Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.4441 (Beta Channel)
Hello Windows Insiders, today we are releasing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.4441 (KB5060816) to the Beta Channel for Windows Insiders on Windows 11, version 24H2.
New Copilot+ PC experiences
New Recall export experience for Windows Insiders in the EEA
Windows Insiders in the European Economic Area will now have the option to export their Recall snapshots to be shared with third-party apps and websites. When you open Recall for the first time and opt into saving snapshots, you will be shown your unique Recall export code. The Recall export code will be needed if you ever choose to export your Recall snapshots to share with a trusted app or website in the future.
Recall and its export experience are protected by a robust set of security and privacy features outlined here. All exported snapshots are encrypted, require Windows Hello authentication to export, and can only be decrypted with your export code.
Following industry best practices, we only show the export code once during initial set up to ensure that you and only you have control over exporting your data. Microsoft does not have access to your export code and cannot help you recover it if it is lost.
If you lose your export code or if you suspect someone has unauthorized access to your export code, you should reset Recall. Resetting Recall will delete all your snapshots and reset all your settings for Recall. After you reset, a new code will be generated when you turn on saving snapshots again.
After setup, you can start an export from Settings > Privacy & Security > Recall & Snapshots > Advanced Settings at any time. You will need to authenticate with Windows Hello to start an export. There are there are two options for exporting:
- Export past snapshots: A single export of all your Recall snapshots from the last 7 days, last 30 days, or all your snapshots.
- Export snapshots from now on: Starts a continuous export of your snapshots from the time you turn on this setting until you turn it off or reset Recall.
Exported snapshots will be encrypted. If you wish to share those snapshots with a third-party app or website, you will need to provide your Recall export code and exported snapshots folder path so that the third-party app or website can access the information. Developer documentation will be coming at a later date.
For managed devices, IT admins can configure Recall export using the AllowRecallExport policy or corresponding Group Policy setting. This policy allows organizations to choose if they want to allow users to export their Recall snapshots. For managed devices, exporting is disabled by default. Export of Recall and snapshot information is a user-initiated process and is per user. IT admins or other users can’t initiate an export on behalf of end users.
Please note that all Windows Insiders in the EEA who already have Recall setup and running on their Copilot+ PCs will see their Recall data reset after installing this build.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Recall or through in-experience links.
New features gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on*
Bringing back the bigger clock with seconds option in notification center
We’re excited to announce that we’re starting to roll out a highly requested feature from Windows 10, the option to show a bigger clock with seconds above the date and calendar in notification center.
To turn this option on, go to Settings > Time & language > Date & time and flip the switch for Show time in the Notification Center.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Clock and Calendar Flyout.
Changes and Improvements gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on*
[Recall (Preview)]
The following changes and improvements are rolling out for Recall on Copilot+ PCs:
- We are adding the ability to reset Recall and all its data. You will now see an advanced settings page under Settings > Privacy & Security > Recall & Snapshots. Under this new advanced settings page, we have included a reset button that will delete all your snapshots and reset your settings for Recall.
- On new Copilot+ PCs, the default value for maximum storage duration for Recall snapshots has changed from unlimited to 90 days. The user can update this at any time in settings.
- We are now providing teaching tips for Recall features. These tips provide more information and guide you through the Recall experience.
[Click to Do (Preview)]
The following changes and improvements are rolling out for Click to Do on Copilot+ PCs:
We are beginning to roll out two new actions in Click to Do!
- Ask Microsoft 365 Copilot: Windows Insiders with a Copilot+ PC using Click to Do can now use a new action, Ask Microsoft 365 Copilot, to send text or images to Microsoft 365 Copilot and have it address your queries. The Ask Microsoft 365 Copilot action will require a Microsoft 365 license and respect your organization’s privacy policies.
- Send a message with Teams or Schedule a meeting with Teams: Click to Do is adding a new capability that enables you to take actions from an email address. These new actions make light work of connecting with a coworker or friend through Microsoft Teams. Have a question that you need an answer to? With just a couple clicks, you can easily send a Teams message. If you need to really talk something out, you can find time with your contacts and schedule a meeting. These new skills are provided when selecting any email address recognized by Click to Do on your screen, where you can then choose the “Schedule a meeting with Teams” or “Send a message with Teams” action and stay in the flow. Microsoft Teams version 25153.1002.3699.5695 and higher is required.
[File Explorer]
- We have added dividers to the top-level icons that show at the top (or bottom) of the File Explorer context menu.
[Voice access]
- We are re-introducing Chinese support for voice access and adding Japanese support. You can now use Voice access to navigate, dictate, and interact with Windows using voice commands in Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, and Japanese. Japanese support is still a work-in-progress and may have some issues.
[Windows Share]
- When you share a OneDrive cloud file by right-clicking to share on the file – new options for sharing that link through other apps will be provided under “Share using” when the “Copy link” button is clicked. This experience is rolling out to Windows Insiders signed in with their Microsoft accounts not in the EEA.
[Settings]
- The search box in Settings will now be located at the top center to deliver a more consistent and better search experience. The improved search experience and agent integration are available only on Copilot+ PCs.
- We’ve updated the Windows activation and expiration dialogs match the Windows 11 visuals. These dialogs now appear as notification toasts in Windows, prompting you to take action if action is required. We have also made improvements to the messaging under Settings > System > Activation as well.
Fixes gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on*
[Recall (Preview)]
The following fixes are rolling out for Recall on Copilot+ PCs:
- Fixed an issue causing Recall to crash for some Insiders in the last couple flights.
[File Explorer]
- Fixed an issue when opening folders starting from outside of File Explorer, where File Explorer would open it in a new tab, but the tab wasn’t put in focus.
- Fixed a memory leak impacting some people when navigating through File Explorer folders, impacting performance and reliability over time.
- We’ve done some more work to improve the performance of extracting archive files – this will particularly help in the case of copy pasting large numbers of files out of large 7z or .rar archives.
[Start menu]
- Fixed an issue for Insiders with the new Start menu, where it was displaying in the wrong direction when using an Arabic or Hebrew display language.
- Fixed an issue for Insiders with the updated Start menu, where the Move to front / Move right / Move left options from the context menu for pinned apps weren’t working.
[Settings]
- Fixed an underlying issue which was causing some Insiders to see the Settings navigation pane entries in English rather than their preferred language in the last couple flights.
[Other]
- Fixed an underlying issue which was causing fonts in certain app menu items to unexpectedly appear corrupted or overlapped for some people. This also impacted typing in Word – where when using Hebrew a period may unexpectedly show as a 3, and in Thai typing space may show a 2.
- Fixed an issue where running a script on a remote SMB share might take an unexpectedly long time if the share was an older Windows Server version like Windows Server 2019.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.4441 (Beta Channel)
Microsoft has released Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.4441 to Windows Insiders in the beta channel on Windows 11 24H2. The build introduces new features, including the ability to export Recall snapshots for sharing with third-party apps and websites. When opening Recall for the first time, Windows Insiders in the European Economic Area will receive a unique Recall export code. Exports are encrypted, require Windows Hello authentication, and can only be decrypted with the export code. Microsoft does not have access to the export code and cannot help recover it if lost. If lost or suspected of unauthorized access, users should reset Recall. Exporting options include past snapshots and continuous snapshots. For managed devices, IT admins can configure Recall export using the AllowRecallExport policy or corresponding Group Policy setting. Exporting recall and snapshot information is a user-initiated process, and IT admins or other users cannot initiate an export on behalf of end users.
