Microsoft's incremental dismantling of the classic Control Panel continued this week with Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27928, as Microsoft moves several legacy time, language and regional controls into the modern Settings app — a small but meaningful step in a migration that has quietly stretched over more than a decade. (blogs.windows.com)
The idea of replacing the traditional Control Panel with a modern Settings app is not new. Microsoft introduced the first-generation "PC Settings" in Windows 8 as a touch-friendly complement to Control Panel, and the Settings app evolved substantially across Windows 10 and Windows 11 as more functionality was ported over. That migration has always been gradual: Microsoft has frequently moved individual applets or redirected specific Control Panel pages to equivalent Settings pages, rather than ripping everything out in a single release. (en.wikipedia.org, theverge.com)
This incremental approach has left Windows with a bimodal configuration UX: some options live in Settings, while others remain in Control Panel. The duality has created friction for users and administrators who must search two places for configuration tasks, and for developers who still rely on classic applets and control-panel GUIDs. Microsoft’s strategy appears to be consolidation by repetition: keep incrementally adding parity to Settings until the legacy pieces in Control Panel are reduced to a handful of hard-to-port items. The Canary Channel build released August 20, 2025 is the latest example in that long-running program. (blogs.windows.com)
That piecemeal redirection matters for administrators and scripts that rely on Control Panel GUIDs, .cpl files, or automation paths. Many legacy management workflows call control.exe with an applet GUID; when Microsoft redirects an applet, some of those automation scenarios will break or require updating. Tools and documentation that rely on Control Panel behavior should be audited and tested on Windows Insider builds to detect regressions early. Observers on technical forums and in sysadmin communities have flagged these transition pains for years, urging Microsoft to either keep dual access or provide documented APIs for automation parity. (reddit.com, answers.microsoft.com)
Independent reporters and forum users have repeatedly noted that the Settings app still has edge cases where functionality is incomplete, elevation prompts misbehave, or advanced controls are missing compared with Control Panel. These gaps present real-world friction for power users and IT staff who expect predictable behavior from system configuration tools. (pureinfotech.com, reddit.com)
Where Microsoft will draw the final line — and on what schedule — remains unclear. The company historically avoids sudden removals and tends to prefer a long transition with fallback compatibility. That means enterprise planners should assume Control Panel will still exist for the next major Windows releases, but with an increasing number of redirects and missing applets over time. (theverge.com)
At the same time, the pace and piecemeal nature of the migration create cumulative operational friction. Automation breakage, UX inconsistencies, and the need for repeated documentation updates fall disproportionally on IT and power‑user communities. Microsoft’s cautious method reduces single-release risk, but it increases the total number of change events administrators must track.
For most individual users the changes will be an invisible improvement: a single place to manage clocks, formats, and language settings. For enterprises and power users, these releases are signals to audit dependencies, update automation, and increase testing cadence on Insider previews. The practical advice is to treat the Settings-Control Panel migration as an ongoing project: inventory reliance on legacy applets, establish mapping to new Settings targets, and embrace ms-settings URIs and supported management APIs where possible.
