Windows 11 Insider Canary Build 27975 fixes touch keyboard PIN and drive crash

Microsoft has quietly shipped Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27975 to the Canary Channel, a small but important reliability-focused flight that fixes three painful user-facing regressions — touch keyboard launch reliability, a Windows Hello PIN regression that could break sign‑in after upgrades, and a Settings/File Explorer crash when viewing drive information — while leaving a couple of known issues (Start menu scrolling and intermittent sleep/shutdown problems) under active investigation.

Background​

Canary-channel builds are Microsoft’s earliest public testbed for platform-level changes: they’re experimental, fast-moving, and can include both polish and disruptive regressions. These builds do not necessarily map to any particular Windows 11 feature update and may never ship to customers; they exist to exercise ideas and fix low-level platform problems before those changes are carried forward into Dev, Beta, or servicing updates. That context is essential when deciding whether to install Build 27975.
This particular flight is noteworthy not because it introduces headline features, but because it addresses practical, day‑to‑day reliability issues that directly impact productivity and device usability for Insiders testing Canary builds. The focus here is targeted remediation rather than experimental UI additions.

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What’s fixed in Build 27975​

Touch keyboard launch reliability​

• Summary: The update includes fixes intended to improve the reliability of the touch keyboard on convertible and touchscreen devices where tapping text fields could fail to summon the on‑screen keyboard or where the keyboard would appear with unacceptable delay.
• Why it matters: For Surface devices and other 2‑in‑1 laptops used in tablet mode, the touch keyboard is the primary input method. Intermittent failures to bring up the keyboard break workflows and accessibility scenarios for users without a physical keyboard. Fixing this reduces friction for students, creatives, and touch-first users.

Windows Hello PIN authentication​

• Summary: Build 27975 addresses an issue where certain devices would find their configured Windows Hello PIN unusable after upgrading to recent Canary builds — requiring users to re‑create the PIN to regain PIN sign‑in. The flight restores expected PIN behavior in the affected upgrade paths.
• Technical contours: Windows Hello PINs are device‑bound credentials typically sealed with the TPM and managed by the NGC store. When the OS upgrade flow disrupts how that credential blob is referenced or stored, the PIN can become inaccessible. Microsoft’s fix targets the upgrade path that caused the disruption in specific device configurations.

Settings crash when viewing drive information (also affects File Explorer)​

• Summary: The build fixes a crash that occurred when opening Settings > System > Storage and attempting to view drive details. The same underlying issue also caused a crash when opening drive Properties from File Explorer. The update changes how drive metadata is queried and rendered to avoid the crash.
• Practical note: Prior to this fix, affected Insiders could work around the problem with Disk Management, PowerShell (Get‑Volume), or third‑party utilities to inspect storage. The fix restores the expected, convenient UX inside Settings and File Explorer.

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Known issues still active in this flight​

• Start menu unexpected scrolling: Insiders using the redesigned Start menu may see it unexpectedly jump or scroll to the top, disrupting navigation and discoverability. Microsoft has flagged this as a minor known issue and continues to investigate.
• Sleep and shutdown problems: Microsoft is investigating reports that sleep and shutdown may not work correctly for some devices after recent Canary updates. Because power-state regressions touch firmware, kernel power management, and drivers, they can be disruptive and — in the worst case — risk data loss if shutdown or sleep fail while unsaved work is present. This remains an active, high‑impact known issue.

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Quick verification and caveats​

• Build identity caveat: Community mirrors and Insider postings indicate these fixes are associated with Build 27975 in the Canary Channel, but community reporting has occasionally shown minor discrepancies in the precise build number for lightweight Canary flights. If you plan to reference the exact build when filing feedback or searching Flight Hub, confirm the build number shown on your device (Settings > System > About) because micro‑flights can shift. Treat the build number cautiously for diagnostics.
• Channel and rollback caveat: Switching out of the Canary Channel to a channel with a lower build number is not supported without a clean install of Windows 11. If you need to get off Canary, plan for a full reinstall. This is standard for Insider channel mechanics and a critical operational consideration.

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Why these fixes matter to Insiders and IT teams​

For individual Insiders and power users​

• Restored core usability: Fixing the touch keyboard and Settings drive‑info crash removes everyday friction from tablet-first workflows and routine maintenance tasks.
• Authentication confidence: The Windows Hello PIN fix reduces the chance of being locked out of your device or forced into a password fallback after an upgrade.
• Still experimental: Canary is intentionally volatile — keep it off your primary work machine unless you accept the risk.

For IT pros and enterprise testers​

• Don’t use Canary for pilot fleets: Canary is a research channel. Use Beta or Release Preview channels to approximate what broad customers will see.
• Prepare recovery playbooks: If you validate experimental builds, keep recovery images, alternate sign‑in credentials, and BitLocker recovery keys at hand. When PIN or power regressions appear, expect extra help‑desk volume.

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Technical dive: Windows Hello PIN — what can go wrong and how to recover​

Windows Hello PINs are stored as a locally-protected credential, often sealed to the device’s TPM. Several failure modes can make a PIN unusable after an upgrade:

• Corrupted or inaccessible NGC data stored in the LocalService profile.
• TPM/credential-manager interaction disruptions during the upgrade flow.
• Enterprise-specific policies (e.g., MDM/Entra configurations) that change how PIN enrollment is handled during servicing.

Common recovery steps (field-tested) — use with caution and preserve logs for Feedback Hub:

• Attempt fallback sign‑in using the Microsoft account password or local admin credentials.
• Use the lock screen’s “I forgot my PIN” or reset PIN flow after signing in with your password; Windows often reprovisions the PIN automatically.
• If you can sign in as an administrator, remove the NGC store and recreate the PIN:
• Delete C:\Windows\ServiceProfiles\LocalService\AppData\Local\Microsoft\NGC (requires elevated rights).
• Reboot and set up a new PIN in Settings > Accounts > Sign‑in options.
• If TPM firmware or vendor drivers are implicated, consult device vendor guidance before resetting TPM; in enterprise contexts, coordinate with security teams to avoid policy conflicts.

