Microsoft has released a new Windows 11 Build 25236 to the insiders in Dev channel. The new build brings tips on how to improve Windows search experience in Taskbar.

Microsoft will provide tips on how to use Windows Search via the taskbar, to improve the value of Search shortcuts in the broader Windows Search experience. This will be available for only some Windows Insiders in the U.S with this build.

Changes and Improvements

[General]

  • To improve the value of Search shortcuts and reduce friction in the broader Windows Search experience, we are trying out different ways to provide tips on how to use Windows Search via the taskbar. Only some English-speaking Windows Insiders in the U.S. will see this. If you do, be sure to give us feedback on what you think in Feedback Hub.
Example tip on how to better use Windows Search via the taskbar.
Example tip on how to better use Windows Search via the taskbar.

Fixes

[Narrator]

  • We fixed the issue causing natural voices such as Microsoft David or Mark to not speak in Narrator.

[Taskbar & System Tray]

  • Fixed an issue where if you opened the hidden icons flyout, it caused a File Explorer entry for it to appear in the taskbar.
  • Fixed an issue that was causing the taskbar previews to freeze or show as blank and not open when using Windows key + (#) key commands to try and switch between windows.
  • The show hidden icons flyout in the system tray should now responsively resize with changes again to prevent empty spaces and columns.
  • Fixed multiple issues related to the taskbar which were impacting explorer.exe reliability.
  • Fixed an issue that was causing the volume icon in the system tray to incorrectly show as muted.
  • Fixed a GDI handle leak related to updating the notification center icon in the taskbar, which would eventually lead to an explorer.exe crash for people who received a large number of notifications.
  • Narrator will now announce the pinned and unpinned status of apps in the taskbar.

[File Explorer]

  • Fixed an issue which was making File Explorer crash when closing tabs for some people.
  • Made another fix for an issue which could cause errant divider lines in File Explorer’s navigation pane.

[Settings]

  • Made a change to hide the battery graph on the Power & Battery page if a UPS is connected, as the capacity information it displayed in that case wasn’t correct.
  • If you don’t have a kiosk set up, we’ve now updated the text on Accounts > Other Users > Kiosk to make it clearer you need to do that, so it doesn’t appear to be a dead end.
  • Fixed an issue where if you went into the properties for an audio device, this could make it unexpectedly show in the output devices list on System > Sound although it was actually an input device.
  • In the accessibility settings for color filters, the inverted option should work correctly again now and not just set your PC to grayscale colors.

[Other]

  • Fixed an issue causing some Insiders to see a bugcheck with error SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED in recent builds.

NOTE: Some fixes noted here in Insider Preview builds from the Dev Channel may make their way into the servicing updates for the released version of Windows 11.