft itself can learn from Start11, there's a very good chance you'll like it.

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Windows 11 users on Reddit recently spotted a massive QR code right in the center of their lock screen. And no, it was not a rickroll (that would have been hilarious). It was just a massive, odd-looking Copilot ad. Scanning the QR code redirected affected customers to the Copilot website with another QR code to download its recently launched apps on Android and iOS.

A user on Reddit also discovered that the QR code was "literally baked into the image file," so here is the extracted image in its full glory:

Damn it, Microsoft, it is not even centered!

The lock screen in Windows 10 and 11 is already one big ad banner, so it seems like Microsoft decided a not-so-subtle QR code would not hurt. However, customers thought the other way.

Neowin could not replicate the behavior on our own Windows 11 PCs. We reached out to Microsoft and asked the company to explain what was going on. In a reply, a Microsoft spokesperson confirmed that the QR code was there to "educate customers" about Copilot.

The notification was simply a way to educate users and has since been paused. We value our customer experiences and are always learning to determine what is most valuable and to whom.

With the lock screen QR code gone (hopefully, for good), there are still plenty of Copilot ads across the operating system. For example, you can find one in the Settings app promoting the Copilot Pro subscription. Also, there are already reports of Microsoft once again targeting Chrome users with banners, this time promoting "chat with GPT-4 for free on Chrome."

This leaves users wondering to what extent Microsoft is willing to promote its AI creation and where efforts to "educate customers" turn into annoying the living thing out of them.

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Microsoft didn't provide a reason for not offering new Dev or Canary builds for Insider members this past week. The last Canary build was released on February 22. Technically, the last Dev Channel builds were released that same day, but they were service updates with no new features. The last Dev Channel update with new features was a joint release with a Canary build way back on February 14.

To be fair, the Windows 11 team might still be taking a little bit of a break after launching the latest public feature release for the OS on February 29. The update, also known as Moment 5, included more language support for Voice Access, sharing content to more apps, new casting improvements, and more.

Members of the Windows Insider Program on the Beta Channel actually got two small updates this week. The first, which dropped on Monday, added a Copilot feature that caused its pane to open when a mouse cursor goes over the Copilot icon.

The other Beta Channel update dropped on Thursday. This one added another Copilot feature. It will show certain actions you can do with the AI assistant if you copy a piece of text in Windows 11, such as explain that text, summarize it or sent it to Copilot chat.

While this week was a bit slow on the Windows 11 updates, next week will certainly be busier. March 12 is also Patch Tuesday at Microsoft, which means Windows 10 22H2 and Windows 11 will both be getting their monthly security updates. Hopefully, we will get some Canary and Dev Insider builds this week as well.

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Here is the changelog:

Changes and Improvements gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on

 

[Copilot in Windows]

 

We are beginning to try out a new experience for Copilot in Windows that helps showcase the ways that Copilot can accelerate and enhance your work. This experience will show when you copy text – since Copilot supports helpful actions that you can take with text content. In this scenario, the Copilot icon will change appearance and animate to indicate that Copilot can help (there are several different treatments so you may notice a different visual effect). When you hover your mouse over the Copilot icon, it will provide a menu of actions that you can take, such as summarizing or explaining the copied text. If you select an action on the menu, it will launch Copilot with the action ready-to-go. We will also support the ability to launch Copilot if you start dragging an image – just drag the image file onto the Copilot icon in the taskbar, and Copilot will open. You can then drop the image into the text box in Copilot and type an action that you would like to take on the image content.

 

 

Copilot actions you can take when you mouse over the Copilot icon on the taskbar after copying some text.

 

Fixes gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on

 

[Nearby Sharing]

 

• Fixed an issue causing Settings to crash for some Insiders when going to System > Nearby Sharing.

 

Fixes for everyone in the Beta Channel

 

[Search]

 

• Fixed the issue causing an increase of explorer.exe crashes for Insiders in the Beta Channel in the last two flights.

You can check out the full blog post here.

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On Windows 11, you can check the Wi-Fi signal strength in multiple ways, and in this guide, I will show you how to complete this task.

When you connect your laptop or desktop computer to the network and the internet using a wireless adapter, the quality of the signal will impact the connection's performance. The main reason is that this technology uses radio waves to send and receive data, which are susceptible to interference and limited in range.

