rs_prerelease branch of the Canary channel and SDK received an update with a lot of new features. These include accessibility with Bluetooth® LE Audio, SMB over QUIC Client Access Control, and Windows Location. Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25977.1000 is the update that also brought several bug fixes. 3 Known issues are also incorporated with this build.
Full name of this release is “Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25977.1000 (rs_prealease)”. The new update carries improvements in Mail and Calendar, Xbox Game Bar, keyboard layouts, Settings, and more. Let’s see what is new in this version:
Table of Contents
Windows 11 Build 25977.1000 changes, features, improvements, bug fixes, known issues, and download links
Here is the changelog:
Improvements in accessibility with Bluetooth® LE Audio
The build introduces support for the use of hearing aids powered with Bluetooth® Low Energy Audio (LE Audio) technology. If you use hearing aids you can right away pair, stream audio, and take calls on computers with LE Audio support.
This functionality is accessible on Windows devices thanks to our recently unveiled support for Bluetooth® LE Audio. This support will extend to an expanding array of devices in the months ahead. In upcoming releases, the channel will be introducing further enhancements to the hearing aid experience on Windows, including the ability to manage audio presets directly from Windows settings.
See: Windows 11 Build 25931.1000 rs_prerelease rolled out to Canary Insiders
Windows Location Improvements
Build 25977 is also introducing additional controls to empower you in managing which apps can access the list of nearby Wi-Fi networks, potentially used to ascertain your location. To review and adjust which apps have this access, simply go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location.
In order to streamline the process of granting location access to trusted apps, the new version implemented a new prompt. This will appear the first time an app seeks to access your location or Wi-Fi information. This prompt activates location services, granting the app permission to use your location for tasks like providing directions or weather updates, without requiring you to go into Settings. Furthermore, it will alert you if an app unexpectedly seeks access to location services, allowing you to deny it. If you prefer to prevent apps from accessing your location altogether, you can disable ‘Notify when apps request location’ in the Location Settings, which will suppress these prompts when location services are turned off.
After granting permission, applications utilizing location or Wi-Fi data will be visible in the Recent Activity section of the Location page. Additionally, the location icon will be displayed in the taskbar while the app is active, allowing you to easily track when apps are utilizing this information.
App developers can familiarize themselves with alterations to the API permissions and explore actions they can implement to enhance app experiences by visiting https://aka.ms/WifiAccessChange.
SMB over QUIC Client Access Control
Commencing from this Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25977.1000 (rs_prealease), SMB over QUIC now incorporates expanded access control choices for clients. This enhances the pre-existing SMB over QUIC functionality, which introduced an alternative to the TCP network transport, ensuring secure and dependable connectivity to edge file servers over potentially insecure networks such as the Internet.
This latest feature allows administrators to limit the clients that have access to SMB over QUIC servers. This offers organizations added protection for SMB over QUIC connections, without altering the Windows authentication method used for establishing the SMB connection or impacting the end-user experience.
To utilize this new feature, you’ll need both the Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25977 and a Windows Server Insider Preview Build 25967 or a later version running in a virtual machine (VM).
For additional details on setting up SMB over QUIC client access control, please refer to https://aka.ms/SmbOverQuicCAC.
Changes and Improvements
General
- Beginning with this version, Mail and Calendar will no longer come pre-installed following a fresh installation using the ISOs provided at this location. This change specifically pertains to clean installations of Build 25977 and later versions within the Canary Channel, effective today. For Insiders in the Canary Channel who are upgrading, Mail and Calendar will not be uninstalled. For additional details regarding the future of Mail and Calendar in Windows, you can refer to this link.
Start menu
- The Xbox Game Bar will now be displayed as “Game Bar” in both the Start menu and under Settings > System > System Components. This modification will be implemented through an update to the Game Bar available in the Microsoft Store.
Input
- In Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25977.1000 (rs_prealease), the company is introducing two new keyboard layouts. These layouts adhere to the recently established German extended standards (E1 and E2). These extended layouts empower users to type all necessary characters for German, including German quotation marks which were not previously available. Additionally, they encompass all Latin-based languages of the EU, Greek, IPA phonetic transcription, Egyptian hieroglyph transcription, most Latin-based languages worldwide (including Vietnamese with its numerous accents per character), and more. To activate one of these layouts, navigate to Settings > Time & language > Language & region, then select Language options from the ellipsis menu corresponding to the language you wish to use with this keyboard. Within the Options page, choose “Add a keyboard” and locate the new keyboard layouts named “German Extended (E1)” or “German Extended (E2)”. For further details, you can refer to this Wikipedia page.
Settings
- Within Settings, when viewing your Wi-Fi password within the Wi-Fi properties, they now present a QR code for convenient sharing with others. Additionally, when configuring a mobile hotspot to distribute your network connection, a QR code will also be provided.
- In the Settings menu, when you access your Wi-Fi password within the Wi-Fi properties, the build now display a QR code to simplify sharing with others. Likewise, when you establish a mobile hotspot to distribute your network connection, a QR code will be generated for your convenience.
Fixes for known issues
- Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25977.1000 (rs_prealease) fixed an underlying problem suspected to be the main culprit behind various games encountering difficulties in launching (often due to graphics issues) or adjusting resolution in Build 25967.
- Implemented optimizations to enhance the performance when expanding the navigation pane in Task Manager.
- Fix a problem where specific .rar files would either open as blank or display an unexpected message indicating insufficient memory to access the file.
Known issues
- Utilizing dictation in voice access causes the application to crash.
- The team is currently working on an issue where the print queue becomes inaccessible and displays an error when attempting to open it.
- Certain widely played games might not function as expected on the latest Insider Preview builds in the Canary Channel.
To install this build, go to Settings > Windows Update and click on “Check for updates”.
Download link: microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windowsinsiderpreviewiso.
Windows_Preinstallation_Enviroment_en-us_25977.iso
Windows_InsiderPreview_ADK_en-us_25977.iso
Windows_InsiderPreview_WDK_x86x64_en-us_25977.iso
Windows_InsiderPreview_SDK_en-us_25977.iso
Windows_InsiderPreview_EWDK_en-us_25977.iso
Note that these download links to ISO are temporary and they will be dead on 19.10.2023 around 8.15 PM.
Source: Windows Inside blog.