Microsoft today pushed another Dev Channel flight: Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.6690 (KB5065786), a focused cumulative update for Insiders running Windows 11, version 25H2, that continues the program’s push to fold Copilot-driven experiences deeper into the shell while addressing a set of reliability and device-specific regressions. The flight, published on September 19, 2025, expands Click to Do capabilities (including Copilot-powered translation on Copilot+ PCs), experiments with sharing windows directly to Copilot from the taskbar, and includes a handful of targeted fixes — but it also ships with known hardware and driver caveats Insiders must weigh before installing. (blogs.windows.com)
Windows Insider Dev Channel flights have moved into the 26220.xxxx family as Microsoft tests more ambitious Copilot and accessibility features ahead of broader release. These Dev-only build numbers — surfaced via enablement-package servicing for 25H2 — are intentionally experimental: Microsoft uses server-side “Controlled Feature Rollout” toggles to gate features to subsets of devices, collect telemetry, and iterate based on feedback before any wider rollout. The blog post for Build 26220.6690 reiterates that approach and the build’s KB identifier, confirming the flight’s target (Dev Channel, 25H2) and publication date. (blogs.windows.com)
Independent coverage and community trackers echo Microsoft’s focus for September flights: small-to-medium user-visible AI improvements (Click to Do/Copilot surfaces), accessibility work (Narrator / Braille tooling earlier in the cycle), and ongoing stability fixes that matter for creators and testers. Those outside write-ups provide operational context — for example, that Copilot+ experiences are often hardware gated and that the rollout may exclude regions such as the EEA initially. (windowscentral.com)
Independent technology outlets covering the September Insider cycle corroborate the same themes: deeper Copilot integration in contextual surfaces (Click to Do, taskbar), incremental accessibility improvements, and an emphasis on controlled rollouts that gate features by hardware class (Copilot+ PCs), region, or server-side flags. Those third-party write-ups also call out the same practical cautions for streamers and developers — for example, camera/Studio Effects quirks and PIX playback incompatibility — which helps triangulate Microsoft’s documented limitations. (windowscentral.com)
Community-managed Windows forums and leak/ISO trackers also reflect the build’s distribution mechanics (UUP/ISO availability) and provide hands-on notes about whether the KB matches entries in third-party trackers — worth verifying against Flight Hub or Windows Update on an affected PC if you require exact KB parity for lab tracking. Those forums reiterate Microsoft’s recommendation: don’t deploy Dev Channel builds on production devices. (elevenforum.com)
Cautionary note on claims that are not directly documented: a few community posts have suggested specific rollout timelines for Copilot features across AMD/Intel Copilot+ hardware or exact telemetry behavior for on-device ML models; unless those are explicitly spelled out in Microsoft’s official blog or support docs, treat such timing forecasts as speculative. Microsoft’s posts consistently emphasize “staged” availability and that features may be changed or removed during preview. (blogs.windows.com)
The build’s emphasis on contextual AI — translation in Click to Do, the ability to share a window with Copilot Vision from the taskbar — shows Microsoft’s intent to make Copilot a first-class actor in the OS. If these interactions prove reliable and privacy-respectful (server-side vs on-device processing will vary by feature), they could materially change how users consume, extract, and act on information on Windows over the next release cycles. Independent coverage and community trackers are already noting this pattern across September’s Dev/Beta flights. (windowscentral.com)
A persistent operational friction: tooling and driver ecosystems must keep pace. PIX and external-camera regressions are case studies in why preview builds are risky for developers and creators — until PIX and camera firmware providers publish compatible updates, affected workflows will be disrupted. Microsoft’s own blog acknowledges these gaps and offers workarounds, but the onus remains on developers and OEMs to update drivers and tools promptly. (blogs.windows.com)
Source: Microsoft - Windows Insiders Blog Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.6690 (Dev Channel)
Background / Overview