As a result, the ability to know the signal strength for a Wi-Fi connection can help you troubleshoot connectivity problems and quickly discard an issue with the Internet Service Provider (ISP). 

If you must check the signal strength, Windows 11 offers at least five ways to complete this task: using the Taskbar's Quick Settings, the Settings app, the legacy Control Panel, and commands with PowerShell and Command Prompt.

In this how-to guide, I will explain the different ways to monitor the wireless signal quality on Windows 11.

How to check wireless strength from Taskbar

To determine the signal quality of your Wi-Fi connection from the Taskbar, use these steps:

1. Click the network icon in the Taskbar.
2. Click the "Manage Wi-Fi connections" button.

(Image credit: Mauro Huculak)

3. Confirm the number of bars in the wireless icon for the active connection to determine the strength. 

(Image credit: Mauro Huculak)

In the icon, one solid bar indicates a weak signal, two bars mean the signal is acceptable, and three and four bars represent the best signal you can get.

How to check wireless strength from Settings

To check the Wi-Fi signal strength from the Settings app, use these steps:

1. Open Settings.
2. Click on Network & internet.
3. Click the Wi-Fi page on the right side.

(Image credit: Mauro Huculak)

4. Check the number of bars in the wireless icon for the active connection to determine how strong the signal is.

(Image credit: Mauro Huculak)

After you complete the steps, the wireless icon will give you an indication of the signal quality on Windows 11.

How to check wireless strength from Control Panel

To determine the signal quality of a wireless connection, use these steps:

1. Open Control Panel.
2. Click on Network and Internet.
3. Click on Network and Sharing Center.

(Image credit: Mauro Huculak)

4. The icon for "connections" will indicate the signal quality under the "View your active networks" section.
5. (Optional) Click the connection name to check the signal strength and other information.

(Image credit: Mauro Huculak)

Once you complete the steps, the legacy Control Panel will reveal the connection signal quality of your computer.

How to check wireless strength from PowerShell

To find out the Wi-Fi signal strength through PowerShell, use these steps:

1. Open Start.
2. Search for PowerShell and click the top result to open the app.
3. Type the following command to check the signal strength and press Enter: (netsh wlan show interfaces) -Match '^\s+Signal' -Replace '^\s+Signal\s+:\s+','' 
4. Confirm the signal quality output. (The percentage goes from 0 to 100, where 100 percent indicates excellent signal quality.)

(Image credit: Mauro Huculak)

After you complete the steps, the connection is reliable if you see a signal quality between 80 and 100 percent. If the signal is above 70 percent, it's still good for light web browsing. Anything below 60 percent of the signal is weak.

How to check wireless strength from Command Prompt

To confirm the Wi-Fi signal strength from the Command Prompt, use these steps:

1. Open Start.
2. Search for Command Prompt and click the top result to open the app.
3. Type the following command to view the Wi-Fi signal strength and press Enter: netsh wlan show interfaces
4. Confirm the signal quality in the "Signal" details. (If the output number equals or exceeds 80, the signal's strength is good.)

(Image credit: Mauro Huculak)

Once you complete the steps, Command Prompt will reveal the quality of the signal quality.

Consider these tips to improve signal strength

If your device has a weak wireless signal, move the computer closer to the access point or place the access point in the line of sight, such as in the middle of the room, where you can see it. 

As you make physical changes to the computer or access point's location, run the Command Prompt or PowerShell commands to get more accurate results. 

You can also use the dynamic wireless icon. Each bar (including the dot) represents a quarter of the signal quality. The dot is 25 percent, the second bar is 50 percent, the third is 75 percent, and the fourth is 100 percent.

You should also consider the physical environment. For example, fluorescent lights and microwaves can cause wireless signal interference, walls, and other solid objects can weaken the quality of the signal, and the position of the antennas can also play a role.

In addition, if you're in a location with many wireless signals using the channel, this can also cause problems with the connection speeds. Usually, modern access points can detect and adapt to the environment, but sometimes, you may just have to change the configuration, such as changing the wireless channel to one that is less crowded.

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The new Outlook for Windows has been released as a preview some time ago. When Microsoft released it, it confirmed that this new app would replace the Mail and Calendar app on Windows systems and also the classic Outlook application.

