Microsoft has quietly shipped small but important updates to the Windows 11 Release Preview channel — Build 26100.6718 for Windows 11 version 24H2 and Build 26200.6718 for 25H2 — rolling several stability fixes and clarifications into the pre-release stream while delaying one headline feature...
Microsoft is slipping keyboard backlight controls into Windows 11’s Settings app, putting hardware lighting adjustments a few clicks away and folding legacy keyboard options into the modern configuration surface.
Background / Overview
Microsoft’s Settings app has been steadily absorbing features...
Microsoft’s latest Windows 11 Insider preview builds quietly add a one‑click internet speed‑test shortcut to the taskbar network flyout — but the shortcut simply opens Bing’s web‑based speed test rather than running a native, offline measurement — and the same builds also include a subtle but...
ai in windows
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beta
beta build 26120
beta channel
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bing
bing speed test
bing tools
bing widget
bing-speed-test
bluetooth and devices
browser
browser launch
browser widget
browser-based
browser-based test
browser-based-test
browser-launch
canary
cli tools
cloud-based
connectivity
dev
dev build 26220
dev channel
dev-channel
diagnostics
edge
edge browser
edge-browser
enterprise
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enterprise policy
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enterprise-privacy
group policy
insider
insider build
insider preview
insider preview build
insider-preview
internet speed
internet speed test
internet-diagnostics
internet-performance
internet-speed
internet-speed-test
iperf
iperf3
it admin
it administration
it administrators
itadminsit-admin
kb5065782
latency
mdm
microsoft
microsoft ux
mobile devices
native diagnostics
native tools
native vs web diagnostics
native-diagnostics
native-vs-web
network
network diagnostics
network flyout
network icon
network speed test
network tray
network troubleshooting
network-diagnostics
network-icon
network-troubleshooting
networking
one click
one-click
one-click-test
ookla
ookla speedtest
ookla-speedtest
pc troubleshooting
power users
preview
preview build
privacy
privacy and security
privacy telemetry
quick settings
quick-settings
settings refresh
shortcut
speed test
speed test launcher
speed test tools
speed testing tools
speed-test
speedtest
speedtest by ookla
speedtest cli
speedtest widget
speedtest-cli
speedtest-ookla
system tray
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taskbar
telemetry
third-party tests
throughput
troubleshooting-tool
ui-ux
user experience
user-experience
ux
web based test
web launcher
web shortcut
web widget
web-based
web-based diagnostics
web-based test
web-service
web-tool
web-widget
wi-fi
wi-fi quick settings
wifi
wifi settings
wifi-settings
windows 11
windows 11 insider
windows insider
windows updates
windows ux
windows-11
windows-insider
windows11
Microsoft has marked a months‑old audio compatibility problem that blocked a subset of devices from receiving the Windows 11, version 24H2 feature update as resolved, after a vendor driver was published via Windows Update and the compatibility safeguard (safeguard ID 54283088) was removed for...
Microsoft has quietly opened the gates: Windows 11 version 25H2 is now available to testers in the Windows Insider Release Preview channel as a small, fast enablement package that flips features already staged in the 24H2 servicing branch — which means you can install the 2025 annual update on...
Windows 11’s 25H2 installer has arrived for testers, but the copy available today is a Release Preview disk image (ISO) and still a preview build — meaning most users should sit tight and wait for the official, staged rollout through Windows Update rather than rushing to download and manually...
25h2
ai features
copilot
driver validation
ekb
enablement package
enterprise it
iso
itadmins
lab testing
pc imaging
powershell 2.0
release preview
rollout strategy
vendor certification
windows 11
windows insider
windows update
wmic
wsus
Rufus, the go-to utility for creating bootable USB drives, has a new pre-release floating around that Neowin reports adds explicit support for Windows 11 25H2 ISOs and several convenience and reliability features — but the details matter for IT teams and power users, and not all of the claims...
beta software
bootable usb
dark mode
dbx
ekb
enterprise imaging
error reporting
github releases
iso
iso to drive
itadmins
media creation tool
recovery media
rufus
secure boot
udf
vhdx
windows 11
windows 11 25h2
Microsoft quietly pulled back the promised ISO images for Windows 11, version 25H2 this week, updating its Release Preview announcement to say the ISOs are “delayed and coming soon” even as the update itself lands in the Release Preview channel as an enablement-package style release...
Microsoft’s September Patch Tuesday has quietly closed two disruptive Windows regressions introduced in August — one that interfered with MSI-based app installs by unexpectedly surfacing User Account Control (UAC) prompts for standard users, and another that crippled NDI-based streaming...
cve-2025-50173
display capture
itadmins
kb5065426
kir
msi
msi allowlist
ndi
ndi performance
obs
patch tuesday
release health
rudp
streamers
streamlabs
uac
windows 10
windows 11
Microsoft’s quiet entry on the Windows deprecation list this summer signals a decisive end to another generation of web integration in the OS: Legacy Web View, EdgeHTML-based web apps, legacy PWAs, and the EdgeHTML DevTools are now officially deprecated, and developers are being pushed toward...