Microsoft is not rushing the Control Panel out the door; it’s methodically shrinking its role. That strategy may be frustrating for some, reassuring for others, and ultimately sensible for a platform that must balance backward compatibility with modernization. The Control Panel is not dead yet — but every Insider flight like Build 27928 narrows the range of reasons to keep using it. (blogs.windows.com, pureinfotech.com)
Conclusion
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27928 continues a quiet, long-running migration: more Control Panel functionality is becoming part of the modern Settings app. The incremental moves improve discoverability and modernize the UI, but they also amplify the maintenance burden for administrators and power users who still depend on legacy Control Panel behaviors. The prudent course for organizations is to inventory dependencies, test Insider builds in controlled rings, and migrate automation to supported settings URIs and management APIs. Microsoft’s slow, deliberate method reduces the danger of sudden breakage, but it also means the Control Panel will remain a familiar — if progressively smaller — part of Windows for the foreseeable future. (blogs.windows.com, theverge.com)
Source: BetaNews Microsoft is still slowly chipping away at the Control Panel in Windows 11
The idea of replacing the traditional Control Panel with a modern Settings app is not new. Microsoft introduced the first-generation "PC Settings" in Windows 8 as a touch-friendly complement to Control Panel, and the Settings app evolved substantially across Windows 10 and Windows 11 as more functionality was ported over. That migration has always been gradual: Microsoft has frequently moved individual applets or redirected specific Control Panel pages to equivalent Settings pages, rather than ripping everything out in a single release. (en.wikipedia.org, theverge.com)This incremental approach has left Windows with a bimodal configuration UX: some options live in Settings, while others remain in Control Panel. The duality has created friction for users and administrators who must search two places for configuration tasks, and for developers who still rely on classic applets and control-panel GUIDs. Microsoft’s strategy appears to be consolidation by repetition: keep incrementally adding parity to Settings until the legacy pieces in Control Panel are reduced to a handful of hard-to-port items. The Canary Channel build released August 20, 2025 is the latest example in that long-running program. (blogs.windows.com)
What changed in Build 27928 (Canary)
Microsoft’s official release notes for Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27928 list several specific movements of time, language, and region controls from the Control Panel to Settings. These are not headline features, but they close small, real-world gaps that required users to hop between Settings and Control Panel for related tasks. The main moves in this build include: (blogs.windows.com)- Additional clocks: You can now add and manage extra clocks from Settings > Time & language > Date & time. These additional clocks appear in the Notification Center and in the taskbar clock tooltip, matching the behavior users expect from the old Control Panel option. (blogs.windows.com)
- Time server (NTP) selection: The choice of which Internet time server to use (Network Time Protocol) is now exposed under Settings > Time & language > Date & time > Additional settings. (blogs.windows.com)
- Date/time formatting: Formatting controls, including the ability to change the AM/PM symbol, have been moved to Settings > Time & language > Date & time (previously under Language & region). This consolidates formatting into a single, more discoverable page. (blogs.windows.com)
- Number and currency formats: Those regional formatting options are now available under Settings > Time & language > Language & region > Region. (blogs.windows.com)
- Unicode UTF‑8 toggle: A user-facing toggle to enable the “Unicode UTF‑8 for worldwide language support” (the global UTF‑8 option) is now present in Settings > Time & language > Language & region > Language. (blogs.windows.com)
- Copy language and region settings: The ability to copy the current user's language and region settings to the welcome screen, system account, and new user accounts now appears in Settings > Time & language > Language & region > Additional settings. (blogs.windows.com)
Why these moves matter (and why they’re small but strategic)
At first glance, adding a toggle for UTF‑8 or moving an AM/PM symbol editor into Settings looks minor. In aggregate, however, these changes deliver three strategic outcomes:- Improved discoverability and consistency — grouping time-and-language controls in one place reduces cognitive overhead. Users who need to adjust locale, formatting, and clock behavior no longer need to guess which UI hosts each item.
- Modern UI parity and accessibility — the Settings app uses the modern accessibility and input frameworks Windows has been developing for UWP/WinUI-based interfaces. Migrating features allows Microsoft to apply consistent accessibility practices and telemetry. This is particularly important for language and formatting options that affect international users. (blogs.windows.com)
- Simpler lifecycle and maintenance — maintaining and evolving a single configuration surface is easier than supporting two parallel systems for the same functions. Over time, this reduces technical debt and improves update velocity.