While Microsoft did publish a schedule for the deprecation of Mail and Calendar, it did not do so for the classic Outlook for Windows application.

The company has finally lifted the veil on the future of the classic version of Outlook and the migration to the new Outlook version. In short, Outlook users may use the classic Outlook for Windows until at least 2029 according to Microsoft.

The Outlook for Windows deprecation schedule

The migration to the new Outlook for Windows and the termination of the classic Outlook application happens in three stages. The entire process is in the first stage in the moment, which Microsoft calls Opt in.

This allows customers, home and commercial, to opt-in to using the new Outlook app. The app itself is not enabled by default and users need to enable it explicitly through the "try the new Outlook" toggle in the classic Outlook app.

Toggling is also available in the new app to go back to the classic app at any time during the opt in stage. A feedback form is displayed each time users go back to the classic Outlook application.

The new Outlook application receives the general availability milestone during this stage. This moves it out of preview. Customers may get "regular and assisted technical support" from this moment on.

The second stage moves from opt-in to opt-out. This makes the new Outlook application the default on Windows systems. Microsoft promises that it will provide at least 12 months' notice before this happens in production environments.

Outlook users may still go back to the classic Outlook application during the opt-out stage.

Microsoft calls the third and final stage cutover. The option to go back to the classic Outlook app is removed in that stage. New deployments of Outlook from Microsoft 365 subscriptions will install the new Outlook for Windows.

Microsoft will continue to support existing installations of the classic Outlook app for Windows. The classic Outlook app will be supported until at least 2029 according to Microsoft.

Customers will receive at least 12 month's advance notice before the third-stage is entered.

Closing Words

Mail and Calendar will still be replaced by the new Outlook client in 2024. Microsoft has been criticized left and right for its new Outlook client. It is a web-wrapper basically that misses lots of features that the classic Outlook client supports. Apart from that, reports suggests that it is slower than the native classic client.

The new Outlook has ads next to that, which the classic Outlook app did not. Competing email provider Proton claims that the new Outlook app is used as a data collection service by Microsoft.

Now You: do you use Outlook or another email app or service?

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What is new in Microsoft Edge 124.0.2438.2?

Added features:

 

• Introduced new actions in Adobe Viewer.

 

Improved Reliability:

 

• Fixed a browser crash on android.
• Fixed an issue that caused the browser to crash when adding a new website.
• Fixed an issue with the browser crashing when trying to open it after installing it successfully.
• Fixed an issue that caused the browser to crash when changing accounts multiple times.

 

Changed behavior:

 

• Resolved a problem that caused keyboard focus to repeat on Learn more link when moving inside the pane.
• Fixed an issue that stopped the new tab from shutting down after hitting the back button under history.
• Fixed an issue by showing the focus ring around the uninstall button.
• Fixed an issue that blocked voice launch when clicking the mic button from the search box in NTP.
• Fixed an issue where the label of the active icon was not visible in high contrast mode.
• Fixed an issue where the search icon took the place of the copilot icon at the top of the sidebar.
• Fixed an issue where no pop-up window would show up when the Outlook link was clicked to launch browser.
• Fixed an issue when switching tab for the second time made the shopping icon disappear.
• Fixed an issue where Browser Essential download data was cleared along with downloads history from downloads hub.
• Fixed an issue that caused the “Can’t Reach This Page” error message to appear when attempting to load a webpage.
• Fixed an issue where the Search pane was not fully utilized by the opened link page.
• Resolved an issue when clicking the custom apps “+” button in the browser sidebar caused the sidebar to disappear.
• Fixed an issue where the Copilot toolbar disappeared when switching from portrait mode to landscape mode.
• Resolved a voice launch issue with the mic button in the search box in NTP.
• Webview2: Fixed an issue that blocked the file from being saved and the download dialog from showing up.
• Mac: Fixed an issue that made the screen reader silent about the state of tab groups on Mac/Linux when they were expanded or collapsed.

 

iOS:

 

• Fixed an issue that makes the copilot toolbar compress when slowly moving the page.
• Fixed an issue that caused the red dot on the upper right of the overflow menu to remain visible after viewing the PDF.

Microsoft Edge Dev is available on Windows 10, 11, macOS, Linux, and Android. You can get it from the official website. The stable release of version 124 is expected the week of April 18, 2024.

