Microsoft Weekly: more bugs in Windows 11 24H2, final builds, and more

In this episode of Microsoft Weekly, we recap a rather quiet week ahead of the holidays. We have a bunch of new Windows 11 version 24H2 bugs, some gaming news, Office updates, an overview of everything Microsoft deprecated in Windows 10 and 11 in 2024, and more.

Table of contents:

1. Windows 10 and 11 news
2. Windows Insider Program
3. Updates are available
4. Reviews are in
5. Gaming news

Windows 11 and 10

Here we talk about everything happening around Microsoft's latest operating system in the Stable channel and preview builds: new features, removed features, controversies, bugs, interesting findings, and more. And of course, you may find a word or two about older but still supported versions.

This week, Microsoft acknowledged more bugs in Windows 11 version 24H2. One affects gamers with the Auto HDR feature on Windows 11. If you use Auto HDR, version 24H2 will not be offered to you due to reported game crashes, display discolorations, and other annoyances. The second bug is not related to gaming, and it causes issues with audio output on systems with certain drivers.

If you do not like the limited set of features in Windows 11's built-in battery indicator, this small third-party app can help you. Battery Flyout is a new app that brings a proper flyout with a few extra features like a battery graph, a power mode slider, and a list of your Bluetooth accessories with their battery levels.

For those still sticking to Windows 10, Microsoft published an extensive list of various gaming features that Windows 11 brings to the table. If you play a lot of games on your PC, some of them might tempt you to pull the trigger and finally leave Windows 10 behind.

We are finishing this week's rather slim Windows 11 and 10 section with the annual list of deprecated and removed features. You can check out this article to learn more about what Microsoft removed or deprecated in its operating systems in 2024.

Windows Insider Program

Here is what Microsoft Released this week for testing in the Windows Insider Program:

With only one Windows 11 preview build released this week, Microsoft announced the end of 2024 for the Windows Insider Program. The next update is expected in January 2025, just like Windows 10's and 11's optional non-security update.

Updates are available

This section covers software, firmware, and other notable updates (released and coming soon) delivering new features, security fixes, improvements, patches, and more from Microsoft and third parties.

PowerToys received two updates this week. One was a major release to version 0.87. It introduced a new tool for Windows 10 users and improved a lot of existing utilities. Shortly after, a minor update landed with some quick patches.

Despite the overall slowdown due to holidays, Microsoft continues shipping updates for its products, namely the Office suite. For one, the company released a new Python tool that lets you convert files and office documents to Markdown. The Microsoft 365 app is getting a new icon with a reworked user interface somewhere in 2025.

Microsoft also acknowledged that it did not fix the 0x80049dd3 sign-in Outlook bug. As for some positive Outlook news, Microsoft is working on improvements to the offline mode in the new Outlook app for Windows.

Finally, Microsoft fixed activation issues in Office 2024 and offered a workaround for users facing the "license deactivated soon" error in Microsoft 365.

For Microsoft Edge users, the company released a security update that patched four vulnerabilities. Microsoft also shared some interesting stats about Edge usage in 2024, revealing that the browser saved over 7 million megabytes of memory thanks to the Sleeping Tabs feature. You can check out more information here.

Other notable updates include the following:

• Acronis backup and cloning app received Windows 11 24H2 support.
• Microsoft updated Bing Image Creator with the latest DALL-E 3 model.
• VMware released new updates for Workstation Pro and Player to address freezes and other bugs.

• Microsoft introduced Radar the Elf for this year's NORAD Santa Tracker.

   

And here are the newest drivers released this week:

• Intel 32.0.101.6325 WHQL and 32.0.101.6253 Non-WHQL with fixes for Arc B-Series cards.
• Intel Wi-Fi and Bluetooth driver 23.100.0

Reviews are in

Here is hardware and software we reviewed this week.

Robbie Khan conducted a head-to-head comparison of three controllers: GameSir Tarantula Pro, NYXI Master P1, and BEITONG Asura 2Pro+ NearLink. All three models have some nice features and quirks, but some of them are significantly worse than competitors. If you are in the market for a new controller, check out the review here.

If three controllers are not enough, here is a detailed review of the GameSir Cyclone 2, a gamepad with great specs, solid performance, and a decent price tag. There are only a few minor downsides, like a cheap USB cable and a quirky trigger mode switch.

Steven Parker reviewed the TerraMaster T12-500 Pro, an affordable network-attached storage for small and medium-sized businesses that can also work well in home environments. It has great build quality, solid hardware, dual 10Gbps ports, and is one of the latest low-powered Intel processors. The price is not cheap, but you get a lot for the money.

On the gaming side

Learn about upcoming game releases, Xbox rumors, new hardware, software updates, freebies, deals, discounts and more.

Machine Games released an update for Indiana Jones and The Great Circle to address lighting issues on Xbox, DLSS bugs on PC, and various gameplay problems in the game.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl also received a big update. In fact, the changelog lists over 1,800 bug fixes and critical improvements for the simulation engine.

There are new signs that Microsoft is bringing more classic Call of Duty games to Game Pass. This week, users noticed that titles like Call of Duty: Ghosts, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Call of Duty: WWII, and Call of Duty: Black Ops III landed in the Microsoft Store.

If you play games on a PC with an Nvidia graphics card, pay attention to the new Nvidia app. Users noticed that it causes significant performance downgrades, with some titles losing up to 15% fps. As it later turned out, toggling one feature off in the app restores the lost performance.

PC gamers can also check out Steam Replay 2024, a yearly gaming recap with interesting stats and cool facts, such as the most popular game of the year, genre breakdown, overall gameplay time, and more. By the way, Microsoft launched a similar thing earlier this month.

Nvidia expanded the list of available games on GeForce NOW with four new titles: NieR:Automata, NieR Replicant, Replikant Chat, and Zenless Zone Zero.

Deals and freebies

Steam's Winter Sale is now in full swing, giving you a chance to purchase multiple games at big discounts from December 19 to January 2. Also, the Epic Games Store gives away a new game every day, so be sure to check the store for some new freebies.

As usual, more deals and specials are available in our weekly Weekend PC Game Deals series.

Other gaming news include the following:

• Ubisoft is reportedly developing an extraction shooter set in the Far Cry universe.

• Ubisoft launched XDefiant's biggest update yet, but the game is still shutting down.

• Helldivers 2's first crossover is with Killzone, which is out now on PS5 and PC.

• Ubisoft stealthily added Steam achievements to Ghost Recon Wildlands and Breakpoint.

   

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