Microsoft is reportedly planning to block fresh installations of Outlook Lite starting in October 2025 as it prepares a broader retirement of the app, forcing users who rely on a lightweight, battery-friendly client to either remain on an aging build or move to the full Outlook for Mobile...
android
android apps
app deprecation
app retirement
battery efficiency
browser fallback
conditional access
consolidation
data sync
deprecation
device compatibility
device modernization
email apps
endpoint management
enterprise apps
enterprise ititadmins
lightweight apps
lightweight client
lite mode
low bandwidth
low data usage
low end devices
low-end devices
mdm
mfa
microsoft
microsoft 365
migration
mobile inbox
october 2025
outlook for android
outlook for mobile
outlook lite
outlook mobile
outlook on windows
play store
privacy
pwa
regional impact
security
sms integration
user experience
web fallback
webmail
Phison has publicly acknowledged and replicated a key finding first raised by the PCDIY community: a wave of disappearing and allegedly “bricked” NVMe SSDs linked in timing to Windows 11’s August cumulative update (KB5063878) appears to have been driven, in at least some test cases, by...
Microsoft’s PowerToys is about to plug one of Windows 11’s most persistent annoyances: a built‑in way to automatically switch between Light and Dark modes on a user-defined schedule — delivered as a PowerToys module rather than via the core Settings app.
Background / Overview
For years Windows...
accessibility
apps theme
auto theme
auto theme switch
dark mode
dark theme
enterprise it
explorer
explorerrefresh
github
group policy
itadmins
light mode
light theme
mdm
microsoft store
night light
oled battery
open source
powertoys
registry
settings
sunrise sunset
system theme
theme scheduler
ui consistency
user experience
ux
wallpaper sync
windows 11
windows registry
wm_settingchange
Microsoft’s PowerToys team has quietly moved to fill a conspicuous gap in Windows’ personalization features: beginning with PowerToys v0.94 the project teased a scheduled automatic theme switching utility that will let Windows switch between light and dark modes on a timetable — a capability...
Microsoft quietly added a native option in Windows 11 to push your PC clipboard to Android — and in early hands‑on testing it appears to land inside any Android keyboard that reads the system clipboard, including Gboard. (windowslatest.com)
Overview
Windows 11’s clipboard has long been more than...
android
android keyboard
clipboard
clipboard history
clipboard sync
clipboard-history
clipboard-sync
clipboardhistory
clipboardsync
cloud clipboard
cloud sync
cloud-clipboard
continuity
copy paste
copy-paste
cross device
cross-device
cross-device clipboard
cross-device copy
cross-device paste
cross-device productivity
cross-platform
crossdevice
data loss prevention
data privacy
data transfer
data-privacy
dataprotection
dev channel
dev-channel
devchannel
dlp
enterprise
enterprise it
enterprise security
enterprise-it
enterprise-security
gboard
ime integration
insider
insider preview
insider program
insider-dev
insider-preview
intune
iphone absence
it admin
itadmins
keyboard
keyboard agnostic
keyboard-agnostic
link to windows
link-to-windows
linktowindows
mdm
microsoft
microsoft account
microsoft support
microsoft-support
mobile devices
native-clipboard
phone link
phone-link
phonelink
privacy
privacy security
productivity
samsung keyboard
samsung-keyboard
samsungkeyboard
security
security privacy
support documentation
swiftkey
sync across devices
sync-across-devices
syncacrossdevices
system clipboard
universal clipboard
universal-clipboard
windows 11
windows clipboard history
windows-11
windows11
Windows 11’s next annual feature update is now moving from staged preview into its final validation ring: Microsoft has made Windows 11, version 25H2 available to Release Preview Insiders and commercial customers for targeted testing, delivered as an enablement package on top of the 24H2...
StatCounter’s latest tracking shows Windows 11 has climbed to roughly the halfway mark of Windows desktop installs — a milestone that reflects accelerating migration away from Windows 10 as Microsoft’s October 14, 2025 end‑of‑support deadline approaches. (gs.statcounter.com)
The headline numbers...
august 2025
desktop market share
end of support
end of support date
esu
hardware refresh
hardware requirements
itadmins
microsoft
microsoft windows
migration
migration planning
october 14, 2025
oem preloads
os market share
pc health check
release health
sampling bias
secure boot
statcounter
steam hardware survey
tpm 2.0
upgrade readiness
web analytics
windows 10
windows 11
windows 11 24h2
windows 11 adoption
windows 7
windows migration
windows os market share
A wave of community test results and vendor confirmations this week has put the latest Windows 11 cumulative update under a harsh spotlight: several SSDs can disappear from Windows during sustained, large write operations after installing the August 12, 2025 update (KB5063878), with a...
Microsoft's decision to retire the Mobile Plans app for Windows marks the end of a small but strategic piece of the company's push to make cellular connectivity a first-class feature on PCs, and it raises immediate questions for users of eSIM-enabled laptops, OEMs, and mobile operators about...
File Explorer is fine for most people — and with six focused PowerToys add‑ons it can be quietly transformed into a faster, smarter, and more forgiving file manager without leaving the familiar Windows shell.
Overview
Windows File Explorer has improved over the years, but it still leaves gaps...