Microsoft’s fix in this flight aims to reduce the incidence of the specific upgrade regression, but these recovery steps remain useful for other PIN problems that arise from different root causes. Always attach reproducible logs and system information to Feedback Hub entries when reporting a PIN regression.

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Risk analysis — strengths and blind spots​

Strengths​

• Focused triage: Microsoft prioritized high‑value reliability fixes that directly affect day‑to‑day usage for Insiders. This shows responsiveness to community telemetry and targeted remediation rather than broad, riskier changes.
• Reduced support friction: Fixes to PIN and Settings crash reduce likely help‑desk incidents for Insiders participating in experiments that will feed into future releases.
• Parallel development: Microsoft continues to both innovate (Start menu experiments, AI features) and harden the platform in parallel, a balanced approach that protects long‑term credibility for preview channels.

Potential blind spots and risks​

• Persistent power-state regressions: Sleep/shutdown issues remain open and are a high-risk category. Until Microsoft provides a solid remediation, running Canary on mission‑critical hardware is risky. Firmware and driver interactions can make these regressions difficult to isolate or roll back.
• Edge-case authentication failures: Fixing one PIN upgrade path doesn’t guarantee there aren’t other upgrade or enrollment flows that still break credentials, especially in complex enterprise configurations. Continued telemetry and cross‑team validation are required.
• Canary visibility & documentation: Some Canary flights surface in community mirrors or internal channels before a canonical blog post is published. That lag can create confusion about which fixes and known issues are authoritative; enterprise testers should rely on Flight Hub and local build numbers shown in Settings for precise diagnostics.

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Practical guidance: who should install Build 27975 (and who should not)​

• Install if:
• You are an experienced Insider who actively tests Canary builds and can tolerate regressions.
• You have a secondary test device or spare hardware and reliable backups or disk images.
• You are a developer or QA engineer validating the touch keyboard, Windows Hello flows, or storage‑UI behavior.
• Avoid if:
• You depend on this machine for daily critical work or cannot tolerate potential sleep/shutdown failure.
• You run a pilot or pre‑production fleet — Canary is not appropriate for enterprise validation. Use Beta or Release Preview channels instead.
• Before installing:
• Back up your system, record BitLocker recovery keys, and ensure you have alternate sign‑in credentials available.
• Confirm the build number post‑install (Settings > System > About) before filing feedback.

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How to report problems and what to include in Feedback Hub​

When filing Feedback Hub reports related to this flight, include:

• The exact build number shown in Settings (to the build revision).
• Repro steps that consistently trigger the issue (single test case).
• System information: device model, TPM firmware version, BitLocker/encryption status, MDM/Entra configuration if applicable.
• Repro screenshots, mini‑dumps, or traces for crashes (where possible).
• For PIN issues, reproduce the upgrade path and include logs from the NGC store if you followed recovery steps.

This detail helps Microsoft triage platform issues that are often hardware- or policy-dependent.

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The broader context: Canary Channel’s role in Windows 11 servicing​

Microsoft’s servicing model for recent Windows 11 development cycles has leaned toward iterative refinement: larger user-facing updates are often shepherded as enablement packages or gradual rollouts while runtime fixes and experiments appear in Insider channels. Canary remains the place to try out early platform-level work and to close reliability gaps before broader rollouts. That approach allows Microsoft to keep feature momentum while protecting the main servicing pipeline, provided Insiders and admins respect the channel’s volatility.
Control Feature Rollout (CFR) is used to meter new experiences even within Insider rings, meaning that not all devices running the same Canary build will necessarily see the same features or UI behavior. That staged deployment model reduces blast radius but makes precise repros more complicated for independent testers.

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Verdict — what Build 27975 delivers and what remains​

Build 27975 is a small but meaningful maintenance flight that corrects day‑to‑day annoyances for Insiders: it improves touch keyboard reliability, restores Windows Hello PIN behavior in a problematic upgrade path, and fixes a Settings/File Explorer crash when viewing drive information. These are the kinds of surgical fixes that improve the overall preview experience and reduce noise for both testers and Microsoft’s own telemetry teams.
However, the presence of persistent power-state regressions and other UI quirks in the Canary pipeline reinforces the longstanding guidance: Canary is for experimentation only. Do not install Canary on production machines or pilot fleets. Maintain backups and recovery plans if you participate. If you need stability that approximates what customers receive, prefer Beta or Release Preview channels.

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Final notes and recommended next steps for readers​

• Check your device’s build number after installing and confirm whether the fixes discussed here are present. If you see a different build number or different behavior, document it and file Feedback Hub items with detailed repro steps.
• If you’ve experienced the Windows Hello PIN regression in a prior Canary flight, try this build on a secondary test machine first and follow the practical recovery steps outlined above if you encounter trouble. Preserve logs for diagnostics.
• Avoid running Canary on systems where sleep/shutdown reliability or uninterrupted sign‑in is essential until Microsoft marks those regressions resolved.

Build 27975 is not a flashy milestone; it’s the kind of small, focused work that keeps the Windows 11 preview pipeline usable and productive for testers while Microsoft continues to iterate on larger UI and AI efforts elsewhere in the Insider program. For Insiders who understand the risks and maintain safe test practices, this flight is a useful stabilization step — for everyone else, the proven wisdom remains: run Canary only on replaceable hardware.

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Source: Microsoft - Windows Insiders Blog Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27975 (Canary Channel)