KB5120998 applies to Windows 11 versions 24H2 and 25H2. It advances 24H2 to build 26100.9278 and 25H2 to build 26200.9278, with packages for x64 and Arm64 systems. As a non-security preview release, it is discretionary rather than an update that most home users need to install immediately.
What Microsoft documents as changing in Search
Microsoft lists four relevant Search changes in KB5120998:
- A simplified Search home.
- Labels that identify where a result comes from, including an app, setting, file, web result, or Microsoft Store suggestion.
- Controls for web and Microsoft Store suggestions alongside local results.
- Automatic indexing of commonly used folders, intended to allow their files to appear in subsequent search results.
The result-origin labels may be the most immediately visible refinement. Mixed search pages can make it hard to tell whether an entry opens a local setting, launches an installed app, finds a file, leads to the web, or promotes a Store item. Labels do not necessarily alter result ranking or quality, but they provide useful context before a user clicks.
The separate controls for web and Microsoft Store suggestions are also important. Where available, they are located under Settings > Privacy & security > Search. A person who regards the Search box primarily as an app launcher and local file finder can choose to hide one or both suggestion categories, while someone who uses Search for web results or Store discovery can leave either category enabled.
The fourth change deserves equal attention. Microsoft says Windows will automatically index commonly used folders so that files in those folders appear in subsequent results. The related setting is at Settings > Privacy & security > Search > Automatically find more relevant locations. This is a documented expansion of what Search may index, rather than merely a visual redesign.
That wording sets realistic expectations. Automatic indexing may improve the chance that files from commonly used locations are found after indexing has occurred. It does not establish that every folder will be added, that every file will become available immediately, or that results will be better on every PC. Microsoft also provides no benchmark or general claim that the update reduces RAM use, accelerates indexing, or makes all searches faster.
“Bing-free” and “faster” overstate the evidence
It is tempting to call the new controls a “Bing-free” Search mode, but that goes further than the documented update notes. Microsoft describes an option to show or hide web and Microsoft Store suggestions alongside local results. It does not characterize the change as a wholesale removal of Bing, nor does it promise that disabling web suggestions prevents every Microsoft online service, recommendation, or web-connected feature from appearing elsewhere in Windows.
The practical conclusion is narrower but still useful: switching off web and Store suggestions can reduce those visible categories in Windows Search when the controls have reached a device. For users who prefer a more local-focused Search interface, that is an official configuration path rather than a registry modification or unsupported workaround.
The same restraint applies to performance claims. A less crowded results page may feel simpler, and wider indexing coverage could help Search locate files from certain commonly used folders. Neither observation proves a general speed improvement. The reviewed record contains no Microsoft benchmark for query response time, no claim of lower memory consumption, and no evidence that the feature guarantees immediate results after a folder becomes relevant to the user.
How to use the supported settings
For people who want the documented features, the supported route is to install KB5120998 through Windows Update and then check the available Search settings.
- Confirm that the PC runs Windows 11 version 24H2 or 25H2.
- Open Settings > Windows Update and look for the optional preview update identified as KB5120998.
- Install it only if taking a preview update is acceptable for that PC, then restart if Windows requests it.
- Open Settings > Privacy & security > Search.
- Review the settings for web suggestions and Microsoft Store suggestions, and select the visibility you prefer.
- Check Automatically find more relevant locations if you want Windows to automatically index commonly used folders.
- Test Search over time for the simplified home, result-origin labels, and files from relevant commonly used locations.
Microsoft says the features in this release use gradual and normal rollout phases. A successful installation of build 26100.9278 or 26200.9278 therefore does not ensure that every Search experience or setting appears immediately. It also means that a missing control is not, by itself, proof that the update failed.
That phased model lets Microsoft expand feature availability while monitoring deployment. The trade-off for users is uncertainty about timing. Reinstalling the update, repeatedly changing unrelated settings, or assuming that Search is broken is unlikely to help when a feature is intentionally being delivered in stages.
Optional-preview status still matters
The value proposition for KB5120998 is mainly preference and discoverability: clearer result labels, visibility controls for suggestion types, a simplified home, and possible indexing coverage for commonly used folders. Those changes may be worthwhile on a personal test system or for someone who specifically wants the new Search controls.