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Dave Plummer, a Microsoft veteran, shared the story on X. In 1993, after creating VisualZIP, Dave received a call from "a lady at Microsoft." She said the company wanted to buy the project. Plummer had to choose between quitting his job at Microsoft and competing with the company or accepting "the first, best, and only offer." The second option was selected, and that is how Windows 95 received its native ZIP support.

After paying taxes, Dave put his ZIP money from Microsoft to some good use: he purchased a red 1994 Chevrolet Corvette LT1 equipped with a rather bolt license plate. However, according to the owner, that was a random plate he received, not a subtle way to flip off other drivers.

How do I convert ZIP into a C4 Corvette? Image credit: Dave Plummer

Plummer's story also offers some insights into the current state of archive support in Windows 11, which recently learned how to work with TAR, RAR, 7Z, and other compression types. Decades after the initial introduction, ZIP support in Windows 11 sucks is slow at best, mostly because the code powering the feature is over 25 years old. Besides, it does not care how many cores you have—the system uses only one thread for processing compressed folders.

Our tests proved that users who often work with archives should stay with their third-party favorites since 7Zip, WinRAR, and other alternatives offer much better performance and features. However, what Dave Plummer said in his post lines up with our own conclusion: "Hardcore" users will not jump ship, and for a regular consumer, what Windows 11 offers on the native level is more than enough. As they say, do not fix what is not broken.

You can read Dave's full story here.

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PC Game Pass is awesome, but the app that powers it has been ... less-than-awesome. But that's starting to change. 

PC Game Pass (sold separately or part of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate) is a monthly subscription service that gives access to hundreds of great PC games. The service also includes all Microsoft-owned games from day one into the service, typically helping you avoid paying the standard $60+ dollar asking price for a full AAA game. In the future, Activision-Blizzard games will also start hitting PC Game Pass, starting with Diablo 4 later this month, with Call of Duty to follow. 

Despite the quality of the service overall, and the value within Xbox Game Pass full games list, the Xbox app itself which serves the content has been controversial. I've written a few articles complaining about it in the past, but it is gradually improving. 

As part of the Windows Gaming Insider Program on Windows 11, I noticed that the Xbox app got a fairly significant design update recently, making the visual language a bit more consistent, while improving some of the overall features and usability. The app certainly seems to be turning a corner.

A lot of consistency tweaks and improvements ...

(Image credit: Windows Central)

Two of the main feature updates I've noticed are a new "recent" and "installed" filter on the left hand side, making it a little easier to sort your games library. It's not quite as robust as Steam's game list sidebar, but the fact there's a drop down menu there now means Microsoft could expand it to a variety of additional filters in the future. 

I previously wrote about how Compact Mode on the Xbox app makes the usability with touch a little easier for devices like the ASUS ROG Ally and Lenovo Legion Go. It doesn't seem like there has been any further tweaks to Compact Mode as of writing, but there has been some improvements to the game page, as you can see above. 

The design is a little bit more consistent across the app, but also there's a little more visibility for your friends who might've been playing the same game, complete with their display pictures and profile backgrounds. It's a nice touch, and gives the page a bit of flair. From here, you can easily access the game's files if you want to set up mods and tweaks, although there's no indication that the pain points with Windows installation integrity systems have been improved for people who use a lot of mods. Steam will probably remain your best option for mods and things of that nature, at least for now. 

One thing that was interesting in this build was the inclusion of an "Extensions" section in the settings menu. I'm not sure I've seen this section before, and it says you can manage compatible Xbox app extensions there, yet I have none installed. This could be a placeholder for an upcoming feature, but what exactly it might be is anyone's guess, for now. 

... but still a long way to go. 

(Image credit: Windows Central)

There's also been some improvements to the library section. The filters are a little easier to access, with filters that let you quickly find games you've purchased. However, it doesn't differentiate between games you've actually purchased, and games that you have purchase entitlement for via Game Pass, which makes the Game Pass filter a little redundant. It's easy to filter by games you have installed, but there's still a lot of improvements here I'd like to see. 