Windows Insider Dev Channel flights have moved into the 26220.xxxx family as Microsoft tests more ambitious Copilot and accessibility features ahead of broader release. These Dev-only build numbers — surfaced via enablement-package servicing for 25H2 — are intentionally experimental: Microsoft uses server-side “Controlled Feature Rollout” toggles to gate features to subsets of devices, collect telemetry, and iterate based on feedback before any wider rollout. The blog post for Build 26220.6690 reiterates that approach and the build’s KB identifier, confirming the flight’s target (Dev Channel, 25H2) and publication date. (blogs.windows.com)Independent coverage and community trackers echo Microsoft’s focus for September flights: small-to-medium user-visible AI improvements (Click to Do/Copilot surfaces), accessibility work (Narrator / Braille tooling earlier in the cycle), and ongoing stability fixes that matter for creators and testers. Those outside write-ups provide operational context — for example, that Copilot+ experiences are often hardware gated and that the rollout may exclude regions such as the EEA initially. (windowscentral.com)
What’s new in Build 26220.6690 — Key highlights
Click to Do: Copilot translation and on-screen actions (Copilot+ PCs)
- Copilot-powered translation: When Click to Do detects text that differs from the device’s display or preferred language, Insiders on Copilot+ PCs with the Copilot prompt box will see a translation suggestion that sends selected text to the Copilot app for translation. This feature is staged and not rolling out to the EEA or China at this time. (blogs.windows.com)
- This continues Microsoft’s pattern of placing AI actions directly into contextual selection workflows to reduce friction when moving from observation to action (translate → copy/share → create). Independent reporting highlights this same Copilot/Cick-to-Do trend across recent Dev flights. (windowscentral.com)
Taskbar & System Tray: Share a window to Copilot
- New taskbar hover affordance: when hovering over a window on the taskbar, you may see an option to share with Copilot. That triggers a Copilot conversation that can use Copilot Vision to scan and analyze the content of that window. This is an experimental UX intended to let Copilot act on live app content. (blogs.windows.com)
Desktop Spotlight and Settings UX polish
- Desktop Spotlight gains contextual menu options like “Learn more about this background” and “Next desktop background.” This is a minor but useful discovery improvement for Spotlight users. (blogs.windows.com)
- Settings > Accounts was retitled and refreshed as “Your accounts” to centralize account management across Windows and apps. This is a UX refinement intended to simplify account discovery and configuration. (blogs.windows.com)
Fixes rolling out (toggle-gated and general)
- File Explorer: fix for an unresponsive state when a UNC server name was typed directly into the address bar. (blogs.windows.com)
- Windows Update: fix for installs failing with error 0x80070002 on some Insiders. (blogs.windows.com)
- Audio: a previously reported audio failure after recent updates has been addressed in this flight; Microsoft notes multiple root causes can exist and asks Insiders to report continued issues via Feedback Hub. (blogs.windows.com)
- Settings: resolved a case where Optional Features’ “Add an optional feature” might not load under certain administrator protection states. (blogs.windows.com)
Known issues and important caveats
Build 26220.6690 ships with a readable list of known issues; a few of them have practical implications for testers and developers:- Click to Do display glitch: launching Click to Do via the right-edge gesture on the primary display can show the swipe visuals on the wrong monitor. This is under investigation. (blogs.windows.com)
- Lock-screen media controls: media controls may fail to appear on the lock screen in some cases. (blogs.windows.com)
- Taskbar animations & auto-hide: Microsoft has temporarily turned off the new taskbar preview animations due to interference when sharing a window from a preview; there are also ongoing issues with automatic hide showing the system tray unexpectedly peeking up. (blogs.windows.com)
- Windows Studio Effects: enabling “Use Windows Studio Effects” for certain external webcams can cause the camera preview to fail because of firmware compatibility. The workaround is to turn Studio Effects off until a firmware/driver fix arrives. This is particularly relevant for streamers and creators who rely on external USB webcams. (blogs.windows.com)
- Developer tools (PIX): PIX on Windows cannot play back GPU captures on this OS version; Microsoft expects a PIX update by the end of September to address playback compatibility. Until then developers using PIX may need to use private builds or other workarounds. (blogs.windows.com)
- Xbox controller Bluetooth bugcheck: some Insiders reported blue-screen bugchecks when using certain Xbox controllers over Bluetooth; Microsoft provided a driver-uninstall workaround (uninstall the implicated oemXXX.inf entry from Device Manager). Insiders using controllers over Bluetooth should be cautious. (blogs.windows.com)