The calculation is different for a work-critical computer, shared household device, or machine that must remain predictable. Optional previews are not necessarily unsuitable, but waiting for normal servicing is a reasonable choice when the new controls are convenient rather than essential.
Microsoft says these changes will appear in its next security update for Windows Update for Business. That is a narrowly scoped servicing statement, not a dated commitment for every consumer PC and not a promise that all staged features will appear at the same time on every configuration. It also says nothing about a fix for the reported cursor or wallpaper concerns discussed below.
Users who install the preview should treat it as a non-essential operating-system change: keep important work backed up and note the current Windows build before proceeding. Those simple steps make it easier to assess whether a subsequent problem began after the update.
ViVeTool can force feature flags, but it is not a supported fix
Some enthusiasts use ViVeTool to try to enable staged Windows features before their devices receive them normally. ViVeTool v0.3.4 is available in distinct Intel/AMD and Snapdragon/Arm64 packages. An independently maintained feature-code guide associates feature ID 61161244 with the KB5120998 feature bundle, 61754985 with Start-menu customization, and 62762248 with Windows Search settings.
That information can be relevant to advanced testing, but it has meaningful limits. ViVeTool is third-party software, not Microsoft-supported Windows tooling. Feature IDs can change, apply only to certain builds or rollout groups, require other components, or fail to produce the anticipated interface. Enabling an ID is not proof that a feature is complete, stable, or appropriate for every PC.
The reviewed mapping does not substantiate a fourth ID, 62353331, which is sometimes included in command bundles associated with this update. Its absence does not prove the ID is invalid. It does mean there is insufficient corroborated evidence to present it as a dependable requirement for the simplified Search home or Search controls.
For most users, forcing feature flags is an experiment rather than troubleshooting. It is especially hard to justify on a primary PC when Microsoft already provides a supported staged-delivery route. It should not be used on the assumption that it will create a faster Search experience, lower memory use, or remove all web integration from Windows.
The reported cursor issue changes the risk calculation
As of August 31, 2026, Microsoft lists a reported issue in which mouse cursor personalization settings may change or revert after KB5120998 and later updates on Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2. Microsoft is investigating whether Microsoft caused the issue.
That is deliberately narrower than a confirmed defect finding. Microsoft has not published a confirmed root cause, official remediation, or approved workaround in the reviewed notice. Its stated guidance for affected users is to submit a report through Feedback Hub.
There are also independent user reports of black wallpapers or wallpaper resets after the update. These accounts should be treated cautiously: some installations reportedly had no problem, and the reviewed Microsoft Release Health information does not include a wallpaper known-issue notice. The frequency, cause, and persistence of the wallpaper reports are therefore uncertain.
Some users have reported improvement after removing the optional update, but that is not an established universal solution or Microsoft-confirmed cure. If cursor settings begin reverting after installation, record the specific symptoms, check whether the personalization settings retain the chosen values, and submit a focused Feedback Hub report. If a preview update clearly coincides with material disruption on a PC, uninstalling that non-security preview may be a proportionate choice, but it should not be represented as guaranteed remediation.
A practical decision for Windows users
KB5120998 offers more than a way to hide suggestions. Its documented Search changes include a simplified home, source labels, separate web and Store suggestion controls, and automatic indexing of commonly used folders through the Automatically find more relevant locations setting. For users who want more control over what Search presents and want eligible local folders considered for indexing, those are meaningful changes.
Automatic folder indexing is best viewed as a potential improvement in Search coverage. Microsoft says files in commonly used folders can appear in subsequent results, but does not promise better results on every device, immediate availability, faster indexing, lower RAM use, or broadly faster Search performance.
The conservative approach remains the strongest one. Install the optional preview if the specific Search controls and indexing behavior are valuable enough to outweigh the ordinary risks of preview software and the currently investigated cursor-personalization reports. Use the supported settings if and when they arrive through staged rollout. Otherwise, waiting for normal servicing is sensible—and avoids treating hidden feature flags or unverified performance claims as a reason to alter a production PC.