The "play later" section feels a bit redundant to me, and it would be nice if we could hide it away, or customize rows of games to our own liking. It would make more sense for me to have a quick button filter for "Xbox Play Anywhere" for Xbox and PC gaming handheld users, instead of "Purchased" and "Game Pass" here. This section is obviously a library of content you have access to, so I'm not sure what the point of these buttons are. 

Also, it's painful that we can't hide games that we own here like we can on Xbox. I really, really don't need to see the "Bleeding Edge Beta" in my PC library, given that the Beta client is absolutely never going to be used ever again. I'm also endlessly irritated that there are no cloud save indicators on the PC Game Pass app. If you shut down your PC too quickly, it can cause save file conflicts for Xbox Play Anywhere games if you frequently switch between devices. However, I have been told that a cloud save upload indicator feature is on the way for both Xbox and PC. 

But that's the point here, the app is moving forward, gradually. Today's version of the Xbox app looks nicer, runs more efficiently, and is far more stable than its previous incarnations, and this latest design pass is a really encouraging sign. 

But, the Xbox app for Windows 11 is moving in the right direction!

(Image credit: Windows Central)

The Xbox app is far from "Steam," but I'd argue that it doesn't need trading card systems or forums and the like. Although the primary functionalities expected of a "PC gaming" experience should probably take priority. 

There are a number of things that bug me about Microsoft's PC gaming push. Whether it's inconsistent versions across platforms, spotty developer support, or other types of usability complaints, the Xbox PC app still needs a lot of work. The "Microsoft Store" delivery systems could also use a TON of improvement. I'm not sure why I need to "accept app permissions" via pop-ups for these games, with an unnecessary email notification. If I'm downloading the game... surely I've already offered permission, right? As a Lenovo Legion Go user, I'd also like more visibility for games that do support cross-progression via Xbox Play Anywhere (as well as more support from developers, even if I have to buy the game twice!). But, I'm sure Microsoft has a very long list of feedback and complaints they want to address over time. 

The most important thing is that the Xbox app for Windows 10 and 11 is moving in the right direction. It's become far more performant, far more usable, and generally more consistent as time has marched on. It remains to be seen what Microsoft will do with Battle.net, often used for Blizzard games, for example — which they now own. The last time Activision tried to mess around with the Battle.net app, it resulted in a huge community backlash owing to the legacy of one of the world's oldest multiplayer platforms. Microsoft will likely need to tread carefully here. I'm also curious to know what other features are on the horizon. Will we ever be able to stream PC games from the cloud like NVIDIA GeForce Now, for example?

In any case, the days of "Games for Windows Live" and "MSN GameZone" (wow, I'm old) are long behind us. PC Game Pass is one of Microsoft Gaming's fastest growing sections, and the value is truly undeniable. 

(Oh, actually... MSN GameZone still exists, who knew?)

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The Apple Migration Assistant is an app that can copy your contacts, calendars, email accounts, files, and more data from a Windows PC to a Mac. After connecting both computers to the same network, the app will find your devices, prompt you to enter a PIN code, and then offer to select what information you want to transfer from your Windows computer (Apple also suggests turning off antivirus, firewall, and VPN). The process might take a while, depending on how much data you want to copy.

Apple has an official support page that describes the migration process in detail. That includes what information the app can copy and where it lands on your Mac. For example, email and its settings from Windows Mail and Outlook will go to the stock Mail app, and Safari will receive all your bookmarks from Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Internet Explorer, and even the old, long-unsupported Safari for Windows (remember that thing?).

Note that the Migration Assist app works with macOS Sonoma 14.4 and newer. As for Windows, it supports Windows 10 and 11, the currently supported desktop operating systems from Microsoft.

If your Mac runs an older macOS version or you cannot update it to the most recent release, Apple suggests using the Windows Migration Assistant app version 2.4.5.0. You should also use that app if you want to copy data from a PC running pre-Windows 10 versions, such as Windows 8.1, 8, and 7.

You can download the Migration Assistant app from the official website. More information about it is available in the official documentation.

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What you need to know

• Microsoft is testing a new way to launch Copilot AI on Windows 11.
• In Windows 11, users might be able to launch the chatbot by hovering their mouse cursor over the Copilot icon on the Taskbar.
• The hovering experience is exclusively available to Windows Insiders in the beta channel.
• We asked our readers how often they interact with Microsoft Copilot on Windows 11, and the results are finally out.