The technical reality: redirects, parity, and persistent legacy applets
History shows Microsoft will sometimes redirect Control Panel applets to Settings equivalents rather than keeping both accessible. For example, in prior Windows 10 releases Microsoft began redirecting the System Control Panel applet to Settings > System > About and has blocked or redirected other applets over time. The company’s strategy mixes redirection with gradual feature parity, meaning that even when a Control Panel page appears to vanish, an equivalent setting is often available somewhere in Settings — but not always in the same format or with identical advanced options. (ghacks.net, learn.microsoft.com)That piecemeal redirection matters for administrators and scripts that rely on Control Panel GUIDs, .cpl files, or automation paths. Many legacy management workflows call control.exe with an applet GUID; when Microsoft redirects an applet, some of those automation scenarios will break or require updating. Tools and documentation that rely on Control Panel behavior should be audited and tested on Windows Insider builds to detect regressions early. Observers on technical forums and in sysadmin communities have flagged these transition pains for years, urging Microsoft to either keep dual access or provide documented APIs for automation parity. (reddit.com, answers.microsoft.com)
Usability and stability: Settings is improving, but not flawless
Build 27928 also includes a fix for a Settings crash when adding a security key under Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options. That fix reflects the ongoing reality: as more functionality migrates to Settings, stability and UX polish are essential. Microsoft’s release notes also list numerous other fixes and known issues for this Canary flight, including potential DWM crashes and problems with Storage > Temporary files scanning. Those known issues underscore the Canary Channel’s role as a testing ground — useful signals for IT pros but not always safe for production deployment. (blogs.windows.com)Independent reporters and forum users have repeatedly noted that the Settings app still has edge cases where functionality is incomplete, elevation prompts misbehave, or advanced controls are missing compared with Control Panel. These gaps present real-world friction for power users and IT staff who expect predictable behavior from system configuration tools. (pureinfotech.com, reddit.com)
What this means for administrators, enterprises and power users
Organizations that manage Windows fleets must treat the Settings-Control Panel migration as operational risk to manage, not a cosmetic change. Practical consequences and recommended steps include:- Inventory Control Panel dependencies
- Audit scripts, Group Policy templates, and helpdesk runbooks for explicit calls to Control Panel applets (control.exe, shell:::{GUID}, or .cpl files).
- Note which applets have Settings equivalents and where they are located. Some applets now redirect; others may still require legacy access. (blogs.windows.com, ghacks.net)
- Test automation and elevation flows
- Validate PowerShell, management tools, and scheduled tasks that interact with system settings. Settings pages use different elevation models than some Control Panel dialogs; non-admin prompts may behave differently. (pureinfotech.com)
- Update internal documentation and user guidance
- Helpdesk knowledge bases should map old Control Panel locations to new Settings pages. Include screenshots and exact navigation paths (for example: Settings > Time & language > Date & time > Additional settings). (blogs.windows.com)
- Use Insider builds for early detection
- Run Canary/Beta Insider builds in a staged test pool to spot breaking changes before they reach broad deployment. Insider release notes provide advance warning of parity moves and known issues. (blogs.windows.com)
- Plan for long-term transition
- Avoid building permanent operational dependencies on Control Panel applets. Where possible, adopt supported APIs, Group Policy, and MDM configuration profiles that are version-resilient.
Strengths of Microsoft’s approach
- Cautious, incremental migration reduces large-scale regressions. Moving small feature sets lets Microsoft validate UX and telemetry before wider rollouts. This lowers the likelihood of a catastrophic one-time removal that breaks admin tooling at scale. (blogs.windows.com)
- Consolidating discoverability helps everyday users. For non-technical users, a single, logically organized Settings app is easier to navigate than hunting through a Control Panel that still retains legacy groupings and less intuitive labels. (en.wikipedia.org)
- Opportunity to modernize accessibility and telemetry. Porting to the Settings app allows Microsoft to apply modern accessibility practices and gather better usage telemetry to prioritize further improvements.
Risks and downsides
- Automation and legacy tooling breakage. Administrators who depend on .cpl GUIDs or Control Panel automation must update scripts and workflows. The pace of change — slow from a headline perspective but relentless in practice — raises the maintenance burden for enterprise IT teams. (ghacks.net, reddit.com)
- Feature and parity gaps remain. Some advanced settings and diagnostic links historically present in Control Panel are either absent in Settings or reachable only through complex redirect sequences, impacting troubleshooting workflows. (answers.microsoft.com)
- Potential for inconsistent UX and regressions. The Settings app and Control Panel have different models for elevation, modal dialogs, and layout. Incomplete ports can introduce confusing user flows and unexpected behavior in privileged operations. Microsoft’s own release notes for Canary builds list stability issues — a reminder that this is active development. (blogs.windows.com)
- Change management fatigue. Long, incremental migrations can be more disruptive than a single planned cutover: users and admins must adapt repeatedly to small differences rather than a single coordinated migration plan.