Technical verification and cross-checks
The announcement page on Microsoft’s Windows Insider Blog confirms the flight’s metadata: Build 26220.6690, KB5065786, published September 19, 2025, targeted at the Dev Channel and built on Windows 11, version 25H2. The blog text is the primary authoritative source for the list of features, fixes, and the known-issues inventory. (blogs.windows.com)Independent technology outlets covering the September Insider cycle corroborate the same themes: deeper Copilot integration in contextual surfaces (Click to Do, taskbar), incremental accessibility improvements, and an emphasis on controlled rollouts that gate features by hardware class (Copilot+ PCs), region, or server-side flags. Those third-party write-ups also call out the same practical cautions for streamers and developers — for example, camera/Studio Effects quirks and PIX playback incompatibility — which helps triangulate Microsoft’s documented limitations. (windowscentral.com)
Community-managed Windows forums and leak/ISO trackers also reflect the build’s distribution mechanics (UUP/ISO availability) and provide hands-on notes about whether the KB matches entries in third-party trackers — worth verifying against Flight Hub or Windows Update on an affected PC if you require exact KB parity for lab tracking. Those forums reiterate Microsoft’s recommendation: don’t deploy Dev Channel builds on production devices. (elevenforum.com)
Cautionary note on claims that are not directly documented: a few community posts have suggested specific rollout timelines for Copilot features across AMD/Intel Copilot+ hardware or exact telemetry behavior for on-device ML models; unless those are explicitly spelled out in Microsoft’s official blog or support docs, treat such timing forecasts as speculative. Microsoft’s posts consistently emphasize “staged” availability and that features may be changed or removed during preview. (blogs.windows.com)
Critical analysis — strengths, risks, and practical impact
Notable strengths
- Tighter, contextual Copilot integration: placing translation and “share with Copilot” affordances directly into Click to Do and the taskbar reduces friction for common productivity flows — capture → analyze → act — and aligns with Microsoft’s objective to make Copilot an ambient assistant in the shell rather than a separate app. This is a solid ergonomics gain for power users and knowledge workers. (blogs.windows.com)
- Incremental accessibility improvements: while Build 26220.6690 focuses more on Copilot features, the broader 26220 family has continued earlier work on Narrator and Braille tooling, indicating Microsoft’s parallel investment in assistive tech. Those changes compound into meaningful improvements for enterprise accessibility programs.
- Targeted stability fixes that matter: fixes for File Explorer UNC hangs, Windows Update 0x80070002 errors, and certain Settings loading problems are operationally useful for testers and administrators validating new builds. (blogs.windows.com)
Key risks and trade-offs
- Device- and driver-specific regressions: the list of known issues and past community reports make clear that Dev Channel builds can and do surface hardware regressions — from camera firmware incompatibilities (Studio Effects) to audio driver exclamation marks, Xbox controller bugchecks, and PIX playback breaks. These issues can interrupt content creation workflows, debugging pipelines, and general device stability. (blogs.windows.com)
- Controlled rollouts complicate testing: server-side gating means you may install the same cumulative build yet not see the same features — creating variability in labs and making reproducibility of behavior harder unless you can reliably toggle the “get latest features as they are available” setting and control device entitlements. For enterprise validation, this increases the burden of environment control. (blogs.windows.com)
- Developer tool fragmentation: with PIX unable to play back GPU captures on this OS version until a PIX update is released, developers who rely on end-to-end GPU capture and analysis will face workflow interruption until upstream tooling catches up — a reminder that preview OS builds sometimes break developer toolchains in unpredictable ways. (blogs.windows.com)
Recommendations for Insiders, developers, and IT teams
- On test vs production devices:
- Use Dev Channel builds like 26220.6690 on non-production machines only. Keep primary workstations and production VMs on Beta/Release Preview or stable releases. The cumulative risk from driver and firmware incompatibilities is non-trivial. (blogs.windows.com)
- Before updating — quick checklist:
- Back up critical data and create a system image or restore point.