If the past year is anything to go by, Microsoft is all in on the AI hype. There's a Copilot for most of its products and services, and there are no signs of the company slowing down any time soon. Maybe we'll have a Copilot for Copilot soon. 

The integration of Copilot AI into the Windows operating system and Microsoft Edge has been received with mixed feelings. Microsoft has been mixing things up by "conveniently" placing the AI chatbot's icon in easily accessible areas within the operating system, like on the taskbar next to the system tray. I know I'm not the only one who's mistakenly launched Microsoft Copilot while trying to check my notifications.

And now, Microsoft is testing a new way to launch the chatbot on Windows 11. The new "hover experience" is limited to Windows Insiders in the Beta Channel. This new experience simplifies the process of launching Copilot on Windows 11.

According to Microsoft:

"We are trying out a new hover experience for Copilot in Windows. When you move your mouse cursor over the Copilot icon on the taskbar, it will open the Copilot pane. The Copilot pane will close unless interacted with after it opens. This will begin rolling out slowly over the next few weeks to Windows Insiders in the Beta Channel."

It's like the Widget panel but more annoying

(Image credit: Future)

Based on Microsoft's explanation, the new hovering experience is reminiscent of how the Widget panel works on Windows 11. Microsoft already has a keyboard shortcut that lets users launch Copilot instantly (Windows key + C).

Copilot seems like a flop among most Windows users

(Image credit: Windows Central)

Microsoft is finding more ways for users to quickly launch Copilot in Windows, though its user base isn't quite as impressive. We asked our readers how useful and frequent they interact with Microsoft Copilot, and below are the results from the poll:

• I never use Copilot on Windows 11 - 54.6%
• I use Copilot occasionally but less frequently than daily - 16.79%
• I use Copilot daily - 13.49%
• I rarely use Copilot but I have used it to some extent - 13.11%

Based on the results highlighted above, it's apparent that most users based on the survey either don't use the AI chatbot entirely or, if they do, on rare occasions. This is quite interesting. Microsoft has shifted its focus to AI and its advances and has practically integrated the technology across most of its products and services.

It's worth noting that this new experience is still in preview. Microsoft might decide to ship it to broad availability or not based on several factors. Not everyone is super hyped about AI and its integration across systems. The tech giant could face backlash for pushing this change to general availability.

Microsoft's decision to move the date/time button on the Taskbar in Windows 11 is already unpopular among users. I wonder how users will receive the new hovering experience for Copilot if/when it ships to broad availability.

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Microsoft first added this way to upload files in 2021 and labeled it as a preview feature. It was created as a way to help people who had mobile devices and wanted to upload a remote file to their OneDrive account. However, they may not want to download the file to their device first before uploading it again.

Instead, the feature let users send a URL weblink with the file location they wanted to upload to their OneDrive cloud files. OneDrive would directly download the file from that website link.

However, Microsoft has revealed that the feature ended up with a low amount of usage, while at the same time also generating high maintenance costs. It added that the URL upload feature did "not align with our vision for OneDrive as a cloud storage service that syncs your files across devices."

This feature will no longer be supported in just a few weeks, on March 29, 2024. If you have used this URL feature to upload files to your consumer OneDrive account, those files will still remain in that account.

Microsoft launched a new interface design for its OneDrive service for personal users in January. The new UI was designed to cut down on clutter, including adding new filters that were made to quickly discover files that you want to access by different file types. There's also a "add new" button that lets users create a new document in their OneDrive account, like a Word document, without having to launch an outside app.

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The move surprised many users, but thanks to a few posts on X from a Microsoft veteran, we now have more information on what happened and why the project was doomed from the very start.

Andrew Clinick, who worked as Partner Group Program Manager of the Windows Subsystem for Android, said that WSA "was an amazing project to work on," but it failed because Microsoft and Amazon could not bring enough apps.

Since Android app support cannot generate Microsoft profit without a dedicated store, it is not financially viable for the company to keep it running. That also answers the question of why Microsoft would not continue supporting WSA and allow the installation of APK files outside the Amazon App Store.

Andrew also believes Google sealed the deal for the WSA by walking away from it. The Google Play Store was not supported on the WSA (at least not officially), making it extra hard to bring apps to the Amazon App Store since most modern Android apps rely heavily on Google Play Services.

