Windows 11 Canary Channel build 25982 adds Copilot, SMB client encryption and more.

Microsoft has started rolling out the new Windows 11 build for members of the Windows Insider Program in the Canary Channel. The new build number is 25982. It will gradually add support for Microsoft's new Copilot generative AI for Windows, along with support for SMB client encryption and more.

Here is the changelog:

What’s new in Build 25982

 

Copilot in Windows* in Preview

 

We are beginning to roll out Copilot in Windows in preview to Windows Insiders in the Canary Channel. Rolling this out in the Canary Channel to Insiders in the select global markets mentioned below will be gradual, so some Insiders will not see it immediately.

 

Copilot in Windows on Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25982.

 

As Yusuf mentioned in his blog post last month, you can use Copilot to get help with summarizing a web page, composing an email, changing your settings to dark mode, or generating an image for that unique idea in your head. Need to enable Bluetooth or connect a new pair of headphones? Copilot can help. Not sure of the best way to capture a screenshot? Ask Copilot to do it for you. Copilot in Windows can change the way you use your PC and inspire you to try new things that you may not have thought of before. It is where productivity and creativity meet.

 

To get started, look for the Copilot icon on the taskbar or simply press WIN + C to launch Copilot in Windows using the same Microsoft account (MSA) or Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory) account that you use to sign in on Windows.

 

Just click the “…” icon at the top right of the side bar in Windows Copilot to submit feedback on any issues you run into.

 

[We are beginning to roll this out, so the experience isn’t available to all Insiders in the Canary Channel just yet as we plan to monitor feedback and see how it lands before pushing it out to everyone.]

 

Availability*: Copilot in Windows in preview is being rolled out gradually to Windows Insiders in select global markets. The initial markets for the Copilot in Windows preview include North America, United Kingdom and parts of Asia and South America. It is our intention to add additional markets over time.

 

SMB client encryption

 

Starting with this build (Build 25982), SMB now supports requiring encryption of all outbound SMB client connections. With this new option, administrators can mandate that all destination servers use SMB 3 and encryption, and if missing those capabilities, the client won’t connect. This enforces the highest level of network security as well as bringing management parity to SMB signing, which allows both client and server requirements.

 

For more information on configuring this SMB client encryption, review https://aka.ms/SmbClientEncrypt. For more information on SMB encryption, review https://aka.ms/SmbEncrypt.

 

Changes and Improvements

 

[Networking]

 

• Discovery of Network-designated Resolvers (DNR) is an upcoming internet standard to discover encrypted DNS servers. Until today, Windows Insiders users had to find out the IP address of their desired encrypted DNS server and manually enter it to configure client-side encrypted DNS on their machine. DNR will enable Windows Insider users to use encrypted DNS protocols like DNS over HTTPS (DoH) and DNS over TLS (DoT) on the client-side without requiring manual configuration. Client-side support for DNR is now available in Windows Insiders Insider Preview Build 25982 and higher. For more information, read this blog post.

 

[Dev Drive]

 

• ReFS filesystem Block Cloning Support is now available in the Windows copy engine. ReFS already supports Block Cloning, so this feature adds native support to copy actions and APIs on Windows. This feature improves the performance of ReFS volumes including Dev Drive volumes for build scenarios or any other copy intensive scenarios, the larger the files being copied the larger the savings.

 

[Remote Desktop]

 

• We’ve updated Remote Desktop Connection (mstsc.exe) to now support zoom options of 350, 400, 450, and 500%.

 

[Settings]

 

• If you’re in light mode, the show accent colour on Start and taskbar toggle is greyed out by design and we now show an information bullet that makes it more clear the setting is only available in Windows dark mode.

 

Fixes for known issues

 

• Fixed an issue causing voice access to crash for Insiders in the Canary Channel when dictating text.
• Fixed a few issues which could lead to hangs when launching File Explorer.
• Fixed an issue causing the print queue to be inaccessible and show an error if you tried to open it.

 

Known issues

 

Some popular games may not work correctly on the most recent Insider Preview builds in the Canary Channel. Please be sure to submit feedback in Feedback Hub on any issues you see with playing games on these builds.

You can check out the full blog post here.

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