- If you rely on external webcams, streaming stacks (OBS/NDI), or GPU capture tools (PIX), validate those workflows in a lab environment first. Known issues include Studio Effects camera preview failures and PIX playback incompatibility. (blogs.windows.com)
- If you use Xbox controllers over Bluetooth, be prepared with the Device Manager driver-uninstall workaround should you encounter a bugcheck. (blogs.windows.com)
- For developers and testers:
- Track Flight Hub and the Windows Insider Blog for updates to PIX and driver guidance. When a fix is expected (for PIX Microsoft indicated a target of end of September), plan regression windows around those fixes rather than reacting ad hoc. (blogs.windows.com)
- If you must reproduce an issue for Microsoft or third-party tooling, capture full repro steps and use Feedback Hub with traces (the blog suggests using “Capture the issue” for audio problems). This improves the signal Microsoft needs to triage gated regressions. (blogs.windows.com)
- For enterprise evaluators:
- Treat Dev Channel flights as experimentation only. Use Beta or Release Preview builds for broader validation and pilot programs intended to mirror production as closely as possible. Controlled feature rollouts on Dev builds can cause feature divergence that will not reflect release-channel behavior. (blogs.windows.com)
What this means for Microsoft’s Windows strategy
Build 26220.6690 embodies the company’s persistent strategy for 2025: integrate AI natively across Windows surfaces, gate advanced experiences by hardware entitlements (Copilot+), and iterate quickly in the Insiders program while using controlled rollouts to limit blast radius. The trade-off is predictable: faster feature experimentation at the cost of increased instability for a subset of hardware and developer tooling.The build’s emphasis on contextual AI — translation in Click to Do, the ability to share a window with Copilot Vision from the taskbar — shows Microsoft’s intent to make Copilot a first-class actor in the OS. If these interactions prove reliable and privacy-respectful (server-side vs on-device processing will vary by feature), they could materially change how users consume, extract, and act on information on Windows over the next release cycles. Independent coverage and community trackers are already noting this pattern across September’s Dev/Beta flights. (windowscentral.com)
A persistent operational friction: tooling and driver ecosystems must keep pace. PIX and external-camera regressions are case studies in why preview builds are risky for developers and creators — until PIX and camera firmware providers publish compatible updates, affected workflows will be disrupted. Microsoft’s own blog acknowledges these gaps and offers workarounds, but the onus remains on developers and OEMs to update drivers and tools promptly. (blogs.windows.com)
Final takeaways
- Build 26220.6690 (KB5065786) is a Dev Channel preview that continues to expand Copilot integration in Windows 11, version 25H2, while delivering several targeted bug fixes. It was published on September 19, 2025. (blogs.windows.com)
- The most interesting user-facing additions are Copilot-powered translation in Click to Do (Copilot+ PCs only, region-gated) and the experimental share-to-Copilot capability on the taskbar. These features are examples of Microsoft’s effort to make AI-assisted actions more discoverable and embedded within everyday workflows. (blogs.windows.com)
- Significant known issues remain — notably camera/Studio Effects incompatibilities, PIX playback breaks for developers, and controller/driver-induced bugchecks — making this flight appropriate only for test devices and validation labs. Follow Flight Hub and the Windows Insider Blog for subsequent fixes and updated timelines. (blogs.windows.com)
- For anyone evaluating the build: back up, test, and validate critical workflows before adopting. If your work depends on reliable camera streaming, GPU capture playback, or controller stability, delay installing Dev Channel flights on production machines until those issues are resolved.
Source: Microsoft - Windows Insiders Blog Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.6690 (Dev Channel)