In 2015, Windows 10 Mobile allowed installing Android apps via Project Astoria as a radical solution to fix the app problem on Windows Phone. However, after a brief period of testing, Microsoft pulled the plug and later confirmed that the project was dead. Now, history repeats itself. Years after the Windows Phone's demise, the ever-familiar app gap problem struck Microsoft again.

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Because of the ongoing rollout of Copilot enhancements, I recommend deferring or pausing updates.

That’s why I’m raising the MS-DEFCON level to 2.

I continue to test and evaluate all updates on my test PCs and will provide my analysis and recommendations as soon possible. Meanwhile, defer. And while you’re doing that, those of you in North America should prepare to lose an hour of sleep this weekend.

Wouldn’t it be nice if all software were completely immune to bugs? Reality bites. A recent update to a plugin we use on our site is triggering the worst sort of bug — the intermittent, hard-to-reproduce bug.

If you purchase a subscription to AskWoody and get an error message during the checkout process, do not try to pay for another subscription. Your subscription has gone through. An expert developer is now looking into the problem, and I will report back to you in a special Plus Alert when the problem is resolved. We think it’s under control, but we’re still testing. Meanwhile, here’s some guidance.

Most importantly, your financial information is safe. This is not a security problem; it is a processing problem.

If you receive an error message during the subscription process, do not delay — send an email to customersupport@askwoody.com. Be sure to include your name and the email address you are using for your account. Please be patient; remember that besides dealing with this issue, I’m in the middle of tax season. I’ll get to each support request as quickly as I can.

I apologize for any inconvenience. The only consolation is that the bug is erratic and does not seem to happen often. But even one failure is unacceptable to me.

For those of you on Windows 10 22H2, be aware that you have full support all the way through October 2025. In addition, Microsoft has already announced that it plans to offer an Extended Security Updates program for customers. Whether that includes an offering for consumers remains to be seen, although the note from Microsoft says, “ESU is a paid program that provides individuals and organizations … .” If I were a betting person, I’d guess that the license might be hooked into some sort of Microsoft 365 license, but we’ll see. We also know that 0patch plans to offer its version of targeted fixes and support after October 2025.

Just like you, I’m still using Windows 10 both at home and at the office, and I foresee doing so for the coming year.

Microsoft released a new script for the KB5034441/KB5034440 issues. My take? Skip it. I still recommend hiding the offending update and not installing it on consumer Windows machines.

Included in the March security updates will be a removal of the offering of the Windows Backup app (KB5032038) to devices and computers where it doesn’t make sense. This “backup” is actually a migration tool that uses OneDrive. You will probably still see it offered on a consumer machine, but if Windows Update believes that your PC is on a domain or is a guest user, it will probably not be pushed. I’m unclear what will happen on any PC with a local account and thus no Microsoft account. So far, my Windows 11 Home Edition PC with its local account is still getting offers to use the Backup app. I’ll let you know if that goes away after the March security updates.

Speaking of local accounts, apparently even Elon Musk isn’t aware of the trick of using the no@thankyou.com email address to get around the mandate of a Microsoft account. For the record, the trick still works. I tried it out just the other day on a recent 23H2 Windows 11 ISO. When you get to the point where it asks you for a Microsoft account, simply use that bogus email address and any password. It will complain about a locked account, tell you to try again, and just keep insisting; but on the third time around, it gave up — I was able to configure a local account.

Keep in mind that this is not the ideal setup if you have consumer versions of Microsoft 365. However, rest assured that it’s still possible for all those folks like Elon out there.

Coming to Windows 11 in the late-March nonsecurity updates (and thus in the April security updates) will be additional Copilot features (what else?) that include additional vendor add-ins to use Copilot. 23H2 will see the bulk of the changes, whereas those on 22H2 should see less impact, especially if you have used registry keys to block Copilot. Remember: If you want to stay on any feature-release version, use InControl.

Microsoft is also including hooks into Android phones to pull in the photos from your phone as well. As it notes in the Windows blog post Microsoft Copilot improvements for Windows 11:

Soon you will be able to access recent photos on your PC or use your phone as a webcam on all video conferencing apps, making your Android device a productivity partner to your Windows 11 PC.

That Windows blog post also contains information about forthcoming Copilot features.