Practical workarounds and short-term tactics
- Create a mapping document: list Control Panel applets and the corresponding Settings paths. Start with high‑value items like Date & time, Region, Network, and Programs & Features.
- Use direct shell URIs for Settings pages in scripts and shortcuts (for example, ms-settings:time-date). These are more future‑resilient than control.exe calls. Verify ms-settings URIs in your environment as their parameters can vary by build.
- For tasks that currently lack Settings parity, maintain small helper scripts that use legacy GUIDs but include detection logic to switch to Settings URIs when available.
- Train helpdesk staff to search Settings and use the Feedback Hub when Settings functionality is missing or regressions are discovered; Microsoft monitors Insider feedback and sometimes responds to volume. (blogs.windows.com, learn.microsoft.com)
Timeline and prognosis: Control Panel’s near-term future
Control Panel will not disappear overnight. Microsoft’s Canary Channel release notes explicitly describe these moves as part of an ongoing effort and warn that Canary builds represent early platform changes that may not map to any specific Windows release. Past behavior indicates Microsoft will continue to migrate items piecemeal until Settings achieves functional parity for the majority of common tasks. Independent reporting and historical redirections show this migration has already been in progress since Windows 8 and accelerated under Windows 10 and 11, yet legacy pieces linger. The result: Control Panel is likely to persist — in some form — across several future OS releases even as its role steadily shrinks. (blogs.windows.com, theverge.com)Where Microsoft will draw the final line — and on what schedule — remains unclear. The company historically avoids sudden removals and tends to prefer a long transition with fallback compatibility. That means enterprise planners should assume Control Panel will still exist for the next major Windows releases, but with an increasing number of redirects and missing applets over time. (theverge.com)
Final analysis: measured progress, persistent friction
Build 27928 demonstrates Microsoft’s pragmatic, risk-averse approach to migrating legacy settings into the modern Settings app. The moves in this flight are small, user-facing parity adjustments that reduce context switching for time, language, and region settings — and they do offer tangible usability improvements.At the same time, the pace and piecemeal nature of the migration create cumulative operational friction. Automation breakage, UX inconsistencies, and the need for repeated documentation updates fall disproportionally on IT and power‑user communities. Microsoft’s cautious method reduces single-release risk, but it increases the total number of change events administrators must track.
For most individual users the changes will be an invisible improvement: a single place to manage clocks, formats, and language settings. For enterprises and power users, these releases are signals to audit dependencies, update automation, and increase testing cadence on Insider previews. The practical advice is to treat the Settings-Control Panel migration as an ongoing project: inventory reliance on legacy applets, establish mapping to new Settings targets, and embrace ms-settings URIs and supported management APIs where possible.
Microsoft is not rushing the Control Panel out the door; it’s methodically shrinking its role. That strategy may be frustrating for some, reassuring for others, and ultimately sensible for a platform that must balance backward compatibility with modernization. The Control Panel is not dead yet — but every Insider flight like Build 27928 narrows the range of reasons to keep using it. (blogs.windows.com, pureinfotech.com)
Conclusion
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27928 continues a quiet, long-running migration: more Control Panel functionality is becoming part of the modern Settings app. The incremental moves improve discoverability and modernize the UI, but they also amplify the maintenance burden for administrators and power users who still depend on legacy Control Panel behaviors. The prudent course for organizations is to inventory dependencies, test Insider builds in controlled rings, and migrate automation to supported settings URIs and management APIs. Microsoft’s slow, deliberate method reduces the danger of sudden breakage, but it also means the Control Panel will remain a familiar — if progressively smaller — part of Windows for the foreseeable future. (blogs.windows.com, theverge.com)
Source: BetaNews Microsoft is still slowly chipping away at the Control Panel in Windows 11