If you don’t want all these newfangled Windows 11 things, don’t worry — you are less likely to see them with a local account. As long as you don’t enable Get the latest …, you will be the last in line, not the first, to get them.

If you have computers on Windows 10, and if they are considered “Managed” — that is, patched by Microsoft Intune, Configuration Manager, Windows Autopatch, Windows Update for Business, Windows Server Update Services (WSUS), or select other third-party management tools — updates will not be offered via the Windows update process. You, the patching administrator, will need to manage updates yourself.

Of course, you may, like me, need to buy your way to Windows 11. That’s because the hardware running those Windows 10 instances does not meet the minimum requirements for Windows 11. I’ll need new PCs.

Both the February security updates and the March preview updates (and presumably the March security updates) are failing to install on some computers. The workaround at this time is to remove the hidden WinRE folder.

Included in the February prerelease updates (and thus in the March security updates) is a change to the Search box. As noted in KB5022913:

This update improves the search box experience on the taskbar. As you type in the search box, search results now appear in the search fly-out box. You can also change the search experience you want for your taskbar by going to Settings > Personalization > Taskbar. For commercial customers, this update adds a new policy for IT administrators to manage how the search box on the taskbar appears in your organization.

You’ll want to evaluate this policy ahead of time. As Microsoft notes, the following options will be available:

I’ll be testing and evaluating whether my users’ settings will be respected throughout this updating process. Many just want the Search icon only — with no search box. I’ll report my findings.

Resources

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What you need to know

• Microsoft announced the deprecation of Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA) recently.
• Support for WSA will end on March 5, 2025, but Amazon has already stopped downloads of the Amazon Appstore from the Microsoft Store.
• Andrew Clinick, who worked for Microsoft for almost 30 years, shared insight as to why WSA was shut down.

Microsoft announced that Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA) will no longer be supported after March 2025. The abrupt announcement marks the end of one of the easiest ways to run Android apps on Windows. But while WSA made it easy to install Android apps onto a PC, it had limitations, such as its lack of Google Play services support. Andrew Clinick, who worked for Microsoft for over 29 years, recently shared insight as to why WSA failed.

In almost three decades at Microsoft, Clinic spent over two years as Partner Group Program Manager of WSA. He "led the product team delivering the ability to run Android applications on Windows," as explained in his LinkedIn profile.

"This involved product definition internally but also with Amazon Store to deliver a store experience that integrated seamlessly with Windows and for the android applications to feel like native Windows applications. Grew the user base by >1000% in the first 3 months and helped Amazon bring 10's of thousands of android apps to Windows users," outlined Clinick.

More recently, he worked at Microsoft as Partner Group Program Manager of Windows AI Plugins and Partner Group Program Manager focusing on the developer program for Windows.

Clinick shared across several X (formerly Twitter) posts that WSA struggled to make money and that the lack of Google Play services support hurt the platform.

Clinick went as far to say that Google walking away was the nail in the coffin for WSA.

Microsoft and developers

Amazon has already stopped downloads of the Amazon Appstore through the Microsoft Store. (Image credit: Future)

The reason for Microsoft ending support for WSA shouldn't come as a surprise. "Store revenue pays the bills and salaries of the wsa team," explained Clinick. "WSL acrues to azure and vs so has a profit center. WSA without a store is awesome but doesn't help windows financially," said Clinick.

He echoed a sentiment that myself and others have said, that WSA is impressive but not viable financially. Given his work experience, I suspect Clinick understands that fact better than anyone.

When one X user asked why Microsoft partnered with Amazon rather than have Android apps directly in the Microsoft Store, Clinick pointed to the difficulty of getting apps into a store. "Turns out standing up a store and attracting apps is mighty difficult," said Clinick.

READ MORE: Amazon Appstore already removed from Microsoft Store

He also highlighted how much the lack of Google Play services affected Android apps on Windows. "Then you factor in that Google play services isn't there. Difficult to find an app with a large audience that doesn't use Google play services," Clinick said.

In a separate post, the former Microsoft employee discussed Google Play services again, stating, "No Google play services. Can't work around that really in a way that isn't hackastic."

This is a familiar story to those who have followed Microsoft and Windows news over the years. Microsoft has released several platforms and devices over the years only to have a lack of developer support and monetization block long-term viability.

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